A New Learning Dynamic for our Class:

My students and I utilize our iPod Touches, their smartphones and iPads for classwork most days, but generally,   toward the end of the week, we have some sort of quiz on paper.  However, this week, there aren’t any papers in the inbox on my desk.  There aren’t any papers for me to grade this weekend because my students and I decided to conduct class quite differently this week.  We decided to have my classes divide in groups and actually spend some time designing engaging activities for classmates to complete as part of their assessment.  This means students must use the target language while creating interesting activities for their classmates, then they will need to use their language skills when actually completing the tasks other groups have crafted.  When I first discussed this week’s possibilities with my classes, some students were a little less than thrilled; however, they agreed to participate and have an open mind.  Many were excited about the prospect of creating a unit of study that challenged their fellow classmates.  We banded together and have looked at this week as a “challenge the textbook week.”  The driving force has been to show learning that is social, interactive, fun and full of activities that are outside the textbook forum not only allow students to grow in the content area, but in 21st Century skills as well.  My class is not a textbook based class, but my students seemed to enjoy the thought of challenging the powers that produce flat and irrelevant textbook assignments for students.  They felt as though they could write a unit of study that would put any textbook to shame.  Truthfully speaking, the challenge the textbook idea has given students a sense of pride and a new motivation.

My only requirements for the project were:

• Groups members must have a role:  We decided on team leader, team editor, team secretary, team director
• Groups members receive a daily participation grade every day–these are averaged together for one grade at week’s end
• Groups must produce three engaging activities using shopping vocabulary, clothing vocabulary and preterite tense(past tense)
• Groups must create one listening, speaking, and writing activity for classmates to complete

Group member responsibilities were discussed and we decided on the following:

• Team Leader–organize daily procedures, tweet the instructor with the team goal for the day, delegate as needed, help team members stay on task, participate in the creation of activities and tweet out the group’s accomplishments at the end of class using the project hashtag.
• Team Editor–the editor is responsible for maintaining the group’s page on our project wiki, referencing any Web 2.0 tools used in creating activities and how the group utilized that site, participate in activity creation, embed finished products on the group’s wiki page
• Team Secretary–keep records on all brainstorming, materials needed to create activities (video cameras, phone, iPods, computers, etc.), keep detailed records of the team’s daily agenda and progress, participate in the creation of activities, turn in notes to instructor at the end of the project
• Team Director–responsible for mapping how the process of shooting videos or other Web 2.0 created assignments, participate in the creation of all activities, coordinate use of any devices needed to complete activities

Results:

At the 4 day mark, I can report students are working well in their teams.  Day one was a little tenuous as students discussed, and at times debated, which roles best  fit each student within the group, but day two and three were progressively better as students settled into their roles and began creating their activities.  The secretaries of some of the groups collaborated via our class Twitter account to share the benefits of using the Evernote app to keep their records efficiently.  They created notebooks to share with me upon completion of the entire project.  Most groups have reported that setting a daily goal and tweeting that out helps keep them on track and focused toward accomplishing that goal.  There are two groups that have required more “encouragement” than the others to stay on task, but we are working together to make progress.  As a teacher, it is a pleasure to move from group to group and watch them use Web 2.0 tools, their smartphones, webcams on our netbooks, etc. to engage and create content.  After all, I want them to be producers of content, not just consumers.

The X Factor:

I went into this week a little nervous about how my students would feel, and the amount of engagement we would have.  I must say, I am so proud of their effort and willingness to participate, share, learn and grow in their Spanish and technology skills.  One of my groups asked to stay after school yesterday in order to work on their project, and of course, I was delighted to oblige their request.  This group blew me away!!  The school day for us ends at 3:30 pm, but this group stayed with me until 5:00.  They were motivated to learn, engaged in brainstorming to create a scavenger hunt activity with their vocabulary.  They practiced pronouncing their vocabulary and putting together clues for their classmates for the scavenger hunt via videos they recorded.  At 4:30, they asked me if they were keeping me from something important.  I replied with what must have been a goofy teacher grin, “No way guys, nothing is more important to me at this moment than the excitement you are showing, and the level of effort you giving.  I am so blessed to be your teacher.”  The truth be told, I would have stayed until midnight.

Some may view what I have written here as just another cooperative learning project.  For me, it is so much more.  My class is structured as a BYOT learning environment.  I feel this setup is a quality chance to help students in the following areas:  be responsible in their use of technology for specific learning purposes, collaborate and socialize while setting and accomplishing learning goals, participate in a group dynamic and support one another to fulfill their team goals, and to take ownership of their learning.  What are your thoughts?  Have you tried something similar with your students, and had great success?  My students and I would love to hear your success stories and ideas since we are thinking of making this type of learning dynamic the norm.  Likewise, if you have an idea to help tweak our group roles and responsibilities, please leave  a comment.

**Note:  I will be sharing students thoughts,  examples of their work, and learning outcomes in my next post.

Is Twitter a valuable learning tool?

As I sit down to write this post, I am wondering how many teachers around the world are preparing to write a post on the value of Twitter in the classroom.  No doubt, the debate rages on, and will for years to come.  For me and a small percentage of my students, it is no longer an issue.  We have answered that question for ourselves and have embarked on journey together to integrate Twitter with our curriculum while trying to embrace a more “out of the classroom/school day” learning mindset.

Setting the stage:

I have used Twitter with my classes sporadically in the past three years.  We have used it to share links while conducting research for projects, interesting facts about culture, and even used it for communicating during a test.  All of these uses were great, but these activities usually left me wondering how to use it more effectively with students.  So, I decided to try something new.  I asked my students to complete a homework assignment using Twitter this week.  I was a little nervous beforehand based on the fact that my students this year really had not warmed to the idea of using Twitter as a valuable learning tool.  My students, and probably some of yours, feel Twitter is a generic FaceBook.  Needless to say, I presented the homework idea with enthusiasm, and hoped for the best, but was quite unsure of the outcome.

Currently, my Spanish II students are going back to review daily routine vocabulary.  We took one week to work with vocabulary, and situations in which you would talk about your daily routine activities.  We made connections to various careers and jobs in which one might be communicating with Spanish speakers about such activities.  This week, we have been extending our speaking and writing skills using the pertinent vocabulary.  On Wednesday, I asked students to complete their homework assignment using Twitter.  The homework was set up in the following manner:

• Students should “interview” their family members to find about their daily routines
• Students should tweet about each family member’s first two activities of the day in order of the action
• Students should include a tweet about their own first two activities of the day
• Try to use correct spelling and proper grammar
• Students should have tweets in before midnight

Summary of Student work:

(1) All students had their work turned in by 11:30.  This was awesome since I also assigned my other classes traditional homework that night.  Yes, I know, that was a little “20th Century” on my part, but I never assign traditional homework.  I just needed to be able to make some comparisons.   Many of my students in the classes with traditional homework were rushing in the next day to ask to borrow a book in order to complete the homework they did not finish the night before.  Yes, I asked for it by giving a traditional homework assignment.  I did go over the traditional assignment with my class and gave them a participation grade for being good sports.

(2)The most important observation was that students participating in the Twitter assignment actually engaged with the material.  There is little doubt in my mind about the level of engagement of the students with the traditional textbook assignment.  I would say the majority of them were mindlessly hurrying through the assignment and found it to be of little value until we went over it the next day.  What about the students with the Twitter assignment?  Did they feel this was a worthwhile activity?

Student Perspective:

On Thursday, this class and I spent some time reflecting and evaluating the activity.  I used Twtpoll to pose three short answer questions to the class via Twitter.  Students used their smartphones or one of our class iPods to answer these poll questions.

Q1:  Did you like the format of the homework last night?  Why or why not?  Here are a few responses:

“Yes, because it was actually quite easy, and it being about my family made it interesting.” “Yes because I was able to interact and it was not boring like regular work.” “Yes. It gave me the chance to do something relevant in society to learn. Plus, I got direct feedback.”

Q2:  Did you find the homework valuable or did you consider it the equivalent of busy work?  Responses:

“It was valuable only because it made us interact more, instead of just looking at a worksheet.” “It felt just like a normal HW, besides the fact it felt pretty cool to say I was doing homework on a social networking site”

Q3:  Did you view the direct message from me as positive or a little discomforting?  Responses:

“It was positive! I liked it because I prefer doing things I’m more familiar with, like using the internet. Go online tarea!!”  “I felt the message was positive because I got feedback quickly and helped me see what I did wrong.” “It was positive, because you complimented my work. ”

Final Thoughts:

Overall, this was a positive experience for the class and me.  I will continue to use the direct message option because I am able to give students individualized feedback based on skills they need to work on for the next class.  I like this option because I would prefer not to correct them in front of other learners.  For language learners, correction in front of their peers can be detrimental to the learning process.  In my opinion, this activity allowed me to work with students one on one and have a mini tutorial session.  I liked that my comments made them feel that I value their work.  My absolute favorite aspect of this activity was reinforcing the idea that learning takes place 24/7.   I also feel it was important to conduct the reflection activities with my class.  Listening to my students, giving them a  voice, and allowing them to partner with me in shaping the activities we do in and out of class brought out a sense of pride in each of them.  Now, I am already looking at my lesson plans for next week to include this type of activity with all my classes.

Are you currently or have you been thinking of using Twitter with your students?  Do you have a differing opinion?  Do you feel Twitter has no use in today’s classrooms?  Please share your thoughts and reflections.  My students and I are learning together and would love to hear your ideas.

Fotobabble in the Language Class:

Fotobabble is a wonderful app for the language classroom.  It is a free app that allows students to record audio over an image.  The entire file can then be embedded on a blog or website.

My students have used this app for a variety of learning experiences, but they always seem to enjoy using the app and learning from each other.

Usually, I ask my students to choose a photo at the end of a class period that can be stored into the photo album of the iPod Touch.  On the following day, students know that they will be creating a “photo story” of sorts in the target language.

• Students upload their image
• Record their audio
• E-mail their Fotobabble to a classmate for peer review
• Record again if necessary, then e-mail to instructor

This app is actually one of my favorites for language classes.  I like the ease of use as well as the share options including:

• Students can embed work on their blogs
• Students can e-mail work to a classmate or parent
• Students can tweet their creations on our class Twitter account

More importantly, what do my students think of the app?  As with all activities, my students and I spend some time discussing the format of the assignment, technology involved, and student opinion as to the learning value of the activity.  My students give Fotobabble high marks.  In general, they find combining technology with the ability to practice their speaking skills to be engaging.  These language learners believe that being able to discuss their recordings with a classmate, receive immediate constructive criticism then record again makes for a high value learning experience.

Have you used Fotobabble in your class?  I would love to hear your thoughts on how Fotobabble fits into your curriculum.  Please share how you and your students used Fotobabble with your content.  To view a Fotobabble embedded within a blog post, please check out these examples.  Please click on the following link to download an example lesson plan for a language class:  Fotobabble Lesson Plan with Adjectives

Google Forms are a great way to gauge student comprehension, administer a quick pop quiz or coordinate a review for students.  Another great use is extended practice for learners who might be struggling to master a concept.

I usually send an e-mail to my students that they check at the beginning of class to complete the form.  I can also embed the form on my blog in case of an absence or technology issue with one or several iPods.  Here is an example of a Google Form I used during a presentation at TCEA Convention in 2011:

The feedback from my students on using Google Forms is quite positive. They like using this option for quick quizzes at the beginning of class. On a day when we use a Google Form as a quiz, we usually coordinate class in the following manner:

• Students enter class and take out their smartphones, tablets, or pick up a class iPod to use
• I greet my students and offer a quick intro for our objective of the day, and a quick 1 minute review of the previous day
• Students check their e-mail for the Google Form link and start on the quiz
• I project the quiz on my data projector
• I monitor student work and answer any questions students have without giving away answers
• Students submit their quiz, and begin reviewing vocabulary flashcards via Quizlet while waiting for everyone to finish
• After all students have completed the quiz, we discuss answers

This sequence takes very little time, and students report they enjoy having a quick review, then time to think about and apply our important grammatical topics.  Many of my quiet students have stressed to me that they appreciate having time to work through answers without the pressure to speak in front of the class, or having more vocal students dominate the class.

As a teacher, I greatly appreciate my students’ points of view and am happy to see them embracing the opportunity to participate in class activities.  My favorite features of Google Forms include:  spreadsheet reports of students answers, customizable quizzes allowing teachers to use various types of questions within a quiz, and forms are embeddable.  Creating a Google Form is quick and easy.  I am including a link for a YouTube video that briefly covers creating these forms.   Creating a Form in Google Docs

Do you use Google Forms in your class, or do you have some innovative ways to use forms to enhance students engagement and learning?  If so, it would be great to hear from you.

Notes App for iPod Touch

The Notes app for iPod Touch and iPhone is such a versatile app, and the great news is that it is free.  That’s right, we educators love great apps that are free.  My students use the Notes app for a several functions including:

• Taking Notes
• Peer Editing
• Turn in quick assessments

Students are then able to e-mail their assessments or assignments to me or to each other for review.  The peer editing option gives students the ability to receive immediate feedback from classmates, which is a big plus with students.

Voice Memo App for iPod:

My students also use the Voice Memo app for all the reasons listed above, but in verbal format.  I regularly ask students to complete assignments with the following steps:

• Look at a picture and make a Voice Memo Note describing the person in Spanish
• Record the audio and send to a partner via Gmail
• Partners listened to audio files and offered praise and constructive criticism
• Students recorded audio again noting suggested corrections
• Students e-mailed assignment to be graded

During class discussion of the assignment, students noted that they enjoyed getting feedback from the classmates, and they also enjoyed being able to correct before turning in their assignment.  They much preferred this method to other traditional speaking assignments.  Do you have other ideas on how students can take advantage of these apps?  My students and I would love to have your ideas and feedback.

***Students can use corresponding apps on Android or other phones.  I am blessed enough to have access to school provided iPods for those students who do not have a smartphone or an app market.  Also, my students and I have used these and other apps in Spanish class, but they are ideal for use across content areas.

Gmail on iPods

My experience in using Gmail on iPods in class with students has been very positive.  More importantly, my students  report positive feedback about using Gmail.  Some aspects they like about using Gmail are:

• Class Agenda
• Turning in Assignments
• Collaborating with Classmates

All of my classes setup a Gmail account at the beginning of the year under the agreement that this particular account would only be used for school purposes.  We had a class discussion on what should or should not be allowed on this email account.  We decided students could use the account for:

• Class Content
• College Class Content
• Account Setup
• College Applications and communicating with colleges

We decided on these parameters because we are working as a group to emphasize establishing a professional, positive digital footprint.  Most of my students are accustomed to using FaceBook and some other socials networks solely for personal purposes.  The excellent IT Department at our school has helped me understand the importance of encouraging students to maintain a professional presence on the web.

Setup for iPods:

1. Go to Settings
2. Click on Mail
3. Add Account/Type in Account Info
4. Save
5. When finished with e-mail, delete the account to maintain security
   

Students of this generation usually maintain an e-mail address in order to set up accounts on the various social networks they use regularly.  However, when students enter the college environment, and even the professional world, they will need to use e-mail.  I ask my students to use Gmail because of the collaboration possibilities, as well as to help prepare them for future use.  I do not require them to use e-mail as their main communication tool, but they do need to graduate knowing that e-mail is more than just a “necessary evil” when setting up an account for a social networking site.

To poll or not to poll…

Polls are an effective way to engage students or to check student understanding.  My students almost always exhibit some form of excitement as I say, “It is time for today’s poll questions.  Let’s go to pollev.com to take a look at those.”  I recently had one student who was so exuberant as he entered class, I had to ask him to calm down a bit.  He said, “I’m sorry Mrs. Hugghins, I just love poll questions.  I’ll try to get focused now.”  My immediate response was a big smile and a sense of pride that my students are ready to go to work and engage with the material.  Talk about immediate feedback.

Polleverywhere is one of many websites that educators can use to create polls for use in class, on blogs and inside presentations.  The initial sign-up takes only a moment, and is quite easy.  The benefit to your students is exponential.  Here are a few comments from my students:

Nick:  “I like using our iPods for answering poll questions because I have time to think about my answer, then I know immediately if I am on the right track.”

Collin:  “Using polls is so much more fun than writing on paper.  I like looking at the incorrect answers and discussing those in class.  I think I learn better that way.”

Polleverywhere  does allow for some flexibility in questioning.  I mix multiple choice questions as quick review and class starters with open-ended items in which students must type in an answer.  The open-ended questions are an easy segue to class discussion.  I always have the polls and answers projected on my screen for the class to view.  Students have a great deal of fun justifying their answers as well.  The beauty is that shy students who do not like to speak up are also engaged because they have time to process their thoughts and give an answer without being overshadowed by more outspoken students.

My students use their iPod Touches, Smartphones or other digital devices to answer poll questions at the beginning or end of class.  On the occasion that I have to conduct a bit of a “lecture” on material in class, we stop periodically to answer poll questions so I can gauge their understanding.  Polleverywhere allows teachers to utilize poll questions within a presentation also.  I have a MacBook, so I use the Mac Presenter option in Polleverywhere during each presentation.  Students have reported a greater level of engagement and a decreased need for tutorials after the preliminary intro lesson.

Polls can be used effectively in class for:

• Focus activity
• Review
• Gauge understanding
• Closing activity
• Add to blogs and presentations
• Student created polls for class discussion

The site is user friendly and free for a basic account.  The greatest benefit to me as an educator is the level of engagement and excitement my students have for this type of learning experience.  When planning lessons and considering tech integration, I am endeavoring to choose tools that allow students to focus on learning versus tech tools.  Polleverwhere receives a thumbs up from my students as a tool that flows seamlessly within a lesson or class discussion.  If you are looking for a way to engage students without having the technology become intrusive within the learning process, Polleverywhere is  an excellent choice.

Era of “We”

What an exciting time to be an educator! In the 21st Century, education as a whole is changing rather rapidly, and many teachers are embracing this change by trying to integrate more technology into their classrooms. The assertion of many of the top educators of our time is that teachers don’t really need to do more or cover more material, we simply need to evaluate our method of delivery. Recently a fellow educator tweeted about an idea floated at a TEDx event. The speaker said, “We are moving from and era of “me,” to an era of “we.” I have to say that I agree with the statement and believe that this idea should challenge us as educators to consider that our method of delivery for content must include the “we” scenario.  Our students have embraced the culture of “we” since birth.  They text, blog, use FaceBook, Flickr and other social websites.  They are completely comfortable with the free exchange of ideas open to suggestion and criticism via their favorite technological devices.  We as educators must take their love of technology and use it to their advantange.  Yes, I said their advantage by modeling the use of these devices in our classrooms so they understand that learning does not only take place in the four walls of the classroom, but at any time or place of their choosing.

Consider that in today’s classroom we would never ask a student to calculate with an abacus rather than with a calculator.  In your daily life you would make a phone call, send a text or an e-mail to someone rather than send a telegram.  So it is with technology in education, we have so many tools available today to assist students with organization, to differentiate instruction and to encourage them to become life long learners.

Culture of openness

One of our goals as educators is to help instill a love of learning in our students.  Each of our students should be even more curious on their last day in class than they were on the first day they entered.  There is no better way I can think of to model learning to our students than to be curious and continuous learners ourselves.  With that said, the mission of this blog is to become a center for the exchange of ideas on using technology in our classrooms.  We will start with information about integrating the use of iPod Touch in class.  Hopefully as the blog evolves, each of you will become regular contributors so that teachers on our campus have a forum to discuss what students are accomplishing inside and outside of class with the technology that is available to them.

I recently read a blog post by Miguel Guhlin, a Texas educator, who writes about educational issues with regard to 21st Century learning.  He quoted Boeing CEO James Mcnerney who has said, “Innovation is a team sport, not a solo sport.  It depends on  a culture of openness.” As you begin this new school year, I challenge each of you (including myself) to think about the idea of “the we era” with your students and fellow faculty members, as well as the idea that we, along with our students, can be ‘innovators using a culture of openness.’  My hope is that this blog will serve as a place where each of us share the great things that White Oak High School students are accomplishing.