Be a Role Model of Failure

Two new skills that I plan to incorporate into my Course 1 final project are Wakelet and Flipgrid.

My goal is to not only incorporate these into a Unit Plan for MS Grade 8 Science (my Course 1 Final Project), but to teach others in the school about these two tools. The best way to learn something for me is to have the responsibility to teach others.

Action Step	Timeline
1. Investigate Wakelet	Week of February 4
2.Investigate Flipgrid	Week of February 4
3. Teach Wakelet to Staff	Week of February 11
4. Teach Flipgrid to Staff	Week of February 18
5. Work with teachers in classroom to teach either tool	Week of February 11 and 18
6. Incorporate Wakelet and Flipgrid into Course One Final Project	Week of February 25

In terms of my own learning around these two tools, I have had the chance to experiment with them both.

The first Wakelet I put together was for a social science teacher.  I remember walking into the MS teachers workroom and asking them “who is working on something for kids right now”? One of the social science teachers was working on a presentation for her students on responsible production and consumption.  So I asked her to share her slides with me and said I am going to share with her a creative new tool that I had just found. Here is the example that I created for her.

Here is a quick presentation I put together for our staff and students on Wakelet. I plan to use this with staff and students when training, but mostly give them time to play!

In terms of Flipgrid, I had my very first experience with this tool recently.  In an online course on coaching that I am taking, I was asked to record a welcome video using Flipgrid.  Before I recorded my video, I found this quick intro video to help me quickly understand what it could do:

I decided to incorporate Flipgrid into the unit that I am collaborating with another teacher on for my course one final project. It will allow students to provide feedback in a quick and efficient manner, and in a differentiated way.

My research into both of these tools has been through two methods.  As I mentioned previously, I looked at YouTube for information on Flipgrid, and I did the same for Wakelet.  This, of course, was a quick method to see examples and how to videos. The second place I went looking for information was Twitter.  Using hashtags like #flipgrid, #flipgridfever, #wakelet and #wakeletwave, I have been able to do some great research and find wonderful examples of how these tools are being utilized for student learning and growth. As I have been writing this post, I have just discovered that Wakelet and Flipgrid have joined forces, here is a quick intro video where I discovered this:

Learning any new skill as an educator provides us with the opportunity to put ourselves in the shoes of the kids whom we teach. Of course we should continually look to learn in order to up-skill ourselves and be better professionals, but I feel just as equally important a reason, is so that we can struggle, be frustrated, seek help, make mistakes, and then, ultimately, find success. Here is a nice read on Teaching Children it’s OK to Fail. We often tell our students that it is permissible to make mistakes and learn from them, but we don’t allow ourselves the same breathing room.  Even more powerful, I think, is when we can experience this ourselves and share it back with our students. In making ourselves vulnerable, we actually empower our students.