Create a Classroom Ad Campaign
What does an ad campaign have to do with being a teacher you might ask? Let us share with you why we think you should steal some ideas from the marketing world to help set your students up for success when using technology in the classroom.
The beginning of the school year is the best time to focus on creating a learning culture so that you can get everyone off on the right foot. Teachers who spend time at the start of the year establishing procedures and expectations for common classroom tasks enjoy a more smoothly running class throughout the entire year. Well-defined classroom procedures use time efficiently and, therefore, allow more time for learning. Additionally, procedures decrease misbehavior and disruptions in class since students are less likely to be disruptive when expectations are clear.
Stating your expectations and procedures out loud doesn’t make them magically start happening in your classroom. You’ll need to not only establish and teach your procedures and expectations, but you’ll also need to spend time practicing and reinforcing them throughout the year.
One way to reinforce your expectations is to create a visual advertising campaign. Creating an ad campaign for your classroom processes, procedures, and expectations can go a long way in helping teachers to create a positive learning culture in their classrooms. Teachers can create posters to “advertise” the main classroom processes and procedures. These posters serve as visual reminders of expectations, and teachers can refer to them when correcting behavior. An expectation “ad campaign” will pay off as procedures develop into routines, and students begin to take ownership of the classroom culture while monitoring and correcting themselves and one another.
Here are some posters that we’ve used in our classrooms to reinforce our expectations while simultaneously setting a positive tone and give students clear guidelines that they can begin to take ownership of.
(thumbnail files for posters here)
Many teachers will want to create their own to align with their specific classroom rules and procedures, but feel free to download our posters above and more at www.cmdigitalage.com Whether you create your own campaign or start with ours, the effort will pay off as you build a classroom culture where expectations are clear, students know what to do and start to take ownership of their smooth running classroom.
Patrick Green is the author of “50 Ways to Use YouTube in the Classroom” and “Classroom Management in the Digital Age.” He is also Chief Adventure Officer at Raising a Maker. After two decades working with and learning from students, parents, teachers, and administrators in stateside and international schools, he is living location independent in the pursuit of extraordinary personalized learning opportunities for himself and his family. A YouTube Star Teacher, Google Certified Innovator, and Apple Distinguished Educator, you can follow how work, school, parenting, and play blend for Patrick at @pgreensoup on Twitter and Instagram and can visit his YouTube channel for more tips and tutorials.
Heather Dowd, EdTechTeam Program Coordinator and Dynamic Learning Project Mentor, is a teacher who helps other teachers use technology in meaningful ways for student learning. Teaching English in Japan inspired her to become a teacher and the adventure hasn’t stopped. Heather is a Google for Education Certified Innovator and Trainer, Apple Distinguished Educator, and author of “Classroom Management in the Digital Age” where she encourages teachers to set the learning free with a solid classroom management plan. She is a former physics teacher, instructional designer, and education technology coach who loves talking about physics, digital citizenship, coaching, spreadsheets, and design. She believes that students should have access to current technology in order to connect to the world and be creative in ways that weren’t possible when she was in school.
