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Pernille Schmidt Ripp

Ripp, Pernille

Pernille Ripp is a 5th grade teacher in Middleton, Wisconsin where she gets to inspire students to take control of their learning journey on a daily basis.  She is also the creator of the Global Read Aloud (www.globalreadaloud.com), a literacy initiative that has connected more than 200,000 students since 2010 through the use of technology.  Her first book will be published this March by Powerful Learning Press entitled "Passionate Learners - Giving Our Classroom Back to Our Students Starting Today." Her work has also been featured by Edutopia, School Library Journal, Learning & Leading magazine, as well as in many podcasts and interviews.  She teaches others how to give the classroom back to students through webinars, as well as how to do student blogging.


Areas of expertise
  •  Connected and Invested Learners 

Workshops

  • The Empowered School - A How-to For Change: Now is the time to change the way our schools are run. A top down approach is no longer the answer and we must engage all of our stakeholders and not just ask for their feedback but actively listen and implement ideas generated by them. Join us as we discuss shifting the power in not just our classrooms, but also our schools, as we discuss the changes we can make to tear down the hierarchies of power and then rebuild it. This workshop is meant to have you question your own hierarchies of power within your district, school or classroom, tear it apart and then help you rebuild it.
  • The Empowered Student - How Technology Can Give Students a Voice: A workshop meant to facilitate change in our classrooms as we discuss the systems that rob students of the power they bring to school and how to start on a journey of change that makes sense for each individual teacher and student. Participants will explore free tools that they can use in their classroom the very next day to empower students and have them make a difference in the world.
  • Passionate Learners - Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students: Breaking the rules is scary within the public school system, no matter how few or many years you have taught. We are indoctrinated about how a traditional classroom should look, starting with our own school days and then on through college classes and early professional careers. When we bring new ideas, or even just trust our instincts, we often think that what we want to try will never really work. What I have discovered is this though: Even the smallest changes can make monumental differences. This workshop is focused on working through the many small changes to bring the passion back in your classroom. We will discuss what to change, from the little to the not-so-little things you can do to shift the responsibility for learning – the joy and wonder of it – to the kids themselves. Whether you are just beginning or well on your way in your teaching career, this can inspire you to break rules, take risks, and eagerly pursue your journey toward a classroom filled with passionate learners.
  • Creating a Passionate Readers Workshop: We have the books to help us do readers workshop but how do we create passionate reading environments? This workshop focuses on all the extra things we can do and implement in our classrooms as we help students become passionate about books and reading. Whether we start small with choice and voice in the classroom, to creating global collaborative projects, passion is easy to re-ignite in reading as long as you have the ideas and the trust in yourself to try them.
  • Global Collaboration to Fit Your Needs: We all seem to discuss the need for global collaboration and get excited when others do it, but how do we bring this into our own environments? Global collaboration isn't meant to make more work for you, but instead meant to engage students and staff in a more authentic manner in already pre-existing learning. Come to this workshop and find ways to fit global learning and global connections into what you are already doing, without the need to be 1to1 or have crazy amounts of technology.
  • The Global Read Aloud - A Story to Inspire Change: Imagine a book read aloud, your class immersed in discussion, students excitedly urging you to read “Just one more page.” Now imagine this same scene playing out across the world, 300,000 students worldwide listening to the same book, all deep in discussion but instead of just discussing it within the class, turning to other students across the globe, reaching out via technology, sparking a global conversation, a global connection; all through a shared read aloud. Come hear the story of The Global Read Aloud, a literacy initiative that since 2010 have connected more than 500,000 students. Be inspired to connect, be inspired to read aloud, be inspired to create your own global project!
  • Personalized Learning - A Journey Toward a Better Way of Teaching: For teachers and schools just starting out on their personalized learning journey, this focuses on all of the small changes that lead to true personalized learning environments. Using a blend of personal experience, story-telling as well as practical how-to's participants leave with ideas they can implement right away for immediate change.
  • How to Do Meaningful Student Blogging: Student blogging is becoming the most preferred way for classrooms to reach out and connect with others around the world. Yet many see it only as a way to create an e-portfolio, but student blogging is so much more than that. This workshop provides participants with the why, the how to, the safety measures and forms, as well as how to how to make it meaningful for all participants.