Using Social Media and Web 2.0 to Differentiate Instruction
By: Mary Marotta Instructional Technology, Professional Development Consultant and Adjunct Professor
Yesterday I attended #EdcampBOS - Edcamps are informal sessions by and for teachers, where anyone can present, and the focus is on collaboration and connections, group expertise, tech tools, and instructional design. When teaching a #gafefsu is the weekends align I attempt to bring the class to experience the edcamp model for part of the day and then focus on the class materials in the afternoon. Of course, it's always great to model the "building of the wall/schedule and typically if the days align our students present their projects to an authentic audience. Where this was our first full day session, we modeled topics we would teach in our class.
We start out by sharing the Edcamp video and we sign folks up for the event. The EdcampBos folks are awesome to support us on this initiative. In the past, we have brought students to #EdcampGrafton.
What is EdCamp?
To kick the day off we met at Burlington, Microsoft lobby, what a beautiful building! We discuss the setup for the day and then we modeled two sessions, require students to attend one and pick two choice topics.
Session One we offered reflecting with podcasting using Anchor. This is the tool we used earlier in the month while attending SXSWEDU in Austin. We modeled how we used to reflect multiple times during the day. We also challenged the group to reflect on their learning at EdCampBos.
Here is our podcast reflection using anchor with Craig here
Session Two we wanted to show all the different things you could do with Google Slides. We initially started out with "designing and assessing with Google slides". Too boring so we went with "pimp your slides" We showed a variety of topics, Slides Carnival saving direction to Google, using the insert camera function to take a picture/evidence of work and add to a slide. We got a lot of wows on this one! We then showed inserting a YouTube video with stop and start times and presenting QA in slides. Another big hit the new CC in slides. We then moved onto PearDeck.
I think teachers were pleased to see how easy it was to approach new features in slides and I would have to say a big success!
After lunch we regrouped with our class and this is the magic of an edcamp. They experienced it with a larger group of teachers and loved it!
I led a PD Book club with my colleague Gregg Newton over the course of the year on four dates discussing the book and modeling the use of technology.
I have been fortunate to see George present on a few occasions, last year at Medfield day of Learning. It was a great vibe entering the auditorium and kicking off the day. George was a combination of inspiring, thoughtful and engaging. I don't recall ever seeing our staff so engaged in a day of learning. We had different exhibits showcased in the gym around drones, programming, showcasing portfolios, green screen, goosechase and I presented on the new Google Jamboard.
George talked about students leaving high school should have the following (A professional social network, Digital Portfolio and About Me page). He also encouraged teachers to get on board with Twitter using #nashobalearns in order to learn from each other! I had lots of conversations with teachers that were left feeling very inspired. I hope our PD continues down the road of innovation and creativity!
The afternoon sessions by teachers in our district and from other districts along with consultants and vendors filled the afternoon session. I was delighted to see our district pull together and host such a great day!
We now need to keep the momentum going and help inspire teachers to step outside their comforts zones and take new risks in the classroom and in their own professional development!
I’m attending the SXSWEDU Conference in Austin’s this week with my colleague
Craig Sheil. This conference has been on my bucklet list for severals years but I was reluctant to sign up. When Craig told me he was booking and we started to discuss on the sessions around education, that were not all tech options, it made perfect sense to attend. Not, to mention the airfare was under $200.00 roundtrip!
As part of our learning experience we decided we would use Anchor https://anchor.fm a mobile podcasting tool to reflect on our learning. Below are some of the recordings:
We have been using the program scheduler and wakelet to curate our learning.
About the conference https://youtu.be/ayGV_WAIcWQ
Craig presented as part of the Google Panel and we then got to visit the Google stations as students. Here is a tweet/video about the Google Showcase Google announced the App hub and showcased many tools along with the Jamboard, Google Expeditions and more!
It was very powerful to see how easily students can be lost in the system and how we are educating the wealthy. It's time to rethink higher education and other options!
Building Community: Weaving Americas Social Fabric: Weave: The Social Fabric Project, an initiative of the Aspen Institute, operates with the premise that social fragmentation is the central problem of our time—isolation, alienation and division. Fortunately, all across the country people are rebuilding communities and creating social capital. Weave seeks to work with these groups to spur a movement to repair the national fabric—to identify and celebrate these groups, synthesize the values that move them, and help forge a common identity.
We attended a very powerful session with
David Hogg and Dan Rather
David Hogg, co-founder of March For Our Lives, in conversation with Dan Rather discuss what our country and politics can look like when we let young people lead and dedicate ourselves to fostering that power in youth voice, advocacy, and leadership at SXSW EDU link here
It was much different from many of the other edtech conference that I have attended and I appreciate the larger perspective it provided.
There were lots of other hands-on session on topics of interest. I was able to reconnect with Ela Ben-Ur https://twitter.com/ElaBenUr from Olin College where she showcased Design Thinking the "Innovators Compass Model" http://innovatorscompass.org/
We made the most of every day, arriving early, attending as many sessions as possible and most importantly we reflected each day on the sessions and our thoughts! I would highly recommend the conference to other teachers and hope to return again!
So last week I introduced rotation stations in a few classes.
My goal was to bring awareness to using Merge Cube https://mergevr.com/cube
We discussed the evolving roles of AR/VR in education and new job opportunities. I showed the following Merge Cube video/demo and then set up the following stations:
Students we introduced to QR codes to scan the
app and download onto their ios/android phone)
In addition, we will be building a tour together using https://vr.google.com/tourcreator/
Here are some tutorials and resources to set the tone for the rotation stations. The directions were printed and provided in Google Classroom.
Here is a link to a tour of a few locations will visit in Italy this spring.
The next phase, phase II will involve students researching creating and review apps for creation start with:
This week we have been using the Jamboard in a new entrepreneurship class to prepare to interview Shane Cox learn more here https://www.buyqball.com and on Twitter @goPEEQ
Shane appeared on Shark Tank to pitch his product. We will be doing a Google Hangout/meet later today to interview Shane along with students from Bedford, NH entrepreneurship class.
You can view the episode below!
Both schools use the Q-Ball! Students tried out in class and researched the company. Both schools modeled the use of our new Jamboard , which we both received as part of a grant from Google to "Transform you classroom environment"
We created a Jam and students using the web-based version jamboard.google.com along with the mobile app and added interview questions.
Students from both schools will alternate questions for Shane to learn more about his journey as an entrepreneur and the road that led him to Shark Tank. I can't think of a better way to start a new semester of entrepreneurship!
Here is a sample of our jam!
Students learned to use the collaboration tool on the web and by using the board! This was a great way for business students to see the new ways business a collaborating for virtual meetings. They will also get to experience a Google Hangout and bring that learning into the classroom!
We had students follow Qball on twitter to learn current information about the company by following them on Twitter https://twitter.com/goPEEQ
I am looking forward to sharing this experience with the teacher and students!
Next week we will be wrapping up The Innovator's Mindset by George Couros
Part IV: Concluding Thoughts (Chapters 13-14)
Questions and activities will be posted to the classroom in presentation http://bit.ly/innovatorsmindsetnashobapart4 along with a reflection on the process coming soon.
Earlier this year I posted about the Google Jamboard, I was intrigued by the integration with G-Suite. I was notified last last month that I received the "Transforming your Classroom with Google Jamboard" grant and I have been using with teachers this month!
To kick the day off we met at Burlington, Microsoft lobby, what a beautiful building! We discuss the setup for the day and then we modeled two sessions, require students to attend one and pick two choice topics.
