Alan November suggests kids want a voice and want to share it globally. We live in a world where we are globally connected instantly. Last year I connected with a teacher from India through Skype and it was a classroom, game changer. We learned about the Indian culture and my kids were fascinated that they were able to connect with students across the globe. If I own my learning and seek out my passions why shouldn’t my students? This year I started “Genius Hour”. “Genius Hour” is a time where students get to investigate (on their own) and share what they are passionate about. This has generated a lot of excitement with all of my students. My students are eager to come to school and are producing presentations that they want to share with others. They own their learning and it is evident because of their engagement, hunger to present, and desire to research through books and online resources.

I believe the same passion my students feel about “Genius Hour” is the same passion I feel about designing my ePortfolio. My ePortfolio gives me the opportunity to showcase my passions globally. I recently presented at a conference and shared my ePortfolio link. My ePortfolio is an outlet that allows me to express what I am passionate about in the world of teaching. My intention is to continuously update it with new ideas and topics so that it will never truly be complete. So how did I get started? I chose to create an ePortfolio that was simple and easy to maintain. Google Sites is the platform that I selected because it is simple and seamlessly links with google drive. I’m thankful that Lamar enables students to use the COVA model when designed our learning pieces. The COVA model has given me the opportunity to truly own my own learning. When students own their learning they are driven by purpose. My Digital Learning and Leading graduate class has given me just that. Purpose. Through the use of the COVA model, I have been able to define my purpose.

“Is this for a grade?”. I often hear those words from my students. How do we shift our students’ mindset into owning their learning? I believe it’s through the use of the COVA model. Some of my students have begun creating online portfolios as a way to leave their mark. They are quite curious and excited to work on their sites; however, they are a little unsure of the freedom to choose their learning paths. Students need to “acquire technical skills for their digital lives but also engage in work that provides richly teachable moments” (Watters). Creating eportfolios with my students has provided many teachable moments in class. For example, one of my students asked if she could create a screencast that would teach others how to login into Classlink. As a result, we began to explore screen cast extensions. She researched a few extensions and chose the one she was most comfortable with. It’s amazing to witness a nine-year-old narrate a video with step by step directions that will help others login. Another group created a tutorial video explaining what symmetry is. They asked for directions but I instructed them to choose the method that worked for them. Who owns the eportfolio? These students are creating and producing online productions using high, level learning skills that they can take with them outside the classroom. I believe my students own their eportfolio because they are becoming “effective architects, narrators, curators, and inhabitants of their own learning” (Harapnik). My students are taking ownership of their learning because I have given them the opportunity to make it meaningful to them. According to Dwayne Harapnuik, “making meaningful connections is what leads to learning.” This brings me back to the question, how can we shift a mindset? It is really the students that need to shift their mindset about owning their learning or do educators need to shift their mindsets on how students learn?

My students' symmetry video

My student's screencast video

Challenging Gifted and Talented (GT) students in the classroom can be a difficult task. Success usually comes easy for them and they often complete assignments quickly. They obtain good grades and most do what is asked of them so teachers should not be concerned nor provide any extra support. This would be a myth but believe it or not some think this to be true! Would you send a skilled, swimmer to swim the English Channel without a coach? Probably not! They would need a coach who would push them to their full potential and support their needs through mental support. It’s the same for GT students. A friend of mine told me a story about her GT son. She spoke about how her son was not being challenged in class. Her son complained to her often about how his math stations were so easy that he just preferred to read. Alarmed and concerned she immediately contacted the classroom teacher but nothing changed for her son except for the fact that he became less interested in school. This is a prime example of how GT students can become underachievers if they are given extension lessons within the classroom.

Why is it that most teachers strive to do things differently for only the students who are falling (behind grade level) but disregard differentiation strategies for GT students? These students need to be challenged, pushed, and supported with activities that protract real learning... real learning that is on their level and it doesn’t mean extra work through worksheets.

What student has ever been excited to complete another worksheet? ~AMY MAYER~ friEDtechnology

They need authentic learning environments where choice and voice exist!

The COVA framework, along with blended learning, is the perfect mix to differentiate learning for GT students. The COVA framework uses choice, ownership, and voice through authentic learning to create significant learning environments where personalized learning can occur. It’s not that teachers don’t want to differentiate and personalize learning, it just takes time to research and develop what works. Through my own research, I came across useful digital tools that worked for my GT students within Google Education Apps. These digital tools peaked the curiosity of my students because they were working on assignments without being asked to do so outside of the classroom. It has been astonishing to witness how using the COVA framework has produced creative thinkers who have explored learning on their own. Google docs, draw, sites, slides, and classroom are my “go to” tools when differentiating instruction because of the many uses they possess. These collaborative tools are easy to use and integrate seamlessly together. One of my favorite tools for my GT students was the creation of ePortfolios using google sites. Google sites allowed them to showcase who they are as a learner through their own voice and having a voice kept them engaged in learning.

Another strategy I have implemented is choice boards using the 4C of learning. Choice boards allow my GT students to set their own learning paths through a personal selection of activities. One of my students even started asking if she could come up with her own way to display her learning outcomes. I believe that choice boards can harness self-directed learning because I have seen students go from asking permission to just doing through risk-taking. Sometimes teachers just need to see how differentiation is done to believe it’s possible.

Think about it this way...wouldn’t it be nice to have professional development differentiated for teachers? Teachers would and should like to have a choice in what they want to learn, it’s not challenging to sit in a session on a topic that you already know about. Most teachers become bored, lose interest, probably tone out the speaker, and just go through the motions. This is how gifted students feel when they are not given a choice and a voice in their learning. Without those elements, authentic learning will never happen to their full capabilities and they, too, will just go through the motions.

I am an educational artist and I seek to design lessons that engage and spark curiosity. Learning should be all about inquiry and “creating curiosity within others can have a powerful and long-lasting effect (Casas, Whitaker, & Zoul, 2017). If we capture our students’ interests first then teaching the content becomes much more meaningful. Students will then begin to take ownership of their learning and explore outlets outside the classroom. “The curriculum tells you the what, not how” (Couros, 2015). It’s time to start fostering a new culture of learning because “the old ways of learning are unable to keep up with our rapidly changing world” (Thomas & Brown, 2011). This doesn’t mean we let go of old traditions, it just means we combine those traditions with the new technologies of today. My innovation plan does just that. It creates a beautiful canvas composed of curiosity, passion, personalization, fun, innovative learning, creativity, critical thinking, content, collaboration,communication and choice.

The environment that I am proposing is one that embraces teacher creativity and passion as well. I’m not declaring a “free for all” just a pathway based on innovative learning through multiple content deliveries. We live in a world where teachers are not the only content holders anymore. Google and YouTube have created “learning environments in which digital media provides access to a rich source of information and play” (Thomas & Brown, 2011). We must step aside, embrace, and become facilitators in the learning process. It’s not going to be easy but we must embrace what comes next. Dare to be different and seek out what inspires our kids. It’s time to change our learning environments.

With change also comes challenges. One challenge that stands in the way is standardized testing. Douglas Thomas describes standardized tests as a testing surveillance making everything equal (Thomas, 2012). Students learn differently but are expected to take the same test. In my classroom I have artists, athletes, actors, and future engineers (to name a few). Yet they must learn the same way in order to pass a test. Our education world has become a numbers game as a direct result of governmental funding. Districts are judged by the passing rates and it’s publicized in the local news. Shouldn’t we, as educators, be focused on providing our students a well-rounded education? Or should we continue to focus on the task of having our students pass a few tests? I strongly believe standardized testing sets limits on teacher creativity as well as student learning. When so much focus is given to standardized tests, teachers become prone to teaching to the test. Kids are more than a test score.

Let’s face the facts. Standardized testing is not going anywhere so we must build environments that keep learners engaged. Creativity and fun should be core components that will help to soften the hard, test-taking directives that are pushed upon educators. When an environment is built on inquiry and passion, kids are more eager to learn. The implementation of required test taking strategies would be easier to incorporate within this type of environment. Educators must find ways to change how learning happens. Learning should not be just about the grade. Students need to understand that learning is growing.

Douglas Thomas describes standardized tests as a testing surveillance making everything equal (Thomas, 2012). Students learn differently but are expected to take the same test.