BLOG SLAM! (Another update to "Is Anybody Asking the Kids?")

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There is nothing more exhilarating to me as a teacher than seeing students do incredible things. When they are engaged and full of passion, they do really great work.

Several weeks ago, I blogged about whether anyone was considering what the kids thought of education today. I asked students in an online survey to answer some questions about the state of things. I received a bunch of responses and wrote a follow up blog post with the findings of the survey. A group of students in North Carolina really felt empowered by the opportunity to share their voices, that they decided to take things one step further and create a digital representation of the changes they’d like to see!

I was BLOWN AWAY!

I had been in conversation with their teacher about having one of them “guest blog” for me, but I’m so impressed with what they’ve created, I’m posting ALL OF THEM here. Everyone who reads this blog needs to see what kids can do when they are inspired.

These kids articulated the need for NEW FORMS in education, not just reforms. They want flexible scheduling, flexible spaces, flexible groupings, learning that matches their interests and is authentic. They do not want to be receptacles for information, in fact, one of them said to just “give him the basics” and let him figure the rest out on his own.

Within the scope of what they did, they engaged in 21^st Century skills—they communicated with each other, they collaborated in both the creation and feedback phases, and, oh yeah, they used technology—but for a specific task, not just because the tech was cool and shiny. (Even though it was!)

When I work with teachers, and talk to them about activities like this, there are always those that say this can’t happen in a real classroom, because they only have time to prepare the students for a test. I say take a look at what these kids have done here and consider the ramifications in the instructional sequence. Perhaps this type of instruction works above and beyond the curriculum, so that the kids are ready for any test at any moment? (And let’s not confuse testing with assessment…though that is its own blog post…)

Just from what I see here, I can assess:

- writing processes

- grammar

- continuity of a story arc

- idea development

- ability to stay on topic

- other peripheral skills related to teamwork, technology, etc.

So if you ask me where this fits in the standards…there it is. Which is going to engage kids more: opportunities like this or a five-paragraph essay? How am I REALLY going to know that learning has occurred and can be developed in individual and meaningful ways? A product like this, or a twenty question objective test that matches the state assessment? (Though I’m not saying that objective tests can’t measure what we want them to measure, but I AM saying they are boring in comparison.)

I want to give GIGANTIC kudos to these students, these scholars—who took an idea and ran with it for the sake of their own interest and passion. I encourage all of my readers to read and comment on what these students have done using popular Web 2.0 tools like GoAnimate and Storybird. These students wrote scripts, poems, narratives – and then kicked that work up a notch into the 21^st Century.

Way to go! Every single student listed here is the pinnacle of AWESOME!

• Ta-Layza’s Response
• Morgan’s Response
• Joey’s Response
• Erin’s Response
• Claudia’s Response
• Christian’s Response
• Alexis’s Response
• Allison’s Response
• Vyctorya’s Response
• Nereida’s Response
• Nicole’s Response
• Katelynn’s Response
• Foster’s Response
• Crystal’s Response
• Robby’s Response
• Megan’s Response
• Jamie’s Response
• Jamarlo’s Response
• Candace’s Response
• Carol’s Response
• Tania’s Response
• Lorenzo’s Response
• Nathan’s Response
• Mariah’s Response
• Heather’s Response
• Charles’s Response
• Anthony’s Response