App Review: Make Dice Lite - Differentiating with cooperative learning structures and thinking cubes

Here is a brief video app tour of Make Dice Lite. This app allows you to create up to six custom six-sided dice. One or multiple dice can be thrown at a time. Creating custom dice is relatively simple and could be created quickly by having students open a document or website that contains pre-written questions or categories and then copying and pasting these onto your custom made dice. The one drawback to this Free app is the pop-up adds that occur between rolling events.

For more information on using Cooperative Learning to differentiate instruction with or without the iPad I highly recommend these resources put together by St. Clair County RESA Math and Science Assistant Director, Laura Chambless.

I've also included a few links to Cube and Thinking Dot activities and examples to help get you started.

Kagan Cooperative Learning - Learning Cubes
Cube and Thinking Dot Activities
Thinking Cube resources
Thinking Cube example

Friend or Foe? Mobile device cameras in the classroom.

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.

A few quick thoughts on why I like the iPad

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.

Quick thoughts on Qwiki for iPad #iear #edapp #edtech #ttdn

Just before the end of the school year I was able to check out an iPad from our RESA Assistive Technology lending library and test a few different apps with students. One of the apps I felt had great potential in the classroom was Qwiki. Qwiki compiles reference information from sites like wikipedia, images, videos, and maps to create an immersive information experience. But the most unique feature is the text-to-speech narration that accompanies every Qwiki. Captioning at the bottom of the screen is read by the text-to-speech engine giving the user the option to listen or read along. In essence, Qwiki turns your searches into movies.

In the short video clip above, students used Qwiki to research elements from the periodic table for a science project. I was impressed by the engagement level I saw, but also noted that the students using the Qwiki app were jotting down notes for their projects and reviewed their Qwiki search multiple times before moving on to the related searches presented at the end of the presentation. Because we were testing in an open environment without headphones other students paused to watch as well and even started discussing some of the qualities of the element being shown. This was vastly different from the disinterested search process that I had witnessed before I introduced the app.

It is worth noting that Qwiki is not just an iPad app. Their website http://www.qwiki.com offers an identical experience minus the intuitive touch screen interface. I'd love to see Qwiki develop some editing features that would allow students to curate their own resources and create dynamic presentations that could be shared.

Have you used Qwiki in your classroom? Please share your thoughts on how you think this website and app might support struggling learners or help increase engagement.

Reinspired

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!

Fall family fun: Geocaching and podcasting together

My family and I enjoy the "Geek" sport of Geocaching.  Ok, it's not that geeky when you consider that it is great excuse to go outside and explore.  Plus there are a number of great classroom applications.   Of course there are a lot of math applications (calculating distances and geometry) or using the answers to math problems to complete missing coordinates.  And geocaching is well suited to teaching geography concepts and local history.  But you can also use caches for team building, campus orientations, or tie into the geocaching online community to build communication skill.  Regardless, it is a lot of fun.

My two children Bella and Tennyson helped me to make a quick podcast while we were out geocaching today at the Pine River Nature Center.  I had a little difficulty with our recordings and ended up using a couple different iPod touch apps (Voice and ipadio) to get the job done, but it was fun to record on the go.  Take a listen to get a better sense of what geocaching is all about.

Can't see the podcast player? Click here

ToonDoo and PicLit: Two tools for supporting UDL "Multiple Means of Expression"

Although I've known about ToonDoo for a while now, it was a blog post this morning at What Ed Said and a Tweet from @web20classroom about the site PicLits yesterday that got me thinking more about the great resources on the web for letting students explore and play with language and images in non-threatening and creative ways.

When we ask students to share what they understand about a particular concept or idea we usually expect  verbal answers via a class discussion or formally written responses. We rarely ask or allow students to combine their verbal and written responses with images or video to help clarify their understanding, or when we do we usually build too many expectations into the project (you know - design a poster that explains every aspect of James Joyce's Ulysses) that many students feel overwhelmed at the analogue of image and ideas.  

ToonDoo and PicLits are very inviting explorations of the way that images and text can communicate more effectively than either media alone. They work well as stand alone activities but can also be combined with larger multimedia activities like classroom blogs and sites like Glogster to help students express and reflect on their learning in fun and creative ways.

See the full PicLit at PicLits.com

I imagine students exploring language and learning new vocabulary through PicLits' magnetic poetry styled site. Or using the freestyle text editor to address more specific written responses to questions posed by a lesson.  

ToodDoo would be a great resource for asking students to represent or summarize an important scene from a text or to describe a math or science concept to a fellow student.  

And both sites contain thousands of examples of student created work which could be curated and then presented to generate discussion about effective uses of language and images related to a specific classroom theme.

I know that providing more examples of how students would use these sites to share what they know would benefit anyone who reads this post.  Are you using either of these sites in your classroom?  How would you use these sites to support all learners in your classroom?

Getting Started with Google Docs: Presentation and Ustream recording

I've been looking back at some of the professional development resources I developed over the summer. I managed to capture my Google Docs presentation in August using Ustream and even found a way to edit out a few miscellaneous minutes that were unrelated so that this post should serve as decent starting point for anyone wondering what all the fuss is about with Google Docs and cloud based office suites. The rest of my Google resources can be found here at my website.

One aspect of this presentation that I'm particularly keen on is the focus at the beginning on how I use Google Docs Presentations (think PowerPoint) to model Universal Design for Learning strategies. I'm the first person to tell you that slide shows of any sort are generally a drag to watch, but hyperlinks and embedded media plus the ability to share the presentation out to personal computing devices and smartphones makes Google Docs a new kind of beast in the world of information delivery. Several accessibility issues are addressed when you allow individuals to view along with you on the screen of their choice at their own pace with the ability to go backward or forwards 24 hours a day 7 days a week with or without the presenter. Add some audio or even a video like the one below and you've got a "multiple means of representation" dream come true. Throw in the fact that interactive links turn the viewer into a participant and you start see how traditional delivery via a PowerPoint projected on a wall just doesn't cut the mustard.    

My blog has been a bit quieter than I would like of late. September is a busy time for all of us in education, but hopefully the start of the school year has been as exciting for you as it has been for me. Enjoy the journey.

Can't see the presentation? Click Here

Can't see the Ustream recording? Click here

Making a good first impression with Animoto

Last week I wrote about Google Search Stories as a way to quickly create quick 30 second videos about any topic (including your online identity) using Google's web, image, and map queries. This week I want to focus on how to make amazing videos using your own images and video. Animoto for Education gives educators and students free access to unlimited full length "music" videos using amazing visual effects.

When my principal, Pete Spencer, came to today to request a last minute "Welcome" video for our new student orientation I didn't blink. With Animoto, it's easy.  I uploaded some photos, grabbed a couple video clips, typed in 4 quick title slides, picked out a funky tune from the music library and hit submit.  What do you think?

Why not introduce a new topic, spice up some quotes, or have students demonstrate their understanding of a concept by using images, text and music? PowerPoint is dead, long live Power Point.  

Houston we have a problem - Help crowd source our Professional Development

I'm preparing to help facilitate a Summer professional development institute focussed on helping high school teachers integrate technology to foster 21st century learning.  And I think we have a problem.  The problem isn't the brand new laptop, iPod touch, flip cam, microphone headsets and software we are giving teachers who participate.  The problem I think is reflected this anecdote from Will Richardson's blog:

At a collection of school leaders and IT people, one of the participants told the group that his school had bought a number of iPads for teachers and that they had scheduled a chunk of training on how to use them. Unfortunately for him, I had just read an exchange on Twitter where Gary Stager had made the point that I quickly made to the group: “You know, something like 1.3 million people have bought an iPad and I doubt any of them have gotten any “training” on how to use it.” The people in the room half chuckled, but one woman said “Our teachers won’t do anything with technology unless we give them training.”

After reading this my first thought was, hey, we're giving out the same consumer level devices which are sold without training by such high minded institutions as Walmart, yet we've slotted significant chunks of our training time to how you connect the device to the computer and how to download an app.  Are they really that hard to use? 

It does get a little more complicated when we look at the applications and software.  Our plans call for training on Moodle, Google Apps, social media, and screen casting (multi day trainings in and of themselves in a traditional model).  But aren't we really just saying make your teaching and learning environment accessible, authentic, interconnected, and multi-sensory.  

So I'm throwing out a few smaller brainstrorms in the hopes of pulling in some big guns from the interwebs. *yes, that  means you all,  in the hope that our little problem will demonstrate a bigger picture solution.  Or just tell me that I'm wrong.  It's how I learn.  

I call this Challenges not Training:

1.  "Use your iPod touch to share with a friend the fact that you just got an iPod touch"  Skills needed - Turn it on, connect to internet, set up e-mail or go to web based e-mail, compose a message, send. Variations: Set up facebook app, set up twitter app, record a voice memo and e-mail it, etc.

2.  "Use your flip camera to share a video or a picture with a friend the fact that you just got a flip cam"  Skills needed- Turn it on, record video or take still shot, export to computer, share via e-mail, facebook, twitter, upload to youtube, etc.

Make it a race, make it a cooperative activity (first group to get all to accomplish task), give prizes.

3. As for the applications:  "You have several students who are failing your course. They are disengaged during lectures, they consistently misplace their work, they seem more interested in texting notes to their friends than taking notes, and your worst fear is that they are recording your classroom using the camera on their cell phone.  What strategies and resources could you integrate into your lessons to engage your learners, make the material multi sensory, personally accessible, authentic and interconnected?"

I hope that at least few folks will take a moment to reply.  I and my group thank you in advance.  

An Earth Day Surprise using a webcam and 3D Augmented Reality

Each morning and afternoon I greet our students at the entrance of our school. I usually ask a Question of the Day using polleverywhere.com, a Google Form, or wallwisher.com. Today I introduced students to an interesting piece of technology called augmented reality and captured their reactions using Camtasia studio's screen capturing software.

The students were amazed. I demoed two examples of augmented reality. In honor of Earth Day on April 22 I chose GE's smart grid augmented reality project.  It features an interactive solar farm or a wind farm which magically appear out of symbol printed on a piece of paper.  I think this would make a great kick off activity for any Earth Day lesson or alternative energy activity.  The second example I chose featured a friendly little green monster that waves and looks around.

What you need to try this out:

• A web cam
• A printer
• A web browser with Adobe Flash 

Do we choose our passion or does our passion choose us? #edchat

Tonight I joined over 500 participants in an online presentation featuring Sir Ken Robinson and hosted by Steve Hargadon at http://learncentral.org.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with Sir Ken Robinson's work I recommend that you start here, but for the sake of brevity his message is about passion. 

I had been eagerly anticipating this event which I learned about through the Infinite Thinking Machine blog about a week ago.  I even spent the hours leading up to this evening's event by following and participating in the #edchat discussion taking place in Twitter which was devoted Sir Robinson's theme of passion in education. Very geeky, I know.

For the record. I did not set out to be an educator.  As a result, I'm not officially considered one.  I spent the entirety of my University experience taking literature courses, art classes, and creative writing workshops with the understanding that I was going to be a poet and an artist, or at the very least a Bohemian barrista in some funky underground coffee house.  That was my passion. Then I graduated.

I have spent just about every day since working with youth in settings ranging from homeless shelters and Boys and Girls Clubs to core academic settings working as a classroom aid and my current position as a technology integration consultant.  This is my passion now.  Working with students and teachers using technology to learn and share and hopefully nurture our passions together.

I refer to myself as an edtech accident.  But there are no accidents - I just can't get over my surprise that this is what I love to do.  I love putting off my homework (to become a real teacher) so that I can join a lot of passionate educators who also dig the funny box you're staring at right now in a conversation that is complex, incomplete, and capable of transforming our educational system.  It is not if, it is when.  Which is why there is fear.

Passionate people are scary. We take risks. We ask difficult questions. We are not afraid to answer them.

We also make mistakes, get carried away, or unfairly dismiss the misgivings and struggles of others. We do not always inspire others with our passion, believe me!

I must also cultivate compassion.  I cannot allow my passion to close me off to other opinions or opportunities.  But neither should I stifle the kinetic and creative energy that I've found or found me - I'm not sure which.  I'm not sure that it matters.

Tomorrow I will ask my students (and colleagues) as they come into our building about their passions as a part of my ATA Question of the Day.  I'll let them answer on netbooks or their cell phones, ask others face to face, and give those who aren't in the mood a smile. I'll let them all know that I love what I do.  It's who I am. 

Liz Kolb - #macul10 Cell Phones in Learning Part 2

Liz Kolb - #macul10 Cell Phones in Learning Part 2

http://tiny.cc/maculcell

1:1 program at Liz's school ran out of funding: sustainability is huge!

Announcing her picture on the fly contest from yesterday's session - Using Google Forms for voting! Winner is Pic of texting while driving "technology don't"

http://jumbli.tv

• moving letters scrambled. Text in a word you could make.
• Tied to a billboard in NY Times Sqaure
• Works from the website as well
• Global answers being posted in real time

http://contxts.com

• students could do a keyword business campaign
• create keyword cards for scavenger hunts
• text kithard to 50500  for mine

http://dailybooth.com

• no student login needed
• create visual picture boards (make a collaborative digital story)

http://ipadio.com

• Allows for cross posting to blogs and wikis without having to embed! (Very cool)
• I (Kit) started using this after gcast.com went to premium model
• Useful in Language classes

http://google.com/voice

• Create a local # for calling
• Only associates with a real phone # once you set it up
• Set up groups and give custom greetings (post assignments, have students respond to a question or prompt)
• FREE calls to Canada!
• Read your voice mail messages, listen to them on the web or your phone
• Have students call the number, then associate their name and assign to a group
• You can receive and send texts for FREE! (Can only send group messages to 5 at a time)
• You can record phone calls (document and archive a parent phone call) It will announce to both parties that the call is being recorded
• Record an interview
• Google Voice Video tutorials http://www.youtube.com/googlevoice

http://scvngr.com

• pre-built scavenger hunts for some museums or public places
• build your own
• create geo-located virtual tours, games, interactive experiences
• uses keyword texts
• School Orientations (Oohs and aahs from the crowd)
• Set time constraints on length of games
• Send out time warnings (5 minutes before field trip ends)
• Stagger starts
• Works with text messaging, web interface, and smart phones
• You can embed clues and hints
• allows random or linear clue delivery
• Video feature is on the way
• you can assign grades or points to submissions

http://kaywa.com

• Uses qrcodes or 2d barcodes
• Only about 60% of current phones have the ability to read qrcodes
• Link homework help, weblinks, contact info, using the qrcode posted on website or printed (student pulls out phone and takes picture of code rather than getting a handout)
• Paste in your class syllabus, student takes pic, they can read it on their phone
• Math teacher using qrcodes on all assignments

http://voki.com

• make an avatar on the website and then narrate from a phone
• having an account allows you to edit or save recordings
• uses a 1-800 number
• Create an historical character for history class

http://freeconferencepro.com

http://podlinez.com

• Generate a podcast for any website url and a corresponding phone # for students to call
• Use when internet access is unavailable

Macul Cell Part1

View more presentations from elizkeren.

Cool Cat Teacher - #MACUL10 Victoria Davis: Se...

Cool Cat Teacher - #MACUL10 Vicki Davis: Seven steps to Flatten Your Classroom

Knowing where to focus: Our plates our full.  How are we going to add global collaboration to our to-do-list

How do we tackle problems: Find a few vital behaviors and change them; everything else falls in line.

Kaizen = Japanese Slow,Steady, Improvement

Pick your big 3 from this conference.  What will start doing immediately. Monday!

Influencing deep beliefs

• NOT Lectures
• NOT Personal Action
• Yes, Vicarious Experience (watch someone you trust doing something you fear or resist)

What is a Flat Classroom?

• Thomas Friedman The World is Flat
• The project evolved out of real teacher connections - not strategizing
• http://flatclassroomproject.org

Eracism Project - Voicethread debate

Digiteen Project - Digital citizenship project

10 World Flatteners - outsourcing, technology, etc.

Marzano - Ideal group setting (3 students) but the flat classroom project uses 6 person groups

• using time differences and scheduling variance to reduce negative impact of 6 person groups

Showing a rubric for student produced video

• All students must produce their own Video (producer)
• The outsource part of their production (partner) 


• collaboration sometimes breaks down but learning still occurs

Education is still stuck in the silent movie era

Showing examples of student video work; students as video currators pulling in authentic global voices.

Worst problem with online writing is verbal "diareah"

• Importance of being conscise
• Using Contextual Hyperlinking
• Not Social Networking: Educational Networking
• Online presentation skills using webex, dimdim, Adobe Connect
• Using one jpeg image and online presentation to summarize project

Five Phases of Flattening your Classroom - see presentation diagram

• High expectations
• Intra connected (classroom)
• Inter connected (classes - school)
• Managed global 
• Student to Student (with teacher management)
• Student to Student (with student management)

There are finite # of International Schools

• Who ever builds those relationships first . . .
• Use connections to friends over seas

7 Principles

• Peer review is crucial
• Diversity
• Personal Learning Networks (RSS is huge, tagging #WHS)
• Citizenship and Problem Solving (effective techno personal skills)Teacherpreneur's Environment
• Customized and Differentiated


• Online existence (answer your e-mails, communicate)
• Digital Citizenship is required to be taught if you receive e-rate funds


• IT improvements
• All stakeholders working together

Link of the Week #11: Urgent Evoke - A crash course in changing the world.

Urgent Evoke - A crash course in changing the world.

Here's an interesting social networking "game" designed to engage participants in quests and missions which develop a deeper understanding and application of Collaboration, Courage, Creativity, Entrepreneurship, Local insight, Knowledge, Networking, Resourcefulness, Spark, Sustainability, and Vision.  Players develop these "powers" by tackling real world  problems such as poverty, water and food security, education, and human rights.  


The game was devoloped using the Ning social networking platform, but has a very different feel from other social networks like Facebook.  This is Facebook with a mission and a very convincing atmosphere.  Check out this trailer for Urgent Evoke.

EVOKE trailer (a new online game) from Alchemy on Vimeo.

Is this worthy of the classroom?  Better question may be is this worthy of what education could or should become? Informative, Engaging, Participatory, Authentic, Structured.

Looks like some Hardcore problem based learning to me.

Shout out to http://twitter.com/techsavvyed for sharing this resource.

Live - from the skatepark! Using technology and "homework" to engage the brain.

One of my goals this year is to support learning tools and technology that fire up our students' brains (and hearts) after school. For argument's sake I'll call this "homework" -(boo!).

I wonder what would happen if students were asked to use their cell phones to explain relationships in an ecosystem by taking pictures of examples from hockey practice, the skate park, or the mall. They could submit the photos to a shared photo site online, and the next day the teacher could project these images for a discussion. Finding examples of geometric shapes, literary devices, or genetic traits might also work. And while they are shooting photos that night we might also send a text message quiz question to reinforce a specific concept. The same assignment could be completed with a digital camera and a web posted quiz question (no cell phone), or with hand drawn examples and a sealed envelope quiz question for students with minimal technology (ok, I'm reaching here). But perhaps the incentive of using a cell phone or having your photos used the next day for discussion would entice our "homework loving" students to learn while they live.

I think learning what we teach while engaged in their personal activities might help to cement the connections and concepts we are trying to teach. And if that doesn't work, I'd try playing the didgeridoo while stiltwalking.