What happens when you’re in an online Master’s program and summer arrives? Do you go swimming? Tanning? Partying? Sleep in? Or is there something more productive to do during these sweltering months?
USC offers a series of webinars in the summer concerning issues like school finances and web 2.0 technology in the classroom. There is also a summer book club with readings like Front of the Class: How Tourette Syndrome Made Me the Teacher I Never Had, Teaching as Leadership, and Three Cups of Tea.
But what about those students who want to get more involved? Students who want to be Teacher of the Year before they’ve even become teachers?
Here’s a list of tips for those who want to make their summers as productive as possible:
1. Get into the community!
There’s nothing more valuable in education than being connected with community-based organizations, families of your students and the world surrounding your school. Take this free time to make connections with local non-profits, community centers, businesses, faith-based organization, summer schools and any other social groups in your area. The more you make yourself known, the more comfortable other community members will be while working with you, and the more resources will be available to you and your students.
2. Teach Yourself Technology!
Use the summer as a chance to get familiar with the technologies your students are already using. Get a Facebook and a Twitter account if you don’t already have them (both are free). Also, if your computer has any media-editing software like GarageBand, iMovie or such, toy around with them and think about how they can be integrated into lesson plans to keep things more interactive for your students. Get used to your digital camera and its editing software — and don’t be afraid to take it wherever you go; multimedia content is the new key to education.
3. Travel!
Take advantage of not having classes and go somewhere. If you’re not from Southern California, come visit! You can’t beat a SoCal summer and there are plenty of great urban environments here to explore. Or take a trip to another country to give yourself a wider perspective on education. It will make you better understand the conditions in which you learn and teach.
4. Research!
Become well acquainted with educational issues in the United States and the world at large by reading articles and forming questions about what you discover. Broaden your academic horizons! Continue to take advantage of the USC library system and read journals such as Education Week. You can also read newspapers with strong focuses on education, such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Christian Science Monitor, andThe Los Angeles Times. Other publications worth examining include:
- publiceduation.org
- pdkintl.org/kappan
- flatclassroomproject
- curriki.org
- cnx.org
- catalog.haithitrust.org
- gutternberg.org
- getideas.org
- newmedialiteracies.org
- spotlight.macfound.org
- innovation.ed.gov
- insidehighered.com
That should be enough to keep you busy ’til September, but what sites and periodicals are you already using?
Keep adding to this list of educational resources and help other students stay on their toes this summer!
