The following is an example of what I feel is a lesson which will benefit students by giving them the opportunity to change the traditional ways of teaching. Flip teaching is a concept that has proven to be effective to be used among students of varying ages. This article from Wired provides excellent information of what exactly it means to flip the teaching. 'Flip Teaching: What Happens When Homework is in Class?' explains that when the teaching is flipped the students are expected to watch lectures or videos about a topic at home. This leaves the actual class time open for discussion and collaboration among their peers. It makes sense when we think about how much time we always say we need as teachers and opening up more opportunities by eliminating the time we spend on explanation and showing videos. Some aspects to consider which will become very important to the success of this type of teaching is that expectations and requirements must be clearly laid out upon assigning the homework. Students must be required to watch the video more than one time to be sure understanding is happening. Additionally, students should be guided through the comprehension of the information through a note guide or study sheet. These elements are essential to the success of the lesson and discussion in class the next day.
The lesson I will describe is for use in a 5th grade classroom. It involves the introduction to the topic of the civil war. Students will be told that they will be beginning to learn about the civil war. A KWL chart will be done as a whole class experience by having small groups of 4 list what they already know about the civil war. After groups have had 10 minutes to work, each group is responsible for coming up to the Smart Board and listing their thoughts onto the large class chart. As a class the facts will be reviewed and a discussion involving information that we already know as a class will be known. At this point prior knowledge has been activated and the students are brainstorming and getting excited about this topic. From there, the assignment for the night will be explained. The assignment: 1. Watch the following video once through just listening. Civil War: Brain Pop 2. Play the video a second time and this time be ready to pause it to answer the following questions. Make sure you take your time, watching the video as many times as you need, in order to fill in the most detailed answers that you can. -In what years did the civil war occur? -What does it mean to secede? -What were the names of the two sides of the war? -What was the major disagreement among the two sides in the war? -Name the famous speech given by President Lincoln at Gettysburg. 3. Lastly, please click on at least 3 questions and read the answers to those questions. In class tomorrow, be ready to discuss the answers to the questions I have given you above in addition to the 3 you have read the answers to after the video. With this type of lesson students are using the technological resources available to them online that are both interesting and informative. Students are taking the time at home to prepare for discussion and be ready to continue their learning while in class.
It is important to note that the concept of flip teaching can and should be modified in order to fit the age and grade level of students. Most research and experience with flip teaching show the approach in the video below. Katie Gimbar is a teacher who posts all of her learning experiences on flip teaching onto You Tube. She does a great job of showing what she has learned about the effectiveness of flip teaching as well as explaining exactly why she does it. She lists great points such a trust and accountability that would be lesser issues if the lecture or learning based assignments to be done at home are coming from the students' actual classroom teacher. She also points out the aspect of not having enough time for differentiation during class time. This is a big deal in the elementary setting and the main reason for the lesson and the teaching method I have described. The lesson I have provided is geared more appropriately towards an elementary setting in that they are not expected to listen to a lecture. Watching a video such as the one I chose will engage students more at their interest level while still providing essential information about the unit. I have attached the video from Katie Gimbar, specifically the one in which she explains why she has flipped her classroom. A lot can be learned from what she has experienced.
Resources: Allain, Rhett. (2011, May 3) Flip Teaching, What Happens When Homework is in Class? Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/05/flip-teaching-what-happens-when-homework-is-in-class/
Brain Pop (nd). Civil War. [Video] Retrieved from http://www.brainpop.com/socialstudies/freemovies/civilwar/.
pocketlodge. (2011, May 2). Why I flipped My Classroom. [Video] Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9aGuLuipTwg&feature=related
ScienceTucker. (2011, October 3) What is Flip Teaching? [Video} Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qkfSIOKzBM.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Techstanding Instructional Challenge 1
It is very evident that students are engaged and committed to their communication with friends. We see them updating their status through Facebook, posting every action on Twitter, constantly listing to music with their ear buds in, and playing online games. If we try to shut down this excitement that exists within the halls of our school, how do we expect the students to stay excited about instruction? I believe that the exploration and projects that students do within the classroom can mimic the excitement they feel during their own free time. If we disconnect their ways of communicating, we are choosing to give students picture of the classroom being a quiet place. I believe that learning will be most effective if it can relate specifically to what the students are used to and enjoy.
According to an article written by MIT (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, & Hass, 2009) , social networking users very in age range, but the most users appear to be within the ages of nine and seventeen. They site research that says 60 percent of students admit to using these social networking sites to discuss topics having to do with education. More than 50 percent say the same sites are used to discuss or work on homework. (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, & Haas, 2009) This should be something that as teachers we are taking advantage of. If students are already using these tools to talk about school, why don’t we incorporate that into our school day?
The document shown below is an excellent tool that should be used within the classroom when setting up the use of technology tools. It helps the teacher organize how to properly integrate technology, taking into consideration all elements such as the school, students, and the teacher. Once this is filled out it can best guide the type of instruction that will be successful within the classroom. It also gives a total score and space to use the rating to brainstorm ways to better address the needs not being met through current lesson plans. This guide will be a good tool to use in order to get these essential technological tools into the classroom.
My first idea to integrate this excitement in the classroom is based off of a CNN news story that was done on a school in California. A teacher there has been using Twitter successfully within his classroom. Here is a picture of what it looks like.
In order to specifically adapt this idea for my fourth grade classroom, I would have students be set up in our computer lab. From there I will pose a question to the students that they have to think through using what we have learned. My first example will be to challenge them to think about our nutrition unit we are currently doing. As a participation grade for the day I would ask students to consider some changes they could make to the meals they ate yesterday that were recorded in their nutrition logs. Students would then be required to post up on Twitter an example of how they would make a better change to what they did the day before. Students can see the ideas of their classmates and are able to comment and support the ideas of others. This will be easy because I will be posting our class experience on the large screen. Students will have a specific Twitter tag to post to and all will show up on the screen. Additionally, students are free to simply type their ideas to add to the discussion rather than speaking out in front of everyone.
Another idea of how I could make the classroom an interactive and collaborative place that mimics the hallway atmosphere is based off the concept of giving students their own identity. According to the study cited in the article from MIT, the one thing these social networking sites have in common is that they give students an identity to use while online. (Klopfer, Osterweil, Groff, & Hass, 2009) They have their own online life and personality to share with others. The specific use within my classroom is giving each student their own avatar in order to use for selected activities. These characters can also be used outside of the classroom to do homework and turn in special projects. Here is a great example of how the use of avitars are used in order to improve students' feelings regarding oral exams. It seems to almost turn the negative opinions into positive through allowing the students to speak using avitars instead of the pressure of standing in front of the room. Please see below how the attitudes of students can improve through an example of avitar use.
For my own specific use within my fourth grade classroom, I will be using the idea that is seen below. This classroom has used a Voki character for each student to do proofreading on the computer. Currently in our class, we are beginning to create three longer writing pieces for a publishing book on family traditions. We will be going to the lab and each student will create their own Voki. Once on Voki.com the students are simply going to be required to type in a paragraph of their writing into the site and listen to the Voki say it back to them. Through the reading aloud by the Voki, the students will be able to see changes that need to be made. Spelling errors, run on sentences, and grammar mistakes will be evident through the reading aloud of their writing. My implementation within the classroom will look very similar to that seen in the following video.
Lastly, I would like to touch on my current idea for classroom management. Using this plan daily within my classroom will provide the greatest amount of inclusion of that energy and buzz of technology that is seen in the halls each day. Using www.classdojo.com, I have uploaded each of my 27 students’ names. The students will go on to the site and create their own avatar that will be what represents them in the classroom. Here is a picture of what it will look like.
This site allows me to take the students negative and positive behavior and add “points” to the students throughout the day. The students’ positive behaviors such as collaborating with another student, showing respect, contributing to class discussion are all listed as topics on the site. I can use my smart phone to add or take away points marked against these categories on the site. Each day students can see their levels change and can reflect on where their behavior needs improvement and where they are showing positive behaviors.
From the minute the students step through the doors of my classroom they will find comfort in knowing that their own personalities are being represented and appreciated through our www.classdojo.com site. There is a constant interaction with the students and the technology each day. I believe that these few steps are a few ways to keep the collaborative and social aspects of the children’s lives alive and well within our 4th grade classroom!
References:
chaserboy82. (2011, Jan. 22). Conferring with an Avitar: Using Voki for Proofreading. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9gHpIH9RTA&feature=related
evansspanishteacher. (2011, Oct. 27). Voki in the Classroom. Retrieved from
Klopfer, E., Osterweil, S., Groff, J., & Haas, J. (2009). The Instructional Power of Digital Games, Social Networking, Simulations and How Teachers Can Leverage Them. The Education Arcade, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved from http://education.mit.edu/papers/GamesSimsSocNets_EdArcade.pdf
LearningCoach. (2011, Sept. 23). CNN Twitter. Retrieved from http://www.schooltube.com/video/1aa687d903d4caf2e335/CNN%20Twitter
When it comes to the world of online tools for story telling, I was not expecting to find what I did when I went "searching" for sources. From my personal perspective, a 4th grade teacher, there are many tools that I have used for my own school such as Prezi that are wonderful. The thought of having my learners use these tools however was not as exciting of an idea. I know that I was able to use these tools in order to prepare a presentation, but I was looking for more child friendly resources for the classroom.
The thought would be that my students can retell their own creative stories in a more interesting and engaging way using online resources. This is what has been driving my curiosity. I have had students use StudentPublishing.com where they are creating a book online and it is printed for each student, but the following resources are ones that I have more recently found. These sources allow students to create their own stories that will stay online to view. They incorporate the use of music, animation, graphics, or drawing tools.
Storyjumper
goanimate4schools
littlebirdtales
myebook
bitstripsforschools
animoto
simplebooklet
zooburst
storybird
A picture example of the Storybird site is shown below. So far it is the site that I have the most interest in and will be using with my students. The artwork that is created on the site and the different templates that can be used are very unique.
Using online story telling tools with elementary students is a great concept because it can be incorporated into my literacy units with ease. It gives students the true freedom to be as creative as they want. It is also an easy way to embrace alternate forms of assessment within the classroom. So often the formal assessments of pencil and paper can take over the classroom experience. Summarizing is a very important comprehension strategy and the assessment of summarizing through one of these tools can be an excellent addition to any classroom.
Through researching for another project I have gained an interest in the topic of using Twitter within the classroom. Personally, I am not a big Twitter user and I am not yet at that point where I even understand why people use it. According to the reading I have done on the topic I would definitely be considered simply a "follower" and not a "participant." I can go on Twitter to follow what famous people are doing or to get up to date news on topics that interest me, but I cannot imagine documenting my own day on there through tweets. I am not at the point yet where that is something that I wish to be doing and I do think that is mainly because I do not think anyone would be interested in what I was doing.
I saw the following video and it really began to spark my interest as to how Twitter can be used within the classroom.
This teacher has really found a way to show that Twitter can be used as more of a positive addition to the classroom as opposed to a distraction. In my opinion Twitter would have NEVER found its place into an educational setting for students younger than college level. Through this video I have began to understand how Twitter can encourage students who would not normally share to voice their thoughts and opinions.
As an elementary teacher the part that hit me the most was the student who shared his own struggle with being shy. He voiced his previous experiences in school as being ignored and was not able to show that he had any voice of his own. He found enough strength to share with the interviewer that he is finally able to speak up in class. His description of the students finally acknowledging him was awesome and it really makes you think. Could Twitter or a concept of sharing like it really engage students enough to make a true difference?
I believe that this concept is an important one to remember and find out more about. Having students be required to have assignments, as college programs require, such as writing 3 tweets or respond to 3 blogs would be something positive to include in courses. Students would be required to participate and respond to writing and readings be writing summaries as they do now. The only difference is that it looks differently.
I think that this teacher has got it right. How each of us incorporate this concept into their own classroom will be the unique and interesting part.
Resources:
LearningCoach. (Sept 2011). Retrieved from http://www.schooltube.com/video/1aa687d903d4caf2e335/CNN-Twitter on November 22, 2011.
This week the staff at my school received a notice regarding our paper use and a warning that if we continue to use the paper at the current rate, there will be no more at the end of the second quarter. This really got me thinking. Initially I got extremely worried and thought to myself, "how am I possibly going to make them have homework?" After running it through my brain for several hours and coming up with ideas based on what I have been learning in my grad program, the end of the day statement was that it wouldn't be that difficult to go paperless.
Paperless classrooms are something of the future from what I have always understood. I have read about Eminence Middle School in Kentucky for example who has started an experiment of going paperless. Kentucky is not a far away country that is extremely different than Wisconsin where I teach. Their experiment is described at http://paperlessclassroom.org and it is extremely interesting to read about. Each student is given a palm computer and costs are cut for paper and invested in the initial cost of buying the computers for students. This whole concept is wonderful to think about and I honestly get lost in it. I can scan all of the "worksheets" that I feel are absolutely critical to the learning. Students can be required to visit specific sites to practice their math facts and record their progress on a Google Doc instead of turning in a paper chart at the end of the month. Their reading logs can be put into Moodle and sent to me weekly through the computer. Programs like Google Docs I have decided will be an essential part of the process. Also Prezi, Wordle, Evernote, and Zoho challenge are resources that have popped up quite often in my research of the topic. Without the one to one concept I do feel that this would be much more difficult. Within the classroom I would utilize the Smart Board that I have more than ever before by requesting the remote control system for student answering. As of now there are only a couple of sets for the whole school, but each day I have quick check ups on material I wish I had the remotes to monitor student progress. I could gain instant access to student knowledge and have the results calculated more quickly and efficiently! Overall, this is not a topic that I want to forget about. I plan on continuing to research the benefits of paperless classrooms (besides the obvious on our environment) and find what is working. I have decided that I will change one paper aspect of my classroom each semester for the rest of the year and see what kind of difference it will make. It is a small step, but definitely somewhere to begin.
Resources:
anggg890. (2009) Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44fCDYx2Lb8 November 22, 2011.
Recently I starting exploring Pearltress and I have to say that I am hooked. When I first signed on and starting exploring how to use it the end result was not being able to walk away. In the past I have used Paper.li and Tweeted Times and I was not as big of a fan with those sites. I did prefer to use Paper.li over Tweeted Times when I compared the two due to the visual organization of it all. I do not like the concept of selecting to scroll through the information as Tweeted Times requires. I do think however that the information is clear to read when using that tool. The text is a good size and it is nice that each topic is given its own space. The Paper.li tool however looks a lot like an old school newspaper. I can scroll over and down through the postings to see all that is available. The topics are clearly labeled (education, politics, art and entertainment, etc.) I appreciate the clear topic headings, the layout, and design of the whole site.
When working with Pearltrees it is easy to see your "trees" easily in addition to the "pearls" that make up the trees. Each pearl is a site of your choosing which can open into an additional window. Similar to delicious or other curation sites like it, you are able to search for a topic and find the Pearltrees of others to look at and eventually pick for your own. You can organize the pearls or whole Pearltrees in your drop box at the bottom of the screen. This option is nice because you are able to control which ones you put up onto the desktop area within your Pearltrees and which to keep down below.
Using this new tool after having used Paper.li and Tweeted Times in the past has expanded my view on curation. I really enjoy the fact that the information is once again being presented in a different way. The websites and resources are shown with picture icons that represent them. They are also organized in a web format which for me makes a lot of sense. Since this is more the way my brain works, this type of site makes a lot of sense to me.
I could use this tool with my students by having it up on my desktop while teaching. I could picture myself using the site to easily be able to switch back and forth between resources online. The students could then be exposed to the site and realize how easy it truly is to use. I do see Pearltrees being use more within my own planning time and home use of the internet. So often in class if I am switching between websites and exploring through tools online I really need to be sure I upload and open all the windows prior to the instruction. Leaving the option for the sites to take a while to open or potentially not work is a big risk within a 4th grade room. The more planning and preparation I can do before the children are in the room, the smoother the lessons tend to go.
This tool is much easier to manage than RSS feed tools in my opinion. I still struggle with the sheer amount of information that is coming through on my feed and the way that information is organized. I truly enjoy the visual representation of the Pearltrees site and can follow its organization much better than the RSS feed that I use.
After working with Pearltrees I also worked with Scoop it. Once again I am being exposed to new tools that help me to organize information. All I can say about this resource is that I am still overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information that is out there.
As I was discovering the scoop it accounts of others and searching by topic I realized just how long I could spend working on such an activity. I went on for an hour rescooping one awesome resource after another, watching videos and reading articles about specific topics of interest to me. This video is a good representation of what I have been thinking through using these tools. The amount of information that is coming in and the speed at which it is being created is something to be in awe of. The progression of technology over the years is an unbelievable topic to think about and these curation tools just keep reminding me of that.
The Web 2.0 resource I used is considered to be in the ‘word cloud’ category of tools. Below is the latest media resource I created for my classroom of 4th graders. In order to use this tool, you need to decide on a set of text that will be sifted through. Eventually a ‘cloud’ of text is put out after being sifted that essentially represents key words and a quick picture of the original text. Below in bold is the specific key words I typed in to the original text box to give my students a quick look at our new electricity unit. Also included below then is the actual word cloud results picture.
Materials such as copper metal that conduct electricity (allow it to flow freely) are called conductors. Materials that don't allow electricity to pass through them so readily, such as rubber and plastic, are called insulators. What makes copper a conductor and rubber an insulator?
A current of electricity is a steady flow of electrons. When electrons move from one place to another, round a circuit, they carry electrical energy from place to place like marching ants carrying leaves. Instead of carrying leaves, electrons carry a tiny amount of electric charge.
Electricity can travel through something when its structure allows electrons to move through it easily. Metals like copper have "free" electrons that are not bound tightly to their parent atoms. These electrons flow freely throughout the structure of copper and this is what enables an electric current to flow. In rubber, the electrons are more tightly bound. There are no "free" electrons and, as a result, electricity does not really flow through rubber at all. Conductors that let electricity flow freely are said to have a high conductance and a low resistance; insulators that do not allow electricity to flow are the opposite: they have a low conductance and a high resistance.
For electricity to flow, there has to be something to push the electrons along. This is called an electromotive force (EMF). A battery or power outlet creates the electromotive force that makes a current of electrons flow. An electromotive force is better known as a voltage.
I have become so attached to using this tool that I try to do a world cloud for almost every unit I am doing. I also used it for American Government this year because I could type in part of actual documents such as the Constitution and The Declaration of Independence. Putting in parts of these real life documents excites the students once you reveal the way you got to the end result of the word cloud. I do not always go back and show the students the text, but in the case of the real documents it really was awesome. With 4th graders it is important to activate prior knowledge before beginning a unit such as this and this particular resource is perfect for it. Studies have shown that students genuinely benefit from the activation of prior knowledge when being introduced to a topic. The combination of getting them thinking about a topic and getting excited about being exposed to key words is an obvious positive to me!
Accessing these sites is very easy because for the most part they are free. If you search for any type of word cloud resource there are many that come up in the search. I have found that there are several of these sites that I like, but the benefit of Wordle is the arrangement options once the sift has been done. You can control the color, font, and placement of words once it is finished. I feel this is a very great feature because you can alter it based on the unit and age of students.
Overall these recources are easy to use and helpful within my classroom. Each time I wish to set up a word cloud I simply go onto the website, type in the text that goes with my unit, and hit “send.” Once finished it is optional to adjust the way the cloud looks, but sometimes it looks so great that its done right then. I will continue to use this web 2.0 resource within my classroom as much as possible.
