First off — yes, you are. 🙂

Secondly, the phrase “genius hour” is one I have heard before, but not one I have heavily looked into. To be completely honest, part of my initial thoughts on it was that it must be a happy hour of sorts for the folks who work at the Genius Bar in the Apple Store.

While I want to believe that also indeed happens, “genius hour” in education is different. Through it, students are given complete control of their education for a while through an open-ended project. They may choose topics to research that they are interested in, finding specific information on their own and presenting it later.

Benefits of “Genius Hour”:

• Students are given free reign to make their projects about anything they would like. Fascinated by the tunnels that run underground in Walt Disney World? Sweet! Want to learn more about coffee and its popularity in the world? Go for it! The sky is truly the limit, and with students having so much choice in the matter, they are able to make their projects about something they are personally curious about or enthusiastic about.
• Students have a choice as to how they share their information. While they should use some form of technology, the final presentation does not have strict parameters. It could be a podcast, a PowerPoint, a video, a digital infographic — whatever the student is more comfortable with. This choice and freedom gives students a strong onus in their education.
• Students present their final projects in front of their peers, gaining invaluable experience presenting in front of a crowd (no matter the size). This experience will prepare them for so many things in the future — job interviews, best man speeches, a variety of careers — and the younger students are when they start this type of presentation, the more confident they’ll be as they age.

With every idea comes some hurdles, and this is no different.

Potential Hurdles and How to Address Them

The student has no interest in their project / is having trouble being motivated to complete the project.

This is the time for the teacher to pull on their best teacher-y shoes and talk to the student as a human. Taking time to check in with the student can go a long way in building trust and creating a strong relationship. Ask about their life, their hobbies, what they had for dinner last night…anything to get to get the ball rolling without making it seem like you are just checking in because you only care about their project completion.

We don’t have enough time!

Teachers may be hesitant to start this process due to the amount of time it can take (20% of time = 1 school day a week). Starting on a smaller scale can help teachers feel out the process through a trial and error period. This smaller scale could look like adding a “genius hour” element into a larger unit (for example, having students pick a topic within the book Maniac Magee and having them create their presentations off of that topic). If that smaller trial goes well, go a little bigger the next time. There is no “right” and “wrong,” which is really the beauty of “genius hour.”

On Wednesday evening, I had the chance to meet up — virtually — with Tresa and Josh. We utilized GoogleMeets for the gathering, and getting to speak with humans face-to-face after primarily using the written word to communicate was such a treat. It was neat to compare the tone of my classmates’ writing to their actual selves (my mental image was pretty spot on), and it was even neater to talk about education items and this PLS course. The connection made through our meeting definitely gave me more of a connection to this course as a whole, as now, I can put humans behind the words.

GoogleMeet is not new to my school, and it is a tool that I do not foresee leaving anytime soon. In our pandemic world, GoogleMeet is how I initially met with colleagues, students, and friends to continue some form of live conversation while quarantining with the rest of the world. This is still very much the case currently, as students who are placed in quarantine are able to meet with their classmates and teachers. This keeps the classroom alive for the student, helping them to not fall behind while still making important social connections.

GoogleMeet isn’t just neat for times of sickness and coronavirus, though. Since it uses one of the hippest inventions around — the internet — to run, students and teachers can connect with users anywhere in the world as long as they have an internet connection. Lessons don’t need to stay within the USA; connections can be made with students in Europe, South America…the options are endless. This global potential means that students and their teachers can connect with not just other students, but professionals in the fields that they are learning about, too. What better way to learn about something new than from someone who works with it every day?

GoogleMeet is here to stay, and how grateful I am we’ve had it as long as we have.

Twitter has come a long way since its initial creation. What once was just a quirky way to express oneself in 280 characters or less is now a means to…well, still do that, but also connect and network with others from around the planet.

Like every tool, there are pros and cons of Twitter.

Pros:

1.) Twitter has only grown in popularity as the years have gone by. It is a regular name when it comes to social media, giving it street cred. Its popularity also means that it is used by a huge amount of people.

2.) Hashtags make it so easy to find other people talking about basically any topic you can think of. #coffee, #waltdisneyworld, #musiceducation — they are all used and can help make connections with those who are also chatting about the same things.

3.) Twitter is top-notch for networking. In the education world, Twitter chats allow for education professionals to come together and discuss a specific topic, using a hashtag to keep all of the thoughts together (such as #musedchat).

4.) The 280 word limit can be a hindrance, but it also keeps statements concise and to the point.

5.) Twitter is a relatively simple tool to use since it is so “to the point.” This makes it a great option for use in the classroom, as the initial teaching period should not be terribly long.

Cons

1.) While the 280 character limit can be a pro, it can also be a con in regards to needing to be so succinct. It it challenging to narrow one’s thoughts into such few words, which can frustrate some users.

2.) Twitter, as of right now, is not organized into “groups” of people; the only way to connect with others who share your topic of choice is to utilize a hashtag.

3.) Users have the ability to make their accounts private, but doing so makes it impossible for public users to see responses from private users (unless they follow one another).

4.) There isn’t a way to filter out certain topics, making Twitter a bit of a risk in the education world (we don’t want students to be looking at things they shouldn’t).

5.) You have to commit to an account if you would like to comment; there is casual browsing, but not casual commenting.

Despite these pros and cons, Twitter has an undeniable ability to increase one’s professional growth and development. I believe that teachers learn best from other teachers, and with so many educators on Twitter, the possibilities for networking and sharing of ideas are endless. Education chats, as mentioned above, give more scheduled opportunities for educators to come together utilizing Twitter as well, forming a sort of club-like community for various topics. Twitter is a tool I have used in the past for my educational growth, and I intend to continue as I move forward in my teaching career.