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.

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!?

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.