Thinking about a lack of thinking « Granted, but… | Diigo

Thinking about a lack of thinking « Granted, but… | Diigo  I would love to hear what you think of Grant Wiggins' blog post.

Using Prezi for Student Projects

PREZI is an online presentation software tool with a zoom-able canvas, that makes it fun to explore, and is visually captivating to  your audience. Watch the video below to get an example of what students can do with Prezi for project presentations in all subjects!

Virtual Museum Projects

What is a Virtual Museum Project?  ...basically, a collection of electronic artifacts and information resources - practically anything that can be digitized.  Virtual Museums can be created in Microsoft PowerPoint, with non-linear slides.  A collection may include paintings, drawings, photographs, recordings, video segments, etc.  This "non-linear" presentation gives the viewer the option to "jump" over slides to specific groups of slides.  So, students would create “rooms” where researched information is housed, with links back to the “entrance.” Virtual museums were first presented at the ISTE (NECC) in 2005.  Now, with several ways to "spruce up" Microsoft PowerPoint, virtual museums are a welcome, well-sought-after way to engage students, which creating amazing projects. Teachers from Keith Valley Middle School, in Pennsylvania shared their slideshows, where they begin using these museums to replace traditional art history reports.  Students can easily develop virtual museums from scratch, and use these museums to further their knowledge of curricular objectives in academic subjects across the curriculum.  This project promotes student creativity and engagement.  Below are a few links where you can view additional information on virtual museums.  View the video below to see some student examples.  How could you use VMs in your classroom?  Comment below with ideas or questions.   

Benefits & Purpose:

o They allow for integration of  21st Century Skills into traditional learning.

o They promote cross-curricular integration by having students link ideas.

o The museums provide new, meaningful, and contemporary opportunities to integrate technology.

o They help students gain presentation skills.

o They motivate student learning through high-interest activities.

o Research for the museum and the construction of the museum requires students engage in higher-level 

   thinking.

o They encourage reluctant students to write.

o They appeal to students who are visual learners.

Virtual Museums to teach integrated subjects:

o  Students can create rooms about topics other than history (e.g., math, science, literature, civics, geography).

o  Students can create rooms on a single theme with each room representing a different content area (e.g., If

    studying Galileo, one room may focus on geometry, one about daily living during his time, one with a written biography, and one on the science of his time).

o  Students can present the rooms in the form of an auction with bidding starting at a set amount for each 

picture.

o  Have students use the same pictures in each room, but use different writing styles for the placards (e.g., 

biography, persuasive, descriptive).

o  Use the museums to teach research, notetaking, and writing skills.

o  Have students create museums as portfolio assessments of all content areas from a single semester.

Excerpts Taken From: Educational Virtual Museums Developed Using PowerPoint http://christykeeler.com/EducationalVirtualMuseums.html

Resource Links:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ed5e-HHikGk
http://christykeeler.com/EducationalVirtualMuseums.html  

April is National Poetry Month!

Would you like a way to integrate technology into your poetry unit? It can be difficult to do anything more with a poetry unit other than reading and writing poems. Educators need to integrate technology into their lesson plans more and more as companies are demanding future employees with computer skills, and the technology generation is growing bored with traditional teaching methods. Many states now mandate technology to be a part of the curriculum. So, here are few ideas:

1. Using Photo Story 3, you can turn your class poetry into a narrated video for students to enjoy and take home! Photo Story 3 is a Windows program that creates slide show videos using digital pictures. The program is very user friendly, allowing users to keep it as simple as possible or more polished if they choose. The options included in the program range from cropping and rotating pictures, using color effects on pictures, to transitions and music/narration. The example below is a Photo Story of the poem "Candlelight" done by Charlotte S; Poem written by Coreena Lindquist:

2. Using an electronic Flipbook, you can turn your students into published poets!  Issuu is allows you to publish books and magazines in a digital format, where the pages actually flip as if you were turning a paper magazine or project.  Students and parents really like this feature, and projects can easily be posted on your webpage.  See an example below.  

3. Using Voicethread, you can have students illustrate and narrate their poems, and comment on each other's work.  This is a great way to promote dialogue among students.  Below is an example of a third grade class in Brooklyn New York.

Here are some additional website resources for National Poetry Month:

http://www.theteachersguide.com/poetrymonth.htm 

http://languagearts.pppst.com/poetry.html

 

http://www.poets.org/page.php/prmID/103 

Embracing the New Interactive Classroom

Some of you may ask, “Why do I need a NEW classroom?”  “What’s wrong with the classroom I’ve always had?”  I manage my students pretty well; My test scores are good; My students come back to see me year after year. The Partnership for 21st Century Skills conducted a poll, and 80% of voters said that the kinds of skills students need to learn today are different from what they needed 20 years ago. And 99% of voters said that teaching students 21st-century skills is important to our country’s economic success.  Students are ready for this shift to multimedia—even enthusiastic. "Students are more comfortable experimenting with technology and visual media because these are a regular part of their lives outside of school.” So, this PRESENTATION clarifies what these skills are—and some new engaging ways to teach them!

Generating Multiple QR Codes with Google Docs Spreadsheet

QR Codes have become extremely popular in schools lately.  Please view my PRESENTATION to learn some ways that they can be used in the classroom.  Many teachers that I work with have incorporated video book reviews by the students as a formative assessment.  A great way to "publish" these book reviews and share with other students is to generate QR Codes to adhere to the books.  Students can scan the codes with their smartphone, iPad, tablet or laptop/PC (with webcam) to see a peer-review of the book!  Dutch Fork Elementary School has  set up a QR Code station in the library for students to view the opinion of their peers on video before deciding to check out a book.

Generating several codes can become time-consuming if you are using any of the QR Code generating sites.  However, you can decrease the time dramatically and organize your codes by using a Google spreadsheet.   Tammy Worcester provides this Tip of the Week: Click on this TEMPLATE to enter text or URLs, and a QR code will automatically be generated for you.  Then, simply copy and paste the code to your desired designation. Or save the codes to any location on your computer.  In order to view the codes in the Google spreadsheet, be sure to change the view from normal view to list view. 

Are you using QR Codes in your instruction, or do you plan to?  If so, please comment and share some ideas about what you are doing or plan to do. 

TimeToast: Create Interactive Timelines in Minutes

This online Web 2.0 tool allows students to create timelines in minutes.  Yes, it's free!  See the example below, as a student displays his research on the History of Basketball. Click on the image. Or, try it yourself at http://www.timetoast.com

Mimic Twitter in the Classroom to Increase Engagement

Embrace the backchannel and engage your students with  http://www.todaysmeet.com/ which allows you to create a room where students can participate in a real time conversation. In the classroom, what a great way to supplement the showing of a film, increase engagement during presentations, and more! Check out the introductory video below:

The Flipped Classroom: Will you be "Flipping Out?"

In November, I facilitated a professional development workshop for secondary mathematics teachers on technology integration, based on Marzano’s instructional strategies, with positive feedback and implementation of the Flipped Classroom by several teachers.  The LiveBinder for the presentation is in a previous post.  One strategy that yields a 20% gain in learning is Homework & Practice.  However, research shows that students should adapt skills while they are learning them.  Speed and accuracy are key indicators of the effectiveness of practice.  That being the case, what does it say about students who get home and become stuck while trying desperately to follow the day’s notes to complete homework problems?  Often this results in feelings of frustration and ineffective practice. 

The flipped model of instruction is an innovative teaching strategy that can elevate those frustrations and have students prepared to work problems in class, where the teacher can assist.  This also creates more time for application activities or labs, where students will be able to cover more material with a deep understanding. I used this model with great success in the mathematics classroom (on a small scale) to differentiate instruction, but only periodically as remediation or enrichment. The reaction from the students was extremely positive.  They enjoyed being able to learn at their own pace by pausing and rewinding at will.  EDMODO was a great tool to post lesson videos and elicit student feedback.  While reflecting and searching for new resources, I stumbled across this video.  The flipped model of instruction will take some teachers more time to become sold on the strategy.  This is a paradigm shift for teaching and learning.  Instead of our traditional role as “sage on the stage,” we are now the “guide on the side.” Watch the video below to see how the success of this strategy convinced a high school principal to FLIP HIS ENTIRE SCHOOL!  What do you think about this model of teaching and learning? Do you think there are any content areas the flipped classroom wouldn’t work for?

Additional Resources

Flipped Class Network: http://vodcasting.ning.com/

Co-learning Network: http://colearningnetwork.org

Flipped Class Blog: http://flipped-learning.com/?page_id=45

Research & Data: http://flipteaching.com/page7/index.php

Mastery Learning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning

Great Webinar: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/p8v0ubgtsa6/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal

Scoop It: Use This Tool to Graphically Share Your Interests

Use Scoop.it to gather information on your favorite interests. You may also use suggestions from thousands of other users. Click on the "My Scoop it Profile" above to see more topics curated by me, and also sign up for your own profile to begin curating your favorite topics!! I look forward to following your topics. Below are a few of my favorites to provide teachers with resources for instructional strategies.

Why Technology Integration Is So Important

Engage Your Students with Glogster

View the Glogster poster below to see ideas for using Glogster in the math classroom, and learning some benefits of integrating Glogs into instruction. Click Here to view thousands of shared Glogs, categorized by content and subject. These posters with embedded videos, pictures, and interactive features are sure to ramp up the engagement for any assignment. 

Integrating Technology with Best Practice Instructional Strategies

Integrating Tech with Best Practice Instructional Strategies

This is a link to our professional development workshop for middle and high school math teachers. It contains a plethora of ideas for using technology to support Marzano's nine essential instructional strategies. Please feel free to comment and recommend additional resources for this binder. Thank you.

Try STORYBIRD for Interactive, Collaborative Writing!

Storybird is a fun collaborative storytelling website for all grade levels. Storybird makes it easy to create and tell stories digitally. Students and teachers can create stories together by combining imaginative artwork and text. The final product can be printed, watched on screen, or shared in an online library with the world. Storybird “promotes imagination, literacy, and self-confidence.” Creating a Storybird is free. The imaginative artwork will have your students' imaginations soaring and lead to enthusiastic writing. Students can work together in teams to create stories. Students will feed off of each others ideas, creating more creative stories and learning together.

Storybird is also a fantastic place to create a classroom story, each student can contribute pages to the story. The final product can be easily shared with family and friends in the online library. Storybird can be used by teachers to make “special” stories for students. They can include students as characters, emphasize classroom themes or curriculum, and be created for specific reading
levels. Encourage your students to create and share their stories on Storybird. Storybird has free class accounts that allow students to use Storybird without providing an email address.

Glogster: A great digital tool for student engagement!

If you are looking to increase vocabulary, consider using Glogster.edu It can be used as a photo book to foster grammar and narrative skills. Students enjoy creating relative, digital content that they can share with friends and family. Below is one example of how I used Glogster.edu to deliver a mathematics lesson. Students were engaged with the interface, and they could revisit the information as needed. Notice the paperclip that denotes an attachment. Never lose worksheets or exit slips after an online presentation again! Contact me to gain access for a free premium trial version. I am also available for training and lesson integration ideas.

Great uses for QR (Quick Response) Codes in the Classroom

A QR (Quick Response) code is an image that can be read by a mobile smart phone, i-Pad 2, or webcam, through its camera. By simply scanning the code using your mobile phone’s camera, you are provided with information contained in that code. QR codes can link to a website, download files, send an e-mail or text, and even make phone calls! There are several grants that would supply a few i-Pod touches to use for this purpose.

5 Ways to Begin with QR Codes in your Classroom

1. Links to Resources on Class Handouts: Begin by generating your own code, using any of the free sites below. Check around to see which sites offer what features. Generate links to instructional videos or printable documents.

http://www.smartytags.com/create-a-code

http://www.quickmark.com

http://kimtag.com

2. Self-Assessment: Create flash cards with QR codes on the back, that display the correct answer when scanned. In addition, you may provide the link to a website that contains more info. on the word.

3. Code Quest: Create a cooperative learning “Code Quest” by posting QR codes at several locations. Each code will ask a question that will require students to locate an object. Once the object is found, another QR code will send students to another location, to locate yet another object. This Code Quest involves teamwork, cooperation, thinking, and moving around!

4. Surveys or Quizzes: You can use a Google Docs Form to create a quiz or survey that students or parents can easily access through their mobile phones.

5. Interactive Curriculum Night: Post QR codes around the classroom with titles about student work. QR codes could be used to access students' videos, projects, or blogs.

If you have other ideas for QR codes in the classroom, please leave a comment! Thank you.

Blogging with Streamline Videos and Images in Edmodo

This is a copy of the presentation that I used for the ETV summer workshop. Feel free to comment on the workshop or ask any questions that you may not have gotten the chance to ask. Thanks to all of the wonderful participants and interested teachers! A great time was had by all, and students will love us more for integrating this "FACEBOOK" type technology into our content! If you scroll down some, you will see the EDMODO guide, created by a fellow middle school teacher. He did a great job compiling everything we need to know to use EDMODO successfully with our students. Feel free to connect with my blog by clicking on the "Follow with Google" connect icon on the right sidebar. You may also connect with yahoo.

Blogging about Streamline Videos and Images with EDMODO on Prezi

Interactive Notebooks: It sounded like a good idea!

Last school term, I searched for a way to engage my students in the math classroom as they took notes on important concepts. The idea was to provide them with something they would always have to refer to or look back on, as a study aide. Also, it is important to me that my students create good communication skills in math, building their mathematical discourse. So, when I ran across information on Interactive Notebooks, I thought this would be the "cure all" for my middle school students.

The Interactive Notebook is a good strategy for students to keep track of their learning. This concept is originated from History Alive's "Interactive Student Notebook." It was beneficial to my students, as it provided a medium for them to be creative, sort, and categorize new information as they learned it. Basically, information is recorded on the right side (from the student's reflection) and learned information is generated on the left (from the teacher's direct instruction). Below is what I used to explain the process to my students and model the reflection side for them.

Pros: Students will have the same notes; helpful when reviewing for quizzes/tests; Students can demonstrate creativity and ownership.
Cons: A lot of time, work and mistakes for the teachers when setting up; Lost notebooks; New students entering mid-year.

Reflection: As I look back on my reaction to facing the cons (aborting the strategy almost mid-year), I do so with regret. To my surprise, quite a few students pulled out their notebooks toward the end of the year to help with completing exam study guides or end of year projects. Then it hit: I should have stayed the course! What lead me to abandon the notebooks? What can I do differently to maintain them throughout the year? Well, one thing that discouraged me was when students lost their notebook or did not come to class with it. Another pitfall was when students took an extra long time to copy notes into their notebooks. Now I know that I can provide students with pre-written notes to glue inside the notebook. Also, if a notebook is lost or not brought to class, I can have students begin with a 3-ring binder type notebook, and copy a little at a time from another student. Having the pre-written notes will be a plus, because students can place those in the binder and rewrite their reflections on the back. I am ready to try it again this fall! I also have found several sites to help with ideas such as table of contents, grading rubrics, and other ideas. The following sites should be helpful with math and other subjects:
http://jyounghewes.tripod.com/scinote.html
http://pages.prodigy.net/wtrucillo/interactive_notebook.htm
http://www.journeytoexcellence.org/practice/instruction/theories/miscideas/notebook.phtml
http://www.nonags.org/members/dasaunders/notebook.html

Please comment and share your thoughts if you have tried interactive notebooks, or if you will try them in the future.

The guide below was created by a fellow middle school teacher and it has everything that you need to know to get started with EDMODO!

edmodo user guide.pdf by Angela on Scribd

Eighth-Grade Students Learn More Through Direct Instruction : Education Next

Eighth-Grade Students Learn More Through Direct Instruction : Education Next