Student Stories is here!!

Woohoo!!! I cannot wait to begin using this with my classes! I can already see how this is going to be a huge motivator and engagement tool for the kids in my particular context. They'll be so keen to share their work, that I imagine we'll have to get their families used to seeing rushed, messy, incoherent work at first! Whoops. But they'll soon realise this makes them even more accountable, so they better do a damn good job of it! 

Released today, families will be able to follow along with their child's learning, seeing their growth in real time, rather than just a few anecdotal reports here and there. It can be also be used as a prompt at home, for kids to share what they've learnt during the day (cos we all know how easily they forget things, unless it was that awesome Yu-Gi-Oh card they traded for...). We can move on from those conversations that probably go something like this:

Adult: Welcome home, kid! How was school today?
Kid: Meh...

I'm sure there are more words in the kid's response...

Not only that, but Student Stories is something that can be used easily by kids! You can continue doing whatever teachery things you're up to, whilst they log on and do it all themselves. Take photos, record videos, add in their own reflections and comments. Once approved by you, these will be instantly shared with their families. It opens up to students a sense of responsibility and enables them to take more ownership of their learning. They can quickly share their work, rather than waiting for you to display it, then dragging their families in to see it briefly after school.

From a specialist teacher's point of view, it also helps me to showcase what students are learning in my lessons. I don't get to see the families as often as their classroom teachers do, and opportunities to share work are often few and far between, usually at parent-teacher interviews or acquaintance afternoons. This is going to be super handy, as a lot of the lessons we do are hands-on, so at the end of the year, there isn't a lot of work in their books. Families would definitely be confused about that, wondering what their kid is learning when there's nothing to show for it.

Am definitely going to have to make sure my iPad is fully charged for each day! As if ClassDojo isn't already draining it enough with how it's used currently (not that that's a bad thing!), am probably going to have to plug it in when it's not in use (for those few minutes...).

Super exciting new feature! Head on over to Student Stories for more info :)