First Semester in Review

First semester is in the books and it has been a wild and crazy ride on Tuesdays down in the collaboration room of the library. We have given away digital badges, t-shirts, and food! All the while learning how to effectively integrate technology to support our content and pedagogy. We hope to see you at a TPACK Tuesday 2nd semester! Checkout some of the topics we covered 1st semester.

Think Pair Share with Google Docs
Solve Your Workflow Problem with Google Classrooms
Explain Your Thinking with Movenote
Tic Tac Toe to Formatively Assess Students
Change the Way Your Students Watch Videos
Curate Web Resources and Create Graphic Organizers with Padlet
What to Do with All that Data?
Hour of Code

Climbing the SAMR Model with Student Self Assessments

Student self assessment is a meta-cognitive teaching strategy proven to have a huge impact on student achievement. It allows students to see the progress they are making toward learning targets and that the purpose of class is to learn, not just earn a grade. The SAMR model can help us understand how using Google spreadsheets can transform a self assessment.

SAMR was introduced to the staff at our October institute days. It stands for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition. If you would like more information on SAMR checkout Taking a Hammer to SAMR by Joe Robinson our Instructional Technology Coordinator.

The first rung of the SAMR model is Substitution. At this level, technology does not really enhance learning, it just replaces the paper and pencil with a screen and keyboard. For example, simply copy and pasting the self assessment into a Google spreadsheet and not using any of its functionalities would qualify as Substitution.

The second rung of SAMR is Augmentation. At this level, technology performs the same task but with some improved functionality. Students sharing the spreadsheet with their teacher to periodically check in during a unit would be an example of Augmentation.

The third rung of SAMR, Modification, is when technology begins to transform the old task. At this level, several times a week students can reflect and track their progress toward learning targets by updating the same spreadsheet. Teachers can see student growth by using the revision history function to see previous versions of a document. Students can also demonstrate their comprehension of the learning targets by posting links to artifacts of their learning. Now the spreadsheet is not just a self reflection but a digital portfolio.

The last rung of SAMR is Redefinition. In this rung, technology allows for new tasks that were previously inconceivable. Students can neatly organize all the important unit information into several sheets of the spreadsheet. For example, one sheet can include essential questions and resources. Another sheet can contain key terms, definitions, and images that represent each term. The spreadsheet is now a well organized digital portfolio that include all the important unit information which students can continue to revisit and update during a unit of study. Checkout a sample spreadsheet for a unit of study in Economics.

Hour of Code

December 8-14th is Computer Science Education Week. Last year, 15 million student gave coding a try and this year it’s estimated that 100 million student will join worldwide. 

What is this Hour of Code?
It’s the first step to showing students what computer science is about. We are lucky to have a great Computer Science program here at BHS, and this is the opportunity for more students to trying coding. Hour of Code is a self directed activity that can be completed by students.

Why Hour of Code?
Once students see what they can create, it inspires them to keep learning. No previous experience is required and students get to learn at their own pace. The basics of computer science help develop creativity and problem-solving skills of 21st century learners.

Try It!

Give it a try and find out how engaging coding can be for students. Start by visiting https://holidays.madewithcode.com/project/lights to create a pattern that will light up one of the christmas trees in Washington DC. Then try one of the coding tutorials and activities at http://code.org/learn. A good one to start with is Angry Birds!

If you would like to participate in the Hour of Code event during December 8 - 14th, visit http://hourofcode.com/us for more information.

What to do with all that data?

Google Forms are an assessment tool that have become popular with a lot of our staff. I’ve seen staff use Forms to survey students, create self grading quizzes, bell ringers and exit tickets. Forms allow you to include a variety of question types, embed video and images. Responses immediately populate into a spreadsheet. Checkout the Edtech Website for a tutorial on Google Forms.

Creating and administering a Google Form is the easy part. The real challenge is determining what to do with all the data after collecting it. On our October Institute days, we defined a formative assessment as any assessment during the learning process that is used to modify teaching and learning activities for the same group of students. Below are two strategies you can use to manage the data in a Google Spreadsheet and quickly make adjustments to teaching and learning activities.

First, use the summary of results feature to get an aggregate view of student responses. This feature shows you a bar graph or pie chart for each question. In addition, you see the percent of students that choose each response. Use this view to immediately clear up any common misconception or sticking points. Simply click “Form” and “Show summary of responses.”

Another tip is to set up conditional formatting within the spreadsheet. Conditional formatting will color code the spreadsheet, so that you can instantly pinpoint individual students that are grasping the concepts and which ones need further intervention. Checkout the tutorial below to learn how to set up conditional formatting in a Google Spreadsheet.

Stop by TPACK Tuesday this week to discuss Google Spreadsheets and conditional formatting.

Curate Web Resources and Create Graphic Organizers with Padlet

Padlet is a great tool that has become popular with a lot of our staff over the last year. I’ve heard staff mention they like padlet for the following reasons:

• Its free, flexible, and user friendly.
• Students do not need an account to add to padlet walls.
• You can add text, images, and video to padlet walls.
• Padlet walls can be embedded in a learning management system, wiki, or blog.

At TPACK Tuesday this week, we will discuss two ways to use padlet that you might not have thought of.

1. Keep all of your web resources organized with the padlet extension. This can be a big time saver when planning out your lessons!
2. Create an interactive graphic organizer. Checkout the sample venn diagram below.

Created with Padlet

Just like last week we will give away TPACK t-shirts to all that stop by! We hope to see you there!

EduCanon and Free T-Shirts!

This week at TPACK Tuesday we will go over EduCanon. Our district recently got an upgrade to the premium version! Checkout our earlier post on EduCanon to learn more. This week everyone in attendance will get a TPACK t-shirt produced by Brian Mathien's Graphic Arts class. We hope to see you there!

Free Google Basics Course

How have you dealt with workflow since we went one to one? Are you frustrated with the mass amounts of emails you can get when students share google documents? We have a solution! Starting November 18th, you can take a free online Google Basics for Teaching course. In this course, you will learn how to use Google Apps for Education tools to enhance the efficiency and innovation of your teaching in a one to one classroom.

This is an online course that can be completed at your own pace when you have time! It consists of text lessons, videos, practice activities, and a final project. It is divided into the following units:

Research and Communicate: search for online resources and distribute information to school communities.

Create and Share: make online documents and foster collaboration using word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and survey tools.

Enhance Classroom Experiences: use online tools to build community, save administrative time, and add visual resources to lessons.

If you are interested register for free here: https://basicsforteaching.withgoogle.com/preview

Tic Tac Toe to Formatively Assess Students

During our October institute days, we discussed the impact formative assessments have on student learning. This week at TPACK Tuesday, we will discuss a formative assessment strategy that can provide students immediate feedback on concepts and key terms covered in any content area. We call it Tic Tac Tell.

First open up a Google Document and create a tic tac toe board with three columns and three rows. Enter key terms and concepts from a unit of study into each of the boxes. Tell students they need to create one to three sentences demonstrating their understanding of the key terms and concepts in the grid. The only requirement is that the terms/concepts selected must make a tic tac toe. This is a great way to have students make connections between key terms and concepts covered in any unit of study.

Now lets integrate a little technology to give students immediate feedback on their responses. Have students anonymously enter their sentences into the quick question open response option in Socrative. As a class you can provide feedback to students by discussing each of the responses. Since students entered their responses anonymously no one will feel singled out. To spice things up a little more, you can use the voting option in Socrative to determine the best response in class. If you need help with Socrative, check out the Socrative tutorial on the Ed Tech Website.

We hope to see you in the collaboration room this Tuesday!

SAMR Revisited

During the October institute days, the BHS staff were introduced to the SAMR model and ideas to engage students using technology. As a follow-up, here are the SAMR resources that were used in the presentation. 

• Kathy Schrock's Guide to SAMR - see "works from others" for more great resources.
• 10 Ways to Reach Redefinition
• The SAMR Model of Technology Integration using Google Docs
• Examining SAMR - Moving Towards Redefinition

Web 2.0 Tools used during "Engaging Instruction"workshop:

• Google Presentation - used for the slide presentation and collaborative group work.
• Kahoot! - Game-based assessment tool.
• PowToons - Make animated videos and presentations.

Multi-Task by Extending Your Mac Screen

+Kathy Hempel  and +Marijana Jensen recently taught me how to extend the Mac screen, which allows you to show a video on the smartboard and work on another screen. Kathy is the librarian teacher at Station middle school and Marijana is a Technology Support Assistant in the district. They put together the directions below. Thanks for sharing Kathy and Marijana!

Learnerator: the Practice Your AP Students Need

Rob Ridenour recently showed me Learnerator, a formative assessment tool for Advanced Placement courses. Learnerator has thousands of practice questions with solutions for all the following AP courses: AP Biology, AP Calculus AB/BC, AP Chemistry, AP Comparative Government, AP Computer Science, AP English Language, AP English Lit, AP Environmental Science, AP European History, AP French Language, AP Human Geography, AP Macroeconomics, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics 1 & 2, AP Physics C - E&M, AP Physics C - Mech., AP Psychology, AP Spanish Language, AP Spanish Lit, AP Statistics, AP US Government and Politics, AP US History, and AP World History.


As students answer questions, they get immediate feedback. Questions are also aligned to learning objectives, which allows you to track student progress over time. The free version gives students access to easy and medium difficulty questions. Simply go to www.learnerator.com and create an account to get started. Give your AP students the practice they need! 

Explain Your Thinking Using Movenote

This week at TPACK Tuesday we will discuss Movenote. Movenote is a free tool that allows you to easily create video of a presentation. A teacher or student can take a presentation, document, or series of images, upload them to Movenote, and record themselves explaining what is being viewed in the presentation.

Movenote can be a powerful tool for student reflection. After going over a set of problems/questions in any content area, ask students to take one problem/question they missed and explain why they missed it using Movenote. Below are some other ideas for Movenote.

Teachers can use Movenote to:

• Create sub plans for when they are out.
• Explain a concept.

Students can use Movenote to:

• Explain a concept.
• Create book reviews.
• Self assess the writing process.
• Analyze a website.
• Analyze lab results.
• Practice speaking a language.
• Explain their work in a digital portfolio.

The possibilities are endless. Stop by TPACK Tuesday and check it out!

Change the Way Your Students Watch Videos

A well used video can help students make connections to ideas and concepts. The problem is many students miss key parts of the video simply because it is hard to keep their attention. EduCanon to the rescue! EduCanon is a great tool that I recently learned about from +Tony Venetico. It allows you take videos from Youtube, Vimeo, TeacherTube, etc. and insert reflective pauses, multiple choice questions, and audio clips. You can even track student responses to ensure they watched the video and were engaged. Whether you use video to hook your students into a topic or flip a lesson, EduCanon can turn students from passive learners to active learners.

Learn more about EduCanon from this tutorial. Checkout a sample EduCanon lesson.

Google Classroom Resources

What's all this buzz about Google Classroom? In anticipation of the upcoming TPack Tuesday, check out this short preview of what Classroom can do for you. Want to learn more? There's a new Google Classroom Learning Module on the BHS EdTech website with some great resources and ideas. Check it out and stop by the Innovation room (formerly Library Lab 1) on Tuesday, September 30th to set up your Google Classroom or learn and share ideas on how to use your existing Classroom.

Google Classrooms

Google Classrooms is a great tool to manage workflow in a one to world classroom. With Google Classrooms you can:

• Share resources with your class.
• Make class announcements.
• Simplify turning in assignments in a one to world classroom.
• Create online discussions.
• Email students.
• Differentiate instruction.
• Provide timely feedback for students.
• Protect your classroom privacy.

Stop by the next TPACK Tuesday to learn more! Check out the TPACK Tuesday schedule on the Ed Tech Website.

The Day Has Finally Come!

The day has finally come! TPACK Tuesdays will start tomorrow 9/23/14! We will meet in the collaboration room of the library. You can view dates and times for all TPACK Tuesday on the Ed Tech Website.

TPACK stands for Technology Pedagogy and Content Knowledge. It is a framework that explains how to coordinate content knowledge, pedagogy, and technology to enhance student learning or make you more efficient.

This week, we will discuss using Google Apps to promote collaboration. Below is an example of how integrating Google Docs into the traditional Think Pair Share instructional practice can improve student collaboration.

Think Pair Share involves students individually formulating ideas and then sharing these ideas with a peer and finally the class. Instead of having students individually write their thoughts on paper, have the entire class enter their thoughts into a Google Doc that can be edited by everyone. Right from the beginning of the activity, students will be able to see the thinking of their peers and build upon each others' ideas.

Here is a sample, I did during an ERO class this summer.

Here are the steps I took:

Step 1 - Created a Google Doc that is editable by everyone.

Step 2 - Shorten the Google Doc URL with tinyurl.com and enter it at the top of the Google Doc.

Step 3 - Type a subjective question under the shortened URL.

Step 4 - Create a one column table with enough boxes for each student in class.

Step 5 - During class, students will type in the shortened URL and answer the question in one of the boxes.

Step 6 - Give students time to review student responses with a partner.

Step 7 - Discuss student responses as a class.

If you would like to learn how technology can support other instructional practices, stop by one of our TPACK Tuesdays this year! We hope to see you there!

TPACK Tuesdays Coming at You

Welcome back for another year! We are excited to support everyone as we embark on a one to world adventure together. This year we will host TPACK Tuesdays. TPACK is a framework that helps to explain how to coordinate content knowledge, instructional practices, and technology to positively impact academic achievement. You can learn more about the TPACK framework by watching this 2 minute video:

TPACK Tuesdays will include sessions before school, during lunch periods, and after school throughout the year. Our goal is to provide a variety of ideas on how technology can support your content and pedagogy. Please take the survey below to give us some ideas on how TPACK Tuesday will best work for you.

TPACK Tuesday Survey

Finally, don't forget to checkout the EdTech Website throughout the year for inspiration and resources.

EdTech Website

New Google Drive

If you log into Google Drive  and notice a different look, congratulations, you are upgraded to the new Google Drive! Google is gradually rolling out a new interface this summer. If it's been rolled out to you, a message should appear when you login to Drive, or you can click on the gear icon in the upper left corner and choose "Experience the new Drive".  If the new Drive doesn't appear yet, keep checking. More information can be found here and by watching the short video below.

Kelley Sohler is the iPad winner!

Thanks to all staff members who attended the "How Do I Do That?" sessions throughout the year. These sessions provided a great drop-in opportunity to discover a tool or idea to take back to the classroom. As promised, each time a staff member attended a HDIDT session, their name was entered into a drawing for the end of the year. We are happy to announce that Kelley Sohler is the winner of the iPad! Kelley already has plans to incorporate the iPad into her teaching next school year. Be sure to watch for more HDIDT opportunities in the new school year. Congratulations Kelley!

The DAL Team Year in Review

As we close in on the end of the school year, it is always good to look back and reflect. The Digital Age Learning team has been hard at work this year modifying their curriculum for a one to world learning environment. We have seen an increase in efficiency and students demonstrating learning in creative and amazing ways. We have also experienced some technical issues, charging troubles, and frustration with a lack of time to adjust the curriculum. Even with all the ups and downs of the pilot program, the DAL team has produced some great resources to help everyone transition to a learning environment where all students will have a computer next year. If you have a DAL team member in your department be sure to thank them for being true risk takers and amazing teachers!

Classroom management can definitely be a big concern when all students have laptops. Be sure to read through these classroom management tips and trick for a one to world learning environment before next year.

https://sites.google.com/a/bsd220.org/bhs220pd/home/strategies-for-achieving-high-impact-instruction

Summer is the time of year when you can enjoy a well deserved break from the highly stressful routine of the school year. It is also a time when you actually have time to think about new ideas for the next school year. Checkout the learning modules on our Ed Tech Website for inspiration.

https://sites.google.com/a/bsd220.org/bhs220pd/home/learningmodules

You can also find ideas for next year and post things that have worked well for you on the BSD 220 Summer Brainstorming Document.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1a6XK2bTQe1jIynYVuETk_3SU6ZXYRJ333xFoxuZ4Ce4/edit?usp=sharing

Twitter is another great place to look for new ideas and grow your professional learning network. Millions of educators share resources everyday on twitter...even in the summer. Checkout this module for help getting started with twitter.

https://sites.google.com/a/bsd220.org/bhs220pd/home/learningmodules/twitter

I will leave you with a few words of advice directly from our DAL team members after teaching in a one to world learning environment this year. Have a great summer!

Don't try to do it all!! Take on one thing and master that before you tackle a new tool.

Start small. Don't get in over your head. Collaborate with other teachers. We are all a wealth of information.

You can still control when students are allowed to use computers and when they are not. There are times when the computers are helpful, and it is OK at times to not be using them.

Learn how to share and grade assignments electronically to save a tremendous amount of paper and be able to edit and share on the fly.

Help each other!

Use the laptops when it makes sense--to enrich your curriculum. The laptops do not have to be used every day, nor should laptops be used to replace good teaching. Think of them as a tool.

Set clear expectations from the beginning. I would definitely create a signal to let students know at the beginning of the period if they should have their laptop out or not. Be prepared for things to go wrong and ALWAYS have a plan B.

Have a back up plan and be flexible. Students tended to have their own way of doing an activity... if they get the same outcome let the student take ownership on how they get there.

Focus on just a few tools to implement in the classroom first. You can always add more but don't overwhelm yourself with too many ideas.

You, as the teacher, are still the most important element in the classroom. Technology is not automatically engaging just because it's technology, and it is most certainly not a replacement for a good lesson plan or a captivating teacher. It is a tool, and should be treated as such.