ImagineIT Final Report
As my ImagineIT project reaches its conclusion for the year, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the process, its impact, and what I can take away from this whole experience.
First of all, this entire project has reinvigorated me as an educator, has made me curious about learning, and given me the desire to take on big ideas like this one, and see it to fruition. I’ve learned it takes deliberate, thoughtful planning. This has been a reflective process, which was way out of my “comfort zone” of teaching. I’ve learned that students are frequently far superior collaborators with technology, and the best move for me is to let them take the lead, showing me how to create, rather than me telling them how.
Starting from the first week, it took a great deal of trust on my part, and a certain amount of letting go of control to allow students to make the videos that they wanted to make. I shouldn’t have been, but I was admittedly surprised that they turned out so well! As it turns out, many of my students look to YouTube for help when they aren’t sure about a topic, so they had ideas about what they wanted their videos to look like.
As for the feedback I’ve gotten from students- the videos have been a hit! Every student mentioned that they’ve never been able to do anything even remotely as cool in math class. I felt particularly proud about this, because I’ve always felt resigned to Math being just a bit boring at times, with no way around it. With videos as a start, I’m going to keep finding ways to make math creative and fun.
One concern my students shared was based on my rubric, which is still being modified- I feel I need to create a rubric that uniquely addresses each group of students. I might not ever get it perfect, but I will certainly be addressing it as necessary. The problem is putting a grade on what is essentially art. Who am I to judge a student’s creativity? Anyway, this is something that the students felt might keep them making the same video over and over again- following a “successful formula”.
My colleagues have taken notice, as well as my principal. Suddenly there are many classes making videos. This actually concerns me- I don’t want this to become “Ho hum, another video project” for the students. I like the uniqueness of it. Hopefully the other teachers will quickly lose interest, while I keep my project alive and well.
Finally, this project has influenced me in ways I never thought possible. I’m now constantly looking for ways to incorporate technology, imagination, and fun into my work. I’m now actively looking for more professional development opportunities, as I have now gotten a taste of what it means to truly be “developed”, not just professionally, but creatively, thought-provokingly(is that a phrase?), the ImagineIT way.
As my ImagineIT project reaches its conclusion for the year, I’ve taken some time to reflect on the process, its impact, and what I can take away from this whole experience.
First of all, this entire project has reinvigorated me as an educator, has made me curious about learning, and given me the desire to take on big ideas like this one, and see it to fruition. I’ve learned it takes deliberate, thoughtful planning. This has been a reflective process, which was way out of my “comfort zone” of teaching. I’ve learned that students are frequently far superior collaborators with technology, and the best move for me is to let them take the lead, showing me how to create, rather than me telling them how.
Starting from the first week, it took a great deal of trust on my part, and a certain amount of letting go of control to allow students to make the videos that they wanted to make. I shouldn’t have been, but I was admittedly surprised that they turned out so well! As it turns out, many of my students look to YouTube for help when they aren’t sure about a topic, so they had ideas about what they wanted their videos to look like.
As for the feedback I’ve gotten from students- the videos have been a hit! Every student mentioned that they’ve never been able to do anything even remotely as cool in math class. I felt particularly proud about this, because I’ve always felt resigned to Math being just a bit boring at times, with no way around it. With videos as a start, I’m going to keep finding ways to make math creative and fun.
One concern my students shared was based on my rubric, which is still being modified- I feel I need to create a rubric that uniquely addresses each group of students. I might not ever get it perfect, but I will certainly be addressing it as necessary. The problem is putting a grade on what is essentially art. Who am I to judge a student’s creativity? Anyway, this is something that the students felt might keep them making the same video over and over again- following a “successful formula”.
My colleagues have taken notice, as well as my principal. Suddenly there are many classes making videos. This actually concerns me- I don’t want this to become “Ho hum, another video project” for the students. I like the uniqueness of it. Hopefully the other teachers will quickly lose interest, while I keep my project alive and well.
Finally, this project has influenced me in ways I never thought possible. I’m now constantly looking for ways to incorporate technology, imagination, and fun into my work. I’m now actively looking for more professional development opportunities, as I have now gotten a taste of what it means to truly be “developed”, not just professionally, but creatively, thought-provokingly(is that a phrase?), the ImagineIT way.
