As mentioned in previous posts, our whole 5th Grade team willingly took on a Science/Social Studies technology rich project for our Sustainability Unit of Study.

Using iMovie, every 5th grade student, either in a group, pair or individually, created a Public Service Announcement [...]]]> As our CoETail certificate course comes to an end, as does our final project post.

As mentioned in previous posts, our whole 5th Grade team willingly took on a Science/Social Studies technology rich project for our Sustainability Unit of Study.

Using iMovie, every 5th grade student, either in a group, pair or individually, created a Public Service Announcement (more commonly known as a PSA) to demonstrate their knowledge of a problem of sustainability, how that problem continues to be a problem if we don’t take action, and how we can take action.

Overall the PSAs were a huge success.  The technology piece was, at times, frustrating for different classes, but the quality of the PSAs and my student’s ability to express what they learned and how they can made a difference, impresses me.

Now it’s time to reflect on my role in this project.

The rubric used for the teacher in this project can be found here.

I feel that I’m meeting the redefinition criteria of the rubric in all areas.

One particular strength I have, is being able to use “just-in-time” learning during any use of technology. I use the strengths of students to help other students and my class knows that I do not know everything – we all help each other.  Hanging in our classroom is our Tech Experts Chart.  As we use particular tools during the year, students have the opportunity to volunteer as experts for that tool.  They are the “go to” people when you don’t know how to do something, not me, them!  This works brilliantly and would have to be one of the best things I have ever used in the classroom.

Another strength that I personally believe you need if you are using technology in the classroom is calmness.  We don’t panic or get stressed out when things don’t go quite right.  I am a firm believer in modelling this to your students at all times, so that they in turn model calmness when things don’t work out the way they want.  We’ve dealt with “lost work”, corrupt files, the spinning colour wheel and a raft of other things that often go wrong when using laptops in the classroom.  Nobody ended up in tears, nobody tore their hair out and everyone successfully completed their PSA and has it uploaded to YouTube.   (You can watch all 12 of our PSAs from here).

The Sustainability Unit will be getting some tweaks here and there as we reflect on the whole unit as a team.  There’s already some things I’d like to add to make it easier for next year but that’s for another post!

Today we spent a 45 minute session watching and peer-reviewing each others’ completed PSAs.  Unfortunately, due to two days of closure right before our Songkran break, we needed to export our iMovie projects to a finished product BEFORE a peer-review.  I would be extremely hesitant to export again before a peer-review. [...]]]> (Reflection Post 4 CoETaIL Course 5)

Today we spent a 45 minute session watching and peer-reviewing each others’ completed PSAs.  Unfortunately, due to two days of closure right before our Songkran break, we needed to export our iMovie projects to a finished product BEFORE a peer-review.  I would be extremely hesitant to export again before a peer-review.   The conversations and feedback that were taking place in the classroom during this session was awesome and I could see the realisation of mistakes on student’s faces – it was disappointing for me and for them in not to be able to give them class time to go back, refine, reedit and re-polish their projects.

Before this session, we had watched all of the PSAs, on the big screen, as a showcase, clapping and cheering, with no commenting or reviewing – just for sheer celebration of hard work and a finished project.  This I recommend as it’s fantastic just to enjoy the finished product and take a breather from all the hard work without the creators feeling that their work is straight away, under the microscope.

I created a google doc and shared it with my all of my students prior to this session:

This was a brilliant idea!  All our feedback was on one document.  We went through the document first and talked about answering the questions based only on what you saw and heard in the PSA.  We also decided that you need to watch the PSA at least 3 times – each time concentrating on a different section (content, polish or copyright) at a time.  We also went through, group by group and added the title of the PSA and the peer reviewers names to their section of the document first.  This was so that everyone was adding their feedback in the right place.  Each group of 4 had two laptops – one with the google doc open, the other with YouTube open to watch the PSA.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/room18tis/4558788981/

We had groups of 4 (either made up from each pair of creators, or two single creators teamed up with a pair of creators).  We had 4 individual projects and 8 pair projects to review).

Today, each group reviewed 1 PSA each.  In our next review session, we will probably review one more, with some groups reviewing two more.  I expect that the reviewing will be much quicker as they will all know what they’re looking and listening for.

We’re almost at the end of our Grade 5 PSA making adventure for our Sustainability Unit – Time to take action!

Our proposed timeline was:

The Grade 5 CoETaIL cohorts, Teresa, Robin, Dan and myself, along with our fellow Grade 5 team members, Jim, Ali, and Sandra have put together this culminating project for [...]]]> The final project for Course 4 of CoETaIL was to create a unit and assessment based around our content area that addresses ISB TAIL Standards (Technology and Information Literacy).

The Grade 5 CoETaIL cohorts, Teresa, Robin, Dan and myself, along with our fellow Grade 5 team members, Jim, Ali, and Sandra have put together this culminating project for our integrated Science/Social Studies Environment/Sustainability unit which we are piloting for the first time this year.

As our Science sessions come to an end, we are about to begin the Social Studies Culminating Project for Sustainability.  This side of the unit has been a challenge for us all.  The Grade 5 team has done a fabulous job so far of integrating tech tools to help their students learn about Sustainability as well as learning some new tech skills.  It’s not only the students who are learning – their teachers have been learning right along side them too.  Our final project will see the use of technology to help us spread our message about taking action and making a sustainable difference.

There will be 4 further posts on this blog, for Course 5 of CoETaIL,  reflecting on the journey embedding technology and whether it makes a difference to student learning as we progress through this specific project.

Below is the planning that we have created to meet the needs of our CoETaIL requirements:

Essential Question: How do you manage the use of technology peripherals with students? What are some things you’ve learned and hope to implement.

There’s three things in the classroom that I just can’t do without.

We manage all of them the same way we manage anything: with procedures, clear expectations and [...]]]> Week 5: November 29 – December 5

Essential Question: How do you manage the use of technology peripherals with students? What are some things you’ve learned and hope to implement.

There’s three things in the classroom that I just can’t do without.

1. Students
2. SMARTBoard
3. Document Camera

We manage all of them the same way we manage anything: with procedures, clear expectations and with care.

Together, we drive our classroom, our SMARTBoard and our Document Camera.  All three, revolve around our learning – together.  That means for the most part, I’m not the only one using the technology peripherals in the classroom, we all are.

They use the SMARTBoard to show their thinking, their working out, their knowledge and their understandings to their fellow classmates and of course to me.  I get to use it to highlight a teaching point, show a tutorial or video, or use with a small group that needs hands on, visual, auditory grammar practise!

They use the Document Camera to share their work and to show off things that can’t be seen clearly by 20 students crowded around it or to show their mathematical working out process or their writing that they want feedback from their peers.  And then I get to use it to model what I’d like them to see, like the read aloud we’re doing in class, or the writing in my writer’s notebook or the form that needs to be filled in, or the object we want to see up close.

I want students up and out of their seats talking, laughing, sharing, showing, demonstrating, and actively learning.  The technology peripherals help me do just that.  I quickly realised that I was only limited by my own imagination and theirs!  But it didn’t happen just like that.  I needed to model, support, guide, explicitly teach and encourage students to take control of the peripherals.

It takes time but believe me, every year it’s worth it.  Most of all, me, the teacher, needs to take a giant step backwards and let the students do the work.

A wise mentor teacher of mine once asked me ……..

Who’s the hardest working person in the classroom?

Then she said:

If the answer is you, then something’s not right!  It should be the students that are working the hardest!

So what are the things I’ve learnt from CoETaIL Course 4 and hope to implement?
I have a much better understanding of the Backwards by design planner and I’m hoping to embed that kind of learning in the classroom with the 3-5 TAILS .  I want to experiment more with project-based learning and try to keep fairly up-to-date with web2.0 tools and resources that work well in classroom and of course I’m looking forward to the final project and it’s implementation in our 5th Grade classrooms!

Essential Question: What are ways you manage the use of laptops in your classroom and what additional best practice ways might you add?

Simple, clear procedures have always worked for me for any kind of classroom management whether it be with laptops or without.  Here’s just a few tips and tricks I use when [...]]]> Week 4: November 22-28

Essential Question: What are ways you manage the use of laptops in your classroom and what additional best practice ways might you add?

Simple, clear procedures have always worked for me for any kind of classroom management whether it be with laptops or without.  Here’s just a few tips and tricks I use when working with laptops in the classroom.  All procedures are modeled and revisited during the year to ensure the smooth operation of technology in the class.

Tip #1:   Have students lower laptop lids 45° when giving important instructions.  You would do this any other time – working with laptops is no different. Rove around the classroom while students are working.  You do this any other time too – again, working with laptops is no different.

Tip #2:  We don’t put our fingers on anyone else’s keyboard – we help by telling not doing (otherwise how will they learn?)

Tip #3:  Make an Experts Chart.  Train 2-3 students to be the experts in something (embeding an image, working in iMovie, blogs, voicethread, garageband, importing audio/video/photos)  That way the teacher doesn’t have to be the expert and students get a buzz out of being considered the expert.

Tip #4:  When learning a new digital tool – ALWAYS have “sand-pit” time.  Allow students to play and discover as much as they can about how it works and what it can do. Usually 15-20 minutes and use a timer (interactive ones are cool)

Tip #5:  Speed-Geek – After playing in the “sand-pit” with a new tool, we have speed-geeking (kind of like speed-dating!). One volunteer per table remains behind to showcase what they’ve discovered, the rest of the class rotates. (The volunteers usually become the Experts on our Experts Chart)

Tip #6:  Use clear, simple routines for getting out/putting away laptops – they are just like any other resource in the classroom.  (Have two monitors that check all laptops have actually been plugged in for charging.)

Tip #7:  Ask students at the start of the year to bring in a set of earbuds.  (Very cheap here in Thailand).  That way everyone has their own headphones.  We store the headphones in mini ziplock bags with student’s names on the bags.

Tip #8:  The flash-drive is an important tool.  It’s just like your pencil, ruler and eraser.  It’s a MUST have item everyday.

Tip #9:  Don’t be afraid to say you don’t know how to do something.  Students love it when they figure it out before you do.  That being said ….. if you’re going to use a digital tool for a project in your class – make sure you’ve had a go at the task first.  You do need to know the basics.  If you’re not sure how to use a tool, utilize your tech team (if you’re lucky enough to have one) or ask your PLN for help.

Tip #10:  Keep calm when things don’t work so well. The internet will go down, the programme will not respond but don’t sweat it.  Model patience to your students.  If you get flustered or frustrated when things don’t work, so will they.

More links provided by our CoETaIL course advisors for managing laptops/computers in the class:  Classroom Management of Laptops and Managing Distractions and 23 Things about Classroom Laptops.

So what have I missed?  What do you do?

Image attribution:  teachingsagittarian http://www.flickr.com/photos/room18tis

Our Essential Question: How relevant are the NETs for Teachers and Administrators to being a “Good Educator” today?

We’ve been asked to read NETs for Teachers, NETs for Administrators, and an article relating to ISTE’s unveiling of Next Generation of Technology Standards for Administrators.

In essence, the NETs for Teachers [...]]]> Week 3 November 15 – 21:

Our Essential Question: How relevant are the NETs for Teachers and Administrators to being a “Good Educator” today?

We’ve been asked to read NETs for Teachers, NETs for Administrators, and an article relating to ISTE’s unveiling of Next Generation of Technology Standards for Administrators.

In essence, the NETs for Teachers is divided into 5 main points. That teachers will:-

1. Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
2. Design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments
3. Model digital-age work and learning
4. Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership

NETs for Administrators also divides into 5 main points.  That Administrators will provide/promote

1. Visionary Leadership
2. Digital Age Learning Culture
3. Excellence in Professional Practice
4. Systematic Improvement
5. Digital Citizenship

The NETs are extremely relevant for today’s “Good Educator” (not really liking that term – but that belongs in another post).  I would like to think that all educators facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity, as well as engage themselves in professional growth and leadership – otherwise one might wonder what on earth they are doing in Education in the first place??  The belief that technology has an amazing set of tools that enable educators to take authentic and relevant learning to a digital-age level is paramount to whether or not one believes that the NETs are relevant to any of today’s educators.

As the world changes, and our reliance on technology to communicate, collaborate and connect globally expands in ways we don’t even know about yet (because they haven’t yet been invented), surely we must somewhere, in our vision for our school, have a commitment to providing students with opportunities to learn digitally.  Therefore administrators must believe that their NETs are paramount to student learning, so therefore must insist that their teachers are committed to meeting the NETs for teachers.

Image Attribution: Licensed under creative commons: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rosieobeirne/4089434751/

Essential Question:  How do the ISB TAIL Standards fit in with content learning and instruction happening in classrooms at ISB?

We were asked to analyze the ISB Technology and Information Literacy (TAIL) Standards and determine where they fit in with content learning, age appropriateness, and assessment design. How can teachers and schools ensure that their [...]]]> Week:  Nov 8-14

Essential Question:  How do the ISB TAIL Standards fit in with content learning and instruction happening in classrooms at ISB?

We were asked to analyze the ISB Technology and Information Literacy (TAIL) Standards and determine where they fit in with content learning, age appropriateness, and assessment design. How can teachers and schools ensure that their students are learning what they need when it comes to Technology and Information Literacy?

A lot of our table discussion centred around whether or not the word technology ought to even be on the ISB TAIL Standards.  I wonder if the word technology were not there, then some teachers may still not embed technology into their classroom practice with many of the standards. However it would be virtually impossible to collaborate or communicate globally without the use of technology unless you are really stubborn and determined to complete these kinds of tasks using old methods (and I’m thinking about snail mail here).

As I’m a Grade 5 teacher (with a shameless plug (aka: hyperlink) to our class blog) I looked at the 3-5 Learner Profile. Our current Grade 5 team is doing an amazing job of providing students with a variety of experiences with technology – from individual blogs, class blogs, using flip cameras, iMovie, Garageband, creating podcasts and wikis to name a few.  Whilst some of the team are still becoming comfortable with the use of technology in rich and authentic settings, it is the willingness to try, the flexibility and the genuine belief in the power of technology’s use in Education that will enable Grade 5 students to become successful technology and information literate students.

There’s a very informative and practical wiki growing on the web already.  The NET.S Implementation Wiki.  Ideas, suggestions, rubrics and and resources are being added by real teachers in real classrooms to show a variety of ways that can help us ensure that students are learning what they need when it comes to Technology and Information Literacy.

The NETs (National Education Technology Standards) are from ISTE (International Society Technology in Education) and the AASL standards are from the American Association of School [...]]]> Our Essential Questions for today’s session:

• How do the NETs and AASL standards address the needs of a successful learner?
• Who’s job is it to teach the NETs and AASL standards to students?

The NETs (National Education Technology Standards) are from ISTE (International Society Technology in Education) and the AASL standards are from the American Association of School Librarians.

Our table group enjoyed a good deal of discussion comparing and contrasting both standards.   We looked at what are these organisations talking about in terms of what students need to be doing and asked ourselves do they address the things we have been looking at back in Course 2.  We discussed the value of having standards, what was missing, what seemed unnecessary and was their any overlap.

AASL  appeared to be more holistic in terms of the 21st century learner, whilst ISTE – appeared more “techie” in terms of the 21st century learner. When thinking about the value of standards, I personally think that it really matters what you are using the standards for.  Are you looking specifically at technology or are you looking at the learner as a whole?

AASL was more fitting with Bloom’s Taxonomy, more specific. Technology is hardly mentioned and looks more at the learner as a whole no matter what area of learning they are in.

Why do we need to have these standards?  Are these two organisations just legitimizing themselves?  Aren’t all these things integrated into curriculum areas?   But if we don’t specifically state what is expected then how can we hold anyone accountable for these standards being met?  Do our specific curriculum areas specifically address these particular things?  There is overlap in all curriculum areas.

What should schools do?  Do schools need to have a set of standards like from ISTE or AASL or an amalgamation of the two?  Or is this already in the school’s curriculum?  Who’s job is it?  Could we really make learner’s like this?  What’s the best way for this to happen?  This fundamentally the hardest part!!

When you get a new teacher in and this isn’t their passion how do you know that this is going happen?  More important is the level of understanding – it’s all very well to have these standards – do teacher’s value this stuff?  Do they understand it?  Is it grounded in a belief?

My personal belief is that ultimately the school has to have this embedded into their mission statement, it has to be part of the vision for our learners.  Are we aligning the standards with how we see our learners – are these standards grounded in our beliefs of the learner.  It is important to know (as a teacher) what to expect or what is expected of you as a teacher.

When you want to build common understanding – that takes everybody.  It’s not going to be a static document either and it’s not a content driven document.  It needs to be constantly revisited, realigned, and contributed to by everybody including the students themselves!!

So who’s job is it to teach the NETs and AASL standards to students?  I think that job belongs to ALL of us.

What do you think?

Image Attribution: http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericmmartin/3370560968/