Today in my classroom I am bombarded with thoughts about using Social Media as a means of writing instruction. Not just with iPods, but using a multitude of different media options with my students. The iPods have opened the door to a new world of media literally at your fingertips. I shared this video on my own teacher webpage to explain to my families and students how our world is changing from the use of technology.
The second video has also been shared with my students and parents. It has been a difficult journey for me this year because teaching with technology demands not only knowledge of the tool, but creating a climate in which students see this tool as a way to communicate and interact in socially responsible ways. There have been issues with students still thinking this is a toy, a game, a portable music player. How do I inspire students to truly see this as an opportunity to communicate through a new and modern and immediate medium?
The answer is as simple and as difficult as lesson design. When working with this new tool I struggle to find meaningful ways for students to use iPods as ways to create and share ideas that they couldn't on pencil and paper. Is student engagement up when they write the letter to a multiple choice answer using the app Glowdraw? Absolutely, but I have to ask myself is that really any different than whiteboards or finger signals? No, not really, so I pushed forward.
When asking students to summarize notes in history, we used the app Storykit to create summary books on the geographical areas of India. In this case, I felt success in that students took the time to synthesize information, take photos and self edit their work. The struggle is how to publish this work for more than one student to see. There in lies the continuous evaluation of projects. Hopefully I will be able to put some samples on this site soon. My team is helping me figure out the logistics, oh the challenges of the pilot year!
Teaching Screenagers
My life in the fastlane
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
The Continued Debate of the Influence of Technology in Education
This week I continue to marvel at the amount of debate about public education in the United States. There is no doubt we are at a crossroads and it will be a very interesting time in our classrooms over the next few years. This week I think I have been more discouraged over the rhetoric across this nation bashing the work of both students and teachers in public education. We as teachers need to not only stand up for our profession, we more importantly need to stand up for our students and what we feel are the best instructional tools and practices to serve their changing needs.
I think bringing technology into the classroom is a way to bridge the gap between educational practice and real world application. For example, the debate on test preparation. Here is a video from middle school students on the value of studying for class and for the the high stakes test. I shared this with my students in class and on my web page to inspire my kids to write their own raps teaching us how to do something. This week we taught each other poetry terms, and with an average of 87 percent on the weekly quiz, I think they internalized the terms better and got more enjoyment from the process. We are currently voting for the best raps in the class to publish as a complete song for review next week before our chapter test. Would they have been as motivated to learn the terms without this creative opportunity? i sincerely doubt it.
Another thought, Why hasn't technology revolutionized education?
I remember when my first Apple 2E came into my classroom with the 4 inch floppy discs and green screen with the blipping lights across the front. Today my kids held their iPods in their hands and created pages in a StoryKit book while they read about the Ancient Hebrews. Within a couple of lessons, students will take notes, publish and share their work all from the palm of their hand. That is a revolution in instruction, but it is also a change in what we are trying to teach our students.
In Educational Leadership this month by ACSD, the topic is "What Students Need To Learn". I think that is the next revolution in education, and definitely a change in my own classroom even in this pilot program. What do we need to teach and why do students need to know it? The question of revolutionizing education through technology isn't about the tools themselves, but the thought process behind how and why we use them. This is an interesting blog about just this topic, check it out!
Why Hasn't Technology Revolutionized Education? Guitar Heroes, Inspiration, and Technology Adoption
And finally, some exciting news that I think will take us to the next steps in revolutionizing our classrooms. TedTalks is launching a new program focusing just on educational issues. Learn more by joining this exciting discussion on line.
#TED launches exciting new educational initiative! Educators, students, & creatives, learn more here: http://bit.ly/ggUKNN @TED_ED
Next week we continue to create our social studies storykit books and will be publishing our poetry on line.
Looking forward to sharing our progress.
I think bringing technology into the classroom is a way to bridge the gap between educational practice and real world application. For example, the debate on test preparation. Here is a video from middle school students on the value of studying for class and for the the high stakes test. I shared this with my students in class and on my web page to inspire my kids to write their own raps teaching us how to do something. This week we taught each other poetry terms, and with an average of 87 percent on the weekly quiz, I think they internalized the terms better and got more enjoyment from the process. We are currently voting for the best raps in the class to publish as a complete song for review next week before our chapter test. Would they have been as motivated to learn the terms without this creative opportunity? i sincerely doubt it.
Another thought, Why hasn't technology revolutionized education?
I remember when my first Apple 2E came into my classroom with the 4 inch floppy discs and green screen with the blipping lights across the front. Today my kids held their iPods in their hands and created pages in a StoryKit book while they read about the Ancient Hebrews. Within a couple of lessons, students will take notes, publish and share their work all from the palm of their hand. That is a revolution in instruction, but it is also a change in what we are trying to teach our students.
In Educational Leadership this month by ACSD, the topic is "What Students Need To Learn". I think that is the next revolution in education, and definitely a change in my own classroom even in this pilot program. What do we need to teach and why do students need to know it? The question of revolutionizing education through technology isn't about the tools themselves, but the thought process behind how and why we use them. This is an interesting blog about just this topic, check it out!
Why Hasn't Technology Revolutionized Education? Guitar Heroes, Inspiration, and Technology Adoption
And finally, some exciting news that I think will take us to the next steps in revolutionizing our classrooms. TedTalks is launching a new program focusing just on educational issues. Learn more by joining this exciting discussion on line.
#TED launches exciting new educational initiative! Educators, students, & creatives, learn more here: http://bit.ly/ggUKNN @TED_ED
Next week we continue to create our social studies storykit books and will be publishing our poetry on line.
Looking forward to sharing our progress.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Differentiation: Technology levels a playing field
This week I had the opportunity to team teach with a colleague. It is so rare in the middle school world to be able to teach with another adult in your classroom. Sure, people come and observe, you may be able to catch a lesson or two on your prep period, but it isn't the same as collaborating all day with someone.
This past week over half our students went to sixth grade camp. Holly French and I decided to put our classes together and experiment with a new program using the iPods called Storykit. Our students created Haiku poems, downloaded images to match their work, and then created a 6 page book highlighting themselves as authors, and the poetry they had written. I would put a sample here but I haven't quite figured out how to download and share it yet. That will happen later in the week and I will post some student work.
The project itself is pretty great. Next week students will read their work, building an oral component into the lesson and we will once again use our fluency scoring guide to monitor our progress as performance readers.
But I think the greatest lesson of all this week, was that using technology as a tool levels the playing field. I had my intervention class and my honors class working together on this project. I would defy anyone observing the students working together to declare who was honors, and who needed extra help. In fact, it would have been impossible. All the students were engaged, coaching each other on what they learned about the program as they produced their books, and no one waited for someone to do it for them. By the end of the day, one of my students wrote a ten step list on how to use Storykit so when our classes return they too will be able to use the application quickly.
I read an article this weekend that I have attached to this post. It is called
"Are You Making These Four Differentiation Mistakes?" by Robyn Jackson at ACSD.
Here is a quote describing one of these mistakes:
"Differentiating by achievement level rather than by students' current learning level. Some will tell you that there are three kinds of students - high, medium, and low. But this distinction is not very useful. There are times when a student you consider to be in your high group will struggle with the content. Other time, students in your low group will sail through an activity, outperforming the students in your high group. Because students bring a variety of skills and experiences to the classroom, classifying them as high, medium, and low doesn't really help you adjust your instruction effectively to meet their complex needs. These static groupings also limit students. Once you start thinking about students in these ways, it is difficult to see them any other way. Differentiating by achievement level often results in lowered expectations for struggling students and extra work for advanced students. Lowering the target for some students while raising the learning target for others is not differentiation - it's tracking. Real differentiation takes into account where students are at a particular point in time. It doesn't label kids "low", "average," and "advanced"; it groups students by their current understanding of the content and processes involved in a particular learning activity and then provides students with the targeted supports they need to successfully master that activity."
Are You Making these Four Differentiated Instruction Mistakes? - Washington, DC, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post
This is something that I have always believed, and in grouping our students randomly this week, this was action research proving that exact point. As we look to using technology in our classes, it shouldn't be about replacing core learning, it should be about offering a variety of options for students to use to display what they have learned, and more importantly, how they learn it.
Something interesting to consider til we post next week.
P.S. Check out some of the blogs I am following, and please feel free to suggest some other sites out there that would be helpful as we move forward.
This past week over half our students went to sixth grade camp. Holly French and I decided to put our classes together and experiment with a new program using the iPods called Storykit. Our students created Haiku poems, downloaded images to match their work, and then created a 6 page book highlighting themselves as authors, and the poetry they had written. I would put a sample here but I haven't quite figured out how to download and share it yet. That will happen later in the week and I will post some student work.
The project itself is pretty great. Next week students will read their work, building an oral component into the lesson and we will once again use our fluency scoring guide to monitor our progress as performance readers.
But I think the greatest lesson of all this week, was that using technology as a tool levels the playing field. I had my intervention class and my honors class working together on this project. I would defy anyone observing the students working together to declare who was honors, and who needed extra help. In fact, it would have been impossible. All the students were engaged, coaching each other on what they learned about the program as they produced their books, and no one waited for someone to do it for them. By the end of the day, one of my students wrote a ten step list on how to use Storykit so when our classes return they too will be able to use the application quickly.
I read an article this weekend that I have attached to this post. It is called
"Are You Making These Four Differentiation Mistakes?" by Robyn Jackson at ACSD.
Here is a quote describing one of these mistakes:
"Differentiating by achievement level rather than by students' current learning level. Some will tell you that there are three kinds of students - high, medium, and low. But this distinction is not very useful. There are times when a student you consider to be in your high group will struggle with the content. Other time, students in your low group will sail through an activity, outperforming the students in your high group. Because students bring a variety of skills and experiences to the classroom, classifying them as high, medium, and low doesn't really help you adjust your instruction effectively to meet their complex needs. These static groupings also limit students. Once you start thinking about students in these ways, it is difficult to see them any other way. Differentiating by achievement level often results in lowered expectations for struggling students and extra work for advanced students. Lowering the target for some students while raising the learning target for others is not differentiation - it's tracking. Real differentiation takes into account where students are at a particular point in time. It doesn't label kids "low", "average," and "advanced"; it groups students by their current understanding of the content and processes involved in a particular learning activity and then provides students with the targeted supports they need to successfully master that activity."
Are You Making these Four Differentiated Instruction Mistakes? - Washington, DC, United States, ASCD EDge Blog post
This is something that I have always believed, and in grouping our students randomly this week, this was action research proving that exact point. As we look to using technology in our classes, it shouldn't be about replacing core learning, it should be about offering a variety of options for students to use to display what they have learned, and more importantly, how they learn it.
Something interesting to consider til we post next week.
P.S. Check out some of the blogs I am following, and please feel free to suggest some other sites out there that would be helpful as we move forward.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Teaching Screenagers
This is my new term of the month:
A term that combines two words to describe "teenagers who are online" and who are "always looking at the screen."
Also defined as: "wired teens or the much sought after marketing demographic of 18-24 year olds who grew up in front of a TV/computer screen."
Daily I am inundated with articles about technology in the classroom. Here are links to just a few of the articles that appeared in my inbox this week.
Does Facebook inspire us or stress us? Read each of these and decide for yourself.
Stressed out by Facebook? Study shows some users experience anxiety
How schools should use social media to communicate
Digital divide persists as Obama reaches out to tech leaders on innovation, education
Rural districts use technology to expand distance learning
Report sounds warning bell on implementing education reforms
An iPad for Every Student; Now What?
What is our role as teachers of social justice and digital citizens? Oh, and by the way while we are at it, lets make sure we cover every standard emphasized on the California STAR assessment. Keep on pace, but innovate, that is the message of the day. And most days I think we do that pretty well.
As the CST looms over the next few months, I am coming to realize more and more that the children I teach and interact with each day are so much more than a single test score. Being part of this project has forced me to put my lessons under an entirely new lens. So the next obvious step, is when will the assessment we use to judge the success of our students match this innovation in instruction? If we put the world in their hands as a resource, and take it all away when we assess on paper and pencil, is that really an accurate reflection on what we have learned together this year?
So one answer is to have multiple assessments. Not wanting to wait for the next big thing to be created, our class has decided to create our own reflection/evaluation.
Each student will still take the California STAR assessment, however, they will also create a digital portfolio, highlighting some of their best creative work this year. What that looks like remains to be seen, but I am sure I can find some ideas on line!
Another interesting article and website
Closing the Achievement Gap Without Widening a Racial One - California Teachers Association
http://sdawp.ucsd.edu/ San Diego Area Writing Project
screenagers
A term that combines two words to describe "teenagers who are online" and who are "always looking at the screen."
Also defined as: "wired teens or the much sought after marketing demographic of 18-24 year olds who grew up in front of a TV/computer screen."
See also : generation Y mouse potato
The cover of Educational Leadership
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership.aspxboasts dedicates a full issue of their magazine dedicated to this concept. As I become more and more engrossed in this iPod adventure, I am quickly coming to realize these are difficult waters to navigate. Each day I evaluate not only who I am teaching, what I am asking them to accomplish, but how will technology enhance or deviate from my objectives for the day?
Does Facebook inspire us or stress us? Read each of these and decide for yourself.
Stressed out by Facebook? Study shows some users experience anxiety
How schools should use social media to communicate
|
Digital divide persists as Obama reaches out to tech leaders on innovation, education
Rural districts use technology to expand distance learning
- Rural districts use technology to expand distance learning
- Rural districts use technology to expand distance learning
Report sounds warning bell on implementing education reforms
An iPad for Every Student; Now What?
What is our role as teachers of social justice and digital citizens? Oh, and by the way while we are at it, lets make sure we cover every standard emphasized on the California STAR assessment. Keep on pace, but innovate, that is the message of the day. And most days I think we do that pretty well.
As the CST looms over the next few months, I am coming to realize more and more that the children I teach and interact with each day are so much more than a single test score. Being part of this project has forced me to put my lessons under an entirely new lens. So the next obvious step, is when will the assessment we use to judge the success of our students match this innovation in instruction? If we put the world in their hands as a resource, and take it all away when we assess on paper and pencil, is that really an accurate reflection on what we have learned together this year?
So one answer is to have multiple assessments. Not wanting to wait for the next big thing to be created, our class has decided to create our own reflection/evaluation.
Each student will still take the California STAR assessment, however, they will also create a digital portfolio, highlighting some of their best creative work this year. What that looks like remains to be seen, but I am sure I can find some ideas on line!
Another interesting article and website
Closing the Achievement Gap Without Widening a Racial One - California Teachers Association
http://sdawp.ucsd.edu/ San Diego Area Writing Project
Sunday, February 13, 2011
What is a Digital Footprint?
Working with students in technology is a joy and a challenge. What I have discovered about our journey is that my students don't truly understand the idea of "Digital Footprint" or that your life on line stays with you. This week some students attempted to go to some sites that were not appropriate, and others just wasted time looking up images or information off the topic. I took the opportunity this week to teach a lesson on Digital Dossier. Take a look at this video, it was a great discussion point for our class.
After we viewed this video we discussed our roles and responsibilities we have as Digital Citizens. I find it fascinating that our kids are so immersed in technology, yet they don't know that what they put out there stays out there. Food for thought as we move forward.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Fundamental Changes take time... but not as long as I thought
It is important to note that when I began this project I had little to no experience with iPods or apps or even downloading music. What I now know to be true is that it doesn't matter, our kids do. This has been an incredible adventure. My students use these tools as if they had been in our classroom always. I continually find new ways to enhance instruction using these tools. For example, when we were reading an article on Ancient Egypt, students stopped, pulled up their iPods looked up areas of Egypt on Google maps. Suddenly, those pyramids of long ago were alive and well in the palm of our hands.
When students need to know the meaning of a word as they read, they pull out their iPods and use dictionary.com to look it up then and there. They are tools, not toys and enhance rather than replace what is going on in our instruction. I didn't realize they would be entrenched in our work so quickly.
As I sit here on a Sunday night to plan, my iPod sits beside me so I can test an app, look up something the way my students might, and plan differently, with the goal of bringing technology into the lessons. For example, this next week my honors students are writing for a debate. Tomorrow not only will they read articles and structure their support for cell phone use on campus, they will use the iPods to look up research both for and against cell phones on campus to enhance the work that has already been done in their outlines. It will be quick, and will lead to the next discussion, which is what is credible evidence and how do you know? One important discussion will have to be how to evaluate articles and "facts" we find on the web.
Another cool thing to note, we took our Chapter 6 test in English this past week, and all classes improved in reading comprehension yet again. My classes used to range from 20 percent to 75 percent in this area, and last week the the range went from 68 to 100 percent. I think we are beginning to gather the data that supports students recording themselves and listening and scoring their prosody on a rubric. It seems to be making a significant difference both in their confidence as readers and their comprehension.
Is everything wonderful in iPodland? That would be a "nope". We still have difficulty downloading the student voices, a few students have discovered the camera and have saved pictures that need to be deleted and we still can't get videos on the iPods without some serious tech support intervention, but I am confident by the end of February that will be solved.
Looking forward to creating Egypt mini reports using Storybooklite and to continue to record our voices reading text, this time with a focus on non-fiction. Stay tuned to what will happen next!!
When students need to know the meaning of a word as they read, they pull out their iPods and use dictionary.com to look it up then and there. They are tools, not toys and enhance rather than replace what is going on in our instruction. I didn't realize they would be entrenched in our work so quickly.
As I sit here on a Sunday night to plan, my iPod sits beside me so I can test an app, look up something the way my students might, and plan differently, with the goal of bringing technology into the lessons. For example, this next week my honors students are writing for a debate. Tomorrow not only will they read articles and structure their support for cell phone use on campus, they will use the iPods to look up research both for and against cell phones on campus to enhance the work that has already been done in their outlines. It will be quick, and will lead to the next discussion, which is what is credible evidence and how do you know? One important discussion will have to be how to evaluate articles and "facts" we find on the web.
Another cool thing to note, we took our Chapter 6 test in English this past week, and all classes improved in reading comprehension yet again. My classes used to range from 20 percent to 75 percent in this area, and last week the the range went from 68 to 100 percent. I think we are beginning to gather the data that supports students recording themselves and listening and scoring their prosody on a rubric. It seems to be making a significant difference both in their confidence as readers and their comprehension.
Is everything wonderful in iPodland? That would be a "nope". We still have difficulty downloading the student voices, a few students have discovered the camera and have saved pictures that need to be deleted and we still can't get videos on the iPods without some serious tech support intervention, but I am confident by the end of February that will be solved.
Looking forward to creating Egypt mini reports using Storybooklite and to continue to record our voices reading text, this time with a focus on non-fiction. Stay tuned to what will happen next!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
iPods: Making a Difference in Reading Comprehension
The use of iPods has become somewhat routine in our classroom now. Students use the iPods routinely, at least 3 to 4 times per week. We use them as responders by writing our answers on the iPod and sharing with the group. A favorite app is dictionary.com that we use at least twice a week to work on vocabulary development. We have just started creating flashcards using the free app iFlashcards to review key vocabulary and content in history. Just last week, we began to use video. Students partnered up and took a video of each other reading their goal sentences. We read and excerpt from David Pink's book Drive called "What's your sentence?". Students then developed their own sentence defining their goal for a decade from now. We plan on combining this work into an iMovie in our afterschool computer writing group, "Writing for Change." The motivation and innovation continues six weeks into this project.
One of my key questions for this year is "Will increased prosody "fluency" improve student reading comprehension?" Rather than leveling the fluency reading practice to individualized reading levels and completing a quick daily fluency practice, we are looking at something a little different. Students are exposed to the grade level material at least twice through the iPod during the week we explore a text. Here are some notes from the past two selections in Holt Chapter 6, grade level 6.
In two of our periods, students use the iPods to listen to the class story once, then the second time, read along with the iPod to improve their prosody. Students reported that it was helpful to read along with the story, and with everyone wearing headphones, there wasn't any stigma as students explored intonation and pacing or volume. I was able to walk around and take notes on my target kids or pull a student or two to record their voice using the voice recorder. Students have also reported that they like the opportunity to pause the story and repeat a section to clarify something or highlight and answer from the text.
Students then record a selection from the story, this week from the realistic fiction piece Eleven by Sandra Cisneros. They read a short passage from the story and scored it on our Prosody scoring guide to reflect on strengths and weaknesses. I will then pull the student recordings and the student scored guide and give me own feedback.
Students take a selection test at the end of each story. Students do not use the iPod for this test, as we want to measure what students will do independently. Here is something interesting I am tracking, and that is the reading comprehension scores on these tests.
In one period, most students in the class tested FBB or BB on the STAR assessment last Spring. Students have been using grade level curriculum with support strategies including repeated reading and choral reading. In the past two assessments, students in the class went from a class average of 66 % before iPods to our most recent score of 85.7 percent. A growth of over 20 percent!
In another period, all students scored Advanced on the STAR assessment last Spring. Since using the iPods in class, we have noticed students continue to average 90 percent or better on selection tests.
In my third period, students range from Basic to Proficient on their STAR assessment last Spring. In the past two assessment, students in this class went from a class average of 75 percent to 86 percent, again significant growth of 10 percent.
It will be interesting to study how students will perform on the Chapter tests given every 4 to 6 weeks. We have used iPods this entire chapter so I am hopeful that this progress will cross into that assessment as well.
One of my key questions for this year is "Will increased prosody "fluency" improve student reading comprehension?" Rather than leveling the fluency reading practice to individualized reading levels and completing a quick daily fluency practice, we are looking at something a little different. Students are exposed to the grade level material at least twice through the iPod during the week we explore a text. Here are some notes from the past two selections in Holt Chapter 6, grade level 6.
In two of our periods, students use the iPods to listen to the class story once, then the second time, read along with the iPod to improve their prosody. Students reported that it was helpful to read along with the story, and with everyone wearing headphones, there wasn't any stigma as students explored intonation and pacing or volume. I was able to walk around and take notes on my target kids or pull a student or two to record their voice using the voice recorder. Students have also reported that they like the opportunity to pause the story and repeat a section to clarify something or highlight and answer from the text.
Students then record a selection from the story, this week from the realistic fiction piece Eleven by Sandra Cisneros. They read a short passage from the story and scored it on our Prosody scoring guide to reflect on strengths and weaknesses. I will then pull the student recordings and the student scored guide and give me own feedback.
Students take a selection test at the end of each story. Students do not use the iPod for this test, as we want to measure what students will do independently. Here is something interesting I am tracking, and that is the reading comprehension scores on these tests.
In one period, most students in the class tested FBB or BB on the STAR assessment last Spring. Students have been using grade level curriculum with support strategies including repeated reading and choral reading. In the past two assessments, students in the class went from a class average of 66 % before iPods to our most recent score of 85.7 percent. A growth of over 20 percent!
In another period, all students scored Advanced on the STAR assessment last Spring. Since using the iPods in class, we have noticed students continue to average 90 percent or better on selection tests.
In my third period, students range from Basic to Proficient on their STAR assessment last Spring. In the past two assessment, students in this class went from a class average of 75 percent to 86 percent, again significant growth of 10 percent.
It will be interesting to study how students will perform on the Chapter tests given every 4 to 6 weeks. We have used iPods this entire chapter so I am hopeful that this progress will cross into that assessment as well.
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