Why We Do What We Do

Yesterday, I was invited to our elementary building to see a 1st grade class using Glogster. I wasn't quite sure what to expect when I got there. I was thinking maybe they would need some extra help. I was thinking maybe they would need some sort of technical support. What I saw was why I do what I do.

The project was to take the research the students had done on an animal and posterize it using Glogster. When I walked in the lab, what I saw was pretty amazing. The first graders had plenty of help. A third grade class who had already used Glogster had partnered with the first graders to teach them how to use it. There were plenty of adults in the room, but they weren't doing much besides providing encouragement and some general guidelines and reminders. The third graders were the true teachers in the room and good ones at that. I saw very little of the third graders doing it for the first graders. There was much pointing at the screen and saying click here. There was much instruction on what each piece of Glogster does. There was much learning going on in that room. Students were helping students create.

It was a truly inspiring site to see. I took a little bit of video and posted it to YouTube here, but I really just wanted to watch. This one simple project made all the late nights, early mornings, missed lunches, time away from my family, etc. worth it. The 'computer guy' sometimes gets bogged down with making everything work, gets stuck in the office for what seems like days, and never makes it into the classroom enough. When we see things that remind us why it is we do what we do, it is a pretty good feeling.