Wednesday, September 18, 2013

UClass Enthusiasm

I continue to be enthusiastic about UClass.  I signed on a couple of months ago to participate in this start-up for a small fee.  Recently some of my PLN challenged my association for a number of reasons--reasons that caused me to make the following positive responses:

  • Adding a disclosure to my blog stating that my blog comments and actions are my thoughts alone (see disclosure at the bottom of the blog).
  • Public acknowledgement that I'm receiving a small fee from UClass.
  • Published posts about beta testing and public/private collaboration.

I continue to work with UClass for a number of reasons.

First, I like working with these facile, young, and energetic start-up founders.  They're eager, excited, and encouraging!  They don't sweat the small details and they're quick to try out new ideas.  I like this fast-action development and response as it feeds my creativity and encourages the work I'm typically responsible for.

Next, UClass has provided an easy framework with which to create and publish multiple lessons, lessons I have to write on my own time to meet new standards and student learning.  I enjoy the synthesis that goes into new lesson writing, implementation, and assessment.

UClass has also provided me with a new team to work with.  As I work with my global team of lesson creators, I'm learning a lot from their creativity, investment, and voice.  These are educators I typically wouldn't work with on a daily basis, and I like the way this opportunity is broadening my lens through their work.

Also, I like being part of a new idea, innovation, and process--I like the energy innovation brings to creativity and share.  Plus, I'm learning about how start-ups work which is valuable information to share and replicate with my young learners as they start-up new investigations, inventions, and explorations during our Maker Station/STEAM work and project base learning.

Finally, UClass is an easy way to share lesson ideas in tight packages with my PLN near and far.  Yes, it's not totally free share, but like any teacher who writes a book, presents at a conference, or publishes articles, the platform allows me to share in an easy way, and it's stepping stone for me with respect to further share, learning, and publishing.

I'll continue the journey with UClass as I continue to embed all the new standards into my current curriculum in student-centered, engaging, blended ways. Take a look at UClass to see if it serves your needs at this time. Also, reach out to start-ups and other tech organizations to get involved if you're interested in exploring this work.  Let me know how it goes.