Rationale

Community of Learners

Students today enjoy the connectedness of social networking; it is part of their very being. My goal is to bring my instruction into that cloud to teach the content required in ways that inspire online responsibility and ethics in this new, very public world. This also means that my community must expand; I must join with other teachers and my students to build this new world of education, where continuous learning is the norm -- from wherever and whenever we are. Therefore, this section of Ask What Else learning provides ways to connect teachers, families, and students in a global learning community.

When opening up the classroom in online forums for others to view, our teaching and learning becomes transparent: we share what works and what doesn't. The entire purpose is to improve learning through sharing, collaboration, and feedback. This requires of us a commitment to civility as global citizens. Please read the Simply Said policy to think about your community responsibilities and participation and Digital Footprints to guide our students in building a safe online identity.

A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader, and connected to an idea. For millions of years, human beings have been part of one tribe or another. A group needs only two things to be a tribe: a shared interest and a way to communicate. ... Tribes need leadership. Sometimes one person leads, sometimes more. People want connection and growth and something new. They want change. ... You can't have a tribe without a leader - and you can't be a leader without a tribe.   Tribes-- Seth Godin

Teachers create a community of learning, a tribe connected to them for a shared interest.  This community of learning is the communication aspect of the tribe you build.

And teachers create order from chaos everyday; we are the linchpins of learning-- we keep the students from getting off track. A community of learners helps each other.

How will you contribute to your own, your colleagues, and your students' learning?
How will you create a community that learns together
How will you create a community that learns together in safe and civil ways?
How will you connect this community with families?
How will you connect your community: colleagues, students, families?

Assessment for Learning

By developing an open community to share our work, we make transparent for ourselves, students, and families, the expectations we have. The learning, including our lessons (how do we make them better) becomes more clear, and everyone owns what they do. Feedback and reflection continuously drive learning towards improvement.

Development of Language

The community that develops in online forums require improved communication skills: civility, debate, feedback, vocabulary, grammar, etc.

Content

Community Building Platforms  Learn the platforms for student participation and learning community.

Digital Footprints  Curriculum and suggestions for helping students build a safe online identity as digital citizens.

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Photo: Linchpin: Public Domain