One critical characteristic of Dynamic Learning is going Beyond the Walls! Go global and consider online 
publishing for all students.
Every student should have the opportunity to publish their work and learning for a global audience!
This will change the quality of their work and help them build a positive online presence.
This episode and blog post will explore ways to flatten the walls of your classroom and allow students to publish their work online.
Listen to this article.
Shoutout
Thank you to Susan Vincentz and Christian Academy Schools for inviting me to connect and present virtually!
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Go Global: Online Publishing for All Students
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. —Bill Gates
One of the essential components of Dynamic Learning is going BEYOND the walls of the classroom.
Every student in every grade should have opportunities to connect and learn globally as well as publish their work online for a global audience.
Technology is NOT a solution…it is an opportunity!–an opportunity to shake up learning, to do things differently, and to create more dynamic learning experiences for students.
An Important Shift
As a middle school teacher, I learned a very important lesson about giving students an audience for their work.
I had my pre-AP 8th-grade ELAR students publish their writing on a website that allowed for comments. As soon as they got their first comment, a shift had happened.
The hands went up, and my students asked, “Can I revise mine? I didn’t know anyone was going to read it besides you.”
WHOA! My pre-AP students, who were very much teacher pleasers, were admitting that they could give me better work if I could provide a better audience. Game-changer!
As much as we like to think our students want us to be their audience. If the only audience we ever give them is the teacher, we are missing a HUGE opportunity.
Publishing for Authentic Audiences
We now have the power to give students more authentic audiences for their work.
Are you taking advantage of this opportunity?
Protecting Students v. Depriving Students
I know many of you are already thinking…we can’t do this! This is too risky for students.
Well, think of it this way. We don’t have to share names, faces, or any personal information in order to give students an audience for their work.
I believe protecting students is of the utmost importance, but depriving students of critical learning experiences in the process should not be the cost.
Don’t Hide the Learning.
What’s the big secret?
Do we really need to hide the learning from the outside world?
This is depriving students of authentic learning experiences they need to be a part of the twenty-first-century workforce.
Why Limit the Learning Experience?
Why limit the experience of our students by limiting their audience?
If all they are exposed to is the opinions, comments, and feedback from their teacher and maybe their parents, they will never truly understand the twenty-first-century idea of sharing.
Let the learning light shine!
Protecting Students
- You do not have to share names, pictures, or any personal information when sharing student work.
- Consider pen names
- Teaching students how to publish and share online without sharing personal information is a future-ready skill!
Who is the Audience?
Before you jump in, select a learning experience that is appropriate for sharing and getting feedback from others. Make publishing purposeful.
Baby steps! You don’t have to publish EVERYTHING for a worldwide audience. Select the appropriate audience, and gradually build toward bigger audiences.
Publish for an Intentional Audience
The intended audience should not have to search to find a student’s work. Simply making a Google Doc public doesn’t really cut it.
- Reach out to authors, experts, and organizations.
- Tag them on social media with links to student work.
- Use specific hashtags for those audiences.
- Try #comments4kids or #kidtweet
Give the Audience a Way to Leave Feedback
Feedback and comments will supercharge this experience, as illustrated in my own classroom story.
We must give the audience a way to leave comments, provide feedback, and interact with students in some way.
Levels of Publishing
STEP 1: Share outside the classroom
STEP 2: Share outside the school
STEP 3: Share with a global audience
STEP 4: Share with an INTENTIONAL global audience
Tools for Publishing Work Online
- Google Sites
- YouTube
- FlipGrid
- Blogs:
- Podcasting:
- Social Media (Use hashtags like #kidtweet, #comments4kids, or find or create your own)
- Virtual Reality & 360 Video (Check out Cospaces)
- The options are limitless!
- What would you add to this list?
Share Your Student Work Examples
Fill out this form to help me build a database of student examples of work.
Podcast Question of the Week:
- How can you give your students a more authentic audience for their work?
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