Lunch & Learn Vol 2: Connecting with Students, Parents and Co Teachers

Lunch and Learn" Feb 20

iStation & my First Podcast at TCEA 2015

Today was another great day at TCEA, a technology conference held in Austin texas every year. Last year I attended and I made a goal to submit a proposal to be a presenter. Little did I know that my presentation would be accepted and over 100 people would show up! I was also approached by iStation to be interviewed about the  broadcast program I co-created and presented on!  The interview went great, so great that its turned into a big blur! I'm not sure when it will be featured on iStation's Blog, I'll be sure to share it with you when it does! Now after some time to absorb all the new knowledge from TCEA 2015 it will be time to create new goals for next year! 

How do you make testing modifications in your classroom?

This year there have been big changes to the STAAR test for students who qualify for modifications. There is no longer a star modified test. This makes the staar modifications that much more important for student success. I myself have had to be an oral administrator for the STAAR test and I have always wondered how the accommodation affects students. Basicly you have a group of students who qualify for the test to be read out loud to them. A teacher then has to read the question one at a time to the whole group. Students have to work as a group to complete the test. Students often finish at different paces, and fast students have to put their head down until the slower students finish. How can you get into the grove of test taking? How can you focus? If I was in school today I would qualify for this kind of testing modification. Which makes me cringe,  I would HATE having to wait for others , or have others wait on me !! So I was very relieved when I found out that the new STAAR with modifications would be completed on the computer.

Which makes me question, how can we simulate this in the classroom? Well at the time I'm not talented enough to recreate the exact testing environment. BOO! But I can make oral modified test for students on my campus. Recently I've been experimenting with different  chrome extensions and apps to make this happen. The chrome extensions had to much of a learning curve for my liking. Not close enough to the real deal to be worth the time to teach kids or teachers. 

I'm looking for a balance  between what teachers can create themselves and a recreation of the testing experience.  In the past students would be read to as a group by the teacher or teacher aid.  

My solution is a video created with wevideo or imovie. I took a photo of the question, added audio of the question being read out loud and then added a black image to add a buffer in between questions. This allows students to pause, rewind and fast forward test questions. . Students also can access the video via laptop or iPad. They also can stay in the classroom and complete the quiz at their own pace!  

Here is an example of a oral modification created for a unit test. The page is created on a google site, with a google shortener, qr code and google dive link to download.  Since creating this modification I have created some support materials for our teachers.

URL Shortners




QR Codes

I'll keep you updated with how testing is going using this  strategy. I'll be creating a video soon how to create your own quizzes and google site pages using my strategy. So come back soon to check it out! 

Introduction to Blendspace

Teachers and students collect different types of learning materials to create a learning environment using Blendspace. By being able to pull information from many different places over the web such as youtube, google drive, flicker, world wide web you can create a dynamic learning experience. Blendspace also offers a easy to use interface and workflow. Learning Outcomes Students will take control of their own learning Students will create Blendesace Accounts Students will create a Blendspace Lesson to present their Google 20% Project Students will add 5 different types of media into their presentation Students will create a quiz Demographic Junior High Art students in the 6th,7th and 8th grade. Rationale There are so many great tools out there to create content. Blendspace allows me to pull learning materials from many different kinds of sources and put them in one space. I want my students to be able to pull materials from all over the web into one place for easy use of viewing and collecting. Google 20% Project Presentation Students will be working on a Google 20%,similar to and Genius Hour. Both of these styles of projects give students the power to learn in their own hands. Students will create a proposal for a research project that they are passionate learning more about. I learned about the Google 20% project from other educators which led me to various educators to had started a movement in their schools and classrooms. Von Jan (20011) goes on to explain that “Google’s “20% Time”, was inspired by Sergey Brin’s and Larry Page’s Montessori School experience, is a philosophy and policy that every Google employee spend 20% of their time (the equivalent of a full work day each week) working on ideas and projects that interest that employee. They are encouraged to explore anything other than their normal day-to-day job. As a result 50% of all Google’s products by 2009 originated from the 20% free time, including Gmail. Real break-through happens when we are free from others’ expectations and driven by individual passion.” In my classrooms students will be given this opportunity to research and learn based on their passions. Students will be given the skills to be able to research and find reliable information on the web and other local sources. Students will use blendspace to create a collection of the materials used for their project. Then create a final lesson to teach others in their class about their own research and findings. According to ISTE Student Standards its important that students get experience working and critiquing others. “Students will demonstrate Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media” (Iste 2014) Getting Started Tutorials for Blendspace References ISTE standards taken from International Society for Technology in Education website. Received from: http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/20-14_ISTE_Standards-S_PDF.pdf on 5/11/14 Jan, K. (2011, October 24). Pursue Passion: Demand Google 20% Time at School. The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/katherine-von-jan/unstructured-classroom_b_1024404.html

Its time to Start thinking about the Global Read Along 2015!!

I love when I'm inspired beyond my core subject of art. Global Read Along is a movement is an amazing program that allows students to connect from around the world. 

Students read the book then connect with other classrooms from across the globe to talk about the book! Sign up now for the 2015 school year! 

From the: http://www.globalreadaloud.com/p/faq.html

The premise is simple; we pick a book to read aloud to our students during a set 6-week period and during that time we try to make as many global connections as possible. Each teacher decides how much time they would like to dedicate and how involved they would like to be. Some people choose to connect with just one class, while others go for as many as possible. The scope and depth of the project is up to you. In the past we have used Twitter, Skype, Edmodo, our wiki, email, regular mail, Kidblog, and any other tools we can think of to make these connections. Teachers get a community of other educators to do a global project with, hopefully inspiring them to continue these connections through the year.

Whatttt? Apps on a Laptop?

This is exactly how I felt when my mentor attended a Google academy class last month. So I had to set out to explore this fact. You may know exactly what an app is..one of those things on a iPad or your phone. But today you can also find apps on your regular ole' computer screen too!
                                         
Google Chrome allows you to "download" apps right to your chrome screen. Okay so download is not the right word, a better word is Bookmark. Which means these little babies don't take up any of your space and if they are being bad you just reload the tab/screen. 
An App is defined by a program that is run completely inside a web browser. Some of the most loved Chrome Apps that are loved from teachers in my school and myself are the password saving ones. 

Do you recommend any? is what I'm currently using and it works great! Plus you can use it on different kinds of devices and computers systems.
Here is an example of what the chrome web store looks like. I'm currently researching different apps for a Photoshop and photo editing loving post.                 

Personal Growth: 5 Goals for Professional Development

As I'm completing the course, Technology for Staff Development at American College of Education. I think about my own personal goals for professional development and growth.  I wanted to share my goals so I could look back and reflect on them at the end of the year. 

I would like to be able to learn to create professional presentations using Camtasia or Adobe’s Premiere. Both of these programs are expensive and I will have to put aside time to learn. But being able to create a visual presentation will help me create well rounded professional development.

This year I was blessed with the opportunity to attend many different educational technology conferences. I would like to make a goal of being able to bring back the knowledge and skills to my peers. Because of this class I believe i will be able to create better learning opportunities and materials for my peers.

Recently I have learned how to use Twitter to better connect with my education technology peers, creating my personal learning network. Be a connected Educator keeps me up to date with trends and emerging technology. A goal I have to further develop this personal learning network.

At the beginning of every year the technology departments host a training day. Its my goal to use the skills and steps used to develop a curriculum. I would like to survey the staff on my campus at the end of the school year to assess their needs. Then create a program based on those needs.

My last goal is one that I have been dreaming about for years. I would like to submit a proposal to Texas Computer Education Association for the 2015 conferences. 

Genius hour

What can your kids learn in an hour? Let students be in power of their own learning environment for an hour and see what happens! Give students and Hour to research any topic’s they want. Then after the hour they have to present their findings to the class. Maybe they use Movenote to present their presentation?  Todd Nesloney introduced me to the idea at the Google 20 Summit. But I was able to take this idea and just run with it! There are so many possibilities!  

As a Education Technology Graduate student at American College of Education I’m currently taking a research class that's exploring how students and adults use the internet in search of knowledge and truth.  I recommend that you take advantage of Google’s Search Education blog. Its full of lesson plans and activities all ready to go! I’m a big fan of a google a day challenges its like twenty questions but your students can Google for the answer!  Use these challenges to get your students brushed up on their searching skills. Use the opportunity to teach students how to vet (review)  internet materials for facts.

You can narrow down students focus to a particular subject.  What would you like to learn in math? science? history? Art? or just about anything. Students should create a question that guides their work. Then teachers could approve or deny the question. Be careful of questions that are way too broad or narrow. But then again if a student is passionate why not let them go with it!

Do your students need some inspiration? When researching I searched twitter for #geniushour to see a ton of great examples.

I would love to hear about genius hour in your classroom!

Genius hour, letting students be in control

Presenting your Project to the class

Create a flipped classroom environment with your own powerpoints! Movenote makes it easy for you to present your presentation without having to have any special software.

Have your students use move note when making presentations Its great for shy students to present in front of the whole class, or large groups.  Students can create a presentation in google drive and then save it as a pdf. You can upload jpegs, pdf’s or video files. Students can also record themselves while talking about the subject with the laptops. Check it out at www. movenote.org

20 Questions 2.0 in today’s United States History Classrooms

20 Questions 2.0 in today’s United States History Classrooms

At Google 20 Summit I heard of this amazing idea that was sweeping the country. We all have heard about being able to connect via skype with classrooms across the world, but what do you say? What are you going to talk about? What about playing a game?  Classrooms are playing 20 questions with each other from across the country on skype and google hangout. What is the question you ask? Well they are trying to guess what state you're from!

This sounds like a blast no matter your age group. TechNinjaTodd told me the idea at his keynote speech at the Google 20 Summit. Todd suggest you make sure you try to hide your accent! Don’t say things like ya’ll it gives Texas away every time!! Also be sure to hide your state flag! Check out more about Mystery Skypes on Skypes website. Skype gives you the tools to connect with other teachers who would like to play a game of mystery skype!

Thx for joining my #PLC! @Twitter #connectingteachers

Todd L credits twitter for connecting him to teachers across the word. He told us that most of the ideas that he spoke about at the google 20 summit were inspired by people he followed on twitter. To get started on twitter check out this challenge that helps you get familiar with all of the tools and tricks to the trade.  You can follow Todd at his twitter @TechNinjaTodd or Me at @edtechartist  You can find a great list of people to follow here at todd’s list of people to follow. This is how I got started. I also use twitter like a search engine, but you have to know the right lingo or hashtag.  

• #EDTECH
• #Education
• #ntchat - new teacher chat
• #Artsedu
• #TeachChat Teacher discussion every other Wednesday at 9 PM EST

Check out this printable poster for some ideas! Originally created by the editors of Edudemic and Online College Courses.