These are exciting times in education. Never before have we had so many tools, access to so much information and connections to so many quality educators.

That’s my biggest excitement about being a teacher.

It’s also my biggest challenge.

For more than two years, I’ve written the Ditch That Textbook blog twice a week trying to equip teachers for these realities. With a quickly changing world, education is changing just as fast. I’ve tried to provide tools, techniques, strategies and ideas — one blog post at a time — to help teachers prepare for and adjust to it.

But I wanted to do more. There’s only so much individual blog posts can do.

I wanted to create my manifesto on creating the classroom of the future, the education system of the future.

I wanted to create a complete compendium of ideas and practical resources that teachers could implement right away.

So I did. My book, “Ditch That Textbook,” is complete and almost ready. It’s off to the printer this week, and you’ll be able to get your copy very soon. (I’ll let you know here just and on Twitter, Facebook, Google Plus and Pinterest when it’s ready on Amazon. Or sign up for e-mail updates at the top right of this page and it’ll be delivered right to your inbox.)

It’s being published by Dave Burgess Consulting. You’ve heard of the book “Teach Like a PIRATE”? Dave Burgess, the author of that book, is now publishing like a pirate! He’s giving passionate teachers an opportunity to spread their message from a big, big platform. I’m grateful that he and his wife, Shelley, are helping me spread my message.

To be clear: If you downloaded my ebook called “Ditch That Textbook,” this isn’t a printed version of the same thing. This book is brand new, goes much deeper and is more complete than any of the ebooks I’ve written combined.

I’ve been fortunate to have leaders in the education world praise the book already:

• “Ditch That Textbook is a well-executed, high beam dismount from inert teaching.” — Rick Wormeli, Assessment and Middle-Level Instruction Expert and Author, “Fair Isn’t Always Equal”
• “Ditch That Textbook is filled with real-world advice for teachers looking to make their courses relevant for today’s student.” — Jeff Charbonneau, 2013 National Teacher of the Year
• “This book is perfect for any teacher who is looking for inspiration and ideas to move beyond the traditional model of educator in order to make teaching more engaging and learning more impactful.” — Adam Bellow, eduTecher Founder and 2011 ISTE Oustanding Young Educator of the Year
• “Ditch That Textbook provides the most developed process for moving from a textbook dominated pedagogy that I’ve seen thus far.” — Jon Corippo, CUE Rock Star Teacher Camps Founder

Here’s what you’ll find in the book:

Why Go Digital? — In this section of the book, I write about the advantages and challenges that today’s digital age presents to teachers and students. I write about free access to people and ideas, efficiency, empowering students and real-world skills as reasons to embrace this new world of teaching.

Ditch That Mindset — Schools haven’t changed a lot in the last century, and many of the ways we perceive education and what it should do haven’t changed either. If we rethink how we view and do education, ditch what doesn’t work and keep what’s serving students, we’ll be positioned to provide relevant education for years.

Ditch That Textbook — This section is the heart of my message. I ditched my textbooks years ago and started teaching with materials and strategies that best served my students. In this section, I present practical practices and ideas that will help you shape your classroom.

Ditch That Curriculum — Whether you have a rigid, specified district curriculum or no real guiding document, there are ways to take hold of the framework for your classes. This section spells out how I molded my curriculum and gives ideas to help you remake yours as well.

As soon as the book is ready, I’ll share a post with quotes from the book so you can get a sneak peek of what it looks like inside.

I’m so excited for teachers to get a copy of this book! It’s everything I’m passionate about and everything I think teachers need to face this new world of education.

Let’s “Ditch That Textbook”!

For notifications of new Ditch That Textbook content and helpful links:

• like Ditch That Textbook on Facebook
• follow @jmattmiller on Twitter
• follow Ditch That Textbook on Pinterest
• join the Ditch That Textbook community on Google+, and
• follow +MattMiller16 on Google+!

Interested in having Matt present at your event or school? Contact him by e-mail!

Matt is scheduled to present at the following upcoming events:

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