We're Not on Facebook! Kind of...

Two-thirds of online adults are Facebook users.

If this statistic holds true for adults, how many online teenagers are Facebook users?  Reality? Our kids are social media hungry.  It is a very common form of communication not just for our kids, but for our society.

Seizing the moment has always been a very effective weapon in a teacher's arsenal. Students are usually already engaged when a "teachable" situation presents itself, resulting in higher performance by the students and engagement throughout the lesson or unit.

This is one reason why it makes sense to use social media in classrooms.  It's meeting students where they are.  There are some challenges that exist with the inclusion of social media in education, however, which could actually warrant a blog post of their own.  Therefore, in the meantime, substitute social media sites are available.

Fakebook is a site that allows students to create profiles for various book characters and famous people in history.  The student actually is building a webpage, but it is laid out to mimic Facebook with status updates, profile pictures, friends, comments, and likes.

Here's how it works - Let's say that I read The Hobbit.  As I'm reading it, I will be creating a Fakebook page for Bilbo Baggins.  First, I'm going to add profile details like About Me, Hometown, Favorite Quotes, Relationship Status, etc.  All of the things you see on a Facebook page.  Then, as I read, I'll add friends.  This is where Fakebook differs from Facebook.

On Fakebook, all of the friends and interactions I have are actually being carried out by me.  When I add Gandalf as a friend, there's not another student out there using Gandalf's character; it's me. For each friend that is added, Fakebook is automatically searching the Internet for pictures that friend is tagged in.  Therefore, when I add Gandalf as a friend of Bilbo's, the picture shows Gandalf from (what else?) The Lord of the Rings Movie.  Same thing when I add Elrond.  If I would like, I can upload my own picture for the friend I just created.

Now, as I finish reading for the day, I'll write a status update that sums up what happened.  In the beginning of The Hobbit, I'll probably write something like, "Heading out on an adventure with a band of dwarves. What have I gotten myself into?" I could even change the date so that it matches the time. After posting, I'll have a few of my friends comment on my status.  I might have Gandalf comment, "Be safe, Bilbo. I'll see you soon." Remember, it's really the owner of the page who is doing all of this.

This pattern can continue throughout my reading, and I can also add pictures as I'm reading.  Wouldn't it be great to upload the map from The Hobbit to represent a check-in?  After each edit, I save my changes so the next time I log in, I can pick up right where I left off.

The great thing about this site is that it allows students to use an environment they're familiar with for learning.  It truly shows comprehension and understanding of relationships, events, and interactions since the students are commenting on their own status.  There's no guessing what student might have logged in and commented inappropriately because each student owns their own page and everything that goes on it. They can even embed a finished version onto their website or the class website to showcase for parents and administrators.

Although the above example was used with characters from a book, the same thing could show the interaction between key people in history.  For example, maybe students could represent what the Facebook page of presidential candidates might look like in a particular election.

As you're using this, kids will want to show off their work, so remember to build in time for showcasing through Gallery Walks or Stay and Stray activities. By using sites like this, students are engaging in Creativity, a key aspect of 21st Century Learning.  Let the creative juices flow and see what the kids come up with!

Assessing Reflection

My earlier blog post, Book Report Alternatives, Take II, focused on using blogs as a journaling activity in guided reading groups.  A key piece for success of blogs in the classroom relies on proper assessment.

It is very typical to focus on things like grammar, punctuation, and spelling when teachers grade writing, and these things are important.  However, just as important is the thought process that students demonstrate when writing.  This is more difficult to assess, as students need to first be taught how to demonstrate their thought process in writing, then the teacher needs to understand how to identify critical thinking.

What the Thought Process Looks Like
You'll know students are showing their thought process in written form when you see students making predictions, asking questions and later answering them, and making evaluations or judgment calls.  They'll move past simply summarizing and start giving ideas such as "If I had to make this choice, I would..."  Simply put, the reflection should show critical thinking skills of analysis, synthesis, or evaluation.

The question is, how do we get them there? Start by providing students with copies of Bloom's taxonomy.  The verbs we use as teachers to plan our lessons can be used by students to demonstrate critical thinking. Asking questions and creating hypotheses is a great way to demonstrate that they're really "getting it." Teach students that making judgment calls and explaining their answers shows you that they can apply the information and understand it at a deeper level. 

Tools like Microsoft Office Word's Readability Statistics can also assist students in writing a more thoughtful reflection, as it will level the writing ability of the student according to Flesch-Kincaid grade levels.  This encourages students to write with more purpose and detail, essentially, competing against a computer for a higher score.  Sound familiar?

And finally, the development of a sound rubric that assesses beyond mechanics and word choice will provide students with your expectations.

Getting Students Involved in Creating Assessments
We can be a little afraid of this sometimes, but often, students are harder on themselves than we are on them.  Also, by creating their own assessment criteria, they'll be more clear on what is expected of them and more likely to "own" their learning, therefore perform better.

So the question is, what should students be assessed on?  That's how to begin.  Ask the students, "What do you think I, as the teacher, am looking for in your work?"  As students provide ideas, guide them towards what you are looking for by asking leading questions.  These ideas will become the indicators of assessment, and a rubric would be the best way to adequately measure success.  From this point, assist students in developing specific criteria for each indicator.  Here is an example of a reflection scoring guide created by 4th grade students in a hands on science class:

The teacher led students to create this, but essentially, students developed it together as a class.  This assessment is detailed enough to measure critical thinking by the student but vague enough that it doesn't limit students to only using the tool for hands on experiments or to "punch out" the same type of reflection as everyone else in the class.  The emphasis for this type of writing is on the thought process, not the length, grammar, or punctuation.

Because students are holding the assessment criteria in their hands as they write, they know exactly what type of information must be included to show proficiency.  Additionally, this assessment tool is multi-disciplinary as it requires students to show proficiency in detailed writing and word choice along with demonstrating life skills of participation and critical thinking in the thought process.

These steps can move your students' blogs and journaling activities from simple summaries to more reflective, authentic writing, which will encourage collaboration and critical thinking.  Additionally, it meets the needs of the 21st Century Learner in assessment because of the feedback they'll receive from their audience - the whole world.

Book Report Alternatives, Take II

Continuing with the book report alternatives series, this blog post will focus once again on a small change you can make with your current literature strategies.  In guided reading, reflection journals have been a very effective tool to build comprehension, make text connections, and respond personally to text.  Adding technology to the reflection journal in the form of student blogs can greatly enhance student understanding.

It works exactly like reflection journals, only students will record their journaling in the form of a blog.  This adds "wow" factor to the individual student and provides a wider audience for students, therefore, typically resulting in better quality work.  Additionally, it allows other students in the class to comment on the reflection, add their own perspective, ask questions, or further discuss events. 

It is important to remember that student comments are a critical piece to the enhancement of the learning.  If students add new information or ask questions in their comments, the learning cycle continues.  If students become critical editors or cheerleaders to a job well done, the learning stops.  This article from eSchool News explains it best.

Blogmeister is a favorite blog site of mine.  It allows teachers to not only create their own blog page, but one for each of their students.  Student email accounts are not needed for this site, but if your school is not registered, you will need to obtain a school passcode from the site administrator.  (Joplin teachers, see Klista Lawyer-Reynolds for this code)  All student articles and comments can be set up so that the teacher monitors whatever is published.

Using blogs as reflective journals is meeting both the "Communicating" and "Collaborating" of the 4C's.  It is assumed that critical thinking will also be utilized, therefore, meeting three of the four C's.  What a great way to encourage reflection and technology in literacy!

Technology Integrated Vocabulary

How do you teach vocabulary with technology?  That's a question frequently posed by teachers.  First, we need to look at how vocabulary should be taught in the 21st century.  Gone are the days when teachers handed a list of vocabulary terms and a dictionary to their students.  Vocabulary in the 21st century focuses on making meaning rather than memorizing. 

However you might be developing vocabulary in your classroom, whether teaching specific terms related to content specific curriculum or recognizing and expanding on vocabulary in literature, Marzano suggests including non-linguistic representations as well as defining the word in the students' own words.  One way to both utilize these suggested strategies with content area vocabulary and incorporate technology is to use a graphics program, like Inspiration or Kidspiration.  Students can use both written text and visual images from the image bank to create a graphic representation of the word. Finished products can be exported as .jpg files and inserted into a website, wiki, or blog so that all students have access to the definitions and their pictorial representation.  For an example, see what these third graders have created using Kidspiration and a wiki.

In addition to this strategy, there are many websites that can enhance vocabulary development.  Visual Thesaurus is a great site that creates a web of color coded synonyms and antonyms that can be collapsed and expanded for teaching purposes. 


Tagxedo and Wordle are two sites that work similarly.  They are word clouds students can use to collect and display chosen words from literature.  The sites randomize typed words and enlarge those that are used more frequently.  To include the visual representation that Marzano suggests, colors and fonts can be changed to represent the meaning of the words, and in Tagxedo, various shapes of the clouds can be chosen for deeper meaning.  In addition, both sites can be used in writing practices to identify overused words.

These small changes made to your existing practices to incorporate 21st Century Skills and 21st Century Literacy can make a big difference in the retention and comprehension of your students. 

Book Report Alternatives, Take I

Critical thinking skills and creativity are two key elements of a 21st Century learning environment as outlined by The Partnership for 21st Century Skills.  Also defined as a key element is Information, Media, and Technology Skills.  This blog series is dedicated to taking the traditional reading assignments, such as book reports, group discussions, and demonstrating comprehension to the 21st century.
Book Report Alternatives Take I:
Of the sites and ideas highlighted in this series, Shelfari is probably the most similar to the traditional book report.  On this site, students can create a virtual bookshelf that displays all the books they are reading, have read, or would like to read.  They can rate books, summarize them, create tags, and leave a personal message about the book.  A student's profile is considered complete when they add facts to their books and join discussion groups.  In the discussion groups, students can ask questions about their book or other classmates' books, respond to prompts, summarize their story, or even give their own feelings and perspectives.

When considering Grappling's Technology Spectrum, this site could be utilized for lessons at the adapting or transforming level.  Adapting lessons simply allow students to do what they've always done with pencil and paper using technology instead.  Transforming lessons, on the other hand, utilize critical thinking skills, expand the learning throughout multiple disciplines, and can even take the learning outside of the classroom walls. 

If students collaborate with other classrooms in Shelfari, using groups created and monitored by the teacher, the possibilities are endless.  Other students from a range of geographical regions can add input and perspective to literature studies, making connections for the collaborating class.  This is something that cannot be done without the technology.

Shelfari takes a little bit of preparation in the beginning.  Accounts are free, but email addresses are needed for the students.  Free email accounts can be created using sites like Gaggle or ePals. Both sites also offer collaborative features, so students can not only obtain an email address for Shelfari, but can collaborate with other students and classes using the built in features of the email services.

The 4 C's, identified by The Partnership for 21st Century Learning, includes critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication. By participating in authentic discussions such as those described and collaborating with other students and classrooms, students are engaged in all aspects of a 21st Century Learning environment. 

Make Your Presentations Move!

So maybe you're studying photosynthesis and you'd like the students to create something that demonstrates the growth of plants under the perfect conditions of water, sunlight, and temperature.

Maybe you're a primary teacher and your students are working on a transportation unit.  As the kids put the finishing touches on their projects, here's a few tips to really make their presentations both interactive and exciting.

Check the video tutorial below to find out how:

Fun SMART Notebook Trick

Here's a video tutorial of a fun SMART Notebook trick to try in your class using a spotlight to find text hidden from view.

This trick takes the place of the "screen shade" in SMART Notebook.  It's always good to mix things up to keep engagement at the highest levels.  This is just another tool for the toolbelt!

Lots of fun ways this could be used in the classroom!  What ways can you think of?