Best of 2012

As we wind down 2012, I thought it would be a good time to repost some of my favorite creations over the course of the last year. There’s a lot of new stuff coming for Digigogy in 2013, including my new book with Janet Hale, Upgrade Your Curriculum: Practical Ways to Transform Units and Engage Students. Those of you who follow me regularly have already had some sneak peeks!

Here’s a few things that I thought represented the best of Digigogy in 2012:

• Best Common Core Resources on Pinterest - A collection of the best resources I’m coming across related to the Common Core. Note that these are not “curated” resources (see Curation blog post below) as there has not been a lot of conversation around the inclusion of the resources. Perhaps that is something we could collaboratively engage in next year: discussions around the usefulness of a particular resource!

• Annotexting - Annotexting is a process that involves the collection of thoughts, observations and reactions to reading that show evidence of critical thought. These annotations, rather than being on paper, can be collected with different web tools so that students can collaborate, both locally and globally, around the conclusions that they will ultimately draw from their reading.

• Collection or Curation? - Curating is different. It’s the Critical Thinker’s collection, and involves several nuances that separate it as an independent and classroom-worthy task.

• Text Complexity Resources - A collection of resources around text complexity on LiveBinders.com. Multiple resources including rubrics for determining qualitative measures, unit planning around text complexity, and many examples from different state education agencies.

• Virtual Summer Camp for Teachers - Here you will find multiple opportunities for Professional Development over the summer: learn new web tools, investigate the Common Core, explore essential applications and more!

• Snapshot of a Modern Learner - Santos knows where to find information. He does not necessarily discern what information is relevant, and he doesn’t necessarily know what he needs to learn from the information. But he knows where it lives: everywhere.

• Cure for the Common Core eBook - Cure for the Common Core is a collection of blog posts from the last two years of preparing for and implementing the Common Core Standards. Collected here together for the first time, this book offers insights and actionable strategies for teachers aligning their curriculum to the new standards.

I’d like to add that 2012 has been a fabulous year working with schools and teachers around the shift to more rigorous standards, the design of new performance tasks in the wake of the standards and the intersection of it all with ubiquitous technology infusion.

May your 2013 be a celebration of dynamic and Digigogical learning!

-Mike Fisher

PS. Those of you that have asked if blogs could be a viable tool for student portfolios...you just read one.