Today I had the pleasure of giving a presentation at the
NYSCATE annual conference on 24/7 learning environments. The common theme of this talk is the power of the growth mindset and community that is built upon students and teacher learning together outside of the classroom. One of my characteristic features of my presentations is student voice. I strive to let my students explain what I'm talking about for my audience. I am continually impressed and humbled by the honesty and maturity that my students display during these sessions. I chose to utilize
todaysmeet.com as the backchannel medium where my students connected with my audience from over 300 miles away.
What did students have to say today?
"We like Mr.Fox's learning environment because it prepares us for high school and we are always made feel that it is okay to ask questions."
"We use Todaysmeet to communicate and ask questions without interrupting each others individual activities that we are all working on."
"I think what I like the most about Mr. Fox's teaching style is that it is so different from the regular way teachers usually teach."
"Mr. Fox is creative, and innovative teacher, and he finds new, different ways to help his students learn."
"His class is very fun and it definitely helps us learn to be responsible for our own assignments."
These were some selected statements from students today during their discussion with the audience in my presentation. I didn't coach the students on what to say and gave them little instruction beside the url for the todaysmeet page. It is essential to me to enlist student volunteers to describe my classroom to others. Too many times we hear from adults about best practices without seeing these strategies through the students perspective. I relish the opportunity to relinquish control or oversight of what my students have to say and get their honest, unbridled opinion. These truths are what help validate my innovative techniques.
