I absolutely love planning lessons from scratch. I just got a job teaching technology units for a summer camp for elementary age students. I can design and teach whatever I want – planning for a different theme each week. Some of the themes I am planning are: Expanding and Showing Your Personal Interests Through Blogging, Photos, and Videos; Coding and Creating Online Games; Tinkering and Making – Simple Robotics; Hacking Your Notebook; and Creating Online Comics, Newspapers, and Magazines. I have begun the process of planning these classes through reflecting on what the lessons will look like. Here are some questions I ask myself as I go through this process:

Will the learning activities provide learners with opportunities to tap into their own personal interests and passions?

Will the learning activities offer the learners the chance to put them “selves” into their work?

Will the learning activities provide learners with opportunities to express themselves using their own authentic voices?

Will the learners find the learning activities engaging? interesting? relevant? useful?

interesting? relevant? useful? What “cool” technologies can be used to help meet both the instructional and the learners’ goals?

Will the learning activities provide learners with opportunities to have fun and to play?

Will learners be able to do at least some of the work independently?

Will the learning activities give all of the learners opportunities to shine?

Will the learners get the chance to share their work with other learners, with a more global audience?