Today's educators are fortunate to have so many free tools available to them. I'm going to do a run down of some of the best new tools available that I think have great potential for the classroom. I chose all of these because of their ease of use.
In no particular order....
1. Kahoot. This is a game based software that allows teachers to create their own quizzes.
What I like about it: It's quick and easy. It's more engaging since I can add images and videos to my quizzes. It's not platform specific, so it can be used on mobile devices, tablets, and computers.
Classroom Applications: Quick formative assessment, exit tickets, check for prior understanding
Caution: If you want to have a project based classroom, using this as described above would be appropriate. Remember that the purpose of software like this is not so a teacher can get out of grading a stack of tests.
2. Kaizena. This is an add on for Google Docs that allows reviewers to add feedback with written or voice comments, or links to information.
What I like about it: This could be a game changer for students. They receive voice feedback from their teacher, which would provide for more authentic feedback and also eliminate the "red pen" fear that we all have. Additionally, it could speed up the writing process with both peer editing and teacher conferencing feedback. It extends the school day.
Classroom Applications: Students can share written documents or slides with other classmates or their teacher prior to presenting or turning the item in so their final draft is well critiqued.
3. Zaption. Take a video from many different sources (YouTube, Vimeo, PBS, TED, etc.) and create a "tour," which is a video (or compilation of short videos). Add interactive features to the videos, like an image or document with further information, and Q/A.
What I like about it: The biggest win for me was that the question and answer of making a tour was beyond multiple choice. Students can even draw responses. It is extremely user friendly and lends itself to questions beyond your basic facts and what might fall at the lower level of Bloom's.
Classroom Applications: If you're flipping your classroom, this is a great way to engage students. I can add students to my groups, and then check analytics to see how many of them watched it.
Caution: See #1. Challenge yourself to not asking any lower order questions when creating these. (It's not hard at all)
4. Thinglink. Upload an image to this site and add "things," which are small icons that link to text, websites, or videos.
What I like about it: It's easy to use and different. It is a good tool to practice the idea of "an image speaks 1,000 words."
Classroom Applications: When you apply Voice and Choice in your classroom, this is a new way for students to present information beyond the ever so popular PowerPoint.
Caution: I've made some things before that had too many links on them, and I've seen some that do not go beyond the Knowledge level of Bloom's. Like anything, try to apply critical thinking when using a tech tool.
5. Easel.ly. Create an Infographic with this site. You can choose from one of the templates they provide or start from scratch.
What I like about it: Infographics are popular right now, and additionally, everytime I've created one, I've done much more research than what I would have done if I were just making another presentation. They're visually appealing and are designed to not only provide data, but to make people think.
Classroom Applications: See #4. This can replace the same old presentation tools, especially in a math class.
6. Geddit. This is a class response system. Students join the class the teacher has set up, then check in to the system. Can be used for a quick check for understanding, to poll students, and for students to provide short answers.
What I like about it: It's very easy to use. Register for an account and setting up questions is intuitive. It's multi-platform, and provides opportunity for teachers to reflect on lessons.
Classroom Applications: See #1. Mostly used for quick formative assessments during a lesson.
7. Smore. This is a poster or flyer designing site. Students can create using premade templates and can be as creative as they'd like. They have options to use pre-designed backgrounds or upload their own.
What I like about it: It is soooo easy, and looks both creative and professional.
Classroom Applications: This is another "beyond PowerPoint" application. Students could present information using a smore. They could also design real world products for businesses. The bonus on this site is that students can share via social media, then identify their reach using statistics built into the site.
8. Vialogues. This site allows teachers to create private discussions around videos, like YouTube clips. Imagine - your class can have their own private discussion online without all of the public comments!
What I like about it: It is very easy and it's a great communication tool. Just pose a driving question, copy and paste in the YouTube url, and publish. Then provide the link to your class. Try it out here.
Classroom Applications: This would be great for flipped classrooms. Hold your class discussions privately, online, with no risk of students seeing inappropriate material or comments.
Caution: Check beforehand that this will be allowed on your school's network. It might be blocked. If it is, be sure to request that it's unblocked. It's a very safe way to use YouTube.
9. AudioBoo. This site records audio, and teacher usually use it so that students can record short readings.
What I like about it: This tool is versatile and user friendly. There's an app for it, and it can be used K-12 with no problems. Because the site automatically generates a QR code for the recording, there are lots of possibilities.
Classroom Applications: Depends on what you teach, but what if you were a music teacher that wanted students to record a performance? An elementary teacher that wanted students to practice fluency? A library media specialist that wanted students to provide a book review?
10. Today's Meet. This site is used to run a backchannel in classrooms, which means questions, thoughts, or ideas can be posted as students are learning material. First brought in as a way for quiet students to ask questions during lectures, many teachers have embraced it to use in additional ways.
What I like about it: I can use this tool without creating an account. If I do create an account, I can moderate content. Regardless, it's easy for teachers to create and students to respond. The backchannel will stay open as long as the teacher needs it to, up to a month with no account.
Classroom Applications: Beyond the lecture example, create a backchannel when students are researching in groups. This will provide one single place for students to take notes. Have a guest speaker? Students can write questions in the backchannel for the speaker to address.
+1 Student email. Sometimes the above sites may ask teachers or students to register with an email address. If students don't have an account generated by the school, do one of these options.
Mailinator: Create fake email accounts. Designed so you can still receive the verification email, but not the spam that comes along with the free account. Just think of any username and add @mailinator.com to the end. Do take the opportunity to teach students appropriate usernames if you do this. It's a good teachable moment.
Gmail +1 hack. No need to recreate the wheel here, so I've linked the directions given by the awesome Richard Byrne. Simply create a gmail account for your class (raderclass@gmail.com), and then add +1, +2, +3 to the end of the username. See Richard's directions for further instruction.
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Monday, July 21, 2014
Innovation Academy
Throughout my experience as an educator, I have been very fortunate to work for a district that encouraged professional development and also to have the opportunity to attend many workshops and conferences both in my regional area and around the country.
I think you'd find few educators that would disagree about the importance of professional development. However, time, travel, and the expenses involved are sometimes inhibitors. Additionally, one-size-fits-all PD can sometimes be counterproductive. Therefore, in response to these struggles, I am very happy to announce the launch of 21 Vision's Innovation Academy.
The Innovation Academy is a series of online professional development offerings designed to engage professional learners in skills for today's students, such as Project Based Learning, the Flipped Classroom, Visual Literacy, and Google Apps just to name a few. All courses are designed to support a classroom that provides not just relevant, but real world learning experiences.
All courses take about a month to complete, and participants will directly collaborate with other teachers in the course and the instructor throughout the month. Courses are offered at a very affordable $125. Check out the link above for course descriptions.
Additional courses will be available very soon, and will always be launched the first date of the month.
Thursday, July 17, 2014
The Importance of Student Collaboration
How can your students benefit from collaboration? As one major theme of the 21st Century Framework, collaborative sites offer the ability for students use their strengths, consider multiple viewpoints, and to truly operate like a professional in the real world. Because all students will eventually grow up to serve on professional teams that may or may not even be within the same geographical area, teaching students to work collaboratively now is of great importance.
The inclusion of collaborative tools in the curriculum provides motivation of students to become more engaged in reading and writing, to think critically, and, therefore, to submit higher quality work. We may have heard about the student that said, "When I write for my teacher, it's just for my teacher. But when I publish online, I'm writing for the world." When the student is writing for the world, they are also allowing contributions through comments and replies.
Not only can the use of collaborative tools incorporate learning across social, cultural, and physical barriers, but it can also provide for an extended school day or expanded classroom walls. Students, experts, mentors, observers, and even the teacher can work together after school hours, which allows others to build upon their present knowledge through collaboration.
My favorite collaborative activity that I used in my classroom was a time that I worked with another teacher in my district to establish what we called "blog buddies." The teacher and I paired our students and taught them protocols for responding, which included "no cheerleading," an idea derived from this article, meaning that "good job!" and "nice work!" were not allowed. Instead, comments and responses had to provide challenges to enhance instruction and the thought process. We saw great potential with this, but we did not anticipate how collaboration would motivate, develop understandings, and contribute to the academic success of all students.
Social networking and collaboration is sometimes frowned upon in classrooms and schools because, let's face it, it's a scary world out there. However, social networking is what students do when they go home every day. As teachers, we have the opportunity to teach our students to safely communicate online. This is an opportunity we must take. Otherwise, students may not learn basic cybersafety rules. This should be an agreement teachers need to make with parents, administration, and our technology and network administrators. If what's really important is the kids, then it's our responsibility to teach them not just our academic curriculum, but also social and life long skills. By collaborating in our classrooms with other classmates or other schools, we're taking control of communications and ensuring safety by following an AUP and previewing all communication before it reaches the other parties. By doing this, we've taken a huge step to keeping kids safe online.
Today's students learn differently than we did. With the rapid advancement of technology, the students we teach today will advance in future careers and positions that don’t currently exist. Employers are urging teachers to include critical thinking, communication skills, and social skills in all disciplines. Working collaboratively enhances each of these skills and encourages flexibility, respect, and shared responsibility. This, coupled with the motivational benefit of working with another classroom or school, creates the case for using collaborative sites in your classroom. Below is a list of my favorites. Make it your goal to try these communication tools in your class this year!
Google Apps for Education: Of course this is first. Collaborate to create documents, slideshows, or spreadsheets. Accelerate the peer editing of the writing process, develop shared proposals, videos, and presentations. Use Google+ to share classroom experiences, and groups to post information. The list goes on and on and on.
Blogging (Blogmeister is my favorite for elementary, Blogger for students with GAFE accounts): Be sure to teach student appropriate communication protocols and it also wouldn't hurt to work with the students to develop a rubric for contribution, such as this one, created by third graders.
Skype: You can find other classes seeking collaboration, great lesson ideas, and even experts to contribute to your real world classroom projects.
Answer Garden: Teachers can easily create an AnswerGarden for students to respond to a question or idea. Contributors get 20 characters to respond, and ideas are generated into a word cloud.
Padlet: Easy site to create "virtual sticky notes" for students to use for brainstorming.
Vialogues: Add a discussion board to any video. Discussion stays private with your class.
Scrawlar: Add your students to your class and work together to develop writing, interactive whiteboard activities, and drawing workspace.
Today's Meet: Create a back channel, but use it for experts and professionals to contribute rather than students in your class. Or, use it in conjunction with Skype or Google Hangout to effectively interview a professional or expert.
Comment and add your favorite collaboration tools so we can add more tools to our toolbox!
Tuesday, July 15, 2014
Don't Get App-Happy
Once I was working with a school district that was implementing iPads 1:1, and I'm going to be honest, I was scared. Having used computers in the classroom for five years, I wasn't sure that a tablet was the right decision.
Let me explain - I have an iPad and I love it. I've told many people that there's plenty of times that I could use my iPad and set my laptop aside. This is usually when I'm looking up some information, checking email, or using Google Drive to organize and create documents. And so I guess, to be frank, I was afraid that the iPads would be used the same way. For productivity rather than creation and critical thinking.
The challenge presented was two-fold. We needed to make sure that technology was not being used for technology's sake, but as a tool in a project based learning environment. The other part was to provide enough freedom in management to allow teachers and students to download age appropriate apps when necessary. The problem isn't really a fear that unnecessary apps would be installed and take up space, but rather, that unnecessary apps would be used and not promote critical thinking.
Because they're designed this way, tablets promote app use. It takes a focus for users to refrain from being "App Happy" and downloading every fun, colorful, free app that's out there. Teachers have to think critically when they see a list of apps about how those uses will enhance and enrich the classroom. Additionally, we have to remember that tablets have a web browser and most of what we could do on our computer, we can do on the tablets. Maybe we only need five apps. Maybe we need less than that. It's not about the number, but what we're doing with them, and we have to be careful that we're not downloading and providing "busy work" to the students just because there's a curricular tie.
This is where the project based part comes in. If we treat technology in every student's hand as a whole group learning experience, we've cheapened it. Following the 8 Essential Elements of PBL, providing students with resources, and promoting the use of those resources to solve real world problems is how technology can make an impact on classrooms. It's not about the app, what kind of device, or even the technology at all. It's about the use of critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration present in the classroom when students are working on real world problem solving.
I recently read The Epic BYOD Toolchest, and I thought it was a great resource that focused not so much on the apps, sites, or devices, but on how they are used in classrooms. At the same time, I've developed an app rubric (that could be used for Chrome extensions also) to help with our focus of quality, not quantity.
So after all of this, am I still scared of tablets in the classroom? Not at all. As with all technology, it's not about the stuff, it's about how it's used.
Let me explain - I have an iPad and I love it. I've told many people that there's plenty of times that I could use my iPad and set my laptop aside. This is usually when I'm looking up some information, checking email, or using Google Drive to organize and create documents. And so I guess, to be frank, I was afraid that the iPads would be used the same way. For productivity rather than creation and critical thinking.
The challenge presented was two-fold. We needed to make sure that technology was not being used for technology's sake, but as a tool in a project based learning environment. The other part was to provide enough freedom in management to allow teachers and students to download age appropriate apps when necessary. The problem isn't really a fear that unnecessary apps would be installed and take up space, but rather, that unnecessary apps would be used and not promote critical thinking.
Because they're designed this way, tablets promote app use. It takes a focus for users to refrain from being "App Happy" and downloading every fun, colorful, free app that's out there. Teachers have to think critically when they see a list of apps about how those uses will enhance and enrich the classroom. Additionally, we have to remember that tablets have a web browser and most of what we could do on our computer, we can do on the tablets. Maybe we only need five apps. Maybe we need less than that. It's not about the number, but what we're doing with them, and we have to be careful that we're not downloading and providing "busy work" to the students just because there's a curricular tie.
This is where the project based part comes in. If we treat technology in every student's hand as a whole group learning experience, we've cheapened it. Following the 8 Essential Elements of PBL, providing students with resources, and promoting the use of those resources to solve real world problems is how technology can make an impact on classrooms. It's not about the app, what kind of device, or even the technology at all. It's about the use of critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration present in the classroom when students are working on real world problem solving.
I recently read The Epic BYOD Toolchest, and I thought it was a great resource that focused not so much on the apps, sites, or devices, but on how they are used in classrooms. At the same time, I've developed an app rubric (that could be used for Chrome extensions also) to help with our focus of quality, not quantity.
So after all of this, am I still scared of tablets in the classroom? Not at all. As with all technology, it's not about the stuff, it's about how it's used.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Wikipedia. Hate it or Love it?
So I have this thing I do when I need a very quick answer and it is fact based, like a date, location, or history. No, I don't ask Siri (unless I'm driving). Instead, I look it up on Wikipedia.
Right now, there's a lot of educators that are either gasping or shaking their heads in shame. And I used to be one of those educators that told my students they couldn't use it as a resource.
I said things like this:
"Do you know that anyone could just create an account and start typing stuff?"
"How do you know that someone who really knows what they're talking about wrote that?"
"It's not reliable. Choose from one of the resources I gave you."
No student ever questioned me, but looking back, I wish they would have. I wish my students would have brought up the fact that our textbook still said Pluto was a planet, but Wikipedia reflected the change. I wish they would have said that I had taught them to research by gathering multiple resources that all gave the same information, and they could use both their judgement and the strategies I had taught them when reading various Wikipedia articles.
A few years ago, I realized that a friend from high school had listed "Wikipedia Editor" as a job on her Facebook page. This caught my interest, so I asked her about what she did and it's validity. Here's what she told me:
"Since anyone that registers for a wikipedia account can edit pages that aren't protected (locked), they use patrollers who go through every change that is made. The patrollers try to catch vandalism like somebody putting something entirely absurd or their personal opinion on articles. The patrollers can easily reverse the change and go back to the older, archived version of the article before changes were made. If there is uncertainty about whether the edit is "good" or not, the page is earmarked for an editor in that field to look at.
When I log into wikipedia, I can go to that list at my leisure and look through the edits. The ongoing, ever-being-updated list is catered so that those subjects that I've previously said I know more about are higher on my list that things I've indicated I don't know as much about (you rank your knowledge on different subjects 1-10). Occasionally there will be a questionable article marked by a patroller that any editors that have been online have passed by and then the listed editors in that field will get these automatically generated email messages asking you to log in and look it over, starting with those that have a rank of 10 in that category, until someone marks it as okay or switches it back to the archived version. Most of the time the page is marked as "needing cleaned up" or "needing references." Most people that do very much editing keep the articles they contributed to on their "watch list" so that they know if anyone edits their info.
There's sort of a delicate balance between allowing everyone to edit and doing all of this patrolling, and locking problem pages so that only certain people can make changes to it. You don't want a sixth grader writing about his version of what cancer is, or a crusader editing the stem cell page, so certain pages are protected to varying degrees. Those pages have a picture of a padlock in the upper right corner. These pages have gone through WikiProject collaborations to come up with what editors in that field have deemed comprehensive and accurate. Most of these have a place where people can leave comments about possible edits that might need to be made."
This explanation, along with the fact that Wikipedia articles are some of the most up-to-date, always there resources, made me change my mind about whether Wikipedia was a "bad" or "good" resource. Besides, I required my students to back up their research by finding the information in multiple places, anyway. Why was I forbidding one of those multiple resources?
I think the bottom line should be that students should be considering ALL sources, not just the ones provided to them (or in this case, forbidden of them). In today's world, it is so easy to create content, and I can think of many websites right off the top of my head that have erroneous information. I think it's actually a better service to teach our students the 21st century information literacy that will provide them with protocols of how to choose appropriate resources. Besides, Wikipedia is typically where Siri tells me I should look when I ask her, too.
Right now, there's a lot of educators that are either gasping or shaking their heads in shame. And I used to be one of those educators that told my students they couldn't use it as a resource.
I said things like this:
"Do you know that anyone could just create an account and start typing stuff?"
"How do you know that someone who really knows what they're talking about wrote that?"
"It's not reliable. Choose from one of the resources I gave you."
No student ever questioned me, but looking back, I wish they would have. I wish my students would have brought up the fact that our textbook still said Pluto was a planet, but Wikipedia reflected the change. I wish they would have said that I had taught them to research by gathering multiple resources that all gave the same information, and they could use both their judgement and the strategies I had taught them when reading various Wikipedia articles.
A few years ago, I realized that a friend from high school had listed "Wikipedia Editor" as a job on her Facebook page. This caught my interest, so I asked her about what she did and it's validity. Here's what she told me:
"Since anyone that registers for a wikipedia account can edit pages that aren't protected (locked), they use patrollers who go through every change that is made. The patrollers try to catch vandalism like somebody putting something entirely absurd or their personal opinion on articles. The patrollers can easily reverse the change and go back to the older, archived version of the article before changes were made. If there is uncertainty about whether the edit is "good" or not, the page is earmarked for an editor in that field to look at.
When I log into wikipedia, I can go to that list at my leisure and look through the edits. The ongoing, ever-being-updated list is catered so that those subjects that I've previously said I know more about are higher on my list that things I've indicated I don't know as much about (you rank your knowledge on different subjects 1-10). Occasionally there will be a questionable article marked by a patroller that any editors that have been online have passed by and then the listed editors in that field will get these automatically generated email messages asking you to log in and look it over, starting with those that have a rank of 10 in that category, until someone marks it as okay or switches it back to the archived version. Most of the time the page is marked as "needing cleaned up" or "needing references." Most people that do very much editing keep the articles they contributed to on their "watch list" so that they know if anyone edits their info.
There's sort of a delicate balance between allowing everyone to edit and doing all of this patrolling, and locking problem pages so that only certain people can make changes to it. You don't want a sixth grader writing about his version of what cancer is, or a crusader editing the stem cell page, so certain pages are protected to varying degrees. Those pages have a picture of a padlock in the upper right corner. These pages have gone through WikiProject collaborations to come up with what editors in that field have deemed comprehensive and accurate. Most of these have a place where people can leave comments about possible edits that might need to be made."
This explanation, along with the fact that Wikipedia articles are some of the most up-to-date, always there resources, made me change my mind about whether Wikipedia was a "bad" or "good" resource. Besides, I required my students to back up their research by finding the information in multiple places, anyway. Why was I forbidding one of those multiple resources?
I think the bottom line should be that students should be considering ALL sources, not just the ones provided to them (or in this case, forbidden of them). In today's world, it is so easy to create content, and I can think of many websites right off the top of my head that have erroneous information. I think it's actually a better service to teach our students the 21st century information literacy that will provide them with protocols of how to choose appropriate resources. Besides, Wikipedia is typically where Siri tells me I should look when I ask her, too.
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