Don't Turn It In: Publish It!

 Don’t Turn It In: Publish It!

• “Is this for a grade?”
• “Will this be on the test?”
• “My printer ran out of ink so I can’t turn in my paper.”
• “Why are we doing this?”
• “Are you the only one who looks at this or is it for a bigger audience?”

Turning in Work by Publishing!

While the above questions might be familiar, they are often times irrelevant in the modern classroom. Now, our students have an opportunity for learning and assessment beyond the traditional model of turning in work. No longer are students or teachers limited by the process of submitting work to be graded by a teacher with little to no impact beyond the four classroom walls. With access to the world around them, students realize they can publish their work beyond their teacher, impacting a wider audience and, ultimately, increasing their engagement of the learning and project they are completing.

See examples of the possibilities below from students and teachers in BVSD

Did You Know? All of the projects below were graded electronically!

In Language Arts…

• Students create book trailers as a way to assess their understanding of content, deeper literary elements (character, setting, etc.) and to increase student engagement. (8th grade)
• Students wrote, illustrated and then made a video to share their beautiful watercolor artwork and imaginative "If.." book inspired by Sarah Perry's book. (1st grade)

In Science…

• Students create online, collaborative posters with research about the periodic table of elements demonstrating understanding and application of the information (6th grade)
• Students publish their animal research by creating a website to share with each other and their families. (3rd grade)
• Students create videos that analyze and explain the parts of a cell. The videos are linked to a Google drawing that connect to that cell. (10th-12th grades)

In Math…

• Students demonstrate their understanding of math skills (addition with proofs) by creating videos teaching the skill. (2nd grade)
• Creating original thinking with systems of equations and demonstrating this learning in a presentation (6th-8th graders)  
• Students analyze and connect math proofs to real-world issues and provide a solution by creating videos and collecting the resources in an online document. (10th-12th grades)

In Social Studies…

• Students create digital, interactive posters that presents their research on an explorer. (5th grade)
• Students synthesize their research of The Americas and create an online digital atlas. Then, they share with other students in the class so they can learn from each other. (6th grade)

In World Languages…

• Students create, perform, record and publish Latin plays to learn, understand and analyze various chapters for learning. These recordings are now being used all over the country for students in other Latin classes. (9-12th grades)
• Students create a final product for their Spanish class that captured and applied the themes they had learned through the course of the year. This particular student chose to create a website. Along with this website, students created videos and articles to publish as content on the site. (10th-12th grades)

In Music…

• Students analyze and publish their thoughts regarding their musical selections and performances through a blog and through individual reflections of performances in a Google Form. See this portfolio for even more examples! (6-8th grades)

In Art…

• Students create original projects/designs for a variety of purposes and student-determined audiences in this digital art course. Two examples: Ad Campaign and Book Cover design (9-12th grades)

In Health/P.E.

• Students are monitoring heart rates using iPad apps (6th-8th grades)

Interested in learning more? Any BVSD educator to leave a comment as a response to this blog will be put into a drawing to win a copy of  Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results In The Student-Centered Classroom  Must leave a comment by February 2nd to be considered for the drawing!

A special thanks to the following educators whose student work is featured in this blog post!

Megan Cosmos*
Gregg Cruger

Kristin Donley
Melissa Duplechin*
Rebecca Feeney
Josh Feiger*
Lynn Gibert*
Rachelle Lieberman*
Lisa Norton*
Ingrid Parker*
Korrie Skibinski*
Janelle Stanton*
Caitlin Thomas*
Mary Waddell*

*21st Century Cohort Member