Hacking Digital Learning Strategies: 10 Ways to Launch EdTech Missions in Your Classroom by Shelly Sanchez Terrell

School policy is so hung up on standardized testing results and achieving rigid curriculum goals that we miss teaching students to be modern innovators who solve real-world problems. In this mission, students will identify and investigate a local need, devise ways to improve the situation, and design a class crowdfunding campaign to implement the ideas and make an impact on their communities.
Start by showing your students TED Talks by real students who have made a difference in their communities. They can also study crowdfunding initiatives carried out by other students and schools. This project will require students to study the needs of their community, brainstorm solutions, and collaborate to implement their ideas. They will need to create graphics and videos as part of the campaign. During the campaign, students can take turns managing the social media effort. Shelly gives some examples and advises that you need to set achievable goals.

The Mission Toolkit, located at the end of the book, is packed with templates, handouts, web tools, apps, and resources to print or download. It also includes Mission Cards that list each mission with a quick explanation of objectives. You can print the cards and distribute them to students as a physical representation of their missions. Finally, the Mission Toolkit includes Digital Badges that you may want to share with your students at the completion of each mission.

Shelly is an international speaker, eLearning specialist, professor, and the author of The 30 Goals Challenge for Teachers. She has trained teachers and taught language learners in more than twenty countries as an invited guest expert. She holds a Bammy Award as a founder of #Edchat. Her latest project is the creation of Edspeakers to enrich the field of education with passionate, diverse voices. Shelly’s greatest joy is being the proud mother of Savannah Duncan-Sanchez and Rosco the pug. She has an Honors BA in English with a minor in Communication and a specialization in Electronic Media from UTSA, a master’s degree in Curriculum Instruction from the University of Phoenix, and a CELTA from CELT Athens. She regularly shares her tips for effective technology integration via TeacherRebootCamp.com and Twitter @ShellTerrell.