Cool When it Clicks

It's been a long time since I've written a post.  After today's tutoring session I was inspired to share my thoughts.  I had created a Frolyc activity to review Scientific Method for a quiz my student was preparing for.  The first page was a quick overview of scientific method, followed  by a YouTube video and then a page for planning out a hypothetical science experiment. After the video I asked what he thought.  He said it made him think about what he wanted to explore and figure out.  I said that was perfect because that's exactly what he needed to do on the next page!  This was the perfect personalized connection, he was excited to continue the activity. He decided he wanted to find out what combination of vinegar and baking soda would create the biggest explosion for paper mache volcano.  As we continued the activity he would stop to say how he was really going to try the experiment with his friend. The authentic excitement was really awesome to see!  He was engaged while watching the next video clip about dependent and independent variables and would pause the video and try to figure out what the variables would be in his own experiment.  Now I really hope he is able to follow through and try the experiment on his own!

And the winner is...Hollywood! Follow up to my Frolyc lesson

Today the student I tutor tried the Summer Vacation Frolyc activity I wrote about yesterday.  It was fun watching him light up and exclaim, "I've been there!" or "That's fun!" while viewing the intro video. Ultimately he chose to visit a place he had never been when designing his own trip.  Before thinking about which destination he would select he watched a video and read an excerpt focusing on three different California locations.  He decided on Hollywood because even though he had never been to Alcatraz, he had been to San Francisco several times.  He enjoyed going to Santa Cruz and liked that option because it was fairly close.  His final decision was Hollywood even thought it was a longer, and he would potentially be stuck in traffic, because he really wanted to see the Hollywood sign and the Walk of Fame.  While composing his answer and working with the map he navigated back to the video and text to verify information.  The common core standard I focused on and samples of the his work are below.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.5.7
Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.

Designing a Frolyc lesson...my process

It's been a long time since I've posted, but I was inspired to write again after I started to design a Frolyc lesson for the student I tutor.  After talking to a colleague about how I put lessons together I decided to detail my process.

• Decide on a personalized, high interest topic.  During our last tutoring session we talked about summer activities.  I decided to design an activity around the idea of  going on a road trip.
• Page 1 - Intro to the topic via relevant text (website), video or a combination of the two.
• Page 2 - Additional information on the topic from alternate sources.
• Page 3 - Quick check for understanding using multiple choice or short answer question.
• Page 4 - More info and set up of main task involving a longer response requiring more critical thinking.
• Page 5 - Pose an in depth question with space for the response.
• Page 6 - Allow the student to show their understanding in an alternate and more creative manner by producing and labeling a drawing.

I haven't assigned the activity yet.  I'll post some "before" screen shots below and follow up with screen shots later in the week once the activity has been created.

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

CCSS, Smarter Balanced, and Renewed need for Tech Skills

Yesterday I designed a lesson for the student I tutor using Frolyc and tried to align the activity with a Common Core 5th Grade standard.  Overall I'm not sure how I feel about the new standards, but if the flexibility is really there for teachers to interpret and teach the standards as they see fit then it wasn't as daunting an experience as I thought it might be. 

https://www.frolyc.com/acdetails/233/

One thing I noticed while facilitating the Smarter Balanced training test last week was a renewed need for basic tech skills such as typing.  When I first started teaching 16 years ago, classes rotated through the computer lab and one of the tasks they worked on was Type to Learn.  Eventually labs closed or usage was reduced due to budget cuts.  With the arrival of the CCSS and Smarter Balanced testing students will need tech skills, including keyboarding skills, in the short term to successfully complete the tests and in the long term to attain technology based jobs in the "real world."  I know typing was pretty much the most useful skill I acquired in high school and I think one of the main skills that is going to help students feel successful on the Smarter Balanced test is having a good grasp of keyboarding skills.  Many of the students voiced that the most difficult part of the test was having to type longer passages. 

Frolyc Recognition and "Testing the Test"

Sometimes life gets in the way, so it's been awhile since I've been able to post.  Since the last post there are two topics I feel compelled to write about! 

First, Frolyc, the iPad app that I use to create personalized lessons for a student I tutor has created some buzz lately by being nominated for an edtech digest award (http://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/) and featured in a education article for the Mercury News!  I still love using this app and the creator is constantly tweaking and updating features making it a dynamic and relevant tool for delivering content to students.

http://edtechdigest.wordpress.com/etd-awards/enter/

http://www.mercurynews.com/san-mateo-county-times/ci_25367875/margaret-lavin-frolyc-hot-new-app-parents-teachers

https://www.frolyc.com/

Next, the reality of computerized testing at the elementary level has arrived.  Last week 3rd through 5th grade classes rotated through the computer lab at our school, getting their first independent exposure to the Smarter Balanced Assessment Test (http://www.smarterbalanced.org/).  Students used a secure browser to take a short training test in ELA and Math to help them prepare for the official California state-wide field testing that begins today through June.  Within that time frame districts can determine when school sites will take the test.  http://www.latimes.com/local/la-me-standardized-test-20140325,0,7010054.story#axzz2wzUuRz8i

As a Technology Resource Teacher I facilitated the 3rd - 5th grade SBAC training tests and was intrigued watching students take the test.  There seemed to be certain degree of excitement toward the new format and it was a better experience, from my perspective, than looking over rows of daunted students with their test booklets and bubble answer sheets.  Still, it was easy to see who was putting effort into the test and who was going through the motions.  Yesterday during our computer skills classes I used Google Forms to get feedback from the students on their feelings towards the new computerized test format.  Overall students seemed to prefer the new format, but some would prefer to go back to the old bubble test! 

Some initial student reactions are below.  We'll see if their feelings change after they take the longer field test and performance task!  http://www.smarterbalanced.org/

Project Based Learning PBL

Yesterday I attended #edcampsv (http://www.edcampsv.org/) at Palo Alto High School. There was an incredible energy in the library the moment I walked in.  Participants were anxious to get to their discussion sessions and with lots of interesting options I decided to attend the PBL discussion in room 204.  I'd guess there were about 20 people or so in the room to start.  I decided to attend this session because I've tried PBL like projects in my classroom in the past and have been astounded by the increased student engagement over traditional lesson delivery.  As much as I would have liked to have had the whole day follow a more PBL like format, it didn't seem possible with such a huge emphasis on test prep and improved test scores mainly due to NCLB.  Specific curriculum was required to be taught and presented with the supporting materials that accompanied it.  Even though there is still debate over how effectively the new common core standards can be implemented it seems like a PBL structure would naturally support standards emphasizing cultivating 21st century learners.  All of the teachers in the room who use PBL were passionate about the process and those who spoke eluded to the notion that there are some challenges to facilitating a PBL classroom, but the effort involved is worth the outcomes.  One of the main pluses I heard repeated many times was the lack of discipline problems in the classroom.  When students are engaged in an inquiry process that they have a voice in designing they are motivated to collaborate and work with a team to experience and celebrate success.  Two other ideals key to effective PBL implementation mentioned were reflection (often via blog) and motivation.  The book Drive by Daniel Pink was mentioned a few times and I ordered a copy http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Surprising-Truth-About-Motivates/dp/1594484805.  It was awesome to spend a Saturday with teachers passionate about improving teaching and learning practices.  I'm looking forward to attending another event soon and I'm inspired to apply some of the ideas I heard to my teaching day.

Smarter Balanced and insufficient infrastructure...

At this week's staff meeting we looked at the Smarter Balanced training tests and scheduling for the field tests 3rd through 5th graders will be taking at our site this spring.  Some teachers who had not spent much time looking at the new assessments were surprised at the rigor of tasks students will be expected to complete.  Especially the lengthy compositions requiring students to construct two to three paragraphs or more.  The shift from multiple choice scantron testing to computer based testing requiring students to navigate multiple types of questions and tasks is going to be interesting for sure...if students are actually able to access the tests.  During our hour long staff meeting, using the Smarter Balanced secure browser, not all of the teachers in attendance could get logged in at the same time.  There were only about 10 teachers present.  I'm not sure if it was a bandwidth issue or what, but if 10 teachers can't have access at the same time, what's going to happen when 60 students are trying to access the system at the same time!?