Yesterday a student came to me with a Google Drive issue due to intermittent wifi connectivity at home. Sometime during the night as she was composing her essay she lost wifi connectivity on her Chromebook and subsequently lost all of her work during that period of time. Fortunately, there is a solution to protect against this type of data loss in Google Drive and as an added bonus have the ability to edit Google Docs, Presentations and Drawings even when there is no internet connection available.
cc licensed ( BY SA ) flickr photo by Wesley Fryer: http://flickr.com/photos/wfryer/2110288948/
As I've been in and out of various classrooms this week a recurring theme has emerged - going paperless. While I applaud the intention of saving trees and making classroom resources accessible 24/7 across a variety of devices, there is a problem. There is a problem with digitizing worksheets and the convoluted workflow that inevitably ensues. This is especially true of worksheets that come from textbook providers, but also teacher-created worksheets in many cases. I want to be clear. I don't really have a problem with worksheets - they can be instructive and provide meaningful practice and application of ideas - at least in theory. And, yes, their are many worksheets that are worthless, time-killing, busy work that barely scratch the bottom of Bloom's taxonomy. But good or bad worksheets pose a particular problem in digital learning environments. You see, a worksheet was designed to be completed, submitted, assessed, marked-up and handed back by hand. Pen, pencil, crayon - doesn't matter, but most worksheets were not DESIGNED to be completed, submitted, assessed, and marked-up or handed back on a Chromebook or an iPad. I know what some of you will say next. But, Kit! We have done exactly that. We scan and upload every worksheet to our [fill in the web presence tool of your choice], the students download and open the worksheet on their [fill in the personal computing device of your choice], and they [draw, type, record] on top of the worksheet and submit it electronically to their teacher's [email, blog, LMS, Google drive] where the teacher then individually opens each worksheet on their [fill in the personal computing device of your choice], where they [draw, type, record] on top of the worksheet to provide feedback and submit it electronically back to the student with a grade [that they then must re-enter into some separate student grading system that the district uses - one that definitely did nothing to aid or facilitate the "simple" steps described herein] Are you kidding me!? I challenge you to find me a teacher out there who not only follows those steps but then provides students with the opportunity to fix mistakes or improve their initial submissions. It doesn't happen. More importantly, I don't want to teach others how to inflict this kind of worksheet hell upon themselves or our students. Like many of you, I've been working with the SAMR model of technology integration to help myself and others redefine learning in a technology enhanced environment. I contend that digitizing the workflow for worksheets isn't Substitution. In fact, it doesn't even land on the SAMR continuum in my opinion. Not only are there a ridiculous number of hurdles to making worksheets paperless, hurdles that interfere with the basic intent to "be instructive and provide meaningful practice and application of ideas", but it makes the most important elements of timely feedback and fixing mistakes nearly impossible. Here is what many of my conversations have started to sound like or will sound like going forward.
If the worksheet is worth doing (i.e. it is instructive and provides meaningful practice or application) feel free to make copies and hand it out.
Feel free to put a digital copy (within copy rights) online for students and families to access as a reference and for printing.
Allow a student to annotate and submit the work electronically if needed (long term illness or travel) and take the time to give feedback.
And here are my tips for transitioning toward digitally enhanced forms of practice and application that take some cues from or extend the activities found on the worksheets.
Take questions that have fixed responses such as True/False and multiple choice and use a digital assessment tool like Socrative, Edmodo quizzes, or Google Forms to automatically grade student responses and provide immediate feedback.
Take one or two open ended questions that require higher order thinking skills or application of knowledge and ask students to submit digital responses, electronic projects, videos, etc. in response to these questions.
Challenge students to develop questions that fall across Bloom's taxonomy and then distribute these to their peers using a tool like Google Forms or a discussion forum in Moodle.
Consider Project Based Learning (PBL) as a way to move away from textbooks and worksheets and into authentic and purposeful learning driven by meaningful "driving questions".
How would you add to this list of tips and what suggestions do you have for teachers hoping to transition away from traditional worksheets using effective teaching methods and digital tools? Oh, and if you happen to be riding the Unicorn of Digital Worksheet Love share your secret to success.
I love student created content especially when I learn from it too. Check out the Tech Sherpas blog (students from Central Maine at Nokomis Regional High) for informative student created video webcasts covering all number of education technology topics. The kids are Smart with a capital "S". This week they covered the sharing features in Google Drive. This could be a great jumping off point for having your own students creating meaningful content for the world to see.
I'm a big fan of graphic organizers to help students visualize their learning and organize their thinking. I like this article by Ryan Knoblauch that unpacks how he is using graphic organizers to support his students. He has tons of resources for templates you can use plus a great glimpse into the methods he is using in his classroom.
MASSP iPad Summit March 26 (MSU Henry Center) - Only 50 seats left for the Michigan Association of Secondary Schools Prinicipals iPad Summit conference. If your district is implementing or planning to implement iPads at the Secondary level then you won't want to miss this opportunity to learn how schools in Michigan are transforming student learning using iPads. I'm honored to have been asked to keynote this exciting event and look forward to setting the stage for the day with what I think will be a very fun theme: "iPad Magic - How to Wrangle the Unicorns"
Save the date. April 20, 2013 Jackson ISD will be hosting an innovative conference that plans to be half edcamp half brain trust (bringing in the REMC Connected Educators from around the state). It's sure to be a can't miss. Details to follow.
Another date worth saving will be Thursday August 22, 2013. That's the tentative date for this year's 21st Century Learning Symposium hosted by St. Clair County RESA. This annual event has been host to some of education's leading thinkers including Yong Zhao, Will Richardson, Mark Prensky, and Stephen Heppell. This year we are excited to have Kevin Honeycutt join this impressive list along with 600+ of Michigan's best.
Last call for MACUL - Michigan's premier education technology conference is just around the corner March 20-22. This statewide event is an awesome opportunity to learn and network with some of the most innovative educators in our state. This year's MACUL conference is hosted in Detroit at the Cobo center. I'm facilitating two sessions this year - The Appcessible iPad (UDL strategies for the iPad) and co-presenting with Laura Chambless - Cooperative Learning and the iPad.
Science teachers - Take a look at Color Uncovered and Sound Uncovered to provide inquiry based resources that are sure to pique your students' curiosity. The interactive, hands-on manipulatives and informative accompanying articles are incredibly well done and very interesting. I'd keep my eye out for more apps from the Exploritorium Museum in San Francisco that developed these apps to accompany their brick and mortar exhibits.
I'm taking a second look at the Davinci Note app after coming across another interesting web app called tackk.com. Both iPad friendly programs provide a beautiful templates for mashing up pictures and text to create high impact informative writing. I'm drawn to the simple user interface of the Davinci Note app for the potential to create attractive research reports, quick writes, and other blog like reflections with students. Tackk is similar but is web based, giving it the advantage of working on multiple devices and has the distinct advantage of not requiring a student login for creating and sharing. One key piece is that e-mail sharing feature does NOT use the iPad's native e-mail to send and therefor let's students e-mail their work to the teacher without needing their own e-mail.
This week someone tweeted out something along the lines of "we don't send kids to the pencil lab". On Wednesday I was challenged to model some lessons across a K-5 building that put technology into the students' hands the entire time. To be honest it felt a bit forced, and had I not felt the pressure to model in this manner I might have dropped the tech from certain parts of some of the lessons. At the heart of my lessons was a very non-techy modified think, pair, share strategy for keeping all students accountable and engaged. Had I left this out I think my lessons would have been a disaster. What if I had left out the technology? The answer is that the delivery of content to each child's device via Nearpod personalized the information and helped hold their attention. The formative classroom response tools helped me gauge mastery of the concepts, increased accountability, and made the lesson fun. But these tools could have been less front and center and been just as effective. It didn't need to be a tech lesson. It merely needed to be an opportunity for everyone to learn. The technology went a long way in supporting this goal of reaching "everyone". Until it didn't. Until the technology became the focus. We don't glue pencils onto our students' hands, right?
There are several ways to record audio for test accommodations that can then be accessed by students during a test or in other settings where audio would support the learning needs of the student. The procedures described below were specifically designed to support a 1:1 iPad setting but could be modified to meet a variety of classroom settings.
One other note: Offering audio to all students and not just students who require accommodations is great Universal Design for Learning strategy. You may be surprised who chooses to listen to your narrated test when given the option!
Procedures for using Soundcloud app on the iPad for test reading accommodations
iPad steps
Step 1. Download the Soundcloud app from the iTunes app store.
Step 2. Open the Soundcloud app and register for a new account.
Step 3. Make a demo recording, name it, select “private”, and save.
Computer steps
Step 1. Download the Chrome Browser. (You can use Firefox and Internet Explorer, however the steps for adding a “bookmarklet” may differ).
Step 3. Click on the Chrome settings icon, hover over the “bookmarks” and select “show bookmarks bar”. You can also use the keyboard shortcut ctrl-shift-B to reveal and hide the bookmarks bar.
Step 4. Drag the red “QR Coder” bookmarklet into the bookmarks bar.
Croak.it is a super simple audio recorder that works on multiple devices including iOS (iPad, iTouch, iPhone), Android phones, or via your computer browser. It is similar in many ways to vocaroo.com with the added benefit of having a mobile app. The advantage of using a cross-platform program like croak.it is the ability to use every computing device available whether these be student or school owned.
Another advantage of the Croak.it recorder is that it does not require any account sign up. This means students can quickly create and share their recordings without the hassel of logging in. One suggestion that I have for saving recordings is to create a simple Google Form that students can use to submit their recording links. (see video below) This allows you to collect student recordings with out having to use an e-mail account.
(Use Google Forms to collect screenchomp, glogster and youtube links)
The recordings are limited to 30 seconds or less which could be both an advantage or disadvantage. I often warn teachers to be careful when assigning video or audio projects to students due to the time it takes to listen to each recording depending on the length. Because of the 30 second time limit you may want to encourage students to rehearse (never a bad idea) before they record.
One of our greatest fears as educators surrounding mobile devices like the iPad is the camera. The camera more than any other feature seems to have the potential for doing the most harm while simultaneously having countless educational value.
As we introduce mobile devices into the classroom or invite students to bring their own devices is there a way to effectively teach good digital citizenship and safety regarding the camera before it's too late?
I believe that the solution lies in asking students to use their mobile device camera frequently and repeatedly within the classroom to accomplish a variety of academic purposes each and every day and to conduct regular, purposeful checks of the images we ask them to take.
Here are some examples designed with a 1:1 or BYOD setting in mind with the potential for modification to fit in a shared device classroom. As students enter the room I might ask them to take a picture of the day’s agenda written on the board. This visual schedule will assist students with time management and provide a reference to the day's objectives when they are home. I might then ask students to open an app such as skitch or or paperport notes and have them photograph the day's bell ringer activity. They can then use annotation features to respond to the question and submit their response. Throughout a lesson I would encourage students to photograph notes on the board, their own notes and ancillary items in the room like posters or models. I would also ask students to take pictures of assignments I pass out or graded work that I've returned to them. And throughout this process, I would be explicit in my expectation that they refer to all of these photos for completing class tasks, homework, or as study guides. I would also do spot checks to see that students are taking photos of the required items and embed tasks within assignments that draw on information found in the photos. Finally, I would have students evaluate their photos for evidence of mastery and organize these photos for a portfolio.
Variations of these photo activities might also work in shared device settings by having students organize folders for the photos or by sharing the photos to an e-mail or dropbox account that the student can access using a different device. Designating student roles such as class photographer and class videographer would also help model appropriate use of mobile device cameras and turn the shared mobile device into a classroom resource.
Realistically, the storage on these mobile devices is limited and organizing the countless photos would require some room in our already crowded instructional schedules. But let’s be honest. This is not a storage or time crisis. This is about digital footprints and averting disaster.
In short, we hog the heck out the camera and expect not only access to the content but also encourage application, reflection, and the development of a final product using the photos taken. Not only does this reinforce the idea the camera is a tool and not a toy, it supports student organizational skills, provides multiple means of a representation (See Universal Design for Learning), and most importantly makes questionable content far less inviting.
M"DeI believe that given two weeks of near constant reinforcement of using the camera as a tool coupled with embedded instruction on the importance of digital citizenship and safety the majority of students would hesitate before taking and posting the kinds of pictures we all fear.
Today I came across this great infographic for helping students make good decisions about the pictures and videos they take. I also had the opportunity to share the poster with some Middle School students working in a nearby school. Yes, they’ve heard some of these “rules” before. But hearing it again and within the context of taking a picture of themselves (a reflection activity they were asked to complete) deepens their understanding and lets them apply the criteria we discussed.
By the way, there is an alternative. We can disable the cameras on devices we own. We can ban the devices they own. We can have once a year conversations about digital citizenship and safety that are isolated from the content of our lessons and that interfere with “real” teaching because “we have too.” Oh wait, that’s what we do right now. How’s that workin’ for ya?
In all seriousness, teaching digital citizenship and safety requires innovative strategies and deliberate effort. Let’s work together to find solutions that work. Please share how you are tackling the “fear of photos” in your classroom.
No, the iPad will not fix education. And, no, it is not the right device for all settings. But here are a few reasons why I think the iPad has already had a significant impact in schools.
1. I believe that the iPad is encouraging schools to fast track infrastructure projects involving wireless access and to increase bandwidth.
2. I have encountered more conversations about "going 1:1" and "bring your own device" in the past year than ever before.
3. The iPad can't truly be locked down. I think that this is pushing educators to look at "digital citizenship" more closely and to revise their AUP's from what you "can't" do to what you "should" do. It also encourages meaningful and authentic learning over "you need to learn this just because". If we can't answer the question, "Why do I need to learn this?" then our students will turn elsewhere. Honestly, why shouldn't they?
4. It's mobile. That's right folks. This thing can move to any part of the room, can leave the room, can "gasp!" even go outside. The 4 walls and a stage with tidy desks in a row is not working. Our learning spaces can and should be more dynamic. If the iPad helps, Fantastic!
For me, it's not about the apps, the swipes, or cool. It's about shifting our focus toward student centered learning. If the iPad is pushing our conversations and practice toward this goal then I'm excited.
It has been a while since I have written a blog post. I've recently acquired an android smart phone which has inspired me to write this post today. Actually I'm speaking this post using the blogger app and the android voice recognition. It works surprisingly well.
I'm looking forward to writing or speaking more blog posts about the use of cell phones in education. I'm also looking forward to my Macul conference presentation entitled "cell phones are 4 learning." See you there!
This is a recording of a presentation I gave in August as a part of our Tools for Teaching Digital Natives series. In it I discuss some of my favorite apps, suggestions for finding new apps, and a few recommendations for setting up a classroom set of iPod touches.
I'm excited to announce that the Academic Transitional Academy will be purchasing a "bevy" of Acer Aspire One netbooks to further support our students' learning needs. Netbooks are smaller than a standard laptop and also less expensive. This allowed us to purchase more netbooks and the small size should make storage and handling easier. They aren't as powerful as a standard laptop, but students who have been testing various models have reported that everyday computing tasks like using Moodle and Google Docs work just fine. Greater access to technology brings many benefits and likely, a few headaches, but hopefully this technology infusion will help make our learning environment more engaging, authentic, and rigorous.
