#DitchThatTextbook Chapters 1-3

When I got this book in the mail I read the entire thing in one days. The ideas were spinning and I was thinking of all the things I could do differently in my classroom. I don't rely on the textbook much in my room already so ditching the book wouldn't be that much of a stretch for me.

So I thought I'd go back and reread the book and post my thoughts and ideas here.

Section 1 Why Go Digital? Chapters 1-3

This section was excited for me because I am the technology integration mentor for my school. I'm the first one to try new technology with my students and I love sharing my experiences with others. I've done some backchanneling with students before but after reading this section I'm excited to try it a little more. Do you know what backchanneling is? It is like a chat room for your students to discuss material as you go through it in class. I've always used Today's Meet for that, but like I said I haven't done it a lot. My takeaway from this was the following quote:

In school, I was that student who didn't really speak out a lot. I have changed a lot as an adult but still don't say a lot in big crowds of people that I don't know. Backchanneling is a fabulous way for you to encourage those students to share their thoughts with everyone.

Because of our limited technology in the classroom we have always used the backchannel in groups. So I would allow group to discuss ideas and then share their take away in the chat group. Our elementary school should be getting a BYOT network this coming year so my students will be able to bring their technology from home. This would allow every student to be able to directly contribute something to the conversation.

Are you reading the book? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it as you read. If you want to link up check out the linkup below. Can't wait to hear what you guys think of the book.

An InLinkz Link-up