Ensuring All Students Learn Until the #LastBell

May is next week.  Can you believe it?  We are literally staring summer in the face.  This is the time of the year when teachers and students are able to return to lessons and activities students want to to explore more or to look into trying new things before leaving for summer break.  Coming to the conclusion of my first year as a district EdTech Coach, I have been reflecting over my year and brainstorming ways in which I can both best support teachers and continue my own learning.

During the weekly #txed chat on Twitter Wednesday, I was introduced to the #LastBell initiative by Debbie Campbell, and a light bulb went off!  (You can also read her blog post about #LasBell here.)  This is exactly the "thing" we want our students to have during the final weeks of school, authentic, hands on, engaging learning experiences to carry them through their summer.  

I challenge you go use the month of May to join the #LastBell challenge by not only engaging students in learning experiences, but also sharing the learning using #LastBell on Twitter.  New to Twitter?  No worries!  Here is an excellent guide to Twitter for educators.  As I visit campuses, I will share the amazing learning experiences our students enjoy as well.

Need a few ideas to get going?  Below are just a few.  Feel free to share what you are doing in the comments.

#LastBell Ideas

1. Take a virtual field trip.  Need ideas?  eSchool News has you covered with Ten of the Best Virtual Field trips.  Students can explore the world outside of their school building without having to ever leave your campus.
2. Explore the maker movement.  Schedule time to explore our district's mobile maker space in your classroom.  
3. Explore coding!  You participated in the the district's Hour of Code event in the fall.  Now, take time to explore coding further.  Code has lesson plans already prepared to code both on the computer and unplugged.  You may also want to take time to explore Scratch lessons in your classroom