Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level

Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level Because innovation deserves more than one hour a week. You've heard the complaints too many times: When am I ever going to use this in the real world? Why are we learning this? When are we going to learn about something interesting? But what if your students came to class excited? What if they were passionate about their projects? What if they grasped the connection between today's work and tomorrow's careers? In classrooms across the nation, innovative teachers are employing passion-based, open-source learning to improve their student's education. In Pure Genius, Don Wettrick encourages teachers and administrators to collaborate--with experts, students, and one another--to create interesting, and even life-changing opportunities for learning. You'll discover: Innovation brings a fresh approach to solving real problems Creative ways to work within the constraints your current budget and system Courses that offer relevant content can inspire students to learn beyond the classroom Collaborating with experts and mentors improves the learning experience for students and teachers Students must be taught and entrusted to appropriately use social media Social media is an incredible resource for inspiration and professional development Innovation is the key to equipping today's students for tomorrow's marketplace. By incorporating the concepts Don explains in Pure Genius, you can empower the next generation to be free thinkers who can create new concepts and products that can change the way we live.

Don Wettrick is an Innovation Coordinator at Noblesville High School, just outside Indianapolis, IN. He is the author of "Pure Genius: Building a Culture of Innovation and Taking 20% Time to the Next Level". Wettrick has worked as a middle school and high school teacher; educational and innovation consultant; and educational speaker. Don is passionate about helping students find their educational opportunities and providing them with the digital tools they need to give them a competitive edge.
Don has lectured across the US and Europe about collaboration, social media use, and work environments that enable innovation. He also hosts an internet radio program, InnovatED, for the BAM! Radio Network.  Most importantly Don works with educators and students to bring innovation and collaborative skills into education.
Don lives in Greenwood, IN with his wife, Alicia, and three children: Ava, Anna, and Grant. You can find him on Twitter @donwettrick where he tweets updates on his student's innovation work.