Doing Work that Matters
In his 2012 Kindle Single Why School, technology expert and educational change agent Will Richardson argues that today’s schools are failing our students. "We focus on the easiest parts of the learning interaction -- information acquisition, basic skills, a bit of critical thinking, analysis -- accomplishments that can be easily identified and scored," he writes. "Learning is relegated to the quantifiable" (Kindle location 227). To create highly engaged learning spaces, Will believes, classrooms must instead be reimagined as places where students do work that matters with others -- a process introduced by sixth grade classroom teacher Bill Ferriter in this dinner conversation, the third installment in the Engaging Digital Learners speaker series run by the Surrey School District outside of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Questions for Reflection:

  1. Richardson’s vision of a highly engaged classroom is a classroom where students are doing work that matters. If we were to survey the students in your school, would they believe that the work they are doing in school really mattered? Would the adults in your school answer that same survey differently? How does this disconnect between perceptions about "work that matters" keep teachers from creating highly engaged classrooms? What makes it so difficult for practitioners to create the kinds of participatory learning environments that today’s kids care about?
  1. Did you ever care about a cause when you were a kid? What did you do to support that cause? Did you ever work to raise money for the cause? Did you ever try to raise awareness for the cause? How did you do those things? Did you feel like your efforts made a difference?
  1. Can you see evidence of students mastering the kinds of core academic skills and content knowledge that are required by curricula guides in Bill’s microlending work? List all of the different content objectives and skills that the students in this project are mastering while doing work that matters.
  1. What kinds of changes would need to be made in order for projects like Bill’s to become common in the classrooms of your school and/or district? What tangible steps can YOU take from your position in the system to make these changes a reality?

Contact Information:

If you ever have questions about transforming learning for the iGeneration, feel free to use the contact information below to reach out for advice. Bill is always willing to help.

Bill Ferriter
Sixth Grade Teacher
Salem Middle School
6150 Old Jenks Road
Apex, NC 27523


Twitter: @plugusin
Blog: / Additional Resources:
Every handout from Bill’s technology book—Teaching the iGeneration—can be downloaded for free by visiting:
The materials for today’s session can be accessed by visiting:
Bill posts the vast majority of his teaching with technology resources on his professional development wiki – which can be found online here: