1 Minute of Innovation

One of my goals for this year, and for the future if I am not successful this year, is to be accepted into the Google Teacher Academy.  The next academy has not been posted yet but I have already started working on my application.  The key component of the application is a 1 minute video about 1 of the 3 topics; classroom innovation, positive change in my community, and motivation and learning.

I am choosing to work on the innovation topic as the main subject of my video.  I could just as easily do motivation and learning since they are so very closely connected in my mind.  I spend a lot of my time researching ways to innovate in the classroom and developing new ways to create a better learning environment.  Part of that research has led me to focus on passion as a way to motivate the learner, the passion of the teacher or the passion of the student.

The tough thing has been trying to decide how the video will look.  My message will be easier to come up with than the actual format of the video.  I strongly believe, and have written about, how we need to keep going forward with education and find new and better ways to meet our students where they are at.  We can not rely on methods that were in use 100 years ago if we truly want to work with our students today and help them prepare for their future.  My exact words will probably change a few times before the final edit but the main message has been in my head for a long time.  The tricky part is to make sure that the video portrays the ideas and thoughts that have been a big part of my growth as an educator.

The reason that I set this as a high priority goal was that I feel it will allow me to reach a wider audience while connecting with others who will help me become better.  I consider myself a connected educator but I want to increase those connections as I feel that being connected can greatly help me improve.  As I improve myself, I can better help those teachers I work with and hopefully in turn create better learning environments and experiences for our students.

I am thinking I will create a rough copy and post it online to get feedback from others.  That is one way that I can learn and grow in this process.  Which is something that we should always be doing, connecting with others to help us grow and learn.