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!?

Accelerated Innovation

Yesterday was a great day for thinking about the future and realizing the possibilities of applying educational technology beyond school.  In the morning I attended a great meeting at the San Mateo County Office of education (http://izones.org/#) which consisted of teachers, administrators, stakeholders, and other individuals and organizations that want to see an accelerated integration of technology in school and beyond.  Technology that students will inevitably need not only to be comfortable using, but to be competitive and successful problem solvers in the future.  A group of students from The Bayside STEM Academy (http://stem.schoolloop.com/) did an incredible job showcasing what engaged and energized students are capable of accomplishing.  They wanted to talk, they wanted to share, they were comfortable presenting in front of adults and they were proud of their accomplishments.  They had already used design thinking (http://dschool.stanford.edu/) to tackle problems and develop solutions for their projects and they were excited to discuss upcoming projects they'd be working on.  The premise of the meeting was not only to showcase the incredible things students are accomplishing, but to help create a network of educators, administrators, and anyone else with a vested interest in students succeeding in a growing technological world.  Ideally through this network those involved would give and get ideas and help support efforts accelerate innovation in our schools and beyond.

Back at school I met with my afternoon classes and my head was spinning thinking of more and better ways we could be using technology at our school site.  One small step I am taking is creating a TED-Ed club consisting of 5th graders that will meet  one day a week after school.  http://ed.ted.com/clubs 

In the evening we hosted a parent technology information meeting.  I work at a Title I school and overall the demographic is low income. There was a promising turnout of about twenty parents and they were very appreciative to find out what technology their children are using at school.  They were also receptive to hearing about programs students could be using at home too.   It was informative for me to see the lack of internet connectivity some students have at home.  We were able to help some parents who didn't have email accounts set up free ones.  Over all I thought the meeting went very well and we are going to host two to three more meetings before the end of the year.  Having parents involved and invested with what's happening at school will also help bring accelerated innovation beyond the classroom.

Not a bad short week!  Now looking forward to enjoying the long President's weekend!

Thoughts on tools for implementing CCSS

"Best practices" is an educational buzz phrase I've heard tossed around  for many years. It makes sense. Take what's working, concentrate your efforts there, and enjoy seeing students grow and flourish.  But it seems like next best curriculum materials are initially clamored over, with professional development days tossed together highlighting potential sure fire results and then as quickly as these fixes emerge they sink back into abysm as another curriculum contender surfaces and the cycle repeats.

During the sixteen years I've been teaching, no doubt, there has been some strong curriculum adopted. Unfortunately such curriculum loses support when a trendy new fix emerges.  With all  the hype and controversy surrounding the new common core state standards, I think techniques and tools are going to be the ticket to disseminating growing and dynamic content with students.  It seems like teachers and students will be able to wade through vast arrays of information together while collaborating and concluding together what is most important and needs to be delved into further for deeper understanding.

The idea of students driven to guide their own learning is utopian for sure.  Striking a balance between developing foundational skills that need to be explicitly taught while helping students figure out which way to adjust the rudder, pointing themselves on course for their future, seems like it may be the challenge of really getting the CCSS widely accepted, off the ground and running. 

With solid tools and techniques in place for sharing content and curriculum adapting to the new CCSS may seem less daunting.  As I've been working with a 5th grade student I've seen the value of using an  app like frolyc.com to quickly create lessons that are both personalized and high interest along side lessons that are necessary for building foundational skills. 

My high school English teacher, Mr. Rex, would put a different quote on the blackboard everyday to discuss (yes...I said blackboard...the kind with chalk, not blackboard.com) and this is one that always stuck with me:  “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.” 

― Pablo Picasso

It speaks to the need for a foundation and what you can build on it once it's there.

Personalization Possibilities

It is exciting to see the progress the student I'm tutoring is making with writing.  This week we worked on a lesson about skateboarding I designed with https://www.frolyc.com/.  The more personalized the lesson is the more engaged the student is and the more writing he produces.  This week he even wanted to go back and add to his answers to make them more detailed by connecting to the information he already knew and the new information he read!  Usually he is in more of a rush to get through the lesson.   I'm really impressed with his increased attention and desire to do well.  It's very exciting to see the increase engagement when lessons are relevant and personalized.  I think I'd like to experiment with him actually authoring one of our upcoming lessons!

Weaving with the CCSS

This past week I've continued reading about various Ed Tech topics and am looking forward to participating in the dlt3 MOOC https://courses.mooc-ed.org/dlt3/preview that is starting.  With such a boom in educational technology I hope it gives some insight into how to figure out what direction is best.    I also created another activity for the student I tutor using the Frolyc app https://www.frolyc.com/   For this activity I used the topic of photosynthesis and tried to incorporate a couple of different common core standards (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.7 & CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.5.9).  One thing I really liked about the activity was seeing the student go back to the two different passages about photosynthesis to compose a short answer to a comprehension question and to create and label a diagram showcasing what he learned about photosynthesis.  As a precursor to the activity he watched a short YouTube clip about photosynthesis.  The activity took 20 - 30 minutes to create and the student was engaged throughout the activity.  When he was finished we went back through the activity and he reviewed his answers and explained his diagram to me.  I really like being able to create high interest activities quickly.  Next I'm going to put together an activity about skateboarding.  Having personalized activities keeps the student a lot more interested during our tutoring sessions.

Looking forward to a short but productive week!

2nd Post...Moving Forward

I thought I'd follow up on last week's post and try to keep the momentum going!  As part of of my aspiration to become more involved with a global ed tech community I signed up for a MOOC https://courses.mooc-ed.org/dlt3/preview

I've also been reflecting on some of the successes I've had integrating technology this year.
 One app I was introduced to and have used with success both with a summer school class and a student I have been tutoring is called Frolyc.  https://www.frolyc.com/  This app allows me to differentiate instruction and easily design a mini lesson to use with a small group or individual student.  Recently I used the app with a 5th grade student I've been tutoring.  Using the umbrella of reading comprehension I broke the activity into three parts.  First, the student had to read a passage about Cross-Training.  Next, he answered a couple of open ended comprehension questions.  To end the activity he drew and labeled activities he'd include in a cross-training program for himself.

 What was really awesome to see was how engaged he was with the activity.  When I asked him how he felt about the activity he gave me a thumbs up, a big smile and asked if we could do another one next week.  One of the tools he really liked was the text to speech recognition so he could listen and follow along with what was being read.

Well that's two posts!  Here's to a 3rd!

Aspirations

After teaching 4th and 5th grades for 15 years I had the good fortune of becoming a Technology Resource Teacher at a K- 5 school this year.  So far the position has been both exciting and challenging.  Designing computer skills lessons for upper grades has been one of the most interesting parts of the job.  It is inspiring to see how engaged and motivated students are by web based tech tools and educational programs.  One of the biggest challenges has been equity or equal access to technology.  The computers and devices that students have access varies some from classroom to classroom and vastly across the district.  As a classroom teacher with limited access to technology I had to find resources that I could use whole class such as projecting the daily free BrainPop animation if it was at all relevant to anything we were learning about in class.  Now I find it exciting to research and integrate technology that can help develop tech skills and compliment the lessons students are working on in their classrooms.  Even though the technology varies from classroom to classroom all students are able to visit the Computer Lab on a weekly basis, the computers are connected to the internet and in decent working shape.

I've been reading a lot about educational technology, following a lot of educators on social media like Twitter, attending some online courses and webinars and attended a CUE and Launch conference.  Beyond trying to soak in as much inspiring knowledge as I can  I haven't been as active as I could in connecting with other educators.  As the remainder of the school year dips towards June I want to continue to stay current on developments and best practices in Educational Technology and become more active participating in online ed tech chats, blogging and connecting with other educators to gain and share ideas.

Here's to 2014 Aspirations!