Using Social Media and Web 2.0 to Differentiate Instruction
By: Mary Marotta Instructional Technology, Professional Development Consultant and Adjunct Professor
This school year Sept-Dec 2016 has been an exciting one with Freshman/9th-grade students arriving with Chromebooks. Our district piloted with 8th graders last year and students arrived ready to use! Teachers were onboard and ready to use this year. We now have two grade levels that are 1:1 and I hope to see the high school expand next year.
For PD I introduced the EdCamp model to the high school staff, last spring and again this fall which included teachers and students sharing best practice and learning web-based tools to support the Chromebook initiative. Many teachers used twitter to showcase their work and connect with their colleagues during our EdCamp and the momentum has continued.
I expanded my own professional development by teaching a class on G-Suite and Project-Based-Learning (PBL) and proposed our PLC during our late starts to focus on #PBL using the guidelines from the Buck Institute of Technology (BIE/PBL). We even participated in a twitter slow chat with ASCD on #PBL. While exploring PBL began connecting #designthinking and gaming techniques to offer teachers and student more voice and choice in assignments. I am currently reading Launch: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and plan to implement with lessons over the next few months and I plan to incorporate into a spring graduate class to promote design thinking.
I also had the chance to test out "THE BREAKOUT EDU EXPERIENCE" with a few teachers this month. The Breakout EDU creates learning games and experiences for all ages. Games (Breakouts) teach teamwork, problem-solving, critical thinking, and troubleshooting by presenting participants with challenges that ignite their natural drive to problem-solve. We even reflected on the process recording students using Recap. December was the perfect month to test out some of these creative lessons with students.
For the upcoming 2017 year, I will continue to encourage teachers to use twitter, blog and thoughtfully integrate technology into their curriculum by modeling techniques, like the one below using Thinklink with links to resources to try for the upcoming year. By clicking on the image and circles in the images, it may inspire you to grow professionally this year!
What will you make happen this year? Click on the image and circles on the image for some inspiration (or here is the link )
I am looking forward to the new year and plan to continually work on my own learning in order to help my teachers and students grow during 2017!
I have been reading LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking to Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student Link
Overview video http://www.speedofcreativity.org/2017/01/16/2-great-and-free-ways-to-learn-about-design-thinking/
The book focus on Design Thinking and provides a process that can be incorporated into every class at every grade level even if you don't consider yourself a "creative teacher." Each chapter links to resources and videos to support the book.
Here is a video with an overview of the book. Video
More on the design process below.
Other Notes:
#busedu if you are intereseted in #gamification then I suggest you read EXplore Like a Pirate by @mrmatera #xplap
Restructure the way you present a new idea. Use design thinking—a way of approaching an idea with equal parts logic from past data and emotions concerning prospective success. https://goo.gl/gzndLW
Reflection: Test out Use RecapThat see previous post and/or
FlipGrid to host Book club topics FlipGrid One new 2017
Note: Other book clubs and thinglink options
Thinglink, MODEL book club can be found using twitter with #launchbook study and #D100BloggerPD
Learning to use Storify to tell my #launchbookchat story
I have been exploring Let's Recap this month with a few classes. Recap here is the link https://letsrecap.comprovides teachers with a creative way to gather evidence of student thinking using video. It helps create new learning connections between students and teachers and allows you to share that information! They have a great blog https://letsrecap.com/blogwith lots of great ideas. Our PLT has been focusing PBL (Project-Based-Learning) and had a great post on using Recap for Essential Questions (EQ). I tested out this week with a few Spanish classes and the kids were very engaged. After they got over being silly with the webcam on them the teacher, Ms. Barr asked them a few questions and they were able to respond in minutes. We all got to review each other's video projecting them in class. The teacher then has the option to share individual links, that could be shared with parents or share the entire class reel with other teachers. Ms. Barr then shared the Review Reel with with me and other members of her department!
We could review all the video responseslink. We plan on showing at an upcoming staff meeting as a new and innovative way to use technology and the chromebooks.
It was an awesome way to showcase the Spanish class and I am looking forward to future video reels! I see this as a great way for students to share their learning using video and it lends itself perfectly to language classes.
This also got me thinking about our 9th grade student using Chromebooks this year and how I could collect video reflections and share with our community. I have this a try in class today and here are a few samples of the responses (one /two) or watch the video reel!
Stay tuned for more video reflections with Recap!
NEXT compare with Flipgrid One (coming in 2017) blog
I have been using Adobe Spark (Post, Page and Video) with several classes this month! I stumbled upon it on Twitter last August/September and I have found so many amazing uses for it. I have presented out of it using Pages and created invitations and awareness posts for my school. My English, Social Studies, Business and Photography teachers have all explore this month and seemed thrilled with the lessons, projects and the creativity from students!
Adobe Spark announced a NEW feature this week. The ability to add video footage into Spark Video. This is without a doubt a great tool to use on Chromebooks and iOS for student creativity!
I saw with great tweet this week - by John Spencer Seven Creative Alternatives to Showing Movies Before the Break - blog
Giving Students Choice - Video
I think we were on the right track and this post inspired me to make a blog post about our upcoming week! If you want teachers to engage in taking the time to learn new things, you must model and allow others to observe! We all need to take risks and reflect on our learning!
Update: A few examples from AP English with Ms. Panarelli @MrsPanarelli
I attended a Digital Day of Learning (DLD) in Medfield last spring and participated in a session using a game/box called Breakout Edu. About 20 educators gathered in a room and had to look for clues to unlock all the locks on the breakout edu box. About five minutes into the game I thought I had signed up for the wrong session and I was out of my comfort zone. Fifteen minutes into the game and watching people collaborate and brainstorm and use teamwork to solve the problem I was intrigued.
The idea is that you are “locked” into a room with a time limit. There are clues scattered around that you must find and figure out. These clues eventually lead to a key or passcode that you can use to escape from the room and win the challenge. Escape rooms are great examples of the research that suggests the brain loves solving problems and novelty. When we experience new and intriguing tasks, reward chemicals are released – cementing learning and retention. A group of teachers adapted the escape room idea to their classrooms. James Sanders and Mark Hammons developed an activity that they titled BreakoutEDU. But instead of escaping from an actual room, BreakoutEDU players solve clues to open a series of locks and boxes with the ultimate goal of getting into the final Breakout box.
When teaching a course last summer we implemented Breakout into our class and it was amazing to observe, the quiet student taking the lead, the team building and collaboration was impressive. So, I decide to order for my high school and plan to test out this week. I thought it would be a great activity before the holiday break.
I
Breakout EDU games teach critical thinking, teamwork, complex problem solving, and can be used in all content areas. The Breakout EDU Kit was created to get you going and hopefully answer questions you might have. Check out the video here to see some tips about how you can get started with your Breakout EDU kit.
The Media Center/Library will have a box set up for you to sign out. In order to view how to setup the games you will need a password. You will want to familiarize yourself with the available game to play located here. The teachers who created the idea sell a a BreakoutEDU kit. Everything you need to start your own game – locks, clues, boxes, ideas, links to downloads and games (some need extra locks and supplies so plan ahead). They’ve done a great job of making the process very open-source and collaborative. So you can create your own kit, create your own game, share your game, borrow someone else’s game, adapt a game, adapt the kit – pretty much take the idea and use it in a wide variety of ways. My first game I participated in was: TIME WARP -You will need a Password, once the school has purchased. The Story: In Time Warp players are lost in time and need to navigate the history of communication in order to return to the present
Game Designer: Mark Hammons & James Sanders
Ages: 14-Adult
Ideal Group Size: 5-15
Content Area: History / General Interest
I plan to start with the game this week. The site provides a video on how to setup, resources to play and any addition items needed for the game. I needed an additional lock with 4 codes and twine to setup. These items can be found on Amazon or at a local hardware store. Be sure to use the Facebook group to get resources and to ask questions.
There seems to be a ton of things that are possible with BreakoutEDU. And the powerful thing about all of this? It’s great for the brain and good for kids.
Another scchool in our district has been using for faculty meetings and with one of my former social studies teachers from the high school, Laura Pagington. She has been using with 8th grade students in social studies and we plan to collaborate next month with a large group of teachers!
I will be tesing out with two teachers in my department this week,Taryn in business and Jacquie in technology. i think this will be a great activity before the break and a great way to get feedback before introducing to the rest of the building. I hope we implement during one of our PD days this year!
We hope to implement #ObserveMe so teachers can see it in action before planning a Breakout!
Stay tuned for reflection on this process!
Update ... We broke out!!
Are you doing something creative in your classroom and want to share with your colleagues. Then share on twitter using #observeme. If you see a sign on a door the teachers door or if someone tweets out #observeme with a school hashtag then use this as PD option.
Here is some inspiration from I found on twitter from Robert Kaplins Glenrock Consulting blog.
The blog suggests we lack an openness to collaborate because of the fear of being judge. If you work in a culture like this then consider starting a change. The blog post suggests "the change starts with us leading by example and checking our insecurities and pride at the door. We must acknowledge that one of the best ways to improve practice is to have colleagues observe one another and provide suggestions for improvements. We should welcome others’ constructive feedback and practice giving it as well. Without it we aren’t able to adjust our practice and improve". Below are a few tips to help get you started.
What is the Hour of Code? #hourofcode The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts. I decide to organize and Edcamp model with my Computer Science teacher, Pat Clark and Librarian Tracy Landry. I was able so solicit teachers, students and members of my department (Andy LeBlanc, Dan Berube and Bob Austin) to participate and showcase coding and STEM. We offered session on the library site
Tips and review of other schools that have been using as part of the beta program. Thanks @jennjudins for your guidance and reflection!http://buff.ly/2g9HjeM
Exploring information on the Rocketbook Wave smart notebook http://getrocketbook.com. It instantly connects and stores your notes, doodles and lists in the cloud with the free smart notebook app. Rocketbook Wave: Cloud Connected Microwavable Notebook.
The Rocketbook app works in conjunction with the Rocketbook Notebook. Rocketbook allows people to enjoy the pleasure of writing in a traditional paper and pen notebook, while digitizing all notes and sending them to the cloud, using your smartphone.You can download the RocketBook App on the App Store also available in Google Play.
What can you do with Rocketbook Wave?
Students in class today are testing out sketching for Art Class and Math! I am having them follow my blog post and explore!
Instant curiosity and students explore the relevance and will report back to the class on Monday!
Today our school librarian Ms. Landry @mslandrylibrary and @jcarternashoba showcased Google Expeditions to a multimedia class in the library. Students downloaded the Cardboard from the Apps Store along with a few apps Within and Life. Student's scanned the barcode on the viewer and inserted their phone into the cardboard view and began to take their virtual tours. When the class ended a few students asked to stay and explore more options. They then asked to bring to other classes and share with their teachers. Talk about engagement first thing on a Monday morning!
Google Expeditions has a number of lessons to help students learn about our military history this Veterans Day. Students can experience the history of World War I, World War II, and the Civil War, understand the key events that shaped those moments, and visit the memorials that commemorate them. Other Expeditions, such as the Artifacts of the Tuskegee Airmen and Pearl Harbor, let students explore planes, submarines, and ships from these historical periods. In addition to these Expeditions, Google Arts & Culture has a dedicated online collection of artifacts, archives, locations and dozens of stories related to World War II, including an online exhibition, Veterans Day: Reflections on Service, where students can hear stories from our veterans.
Here is an article from Edutopia on expeditions
Google and Best Buy have a bundle that provides Wifi and teacher directed learning but are rather expensive but may work great in rural communities or schools where students do not have devices (phones).
Earlier this year I posted about my journey of learning about Project Based Learning. Teaching a course that incorporated PBL over the summer and our late start PLT/PLC focus on Project Based Learning this fall. I decided to capture some of the great work teachers and students in my district. I have bene using the new Adobe Spark program this year and thought this would be a great way to showcase the features of the program and reflect on PBL. I will be presenting our story next on Tuesday, November 15th at a Future Ready Conference in Bedford, New Hampshire. I also thought it would be a great way to share our PLC findings on Project Based Learning.
Link for Full Screen view https://spark.adobe.com/page/pcCV3vZVmylbJ
We plan to offer a course in lesson design next spring that will help teachers design lessons using G-Suite, Web-based tools and gamify some of the lessons to help with classroom engagement. Learning more about Project Based Learning last summer and during our PLC time has generated lots of discussion with my colleagues.
The Hour of Code started as a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify "code", to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science. It has since become a worldwide effort to celebrate computer science, starting with 1-hour coding activities but expanding to all sorts of community efforts.
I used twitter to get instructional ideas for my professional development to test out with teachers and students in my school and to teachers that take Grad/PD classes with me. Last spring I came across some inspiration from rpetitto, #games4ed/blog http://www.edtechify.com with many great ideas. One was using GAFE for Staff 30 Day Chrome Challenge. I put it on my radar but never actually made one. I shared the link with my colleague Craig and he jumped in and made some lessons/challenges "gamification lessons" for his students! So, when co-teaching a grad class with Craig this fall we decided to implement a version of the challenge with our teachers in our blended class this month. The feedback this week was very positive. So, I am not revisiting how to used with students in my high school.
This year 9th grade students arrived with Chromebooks. They started using in the 8th grade and seem to be relatively savvy compared to many of the other grade levels in our high school. I wanted to review techniques with Google and Chromebooks so I plan to test out a challenge (Game/make a copy) with a few teachers this semester and get some feedback from students. Depending on the feedback students could also learn to make engaging games using this technique!
So, what is Gamification?
Gamification applies the use of gaming principles in education in order to get students involved, engaged, and excited about learning. Gamification introduces concepts like badges, levels, achievements, and game points to the classroom. Students are rewarded with these concepts when they succeed, but are not penalized when they don’t. By introducing a system of rewards without harsh penalties, students are not afraid to step outside of their comfort zone and fail. By removing their fear of failure we subconsciously encourage them to learn.
Badges for independent learning. Though some claim they go against interest-driven learning, digital badges became more prevalent. Supported by the MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla’s Open Badges presents a free standard for creating, issuing, and verifying badges as indicators of accomplishment or attaining a skill. In 2013, badges documented evidence of professional learning as well. The National Science Teachers Association, theSmithsonian Institution, and the Khan Academy offer digital badges for educators and students. In October, Connected Educators Month organizers provided a variety of badges to encourage and reward participation. I plan on exploring Gamification with a few teachers over the next month and will update the post with feedback from teachers and students!
Designing a new bring course for FSU - Course Site - Lesson Design with G-Suite
Lesson Design with G-Suite
This course will focus on lesson design using G Suite and other web-based tools.
Design will incorporate blended learning using hyperdocs, design thinking, gamification,
challenge-based activities and projects that align with content area and projects.
Getting ready for the conference I used Adobe Spark Post to tweet out about the conference and then picked my sessions for the day! When I attend each year I always come back inspired to try a new project, test out a new tool of simply follow a new person on twitter. As I processed the day on my drive home, I thought this year was different from other years. Yes, I saw an inspiring keynote, attended sessions and checked out the exhibit floor, but what you don't capture at a conference is all the people to get to reconnect with and share your excitement for teaching.
When I arrived home I saw a tweet for a former colleague that I taught with a few years ago. I was able to spend time with her in her Journalism class, and the a PD grad class. Even though I only got to see her at the keynote she took the time to send me a message on twitter. On my drive into school today this got me thinking about all the people in my PLN that I saw at the conference and I am so grateful to learn from them.
This got me thinking about how grateful I am as an Instructional Technology Specialist/Digital Learning Coach to work with so many wonderful teachers and in some way contribute to their passion for teaching. I decide to use Adobe Spark to share with colleagues and students this week. Link
What have you learned this year? Make sure you take the time to reflect!
Last spring we were asked to submit proposals for late start PD sessions for the high school. I use twitter as a great source of PD for my own professional learning. I have lots of teachers learning about GAFE and creating projects, but I was looking to take it to the next level. I found lots of resources about #PBL which made me realize there is a difference between doing projects and project based learning. I started to explore a fabulous site The Buck Institute/BIE and realized the eight elements of PBL and checklist would help teachers understand and embrace project based learning.
I submitted a summer course proposal that would combine using GAFE, PBL and other Web-based tools to Fitchburg State University where I teach a Graduate and Professional Development courses based on teachers needs. So last summer I co-taught PBL/GAFE course with my colleague Craig Sheil, also a high school Instructional Technology teacher in New Hampshire!
The NEW Course: Project Based Learning with Google Apps for Educators
This course will focus on the key features of Project-Based Learning (PBL) a way to organize learning around projects that are student driven, with real world connections allowing participants to evaluate real problems while exploring curriculum content areas. The Genius Hour model allows students to work on engaging topics of interest while working with others. Prerequisite: Google Apps for Education/GAFE course, this course will build upon your technical knowledge covered Google Apps for Education allowing you to dig deeper into your Google, web-based and mobile learning toolbox allowing participants to use tools connecting them to real world work.
Learn more here http://www.fitchburgstate.edu/offices/academic-offices/gce/register-for-classes
I was fortunate to have two of my colleagues from my department take the course. Their classes in Woods, Engineering, Graphics are based on doing projects. We introduce the BIE Essential Project Design Checklist and lesson planner to examine our current practices and determined we were not using all the elements, particularly the "public product" to share with our colleagues, parents, and community at large. So, how do we get out lesson plans to the next level? We introduced hyperdocs along with other web-based tools to enhanced or completely redesign our lessons/units. Some of the tools used in class were (Edpuzzle, padlet, video/YouTube and more).
We spent time looking at other hyperdocs at Teachers Give Teachers and followed them on twitter. It was an amazing process to see how much a group to teachers could do in a week long summer class.
When we returned to school our group PD focus was on PBL. I set up a Google Classroom and incorporated many of the topics covered in our summer class. But the real magic happened when members of my department, Andy and Dan shared their hyperdocs and what the learned over the summer and started to execute the PBL lesson and hyperdocs! I also found that #ASCDtopics@betamiller was conducting a slow chat on #PBL that we incorporated into our PD.
To top this off Craig organized a Google Hangout with the hyperdoc creators, Lisa and Kelly that we followed all summer! We had members of our class participate and then shared several of the hyperdocs that we created in class. I tweeted the session out and had staff in the building and teachers that left my district @MrsAShetenhelm and now works in other district watched that hangout and then offer a hyperdocs session in her school! I loved how a combination of working with talented colleagues combined with the right tools (GSuite, Hyperdocs) and twitter connections with BIE and this month #ASCDtopics on PBL has connected me to a more global audience.
We are planning to expand the class next spring to incorporate more gamification features and expand our learning with PBL.
I will be presenting a session later in November and will sharing "My PBL" about my teachers and students.
My PLT group will be presenting our story to our colleagues this year.
Each year I visit classrooms, when invited, to discuss Internet Safety and student Digital Footprints. The last few years the entire grade level has participated as a class. I have formed a panel that include teachers, guidance, school resource officer and a member of the Worcester District Attorney's Office, Ellen Miller. The focus of the presentation on Friday, Sepember 23rd will be to share with students the good, the bad and the ugly of using the internet and social media. I will be presenting this month for the class of 2020. The incoming freshman class not only have access to technology but now bring chromebooks, as we migrate to a 1:1 school. There are so many great ways students are using technology, but as we all know, students need to be guided and made aware of their choices and consequences when using technology.
Instead of lecturing students I have been using current events to discuss and start a dialog about what is being posted online is permanent. Once of the articles I have used with classes was featured in the Boston Globe (Six Ways Social Media Can Ruin your Life) a few years ago and I found this to be an excellent teachable moment for students.
I will be part of a Personal Learning Team (PLT) this school year focused on Project-Based-Learning with several of my colleagues. After delivering a class on Project-Based-Learning last summer, I decided I would have the option of delivering a workshop in a presentation format or in hyperdoc format on PBL in a hyperdoc that will provide background information on Project Project Based Learning. We may decide to use this as the agenda as we explore PBL.
In addition at the end of September, I will work colleagues to present PBL and GAFE at an EdCamp session in my school.
I am looking foward to attending a Google Hangout/Live YouTube on Hyperdocs later this month.
I have always been an advocate for Tablet/PC's and the ability to provide annotated feedback from teacher/student along with student submitting annotated work. We are a GAFE school and I have been waiting for a similar feature to become available in docs.
Google has just announced "Write notes on your work" in classroom. Here is a link for more information or on twitter by following: @GoogleForEdu
There are several new updates available on the Google for Education blog this month. Check out all the new features here http://googleforeducation.blogspot.com
