This has been a busy week filled with much reflection and learning for me (more on that in other posts).  But to wrap up week three of #IMMOOC, I want to share some thoughts on innovation as it relates to communication and collaboration.

This week, I listened to several episodes from the Cool Cat Teacher Podcast Show “Every Classroom Matters” including one called “How Teachers Can Find Time to Innovate” by Annette Lang.

I was struck by Ms Lang’s “bite-sized” approach to innovation.  In order to not be overwhelmed, she decided to pick one new thing to try.  In doing so, she was able to connect her students in the US with students overseas.  The students collaborated on projects and gave each other real audiences for their work.  In just a year, she has transformed learning for her students.

Shouldn’t we all be doing this?

For me this connected to the example at the opening of chapter 5, when George Couros writes about how much communication has changed.  We used to worry how many minutes we talked to someone far away.  I remember being in Spain one summer during high school and having to go to the public phone several blocks away to arrange a very brief call back to my parents in the CA (and we wrote letters!).

Times have changed!  If my children can Facetime their cousins in PA & CO and their grandparents in CA for FREE with the touch of a button, shouldn’t all of us help our students reach out to other students around the world?
If we’re studying Japanese, let’s talk to people in Japan. If we’re learning about desert habitats, let’s see what they look like “first hand.”

Technology affords us limitless opportunities to communicate and collaborate outside the walls of our school.  Let’s Go!