Every Educator Has a Story . . . Just Tell It.

This is one of my favorite cartoons ever.

The “punch” line is that every person on the planet has a story to tell.  I also know that every teacher has a story to tell.

Educators are doing amazing things with their learners in spite (i.e., to show spite toward) of the standards-based and accountability-driven movements. I’ve learned about so many exciting learning activities from educators who are publicizing their great projects via Twitter, Facebook, and Blogs.  I’ve read about global collaborations, interesting ways technology is being integrated into the classroom, kids making a difference in their communities, and great project-based learning.

This is my own call to action for educators to tell their stories of those rich and amazing things they are doing in their classrooms.

• Write a blog.
• Tweet about it.
• Make photo essays and upload to a photo sharing site like Flickr.
• Take some video footage and share it on YouTube, TeacherTube, or Vimeo.
• Ask learner to blog about it.
• Share on Facebook.
• Give virtual presentations at conferences such as Global Education and K12 Online.
• Ask local reporters to come to your classroom
• Others? (Please add to list.)

For example, I am incorporating students’ mobile devices into an undergraduate course on Interpersonal Relationships.  I take photos during each class and that day write a blog entry about mobile learning.  These entries take about an hour.

• Facilitating Learner Voice and Presence in the Classroom Using Mobile Devices
• An Instructional Activity: Student-Produced Viral Videos
• Using Mobile Devices and Technology to Enhance Emotional Intelligence
• An Experiential, Mobile-Device Driven Communications Exercise
• A Texting Communications Exercise
• Students’ Own Mobile Devices and Celly Provide Peer Feedback

I now have a record/reflection about the class.  I get to share it with others via Facebook and Twitter.

If all educators publicized the accomplishments they had in their classrooms using technology, hands-on activities, global collaborations, project-based learning; then an informal qualitative research project would result.  When educators are asked to provide evidence of efficacy to administrators, parents, other educators, funding sources, they could share these success stories.  This aggregate would become the collective narrative – story of education of our times in the beginnings of the 21st century.