Hi and welcome to PRAC's Google Apps and Web 2.0 in Education 2010. Together we will explore ways to integrate Google and Web 2.0 technologies into your curriculum. Because this is a PRAC course, we will also use a set of core professional development readings to study district initiatives such as SRBI (RTI), Performance Assessment, UbD and Differentiated Instruction. We will use this and other communication tools to discuss our readings through the summer and next school year. The expectation is that you post at least once about each article plus at least one response to somebody else's post.
I look forward to our discussions!
Cathy
Great course - so many new things I want to try. I thought about Twitter for Middle School but I think I'll leave the tweeting to the High Schoolers. Anxious to try out the other back channels mentioned for Day 2 and Day 3.
ReplyDeleteHopefully one might fit better at the Middle School level.
Pat K
Have to admit I'm a bit anxious going into the project? Just being clear on what to do...
ReplyDeleteI'm still a little unsure as to what I'd like to do for my project. I have lots of technology ideas in my head right now and just need to figure out how to focus in on an idea!
ReplyDeleteI'm learning a lot of new things I didn't know. I'm not really sure what sites I'm going to use yet.
ReplyDeleteI have a lot of project ideas and my mind is swimming with web applications I can use in my classroom. I'm overwhelmed right now by the requirement to write it all up using UbD, RtI and Differentiated Instruction. I'll need to really think through all these elements and all these web tools before I decide on a project for this PRAC course.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited to use some of these tools in my classroom! There are so many options, I really just need to sit and go through the moodle this afternoon and beyond that with some units in mind that might go well with some of the tools. I'm thinking maybe using a voicethread for someo f the corebooks if I can do it somehow with 4th graders. I may also have students crate a glogster as a beginning of the year activity to introduce themselves.
ReplyDeleteMary F
I have lost of great ideas! Thanks! This class is great!
ReplyDeleteThis has been a great course. I think I'll be careful to pick and choose the sites I use with my 4th graders. I'm looking forward to working on my website and my project.
ReplyDelete-Sue
I'm eager to learn more about Google sketch up, to use with my 6th grade students.
ReplyDeleteSummer won't be long enough to absorb all of this new information. Thanks for all the great ideas! Hilary
ReplyDeleteThere is so much, choosing the right tool to use for different lessons/projects is the hard part. Sorry, but I do have a lot of notes (on paper!) Allison
ReplyDeleteThanks for all your comments! I hope that by day's end on June 29, many of you had a clearer idea of how the project should be formulated. The summer readings will help you to get started. As you read each one, highlight the ideas that you can use in your project write-up. That way, you won't have too much re-reading to do!
ReplyDeleteOur first article is on SRBI. Post your comments below.
Thanks for all your comments! I hope that by day's end on June 29, many of you had a more defined idea of how the project should be formulated. The summer readings will help you to get started. As you read each one, highlight the ideas that you can use in your project write-up. That way, you won't have too much re-reading to do!
ReplyDeleteOur first article is on SRBI. Post your comments below.
Hi all. Opened Diigo and found article. Not sure I bookmarked it, but quickly skimmed it. will read it tomorrow. Hilary
ReplyDeleteI did not get the invitation e-mail so I can't find the Diigo PRAC2010 article.
ReplyDeleteRe: SRBI Executive Summary reading. What I noted was the call for districtwide consistency in regards to curriculum, academic and social assessments, and interventions. At NCPS, we already meet with our data teams on a regular basis and we are fortunate to have an excellent support system in place - school psychologists, speech language pathologists, special educators, Instructional Leaders, counselors, and social workers who assist us in analyzing student data and assessing students' progress.
ReplyDeleteThe RTI Manual (including a glossary)that our district is currently crafting should ensure that we are all on the same page while improving Education for all students.
Checking back in.
ReplyDeleteLooking into "Blabberizing" student drawn caricatures with my 5th graders. I was hoping to use them as welcome pages for their new E-portfolios that the VPA is piloting this year.
The terms of agreement state 13 years or older, will this pose a problem with having our younger students use many of the google apps?? Any experience out there? -Deb
Debra,
ReplyDeleteI have the same question about Blabberize. I want to use it with my 3rd grade students. Let's stay in touch on this.
Thanks!
Tom
Hi Deb and Tom,
ReplyDeleteI would recommend that you register for a Blabberize account and supervise your students as they use it. They can each take a turn recording their Blaberized message. I'll look into it more completely, but as long as you are supervising the recordings and they are working on your account, I don't see a problem.
Last October, I was at a conference and signed up for an Edmodo account but didn't do anything with it (typical!) until Cathy mentioned it in an email. I just spent quite a bit of time this weekend watching the video and going through the User Guide - I was impressed! I see it as a great intro to Moodle which our students will be using extensively in High School. there is a search option to see who is using it in our district and I found 3 teachers from Saxe - so I am in the process of contacting them to see if they are really using it or just signed up like I did - maybe they would like to work together on it - you can have coteachers and share students. I'll keep you posted. Happy New Year!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteEdmodo
ReplyDelete-secure and trusted environment
-social learning for classrooms
-easy to share ideas, files, assignments
-no student email necessary
-students can turn in assignments
-polling Annonymous
-share grades with students
-mobile access and messaging
I'm excited to hear that you're planning to experiment with Edmodo. This will give you the opportunity to discuss Internet safety, the potential dangers and pitfalls of social networking sites and to teach kids to use the site responsibly. It's great preparation and background for Facebook use.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't seen it yet, Make Use Of has a great publication on Facebook that might help you develop a lesson on social networking for middle schoolers.
Keep me posted. I would love to be involved.
Check out livebinder.com. It allows you to organize your stuff as if you were using a 3-ring binder. It might be a fun and convenient way for your students to organize project materials or for you to organize your PRAC project.
ReplyDeleteLet me know if you give it a try.
I finally found the blog! I can't wait to write more!
ReplyDeleteIn my previous post I talked about Edmodo, the social-networking site for K-12. The more I read about it, the more I can see this as an effective tool for Middle School students that reflects the world we live in today and prepares then for their High School experiences with Facebook and Twitter. Before introducing this site to my teachers I want to be prepared to answer their questions, "Why would I want to use a Social Network with my students? and How can it enhance student learning?" I found a good article at Edutopia,
ReplyDeleteThe article from Edutopia can be found at:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.edutopia.org/how-use-social-networking-technology
Her are 2 good blogs on Social Networking in School. What better place to learn how to use Social Media in a safe, ethical, and responsible manner.
ReplyDelete"Help Students Use Social Media to Empower, Not Just Connect"
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/social-media-empowers-students-andrew-marcinek
"Making the Case for social Media in Education"
http://www.edutopia.org/social-media-case-education-edchat-steve-johnson
Pat, you were looking for new technologies for your project. Why don't you try to integrate Edmodo? As for talking to your teachers about why they should use a social network, you might want to refer to the writings of Dana Boyd http://www.danah.org/. Her work on social networking is based on the concept that kids are by nature social beings and by keeping them away from all opportunities to socialize, we are keeping them from learning in the way they most want to. She points at social networking as a means of teaching students all sorts of social skills including the ability to collaborate, cooperate, and communicate in an ethical, responsible way. Edmodo can help prepare younger kids for the many social interactions they have daily - and will continue to have with or without us! Responsible educational institutions should be using these tools as a means of guiding students and helping them use social networks safely. Why don't you try to find a teacher who would be willing to pilot with you?
ReplyDeleteI will be going to the CoSN conference in March to talk about online education. Online is the way that many students are earning entire degrees. Online ed is typically less expensive than attending class on a collage campus, and can be just as dynamic. Having touched base with many of you, I know that you are finding the online component of our PRAC course to be stressful. You tell me it's hard to fit into your schedule and you don't really see the point. So I thought I'd share with you why learning and participating in an online environment is important.
ReplyDeleteToday's classroom is multifaceted with learning taking place in school and online. Our students bring with them a wide range of skills and prefer to learn using a broad array of methodologies. They are used to life in the fast lane and are sincere in their belief that they can handle multi-tasking (I believe that they really can't!). What I do know is that kids today like the option to be able to study and work whenever and wherever possible. Some cloister themselves in the library to try to finish homework at school. Others work between practice and dinner, while still spend hours socializing and finally get to schoolwork late at night. For teachers, online options offer endless options for meeting the needs of all learners. Today's responsive teaching and differentiated instruction movements ask teachers to look at each child as an individual. That doesn't mean we have to write an individual lesson plan for each student, but it does mean that we have to consider different learning styles as we offer students choices and options for completing their work.
So why are we blogging? Blogs like this one, microblogs like Twitter and multimedia blogs like Voicethread offer options for students. Some learn and express themselves best by writing, others process best in the quick microbursts offered by Twitter, and still others find the audio or video recordings that can happen in Voicethread to be the easiest ways to learn.
Teachers, like students, learn best by doing and experiencing. I hope that our work with various blogging tools will encourage you to create an online component for your classes that offer rich and dynamic options for participation and collaboration.
Creating a website template on Google Docs...
ReplyDeleteI met with Pat Kimmerling back in November/late October to learn how to create a website template on Google Docs. It was really useful! You just go to create site on Google Docs, pick a background, and then add to the navigation bar. When I was finished, I clicked on create template. Then I named it. I created a website template about the metacognition strategies we use in reading. I had the students use this template to create a website about a book they read at home. I used answer frames from Nancy Boyles to help differentiate for each metacognition strategy. Most students used these answer frames. However, some students preferred to create their own paragraph for each metacognition strategy. Students also redesigned my template so that they looked different. They were able to choose their own background. We ran into a little bit of trouble because some of the backgrounds didn't support the answer frames I created. However, I was able to fix that. I just had to double space the answer frames, and then they were legible. The students kept their websites private but shared them with me. This was great! I was able to go into their websites and give them feedback and fix grammatical mistakes in a different color. Students then invited their parents in to view their masterpieces when they were due. I was so impressed by their hard work!
Creating a Google survey to use instead of a Weekly Reading Log...
ReplyDeleteNormally I use a Weekly Reading Log to track the progress of my students' reading at home. The amount of paper I collect by the end of the year is unbelievable! Collecting a Weekly Reading Log from 45 students once a week for the entire school year can add up to a lot of paper! I created a survey on Google Docs that asks the students their name, how many minutes they read, what book they are reading, and what days they read. This helps me track their progress! I have seen so much improvement in their reading from the beginning of the year, and it is so much easier to track! After I created the survey, I posted the link on my school website. I also pasted the link in a Google Document and shared it with my class. I have the students write in their assignment pads every Thursday that they read ___________ minutes this week. They complete this statement and get it signed by a parent. Then they show their parents their log on the internet. This has been very useful as well! There have been times when students have had trouble logging into their accounts. When this happens, they create a document on paper. Then I send their name to Pat, and she resets their password. I love using this survey!
Joanna did a great job with her students creating their websites. Using a template was a good introduction for her 5th students to Google Sites in LA. It's important to remind students to name their new Site and save. I'm hoping Joanna will share her template and student sites with her colleagues to help build consensus in the effective use of Google Apps with students. Our current 5th and 6th grade students were introduced to Google sites with a Science benchmark project in 4th grade. However, our current 7th and 8th graders were not and so it is up to our teachers to keep the momentum going. I am always willing to work with our teachers when they are introducing a new tool but word needs to spread on how successful the students are when using Google Apps and how something as simple as a Google Form can save teachers hours of work. Thank you, Joanna and keep up the good work - you're an inspiration to work with!
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! I'm trying to get myself back into the blog here...it's been a while!
ReplyDeleteI can see there's a lot of talk with using Google Apps with the kids in middle school. I think it's such a great resource for students and staff. I am trying to get the 4th grade teachers on board to use Google Docs in their classrooms. Some teachers really took to it and other are still using Word as their go to program for word processing. One of the big selling point for Google though was that students can work on it at home and they can also share their work with their teacher so their teacher can make comments and revisions right on their work. So I think with a bit more modeling on my end I can really get Google Docs fully going with the classroom teachers.
It's great to hear how it's being used at the middle school level though so I know what I need to do to help prepare students for middle school. Joanna-- I really like the idea of using Google Apps to monitor your student reading logs. What a great way to keep track! I may talk to the 4th grade teachers about this and see what they think!
-Stefanie
Joanna is doing amazing work with Google Apps. What I love is that she took what we learned together last summer and stretched it by learning to create a website template and designing a reading log using Google Forms.
ReplyDeleteAs you blog about these projects, please include a hyperlink either to your prototype (such as the Site Template for Metacognition) or to a student sample (in K-8 if you can get student/parent permission to publish for anyone to see).
If you decide to replicate Joanna's work, let us know how it goes and tell us about any modifications you made.
@Joanna, process your project through the lens of UbD, RTI and DI so that you can include that in your project write-up. If you can blog about any of those connections, we would all benefit!
To all participants, please use the @ symbol before a person's name if you choose to respond to a specific blog post from that person.
ReplyDelete@Stefanie and Pat: You have both expressed concern about a way to move these great projects throughout the building. At the high school, we invite a teacher (like Joanna) to pilot her project. We monitor the process and the results, make necessary modifications for the next time we try it and ask to present at a team/department meeting. What generally happens at the meeting is that the teacher's enthusiasm translates to interest among team/department members who agree to give it a try. Once several teachers have had the experience and like it, it can then be voted on to become an assured experience.
ReplyDeleteOne thing to remember about assured experiences is that they have to have an "open-endedness" about them that doesn't force people into lock-step. For example, Joanna's template on metacognition is an excellent model, but others might want to use the idea of the template to publish original short stories. The Google form as a reader's log is awesome, but others might want to use the form to gather data about daily reading quizzes.
At the high school, the English department has agreed upon a freshman assured experience that allows students to publish original writing. Many teachers choose to publish student poetry, while others select inner monologues, screenplays or creative writing pieces. Just as students like to be offered choices, teachers like it even more:) So give it a try, keep an open mind, and move slowly but surely!
And to the teachers reading this, if you have a project that you created and love, see your tech integration teacher to offer to pilot it as an assured experience. Our best ideas often come from you!
Blabberize
ReplyDeleteI was looking over the PRAC resources about Blabberize. I think it would be great to try and integrate this for my realistic fiction unit in April! I have the students create character sketches to get inside the minds of their characters. It would be interesting to have the students use Blabberize for their characters!
Links to my survey, template, and student website...
ReplyDeleteHere is a student website that I edited in a different color...
https://sites.google.com/a/ncps-k8.org/anika-orndahl-te-lemonade-war/home
Here is the link to the template I created:
https://sites.google.com/a/ncps-k8.org/mrs-dobransky-s-book-review-on-the-web/home
Here is the link to the survey I created about Weekly Reading Logs:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/a/ncps-k8.org/viewform?formkey=dGt3a2RzMDVoM3dMLVphaUpnYmRVdkE6MQ
Thanks for all of the compliments!
@ Pat and Cathy
I couldn't have done it without you! :)
Wordle...
ReplyDeleteI was looking over the PRAC resources folder and I found the information on Wordle really helpful! I was thinking of trying it for my poetry unit next year. There is a Where I'm From... poem that I show the students. I have them use it as their mentor. I like the idea of cutting and pasting excerpts from a poem and putting it in a word cloud. The students could get copies of the word cloud and brainstorm their own versions of the poem. When they are finished, they could use Wordle to display their poem while sharing it with the class or in small groups.
Voki...
ReplyDeleteI created a Voki and posted it on my website to introduce my students to my website. I think it would be great to have the students create a Voki for a character analysis project or character sketch. However, I think the students need to be 13 to create one. Is that correct?
@Joanna,
ReplyDeleteWOW! You are just exploding with ideas! I love your idea for using Wordle and Voki. As for the age limit, Voki has a video linked to their homepage that boasts about how a teacher is using Vokis in her classroom. Her students are elementary age. So, I conclude that you can create a school account in your name that all your students can use. I wrote to Voki to ask them but they didn't respond.
And thanks for sharing links to your work. These will serve as valuable models for all of us. Keep up the great blogging!
Hi All,
ReplyDeleteI'm just getting back into the PRAC project and I'm remembering that overwhelming feeling I often get when I'm in technology land. I'm going to expand a project I did last year to include more of the Web 2.0 technologies we learned about in this PRAC course to fulfill the unit design requirement. Last year I did the Freshman English assured experience project that Cathy wrote about earlier in this blog. She was right that students were really apt at creating their own websites and that it was a great way to get students' work "out there" in a real way. But last year I only incorporated technology in the final assessment (the website design.) So this year, I'm redesigning the unit to incorporate multiple technologies that can support the writing process and not just the product.
I plan to use Wordle as a tool for both analyzing poems and creative writing ideas. I do like how when the words from a text are jumbled on the page, new ideas or thematic elements can be seen in them.
I plan to use Google Docs as a place for students to read each other's poems and to give feedback throughout the revision process. I have never used a technology-based tool for student workshops before; usually I have them bring in several copies of their writing piece and sit around in a circle sharing and talking. It will be good to try something new and modern, though I do worry that access to computers in school may be a problem and that students may not take it as seriously at home. I also worry that students work won't be "protected" as well on a Google Doc. But I guess teaching students how to respect each other on the internet is the same task as teaching them how to respect each other in the classroom or on paper.
I will also use the Google Websites for students to create their own pages on which they will publish their final poems. I expect these websites to look more like galleries with art and multimedia incorporated. Students will post a YouTube video of them reading the poem and a Voice Thread of them reading the poem.
As I said, I'm feeling overwhelmed by all the web 2.0 options out there. Right now I'm focusing on choosing a few web tools I feel are appropriate for the poetry unit and incorporating them well instead of taking on too much and getting lost.
@ Joanna, I think your Wordle idea with poetry sounds great! It seems Wordle can be useful for both analyzing poems and for getting the creative writing juices going in our own students' writing. I plan to use it in a similar way. Good luck with your plans!
ReplyDeleteNeed Advice with Google Docs:
ReplyDeleteI was looking around Google Docs because I'm thinking of using it with my students as a tool for peer feedback on their writing. Is there a way to "make a comment" or a tool similar to "mark up" like there is on Word? I don't want students to just change another student's work; I'd rather they make suggestions in the margin--is that possible on Google Docs?
@Maggie. Your plans are quite ambitious and I think your students will be thrilled! You can, in fact, insert comments into Google docs. They can click on the insert menu. The comments appear on the far right. You actually have to scroll to the right in some cases to see them.
ReplyDeleteI'm excited that you're thinking of integrating Voicethread. It's so dynamic and offers participants so many options for commenting. Very cool.
@Joanna and Maggie. If you both use Wordle to generate and analyze poems, maybe your students could get together (online and then in person) to work on poetry for a day.
To the whole group: To post a comment, you first have to select a profile. Choose the option that says URL/Name and enter your name. Then click on Post Comment.
ReplyDeleteHints for your final write-up:
ReplyDeleteIn June, we talked about integrating the principals of RTDC (responsive teaching for the differentiated classroom) and RTI (response to intervention) into our final write-ups. Some of you have begun writing up your project. As you do so, give some thought to some of the PD elements we've been working on for the past several years in PD. Viewing your project through these various lenses will help you to meet the PRAC standard to ensure your 3 credits.
Here are some options:
1. An easy way to begin is to use the gradual release model (Chp 3 Fisher and Frey). The four levels are delivering the focus lesson, guiding students in instruction, engaging students in collaborative work, and finally releasing them to work independently.
2. Another option is to use Tomlinson's differentiated instructional models:
Respectful tasks
Quality Curriculum
Flexible Grouping
Continual Assessment
Building Community
How does this project allow you to get to know the individual student? How does it allow choices and options? What types of learners will this appeal to and how can it appeal to a broad range of learners?
3. Use the principles of UbD to write up your unit including enduring understandings, essential questions and performance assessments. UbD also expands on the "six facets of understanding": students being able to explain, interpret, apply, have perspective, empathize, and have self-knowledge about a given topic.
@Cathy: THanks for the hint on Google Docs about inserting a comment. I am much more comfortable using this tool now for revision knowing that students cannot/should not simply change another student's work! I'm psyched now to use Google Docs and fee like I'm finally catching up to my students who use it all the time already.
ReplyDeleteAlso, thank you for the hints about writing up our unit design!
I thought I would be clever and post my latest comment through my voki avatar but Blogger wouldn't accept it because I am not the Blog creator. There were a couple of good ideas on how to have your students create their own Vokis - one was creating a wikispace account and adding the student names linked to their Voki - another was to create a class email account and have the students all use this common account. Or the easiest might be to create a Google site like Joanna did with her Class Memoirs Google Site and add a page for each student to embed their Voki. I will experiment with a class at Saxe and let you know what works best. If you'd like to see my Voki in which I share how I would like to use it with two of my Saxe teachers please copy and paste the link below.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.voki.com/php/viewmessage/?chsm=c6b5538913405b437860d368ee951db5&mId=575567
@ Cathy and Maggie
ReplyDeleteI forgot about inserting a comment on Google Docs! I was writing comments on student work in a different color. I will definitely do that next time! When I teach the realistic fiction unit in writing, I will have the students peer revise on Google Docs too. @ Maggie...That's a great idea! I usually have them complete a "Tell Me How I'm Doing" handout to help them. I think they still need this to help them through the revision process. However, I think afterwards they could peer revise the student work on Google Docs.
I could do the same for poetry when I revisit it. RIght now, my students are studying expository writing.
There were some good ideas for classroom use on the Voki website. Use one as a newsletter for parents, students taking turns to create the Voki. It can really be a great tool to motivate students to participate. For world language teachers who have a Quia account, they could use a Voki to give the quiz directions. At Saxe our 5th grade students do a unit on the Colonies, they usually take on the role of a colonist and perform for the class – a Voki would be fun! Eighth grade students could use Vokis to do their interpretation of Shakespeare for modern audiences.
ReplyDelete@Pat. I love your Voki ideas! Have you decided on your project yet? Any of those would be a really fun addition to the project!
ReplyDeleteI'm wondering if any of you are thinking about integrating a blog into your classes for any reason. Our class blog is completely open, but this evening I added your names as authors so you can see the difference. Blogs make a great reading journal for the class OR each student can maintain an individual blog for a period of time by keeping it private and sharing it only with you. Consider giving it a try - and consider a quick blogging experience for your students as part of your final project.
ReplyDeleteI just began a blog to share with my after school "upcycled art" club. I am now able to share the environmentally friendly work that I do with my students. I welcome followers, comments or contributions. http://upcycledart3021.blogspot.com/
ReplyDeleteAlso, to share how I plan to be using the apps with my students...I hope to have my 5th grade artists create an image using Voki or Blabberize to post on the welcome page of their digital e-portfolios. "NCPS digication" will now enable our students to post their exemplary art and musical works online. They will be taught how to use digital cameras, studio techniques, downloading imagery and using editing apps before posting their work.
ReplyDeleteAdditionally, I plan to have my 7th grades use digital photography and Tagxedo to morph descriptive words with their own self-portrait.
As the Technology Integrator at Saxe, I don’t have one enthusiastic class like Joanna’s to integrate all the great Google and Web 2.0 tools we were introduced to in our PRAC course. Instead I get to work with lots of different teachers who are ready to try something new to engage and motivate their students. Engaging and motivating the students is the easy part. It’s finding a teacher who despite her already full schedule (snow days sure didn’t help) is willing to take a chance. Responsive teachers for 21st century learners need to understand how technology can play a crucial role. All students learn differently, and technology can help us ‘teach up” to each student. Modeling the application for the teacher, sharing how other teachers have created lessons incorporating this particular technology, and showing them how their current lesson can be enhanced with this technology to engage their digital learners is my first task. To convince the teacher that they don’t have to worry about instructing their students on how to use this technology, I assure them that “the students just get it”. Of course, the fact that I will be modeling and co-teaching with them helps. Our students do “just get it”. Their lives are intricately linked to technology. They easily make connections and transfer knowledge, they’re not afraid to try something new or make a mistake; they’re risk takers and eager to learn.
ReplyDelete@Deb
ReplyDeleteBravo! I love all the various apps you are experimenting with. I hope you and your students are having fun! Blabberize is so intriguing for art students since ANYTHING can be made to "talk" just by adding a mouth. Perhaps you could share with the group how we can all access your students' digication portfolios to see their work. I can't wait to see how it all turns out. How do you see these technologies as an answer for the responsive/differentiated classroom?
@Pat
ReplyDeleteAs a technology integration teacher myself, I certainly appreciate the need to share with teachers how important it is to teach kids to be comfortable with technology. While I agree with you that in some respects kids "get it", I think that teachers think that kids "get it" all! But, in reality, they "get" what they "get" and have no idea how much they don't know. Communication comes easily to them, however collaborative skills, publishing techniques, privacy issues, copyright and fair use, online ethics...all of these and more are not a part of a student's repertoire and need to be taught. When I work with students on website design and development,for example, they ask dozens of questions and make lots of mistakes. They duplicate their work in an attempt to correct errors and then have to backtrack to delete part of it until it's right. With just a touch of guidance, they do "get it" and can, we hope, transfer new skills to other aspects of their lives! As you said, Pat, teachers are fearful of giving up too much "teaching" time to learn technology...but in fact, many kids are able to learn this stuff quickly and seem to be far more intuitive about technology than the "teacher generation":)
Hi to all!
ReplyDeleteThanks to those of you who have published and shared your PRAC log to track your 12 hours of additional class time. Just a few guidelines.
Time that counts includes:
1. professional reading on RTI (response to intervention such as the Fisher and Frey book) / Differentiated Instruction (anything by Tomlinson) / RTDC (the NCPS RTDC guidebook)
2. time spent blogging about your readings
3. reading about technology integration
Time that can't be logged:
time spent developing and teaching your lesson since that is essentially your "homework" and doesn't count toward "class time"
Please take your Fisher and Frey book home over break and read it. As you are reading, pause to blog about any segment that is meaningful to you in general as a teacher as well as any implications a specific segment may have for completing your tech integration project. The NCHS library also has a Tomlinson collection. You might also borrow readings from your administrators and team leaders all of whom have a professional library that Mary has given us over the past several years. Feel free to ask.
I've been trying to model my teaching after the model found in the Fisher and Frey books. I find that it is structured a bit differently in a Computer Lab setting as my lessons only last 30 min. But in that case I will just extend each piece of the process over the course of a few sessions. I find that the collaborative work piece has really made a positive impact on student learning as far as technology. Often times the skills we are teaching are brand new for our young students so they can feel a bit uneasy about completing them on their own. But when working together with a partner they are able to work together to accomplish a goal and feel more confident. I find that the younger students are still a bit hesitant to take risks with technology at this age so it really helps when they can collaborate and work together to learn the new tech skill or concept. I'm really trying to ensure that I incorporate that into my lessons on a regular basis. Any thoughts or experiences on the Fisher and Frey model?
ReplyDeleteWith all of this talk about Voki it has really got me thinking that I should be using it with my students too! I think our Spanish teacher would love using it with students to practice their Spanish speaking. Hmmm...maybe that's something we can pilot with one of the Spanish classes to give it a try. Thanks everyone for the great ideas!
ReplyDeleteBlogs...
ReplyDeleteI created 2 blogs on my school website, and I encourage my students to blog on a weekly basis. One of my blogs is about their weekly reading. The students share what they are reading and their thoughts about what they are reading. The other is a "Caught Being Kind" blog. I have the students blog about something kind that they experienced from another classmate. It is part of my PEGS goal and works well with the SAPL framework.
Fisher and Frey Enhancing RTI
ReplyDeleteI was rereading chapter 7 of Enhancing RTI. This chapter is called Feed-Up, Feedback, and Feed-Forward. It is all about progress monitoring in action. Feed-Up is clarifying the goal that is set by instruction. Feedback is responding to the student work. The responses need to be directly related to the purpose and performance goal set for each student. Feed-Forward is where modifying instruction comes into play. This aspect of RTI involves flexibility in lesson plans. Teachers can't necessarily plan a whole week of instruction because progress monitoring might show that a "detour" needs to be made. I used these three components when I had the students create documents and websites on Google Docs. I constantly gave them feedback and used anecdotal notes on my part to "Feed-Forward" my next teaching point with each student. Google Docs made it easier to access student work and respond quickly. The Reading Log Survey that I created on Google Docs helps me to "Feed-Forward" with my instruction in reading class. I can progress monitor their reading at home which helps me to plan my instruction.
@Joanna and Stefanie,
ReplyDeleteGlad to see you're diving into Fisher and Frey. I always find that by placing myself "in" the model (such as gradual release or Feed-up, Feedback, and Feed-Forward), I begin to think in a different way. It almost always enriches my perspective and broadens or deepens my lesson plan. And directly blogging about one of the many models offered by F and F or Tomlinson - or one of the many readings on RTI - will help you as you work on the final write up of your projects.
I'm reading a book called Retool your School. It's all about Google Apps and it's fabulous. I'll be blogging about it as well next week.
p.s. I'm writing a book with two partners and am presently working on the Google chapters. If you have a lesson plan that I might be able to include, let me know and I'll try to work you in! You can be famous when I sell a million copies and appear on Oprah! (Oh...that's right, Oprah is giving up her show!...Oh well, I'll write fast!)
I met with Stefanie on Friday to review her plan for her final project. Stefanie works with K-4 students and is a believer in teaching up! She decided to have her tiny little second graders do a Google Earth project AND record their map with a narrative. The kids used the recorder on Google Earth and as they moved their map, they talked about what they had posted and why. Stefanie plans to send these podcasts to the parents so they can experience the maps for themselves. I far too often hear the term "developmentally inappropriate" referring to teaching over kids' heads. It was never a part of my teaching vernacular and I was never disappointed in my efforts to push kids slightly beyond their comfort level. In fact, the kids loved being treated as if they capable of much more. So hats off to Stefanie! I love love loved watching those tiny little girls and boys working with a technology that sometimes stumps our high schoolers! Way to go, Stef!
ReplyDeleteOn another note, Stefanie and I met to discuss how she should write up her final project. I thought it might benefit all of you to read what we decided would be best. Stefanie has read Fisher & Frey and will use their terminology to write about her lesson. She will call it a unit with 5 or 6 individual modules each module fitting into one part of the gradual release model from chapter 3 of F & F. Stefanie decided that rather than discuss and write about the entire second grade, she would select one section as her course study group. The group she chose really requires no modifications, so she will add a section to her write-up defining the modifications she made for students in other sections. Stefanie is working on her unit now which included a pre-assessment of technology skills and she is designing some kind of final assessment piece to finalize her writing. You can contact Stefanie or enter questions into the blog for her to answer regarding how she modified.
ReplyDeleteHere's my formula for succession submission:
As you write about your work, be thorough. I use the stream of consciousness method and just write about anything that comes to mind: process, student reaction (add quotes), questions I had while working, ways that the work fits our district PD model, changes I would make next time, assessment models ...the list goes on. Add lots of detail and don't spend lots of time writing and rewriting. Just put it on paper, clean it up quickly and submit it to me.
WOW! I'm blown away by what's happening in the middle east. Here is a link that I can't stop watching. It's a website that links together all the twitter feeds from each one of the potential "domino" countries. Warning: when you start watching the tweets that arrive every 2 seconds, you'll find it hard to drag yourself away.
ReplyDeletehttp://blog.simplek12.com/education/21-signs-youre-a-21st-century-teacher/comment-page-3/#comment-9920
I just wrote a short article called The Facebook Generation: the power to change history. I'll keep you posted if it gets published. Not sure I'm a strong writer for publication...but I submitted it to find out. Anyway, the reason I mention it to you is because we have to get the word out that our kids need to learn to use social media to be powerful rather than to be silly or mean. Web 2.0 can no longer be a choice...but I'm not sure how to get that message to people without sounding like I'm the bully. So let people know whenever and wherever you can. Kids need to use this stuff in a controlled environment like school! And as teachers, we need to make that happen:) (See how easily I can sound like a bully! LOL!)
Cathy is now leaving the soapbox! Enjoy your week off. I'll check the blog throughout the week for feedback on any topic.
I'm working on the Google chapter of our book and am writing about Google spreadsheets. In doing this work, I took the time to really explore Google Spreadsheet gadgets (in the Insert menu). Check it out for some powerful gadgets as well as some that are just plain fun to use! I'm pretty excited about what I'm seeing and how much kids could benefit from these gadgets, especially as we try to find ways to teach up to every student and to differentiate our instruction. Check it out. I'm here if you have questions.
ReplyDeleteInvitation: Would any of you be interested in getting the group together one last time to talk about what we've done and learned, and so share our progress on final projects? I can meet on many Wednesday or Thursday afternoons. We would have to begin at 3:30 to accommodate late dismissal schools. RSVP.
ReplyDeleteCreate a comic book using your own photos! Very cool especially given the popularity of graphic novels! Check it out!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.pikikids.com/
I sent you an email regarding the next step in blogging: Voicethread. Please read the email and post to the VT blog. Here's the link:
ReplyDeletehttp://voicethread.com/share/1760074/
Listen to my introductory comments and then, add your own.
Thanks. (Posting to the VT is a course requirement. You can use your phone to record.)
My PRAC project will focus on the Glogster lesson that I taught in coordination with two 7th grade science teachers.The student’s task was to adopt an element from the Periodic Table then to create a baby book to remember each stage of the element’s life. The Baby Book would be displayed in a digital poster format – Glogster. As I am re-reading the Fisher & Frey book – “Enhancing RTI”, in particular Chapter 3, “Quality Core Instruction”, I see where I might have fallen short on the principal of first and foremost – establishing the purpose of my instruction. This was brought to my attention by one student’s reflection. Students were asked to reflect on the project through a series of questions in a Google Form. One question asked the students, “This is the first time 7th grade science students have completed this project; do you think there are ways to make it better?” One student responded, “I think a way to make it easier for them would be to introduce them to the program beforehand so that when the project comes around they will know what designs they like and how to put everything together already, so they will have more time to fill out the information and get relevant information to add to the project.” Of course I did this when it was my turn to instruct the students in the Computer Lab after they had completed their research. But I know now that, sharing the example of my Lithium Glogster should have been done before they even started their research. In this way, they would have understood the reason for the lesson and what they were expected to do in order to accurately perform the task. By introducing the techniques (language) they would be required to use, some new like uploading and embedding, some reinforcement like saving images as opposed to copy and paste would have insured that students would know what they had to do with their information.
ReplyDelete@Pat, I heard somebody say (during a TV interview)that he had learned much more from his mistakes than from his successes! Those of us working in the tech ed field can attest to that! I'm sure we make more mistakes than most teachers since the technologies we use change every few days!I love your lesson plan and wonder if you can share some of the Glogster posters with all of us. And as you write up your project, it will be useful to all of us to see what went wrong and how you will restructure the plan next year to correct for that. I'm happy to see that Fisher and Frey helped you to find the missing link. I can always improve my work using one of the many PD models we've studied over the years. Thanks for that.
ReplyDeleteOn another note, your comic strip was hysterical. I'm going to set up our blog in a different way so we can all use embed codes to show off some of this stuff.
Fisher & Frey state, “If all students are to meet the high expectations we hold for them, they need access to high-quality core instruction that enables them to marshal previously learned concepts to reach new understanding.”
ReplyDeleteHow can we realize this goal - by using the Release of Responsibility Model. F & F list a series of instructional routines we can use that are integral to quality teaching. I’ve already discussed establishing purpose in a previous blog comment.
Teacher modeling is another critical component, here I have the opportunity to demonstrate my thinking when using a particular technology. I always give my students choices and listen to their suggestions on how they perform a certain task. For example, Copy & Paste, maybe they like to use the Edit Menu, or maybe they like to Right Click, or maybe they use the Control keys +c and v. As I model the lesson, I talk about doing a task in different ways – there is no right or wrong way but I might prefer one method over another because it works best for that particular task.I encourage students to make connections, to use their prior knowledge, if they can perform a certain task in one application – will it also work in this application?
In my students’ final project, creating a Glogster for their adopted element, we ran into a snag. Students were able to upload images into their Glogsters but the Drawing Tool for Glogster was only available if we purchased the premium edition. How could students insert their drawing of the Bohr Model of their Element (a Final Project requirement) into their Glogster? This was the perfect opportunity for students to observe a problem-solving strategy – if we couldn’t draw in Glogster but we could upload an image – why not scan their drawings, save them as images then upload. This served the dual purpose of showing them good problem-solving strategies but also instructing those that didn’t know, how to scan, save, and upload.
Fisher & Frey state in the RTI book, “The absence of guided instruction necessitates supplemental instruction.” Guided instruction, the next component of the Gradual Release of Responsibility Model, is the time for me to differentiate and respond to the diverse needs and strengths of my students. Some students already have a plan set in motion and know exactly what they need to do to demonstrate what they have learned. Other students have done their research, have their notes, but don’t know where to begin. I first need to check for understanding, I’ll have the students refer to their project organizer and the task requirements, we then take a look at the rubric to see exactly what they need to do to successfully complete their project. By asking clarifying questions and using prompts and cues, I can help them to focus on the required tasks. Good feedback on what they’ve accomplished so far and encouragement to persist is all they need sometimes. The next step is to work productively with their peers. Students almost always work collaboratively in my lab whether it’s discussing the research they’ve conducted, what websites or books they found most helpful, or how a particular strategy worked when using technology. According to F & F, when students interact with one another and with the content, they consolidate their understanding. If students do not have this opportunity to collaborate, they might need more intensive, supplemental instruction.
ReplyDeleteThe Differentiated Classroom by Tomlinson
ReplyDeleteI've been rereading this text to help me with this course and my teaching. There are so many wonderful ideas in this book! It also suggests a wonderful website called Primary Source Learning. The link is:http://www.tpsnva.org/tps/students/
This website has fantastic FREE ideas and lesson plans to use in your classroom for any age group. I was browsing the poetry section and found a wonderful lesson using April Rain Song by Langston Hughes. Students generate poems about something in nature that is important to them. They try using personification. More advanced learners could try creating a haiku as well. Some learners may want to draw a picture or create a photo journal to support their poem. Some learners may prefer to perform their poem. This supports Gardner's Multiple Intelligences for kinesthetic, spatial, and interpersonal learners.
Another great idea that was suggested by Tomlinson was Digital Storytelling. An idea I had was to use this idea for my memoir unit. I could create a memoir about me as a dancer when I was young as an example. I would include slides of my performances and me teaching dance. I could also include slides of my dance shoes. Students could then turn their memoirs into a digital story.
@Joanna, I'm a fan of Dr Tomlinson's Differentiated Classroom book. I'm glad you share that sentiment:) Maggie, you might find some interesting twists for your students' journals in the online Primary Source Learning site.
ReplyDeleteAnd Joanna, I wonder how you integrate your dance into your classes? Some interpretive poetry perhaps??
Check out Pat and Joanna's posts on our Voicethread and please add your own comments, thoughts and questions as you read and experiment with all these new technologies.
@ Cathy - I have had students create movement to poetry in the past. I've also had students perform poems. It's a lot of fun! I taught them songs this year that deal with the concepts we learn in class. It's quite silly, but the students love it! I made up a song for DRP strategies using the tune to YMCA and another song to the tune of 500 miles that discusses using Golden Bricks. My desire to be a "ham" is endless. :)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I was so nervous when I posted my comments on Voicethread! I hope everyone can understand what I meant! I explained what I was talking about on the blog yesterday too.
The Differentiated Classroom by Tomlinson
ReplyDeleteChapter 8 of this book has so many wonderful ideas! It suggests using centers during teaching to help reinforce concepts and give students individual support. Tomlinson always stresses how important it is for students to be self-sufficient. This way teachers are available as often as is necessary to work with students individually. Centers need to focus on individual learning goals and should vary from simple to complex. I use centers in writing class. I have activities for spelling, vocabulary, homographs, grammar, and writing. Students participate in book clubs during reading class. This lends itself to the "center" structure. Each group is reading a book on their level and is completing activities that challenge them. This gives me the ability to work with groups individually. Tomlinson also stresses the importance of meeting the needs of students who need to be challenged in your classroom as well.
Tomlinson often shares activities that other teachers use in their classroom. One teacher discussed how she created an anchor activity called Math Kingdom for students. This corner of her classroom contained extra credit brain teasers for students who finish early. She gets crowns from Burger King. Each week, the student who gets the most of these brain teasers correct gets to wear the crown. She teaches middle school but says the students still wear the crown proudly. I tried that idea in my classroom. I created an anchor activity called Main Idea Kingdom. Students can take an article from Main Idea Kingdom and complete it for extra credit. I use articles from Scholastic or political cartoons for kids. After the students read the article or political cartoon on one side, they complete three columns on the other side. The columns are: What does it say? What does it mean? Why does it matter? I launched this activity in the beginning of the year by discussing deeper meaning in text. We read Yertle the Turtle. After discussing the main idea and theme of the story, I explained to students what an allegory is. Then I explained why Dr. Seuss wrote that particular book. We completed the three columns I mentioned above for this story.
Tiering activities is also helpful for differentiating. I tiered my book report websites by giving the students the option of using my template as is and completing an answer frame for each metacognition strategy. Students that were more comfortable with this technology changed their background and didn't use the answer frames. One student even linked her main page to a video chat with the author of her book.
ReplyDeleteLearning contracts are also discussed in this chapter. Learning contracts are a negotiated agreement between teacher and student that gives students some freedom in acquiring skills and understandings that teachers feel are important.
I use a Think Tac Toe grid as a performance assessment at the end of the shared reading experiences my class has. For example, we just finished Tuck Everlasting. Students need to complete projects that form tic tac toe on their grid. If they do this, they will be analyzing different aspects of the story. I got that idea from a text called Differentiating Instruction with Menus. There is a different text for every subject. I use the one for language arts.
This chapter also shares other wonderful ideas. Compacting encourages teachers to assess students before beginning a unit of study or development of a skill. Problem based learning places students in the active role of solving problems. Group investigation focuses on student interest. This strategy carefully guides students through investigation of a topic related to something else being studied in class. Choice Boards puts different assignments in permanent pockets. Students make a work selection from a particular row. This way teachers can target work toward student need. However, it allows students to make a choice. 4MAT focuses on teacher response to students' learning profiles. Based on several personality and learning inventories, 4MAT hypothesizes that students have one of four learning preferences. Teachers who use 4MAT plan instruction for each of the four preferences during the course of several days on a given topic. Some lessons focus on mastery, some on understanding, some on personal involvement, and some on synthesis. All students take part in all approaches based on the belief that each learner has a chance to approach the topic through preferred modes.
Thanks for listening! I hope everyone is enjoying their vacation!
This past week, I participated in a Webinar from the School Improvement Network entitled, "Surefire Strategies for Learning how to Learn."
ReplyDeleteThe presenter asked - Do students have the big picture of their learning? He then posed questions for students: What is the big idea of what you’re learning in class today? What is the thinking skill you are learning in class today? What is the key question your learning is helping you to answer today? How can you use what you are learning today in real life? Good Exit Cards! If we are providing Quality Core Instruction (F & F Ch. 3) establishing purpose, modeling, guided instruction, productive group work, independent learning, then our students can answer these questions. Students need to see a clear picture of where they’re going and why, what it looks like, and how they’re going to get there.
A final question the presenter asked of students, how would you rate your learning? and Why? Self-assessment. To effectively self-assess their own learning, students must have a clear picture of the target their learning is meant to attain. Teachers can help students in their self-assessment by providing concrete examples of each level of the rubric for that target. Teachers also need to provide instructional strategies that engage students in successfully attaining the learning target. The presenter states that research shows the most effective way to improve student responsibility and ownership for their own learning is through the practice of student self-assessment. Fisher & Frey reiterate these same principles in Ch 7 of the RTI book. They also state that the use of self-assessment not only supports student learning but serves as a student motivator. I uploaded the presenter’s PowerPoint to Google Docs if you’d like to read the whole presentation.
@Pat, Thanks for tying the webinar to F&F! Those kinds of connections are always so powerful. Did you share the Google doc with the PowerPoint slides from your webinar with the PRAC2010 group? If you shared it with me, I'll send it on to the group.
ReplyDelete@Joanna. I can see that Dr. T's work has really influenced your thinking and your practice. I felt the same inspiration as I read her book. Your lessons and strategies are so diverse. Your students must have a wonderful experience since it seems to be so rich and ever-changing. Never a dull moment:) I found the description of the Tic-Tac-Toe lesson to be difficult to invision. Is there a chance that you could create a quick video of the lesson to share with us? If you go to screencastomatic.com, you can screencast every move you make on the computer and narrate it at the same time OR you could just create a quick Flip camera video of the process. (Not a requirement of the course, but a fun and quick way to create tutorials.) If you do make a video for us, (no pressure to do so), upload it to YouTube and share the link. And, as always, thanks for your in depth analysis and implementation plans.
ReplyDelete@Pat, thanks for sharing that info from the webinair. I think one of the things I am constantly trying to remember to include in my teaching is giving students the opportunity to reflect on their learning. I like the examples of questions you shared from the presenter. In thinking about my project I would like to use similar questions to allow students the opportunity to reflect as well as to give me feedback on the project.
ReplyDelete@Joanna, I have to say you have some wonderful and creative ways to differentiate lessons and assignments for your students! I used to use the Tic Tac Toe grid when I taught second grade as a classroom teacher. One way I used it was for their writing homework assignments. I used it as a way to motivate students as well as guide them to try different writing styles. Students were so eager to get their Tic Tac toe and it also helped students to try different things so they weren't always writing about the same thing or in the same style. I'm wondering now how I might be able to apply that strategy to my position now as a technology teacher. My goal for the future is to set up my computer lab sessions based on Tomlinson's models of differentiation. She has suchbgreat ideas for the classroom I would love to see how those might apply to the Computer Lab!
ReplyDelete@ Stephanie
ReplyDeleteThanks! The students do love the Tic Tac Toe grid. I love how it encourages them to use different areas of expertise to analyze the completion of a novel. One of my students is creating a Venn Diagram of Winnie Foster (from Tuck Everlasting) and Charlotte Doyle (from The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle), a commercial for the spring water, and a talk show where she is interviewing Jesse Tuck. I wonder if you could have some sort of a learning contract or learning grid on Google Docs that you could share with your students. It could be differentiated by level and interest. Different students could have access to different learning contracts with details about what lessons or activities you would like them to complete. Pat gave a great seminar on games for the SMART board last year. I used that to create a few SMART games for my students. That could be a station on the learning contract. I make that a station for my center activities. I hope that helps!
@Cathy
ReplyDeleteThanks for the idea about making a video. I wish I had explained it better! I will try to create a video! Thanks!
To all of you, How are you seeing examples of responsive teaching in our blog posts? I'm overwhelmed by the amazing ideas that everyone has posted and wonder how we can relate each of them to our RTI and Differentiation readings. Ideas?
ReplyDeleteIt was suggested by one of our members that we all get together to talk one last time about what we've been doing and experiencing. We can count it toward our 12 hours and it would be so much fun to hear how things are turning out. I know we all end our day at various times, but is anyone interested? If so, I would be happy to organize it.
ReplyDeleteTEDxNYED Conference March 5, 2011
ReplyDeleteWhat do you get when you combine 20 top name speakers on the topic of 21st century education with the 40th floor's breathtaking views and 200 hand-picked attendees??? You get 7 non-stop hours of mind-blowing thoughts bombarding your brain and making you feel like you wish you were at Hogwarts learning to clone yourself so you could achieve just a tiny bit of what these incredible educators have achieved. Talk about feeling empowered, challenged and totally inadequate at the same time! But it was awesome! You'll be able to see the 15 minute sessions on YouTube in the coming days at TEDxNYED 2011. Last year's speakers are there already in case you want a peek (or a peak!).
Innovation, creativity, collaboration, communication, getting linkedin to the global community of learners is wonderful and exhausting:)
I read chapters 3, 4, and 5 of The Differentiated Classroom tonight.
ReplyDeleteTomlinson started one of her chapters with an inspiring quote:
"A really good teacher is someone who knows that a student can teach and a teacher can learn, integrates him(self) or herself into the learning environment, literally taking a seat among the conglomerate of desks, proving that he or she enjoys associating with the minds made of sponges, ready to absorb, appreciates that what one thinks and says is more important than what one uses to fill in the blanks."
Krista, Age 17
I can relate that quote to my teaching and to myself. I think it is so important to remember that we need to be open to learning from our students. I can remember some teachers that I had while growing up that definitely did not have that philosophy. I think that made me want to become a teacher even more because I wanted to reach everyone. I wanted every student in my class to notice their growth as learners and enjoy learning.
@Pat K, I'd love some IT assistance working with a group of 5th graders using Voki. Still can't decipher the embedding codes or extensions that might work on their Digication portfolio welcome pages.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't mind meeting together to share ideas and reflections in-person if other people are up for it.
ReplyDeleteI've been reading Enhancing RTI and will blog soon!
@Cathy - I would like to get together again – just let me know. Thanks
ReplyDelete@Stephanie - Joanna mentioned SMART Board games in one of her previous comments, you can access these games by going to the Teachers N drive. Look for the folder SMART Board then SMART_Games_Tools then Games. Have fun! On another note, I hope I can see your Google Earth project with your students narrating their maps. It's something I've never done with my Middle Schoolers - I'd like to try it with the World Language students. We have to get together one day.
ReplyDelete@Joanna - I love this quote from Tomlinson’s book! Lucky for me it happens all the time in the computer lab. I blogged earlier that kids “just get it”. Cathy responded that they still need our guidance and I agree. We need to provide them with the why, the when, and the how – how can they can produce and share as good digital citizens. With that said, I have to tell you I’m just blown away so many times when I demonstrate a very basic model and the students just take off with it. I learn something new every day! When I would provide Technology workshops before I came to Saxe, I found some teachers were hesitant to use the tools in their classrooms. They were afraid that students would know more than they did – they felt intimidated. Since coming to Saxe and with our influx of SMART Boards – times have changed. Teachers tell me all the time, “Oh, my students taught me how to do that!” I love it.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThought I'd fill everyone in on the tremendous success I had using Tagxedo. My seventh graders used either a digital camera or photo booth to capture a self portrait. They used adobe photoshop to do minor edits and cropping. They iuploaded the pictures into Tagxedo and applied words to describe themselves. It took a bit of exploration in the "word options" menu to create the designs they were hoping to achieve. Next week we will resize and print these images in color and mount them together into a mural. The kids LOVED the technology and learned a lot about each other. Although my original intent was to use Voki with my grade 5 students, networking issues prevented me from doing so. I am thrilled to have had this success with my 7th graders as the back up plan.
ReplyDelete@Pat Thanks for the tip about the Smart Board games, I will have to check those out! Always looking for new ideas for Smart Board activities. I'd love to show you some of our Google Earth projects. I admit it was a lot to take on but it was definitely worth it because the kids loved the project. Some classes are still in the process of finishing up their recordings. Basically what they did is they put thumbtacks across the map in CT and they marked different types of communities, as well as 2 major waterways, and the state capital. As they made their tour they told facts about each of their thumbtacks. Some of the teachers are planning on e-mailing this trips to the parents so they can see them at home. I'm just amazed though at how easily the kids navigated through Google Earth!
ReplyDelete@Cathy I would like to get together as a group. Count me in!
ReplyDelete@Deb That project sounds wonderful! I would love to see this final product. What a great way to incorporate different technologies and also a great way for students to express themselves and learn about each other.
ReplyDelete@Joanna- that's a great quote and a such an important part of teaching. For me, that too was part of the reason I became a teacher. I think it's important to help all students realize that they have a voice. It really helps them to feel more confident in their learning and themselves.
ReplyDelete@Deb - Yahoo! I'm so glad you were successful using Tagxedo with your students. I'm sure they were excited and totally engaged using this Web 2.0 technology. I can't wait to see them. I know how frustrating it has been working in the Mac lab this year but things are looking up - don't give up on your Voki project.
ReplyDeleteI am finally putting my project together this weekend – next weekend it’s taxes! My main project involves using Glogster with 7th grade Science students to create a Baby Book about an element from the Periodic Table. A creative approach to a rather dry topic. I’ve included copies of the links to four students’ Glogsters below. Make sure you click on Play Buttons throughout their Glogsters to hear their voices and see their videos.
ReplyDeleteGlogster Links
Germanium by Ethan – Mr. Antal – Science Grade 7
http://ethanlandek.edu.glogster.com/germanium/
Copper by Matt – Mr. Antal – Science Grade 7
http://gubenko.edu.glogster.com/mattgperiod3/
Copper by Ali – Mr. Antal – Science Grade 7
http://deambrosio.edu.glogster.com/copper-by-ali-deambrosio/
Calcium by Griffin – Ms. Bennett – Science Grade 7
http://bensci66.edu.glogster.com/griffinp/
Please let me know if you have a problem viewing these Glogsters - it will help me as I put my project together - thanks.
Following Joanna and Stefanie's lead. Just shared using Google docs/spreadsheets with my dept. The share feature is perfect to track our student's progress as they build their electronic portfolios in "digication". This is sure to make monitoring the entries of all 700+ students more manageable as they move between art teachers during the school year. Great resource!
ReplyDelete'
@Pat,
ReplyDeleteUsing Glogster to create a baby book of elements must have been such fun for the kids. My favorite quote was from copper: "When I grow up I want to impersonate Abraham Lincoln". And yes, the videos and podcasts all worked on every poster.
@Deb,
ReplyDeleteThrilled to hear that your entire department is using Google docs and spreadsheets in conjunction with Digications portfolios. Could you be more specific as to how you are using them to track 700 students? Sounds like an enormous undertaking. Do the HS and elem school VPA teachers know about your work?
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI've just returned from a tech ed conference in New Orleans. It was a good time - and the conference was good too! LOL! I don't necessarily recommend going to New Orleans during Mardi Gras week - especially when St Patrick's day falls one week later! YIKES! It was wild! But the warm sunny weather made my day(s)!
I've fallen a bit behind on reading the blog and see that you've all been really busy. Good for you! I'm so excited about the work you've been doing. Deb, I hope you'll post the Tagxedo work online and share the link. I'd love to see what the kids were able to do. I think I'll make one of my own using your ideas.
Stef, you said you'd like to get together as a group. I haven't yet seen anyone else who wants to do that. I would be happy to have an informal gathering any time in the next few weeks. So let me know if the rest of you want to join!
@Joanna,
ReplyDeletePlease feel free to brag about your acceptance to be one of only 30 groups of students and teachers to present your work at the Hartford Legislative Tech Expo. Why don't you tell us what you'll be presenting, who you'll be speaking to, how you'll be spending the day and who will be going with you?
Your online log...
ReplyDeletePlease be sure that your Google spreadsheet log is updated and ready for final submission by April 1.
Looks like several of you are interested in one more meeting. I'll send an email asking when is best in the next two weeks.
ReplyDelete@Stephanie – thanks for taking a look at the Glogsters – I was afraid you wouldn’t be able to open them without the username and password so it’s good to hear that wasn’t a problem.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the project, we asked the students to reflect on their projects using a Google Form. Below are the questions we asked. The students’ responses were very insightful and helpful in planning this unit for next year. And yes, they did have fun!
What did you enjoy the most about this project?
What did you find most challenging about the project?
Describe something you liked best about your own work?
What is something you learned in doing this project that you didn't know prior?
In looking at your final project, how effectively did you use your time to put together a highly creative, information and accurate Element Baby Book? Explain your answer.
I would like to learn more about _____?
When you complete a similar project again, how would your approach be similar or different?
List the best resource you used when completing this project and share why?
This is the first time 7th grade science students have completed this project; do you think there are ways to make it better for the next group of students? How?
@Deb - I saw your students Tagxedos dsplayed in the hallway today - they came out great! I bet they had fun doing it - will these go in their Digication pages?
ReplyDeleteChapter 7 of Enhanceing RTI by Fisher and Frey they discuss the progress monitoring of students' understandings and the importance of data collection along the way to recognize individual student achievement or lack of developing understandings. First they talk about setting clear purposes in your content area studies and a system for monitoring students' understandings of these purposes and ability to apply it to their own work independently. I already have a systems set up in my class room for making clear purposes for writing assignments and for monitoring progress, but this year I wanted to make them more technology friendly, too.
ReplyDeleteSince I'm redesining a poetry unit as my Prac web 2.0 project, I decided to look back at the way I've established purpose and monitored progress in my students' understanding of poetry. I always use rubrics specific to an assignment, but this year I revised my poetry rubric to be very specific to the elements of poetry we would really tackle in this unit (metaphor, imagery, diction, stanza breaks, line breaks and punctuation.) I always require students to revise their writing pieces, too, and use a system in which they re-hand in their poems and can earn more points based on how well they used my feedback to revise their work; they also earn a revision grade. So I revised the rubric and shared it with students at the beginning of the unit. They are already used to this system of rubrics and revising their work, so we were off to a good start.
But I'm trying something new, too. Something that requires less paper and helps me to collect data about my students' understandings of the content we will study...a Google Form! I asked students to fill out a survey in which I asked questions about the content we will study in this unit so that I could see how well students have already mastered the content or if there specific areas of weakness. It was really helpful! I found out that students had a decent knowledge of metaphor and imagery, but really lacked the knowledge of poetic forms we will tackle. Only one student knew what enjambment is, for example. I also found out that only 2 students have published their poetry in a public forum like a magazine or website. So our website design at the end of the unit in which they are required to publish two poems online will surely be a new experience for them!
In all, the Google Form was really helpful in pre-assessing students' knowledge of the content we will study in this unit. I plan to give them the same survey at the end of the unit to measure their growth, too.
Chapter 7 in Enhancing RTI also talks about responding to student work in an individualized way that enables the student to master the content. I think this system I use with students re-handing in work, conferencing with me during and outside of class and using the Writing Center to gather feedback is individualized and useful. One component of feedback I always incorporate into writing assignments is peer feedback. I usually have students in writing groups that consist of various levels of students (mixed grouping) and students aid in each other's development by participating in the active feedback they get in these workshop sessions. Instead of having students print out 5 copies of their work and then throw out all that paper at teh end of class, I had them use Google Docs!
ReplyDeleteThey formed writing groups and shared a poem with the 4 students in their writing group on a Google Doc. Instead of actually changing each other's poems on teh doc, though, I had them use the Comment function on Google Docs.
While this was fun and it did use less paper, I wouldn't say it was more productive; in fact, it felt less productive. Even though I spoke with kids about appropriate comments to make on the Doc and ways to give appropriate and adequate feedback, many of the comments were more rude than usual. It seemed students were willing to say more critical things on the web than they were to a person's face--even after we talked about it! Writing groups have been a challenge for me in this class, though. Maybe this lack of productivity was more reflective of this class culture to share respectfully than of the usefulness of the technology.
While reading Enhancing RTI I also found that the figure on page 16, Perspectives on Learning, and the figure on page 30, Release of Responsibility Model, really spoke to me. In this poetry unit, we will study various famous poet's writing and analyze the poetic devices and form elements that we focus on this unit. It's in this part of the unit design that a lot of "I do" or "We do it" happens. Then students draft poems in which they try the same techniques or attempt to use the same devices and elements effectively in their own writing. In this "You do it together" and "You do it alone" time in the unit there is a great variation in the time students take to complete the work and the time I take to deliver instruction. As I'm checking in with students and monitoring daily progress, I may take a few minutes on the side with one or a few students to revisit a poem we read the day before and recall how the poet's use of metaphor is effective or enhances the message of the poem. In this way, in the "New View of Learning" instruction and time may vary, but the aim is for consistent outcomes. And the idea of gradual release leads students to independent learning. My use of Writing Groups and requiring some students to visit the Writing Center for more one-on-one instruction also supports the gradual release approach. In mixed writing groups, students support each other in moving forward. Students who have mastered the material, gain more facility with the knowledge by explaining it to others and students who need further support to master the material are getting more instruction--either from their peers or other writing teachers.
ReplyDeleteBesides Google Form and Google Docs, I had students use Wordle during this poetry unit. After talking about metaphor and examining it's use in some famous poems, I had students find poems that they like and manipulate them on Wordle. They had fun fooling around with the colors and shape of the word cloud and were surprised in some cases by the words that showed up larger in the word cloud because they come up most often in the poem. They printed these colorful word clouds and the next day in class we set up an art gallery atmosphere in which students viewed the word clouds and then chose one as inspiration for the next poem they wrote.
ReplyDeleteIt was a fun use of a powerful web tool for the writing process. Most students had not used Wordle before. I'm not sure how many will go back to it on their own, but it was really useful for this lesson plan.
This coming week my students will design their personal websites using Google Sites on which they will feature two of their original poems that they've revised and polished.
ReplyDeleteI always get nervous before a big project using technology. Often issues come up that I am not knowledgeable to solve on my own and sometimes it's hard to judge how much time in the lab is necessary to get the project done. I have asked Cathy Swan to join me in computer lab everyday we are there so that I can rely on her and the students for this knowledge! Last Friday when the server crashed and was down for most of the school day, all I could think was thank goodness this isn't happening during my website design days! The fact is, though, that it may and we all roll with the punches as usual, but technology is simply not reliable and leaves me anxious about how the project will go.
When I told students that they were also required to embed a video on their website of them reading one of their poems, the whole class groaned. Especially knowing from the initial Google Form Survey I did that some students worry about how other students will laugh at their poetry or how they fear students won't understand the deep, personal ideas they reveal in their poetry, I worry about how students will treat each other's personal videos. I may change the requirement to allow more choice so students are more comfortable, like not having their face on the screen. We'll see how it goes, but I know then when I was 15 the last thing I would want to do it allow my classmates to see a video of me! :)
On page 111 of Enhancing RTI, Fisher and Frey talk about the power of rubrics as a tool to communicate the expectations for student work and they discuss the power of self-assessment. I try to create ample room in my teaching and especially in my collection of assessments for students to flex their metacognitive muscles. Before handing in their first drafts of poems for evaluation, I had them mark up the rubric and write a reflection explaining why they think certain aspects of their work are strong and to ask questions about how to move forward in developing the aspects they think are weak. In most cases, students' assessments of their own work are right-on! It's really interesting! I find my evaluation of this work sometimes goes more easily because I know students are already acknowledging the strengths and weaknesses that I am seeing. The feedback then becomes more how to move forward than about what's positive or what's lacking.
ReplyDeleteI agree that self-assessment can also work as a student motivator. As students reflect and plan how to to move forward, they are surely more committed to the work and the energy to make progress is really in their own hands. They hold themselves more accountable for their work and it's really wonderful to see.
I like the way Carol Ann Tomlinson breaks down curriculum elements on page 43 of her book, The Differentiated Classroom. She says, "To ensure effective teaching and learning, remember that teachers need to link tightly three key elements of curriculum: content, process, and product." She goes further into describing elements of activities that are also important and necessary for students to learn and understand. As I began processing this information I began reflecting on the poetry unit I've designed and the way that I'm working technology into this curriculum design, but then suddenly realized that this Prac course has incorporated these three elements into it's curriculum design as well! As a student in this course I cannot even describe how important the element of process has been to my learning. As a teacher, doing and implementing, has always been the best ways for me to learn. As I wrap up a lesson or unit, I'm always thinking of what could have gone better and how I will revise it for next time. Given all the variables in our classrooms, many of these outcomes can be difficult to predict and the process of doing is often the most revealing. I feel similarly about technology--I often need to try things out and see how they go to see if it will work for me or work for the product I have in mind.
ReplyDeleteI'll have to keep this process piece in mind tomorrow as students begin designing their webpages. Even with all the planning in the world, nothing quite lives up to jumping in and seeing how it all goes. I plan to learn from the process--even if the server goes down.
Carol Ann Tomlinson's book discusses the many variations students bring to the classroom. Students don't only vary in the level of understanding or intellect they may bring to a specific area of study, they also vary in their interest in the subject matter. Throughout this poetry unit I've tried to keep tabs on these individual variations my students bring to this unit of study and I've tried to differentiate based on their particular needs and interests, but I must say that it's really difficult to keep up. In the Google Form Survey I did at the beginning of my poetry unit, I asked questions about knowledge such as "what is enjambment" or "how are metaphors powerful tools for expression," but I also asked interest-based questions to gage how excited students were for poetry and what kind of energy they would bring to the classroom during this unit.
ReplyDeleteTo my question "what excites you about poetry" I got responses from "I like rhyming" to "poetry is shorter than writing essays" to "what excites me about poetry is that opens up a window to what I'm really thinking and it helps me learn more about myself and my thoughts" to "poetry's endless means of expression provide a world of open portals which allow us to release those repressed feelings inside; poetry itself is the concept of feeling." Wow! How do you accommodate all those different perspectives and energies in one classroom? How do you make the energy of those excited students contagious in your classroom so that the rest of the students catch the energy and inherit the interest? I've tried to create a lot of open-ended opportunities in this unit and a lot of choice so that students could take their energy (no matter how enthusiastic) in a direction that would work for them. But, man, what a challenge!!!
I can't believe the server did go down Monday and Tuesday! I promise I was only joking in my previous blog, but I guess I jinxed myself. But, hey, things happen and kids are resilient. The webpages are moving along and I must say I'm learning a ton! Today, I asked Tom Honohan to show students how to make a You Tube video unlisted and how to embed the video on their Google webpages. I thought that these two steps were going to be ridiculously laborious. I remember a few years ago when you wanted to embed a video you needed to find the video code (I don't know the right terms, but it wasn't just the url) and not every video even could be embed in a website. I was astonished today at how easy this process was! You Tube is so much easier to use and the embedding took only three or four clicks on Google: Insert, Video, from You Tube! It was awesome! I mean, not only could I now do it myself, I could even show students next time! As technology makes progress, these types of things are really becoming a lot easier with fewer clicks and less anxiety for those of us who are trying to learn and keep up.
ReplyDeleteI know I sound a bit crazy here, but as I work with students in using web tools I really am becoming less afraid of it all.