My First Reaction to 20Time

**Note for non-student readers. This post is a sample for my students.**

My initial reaction after I began researching 20Time was hesitation. The project sounded great, but I wondered if I could pull it off. Giving students that much autonomy can be scary for a teacher. The thought of all of the planning was a bit overwhelming; then again, I love to do that kind of thing so it was also invigorating. Since first discovering the project idea, my thoughts have changed from hesitation to excitement. I'm really enjoying it so far. The most difficult part of the process so far has been explaining it to the students. It's so hard to put into words, and the creators recommend that you avoid giving examples initially. I felt like it was very hard to explain this to students without examples. The best part of the process so far has been doing the project along side the students. I like the idea of doing my own project so I know what the students are facing. For some reason, I especially like using Google Classroom. This is my first attempt using it, and it's very user-friendly. I will definitely continue to use it next year. Here is a screen shot of my Google Classroom:

As I proceed through the project, I anticipate organizing my time being a challenge. There is a lot going on at once with this project, and it's easy to do the "fun stuff" first while the more difficult tasks get pushed back. I'm so excited about this project that I have told anyone who will listen. I'm not exaggerating. I've told my daughters, my husband, other English teachers at MHS, English teachers at other schools, teachers of other disciplines here at MHS, etc. Students have the option of working with a group or alone. I have always struggled with what to do in these situations. Working in a group creates some additional stress and puts tasks in other people's hands. Sometimes I'd rather just do it myself so I know it gets done. Then again, working alone can be overwhelming. I think for this project I would prefer to work alone. Overall, I'm excited about 20Time, and I'm looking forward to starting the actual project!