The Blender Interactive Learning Structure: The Right Ingredient for Engaged Learning

"The Blender Interactive Learning Structure: The Right Ingredient for Engaged Learning"

Originally Published on GettingSmart on 10.19.19.

I strongly believe that opportunity is the main ingredient needed for students to express their creativity. Let’s face it. Worksheets rarely work, lectures often leave students wanting to elect another teacher, bookwork prompts students to dream of turning a new pedagogical page, and crossword puzzles...oh, don’t even get me started. What is needed is something interactive. Something that takes elements such as rigor, incessant questioning, collaboration, accountability, and pressure to draw forth students’ untapped talents and dormant skills that will undoubtedly rock the assignment with engaged learning. Enter “The Blender Interactive Learning Structure.” Let’s take a look.
 

Please note that “The Blender” is a plug-and-play learning structure. After teachers “plug” in the content and prompts, students “play” by completing the tasks in the style of the assignments designated by their teams’ locations. For the following examples, please note several things: 1. The raw videos for this particular structure were recorded during a two-day teacher workshop titled “Rock the Class with Interactive Learning Structures,” led by Kasey Nored and me. A blogpost with student examples is in the works. 2. Teachers in the raw videos answered the following prompt: “What qualities should the perfect classroom exhibit?” 3. Although only one topic is used during the workshop due to time constraints, it would be wise when facilitating with students to spread out the amount of content that needs to be “covered.” This teaching practice guards against overexposure to the same prompt. It eliminates students’ boredom and maintains a steady pace while working through the established class curriculum. 4. “The Blender” is not a sit-and-get presentation-only structure. In fact, when administered outside of a professional learning setting, students use graphic organizers and/or sketch notes to make meaning of their peers’ presentations. Furthermore, other teams may be called on at any time to validate, refute and augment their peers’ academic presentations.

1. Smartphone and/or Tablet App

 

2. Boardgame, Video Game or Toy

 

 3. Debate (Versus Team Eight)

 

 4. Song(s)



 5. Movie Trailer (inspired by Pablo Francisco’s “Little Tortilla Boy”)

 

6. Acting



 7. The Nerf Ball Challenge OR Historical Event, Current Event, and/or Thematic Connection to Multimedia






8. Debate (Versus Team Three)

 

9. Elaborate Handshake (much like this third-grade teacher)

 

 10. Roll Call (inspired by SNL’s Will Ferrell and Cheri Oteri)

 

So, the next time you find yourself charged with reaching learning targets, teaching standards, covering curriculum, conquering standardized tests, and engaging a classroom full of energetic, yet uninspired, students, remember to add the most important ingredient for creativity and learning to take place...opportunity. “The Blender” interactive learning structure will take care of the rest.

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5 Teaching Habits to Tame Time

"5 Teaching Habits to Tame Time"

(First published here on GettingSmart on 10.30.2014)

Something kicks my posterior way too often. It’s a frenemy of mine, you see. Yep, that’s right. FREN-E-MY. Think of polar opposites. Some days are swing and duck, while others are smile and enjoy good luck. Are you picking up what I’m laying down? I’m speaking of that ceaseless, consistent, and never-changing thorn in my side…and friend by my side. Time. As a high school Language Arts teacher of eighteen years, I continually challenge myself to be more disciplined and efficient while improving productivity, quality, and creativity. I’m trying my best, and usually that suffices. Let’s take a look at five ways I’m attempting to tame time.

Organized Bookmarks

Think about it. How many occasions have you re-searched for an educational resource that you used just last week? Can’t remember the name exactly? Hmmm. That doesn’t help. Guess the only thing to do is keep searching. Meanwhile, the clock keeps ticking. Take a look at how something so simple can help you spend time so wisely.

Imperfect Screencasts

All right. Don’t let me offend anyone here. However, have you ever found yourself on a Friday teaching a co-worker the same concept that was shared with other colleagues Monday through Thursday? Was it something that could have been screencast or video recorded? If so, go ahead and do it. Not only will you save time by sending your colleagues hyperlinks to your screencasts or video recordings, but your forward-thinking co-workers will also be able to pause and replay as they practice the very same concepts you have taught. And don’t worry about getting your recordings perfect. If perfection is a part of your plan, you will defeat the purpose and lose all kinds of time. A screencasting guru once told me, “Whether you burp, your dog barks, or your wife hollers at the kids in the background, keep right on screencasting and recording. ‘Cause if you stop at every little imperfection, you’ll never finish. Plus, all that’s real. So be real.” Screencast-O-Matic and Jing are two free programs to use. However, if you can swing it monetarily, Camtasia rocks. Please find below one of my better screencasts and a hyperlink to many more here.

Virtual Meetings

I’m all for the face-to-face meetings. Physically being in a room full of enthusiastic educators adds a much needed jolt to teachers’ psyches. However, sometimes the extra time it takes to navigate a long walk across the campus, to engage in an impromptu conversation, to disengage from that same conversation, to ascend a flight of stairs, and to wait an extra five minutes for a late colleague to arrive makes a Chevrolet 454 engine seem fuel efficient. Oh, how I sometimes want to simply stay put and use a video conferencing tool to connect with my colleagues and collaborate in a scheduled meeting. It really is so easy. Google Hangouts, Skype, and Microsoft Lync are all valuable technology tools that allow people to meet in a very efficient manner. Google Hangouts and Lync allow up to 10 people on one video call, while Skype boasts a maximum number of 25 in a group video call. As if virtual meetings with colleagues aren’t enticing enough, don’t forget about joining classes with a fellow teacher in another school district to team-teach. It may sound complex, but the only tough part is trying to match up class times. Although I have only shared classes through Microsoft Lync with teachers from my school district, the process was awesome. I will definitely try again soon.

Always great to collaborate with @FBHSRamsey & @redbeardjohnson . Such #engchat inspiration. Y'all rock! pic.twitter.com/5vpqn83QgY — John Hardison (@JohnHardison1) July 30, 2014

Google Forms

I jokingly tell people all the time, “Using Google Forms can help solve just about any issue…maybe even world peace.” Seriously, though. A precisely constructed Google Form can not only create magic in your classrooms, but it can also save so much time when gathering resources among teachers. Instead of spending hours upon hours discovering helpful videos, current events, lesson plans, and other valuable internet resources, simply create a Google Form and share it with your colleagues. True synergy then occurs as a group of focused educators scramble to share their favorite resources. Watch the video below to take a quick look at this process in action.

Tweetdeck and Twitter Lists

Let’s be real. If someone is “following” 20K people on Twitter, there is no way those interesting tweets are all being read. There is not enough time in the day. Heck, I am following over 600 and would like to follow more, but I find it challenging at times to keep up with the overwhelming amount of awesome information that flows directly to me. What is my solution? Two things. 1. I use Tweetdeck to effortlessly browse certain hashtags or members of my PLN. By setting up only my desired columns, I can easily scan #edchat, #edtech, and #engchat hashtags all at once. 2. Creating and using Twitter lists also saves me a bunch of time. When I follow someone new, I immediately add him/her to one of a multitude of lists with titles that include: edadmin, ELA, educators, edtech gurus, and many more. Here's a quick video tutorial to get you started. So when you find time is kicking your rear end at work, take just a second to give yourself a hand and replace analog with digital. Will you be more efficient, productive, creative, and...happy? Who knows. Only time will tell.  

36 Codes, an OWL, a Pitch Counter, and a Headset: Nontraditional Tools for Nontraditional Feedback

(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 23, 2013.)


Just like many educators, I am always working towards improvement, and my incessant quests for enhanced teaching and professional practices usually stem from a desire for one thing: quality feedback for my students. Obviously, to reach this goal on a daily basis, efficiency is paramount. Whether I am speed-reading a stack of e-mail, tweeting out class reminders for our new E.P.I.C.C. Academy, or creating online content to facilitate personalized learning, the goal of efficiency (and, as always, creativity) is at the root of my daily practices. Likewise, I am constantly experimenting. One such experiment these past six weeks has led me to a newer, more efficient mode of assessing students’ essays. Yep, it may sound a bit eclectic at first, but the only tools I currently use to provide valuable, timely feedback for my students’ writings are 36 codes, an Owl, a baseball pitch counter, and a headset.

36 Codes and an OWL

Call me a slow learner if you want, but I grew tired and frustrated after many years of crafting thoughtful paragraphs of feedback on my students’ papers only to watch them get trashed after their numerical grades were ascertained. This disappointment led me to develop an ever-evolving spreadsheet of grading codes and relevant links. These thirty-six codes have worked very well for the thousands of essays I have graded the last few years, but the effectiveness of these one-to-three character codes was taken to another level when our district recently did something amazing…students were given Google Drive accounts. This breakthrough, along with knowledge gained from this blog post from Catlin Tucker and the availability of Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab (OWL), has totally transformed my process for assessing students’ work. Take a look at the process here.

 

A Pitch Counter

To be even more efficient, I borrowed an idea from my days of playing and coaching baseball. A baseball pitch counter, which is obviously used by coaches to protect their players from overthrowing, can come in very handy when trying to quantify any particular area of focus when grading students’ essays. Sometimes I click and click to get an understanding of how students struggle with sentence fragments, run-ons, or comma splices, while other times I search for the number of ideas that support the students’ well-crafted thesis statements. Whatever it may be, the little gadget that cost me a mere $8 is oh so valuable.

A Headset

I remember using Audacity and a pile of students’ flash drives about five years ago to “voice grade” a set of AP Language essays. My colleague and I decided to give it a try, and the results were overwhelming. Students said the feedback via .mp4 audio files was some of the best they ever received. Since it did not take nearly as long for us to articulate our criticism as it did to write those same thoughts, we were relatively efficient. However, we encountered two problems: 1. Managing a multitude of students’ jump drives 2. Not having an effective technique for highlighting key areas within the pupils’ essays. Flash forward to 2013. Thanks to Jen Roberts, I learned how to add voice comments through Google Drive. This particular site, 121Writing, is now Kaizena. This powerful site has been revamped to accommodate teachers’ wishes and to make every aspect of assessment more efficient. From the ability to record multiple comments and send them all at once to the ease of underlining text or submitting written feedback, Kaizena is a teacher’s dream. Here it is in action.

   

Who knows what the future holds for teacher assessment. Maybe years from now I’ll look back at these grading tools, laugh at their assumed improbability, and discuss the presently unimaginable gadgets that line my feedback toolbox. For now, however, I’ll stick with 36 codes, an OWL, a pitch counter, and a headset.

Powerful Apps to Empower Powerful Writing

(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on September 10, 2013.)

After the first four weeks of school, one truth is clear. The majority of my students are not very fond of writing. As a Language Arts teacher and one who writes for enjoyment, I find this alarming. I first became aware of this overwhelming fact by studying my students’ Google form submissions, which were designed to shed light on their talents, academic strengths and weaknesses, educational backgrounds, and wishes for learning activities in our new blended learning academy. This invaluable data, which I collect at the beginning of each school year, was validated even more when I discussed the writing process face-to-face with individual students. No worries, though. I have a plan. What might that be? To unveil an unaware passion for writing by guiding students through powerful writing experiences with powerful writing apps.

Brainstorming with Mindmaps

As we all know, most students’ writing struggles begin with no beginning. They engage in personal mental warfare by volleying potential ideas back and forth until the only things that get spiked are their crumpled up sheets of paper, and since so many students are visual learners, they end up with no conceptions of their introductory paragraphs. No plans, no visuals, no start, and, ultimately, no power to continue. Enter mindmaps. Websites and apps like bubbl.us, Mind42, Mindjet, and RealTimeBoard provide students with user-friendly technology tools that help them organize and plan masterful compositions. No more writing fatigue caused by indecisive and unorganized brain chatter. Just a strong foothold at the “Start Line” of the prose, a clear understanding of the academic task, and a rock-solid game plan for excelling at the composition’s “Finish Line.” If you’re interested in learning more about the first three sites mentioned, please visit the “You’re Making Me” YouTube Channel for excellent video tutorials. Click here for a test-drive of RealTimeBoard.

Bridging the Writing and Talking Divide with Voice-to-Text Software

I may be slow sometimes, but I am no dummy. I realize the process of inspiring an unwilling writer to pour his thoughts and emotions into black letters on a white canvas is much more convoluted than simply saying, “Just talk.” However, the power in my students’ eyes last week when I used our Apple TV wifi connection to show them how Dragon Dictation converts my thoughts and words into a coherent and solid introductory paragraph was palpable, to say the least. If you have just one student who is reluctant to think through a pen, please click here and take a few minutes to see for yourself the writing muscle exhibited when Dragon Dictation flexes its digital ears.

Setting the Writing Mood

All right. Prepare yourself for this. I am about to reveal two apps that are incredibly effective at inviting students into the writing zone…you know, that one foot area of connection between a writer’s heart and mind where thoughts and emotions flow into beautifully scripted sentences like water cascading over a precipice of smooth rocks. And here they are…. Dun-dun-duuuun. The light switch... ...and... The play button. That’s right. Simply turning off those annoyingly bright, overhead lights and replacing them with soft corner lamps will entice students to relax just a bit and listen to their inner voices. If that’s not enough, try hitting play on a hypnotic, looping sound like this. Trust me. Setting the mood for writing time makes all the difference. See it in action here. If the use of these two apps are not possible for whatever reasons, give OMMWriter a look. Here’s the well-written explanation awaiting you on their website: “OmmWriter is your own private writing room where you can close the door behind you to focus on your writing in peace. Everywhere you go, you have access to a beautiful distraction-free writing environment where your authentic voice is free to go where it is meant to go.”

Sharing with a Larger Audience

Not too many students get excited about submitting their essays to me. Sure, some are eager to see how they scored and what they truly need to work on, however, most are absolutely ecstatic over the prospects of the entire world reading their musings. I understand. I feel the same way. Obviously, this is where the power of blogspots like WordPress and Blogger shine. Students can tailor these sites to reflect their personalities, topics, and authentic voices. Resting in their seats is not the only way they can publish their writings to the world; posting for all to see is just a click away on any smartphone or internet-capable tablet. As always, teachers can do a lot to help with exposing their students’ writings to a larger audience by repurposing websites like Symbaloo. With a thorough game plan like this one, Symbaloo can serve as a one-stop shop for your students’ original thoughts. And what about your students? How can they promote their essays, journals, and blogs? Don’t worry. They already know. I’m sure they’ll use prominent social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram.

Lightening Students’ Loads with a Digital Backpack

By encouraging students to use Google Drive in lieu of Microsoft Office and WeVideo instead of MovieMaker Live, my colleagues and I have nearly eradicated backpacks. Through an open BYOD policy and the luxury of a 1-to-1 tech-to-student ratio, our students are entering class many days with their internet capable gadgets or nothing at all. What’s even cooler than that, however, is the simplicity of students sharing and collaborating through Google Drive. Seriously, take just a few steps in our blended learning academy and you’ll surely see teams of three to four working on one, shared document. With the power of WeVideo in Google Drive, you may even see students recording directly from their laptops and teaming up to render one, awesome video. I would be remiss if I didn’t divulge my favorite aspect of Google Drive…grading with voice comments. Seriously. It is way too cool. Here’s how it’s done. Hopefully, these apps will serve you well, but please take a minute and post a comment about your most powerful writing apps. Who knows. If we work together, we may claim ourselves to be educators fit enough to carry a fifty-pound pencil, untether a shackled keyboard, or flip through an endless spiral notebook of blank paper… Or just powerful enough to introduce emerging writers to themselves.  

Tupac & Einstein: Now That's Blended Learning

(Originally published on gettingsmart.com on August 29th, 2013.)

I can honestly remember sitting in a high school Language Arts classroom as a sophomore in 1990 and thinking, “Man, there has to be a better way of learning than this.” But I was that pimple-faced, just-want-to-play-sports, socially awkward kid who tried his best not to be noticed due to an affliction of P.S.S., or Painfully Shy Syndrome. I wasn’t about to voice my criticism. Truth is, however, my inner voice was screaming so loudly for alternative ways of proving my knowledge, of revealing my talents, of challenging myself to conquer personal weaknesses, of stimulating my desire to learn by being physically active in class…anything other than the usual drill of lecture, read, and worksheet. You know what I mean. I was longing for a Shakespeare rap in the style of Public Enemy, an improvisational acting of Jem and Scout’s scary, nighttime walk in To Kill a Mockingbird, or maybe just the creation of a totally original short story to demonstrate my understanding of character development. Heck, my simplest classroom wishes had me daydreaming of a teacher who found some way of invoking all students’ voices to form a symphony of diversity via anything other than the one-size-fits-all pedagogy. Now, I’m not going to lie and say I had visions of multi-touch screens that accessed a world of knowledge by wirelessly connecting to a digital, infinite library. If that were true, I wouldn’t be writing this blog post, but instead I would be stretched out with my feet propped up while I watched the sunset on Lake Washington as a 40-year-old retiree of Silicon Valley. Oh, but I am far more blessed than that. You see, I, along with Dr. Lisa Sheehy and Wes Vonier, facilitate learning in a classroom with infinite possibilities. Not only is it a classroom where personalized and asynchronous learning dictate the students’ individual paths, but it is a classroom where creativity reigns supreme through flexibility, shared classroom ownership, and a superfluity of educational choices. Think of it as a classroom where all types of learners can succeed…on their terms. You know, students as diverse and different as, say, Tupac Shakur and Albert Einstein. Hmmm. Tupac and Einstein? Now that sounds like a unique blended learning academy. Let’s take a tour.

   

Want to see another Wax Museum version of our introduction? This one features live music. Click here.

The Seven Zones

In order to efficiently structure our classroom in some organizational manner and to accommodate all types of learning styles and activities, we established seven zones that bear the names of famously different learners. These names will remain for a half-semester, at which time they will be replaced by the names of other unique learners. Ultimately, our pie-in-the-sky goal is to end the year with the zones renamed in honor of our current students. Here is a brief introduction of our seven zones:

The Yousafzai Zone and a Welcoming Collage of Greatness

Our first zone, named after Malala Yousafzai, is located immediately inside the entrance to our blended learning academy. It is simple. With only two comfortable chairs, a small table, and one dry-erase board, this learning area beckons students to curl up with wifi-connected tablets or no technology gadgets at all as they brainstorm and collaborate about their next big creation or their next, epic educational stance. They need not look far for inspiration. A collage of diverse thinkers ranging from Will Smith to Mahatma Gandhi to Steve Jobs to Ray Charles hangs nearby and reminds all students that they are stepping into a room designed for greatness.  
 Currently top-secret knowledge at this time, our ultimate plan is to gradually replace these famous faces with expressions from our brilliant students to create the final collage at the end of the year. After all, students should believe themselves capable of the extraordinary.

The Tupac Zone

Not to glorify any negative actions but to lift up the potential of a truly dedicated and focused blended learner, a portrait of the often troubled but extremely talented Tupac Shakur and his inspirational poem "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" hang just above the entrance to our professional-grade music studio. Equipped with all the appropriate musical hardware and the highly-touted ProTools software, this music studio is ready to pump out high-quality tracks and lyrics. My years in Studio 113 taught me that music almost always gets the students’ attention. Whether they can sing or not, every student is curious about the process of crafting an original poem and setting it to music. I have witnessed students over the years who had no singing ability whatsoever who were filled with enthusiasm and engagement at the daunting task of demonstrating knowledge through originally written music. Even if the songs weren’t actually worthy of a download from iTunes, the assignment always pushed them way past finish lines normally marked by worksheets and preparation for standardized testing.

The Frida, Lennon, and Mandela Zones

Named after Frida Kahlo, John Lennon, and Nelson Mandela, respectively, three of the seven zones contain 65-inch Samsung flat screens with touch overlays, or windows, that allow up to six simultaneous touches at once. These powerful tech screens also allow students to hook up their tablets or laptops through HDMI or VGA cables. By simply switching the “source” input on the screens, students can toggle back and forth from different computer screens. However, the Frida Zone’s Chromecast and the Lennon Zone’s Apple TV help add extra flexibility and efficiency by allowing students to share directly from wi-fi enabled tablets, laptops, and smartphones from any location in the room.  

The Lee Zone

The energetic, rebellious, courageous, and gifted spirit of Bruce Lee encapsulates this zone. Comprising a six-section, portable stage that maxes out at 18” x 12’ x 16’, speakers that will absolutely rock the house, a pull-down screen, and projector, this zone is perfect for mind-blowing presentations and concerts. Furthermore, by reconfiguring the stage into different dimensions, an infinite number of gamified and interactive learning structures may be set up. These structures may stem from Whose Line Is It Anyway? or they may be some of the totally original ones created by our class as a whole. I can’t wait to show you some of our future presentations and interactive structures. Please stay tuned.

The Einstein Zone

This particular zone, named after the genius himself, adds pretty cool bit of technology. Enter the media:scape from Dekalb Office. Take a look at this picture, and you will immediately understand the concept. So far, our first two weeks have revealed this zone to be one of the favorites. This dual screen setup allows students to toggle to and fro from up to four computers. Students can choose to share their laptop or tablet screens by simply clicking on circular, push-button switch that shoots the image directly to one or both of the flat screens. As you can easily imagine, this zone is powerful for teamwork.  

Our Digital Learning Platform and Google Drive

To deliver our digital content, we use “Dell's and Intel's DLP user interface sitting on top of the Agilix BrainHoney learning management system.” (O’Dell). Our county has rebranded the digital learning platform, and we now refer to it as HallConnect. To provide even more 21^st century technology tools to our students, our county has integrated the power of Google Drive into HallConnect. Students are absolutely blown away by the effectiveness and collaborative potential of creating and sharing all their work in Google Drive. Me? I’m pumped, too. I can’t wait to grade my first stack of essays with Voice Comment in Drive.

The Tech Gadgets

Our 1:1 program affords us the privilege of using Dell laptops, Dell tablets, and iPads, and to help with our full-scale movie program, as well as a multitude of other creative ventures, we have access to HD cameras, a 10’ X 20’ chroma key set, and lapel mics. Basically, if the students can imagine, they can create it.

Student Profiles

Perhaps the foundation of what we intend to accomplish in our blended learning academy can be found showcased on our entrance wall in digital picture frames. Scrolling through fifteen seconds at a time, the slideshows announce to our learning family the strengths, weaknesses, talents, and ambitions of our students. No weakness is too great to demand help, and no strength is too humble to hide and go unused. Modeled by the teachers also, students are asked to be as appropriately transparent as possible. Only in this way can students move forward.    

An Evolving and Flexible Schedule

As our program develops, we envision a day where “school” hours may resemble a two-shift factory instead of a traditional 8:00-4:00. Due to various conditions, some students in the future may not be able to be present in our physical classroom, but they will easily be able to work on their course content through HallConnect. To show mastery of the standards in a creative way or to seek extra help, students may check the master schedule and plan a time to visit our academy. At this time, students will have access to the latest educational and creative technology to complete original projects. And that’s not all. Students will be encouraged to register and attend interactive learning sessions where they can collaborate on an interactive level with their peers. It may sound funny, but, hey, it has worked for Home Depot. It’s been proven. People want to be creative, and they will show up when the learning is scheduled to begin.

The Sanctuary

 Nestled back in our classroom, a 10’ x 12’ area serves as the teachers’ homebase, and high above Mother Teresa sets the atmosphere for what will surely be a sanctuary as we try to provide answers for all the questions we have about this first-year program. But there is no need to worry. And if there is, lyrics from Tupac will help us stay the course:

“That's right

I know it seems hard sometimes but uhh

Remember one thing

Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that

So no matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out

Keep your head up, and handle it.”

I’m sure Einstein would agree with these lines, even if my colleagues and I do have a different version of his famous equation. You see, whereas “E” equals “engagement” and “MC” stands for “many choices,” there isn’t anything square about this academy.  

Keepin' It Real with RealTime Boards: Online Collaborative Boards

(First published on gettingsmart.com on June 20, 2013.)

For a teacher, the summer affords so many opportunities for growth. Aside from the pure blessings of family vacations, recuperative time, and challenging, outdoor projects, June and July offer me a chance to improve my teaching craft. It is so nice to have the extra time to connect with positive educators via popular conferences or social media platforms like Twitter and learn of valuable resources, new pedagogical strategies, and effective educational technology tools. One such tool I learned of recently is RealtimeBoard.com. After an initial inspection and test run, I have decided to add it to my burgeoning Symbaloo list of worthy websites and apps. Here is a quick overview of an online collaborative board created within this user friendly website.

 

It is Free

Whenever I am perusing websites in search of potential, educational validity, I am reminded of a knee-jerk comment I utter whenever a student asks me for money. I usually show an empty wallet and respond with a terse and honest, “I’m a teacher; I have no money.” All joking aside, if standards-based mastery and student engagement constitute the atmosphere I wish to create every day, then the cost of using #edtech resources often acts as a thermostat. To be blunt, I rarely introduce an app or website to students unless there is a free version that helps them reach their learning objectives. RealtimeBoard offers unlimited public boards and up to three private boards for the free version. With this no-cost license, subscribers also receive 100 MB of storage, a maximum of 100 files per board, and all toolbar and sharing features. There is also no cutoff for the number of board collaborators. At the risk of sounding like a late-night infomercial (“But wait, there is more”), I would be remiss if I failed to inform you of the full-featured Pro account for teachers and students. Simply take the time to submit a few details that prove your status as a teacher or pupil and you will have access to unlimited private and public boards, unlimited files on each board, unlimited collaborators, 3GB of storage space, daily data backups, and fulltime e-mail support. All of that sounds like a pretty good deal for free.

Pros

In addition to the information mentioned above, here is a list of positives.

• A wide range of custom templates that include: Blank, Mindmapping, Prototyping, Production Plan, Business Model Generation, SWOT, Project Canvas, Checkers, Weekly Planner, Venn Diagram, Lock/Mock/Analyze, and Six Hats.
• A simple but effective toolbar that allows operations ranging from zooming in and out to uploading documents to embedding videos.
• A chat button to communicate directly with collaborators.
• A toolbar button that inserts mindmapping links that always stay connected even when objects are later rearranged.
• Quick access to add frequent contacts to new boards.
• The ability to set each board to private or public.
• The power of integrating your Google Drive account with a RealtimeBoard.

Cons

Although I have not tested a shared board in the classroom, I have stumbled upon a couple of negatives.

• RealtimeBoard requires FlashPlayer, therefore, it did not work on my iOS devices. As a huge advocate of BYOD and using smartphones in class, this one presents a challenge.
• The second negative is a bit picky. I wish RealtimeBoard had video conferencing capabilities built in. I am sure I could do a Google Hangout and share my screen, but that seems a bit cumbersome.

Ideas for Educational Use

Not to oversimplify this subtopic, but the educational possibilities for RealtimeBoard appear limited only by one’s imagination. Here are some suggestions I will offer my students and colleagues:

• Brainstorm and organize a shared, creative project with collaborators from anywhere.
• Administrators can use a shared board to facilitate professional learning. Since teachers can participate in studying the topic at any time, professional growth will surely result from increased flexibility.
• Curate valuable resources and minimize one’s workload by inviting others to help with the task at hand.
• Welcome criticism on a nearly finished product (essay, presentation, video, etc.) before publishing it to the world.
• Having a hard time showing a student where his talents fit in? Let him see for himself by guiding him to the correct board template before collaborating with others.
• Make a research paper much more interactive by collecting all valuable information in a one-stop location.

Once I introduce RealtimeBoard to my students, I am positive they will teach me just how valuable the tool can be. Care to share your ideas? Simply view the explanation below and then dive in to the embedded board at the bottom of the page.

 

Brainstorming in RealtimeBoard

     

Padlet: Today's Digital Sheet of Paper

(Originally published on February 27, 2013, for GettingSmart.com.)

Even if you had only attended one class in your entire life, more than likely you have been asked, “Can I borrow a sheet of paper?” Some laid-back, often-tardy-to-school classmate probably gave you some excuse just as the rest of the students began diligently scribbling down resemblances of the teacher’s key lecture points. If you are anything like me, you half-reluctantly handed over a sheet of paper and chalked the very minor loss up as no big deal. I often wonder if that question would have been uttered so many times in classrooms all across the world if paper in the past had been interactive. As I think back to my high school and college years, I am absolutely positive an imaginative and collaborative sheet of paper would have interested me much more than the typical college-ruled. Imagine these ideas about fifteen to twenty years ago: What if a double-tap of my pencil anywhere on my sheet of paper would have brought up a multitude of options? What if a picture directly related to my teacher’s lesson suddenly appeared on my sheet of notes? What if a small sampling of a newspaper or magazine article would have been seamlessly interwoven into the paper’s fibers and made clearly visible? What if another double-tap of my writing utensil would have transformed my handwriting of key points into a version from one of my reliable classmates? Heck, maybe if I had placed a call from home to my paper, I would have verbally and simultaneously jotted down some notes. And, of course, what if this very creative sheet of notes could have been left in my locker but viewed at home the very same night? Now that would have been a powerful sheet of paper twenty years ago. In fact, there is little doubt that I would have never asked, “Hey, man, can I bum a sheet?” One very simple-to-use modern example of this type of creativity and interactivity is Padlet, today’s digital sheet of paper.

An Example from Studio 113

Our American Literature classes in Studio 113 recently began reading The Red Badge of Courage as a part of our study of Realism. The students and I decided to try a different form of note taking. We have already used Google Forms and Spreadsheets, Polleverywhere, Todaysmeet, Twitter, and many others. Although our goal for next year is to share all notes and documents via Evernote and Google Drive, Padlet offered us immediate simplicity. We had no time to get bogged down in figuring out how to manage and share our notes. We needed to effortlessly merge our natural tendency to accumulate thoughts and ideas while continuing to read the assigned novel. Padlet, formerly known as Wallwisher, was the perfect match. Take a look at the embedded digital sheet below to get an idea of where our classes are headed. While remembering that our students have only just begun, please find that each reading team of three-to-four students has created a shared wall that is linked on our class sheet of notes.

Created with Padlet

Easy Set-Up and Sharing

Besides its reliability, one of Padlet’s most appealing characteristics is its lack of difficulty when creating and sharing a wall. Although I usually post links only, I sometimes embed the entire wall of notes directly into my teacherpage. Do you only have three minutes to set-up a wall before the bell rings and thirty-five students are staring at you for directions? No problem. The task can be done that quickly. See for yourself.

Effortless Posting in a Variety of Ways

Padlet is perfect with BYOD. Just last week our students were reading in Chapter One of The Red Badge of Courage about Henry Fleming’s personal fears before taking aim in his first Civil War battle. In hopes of hooking the students into the famous literature, I asked students to quickly peruse various reputable news sources on the internet to find current events that related thematically to the protagonist. In a flash, students were thumbing through articles on smartphones, zooming in on iPads, clicking feverishly on laptops, while using these vary same devices to post notes on the collaborative wall. The result? A shared wall of links with textual and parenthetical citations that pointed to interesting, up-to-date stories. In fact, Padlet is very flexible in allowing various forms of notes. Take a look below at Padlet’s versatility.

Other Creative Uses

Here’s a challenge. If you made it to the bottom of this blog post, why not give it a try yourself? How can you use Padlet to enhance a lesson plan? Click here or take a look at the embedded Padlet below and feel free to drop a related link, share an informative article, or even add a picture with your comment. But whatever you do, don’t ask the age-old question, “Can I borrow a sheet of paper?” If you do, I’ll simply point to the wall…Padlet’s digital paper for today’s BYOD classroom.

Created with Padlet

   

SoundCloud + QR Codes = A Gallery of Students' Voices

(First published on GettingSmart.com on February 15, 2013.)

For a multitude of reasons, teaching in today’s time is nothing short of exciting. One such reason for so much enthusiasm is the availability of educational technology. It seems every day I discover a new technology tool that offers to enhance, structure, or assess a lesson plan. Furthermore, the technology apps for students’ creative endeavors are only limited by a classroom’s imagination. Whether I gain knowledge from my professional learning network on Twitter, from my tech-savvy students, or from the many talented colleagues in my district, the most appropriate and successful technology gadgets and apps are just a click away. Not too long ago, a few clicks of the mouse had me calculating how I could improve an already-strong lesson plan. My calculations led me to a solution. Although it won’t be the next “E=MC²,” it did solve a huge, logistical problem in the assignment details. The equation? Well, it’s quite simple. SoundCloud + QR Codes = A Gallery of Students’ Voices.

The Foundational Lesson Plan

I try my very best to never put the cart before the horse. The standards and objectives are first and foremost in my mind when planning a lesson. Afterwards, my thoughts revolve around technology. Just like a carpenter building a house, I ask myself what tools will help students achieve their goals and demonstrate their knowledge more efficiently and creatively, while realizing education is the totality of the essential question, “What is needed to get where one needs to go?” For one of our recent classroom assignments, students needed to demonstrate mastery of certain poetry terms and genres of American Literature by writing their own songs. Whether choosing to construct a parody or an original song, students were asked to deliver their creations vocally. Although students clearly understood where they were headed after studying these guidelines, I still had a few qualms about certain bumps in the road once we neared our destination.

The Problem

We are absolutely blessed in Studio 113 to have a mini-recording studio with a microphone and Peavey mixer that run through a desktop computer equipped with Mixcraft 6. Brilliant students at East Hall High School have been creating authentic songs in this room for the past five years. For this particular assignment, however, we needed to expedite the process just a bit to make the most out of such precious class time. With approximately forty teams in four different classes needing, and wanting, to record their poetic works of art, we needed many more microphones. Enter SoundCloud.

The Solution

SoundCloud is a website that allows creators to upload their songs, podcasts, and other sounds to share with the world. Since SoundCloud allows students to record from their mobile devices, whether smartphones or tablets, the only question was, “How many students have a mobile device and would be willing to use SoundCloud?” An August informational survey via a Google Form had already informed me of this number. All that was left to do was discuss the procedures for creating, recording, and sharing.

The Process

The process is an absolute blast to watch. Since all teams demand privacy and discreetness to create their songs, they may easily be found during project time seated on the floors of the hallways, lounging in the spacious cafeteria, lying on our hexagonal stage, busting a rhyme in our musical studio, and anchored to every corner of our room. They take it seriously. Some teams choose to do parodies and remakes, such as this one resembling Justin Bieber's latest track, and they print out the original song’s lyrics and begin counting syllables, gauging rhyme schemes, and matching poetry term for poetry term. Witnessing this magical ingenuity in real-time is a pleasure. Many teams follow their intuition through a field of words, sounds, rhythms, and meanings only to arrive at their authentic voices. Here's a team that resembles that feat. With an open-minded smartphone policy and a strong BYOD classroom management system in place, all teams are freed to construct their poems in ways suitable to them. Some check off accomplished tasks and terms from the assignment sheet, and others speak into Dragon Dictation while using various apps to keep track of their progress. Some go solo and write their own lyrics and play their own electric guitars. No rules. Just mastering the standards, creating exemplary products, and enjoying the learning process.

The Gallery Walk

After all poems and/or songs are written, teams are asked to print out typed copies with all terms labeled. Teams should then print out QR codes of their songs’ destinations on SoundCloud’s site. This task may need to be modeled the first time by discussing how a URL can be sent from a SoundCloud audio file to an e-mail in order to create the QR code. If students are able to print directly from their smartphones in the classroom, this procedure will be quicker. Our students don’t have that option. They simply e-mail themselves the addresses of their sound files and print the QR codes from the printer in our classroom. Most students use this site to create their QR codes in a matter of seconds. All teams should post their songs and QR codes side-by-side in preparation for the following day’s gallery walk. Click here to view a posting. At this time, students will be armed with a rubric and class roster as they casually walk around the classroom and read poems, search for accuracy of poetry terms, and scan QR codes with apps like RedLaser to hear original music. It’s quite a scene. With the exceptions of the headphones and earbuds, a gallery walk is reminiscent of a museum. Students gravitate towards the artifacts and works of art most appealing to them. For example, check out this live performance below. YouTube was this student’s mode of expression. Her peers will surely be enthralled by the courage she exhibited in front of a microphone and camera on the first take. Their excitement will surely bubble over, and they will be eager to share the most interesting examples. This natural tendency can be enhanced by allowing all students to comment and share using an assigned Twitter hashtag. For those without a Twitter account, Polleverywhere would serve as an excellent, and easy-to-use, backchannel. Of course, the traditional sticky note will work just fine also. You are definitely invited to Studio 113 to take a gallery walk and hear the students’ voices. In case you can’t make it, we will compile all songs for this project here. Ready to begin your auditory stroll ? Hope you have your headphones because these students are about to bust some rhymes. After all, no formula is needed for creativity. Just opportunity.

Need to Energize Your Class? Just Add Wax and Be Still

"Need to Energize Your Class? Just Add Wax and Be Still" (Originally published at GettingSmart.com on 11/6/12.)

There are many ways to mix things up in a classroom and inject enthusiasm. From blended learning to project-based learning to time-tested traditional methods, teachers today have nearly unlimited resources and ways of livening up a stagnant classroom. These stagnant classrooms, indicated by boredom-induced silence, constant class disruptions, or mediocre student work examples, benefit greatly from the implementation of interactive learning structures. One such learning model that is sure to invigorate any lesson is the "Wax Museum" learning structure created in Studio 113. It may sound a bit odd, but the main ingredients needed to jumpstart a group of uninterested students with this learning activity is a bit of wax and stillness. Please take a look at this example, and I'll explain.

Allow Students to View a "Wax Museum" Example

I understand the argument stating the most effective strategy for implementing this structure would be to present the students with their learning tasks before mentioning the end result, which is a symbolic and frozen pose that serves as the summation of the students’ understanding. However, since attempting our first "Wax Museum" structures in American Literature years ago, I have witnessed a profound enthusiasm from the students for any class assignment when they are shown a video example of a past class performing the learning model. Being such visual learners, they understand immediately where they are headed before determining how they will get there. Hence, a flame will be lit.

Assign the Lesson

After viewing an example of the “Wax Museum” from their peers, students should then be given the learning prompt. For the video shown above and the one immediately below, students used a Venn diagram to note similarities and differences in Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” and Thomas Jefferson’s “Declaration of Independence.” Working in teams of three and totally aware of the required, kinesthetic outcome, students worked for two class periods to extract the essentials from these two famous documents. It was amazing to see such intense and engaged reading. The same enthusiasm is easily generated with any prompts. Whether it is from a math, science, history, art, physical education, or band class, the only limiting aspect of the “Wax Museum” is a non-challenging prompt or learning assignment. Make no mistake about it, however, the beauty of this structure is actually not the end product. Instead, it is the collaboration and heavy-duty thinking beforehand that is so impressive.

Discuss the Parameters of the “Wax Museum”

Inform the students of the following guidelines:

• Each team’s symbolic pose must be class appropriate.
• Each “Wax Museum” pose must be representative of the team’s synthesized learning. Depending on the prompt, students may illustrate a theme, a direct quotation, an essential question, a real-world connection, and just about anything imaginable that demonstrates mastery of the assignment. If appropriate, allow the students to co-create the prompt. Enlisting their help allows the students to amaze you at the beginning, the middle, and the end.
• Students may use any appropriate props that will add to the symbolism and overall, intended message. For the first two videos shown on this post, I allowed students to use any of my classroom objects and bring any appropriate props from their homes.
• Each team will be still, as if sculpted from wax, and hold the symbolic pose for the duration of two rounds.
• The first round requires the students to be quiet (with the exception of thematic music) while the teacher uses a video recorder to capture the learning activity. Students are made aware of the various camera angles and close-ups.
• The second round requires the students to remain still while adding verbal comments that shed light on the overall purpose of the team’s pose. Again, examples of these comments range from a simple theme to the relationship between the prompt and a current event. The only moving parts during the “Wax Museum” structure are the students’ lips and eyelids.
• All students will remain still until given the cue to break out of the “Wax Museum” poses.

Share Video with Students and the World

Obviously, students will be ecstatic to see the video of their creations as soon as possible. This is perfect. How fitting is it that the enthusiasm beginning with the introduction of this interactive structure carries into the viewing of the students’ own “Wax Museum” statues? But don’t let the enthusiasm end there. In fact, share it with others via YouTube and watch the excitement cross into other schools and states. Take a look at this example from my colleague and good friend, Dave Guymon, an innovative educator in Idaho Falls. In fact, my students were so proud of his students that we put together a congratulatory video to show our appreciation. Asking students to move not at all for close to ten minutes sounds like a ridiculous demand, but with the right prompt and the freedom to create, these energetic learners can and will melt their understanding down to a brilliantly created, symbolic statue of wax. Just don’t be worried if their energy sparks a flame of excitement. The stillness will contain it.

5 Apps to Lower Teacher Anxiety & Raise Student Voices

Originally published at gettingsmart.com on August 30th, 2012.

The art of teaching sure has changed since I nervously stepped into my first class of thirty-two, energetic students fourteen years ago. I remember feeling pressure from the prescribed sage-on-the-stage pedagogy. Fortunately, I soon discovered that not only was I far from an academic scholar, but I also wasn’t the most important factor. The students demanded they be a vital part of the classroom and curriculum creation. That was okay with me. Opening up the pressure valve a tad never hurt anyone.
Now, as an experienced educator concerned with implementing the new Common Core Standards, differentiating and blending instruction, collecting standards-based data, growing as a professional alongside the new TKES model, and with balancing my family life amidst the rigorous requirements of a successful classroom, my blood pressure can climb to a level that potentially mutes the very reason I chose to teach: listening to the students’ voices.
In a nutshell, leading six, fifty-minute, high school Language Arts classes (four of which are Honors or Advanced Placement) is a daunting task, especially with one, fifty-minute planning period. It is the type of scenario that has many educators feeling like they are required to be superheroes in the classroom. There is no need to worry, though. All educators have access to a superhero’s toolbelt of time-saving gadgets that lower teacher anxiety while elevating students’ voices. I like to think of them as technology sedatives.

Relax and Let Google Drive Work for You

Although I arrived a bit late to the party, I recognized the power of Google Docs (now called Google Drive) two years ago when a tech-savvy colleague persuaded me to let Google Drive collect any information I deemed important. This media center specialist walked me through the power of this free web resource and showed me how a simple shared survey would morph into an organized spreadsheet of invaluable data and information while I went about my normal day.
Her most influential, persuasive line? She said, “Create the form or document, share the link, and let Google Drive work while you go about your daily duties or while relaxing. Heck, even while you sleep.” And out of that ten-minute tutorial, I hired my trusty assistant, Google Drive, free-of-charge. Here are a few uses.

1. Create a survey asking students to list problematic standards while offering possible learning alternatives and strategies to master those very same objectives.
2. Embed a form on a teacher page requiring students to locate and curate content for a list of study terms.
3. Share a slideshow presentation with students while giving them access to add/edit multimedia examples that augment the lesson plan.
4. E-mail or share a spreadsheet link asking students pertinent questions that relate to project/passion-based learning. (i.e. students’ talents and interests, access to technology at home, ownership of smartphones, favorite technology tools, project ideas, etc.)
5. Share a link via Twitter that “kicks” students to a webpage that allows them to rate/score their peers’ performances in real time during classroom presentations.
6. Post a QR code that sends students to a list of writing prompts. After students have submitted their responses via smartphones or other mobile devices, go to Google Drive, print out the spreadsheet or simply use the Google Drive App on your smartphone or tablet to walk around the classroom while discussing the students’ replies as they work on other class assignments. Believe me when I say, “Google Drive really makes it too simple.”

The only dilemma with using Google Drive is how students will access and record the information. Whether choosing to e-mail a link, embedding a form on a teacher page, directing students to the shared document via Twitter, or by simply writing the address on the board and allowing students to take a cell phone picture, allowing Google Drive to work for you takes hardly no time to set up and share. See how easy it is here.

Use Socrative for Easy Standards-Based Assessment and Feedback

Socrative is a website that allows students to complete assessments via any internet-connected devices. Of course, the main catch with students is their ability to complete a class assignment from their smartphones. It is especially easy with the Socrative teacher and student apps.
While I am still exploring the burgeoning creative ways to use Socrative, one rock solid purpose is the traditional assessment. By taking advantage of the Socrative template to transfer a pre-made quiz from a Word document into an Excel spreadsheet, Socrative is immediately programmed with the testing prompts and answers. Students are given instant feedback when they take the quiz.
Perhaps the most beneficial aspect of this powerful and free website is the feedback. Socrative provides teachers with an Excel spreadsheet that color codes all correct and incorrect responses. By manipulating the columns, teachers get a glaringly obvious representation of the students’ learning and the effectiveness of the lesson. This makes it an efficient tool for formative assessments.
For example, after learning the vast majority of my AP Language students failed the “chiasmus parallelism” question on a recent quiz, a revamping of that particular lesson was much needed. The time spent determining students’ knowledge and my teaching effectiveness in the years past would have taken two or three hours. With Socrative, improving the classroom learning environment is just a downloadable, color-coded spreadsheet away. See it in action here.

Use Polleverywhere to Elevate Students’ Voices

My most valuable uses:

1. Use as a backchannel during a class discussion. This elevates all students’ voices, even those reluctant to speak out loud.
2. Use as real-time criticism for project presentations. Students rate classmates’ performances according to grading criteria. This real-world criticism is visible via a projected screen and encourages standards reinforcement from the audience. I promise your final presentations will be better than your first, especially if presented on different dates.
3. Have students vote for collaborative projects and class direction. Why not encourage students’ input when planning the next unit?
4. Analyze the writing process by posting students’ samples.

Polleverywhere is downloadable as a PowerPoint slideshow and as a .CSV file for Excel spreadsheets.

Increase Your Audience with Voicethread

Students don’t get too excited about expressing themselves to an audience of one. By sharing a Voicethread link, invite other classes from wherever to contribute to the discussion prompt. Parents and students from other classes and schools can contribute to the shared content. Before you know it, your assignment has grown into a viral lesson, but you only need to score your students. To do so, click on their profile pictures and listen. (Click here and let’s talk possibilities.)

Screencast to Teach Colleagues…Just Once

If you have a tech skill to share, whether it is tracking changes in Word or teaching colleagues how to create their own Voki class avatars, use screencast-o-matic to record your tutorial and share with interested co-workers. Teachers can click “play” as many times as it takes to understand, while you relax and let the technology sedatives work for you. All of these free gadgets should allow you to concentrate on hearing what matters most—the students’ voices.