Engaging in a MOOC (massive online open course) always sounded cool...but I let myself have all the tired excuses. "I don't have time" "I won't keep up" "I missed the first day already" etc. However, the Deeper Learning MOOC through High Tech High in California sounded like a good way to get my feet wet, mostly because they advertised a very loose structure with people being able to join at will, and participate asynchronously throughout the course.
So far it has been great! I have made several contacts on twitter, I have been more inspired to rally my colleagues in my home setting to think more deeply about our practice and what deeper learning means, and it renewed my commitment to the inquiry work I am doing through KSTF.
Two things I have done so far that I felt really good about
1. Showed this video clip to my 7th and 8th hour classes (they usually move more quickly than my 2nd and 1st hour kiddos) and then just asked them what they thought
It went really well! I videotaped their responses, and if I can find some time to edit them I will share some of them.
2. I played the following video for all of my classes.
Austin's Butterfly: Building Excellence in Student Work - Models, Critique, and Descriptive Feedback from Expeditionary Learning on Vimeo.
Again, I got some very intriguing responses. The one that surprised me the most was in 7th period, they all came to the conclusion that it was fake, that Austin didn't really draw the last version of the butterfly. Gotta say, that made me sad, and I realized how much work I have to do in establishing a growth mindset with my students.
Thanks for tuning in!
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