In this video I'm gonna be reviewing Matt Miller's book Ditch that Textbook
If you're looking for some inspiration and specific strategies for how to
become a more innovative, creative, future-focused educator, you're definitely going
to want to check this book out. Matt Miller's first and most popular book
offers educators a roadmap for how to break free from a textbook mentality and
begin innovating in their classrooms. Written in plain spoken English with
folksy humor, anecdotes about real-life, and pithy insights into the antiquated
nature of our education system, Miller's book is primarily aimed at the
tech neophyte, but there are plenty of nuggets to keep the more experienced
tech educator engaged and interested. My name is Sam Kary and this is my Youtube
channel for the New EdTech Classroom! I
started this new YouTube series to do reviews of books that have influenced me
as a teacher, and have changed the way that I teach. You might be surprised to
know that I was actually a pretty late adopter of education technology in my
classroom. I've been teaching for 10 years and it took me about six years to
really start using innovative practices around technology. Along my journey as an
educator I've read a bunch of books about education and a few of them have
really transformed the way that I teach today. Ditch that Textbook is
definitely one of those books. The author of the book, Matt Miller, spent over ten
years teaching Spanish in a suburb in Indiana, and then ended up publishing his
first book, Ditch That Textbook. He's also the author of two additional books and
another book that is forthcoming that i'll be taking a look at in some future
videos. Today Matt Miller is an education technology consultant, he speaks at all
the major education technology conferences, and he also runs his blog
Ditch That textbook, and has his own YouTube channel as well. According to my
reading there are five different takeaways from Ditch That Textbook. The
first and most important theme is that textbook teaching is an antiquated
mentality. One might be forgiven for approaching this book and thinking that
it's just going to be chock-full of different strategies for how to integrate
more digital media, and strategies for education technology integration in your
classroom. In reality Miller is making a much broader argument about teachers
freeing themselves from what he calls "pedestrian teaching practices" and be
more open to experimenting, innovating, taking risks, trying new technologies, all
in service of being a more authentic, more effective teacher for students.
The second major takeaway is that the best educators stay connected. Here
Miller argues that to be a really effective innovator in education
teachers should be reading other teacher blogs, reading books, participating
actively on Twitter, all in the name of continually learning and growing.
For Miller staying connected also means following what's trending with students
so that you can integrate some of those practices in your teaching. He uses the
example of integrating Minecraft into education. Of course the same could be
applied to different social media sites different video creation platforms like
Tik Tok. The point is that were continually updating and upgrading our
practices in part based on what is interesting and engaging to our students.
The third major takeaway is that sharing is key. Whether its students sharing what
they've created with the outside world, or teacher sharing their ideas on
Twitter and blogs, and with other teachers that they know, Miller argues
that content is meant to be shared. He feels pretty strongly that one of the
most powerful ways that we can be using technology in the classroom is to expand
our classroom walls and connect our students with other classrooms around
the world with other educators around the world, and basically utilize
technology to expose students to the greater world around them. Similarly, he
implores teachers to share their creations with the rest of the teaching
world for the betterment of the profession, and for the betterment of the
education of our students. My fourth major takeaway from Ditch That
Textbook is that in order to meet the evolving needs of our students teachers
need to be teaching with technology. Here Miller argues that teachers who resist
teaching with technology unintentionally perpetuate the fact that the world of
Education is increasingly isolated from the real world. In the real world,
our students can find the answers to questions instantaneously in a device
that fits in the palm of their hand. In the world of education the teacher holds
the keys to knowledge and the student has to wait for the teachers to give
them that information. He also argues that in the real world students are
recording information digitally all the time but in the world of education we're
still asking them to carry around notebooks, pencils, papers, textbooks you
name it. He's careful not to say that teaching with technology will
necessarily make you a more innovative or more effective teacher, but he argues
that to neglect teaching with technology ignores the way that information is
created and shared in today's world and inadequately prepares students for the
world in which they live and participate. My last major takeaway is that to be an
innovative educator you've got to be prepared to relinquish control, you can't
be afraid to take risks, but at the same time it's not realistic to try to
transform every single thing overnight. Stepping away from the comfort and
structure of textbook curriculum style teaching means stepping outside of our
safety zones and trying new things. Putting students in the driver's seat can be
scary we're gonna make mistakes, things aren't gonna go as planned, and Miller
wants us to know that that's okay. He also wants to make sure teachers know
that just because they're trying to innovate doesn't mean that they have to
do everything overnight. Sometimes picking just one or two new strategies
that you're gonna focus on per year can be much more effective than trying to do
a wholesale rewriting of your curriculum. That said if you do want to go out and
throw your entire curriculum in the trash and rewrite it from scratch, he's
probably not gonna begrudge you for that. Although Ditch that Textbook is
primarily directed toward teachers might know that they want to make a change, but
aren't quite sure how to take the plunge, teachers at all stages of technology
integration can get something out of Miller's book. I've been inspired, for
example, by Miller's insistence to go global with your classroom.
I don't do nearly enough to connect my students with other classrooms and
educators around the nation, or around the world, and Miller's book definitely
has inspired me to try to do that. Overall, Ditch that Textbook is a
balanced blend between specific education technology integration
strategies, along with the bigger argument that he's making about some
changes that are needed in public education.
Underneath the easy-to-read language and folksy jokes there's really a pretty
radical message that underpins his book. The implication of the trashcan on his
logo on the book and on his website really goes beyond throwing out
textbooks. It doesn't take a stretch of imagination to extend the trashcan
metaphor far beyond the old textbooks. In reality Miller is questioning the entire
old system of public education that's been codified by publishing companies,
teacher preparation programs, credentialing requirements, teacher
evaluations, standardized testing, and questioning whether or not we might
consider throwing all of that into the trashcan to come up with something
totally new. Given the dramatic shifts he advocates for public education, it's
remarkable that he's able to make this textbook ditching philosophy seems so
obvious, easy, and inevitable. At times I would have preferred Miller to stay a
little bit more focused on his goal of jolting educators out of their
complacency. The chapter about work-life balance, for example, didn't really seem
for me to fit in with his overall argument. Minor issues aside Ditch That
Textbook is essential reading for any teacher looking for inspiration to
dramatically shift their teaching practice, or for a reminder that the
messy, imperfect, never-ending path toward becoming a more innovative, inspirational,
and better teacher for students is a noble and worthy endeavor.
Thanks so much for watching my video! If you found it useful please hit the like
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