What’s So Genius about Genius Hour? Our very first genius hour – a glorious mess erupted! I hope you have heard of genius hour or 20% time before and that this will be just an extra post to highlight its amazingness. However, if you haven’t or are not quite sure how to do a genius hour, please read and hopefully be inspired to do it with your students. Genius hour first started popping up in my life a few years ago as I was implementing Innovation Day in my classroom. Luckily some really smart people whom I admire took it upon themselves to even create a wiki detailing how to do it, sharing resources, and answering questions about it. Essentially, genius hour in my room is an hour in which the students get to learn and create something under a certain umbrella topic all within one hour. (Actually this year it has been within 40 minutes, but still…) Genius hour can be applied to any subject area but science and social studies lend themselves particularly well to it in my room.
Before: Discussion is your key. During: After: Embrace Change in the New Year with Genius Hour - Getting Smart by Susan Oxnevad - #geniushour, badges, edchat, edreform, elearning, eportfolios, Innovation. Genius Hour is a powerful movement popping up in classrooms everywhere. The idea encourages students to explore and develop their own passions and creativity. The idea is based on a business practice used by Google’s development team. Google allows their designers to spend 20% of their time on projects that interest them, as long as the work might possibly lead to something that could be developed. Gmail was the result of Genius Hour. Watch this video to learn more Genius Hour Genius Hour Rules • Work stems from driving questions • Research must play a big role • Projects must be completed and shared, ideally globally Genius Hour for Real-World Learning In order to develop something truly remarkable, we must first engage in constructive play driven by passion.
Documenting Genius Hour Genius Hour is not casual learning, it’s inspired, experimental, and sometimes spontaneous. Blogging to Document Genius Hour Exploring ePortfolios to Document Genius Hour Embracing Genius Hour ePortfolios. What is Genius Hour? - Introduction to Genius Hour in the Classroom. Geniushour - home. Introducing Genius Hour - Integrating Technology & Genius Hour: My Journey as a Teacher & Learner. What is Genius Hour? | Genius Hour. What is Genius Hour? Genius hour is a movement that allows students to explore their own passions and encourages creativity in the classroom. It provides students a choice in what they learn during a set period of time during school.
It’s not easy to determine where the idea was originally created, but there are at least two events that have impacted genius hour. Genius Hour Origins The search-engine giant, Google, allows it’s engineers to spend 20% of their time to work on any pet project that they want. Another origin of genius hour projects came from the book Drive by best-selling author, Daniel Pink. Each week, employees can take a Genius Hour — 60 minutes to work on new ideas or master new skills. Genius Hour in Education The same genius hour principles apply in the classroom as they do in the corporate environment. By Angela Maiers and Amy Sandoval. Many teachers are raving about the autonomy that students are finding in their classes, including myself. FREE Genius Hour Workshop Blog. 1 Genius Thing We Did in Our Class This Year | Today is a Great Day for Learning.
This is a post long in the works and one that has seen many different versions prior to me pressing the publish button. I hope you enjoy. Image Courtesy of Denise Krebs This past year I shared with my grade 7 students an exciting and creative project idea I learned about through my PLN (Personal Learning Network) on Twitter. The idea is Genius Hour. I first learned of this term after reading Denise Krebs blog and tweet where she referenced an article titled “Genius Hour” referenced on Daniel Pink’s Blog. Genius Hour is an idea that gave employees in a work place a scheduled autonomous hour out of every week to think, learn, and explore on how to make themselves and their work environment better, more creative, and more exciting to be a part of.
From the blog entry I was immediately struck by how simple the idea is. Free image courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net Denise Krebs, connected this idea to the classroom. 1. 2. What new idea do you want to develop? 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Sincerely, 23 Videos That Sparked Genius Hour Thinking, Collaboration, and Actions | Today is a Great Day for Learning.
In our classroom this year my colleague Gallit Zvi and I used many youtube videos to inspire resiliency, grit , and hope in our students prior to guiding them in formulating their inquiry questions about their passions and wonders during our weekly Genius Hour time. Many of the videos were shared with me through wonderful connections I made with educator learners on Twitter, Facebook, and at various workshops. I love my PLN! However I am proud to say students and teachers in our room inspired each other too. Some of our work is shared on this list too. Enjoy the list and please share your own favourites! Sincerely, Hugh McDonald 1. 2. 3. 4. 15-Yr-Old Kelvin Doe Wows M.I.T. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. Like this: Like Loading...