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Courageous Edventures
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Courageous Edventures
Navigating Obstacles to Discover Classroom Innovation

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September 2016 | 200 pages | Corwin

Chart a course to innovation using educational technology 

Let’s go on an edventure! Do you want to innovate and take risks in your teaching? Looking for ways to troubleshoot common classroom challenges? Whatever obstacles you and your students face can turn into edventures, and this book will show you how to navigate them with grace, humor, and grit. Jennie Magiera charts a course for you to discover your own version of innovation, using the limitless possibilities of educational technology. You will learn:

  • How to create your own Teacher-IEP (Innovation Exploration Plan)
  • Keys to problem-based innovation (PBI)
  • Strategies and solutions for tackling common classroom problems
  • Methods for putting learning into the hands of students
  • How to find innovation in everyday places

Packed with real-world, immediately applicable solutions to the problems teachers face in their classrooms every day,Courageous Edventures shows how technology can be a fun and easy tool to improve classroom management and student learning!

"Magiera leads people on a journey with some great ideas to get started in the classroom right now, or the inspiration to find your own way, leading to innovative ideas for learning and teaching."
George Couros, Author of The Innovator's Mindset and Innovative Teaching, Learning, and Leadership Consultant

"This book does a superb job of providing practical ideas and strategies on how to actually implement innovative practices in today's classroom. Her knowledge and experience as a change agent further strengthen the techniques presented and will help educators truly envision what's possible in classrooms today."

Eric Sheninger, Corwin Author and Senior Fellow
International Center for Leadership in Education


 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Author
 
Preface
 
PART I. CHARTING YOUR COURSE
 
1. Come on in, the Future’s Fine
Me and the Three Little Pigs

 
From Houses to Ships

 
What Is Innovation?

 
Two Compass Options: The SAMR and TIM Frameworks

 
Deciding When to Use SAMR and When to Use TIM

 
Setting a Course for Innovation

 
 
2. Problem-Based Learning: It’s Not Just for Kids
Teacher Innovation Exploration Plan: An Individualized Education Program for Teachers

 
Identifying the Problem of Practice

 
Defining the Problem of Practice

 
Stepping Up to a Solution

 
Critical Friends

 
 
3. Getting Your Students Ready
Learning to SAIL: Student Innovation Teams

 
Don’t Touch

 
Go Slow

 
Be Kind

 
Staying Safe on the Open Sea: Digital Citizenship

 
What Is Digital Citizenship?

 
Respect for Ourselves

 
Respect for Others

 
 
4. Getting Your Materials Ready
Let the Students Lead the Way

 
Build a Management System

 
Rewrite Your Supply List

 
Tech Is Not a Treat

 
Less Is More

 
 
5. Falling in Love With Failure
Calling Forth Your Courage

 
Failing Forward

 
Student Failure

 
Teacher Failure

 
System Failure

 
 
PART II. NAVIGATING YOUR PROBLEMS
 
6. Digging Into Differentiation
Problem: So Many Ability Groups, So Little Time

 
Suggestion: Clone the Teacher

 
Problem: Keeping Students Engaged During Small-Group Time

 
Suggestion 1: Choose Your Own Adventure Time

 
Suggestion 2: Self-Differentiating Challenges

 
Suggestion 3: Critical Friends

 
Problem: Finding Developmentally Appropriate Differentiated Content

 
Suggestion 1: Create Your Own Content

 
Suggestion 2: Digital Resources

 
Problem: How Do I Disseminate Materials to Students and Collect Their Work? (aka Digital Workflow)

 
Suggestion 1: Learning Management System

 
Suggestion 2: Google Classroom

 
Suggestion 3: Class Websites, QR Codes, and Google Forms

 
 
7. Rethinking Assessment
Problem: I Hate Grading!

 
Suggestion 1: Digital Student Response Software

 
Suggestion 2: Learning Management Systems Assessments

 
Suggestion 3: Online Forms

 
Problem: I Need to Differentiate Assessments Based on Individualized Education Program Accommodations and/or Modifications

 
Suggestion: Screencast Assessments

 
Problem: My Students Have a Hard Time Self-Assessing

 
Suggestion 1: Metacognitive Screencasting

 
Suggestion 2: Digital Portfolios

 
The Draw of Google Drawings

 
Problem: Teaching Students How to Give Peer Feedback

 
Suggestion 1: Google Drive

 
Suggestion 2: Google Drive and Google Forms

 
Suggestion 3: Blogging and Quadblogging

 
Accountability Without Assessment: Gamification and Achievement Badges

 
 
8. Creating a Positive Classroom Environment
Problem: Creating a Culture of Respect and Collaboration

 
Suggestion 1: Mood Check-Ins

 
Suggestion 2: Class Dojo for Encouraging Positive Action

 
Suggestion 3: Using Music to Set the Mood

 
Problem: Supporting Struggling Students

 
Suggestion 1: Blogging

 
Suggestion 2: Positivity Timelines

 
Problem: Communicating With Families

 
Suggestion 1: Class Dojo for Communication

 
Suggestion 2: Google Forms

 
Suggestion 3: Digital Newsletters/Class Blog

 
 
9. Planning for Powerful Learning
Problem: Finding Curricular Resources

 
Suggestion 1: Pinterest and EduClipper

 
Suggestion 2: Twitter and Google+

 
Suggestion 3: Blogs!

 
Problem: Scheduling Time for Collaborative Team Planning

 
Suggestion 1: Google Calendar

 
Suggestion 2: Doodle.com

 
Suggestion 3: Google Hangouts

 
Problem: Vertical Alignment—What’s the Rest of the School Teaching?

 
Suggestion 1: Google Drive

 
Suggestion 2: Shared Calendars

 
 
PART III. SAILING INTO THE GREAT BEYOND
 
10. Power to the Pupil
Cultivate Curiosity: How Do I Build Curiosity?

 
Sorting Your Questions: Questdones and Questruns

 
Outwit Obstacles: How Do I Teach Perseverance?

 
Purposeful Playtime: How Do I Find the Time for Purposeful Play?

 
Reimagined Centers

 
20% Time

 
Open Scheduling

 
Bringing the Purpose to the Playtime: Entering Creation Station

 
Reflect, Reflect, Reflect

 
 
11. Discovering the Power of Voice
Amplifying Our Students

 
Step 1: Finding Their Inner Voice—Blogs Versus Diaries

 
Step 2: Sharing Their Voice With Others—Building Classroom Discussions and Backchanneling

 
Step 3: Teacher-Moderated Sharing—Dipping a Toe Into Social Media

 
Step 4: Opening the Garden Walls—Diving Into Social Media

 
 
12. With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility
Revisiting Problem-Based Learning

 
Digging in to Problem-Based Learning

 
Step 1: Finding the Problem-Based Essential Question

 
Step 2: Developing the Challenge

 
Step 3: Rising to the Challenge

 
Step 4: Showcasing the Learning

 
The Role of the Teacher

 
Problem-Based Learning Spotlight—KidTREK: A Safe Journey App for Students

 
The Student Becomes the Master

 
 
PART IV. REFLECTING ON YOUR EDVENTURE
 
13. Evaluating Your Practice
Looping in Your Critical Friend

 
Revisiting the SAMR and TIM Frameworks

 
Leveling Up With the SAMR Model

 
Approaching the Three Dimensions of the TIM

 
Sharing Your Adventure

 
Taking It a Step Further: Presenting Your Story

 
 
14. Staying Inspired and Finding Support
Creating a Professional Learning Network That Works

 
Professional Learning Communities and Professional Learning Networks

 
Cultivating Constructive Conflict

 
A Shared Space

 
Teacher-Led Learning Events

 
EdCamps

 
PLAYDATEs

 
Formal Learning Events

 
Step 1: Go With a Goal in Mind

 
Step 2: Keep a Three-Dance Card

 
Step 3: Recruit Allies and Use Collaborative Tools

 
Step 4: Schedule Time With Yourself to Debrief Individually

 
Step 5: Pay It Forward

 
 
15. Planning Your Next Edventure
Be Your Own Hero

 
Don’t Get Comfortable

 
Channel Your Inner Student

 
Share Your Crazy Pills

 
 
Appendix A- Challenge Card Template
 
Appendix B- Teacher Innovation Exploration Plan (TIEP)
 
Index

Supplements

“Magiera takes us on a Courageous Edventure by outlining a blueprint for charting a new course while navigating rough waters in order to sail into the Great Beyond. Her words of wisdom, stemming from her career as a practitioner, are encouraging yet simultaneously challenging—challenging educators to create new, authentic learning experiences for all kids. Whether your setting is urban, suburban, or rural, Magiera will push your thinking, challenge the status quo, and support your work in developing Future Ready classrooms and schools. Courageous Edventures is a great read and a needed tool for your toolbox!”

Thomas C. Murray, Director of Innovation
Future Ready Schools

"With Courageous Edventures, Jennie Magiera has created a book that is both powerful and accessible to teachers who want to transform their classrooms into more modern, active, empowering spaces. Magiera’s powerful voice and passion for the work shine through on every page, making this a fun read as well as a deeply helpful read as well."

Chris Lehmann, Founding Principal of Science Leadership Academy and Author of Building School 2.0

"Courageous Edventures is as fun as it is wildly useful for teachers wanting to move from hope for more effective teaching and more satisfying professional experiences to realizing both. Magiera helpfully explores the general (building professional networks, reflecting collaboratively, etc.) and the specific (her brilliant "Gripe Jam," fascinating ways to use OK Go videos, and much more) in ways that will hold the attention of both veterans and newbies. This is a perfect book for those in teacher education programs and professional study teams at all kinds of schools."

Rushton Hurley, Educator and Executive Director
Next Vista for Learning
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Sample Materials & Chapters

Preface

Chapter 1


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