Why a lesson plan?

This year we have decided to change the format of the #ispasuperteachers competition from submitting projects to submitting ONE Wow lessonplan. Why did we decide to do this? 

Projects can be time consuming

In the past teachers were taken through a whole project  design and development process using ICT (Information and Communication Technologies). This was quite a lenghty process and the project was implemented with learners over a period of time in their classrooms. As it was quite time consuming, both the planning and development as well as the implementation of the project, quite a lot of teachers felt that they did not have enough time to implement their projects properly. Some teachers worked on their projects for quite a few years, fine tuning it every year and they usually managed to eventually get into the list of finalists! 

We have to teach our lessons ANYWAY!

So this year we decided to make it easier for teachers to enter. As we all have to teach our lessons ANYWAY, submitting any one of our lessons is far more achievable in our busy teaching schedules. Most of us are using ICT in one way or another, either during the creation or the implementation of our lesson plans, so it make sense to open the competition and make it more accessable to ALL teachers. ​If you or your learners are in any way using laptops, cellphones, tablets, audio players, interactive whiteboards or any other form of tech, apps and gadgets, in any way, now is your chance to enter what you do and how you do it as a lesson plan for the competition. It should not (nessasarily) take you any extra time, unless you REALLY REALLY want to win! 

Learning from one another

We know that some teachers are just starting off and others are doing mindblowing things with tech with their learners in their classrooms. ​This competition caters for both newbies and over achievers! As there are two categories, newbies and teachers with limited recources do not have to compete against gurus and well resourced teachers. As teachers will have a chance to share and soundboard what they are doing with their peers in the competition, you will learn an amazing amount from everybody and get some fresh ideas by looking at what others are doing. 

For this purpose we created a social learning Facebook group. Not only can you use it to trouble shoot any isues that may crop up, you can also learn more about different kinds of lesson plans and how we can use all the existing as well as new teaching models and frameworks to enhance our lesson plans. You will also get a chance to evaluate your own growth as an ICTchampion using your tech superpowers.

Your lesson plan can inspire others

Lots of teachers are still scared to use ICT in their classrooms. Tech can be tricky and daunting. By creating tech infused lesson plans, your lesson plan can be used by other teachers in the future. It can give them some ideas and inspire them to innovate and dabble with different tools and apps to make their lessons come alive! All lessons will be made available freely as open education resources, after the competition for others to use in their subjects and topics. Your lesson plan may be just the thing to encourage others to start using ICT with their learners. 

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So what are you waiting for???

If you have not entered yet, get on over to the registation form now and start by just entering a lesson plan idea. You know what you will be teaching before the June exams. Pick any of the lessons that you feel best demonstrate how you use tech and tools in your classroom for teaching and learning.