The Common Core: Making the standards fun & successful with mysimpleshow

Although the Common Core Standards were a done deal a few years ago, their effectiveness and impact started an educational discussion that has lasted until now. How can the learning achievements of kids and teens who are so individual be standardized?

That’s the challenge given to teachers who have to find new ways to approach a standard-based education. At this point, some educators might think “Yikes, I have to overthink my lessons now” whereas the other ones might think “Yes, I’ll have to overthink my lessons!“

Sure, while teachers should always be curious and motivated to find new and effective ways of teaching, there may be some who are not. But the Common Core Standards did add to the common teacher’s already full plate, and some view it as pressure, while others view it as motivation. The most pressing questions became: How to lead students to the standards? How to make them curious, how to keep them motivated, and how to let come lessons alive?

In any case, these standards determine what students need to know until the end of a school year, but do not dictate how teachers should teach the material – it´s up to them to become creative. And guess what: We believe that mysimpleshow is a perfect tool to address the individual skills and needs of students to provide the necessary information and achieve the Common Core Standards – whether it’s about history, grammar, literature, geography, math, and the like.

One reason is the power of technology: meaning apps, software, online games, and devices such as tablets or laptops, which can be helpful towards maximizing the success of the Common Core standards. Strictly speaking, technology is able to push students’ engagement up from 29% to 72%.

Another reason is that every student is able to work on their own project – at their own individual pace, choosing their favorite topic, and eventually ending with a distinct result. How do earthquakes originate? What is Nathan the Wise about? What was the evolution of man? And why did the Thirty Years’ War actually happen?

Whatever issue a student decides to make a simpleshow about: He or she is responsible to do the research, to filter out the most relevant facts, and to visualize them so the images and story are comprehensible for their classmates. Viewed in that light, the Common Core Standards also have a positive impact: They enforce educators to rethink lessons and teaching methods, resulting in coming up with new creative ways which might optimally be much more attractive to students than the conventional, old-school classes.

And see, there´s also another good thing about these standards: Across all states teachers can now share resources, ideas and experiences which have a common basis. So, go out and spread the word about mysimpleshow or exchange cool ideas about using this tool to reach the Common Core Standards with others 🙂