Genius Hour or 20% Time is a strategy for teachers to use in the classroom to allow students to explore their unique passions and interests. Teachers aim to set aside a set amount of non-structured time to allow for creativity and student choice, usually resulting in a final product or project. 

There are many benefits to incorporating Genius Hour or 20% Time into your classroom. When implemented at Google, results showed that employees were more productive. Genius Hour allows for students to delve deeper into a subject that interests them which makes them more engaged and empowered learners. When students know that they are going to have to present and share their progress with their peers, it creates pressure to go the extra mile. Many teachers grade the process, and not necessarily the final product. This is in stark contrast to how students are typically graded, and students usually find this to be a relief. It is a great way for teachers and students to differentiate. Since not everyone is tasked with the same exact assignment, students and teachers can change up how information is being learned and presented. Students tend to learn better when doing something hands on, as opposed to just listening to a lecture. The project-based aspect of this idea encourages mastery and lifelong learning. This model also is more reflective of what their future workplace tasks will look like, giving them experience and practice for what is to come. 

There are a few potential hurdles that are associated with the Genius Hour concept. The first is how you will grade the project or process. Luckily, the website LiveBinders provides a number of rubrics that can be used: https://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=829279. Most teachers decide to grade the process, as opposed to the final product. 

Another obstacle is getting faculty and parents onboard with the idea. You can address this by sending letters home, inviting them into your classroom, posting updates on your blog, and inviting them to the student presentations. 

You will also have a few students who just don’t feel like doing this type of project, and don’t take advantage of the set aside time. The key to help get them involved and interested is to speak with them personally about their desires, and link it to the project. You can do this by talking to them about their lives, and try to uncover their true passions (which maybe they didn’t even know they had!). 

I use Zoom on a regular basis in my class, which is completely virtual.

I have found that Zoom has many benefits. Students can come to class using their computer, phone, or tablet. They can connect from anywhere that has internet, not just their homes. Zoom allows students to see my face and hear my voice, which increases relationship building. I like that students have the choice to share their video, share their voice, or write in the chat. Students who are painfully shy can still participate without using video or the microphone which leads to increased participation. Zoom allows me to share my screen so I can navigate the internet and they can follow along. I can also create slideshows to show them, share music, and show videos all in one spot. The chat feature allows me to push out links to websites and videos, surveys, exit tickets, and any outside sources I deem applicable. Zoom also has an annotate tool where I can write and mark up the screen like a teacher would a blackboard or smartboard in a regular classroom. Zoom also allows me to record my lessons and share them to the class so they can listen to them again, or listen for the first time if they were absent. I can create breakout rooms to facilitate small group work, and create polls during class to check for understanding (formative assessment). Students can also raise their hand, react with an emoji, or grab the microphone to speak to everyone. The chat function allows students to ask questions while I speak, answer each other’s questions, or send me a direct message that they don’t want others to see.

Some challenges I have experienced with Zoom involve multi-tasking. When you have a lot of students in a room and they are typing questions in the chat box, raising their hand, and wanting to come on the microphone while you are simultaneously teaching, it can get overwhelming. With time, practice, and experience I have gotten better at managing all of these things at once. Some challenges that still remain have to do with participation. Most of my students sign in to class but do not turn on their microphone or video. My goal is to develop relationships with students, and help them develop relationships with each other. When you can’t see and hear everyone, this diminishes that. Also, when students do not have their mic or video on, you can’t really ensure that they are even there, let alone participating. There are always a few stragglers who don’t sign off after class ends, and you know that they have most likely walked away from their computers at some point and have yet to return. I’ve been working on making my lessons more interactive and less lecture-based in order to reel them in and keep their interest.

Twitter has many benefits as a tool for building professional learning networks Below are some benefits of using Twitter for this purpose:

1. Ability to collaborate with teachers all over the world
2. Receive professional development on a daily or weekly basis
3. Find immediate results to a question
4. Access to experts in the field
5. Personalization of topics and people you follow
6. Promote digital citizenship in your own classroom

Here are some drawbacks to using Twitter for PLN’s:

1. Privacy concerns
2. Information shared may not be backed by credible sources
3. Maintaining and updating social media can be time consuming
4. Social media can become addicting
5. Can decrease the quality and quantity of face-to-face interactions

Despite some of the cons, I believe Twitter should be used as a form of professional growth in education. It is time consuming and monetarily restrictive for school districts to recruit professionals to come in for professional development days during the school year. The access that teachers have to Twitter allows them to find answers to their questions instantaneously. They can also connect with teachers outside of their own school and around the world to gain a more well-rounded view and advice. Teachers can also connect with experts in their field who may not be available in-person. Twitter also give teachers the ability to create a network that is personalized to their needs and subject area. Instead of generalized information, they can hone in on specific information and people who would support their continued learning.

US Department of Defense. (2017). flickr. Retrieved April 3, 2023, from https://www.flickr.com/photos/39955793@N07/36334911114/in/photolist-XmMVbJ-oC6pQa-bQsACt-8xz2W3-qbYLqn-ouu9NC-AUiqwx-rmedix-RKn3Nw-oY3js3-oUzXjZ-oC5nZa-2mybF1C-oZPwdv-6XczjF-oVwzvA-SfAKdb-frPiRx-NynnRY-DUdYBu-wP1oiW-SPYfPv-2jeGNE8-aWjxYT-oYR5eF-rSPPxu-BXqVGx-oMjCos-2454gDG-wyQcHA-i6VoVk-QZi7Yp-i6J5jq-rTA1Vo-uKLQ6s-oj2axX-wkbXvt-pfcYTA-wZNFrm-wZKg6J-wZpkaU-xhsNM6-wZMXJw-8vqjaA-xeYa63-wZkuSs-oavpCQ-wk9G3t-wk6YuT-wZuKCx/.

I can see a lot of benefit to using flickr in my classroom. It is a great place to search for images to incorporate into my powerpoint slides, as well as a source for images to create worksheets and infographics. I like the option to filter by copyright restrictions so I know that I am using the image with written permission by the original content creator.

I would use flickr with my students in several ways. I would incorporate it into a lesson about digital citizenship and copyright laws. I think it’s important to give them sources to use for all future projects they create. They could find and use these images to create posters, add to blogs, create slideshows, and even screencasts.

I chose the above photo to share because we do a unit in class about technical schools, and several of my students want to become welders. They could use photos like this in their final projects where they create a presentation that explains what their future career goals are, and the steps they are going to take to achieve them.