technology tools

Make it Work Moment #30daysofblogging

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment

I am not sure where the time went…but it flew by this week. My students have been crazy busy working towards finishing our unit before the end of the semester. Currently, my students are working on creating an Instagram post from the perspective of a historical figure who lived on a manor during the Middle Ages in Europe. But because our district firewall is like Fort Knox, I have to constantly find workarounds…

But because our district firewall is like Fort Knox, I have to constantly find workarounds…

To get students to practice analysis and writing skills, I created a Life on a Manor Big Idea assignment. This series of tasks has students analyzing documents, using the CER writing formula to put together evidence, and then creating an Instagram post from the historical figure’s perspective. Students used a variety of technology tools: Padlet, GoogleDocs, GoogleSlides, and Flipboard. I created an Instagram template in Google Slides for students to use. Then when they are finished with choosing the perfect picture, developing two hashtags about the thoughts and feelings of that historical figure, and writing their post, they will take a screenshot and upload it our class Flipboard magazine.

The Flipboard magazine will act as our collective “Instagram” feed about life on the manor for the lords, ladies, knights, peasants, and serfs. I’ll share the links to the magazines tomorrow after students have commented on their peers’ work.

The district firewall is not a means to give up on finding creative ways to engage students. I know my students are on Instagram…they know how this site works…so why not figure out a workaround that will give them the sense of using a tool they already know?

I can’t wait to see their final projects tomorrow…

 

Jumping Right In #booksnaps

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment

Screen Shot 2017-01-14 at 12.48.31 PM.pngEarlier this week, I decided that this would be the week to figure out how Snapchat worked. I started off by clicking around (it’s a tried and true method for exploration, trust me), but alas, it wasn’t as intuitive as other apps I’ve used. In fact, I watched two tutorials on Snapchat (thank you YouTube) to get the gist of how Snapchat worked. My hesitation with Snapchat has always been…where are my pictures and videos going?!?! I’m still not quite sure…right now I have a couple in My Story section, but I don’t think I’ve actually sent anything out. Of course, it could be because I only have four connections on Snapchat at this time.

But I persevered because I really wanted to try creating a #booksnaps. As an avid reader, I’m always coming across things that I highlight, mark-up, or make note of…so I thought, “Why not do this digitally?” This past summer, I was lucky enough to vacation on a lake for five weeks…plenty of time to read and sketchnote. It was pure bliss. But now I’m back to reality…and the craziness I call my life. Sketchnoting will always be my preferred method for a creative outlet, but now that I’ve tried creating a #booksnaps, I’m hooked.

Having seen the awesomeness of #booksnaps, I decided to try it with my GATE/PreAP kiddoes. This activity was perfect because I wanted students to examine primary and secondary sources about the Crusades…and I thought, “Booksnaps? Why not? Why NOT?!?!”

On to Thursday Period 6.

I introduced #booksnaps to my students. I showed them an example from @TaraMartinEDU. They joined our Seesaw class so they could use the emojis, text, and the drawing tool. And then they were off…highlighters, documents, and iPad in hand. My students aren’t new to document analysis, annotating, or the use of emojis to demonstrate understanding…at this point in the semester, they are old hands at this type of task.

My students have been posting their #booksnaps in our class Flipboard  magazine and I have to admit that I’m super stoked! If you get a chance, check out their first attempt at #booksnaps and feel free to leave a comment. They will be so tickled!

#30daysblogging Jumping in With Both Feet

/ Catherine Cabiness-Atkinson, Ed.D. / Leave a comment

I love it when a plan comes together. I recently discovered Recap (@RecapThat) and by recent I meant just this past Monday…when I was poking around on a friend’s blog (http://comeongetappy.com). Thanks Jody (@peerlessgreen)!

My first inclination was…What the heck?!?! How did I miss this? And the reasonable answer is…it’s easy. There are so many awesome tech tools that appear on a regular basis that it’s hard to keep up. But that’s why it’s so important to develop a Professional Learning Network (PLN). But that’s a topic for another time.

Back to Recap.

We all know the importance…the imperativeness (is that even a word?)…of using formative assessments to check for understanding. We also know that some students need individualized help.  Recap does just that. Teachers can create a short video or text-based question and push it out to the whole class or certain students. Students then record a clip of their answer.

Teachers can choose the maximum level for the clips (e.g., 15s, 30s, 60s, or two minutes). This is helpful for students who like to talk because it forces them to be concise. It’s also comforting for the shy students to know that they don’t have to talk for too long. The videos are private (between teacher and student), students can rerecord their video if they’d like, and leave comments if they want.

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The videos are slowly coming in. Some students are choosing to record at home because they don’t want an audience. Others jumped right in today. Some used a cardboard barrier so that their peers couldn’t see their faces. My quiet classes asked for background noise so I softly played music in the background. And then there were the students who showed no fear…they clicked the chat button and recorded right in front of their peers and were done in no time. It was a sight to behold. I would have taken pictures but I sensed a heightened level of tension and anxiety after students found out that they were recording a video instead of typing or writing their answers. So I cut them some slack. For now.

I was so excited about this whole thing that in-between 2nd and 3rd period, I walked over to my colleague who teaches our ELD content vocabulary classes. These classes are for EL learners who are newly arrived to America. I couldn’t help but share my excitement about this app because I saw HUGE potential in helping his EL learners with their speaking skills.

We have about 76% EL learners at my school…so Recap is going to most definitely support speaking skills. And it’s doing it in a way that is different and though I don’t have much experience with this app (yet), I’m a fan. A HUGE fan.

This is why I love technology. There’s no need to subscribe to the status quo when there are so many cool tools and strategies that can make learning fun for students and teachers.