Summer Reads

I read some inspiring educational books this summer.  Here are my top five:

1. The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros - This book seems to be at the top of the reading list of many educators, and with good reason.  We used this book for our summer book study, and the teachers who read it not only liked it, but were inspired by it.  As the title suggests, The Innovator's Mindset presents ideas for creating a school culture based on innovation and creativity.  Be sure to check out the Innovator's Mindset website for additional resources.
2. Empower by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani - For me, Empower seemed like a sequel to The Innovator's Mindset - or maybe the 'how-to'guide.  Empower offers practical tips that the authors used to transform their classrooms from teacher-centered to student-centered.  This is a fast and easy read with lots of good ideas.
3. Shift This! by Joy Kirr - Similar to Empower, Shift This! is a 'how-to' guide for transforming your classroom.  Middle school teacher Joy Kirr talks about how she shifted her classroom to a place where students took more control and were excited to learn.  What I especially like about Shift This! is that Kirr broke down each change into small, manageable parts, and encouraged teachers to make small changes over time rather than become overwhelmed by trying to make too many larger changes at once.
4. Making Your School Something Special by Rushton Hurley - Similar to the other three books I mentioned, Making Your School Something Special presents ideas for making your school become a place for innovation, exploration, and creativity.  This book offers several good classroom learning activities that are easy to implement.  It also offers a framework for evaluating learning activities by dividing them into four categories: powerfully memorable, generally effective, weak but easy, and waste of time.  This is another fast read with many good, practical strategies.
5. Learning First, Technology Second by Liz Kolb - Unlike the other books on this list, Learning First, Technology Second focuses on effective and authentic classroom technology integration.  The book promotes the use of The Triple E Framework for creating lessons in which technology engages students, enhances learning experiences, and extends learning opportunities.  What I like best about the book were the Case Studies describing exemplary lessons created and used by classroom teachers.