Digital Discovery Genius Hour Project

Digital Discovery Genius Hour Project

By Joanna Murray

RMMS Teacher

Most students at Rancho Minerva take a unique course called Digital Discover. Over the course of the school year, students in this course have engaged in many projects related to using technology and a problem-solving approach to learning. A main focus, with regard to this course, is having students learn in a very personalized manner.
The latest project that our students engaged in was a Genius Hour project. Genius Hour is a program that allows for students to learn about a topic, or learn how to do something that interests them. Students chose from a wide range of topics. Some became program designers, others built You Tube videos of game design, A large group of sixth graders became obsessed with geocaching. Still others decided to learn to knit, crochet, and paint. One very ambitious 8th grader wrote an entire story and then learned how to publish as a young writer. Another 8th grader loves Japanese culture and decided to learn the language. Some students learned how to play soccer, and techniques of playing other sports, while several learned how to play checkers and chess. Some studied other cultures, and interesting places they would like to visit, including outer space.
To ensure that students would be successful in completing this project, the quarter started with several other tasks including that students learned to identify the difference between credible and noncredible sources. Next, they were challenged to learn search engine techniques. After that, each student built a Google Site. Finally, they each learned to blog, and posted and responded what was, for many students, their first blog posting experience using their Google Site. Along their individual pathway to learning, each student spent time blogging about their experience. Reflecting in this manner allowed for me to hold students individually accountable for thier learning, but more, allowed for students to hold themselves accountable. Though blogging, some even came to the realization that they were not as passionate about what they were learning as when they made their Genius Hour choice, and switched to something more engaging.
Every student was held to the task of experiencing their learning through research, blogging, interaction with the topic, and the preparation and delivery of a final project that they shared with their classmates and teacher.
Reflecting on the Genius Hour project, students at all three grade levels reported that they had a lot of fund learning about topics that truly interested them.