Tools to Personalize Learning

Check out a few other posts about personalizing learning. Personalized Learning: Before you Begin & Personalized Learning in Action 


The means to personalize education for students drastically changes with access to technology. I wanted to share some tools I love to use to personalize learning in the classroom.

Before I jump into the tools, I wanted to point out a few things.

1. The tools themselves do not personalize learning. What's important is the opportunities created by the tools. These tools give pathways for students to access content and express their learning.
2. Start with what you have and see if it will meet the students' needs before signing them up for another account or downloading another app.
3. Introduce the tools slowly and give the students sandbox time to play before adding content. You don't want the tool to get in the way of student learning.

All of the tools listed below will help students access the content and can be used on any device.

Power My Learning allows teachers to explore content to make playlists for students. Resources come from reliable sources like TED-Ed, Library of Congress, Scholastic, National Geographic and many more. When working with iPads, you can select a search option that only shows iPad compatible content.

Classkick is a whiteboard app that allows the teacher to see the students screen in the dashboard. The major bonus is that the teacher can put feedback on the screen in real time. Students can also raise a virtual hand to get help from the teacher or others in the class. It is a great app to allows students to be working at their own pace while still tracking their understanding.

Blendspace allows teachers to create a variety of activities that can be housed in one place to create a complete learning experience. Students can easily move through a variety of activities to meet their learning style and allow them choices in how they access content.

PlayPosit or Edupuzzle are similar platforms. They allow you to edit videos, insert checks for understanding, and track student progress. These are great tools to use along with flipped videos made by the teacher. They also work great with other programs like Blendspace to create a complete learning experience.  

GSuite-

• Forms- Create a form using data validation to allow students to assess their learning to see if they are reaching targeted goals. 
• Docs, Sheets, Slides - Students can collaborate together using these tools and the teacher can add in feedback and track progress. 
• Hyperdocs- Use Hyperdocs to create an interactive lesson using the components of the 4Cs to allow students to explore and engage in the content. 

By using these resources, it will give the teacher the ability to get appropriate resources to students to give them independence and choice in their learning, while still keeping them accountable and providing guidance and feedback.  

Next Year Will Be Better

As the year is coming to a close, I have been reflecting with many teachers. One common idea that tends to come up with teachers is that this will be easier next year. I don’t want to burst their bubble, but it won’t be. Next year will be different. Your students will have different needs, you will have different initiatives to put in place, different materials to work with, and different strategies to implement. 

This quote is from Autumn Calabrese on a beach body workout video, but it completely applies here. When you are on a weight loss journey, you have to work hard, but once you have reached your goal, the work doesn’t stop. You need to maintain and adjust when it is not working. This is the same with teaching. You should constantly be trying to find that perfect balance of strategies to meet your students' needs, then maintain it once you have found it, adjust when needed. So the work we do as educators will not get easier, but have the power and believe in yourself that you will get better. You will get better in implementing district initiatives, you will get better at developing new strategies, you will get better at seeking support, and you will get better at meeting your students needs to help them succeed. Next year will be better!

Kicking Off A Month of #TECHinELA tips

I have been looking for a way to share and archive ideas on ways to enhance reading and writing through technology.  I have been inspired by Megan Ryder's "365 days of EDU Coaching" and Leah ODonnell's "25 days of Classrooms" about a variety of classrooms implementing exceptional teaching practices. I have learned so much from these posts. So starting today, I am kicking off a tip a day on using technology to enhance concepts in English Langage Arts. I am using the hashtag #TechInELA on twitter to tweet out one idea each day in the month of January. I will also be using my blog hashtag #TeachingandLearningRedefined and #NowClassrooms, so you can follow in a variety of places. Each week of tips will focus on a different broader concept, which are reading comprehension, writing & publishing, communication & feedback, speaking & presentations, and listening, to help organize and give a focus for the 31 days of tips.  The tips are meant to enhance ELA instruction and many will improve media literacy, however, these tips and resources can be used across most subject areas and a wide range of grade levels. These tips are stemming from ideas I have used or seen in action in classrooms which I work.

As the month goes along, please share ways you have used the tips or other ideas that you have. It would be great to see these ideas start conversations about how simple practices can enhance learning for students. I'm excited to share for the next month and I hope it enhances your instruction!

Jenny Lehotsky

Kicking Off Innovative Thinking with BreakoutEDU

Our school district is entering our sixth year in our 1:1 Apple device program. That means the students in 5th-grade were in Kindergarten during our first year in the program. They entered the public school system with a smartboard in their classrooms and a device in their hands. 

One of these 5th-grade teachers, Lori Horne, wanted to use Breakout EDU to help build community at the beginning of the school year. After looking over a few, we both just loved the "Totally Radical 80s Time Travel Adventure," mostly for our own nostalgic reasons. Who wouldn't want a reason to dust off the overhead projector and dig the floppy disks out of that storage closet!        

Cassette tapes, overhead projector, and Oregon Trail clues for 80s Breakout EDU

The purpose was to build community with the activity, but as her class embarked on the Breakout EDU adventure, it did more than just build community. The premise was Carmen San Diego snuck into the classroom over lunch, stole the iPads and replaced them with 80s technology. Now the class of "gumshoes" has to use the clues to solve the mystery and save their iPads! Students discovered how to use an overhead, had to figure out the name of floppy disks, and explored music on cassette tapes. It was like watching scientists discover a new species as they studied each object with wonder. As we had fun watching them discover what once was considered innovative, this also set the stage for a conversation about past, present, and future technology to get the students thinking.   

Student discovering an overhead projector, and even trying to insert a disk into it!

The activity was a great opportunity to show the students the technology that was innovative early in our teaching careers. The conversation after the activity held the real power. The students were able to reflect on the growth of technology in the last 30+ years. As they look at the technology they have today, some may think that this is the best it can be, others will think, there has to be a better way. These are the innovators of the future. The students sitting in front of us are the generation that will take it even further. To do this, coding, engineering, and computer science are essential skills to keep our society moving forward. Students need to have the mindset to solve problems that we don't even know are problems yet.

In Lori's class, she is setting the stage for the year and creating innovative thinkers. In her class, these students will experience design thinking, coding, and STEM activities design to get them to analyze the world around them. I am grateful we have the resources to supply them with these activities and teachers that have the capacity to do so.   

It makes me wonder about schools where this type of retro technology is still the norm. Cassette players with books on tape, overhead projectors, and TVs on carts. Is this the environment that is going to prepare the next generation of innovators?       

We left the students with the thought that the iPad in their hand today is the worst technology that they will have available to them. George Couros shared this idea as he spoke at iEngage Berwyn in 2016. Technology is only going to get better. It is up to them to solve problems that we didn't know were problems and get them thinking about the world around them so they can make it better. 

Start Right Now - Know the Way

Welcome to the second post of the #D100BloggerPD book study of Start. Right. Now. Teach and Lead for Excellence by Todd Whitaker, Jeffrey Zoul, and Jimmy Casas. Over the next few weeks, bloggers from Berwyn South School District 100 will reflect on chapters of the book. This is leading up to our iEngage Berwyn Edtech Conference, where Jimmy Casas will be one of the fantastic keynote speakers. If you missed it, check out the first post for chapter one on the fabulous Kristen Richey's blog Reading and Owl the Above. Let's get started!

 

I had to laugh as I read Kristen's reflection on chapter one because I had already written a very similar paragraph about the enthusiasm of the authors. I agree that immediately as I read this, I can't help but envision Jeff and Jimmy speaking with enthusiasm on these topics since I have had the pleasure of seeing them speak. In the hour I have seen, they were very motivating and that comes through in the words of this book. I also envision many of the administrators in my district embodying many of these principles.

The second chapter is appropriately titled "Know The Way" and revolves around the immense focus and knowledge strong leaders possess. Great leaders, not only admin but teacher leaders too, are truly special people that share certain qualities. The authors explain that they know that excellence is a blend of the art and science of teaching.

This chapter explains that leaders bud from people that "know their stuff" and are masters of their craft and that is evident to others. This is out of a commitment to ongoing learning. They start with the "Why?" and steer the ship in the direction of "Where?" keeping what's best for students in their focus. Not only do excellent leaders know their stuff, but they know themselves. They know when to ask for feedback, when to make adjustments, and how they are perceived, but they know they don't know it all.  They have a confidence without being cocky and build up others as they build themselves. They clearly communicate their non-negotiables and know when to say no, if a task doesn't align with their focus.

Another interesting point that struck me was the fact that we have the same amount of time. It is a common complaint amongst educators that there is never enough time, but how we effectively use it is another key to excellence.

As I read, one thing is obvious. Great leadership takes time to cultivate and patience to develop. It takes commitment and hard work for the long hall to plan for success.

Above all, excellent leaders, truly care and believe in the work they are doing down to their core. It is hard. It is exhausting. It is worth it. I found these messages inspiring, positive and motivating.

At the end of each chapter, there is a section that highlights 4 teachers and 4 leaders modeling these principles and 4 resources to explore. I have had the pleasure of learning in person from Kirk Humphreys and Maureen Miller and they are great examples to illustrate various qualities in this chapter.

Reading this makes me reflect on my father-in-law, Bill Lehotsky, Sr. Bill was the assistant principal of Riverside Brookfield High School. He passed 9 years ago and retired 14 years ago. He was retired by the time I came into the family, however, his love for education was still evident and his legacy still lives strong in the RB community. I can't go far without someone recognizing my last name and associating it with him. In the last few weeks alone, two people have referenced Bill's impact on them. Why? It is because Bill knew his stuff, he knew himself, and most importantly he knew the people and put them first. He was an excellent educator that still affects the lives of those he touched and that is clear in conversations with students he had over 40 years ago that still talk about him today. THAT is an excellent leader.

And with that, I am off to build my confidence, learn more about my craft and build relationships.

Check out the posts for chapter three from two strong, proud leaders Sue Butler (iShift) and Jordan Garrett (iLearn) on April 4th.  Join the conversation in the comments below or on twitter at #D100BloggerPD and #StartRightNow.

Earning a Learning Permit for Social Media

I was having a conversation over twitter with a colleague the other day about the limits of social media use for students under 13 years old. The mindset is often that since they can't have an account, they can't do anything with social media.  Students absorb so much from seeing something done, but social media can be invisible to a child when it's on a device and often it is deliberately kept away from them.

From a very young age, children are exposed to the role of driving a car. By the time they get their license, a large majority of children have been riding in a car for over 16 years. At 3 years old, my daughter understood the meaning of the red, yellow, and green stoplight and likes to remind me from the backseat. We need to find ways to expose students to social media before they are able to create their own accounts, just like they are exposed to driving before they get their license.

Listening to Jennifer Casa-Todd speak on George Couros's podcast, I was reminded of the importance of showing students the right path in social media and allowing it to set the tone for a positive extension of themselves. At 15, her daughter was in a job interview for a part time job and was asked what could be learned about her from social media. We don't want that answer to be negative or nothing at all. Geroge and Jennifer have both been inspirations to create digital leaders. Jennifer has a new book coming out soon called "Digital Leadia" and I'm excited to check it out soon.

So, how do we prepare students for social media before they can get their own account?

1. Post as a class account. Students under the age of 13 can use a google form to share tweet ideas with the teacher, then the teacher can tweet them out. Annie Forest used twitter in her sixth grade math classroom after being inspired by Alice Keeler to use a google form to allow students to send her tweets to add to the class account. Check out her blog post about it.

2. Show students the class twitter account. This step may seem obvious, but can be easily over looked. The connection needs to be made between information they are giving the teacher to post and how it is impacting others. Pull up the feed daily and explore what other classrooms are doing on twitter regularly.

3. Have online discussions in a student friendly platform. Using the discussion platform in class learning management system or google classroom is a safe place for students to practice sharing ideas with others online. They can see how their words can reach an audience. It gives them a feel for online interactions and a new platform to share their thinking.

4. Get started with blogs. Blogging is a thoughtful way to get students to start to build their online presence while experiencing sharing to a global audience. The key here is sharing. Share out student blogs on your class social media page to actually give the students the audience they are looking for. Encourage them to share their blogs with others.

5. Teach and model what to do when you come across inappropriate comments on social media. Is this someone you know? Would it make the situation better or worse to respond? Would sending a private message to the person be appropriate? When is it time to tell an adult? Explore these situations with students to help them problem solve issues that they may come across with social media.

So, let students be the backseat drivers of social media before they get their 'license.'

Try it! You just might like it.

Innovative ideas often get written off out of fear. Fear of doing it wrong, failing, or that it won't impact student learning. Or maybe because it is an idea that seems old or been done, or the examples you saw didn't seem that impactful. It is easy to write off an idea that you have never tried.

Just like getting children to eat a new food, try it and you might like it. I have had a few conversations recently about different innovative practices in the classroom.  I am in two book studies right now and we are using sketchnoting as a tool. Drawing for me is uncomfortable. It is a skill I have plenty of room for growth. I learned about sketchnoting last year and thought that looks amazing, for people that can do it. The more I learned about it from watching others like Leah O'Donnell, the more I wanted to try it, so I pushed myself to start "sketching" at conferences. I put it in quotes because it was more writing scribbling than sketching.     

My First Sketchnote

Fast forward to this year and I have 36 sketches in my Paper 53 app from conferences and books. Now, I get it. I see the power of how ideas can be synthesized and I often look back at my sketchnotes to refresh my mind on the topic. In the past, I would rarely go back to my notes or highlights in a book. The quality of my drawing isn't the point. I often find myself thinking deeper about the content and visualizing it to deepen my learning. It is improving my thinking and that's powerful. 

My Lastest Sketchnote

We were recently having a meeting on a book we are reading with the coaches across the district. Many were hesitant and felt vulnerable to sketchnote, as I had felt last year. I got a few compliments on my sketch and had to laugh because I didn't realize how I had grown as a sketchnoter. I reminded a colleague that we ask students to do things every day that are uncomfortable for them. There is a lot of power in the strategy, encouraging her to try it. Well, this morning she copied me on an email to her entire building sharing her sketchnote and offering to help them implement it in the classroom after seeing its power.  This shows the immense power of our ideas, how they can spread, and the importance of trying a practice for ourselves.  

Now this example was about sketchnoting, but that is just one example of something that we can't see the power until we try it. Think about something that you may have written off that keeps creeping back into your mind. Give it a shot. You may just find the power within it to redefine learning for you or your students.  You don't have to be better than the person next to you, just be better than before.     

ICE 2017- I came, I saw, I CONNECTED!

ICE 2017

I have so many ideas swirling in my head after an energizing few days at the Illinois Computing Educators Conference (ICE) in St. Charles, IL. Throughout the sessions I presented and attended, I found two common themes. Educators need to create student-centered experiences and offer opportunities to students that will make them successful in today's society. Along with growing my mindset toward student-centered work, I was also able to connect with others and attend sessions that grew me as an instructional coach.

ICE as a Presenter

On Wednesday,  Jordan Garrett and I ran a workshop called "A Creative Approach to Design Thinking." After explaining design thinking and various models, we had the participants dive right in. We had a great group that was eager to create! The room was a buzz of activity using the design thinking process to solve a problem for their partner. The session was a success! We helped attendees take this student-centered process back to their classrooms with a variety of resources and a hands-on experience.

On Friday, I ran a half-day session called "Empowering Students Through Personalized Learning." Attendees were able to jump into the Universal Design for Learning to explore a variety of ways to personalize learning for students while providing varying degrees of student voice and choice. We were able to create SMART goals for ourselves and collaborate with each other through Kagan structures. After exploring personalized structures like challenge based learning, design thinking, and genius hour, the group was able to leave with a variety of ways to personalize learning for students.

ICE as a Learner

I attended some great sessions that left me inspired and thinking about my role. Here are my major takeaways.

• It was great to watch Kolsten (@ddgaming) and Katrina Keene as a mother-son duo talk about STEM tools. One major takeaway was a way to get girls into STEM with tools that appeal to their interests like Jewel bots. I also learned about Stikbot Studios to accompany the Stikbot app that students love. I ordered them right away and they came in the mail today! Excited to take them into classrooms tomorrow.  

• I was able to gain wisdom from Joy Kirr a few times throughout the week. She has so many great ideas that she shares with the world. One idea she shared was how she goes gradeless and focuses on feedback. She grades student work through video, so she can give visual and audio feedback. She then links the youtube video right to the grade book instead of a grade.  It truly shows it is about the learning! If you haven't seen her livebinder for Genius Hour, it is a must see. I'm excited for her book to come later this year!     

• Both keynotes had messages that stuck with me. I keep thinking about how Eric Sheninger talked about his children. They both had great test scores, but were bored to tears at school. We have to treat our students as more than a test score. Joe Sanfelippo reminded the audience the importance of telling your school's authentic story and it is evident that he leads by example. 

• Adam Welcome, author of Kids Deserve It!, had a great message to prepare kids for 'new' collar jobs. Jobs today require a new set of skills that don't necessarily need a college degree, but we need to help give them the opportunities to gain these skills. That is why skills like coding are so important.  

• In the coaching roundtable session, run by the Illinois Learning Technology Center, I was able to talk coaching with others from all over the state. One thing that stuck with me was to realize my circle of influence and continue to spread it. Lori Whitman and Tim McIlvain were great sources of knowledge! 

Connecting with others and hearing so many inspiring messages motivated me to work hard to create the best opportunities for students. I am inspired to continue to blog and publish more podcast episodes to share the story of teaching and learning in Berwyn South School District 100!  

LEAP

A few weeks ago, I joined AJ Juliani's blog challenge. My goal is to write 200 words a day and post two posts a week for the next 30 days. So far I've wrote a little but haven't posted at all. I've noticed my blogging as a whole has gone down over the last several months. I can think of plenty of reasons as to why I haven't, but the truth is it comes down to two things: TIME and FEAR. Between a full time job, a family with two young children, and life itself, time is tight. The second, and the heart of it, is anxiety from fear. Fear that no one cares, fear of failure, fear that I myself may not be impressed with it, fear it won't be "perfect." (I continue to remind myself of the words of Kevin Honeycutt "perfection is the enemy of done.")

As I was thinking about why I haven't met my blogging goal, of course the first excuse I want to make is I just don't have time. This excuse makes me recall a TED talk by Laura Vanderkam called How to Gain Control of Your Free Time. Basically, she says we have time for what we make time for. We make time for what's important to us. Blogging and sharing my story and the story of others is important to me, the problem is I'm not making it a priority. In her talk she states, "Time will stretch to accommodate what we choose to put into it. Every minute [you] spend is your choice." If I really want to blog, I have to make the time for it. 

The second part is the anxiety that comes from putting myself out there. Even though I have been blogging for a few years, I still over analyze what I should blog about and how I should organize it. It also never fails that I find an embarrassing typo as soon as I hit publish. This fear and anxiety is what stops me. After reading blog posts on fear from John Spencer, AJ Juliani, and a motivating email from fellow coach Leah O'Donnell, I realize that I'm not alone and when I don't share, I'm not helping anyone. If I take the leap and put it out there, it will motivate someone.  

So, I have decided to make my one word for this year LEAP. Take the plunge, just do it, don't hold back, and DON'T let other's opinions stop me. Every time I question my actions or start to feel fear creep in, I need to remember to take that LEAP and stop holding myself back, not just with blogging, but all my priorities.

LAUNCH Wrap Up and Resources

This post is the last post in the #D100BloggerPD book study of LAUNCH. Thank you for joining us on the journey of this book study! If you missed the earlier posts, check out the links on the thinglink. I want to thank all the bloggers that took time to read the book and write posts. Another big thanks to all of our followers! It has been amazing to watch our voice spread through these posts. Continue to share the impact design thinking and LAUNCH is making in your classroom!





Hopefully at this point, you feel ready and inspired to try this cycle of design thinking in your classroom. If you still aren't sure where to start, the authors of LAUNCH offer a plethora of resources to help you!

1. Buy the LAUNCH book
The end of the Launch book provides over 50 pages of support material that answer frequently asked questions, layout lessons, and give a LAUNCH notebook of reproducible. The authors give suggestions on how to align a project to your curriculum, getting stakeholders on board, and assessing the students. Everything you need is in this text!

2. Get the ToolKit
On the Launch website or John Spencer's blog, you can sign up to get the free Design Thinking Tool Kit.  It provides a getting started guide, free challenges with videos and lesson plans, assessment tools, and additional resources.

3. Follow the Authors
John Spencer blog can be found at http://www.spencerauthor.com/. He creates wonderful sketchy videos and thoughtful posts that are inspiration and motivating. He also has a Creative Classrooms Podcast.  

AJ Juliani's blog can be found at http://ajjuliani.com/blog/. On his site, you can find a course for design thinking to dive even further into it. He also has a beginners guide to design thinking. AJ also provides a webinar and resources on Genius Hour, which is another way to create a student-centered classroom.      

4. Other Design Thinking Resources

• Stanford School of Design provides many resources and research 
• IDEO toolkit for educators   

A student-centered classroom comes from giving the students choice to follow their passion, while still aligning to the skills in the curriculum that need to be taught. Personalizing instruction for students isn't an expensive out-of-box computer program, it is implementing structures like design thinking, genius hour, challenge-based learning, problem/project based learning and inquiry studies that provide students a structure to follow their passions though authentic learning experiences. If we allow our students the time and space for student-centered activities, it will allow the students to apply the common core skills authentically and create students that can thrive in today's global world.


Thank you for reading and join the conversation in the comments! Continue to follow #D100BloggerPD on twitter to follow the next book study.

-Jenny

LAUNCH Book Study: Chapter 10- It's Time to LAUNCH

This post is part of the #D100BloggerPD and is written by guest blogger Tyler Haar. If you missed the posts on Chpater 1-9 check out the thinglink to catch up. Tyler is a 5th grade teacher at Hiawatha Elementary school is D100. Followhim on twitter @misterHaar. He is working with his team to implement design thinking in a unit on the spheres of Earth. This summer, he led a summer school course in using design thinking. He is passionate about improving STEM education and is an asset to his students and our district. 

Here are his thoughts on chapter 10 of LAUNCH.

Launch: Chapter 10 Reflection

Chapter 10 of Launch focuses on the final phase of the design thinking process - the launch. Students are encouraged to not just share their work with peers, teachers and parents, they’re told to launch their creation across the globe. Thanks to Twitter, Snapchat, YouTube and other online communities, students can reach their prime audience no matter where they may live. 

While most of our students are literate in the language of social media and technology, I have found that many still gravitate toward traditional formats of publication (posters, powerpoint presentations and speeches). Over the summer, I taught a leadership program for students entering fifth grade. The students completed a design thinking project focused on activism. Groups picked a cause and designed an awareness campaign to reach a targeted audience. The students chose a wide range of causes, from LGBTQ rights to fitness to clean water. When it came time to launch their campaigns, most groups wanted to create posters or signs to hang in the hallways of Heritage Middle School. While this was an appropriate means of communication for the Litterbusters - a group that planned a Pokemon Go/garbage pickup event at Proksa Park - it wasn’t the optimal form of communication for all groups. One group was focused on saving rainforest wildlife. At first, this group also wanted to create posters for the hallways. After receiving some feedback, the group finally realized their target audience didn’t roam the hallways of Heritage, they lived on a different continent. Eventually, they settled on the idea of creating a YouTube channel to reach a global audience. Even our technology-obsessed students need a push into a 21st-century mindset from time to time. Giving the students the opportunity to share their work to a broad, global audience is so empowering. It’s an opportunity we can not pass up. 

                    

The authors spend a lot of time in this chapter detailing the idea of teaching marketing to students. As even the authors admit, marketing can have a negative connotation and it takes some time to accept connecting marketing with education. The authors lay out seven reasons why kids should learn marketing:

1. Marketing is a vital life skill.

2. Children need an ethical foundation in marketing.

3. Students learn about rejection. 

4. Students develop courage.

5. Students grow in their creative confidence. 

6. Students become critical consumers of information.

7. Students become more empathetic. 

As a fifth grade teacher, reasons 4, 5 and 7 stand out to me as the most age-appropriate benefits of marketing education. Fifth graders need the courage to take pride in their work and share it with the world. They also need to develop the confidence to take risks with their creativity. Failure is okay, just try something else in the next attempt! They also need to understand their audience and tailor their product to meet the audience’s wants and needs. Thinking back to our summer school design thinking projects, I am proud of the progress the students made in all three of these regards. The students were genuinely proud to share their work with peers, parents and teachers during our end of the program showcase. One group decided to write a song to raise awareness for their cause of homelessness. It took a ton of creative confidence! At first, the group members were nervous to film themselves singing, but eventually they mustered up the confidence to record themselves and share it with their classmates.

The launch phase of the design thinking process can be an incredibly powerful experience for our students (and the teachers too!). When I was a student, I took pride in putting my best school work on the refrigerator. Today, our students’ best work can end up on a computer or iPhone screen on the other side of the globe! Our students deserve the chance to share their hard work and dedication with the world. 

Look for the final post of the #D100BloggerPD study of the LAUNCH book tomorrow by Jenny Lehotsky on Teaching and Learning Redefined. 

#D100BloggerPD LAUNCH Book Study

What is #D100BloggerPD?

Welcome to the first post of the LAUNCH book study with the #D100BloggerPD crew! #D100BloggerPD is a group of bloggers from Berwyn South School District in Berwyn, IL. For a little over a year, a growing group of district teachers have been reflecting on books by blogging about each chapter. To view all the posts, follow #D100BloggerPD on twitter. For this book study, we have a great group of nine educators that will reflect on each chapter of LAUNCH: Using Design Thinking To Boost Creativity and Bring Out the Maker in Every Student by John Spencer and A.J. Juliani. Follow each blog post to dive into the book. Each blog is listed in the schedule below and I will update the links on the Thinglink as posts go live. We will review two chapters each week for the next month. Get your own copy of Launch here. Join the conversation in the comment section of the blog posts. Use #D100BloggerPD and #LAUCHBook to join us on twitter.

LAUNCH- Ch. 1 We Need Creative Classrooms

I first read this book on an airplane on my way to Canada this summer. It was so motivating, I couldn't wait to get back to work to implement the LAUNCH cycle of design thinking to get students to solve authentic problems. Spencer and Juliani laid out their points in an excellent way and I found myself devouring this book! 

To start chapter one, the authors jump right into the 'why' and set the stage for implementing design thinking into every classroom. As they covered most of the excuses as to why creativity does not get emphasized in the classroom, they point out access to technology is no longer the problem. The divide is created when students are consumers instead of creators. Instead of spending time consuming content, students need to be creating and sharing their own creative content and ideas. This same overall message is also seen in George Couros book Innovators Mindset. For students to be innovative problem solvers in today's society, not just the future, but now, we need to give them the skills to be creative thinkers. The world has already given them the technology tools, teachers need to facilitate the experiences. 

I think everyone would agree with the quote above and it is not that profound, however, does your classroom show that creativity is for everyone?  Creative projects aren't meant for the gifted or the students that get done early. Students have different talents and the creative process can amplify talents that otherwise would have been hidden. We have to believe that everyone can be creative and be ready to pick them up when they fail and build success from those failures. When students take risks with their ideas and understand that failure is part of the process, their success will be that much sweeter.

As a former science teacher, I am a sucker for systems and processes. To reach student's creative potential, Spencer and  Juliani suggest design thinking as the process and the LAUNCH cycle as the framework. If students are able to understand and manipulate the steps of this cycle, they can use it to find and implement creative solutions to any problem.

Every day we deal with constraints in the way of achieving our goals. Those constraints can cause us to give up, or push us to creative solutions. Whether it is time or resources that are an issue, the book points out there is more power in having constraints and it fosters the creative process. Dollar Store STEM has easy to implement challenges that can give students practice working within constraints.

I am working with an awesome 5th-grade team at Hiawatha school to implement design thinking through the LAUNCH cycle. As part of the process, I put together a series of Ted-Ed lessons. The first lesson uses Spencer's video called "The LAUNCH Cycle," to describe the LAUNCH cycle to students. The "Dig Deeper" section pulls in other resources on design thinking. The second lesson is called "This Could Fail," so we can discuss failure with the students. The lesson is based on John Spencer's video and in the dig deeper section the students will explore a few other videos including "Audri's Rube Goldberg Mouse Trap." The goal is to get students to anticipate failure and move forward as we begin this creative process. Lesson 3 and 4 will happen when students are ready to navigate ideas. "Think Inside the Box" is the third lesson that will show students the power of creative constraints. The fourth lesson, called "A Different Approach to Brainstorming," will help teachers and students have a structure to come up with solution ideas.

This wooden plaque hangs above my desk as a reminder to create, produce, and accomplish my ideas. I have a lot of wonderful conversations with colleagues, but those ideas do not always come to light. This sign is a reminder for me to continue to launch. I love that Spencer and Juliani emphasize the point that the final step is to launch our creative ideas. They state how this is the scariest, but most rewarding part and is often overlooked.

Creative power is already in your classroom. Join us for the rest of the book study to talk about how you can use LAUNCH to unleash creativity in any class. Have you tried it? Did you read the chapter? Let's chat about it in the comment section below.

Thank you for joining #D100BloggerPD for the reflection of Chapter 1 of LAUNCH.  Annie Forest (@MrsForest) will be covering Chapter 2 on her blog, showyourthinkingmath.blogspot.com on Wednesday, November 23. Check it out and follow along with the rest of the book study using #D100BloggerPD on twitter.  

Hack 2 of Hacking the Common Core- #D100BloggerPD

Welcome back to the #D100BloggerPD! #D100BloggerPD is a group of bloggers from Berwyn South School District 100 that read and blog about various education books! I'm here to give you a run down of Hack #2 in "Hacking the Common Core" by Michael Fisher. If you missed the first post, check out Kristen Richey's post on Reading and Owl of the Above. Hack #1 really takes the edge off of Common Core anxiety.

Hack #2 Close in on Close Reading

I think we are all guilty of overgeneralizing the Common Core at one point or another, I'll admit that I have. The first Common Core literacy anchor standard states:

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.

Common Core Anchor Standard 1 

In Hack 2, author Michael Fisher explains that close reading has been misinterpreted. He points out the first two words in the standard, "read closely," have been taken too literally and lead to teachers having students close read everything, rather than focusing on the key points in the rest of the standard. Much of this interpretation is driven by commercial products that push close reading. It is not meant to be a skill and kill strategy. "Close reading is an analysis of text rather than a specific skill with a prescribed formula," explain Fisher. 

Fisher isn't saying to stop analysis of text, although he does say "...just stop whatever it is your doing that you call close reading."  The problem lies in the prescribed formula that gets used repeatedly because we have been told that's how the students will meet the standard.  

So, what should we be doing? First, Fisher suggests taking a close look at the entire standard. 

Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it; cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text. 

Common Core Anchor Standard 1

The standard is really asking students to determine what the text says, make inferences, and cite evidence to support conclusions. Once you have interpreted all parts of the standard, next he suggests taking a look at your curriculum to make any adaptations. As he lays out the blueprint to implement this hack, one important component is "ensuring students frequently show their thinking." Give them the space and time to make connections with text and media to make their thinking visible. Allow them a voice to express their learning. Push them to show how language can deepen the interaction between characters to develop the plot. Bottom line, students need a variety of experiences to interact with text in meaningful ways, not an overprescribed scripted structure.

Some of you may be left in shock after this post. Hopefully, after reading this you will find yourself spending some time with your colleagues and exploring the standards as well what you are doing with your curriculum to ensure the understanding and the instruction align.


Catch the rest of the hacks coming up soon. Kayla Kaczmarek is up next with Hack #3 and it can be found on her website on October 6th. Follow #D100BloggerPD on twitter and the image below has the rest of the crew that is "Hacking the Common Core" with Michael Fisher! I hope you enjoy it.

The Power of Classroom Visits

Time is always tight for educators, but collaboration doesn't have to be time set aside for an official meeting. It can be as simple as popping into a colleague's room, observing, and having a conversation. As I have seen more and more educators welcome others into their classroom, it has opened up conversations and spread great ideas. But how do you get this culture to happen?

A couple different ways have spread across my district and social media that would help teachers welcome classroom visitors.

1. Site Visits
A few years ago when our district went 1:1 Macbooks, we started to host site visits from outside districts to come see what we are doing with our program.  We received the Apple Distinguished Program honor for the work we are doing to transform learning using technology and it helped turn attention to our schools. When we first started, people asked why we would spend our time opening our doors? Why not! We have amazing things going on in our classrooms that are worth talking about. When you know visitors will be in and out of your classroom, teachers have a chance to showcase their teaching and look to always enhance their practices. Staff and students take pride and ownership in what they are doing. At the end of the visit, we invite administrators and teachers to debrief with us. This process is very reflective and allows us to keep coming back to why we do this.

We have learned so much from the visitors. Simple comments about programs used or another perspective on how to implement something could spark a great idea to make us even better. Wonderful educators like George Couros, John Antonetti, Saba Quidwai, and Carl Hooker have been able to tour many of our schools and share their expertise on ways we can improve even more.

Site Visitors interacting with students. 

Site visitors viewing students projects. 

2. Pineapple Chart

The idea from Jennifer Gonzalez, author of Hacking Learning and blogger at Cult of Pedagogy, has begun to spread across the district. She explains the charts very well in her blog post. The pineapple is a symbol for welcome. This chart allows teachers to post things going on in their classroom to welcome others to come see their lesson. At Hiawatha Elementary School and Freedom Middle School, you can find a Pineapple chart in their common area. Hiawatha Literacy coach, Leah O'Donnell wrote a blog post about how they use the chart as Hiawatha. Teachers can even put a pineapple on the outside of their door as a symbol for others to come into their class.

New pineapple chart at Freedom Middle School by Amy Gorzkowski.

Pineapple chart in use at Hiawatha by Leah O'Donnell.

3. #ObserveMe
Robert Kaplinsky has a call to action for teachers that is catching on. In his blog post, he challenges teachers to post a sign on their door inviting teachers to observe with explicit points of feedback they would like to receive. To further collaborate outside the school and spread the idea, he asks teachers to post on social media using #observeme. The point here is the feedback portion to help the teacher grow. Visitors will walk away with a new idea as well, so it's a win for both teachers. This idea is new to our district, but I have seen teachers with a sign that invites you.      

Sign on Angela Gonzales door that creates a welcomes others. 

Most teachers are humble and many are risk takers that are confident enough in their abilities to allow others to come in and give them support. Observing another teacher's classroom is a benefit for both educators involved. Try one or all of these ways and see what amazing things come from it! If you have done any of these I would love to hear your experience!

"What Teachers Make" Response to Ch 2-3 #D100bloggerPD

Welcome to the second post of the #D100BloggerPD book study on "What Teachers Make" by Taylor Mali. If you missed the first post by the wonderful Colleen Noffsinger, check it out at the Literacy Loving Gals blog! If you are new to #D100BloggerPD, you are in for a treat! We are a group of educators in Berwyn, IL. We complete books studies on educational books covering a range of topics in education and we each take a chapter to blog about. So, you can "read" some of the hottest books in education by following #D100BloggerPD on twitter and keeping up with the blog posts!  


Vignette 2 - Your Child is My Student

In this section, Mali talks of the challenges presented to teachers in the dynamic of the parent, teacher, student trifecta. He comments how children may get more face-to-face time with teachers than their parents. A tremendous amount of weight is put on teachers for students to succeed and often the failures come back to the teacher.

In actuality, it is three people that are responsible for a student's education and success: parents, teacher, and the student. When dealing with a struggling student, the three pieces must come together.

        

As I was reading this section, a few thoughts came to mind that can help other teachers build a positive relationship with parents. 

1. Openly communicate with parents constantly. With so many social media outlets and ways to communicate, parents should be receiving updates on what is going on in class and with their child. These updates can easily be sent to the whole class or individual parents through tools like Remind or Class Dojo.  

2. Assume positive intent. Most parents I have come into contact with are doing the best they can and may not know any different. Don't judge them. Share ways that they can support their child at home because they may just be unaware. 

3. Respect the parent decisions. Parents make hard decisions every day concerning their children. Whether a parent decides to put their child on medication or take them off, isn't a teacher's position to judge, our role is to adjust our teaching accordingly. 

Taking a collaborative approach with parents from the start of the school year will benefit everyone involved.   

Vignette 3- A Poet Becomes a Teacher (and Vice Versa)

In this section, Mali talked about how he attended graduate school to become a poet and found himself having a need to impact the lives of children, unlike the majority of his colleagues. He states teaching is the art of explanation. He explains, the best teachers gather the information and present it in a meaningful way and allow students to finish the ideas. 

I agree with this to an extent, but I feel the tide of teaching is changing. As education is transforming, the passing of information from the teacher to student and back again is drastically changing. The best teachers are becoming facilitators to teach students how to gather and sort information, build creativity, and allow students to create products that exceed what the teacher thought was possible!

He also explains the importance of teaching and learning in the early years of a child's life through early elementary. These years are so formative for a child. Programs have been started all over the globe to educate parents on ways to educate their children before starting school.  Because as Mali points out, there becomes a point where it is nearly impossible to get a student caught up once they are so far behind. Often this path is laid before they enter school. Another layer to an already challenging job for teachers!

He closes this section with a great line, "Everything I do is a kind of lesson, even if I'm the only person learning it."  I like this line for many reasons, but it helps me remember two things. It reminds me that I'm always sending a message with everything I do and someone is learning something from it, so share your words intentionally. Also, everything I do is an opportunity for me to learn as well, even if I'm the only one. 

Find the next installment of the #D100BloggerPD at Miss Kaczmarek's Classroom and follow wonderful Kayla on twitter! You won't be disappointed. Don't miss any of the other posts by checking out the schedule below. Thanks for reading!

          

Juxtapose Your Lesson

I just came across a great simple tool I wanted to share! I've seen images showing how areas have changed over time with a side by side picture and slider in the middle. When you move the slider it shows how the area has changed. Here is an example of two iconic Chicago theaters. I always thought it was a great visual representation, but didn't know how to create them...until now! The website juxtapose.knightlab.com will allow you to choose online pictures and "juxtapose" them!

They can be created by the teachers or students. Here are some ways I could see it being used in the classroom.

1. The change of seasons on the landscape of the neighborhood.
2. The change of students from the first day of school to the last.
3. The progress made on a project students are working on.
4. Geographical changes of Earth.
5. The transformation of a space in the school.

The website is very easy to use. Simply, put in the web address for each picture along with the date it was taken. (Remember to use images that are free to use. Check out how here.)You can upload your own pictures to Flicker, Dropbox, or Google Drive and get a link from there. Click publish and use the embed code!

  

Here is one I created of a shopping center that was remodeled a few years ago in Berwyn. I can't wait to see this in action in the classroom!

How to Create Simple RSA Animate Videos

RSA Animate videos are creative whiteboard videos that illustrate an idea. They can be simple to very elaborate. Here are the steps I used with a 3rd grade class to help the students illustrate their writing. Check out the blog post "Influential People Unit with RSA Animate and Green Screen" to see their projects. You can also check out professional RSA animate .

What you need:

• Whiteboard
• Dry erase marker and eraser
• Storyboard graphic organizer
• iPad or device that records video
• iMovie

Step 1: Write your idea
First, complete the message you would like to illustrate. Edit and revise it, so you have a final draft to illustrate.

Step 2: Create a storyboard
Using a storyboard graphic organizer or app, plan out a picture for each sentence. We encouraged the students to number each sentence and match it to a picture or write each sentence below the blank box. Draw one picture per sentence. Depending on the length of sentences, you may need to adjust the pictures. For example, you may need two pictures for a long sentence or quickly draw a simple picture for a short sentence.

Step 3: Draw and record
Record each picture being drawn. We recorded using the time-lapse camera on the iPad. It was helpful to use a stand for the iPad, but you can hold it still as well. If you do not have an iPad, you can record with a computer and speed up the videos in iMovie. After erasing a picture, stop and read the sentence with the video. This ensures the timing of the video and audio match. Make adjustments as needed by adding more pictures or simplifying some drawings. After the drawings are finished, send the videos to the computer.

Student recording RSA Animate with iPad time-lapse camera

Step 4: Put the video together and add voice
Next, put the clips together in iMovie in the correct order. Select the "Record Voiceover" feature. Voiceover the images. We used a microphone to eliminate background noise, but that is optional.

Recording voiceover in iMovie

Step 5: Publish and share
Publish the video and share your message with the audience of your choice.

The great thing about RSA animate is that you don't have to be an artist. Since you are telling the story along with the pictures, the audience will understand the visuals with the audio.

Have fun enhancing your message with RSA animate!

Influential People Unit with RSA Animate and Green Screen

In Miss Carillo's 3rd grade bilingual class the students were working on opinion writing in their writing workshop. The goal was for students to choose an influential person, conduct research, write their paragraph with examples and evidence, and create a product that can be shared with an audience of their choice.  This lesson included several engaging qualities.

Engaging Qualities

• Choice- Students were able to choose their influential person. They also had a choice in how they wanted to present their information out to their audience.
• Sense of Audience- Students were challenged to think about the best audience for their presentation. All students shared with parents and teachers at the viewing party, but they were able to choose an authentic audience to share it with online. 
• Novelty & Authenticity- As part of their choice, they could have chosen using a green screen or creating an RSA animate. These were new to the students and many were excited to try these options. 

Process

Research
The students conducted research on a project board similar to the picture below. Miss Carrillo taught a mini lesson on finding reliable sources and encouraged them to use the research tool in google docs to find reliable sources. Once they choose their influential person, they began using the project board.

Writing
Once they had completed some research, Miss Carrillo modeled putting this together  into their paragraph. As students began writing, she followed the workshop model to support them. As the students finished revising and editing, they began to think about their final product.

Determining the Final Product
The students could create a final project of their choice to publish their information. Miss Carrillo created a "Choice Board" that allowed students to choose from several options to create their product.

The most popular choices were iMovie with greenscreen, RSA animate, and presenting their speech dressed as their person.

Final Product

GREEN SCREEN
For the students that chose greenscreen, we recorded the students reading their paragraph in front of a green screen. The students then found pictures that aligned with their story and merged the videos and pictures in iMovie. As we filmed and students read aloud, they realized areas that needed to be edited or revised. For example, a student asked, "I want to change this part. Can I fix my paper and record it again?" Of course! By creating this final product, she was naturally motivated to complete the writing process through revision and editing. This can be one of the hardest aspects of the writing process to motivate students to complete. Knowing that she had an audience gave her the motivation to write to the best of her ability.

RSA Animate
Several students chose RSA animation. After writing and editing their paragraph, they had to make their paragraph visual by planning out pictures for each sentence using a storyboard. This created critical thinking of the points they had made in their paragraph. As I help students, they translated their Spanish writing to English to share their idea with me. Then we were able to have great conversations about how to make the concepts in their writing visual. Once the storyboard was done, the students then had to draw their images on a whiteboard as it was recorded in time-lapse on the iPad. Once they had their visual story, all the time-lapsed videos were put into iMovie and they were able to voice-over the images with their writing. Check out this post to learn how we created the RSA videos.

Check out this playlist of all the projects! 

AH-HA Moments

The goal of this activity was to develop the students writing and give them an audience to share. However, it turned into so much more. I was working with one particular student on her RSA. She wrote her paragraph in Spanish and translated each sentence orally to me so I could help her. She had to come up with pictures for each sentence that told the story of her paragraph. She was able to purposefully practice, writing and speaking skills and show the depth of her understanding through pictures. If Miss Carrillo would have asked the students to write a paragraph, then orally translate it, draw a picture to represent each sentence and then read it aloud three times, most of the students wouldn't have been motivated to do it. However, they enhanced their writing skills, speaking skills, and knowledge of the content by doing all those things with a purpose. This activity gave those skills a purpose and added more depth to their learning.