Final Project: Thoughts, Ideas, and Considerations

 Problem(s) that Needs Solving

At BVP JHS, we have a theme for each school year. This most recent school year, it was: Root Down to Rise Up. It was often represented by a tree that looks very similar to the one attached below. 

Most of my first year felt like setting down roots - trying to make decisions about who I wanted to be as a teacher, how to manage the classroom, and how to stand strong. Oftentimes, I felt overcome with ideas that I wanted to implement, but never had the chance due to factors outside of my control. With those factors not being a problem next year, I have attempted to boil down my three biggest wants for the next school year:

1. A way for students to collaborate both inside and outside of the classroom. Which connects to my desire of building a  community, not only for students, but for their families. 
2. Improve independent reading time. 
3. Better encourage students to write for pleasure, not just for school. 

I believe that these problems are not entirely different issues, but are actually interconnected. With the right piece of tech and proper guidelines, I believe I can build stronger foundations for community, independent reading, and independent writing both inside and outside of school. 

Potential Solutions

1. Classroom/Community Website

One solution is to build a website. While I would love to launch it alongside the rest of my team, I think I will have more support and buy-in with first soft-launching it in my classroom and studying it's affects by utilizing action research. 

First, I need to actually build the website. I've already started exploring different options - everything from Blogger to Wix. As of right now, Wix seems like a more suitable choice. With Wix, organization and user interface for students/families will be more manageable. I can split different categories into different tabs of the website. Some of the tabs and features will include:

• Reminders for important events like product grades or CTA's
• Ability to schedule for predetermined office hours where students can receive help after school or families can request a meeting
• A place where students can submit creative work to be published on the website
• A place for book reviews and teacher recommendations 

2. Class Magazine 

My second solution is to craft a class magazine. Families and students can opt in or out of this magazine - and my idea is that they will be sent home as printed copies. Essentially, this class magazine would be a way for students to build a portfolio of creative and academic work. However, students would not be the only ones able to submit to the magazine, families would be able to as well. 

I want families to feel involved in their students' school work. Perhaps families have their own way to help students connect with the text and want to share. Or! Perhaps creative writing is a family affair. My magazine idea currently has a lot of missing pieces and would require a lot of moving parts. I would love to explore this idea more. 

Inspirations

While I had come into the class with these ideas in mind, the projects that I viewed inspired me to work hard and achieve my goal. Seeing what other people had accomplished moved me and made me feel like my ideas were attainable in a way they weren't before.