If You Hopped Like a Frog - Fractions

The next few weeks I will be co-teaching a third grade fractions unit with one of the teachers I "coach".  Actually, I think she is now my coach.  I have created this document: click here as a Multi-Media Text Set.  Our goal is to create some enrichment lessons that will provide meaningful and connected activities that also integrate technology in a meaningful way.

I will be blogging about each activity in the coming days/weeks to give some insight to my thinking and possible implementation of these activites.

One of the activities is "If You Hopped Like a Frog" based on the book by David Schwartz one of my all time favorite authors who integrates mathematics into children's books.  The activity helps students start thinking about proportionality.  This activity is a cooperative Google Slide presentation where students will use Google Search to research the proportions in the book.

If You Hopped Like A Frog - David Schwartz -

YouTube Video of the Book - Click Here

• This is a proportional reasoning and Google Search Activity Using Google Slides.
• You will need to go over search methods
• You will need to teach students how to find images that are for non-commercial use

Group Google Slide Deck Template - Click Here

Here is the Instructions Slide:

Here is the Example Slide:

I'll be doing this with my third grade classes in the coming weeks and will let you know how it goes and share any modifications/revisions.

Changing Teachers' Mindsets one Baby Step at a Time

Last year and this year I have had the privilege of being a STEAM coach.  It was not part of my original job description as a Curriculum Coordinator, but I added it because I missed being with the teachers and students.

Since it is Thanksgiving time, I am truly thankful for the small district I work in and the MANY roles and responsibilities I get to experience.  I have shared many STEAM activities on this blog and on Twitter.  One thing I emphasize with the teachers and students I work with is that they will be out of their comfort zone, like Sylvia Duckworth's sketchnote:

With this sketchnote in mind I have witnessed a growth progression in the STEAM teachers I coach weekly:

(this is only a small part of my overall coaching role)

My Coaching Process:

• Weekly STEAM time with a 5th grade, a 3rd grade, and a 1st/2nd grade class.
• Give students a Maker or Coding Challenge: (CLICK HERE to see what we've done so far this year)
• Create a HyperDoc to accompany our activity: (Included in the link above)
• Get out of the students' way tell them to figure it out and/or make it work (I'm a Project Runway fan)
• Have the teacher walk around and support but NO helping or rescuing
• CLICK HERE for some photos of our work this year

What the Teachers Do:

• See their students' engagement
• See their students struggle and persevere
• See that their students are creative and capable problem solvers and critical thinkers

And eventually they step out of their comfort zone and start creating their own HyperDocs and activities with a risk-taking mindset.

The week before Thanksgiving vacation the 1st/2nd grade STEAM teacher created a HyperSlide on Salmon for her students and had the work on it during our STEAM time so I could support her and the students.  The incredible part of the lesson was when she realized she needed their names and so she told the kiddos that she is learning along side of them and that she needed them to "redo" the form with their names.  It was an awesome example of modeling and risk-taking for a self proclaimed "non-techy" teacher and her students.

Toothpick Structures STEAM Activity #2

Our first activity Straw Building was a sort of pre-assessment for our STEAM classes.  It enabled us to get a glimpse of the students and how they ARE in an environment that is open-ended, unstructured, and driven by inquiry.  We gave the students 30 straws and tape and let them build, create and struggle.  Most students embraced the lack of constraints placed upon them, however, there is a select group of students who struggle in this situation - the compliant, rule following, success seeking students.

The STEAM activities at the beginning of the school year expose those students who are used to succeeding with little effort and/or risk taking.  These students crumble in an environment that is open.  They play it safe and know exactly what to do to "get the A" in a traditional setting.  Outside of the classroom, these kiddos can be extremely creative, but in class they want to know exactly what and how to do everything.

At the same time STEAM activities are extremely freeing for those students who struggle to comply in a traditional classroom setting.  The open-endedness provides a no holds barred situation for the kiddos who feel confined in the traditional setting.  That being said here is our next lesson:

Toothpick Building CLICK HERE to access HyperDoc

First and Second Graders

From now on, our STEAM activities will have a HyperDoc or Multi-Media Text Sets to engage and inspire and push the students thinking.  I am gathering the lesson on this spreadsheet so that the AUSD teachers and all others can easily access the lessons etc... CLICK HERE to access STEAM Lesson Spreadsheet.  Have  a great week!

What Happens to the Thinkers and Tinkerers?

My favorite chat on twitter right now is #satchatwc which is a bunch of educators who gather at 7:30 am pacific time to chat about education.  This morning's topic was about telling our stories and the stories of our students, and others in our organization.  The thing that I have greatly appreciated about #satchatwc is that it gets me thinking, reflecting, scheming and plotting.  The rich conversation and sharing of resources and ideas sticks with me throughout the weekend as I contemplate my place in the education world and how I can affect change in my organization.  Synchronicity often keeps me company throughout the weekend as I proceed through my mundane activities and find interesting connections to the morning's conversation.  Here is the story that slammed me in the face as my son and I took a morning stroll shortly after #satchatwc ended.

We live in the Sierra Nevada foothills above Sacramento and below Truckee/Tahoe, so a stroll for me is my daily workout with lots of hills to get my heart rate up.  For Skyler a stroll is a chance to look for bugs, scat (various animal droppings), plants, and a connection to nature and time with Mom.  Today on our walk, I had many brick in the head moments that made me pause as a parent and as an educator.  I will try to share the conveyance of many different events that culminated on our 30 minute walk.

What happened on the walk...
As I headed outside with my Google Glass on, Tater was jumping on/from rocks waiting for our Saturday stroll.  I had just set up an app that would track our walk and provide us with important data on our "workout".  We began our walk and I had glass on to record the logistics of the walk.  As we traipsed down the driveway, I could tell that Tater wanted to try them out so I swiped down to get to the home screen and handed them over to Tater.  He gently put them on and started the usual conversation one has with glass... "Okay Glass"... We stood and I coached him to speak slowly, pause between statements and after many head bobs, tapping, swipes, and yelling a picture was finally taken.   We continued to walk slowly and Tater continued to tinker with the new tool.  He was slightly frustrated but continued to try.  I was giving him input and advice because I wanted to speed the pace of our walk and to "help" him.  15 minutes and 100 yards later, Tater was yelling, "okay STUPID Glass" over and over and I knew we needed a do over.  We stopped and I turned on screencast from glass to my phone so I could see what Tater was seeing and we went through the process of taking a picture and recording a video calmly together.  He handed glass back to me and we went on our merry way.

What my brain did as a result... (and the connection to thinkers and tinkerers)
I started thinking about Tater's impatience with glass

• My son has learned in his short 3 years of school that if you can't do something quickly - read, math facts, worksheets, etc... then it is not worth learning or doing.  
• He is a thinker/tinkerer and needs more time to learn, create, and do.  Unfortunately for him, his strengths have not been valued in his classes at school.   
• Movement is integral to his learning and understanding as he works to make sense of what is going on around him. 
• Unfortunately he is shutting down in school and losing interest and perseverance because being thoughtful makes you look stupid.
• As a result, he gives up at the drop of a hat and expresses anger and frustration.  At home we spend a lot of time pausing, calming down and re-starting embracing the process rather than the product.
• As a middle school math teacher I saw this behavior everyday in my classes when I asked my students to problem solve, explain, write, and be thoughtful - huge resistance that took many months to break down.

As a curriculum coordinator, I need to find ways to help our teachers value the thinkers and tinkerers and support them as they re-imagine their classrooms by creating "Innovation Teams" (another blog post).  I am so thankful for my PLN who shares ways they are changing the students learn and I will be calling on you for your ideas and support!

My thoughts on being a Glass Explorer
I became an explorer not because I am a gadget lover but because I am infatuated with all things Google.  I normally do not spend exorbitant amounts of money for things especially as an educator, but I knew I had a month to "tinker" and then I could return them.  At first I thought I would definitely return them but I have changed my mind and here is why:

•  The Glass Explorer program is about thinking and tinkering with a new technology tool to make it better and usable for the general public.  
• It is a process that takes time which goes against what most technology consumers want - they want something that will make their life easier, more organized, efficient (plug in your own adjective) and they want it NOW
• Glass explorers are taking their time and tinkering, reflecting, sharing, creating, building and innovating and sharing some more and it is invigorating to be a part of that energy.

So I will be keeping my Glass not to be cool or a first adopter, but to learn from and about a new technology and how it will become a tool for me and my school district.  

Reflection 6.3 - Assessment in an Online and/or Blended Learning Environment

TechConnect Reflection Prompt:

This module has explored the use of technology tools for both formative and summative assessment. As you think about how you will implement formative and summative assessments in the online and ...

This week in my online class (this is an assignment and not my usual post), we considered grading and assessment.  Gee those are two things that I have become very passionate about the past couple of years read here for my "philosophy"  What is the Purpose of Grades in My Classroom.  However, now I am needing to combine my beliefs about grading and assessment and consider how to make it work in a non - traditional learning environment.  So here is my brain wrestling with this topic at a beginning level.

One of the things we studied this week was an article by Harry Tuttle, Web 2.0 Use May Not Be Formative Assessment which reminded me about effective formative assessment.  Mr. Tuttle identifies the following stages of formative assessment:

Student Responses
Monitor the Response
Diagnose the Response
Share Feedback Based on Diagnosis
Student Uses Feedback to Learn
Report Growth and Celebrate

To effectively do this in an online or blended learning environment I will need some tools.

• First I will need a Learning Management System (LMS) to facilitate the distribution of assignments and grading expectations and rubrics.  I will be using Schoology (a free LMS) since that is what my district will be implementing this coming school year.
• I will also use Schoology to facilitate student discussions and collaboration to help solidify the understanding of the essential standards of the unit.
• Next I will need to be mindful and deliberate in my use/creation of grading rubrics for unit assignments and assessments.
• I will utilize online tools such as Socrative, Google Forms, Google Drive, and other online tools to collect student responses and then follow Tuttles stages to promote student learning and growth towards the units essential standards
• Providing timely and meaningful feedback will also be important 
• Finally, I will implement the use of Doctopus (Google script) and Goobric (Google rubric)

It will take some time for me to become effective at implementing formative and summative assessments in an online/blended environment.  At least I will be able to model the process of learning and revision for my students as I go through this process.

Here is a sample lesson - first draft that I am working on:
Passion Paper Writing Assignment

2.2 Reflection: Methodologies of the Online/Blended Instructor

This is another reflection assignment for the online course I am taking.

Reflection Prompt:

In your reflective post this week, think about the following questions: 1. Reflecting on the information covered in this module so far, how might your instructional methodologies need to change ...

It is my belief that highly effective educators use strategies that are universal, meaning that no matter what teaching "situation" they are in, they should not need to drastically alter how they educate their students.  As we (educators) move from traditional learning situations to blending in online learning we need to make sure that there are some important strategies in place to promote student success and quality learning.

Below I will share MY opinion on what makes an effective online/blended learning instructor.

Creating a Community of Learners
No matter what type of learning situation a teacher is in, I feel it is essential to build a community of learners.  At the beginning of the school year I have my students write passion papers.  I want to know what they are passionate about and I want the other students to learn each others passions.  This coming school year before we do our passion papers we will do "Heart Maps" Courtesy of Georgia Heard's book, "Awakening the Heart".

By doing "heart maps" the students will have an opportunity to discover what is important to their hearts and then that should help with their passion papers.  The passion papers help build community because we turn them into paper blogs courtesy of Karen McMillan @McTeach:

The paper blogs teach the students how to appropriately comment on each other's passion papers and the students relate and connect with each other by finding commonalities in their lives.  We use their passion paper as their first blog entry of the school year.  A quick reminder, I am a math teacher so you may be wondering how I can take the time out of my math instruction to do these activities?!  I make creating a classroom community a priority because it makes so many things in the classroom work so much better and I want the students to learn from day one that I am not the only teacher in the class.  In an online environment, I would do something very similar just tweaked to work in that specific environment.  I do believe that it is vital in a virtual learning environment that the community of learner is established because the students will need to collaborate and work together without actually seeing or meeting each other in person.

Organization of Resources and Class Content

This is important in all learning environments.  This summer in my class we are using the Learning Management System (LMS) Schoology.  It is a free LMS for individuals and my district is exploring an institutional account.  There are other LMS tools: Edmodo, Blackboard Collaborate, Collaborize Classroom and others I have not used.  These tools allow educators to have a secure gathering place for their class(es) and a storage place for their materials.

I also utilize other organization tools that allow my students to access class materials.  My Google Plus Classroom Website, my Symbaloo Class Page, and my Evernote Pre-Algebra Class Notebook, are all tools my students use on a daily basis to access course materials, notes, resources and important information.  It is extremely important for educators to provide online access to class materials whether or not they are teaching in a virtual environment or a brick and mortar one.

Facilitate Online Learning and Discussions

Especially when blending or teaching an online class, creating a collaborative environment is very important.  Using computers can be considered isolating.  Those of you on twitter and other social networks for your professional learning community know that is not the case at all!  Our students also see technology as a social tool.  As educators we need to facilitate that process within the online environment for our students by creating meaningful discussions either asynchronous or synchronous.  We need to model the process of collaboration and sharing in an online environment for them.  It is vital to plan carefully and consider the content we are teaching and the learning objectives we seek and to have that drive our instruction and how technology is integrated into our classes.  We also need to teach our students how to use technology and how to become responsible consumers, collaborators, and creators of digital information.  

Equal Access to Technology

It is important to remember to make sure your students have equal access to technology.  When I assign work that is to be completed using technology, I make sure that student who do not have access to technology at home have first dibs on the classroom computers.  They have priority over students who have access at home.  Lack of technology should not be an obstacle for students and measures need to be taken to make use of technology is equitable.

There are many things educators need to consider when implementing any type of learning situation.  I touched on a few key things I think are important when shifting your instruction from a traditional classroom setting to a blended or online teaching environment.

TechConnect Online Teacher Certification: Reflection 1 6/9

Reflection Prompt:
Considering the online learning self-assessment you took this week, and thinking about your reasons for taking this course, what is your highest priority learning goal for this course?

What are some specific skills, strategies or tools you are hoping to learn more about?

This summer (2013) I have enrolled in an online course: TechConnect 2.0 Online Teacher Certification which will enable me to gain the necessary skills to create online and/or blended learning situations for  all sorts of students.  One of the requirements for the course is a weekly reflection assignment.  I will use my blog for this process.

The University of Houston has a Free Online Assessment that tests student readiness to learn in an online environment.  My score on the assessment was 208 which means I am prepared for online learning and should be successful in that environment.  I found it interesting that I scored 4.8/5.0 in "need for online learning" which means my schedule (I teach full time), and my distance from universities dictates a strong need to learn online.  I truly believe that physical presence in a classroom is not required for rich learning experiences to take place.  Online learning environments are an intriguing option that I am very interested in exploring.

For the past three years I have been attending Classroom 2.0 Live Saturday online seminars.  It was my first experience with online learning and it has been such a great experience that I make time in my schedule to attend each week (unless my son has a baseball or soccer game).  If I miss the live class, I will find time to attend the recorded session.  The recorded session is not as much fun because I miss participating in the chat that takes place during the session.  I have made many friends and have learned so much about integrating technology and improving my teaching.  I even became a Featured Teacher in June 2012.  As a result of my attendance I began building my personal learning network on Twitter and Google+, I started this blog, and have become active in using technology to learn, share, and collaborate with other educators all over the world.

I decided to take this course because I am interested in providing a variety of learning experiences for my students.  I want to create blended and/or online learning opportunities that will result in more student involvement and interest.  It will also enable me to differentiate the learning for my students more effectively.  Another reason I enrolled in this class is because I wanted to learn how to use Schoology as a learning management system.  Lastly, I strongly believe in learning collaboratively and I am looking forward to sharing with and learning from the other educators in the class.

My highest priority learning goal is to learn how to effectively utilize Schoology as a learning management system to provide blended learning experiences for my math students.  It is important for me to experience this process as a student.  That perspective will enable me to keep the student in mind as I develop online learning activities.