Class Connect: Because A Lesson Is More Than A Plan
THE LATEST TEACHER APPROVED TECHNOLOGY: CLASS CONNECT
By Jennie Dougherty | English Teacher | edUpgrade’s Director of Teacher Innovation
When I first alpha/beta tested this program back in July I could see its potential, as well as the fact that it was having an identity crisis, and didn’t really know what it wanted to be. Suffice it is to say, I was thrilled to continue collaborating with the genius mind behind this program, Eric Simons a member of ImagineK12s first cohort and a recent high school graduate who lives in Silicon Valley building insanely awesome edtech apps! This is always a point I like to bring up with any of my Juniors who doubt their potential. Since releasing the alpha version of Class Connect, Eric has made strategic pivots and redesigned every last line of code to meet the needs of the educators who tested class connect’s earliest iteration. I have never witnessed a more thoroughly responsive developer/entrepreneur. Today, it is my pleasure to honor his program Class Connect with the distinction of being a Teacher Approved Technology.
Class Connect is a web based application, which means that you can use it from anything that can access the internet-no downloading or installation required (score!). This application allows educators to gather, organize, and share their entire curriculum-from the documents, to the documentaries to the awesome digital resources our students deserve. Here’s a quick overview of the reasons Class Connect earns the distinction of being Teacher Approved:
- Recognizes that a lesson is more than a plan
- Gives me a place where we can save and organize all of the content required for the 21st century curriculum.
- Makes Curriculum Design a Rewarding Experience
- Saves time! gives you back the time you would have spent emailing lesson plans to admin., copying documents from lesson for students who were absent, and scheduled for working collaboratively with colleagues.
- Students and Teachers can be better protected from the content that lurks around the edges of the valuable digital resources we want our students to access, analyze and ultimately create.
- Save money would have spent on binders and paper…for more specific details see previous post
- Provides a catalyst for making every classroom a blended learning environment.
- Makes it easier for every teacher, and thereby every student, to use digital technology and digital materials. – It will help us defy the dismal stats. from 2000 that you can check out below
- Its free! Yay!
- Promotes collaboration! ***More to come in a follow up interview with Eric!
- Its not going to automatically share your work with the world! I can share my entire unit (digital items and all)
Clip Art Illustrations of Teacher, Binder, Computer and Stacks of Books are from Discovery Education’s Clip Art Gallery created by Mark A. Hicks, illustrator.
