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Guest Blogger

Learning to Juggle with Seesaw

by Guest Blogger July 22, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Are you a juggler when it comes to education?

Have you ever wanted one spot to keep track of everything as a teacher? Sometimes, we educators feel learning something new is “just one more thing to add to our plate.” But being a digital leader means sharing and collaborating effective, efficient ideas and tools. Seesaw Learning Journal is such a tool. It even can help educators communicate effectively and efficiently with both students and parents.

Seesaw is a platform to encourage student engagement online, where they can showcase their voice and ownership in their work. It is a student-driven online journal that can be used in many ways and is available through the web, iOS, and Android.

Ups and Downs of Seesaw

seesaw There are several benefits to using Seesaw. Students are able to showcase their best work for parents, peers, and teachers. Students are able to explain their masterpieces, and take pride in ownership through their use of camera, video, drawings, and notes, especially when they know it is being published. This helps shy students who want to speak but are not very vocal. Teachers benefit from Seesaw by being able to use the student journal as a paperless storage for work samples, to show and discuss at parent conferences, and even use as an assessment tool. Additionally, teachers can make private notes and give feedback.

Seesaw is also user-friendly for families. Parents can see and comment on all their child’s masterpieces, and they can communicate one-to-one with the teacher. Best of all, multiple parents or any family member can join and comment. I have one student right now that has her grandma, aunt, and mom connected, and they all comment on her work!

The core Seesaw service is free for teachers, families, and students. It is a key part of their mission to impact as many students as possible. They also offer Seesaw Plus and Seesaw for Schools, which are optional paid upgrades for teachers and schools who want to do even more with Seesaw. You can view a comparison of Seesaw, Seesaw Plus, and Seesaw for Schools features here.

As for the disadvantages of Seesaw, if students are signing in through a class QR code, they are not able to edit previous work. This requires the teacher to navigate this extra step. The appearance of the dashboard needs to be updated to be more appealing to the student. The disadvantage for the teacher is printing out invitations to the parents. You must download the entire class PDF file, not just one student’s, in order to send the QR code home. The con for the parents is the lack of push notifications on iOS and Android. On tablets, students are not able to draw on a still picture while recording their voice. For example, when my kindergarteners are reading a list of sight words, I like them to check them off as they read. They can on Chromebooks, and it may come Android soon.

Using Seesaw Learning Journals

Teaching students to use Seesaw Learning Journal is an easy task, even for kindergarteners. First, students can sign in either by email (recommended for grades 3-12) or by QR codes (recommended for grades PreK-2 ). I teach kindergarten, and in my classroom of 19, the students log in and add their “Wow Work” (best work) themselves on Chromebooks and tablets by signing in with a class QR code.

Next, students can add content by camera, video, notes, Google links, drawings, or even by uploading a PDF. My students this past week chose their “Leaf Projects” to showcase. They appsmashed with Chatterpix and uploaded it to Seesaw. Some then chose to type a sentence about their projects; others choose to type describing words. It was their choice, their voice, and they have ownership in their work.

Third, students have a choice when it comes to assignments within the “Activities Tab.” The assignment can be specifically for a certain student or be the same for the whole class. Finally, the student logs in and clicks his name, then his activity tab. After they complete their assignment, they save it to their Seesaw account.

Grown-Up Growth

Teaching the adults to use Seesaw is my favorite. After using Seesaw for six years now, my interest sparks each year as Seesaw is updated.

As a teacher, the class is set up by entering your students’ names and their email addresses, if you chose for them to sign in with emails. The teacher is then able to let students upload their work and can give feedback and comments about their work. Teachers also have the option of giving the students more power by letting them comment on their peer’s work. This is recommended as long as a digital citizenship lesson has been provided.

Next, teachers get to differentiate student work in the activities tab by only assigning certain work to certain students or the whole class. The activities tab provides teachers with a single place to see who has completed and turned in their assignments and who is still working on them. Teachers can also tag certain TEKS/objectives to certain activities. This makes it easy to pull up reports on a certain TEK and see if you need to reteach that concept, or if your students are grasping the lessons.

Seesaw has a plethora of activities already made for you. They are sorted per subject, per grade level, and are available to add to your students’ accounts. No reason to reinvent the wheel! The teacher can simply copy and adjust it to the student’s needs. The Skills tab on Seesaw is a great way to assess a child on a four-star scale.

Staying Connected

Another great part for teachers is the parent communication. For years, I used Seesaw, Class Dojo, and Remind for parent communication. I was all over the place, with some parents connected to this one but not that one. The last two years, I have only used Seesaw, and all my parents are connected in one place.

This makes it easy to send out announcements for the class, to send flyers home, or even a quick message. You can communicate to the parents/families, or just to the students, or just to one parent. It is a great way to send weekly personalized messages out on how their child is learning and participating in class. I also send out a weekly announcement on what their child is learning in my class for that week. I was able to embed my link to my Google document to sign up for parent/teacher conferences and was able to get real-time feedback.

As you can see, there are many pros and just a few cons to using Seesaw Learning Journal. Overall, Seesaw is user-friendly for the students, parents, and teachers. Give it try!

Laressia Martin is an educational technology leadership expert and elementary educator. You can learn more about her on her website or on Twitter.

“Vitz-9572”by Jon.Proehl is licensed under CC BY 2.0

July 22, 2019 0 comment

STEM/STEAM

The LEGO Rocket Challenge

by Guest Blogger July 11, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

LEGO has a wide variety of classroom applications. One way that the company encourages educators to use the popular construction tool is through the six brick challenge. In these challenges, LEGO builders are asked to complete a variety of tasks, but are limited to using only six bricks.

As a LEGO Education US Master Educator in the 2018 cohort meetup held in Chicago, I was challenged to create a duck using only six bricks. Every Master Educator was given the same six bricks, but the resulting ducks were anything but the same.

Fast forward to the 2018-19 school year. As a learning technologies coach, I am tasked with working with Burleson ISD educators to implement technology in various forms across the curriculum. A third-grade educator, Julie Broadway at the Academy of Nola Dunn Elementary, invited me to come and share a brick challenge with her students who had recently been on a field learning experience at NASA in Houston. I developed a series of cooperative challenges based on building a rocket.

Build a Rocket Challenge

Each student was handed a square base plate (as a building structure) and 10 LEGO bricks. The bricks were randomly chosen and were put into snack-sized baggies so that they would not be dropped or lost. Each child was tasked with building a rocket using only the bricks he or she had received (the base plate did not count toward the ten) in a five-minute time period. Students were then given three minutes to write a description of their rocket design. Rocket Challenge

After the build, students were asked to turn and talk with a shoulder partner, explaining the design and listening to the shoulder partner explain his or her design. Then the pair was challenged to create a new rocket out of the twenty bricks, but the design had to incorporate at least one element from the two original designs. Again, a five-minute timer was set and students were then asked to write a description of their design.

The turn and talk was repeated with a pair at their desk cluster and the design challenge expanded to forty bricks. The process was repeated again, and we concluded with groups of eight students using 80 bricks to complete their rockets.

The only requirements were the limitations on the number of bricks used and the incorporation of previous design elements in the next iteration. All other design choices were at the discretion of the students.

Amazing Outcomes

One amazing thing that happened was that many of the students chose to use their materials more effectively. Often pairs or groups would use one brick to link multiple base plates to build a larger surface area for construction. As more bricks became available, the designs became more complex and incorporated supplementary materials including transport vehicles, launching pads, and support structures, concepts that they had learned about during their field experience at NASA.

Perhaps the best part of this challenge was the timing of when it occurred. The classroom teacher and I had asked the campus principal if it would be possible to schedule this during makeup STAAR testing days on the campus. The students in the classroom were not involved in STAAR makeup and it was a “quiet” day, with students asked to keep voice levels down to a minimum. The principal had granted permission, and while the classroom was buzzing with activity, the noise never exceeded acceptable levels.

You can do the brick challenge as well. The number can be based on the number of bricks you have available – five, six, ten, or twenty — it’s up to you!

Task Card Jackpot

Check out the challenges from LEGO Education US Master Educator Lindsay Foster. She has designed many task card sets and has willingly shared the following:

L. Foster

Lindsay Foster has 19 years of educational experience, including kindergarten through fifth-grade tech apps, as well as generalist experience in various elementary grade levels. As a Learning Technologies Coach, Foster uses her skills to help K-12 students and educators build meaningful and engaging learning experiences. Speaking at various local and state conferences including TCEA, TCEA ETC, FETC, MACUL, and TXGoo, she loves to share what students and educators are doing in the classrooms where she teaches and coaches.

July 11, 2019 1 comment

Educational Trends

Why You Need Esports at Your School (And How to Start It)

by Guest Blogger July 8, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

This last year has seen huge gains for competitive gaming, known as esports, in education. High schools are upgrading gaming clubs into competitive teams and playing in high school leagues. Universities are building custom esports labs for their new varsity gaming teams. Esports scholarships will be offered at several hundred universities in the 2019-2020 school year. The activity has arrived in a big way within the educator’s realm of influence. Let’s embrace it.

Plugging into Esports

I went to my first esport event in the fall of 2018, a collegiate Overwatch tournament with 15 teams from across Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Arkansas. It was hosted by the local professional Overwatch team, the Dallas Fuel. This event highlighted the growing excitement of esports for both the students and fans, and allowed me to network with some industry professionals and passionate collegiate coaches. I took this experience and began laying out a framework for high school esports. I created the necessary paperwork for parental permissions, student contracts, rules, and expectations, as well as looking at pre-existing district policies for student social media use, tech usage, and athletics eligibility rules.

Four months later, our high school was actively seeking new avenues for student engagement. The principal had expressed interest in starting robotics and I took the opportunity to pitch esports. As it turns out, the principal was aware of esports and understood the value that it could provide to both the students and the school. I was granted my extra-curricular esports program for team competition. In addition, I began teaching a CTE marketing practicum class (Social Media Marketing / Sports Marketing) that would actually run the esport teams as a business.

This class will be designing and implementing marketing campaigns for the brand “Badger Esports.” This will include social media, local print ads, broadcasting, and event planning. Student enrollment for this advanced marketing class was 15% of the high school. Student engagement? Check!

Some of the Benefits of Esports in High School

Inclusive environment:
- Everyone plays games, so anyone can be a part of a competitive team.
- Gaming crosses social groups and genders.
- It will appeal to students who would otherwise not participate in school activities.
Social and emotional learning:
- Team esports relies heavily on constant communication, collaboration, planning, and execution.
- Learning to deal with intense emotions in a competitive environment
- Builds student relationships and confidence
- Student engagement value is huge.

Integrated Education

Esports is a great vehicle for education. It is easy to tie the student engagement value of esports to other educational goals like I have with my marketing class. I am using esports to increase student interest in an advanced business class by showing how marketing really works in the gaming realm where students already feel empowered.

The high school esport leagues also offer an assortment of education-specific resources. We use the high school league organization NASEF (North American Scholastic Esports Federation), which provides a host of additional resources from Common Core-approved curriculum, team web pages, free licenses for Overwatch, personal coaching, webinars, and more. NASEF was created from within the education sector by the University of California at Irvine. And did I mention it is free?

Possible Challenges and Solutions

There are several possible barriers you may experience when starting up an esports program. These notes will help you get your program approved.

Highlight the complexities of team esports. The social skills and execution that are required to play in a team environment are no less than traditional sports. The students are doing their own play calling and on-the-fly adjustments entirely on their own.
Emphasize that esports is not an excuse to play games all day. Be sure to use the same eligibility requirements as your school’s traditional sports have.
For some, esports is a new path to college. List local/state colleges that have varsity esport programs and those that include scholarship opportunities.
Make sure your potential games have age appropriate ESRB ratings. At the high school level, you can use games rated E, E10+, and Teen (13+).

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Esports in education is still gaining momentum, and it is an exciting time to be a part of this new engagement tool. Your students will be all over esports, so be sure to harness that. I am part of a group of educational esport enthusiasts called EsportsEdu. This group is a wealth of knowledge, especially for beginning organizers.

However you get started, make sure you have a plan and a vision, and don’t forget to have fun.

Matt Tarpley works in I.T. for the Merkel Independent School District and is an #esportsedu ambassador. He coaches high school esports, teach an esports marketing class, and is the McMurry University varsity esports head coach.

Photo: Alex Haney

July 8, 2019 1 comment

Chromebooks Good Teaching iOS Tips and Tricks

Using Boom Cards in the Primary Classroom

by Guest Blogger July 1, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Helping primary students take charge of their own learning can be difficult. But now there are Boom Cards. Boom Cards are self-checking digital task cards that provide immediate feedback to young students. Teachers have access to the data through Boom’s reports feature, giving them a powerful tool to use to make decisions about instruction.

Top Tips for Using Boom Cards in Your Early Childhood Classroom

So what’s the best way to use digital task cards in your kindergarten (or younger) class? Here are some strategies for incorporating digital learning with our young learners.

Audio Alert

Listen to Boom Learning‘s (@BoomLearning) Della Larsen (@larsenclass) and Melissa Bucher (@iheart4th) (shown right) share at the 2019 TCEA Elementary Technology Conference on how to make instructional decisions based off data. They discuss Boom Cards and share stories from their classrooms.

Strategy #1: Morning Work

In my classroom, my students trickle in and I need some quality activities for them to complete while they wait for everyone to arrive and get settled. I put out a few Chromebooks and iPads in a work center. My kids can easily sign in and complete a deck independently before we start our day.

Strategy #2: An Extension of Reading Groups

One of the most challenging tasks for me when I started teaching was trying to figure out what the rest of my class should be doing while I was meeting with reading groups. My go-to answer? Boom Cards. Whether I am reviewing beginning sounds, reading and blending cvc words, or identifying letters, I can extend the lesson easily with Boom Cards. As soon as my kids are done with me, they head to the tech table and get a little extended practice. I can go back and see their work and check for understanding with the reports feature. It’s easy to determine if I need to move students to a different group, reteach a concept, or provide targeted intervention.

Haven’t seen Boom Cards? Check out this video to see them in action.

Strategy #3: Learning Centers

I give my kids 60 minutes of centers every day. I want them at the art center, the block area, and dramatic play. However, I also have a word work and math center. I don’t have to worry if my kids are actually completing the task I set for them. Boom keeps them accountable. I can feel confident because I can check the reports to see exactly what mistakes they might be making.

boom cards

Strategy #4: Whole Group Instruction

Do you have an interactive white board? Boom Cards work great for whole group instruction. I can have great discussions about math or numbers and begin to really understand student thinking as we work through a problem together. No white board? No problem. Just project the Boom Cards on the board and let the discussion begin.

Strategy #5: Homework

With Boom Cards, you can stop copying homework packets and actually sit down and eat your lunch during your lunch break. Parents can access Boom Cards from home. All they need is their child’s login information and some type of screen. Your kids can actually access decks on their parents’ phones. No more lost papers, or missing folders. I can then check their reports to keep them accountable for completing the work.

The applications for using Boom Cards in your classroom are limited only by your imagination. The Starter membership plan is free and includes one section with five students and five self-made decks. The Basic plan includes three sections with up to 50 students and five self-made decks for just $15/year. There are two other membership levels, Power and Ultimate, with the most expensive only costing $35/year. Give Boom Cards a try and see how they can work in your classroom.

This is a guest blog by Della Larsen. Della is a primary teacher with over 30 years of classroom experience. She is passionate about reaching every child regardless of their skills. She has spent much of her time supporting teachers just starting on their digital journey. You can follow Della on Twitter @Larsenclass or feel free to reach out to Della with any questions at DellaLarsensclass@gmail.com.

July 1, 2019 0 comment

Educational Trends Good Teaching

Networking in the Virtual Arena

by Guest Blogger June 17, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Virtual, or online, learning has become a flagship for innovation in schools and districts in recent years. It’s called the next big thing, a route to personalized learning. But did you know that virtual learning has been around for more than two decades?

Plugging into Virtual Networks

In 1994, the CALCampus (originally the Computer Assisted Learning Center) offered the first online learning opportunities that incorporated instruction and interaction between students and teachers over the internet. This means that virtual learning is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year!

Surprisingly, virtual learning continues to be an afterthought in a lot of districts. Many have few personnel dedicated to creating and maintaining online learning initiatives. Big players in the online arena, such as Florida Virtual School and Michigan Virtual University, have set the standard for quality online instruction. But may small programs struggle to move away from dry articles, multiple choice tests, and “reply to two peers” discussions.

With massive technology budgets and curriculum and instruction departments, virtual learning administrators and teachers often find themselves left out of the conversation. Because virtual learning offers opportunities that otherwise would not be available to students, however, more and more districts are looking at these small departments as possible foundations for personalized learning.

Building the Network

Alone, the task can seem daunting. Virtual learning administrators and teachers may find themselves struggling without a team to collaborate with. New initiatives may not succeed because there simply aren’t enough perspectives in the planning stage. The answer to this problem is networking. When a lone educator connects with a like-minded educator from another district, state, or even another country, the power of their collective experience is exponential. Helping each other predict problems and solutions, providing insight, and sharing information about curriculum providers is valuable when building a new program or growing an existing one.

The TCEA Virtual Learning Special Interest Group (VL-SIG) provides that network. This special interest group has administrators, teachers, and coaches who have been working in the online arena or whose district or school is looking to step into the arena for the first time. The collective experience of the members of VL-SIG is extremely valuable, regardless of where you find yourself in online learning. Connecting with this network is simple and affordable. Membership costs $20 per year and can be added to regular TCEA membership at any time.

Getting Started

TCEA’s VL-SIG is hosting the Connected: Online and Blended Innovators (COBI) conference on October 4, 2019, in Keller, Texas. COBI is a one-day networking conference where online and blended-learning administrators and teachers can collaborate. A light breakfast and lunch is provided. Registration is free for VL-SIG members, $20 for non-members (includes VL-SIG membership), and $69 for non-TCEA members (includes membership in TCEA and VL-SIG). If you think you have a great idea that needs to be shared, consider completing the call for presenters, which is due by August 2. You can register for the event here.

Photo: William Iven

June 17, 2019 0 comment

Libraries

Reimagine Your Library Space

by Guest Blogger June 15, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

When working on ways to reimagine your library space, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed. It’s hard to know where to start, or if change is even possible — especially if you have little to no budget. Here are some tips that can help you take on your space, one step at a time.

Tip #1: Identify the Problems in Your Space

We all know that our libraries have problem areas. Maybe the printer is located on the opposite side of the library from the computers and students have to dash across to get their printouts. Or there’s a furniture layout issue that’s always causing traffic jams. Take some time to jot down these areas. Survey your students and teachers (I’m partial to digital surveys). Find out what they love about the library and what they would change. Learn what their ideal study/work environment is. Their answers might surprise you — and they can guide you as you formulate your plans.

Once you’ve figured out what some of your problem areas are, start taking photos and gathering data on their impact. This will help you when it comes time to write a grant or ask your administration for funding; having visuals of what the problems are can be very effective. For more on problem spaces in your library, check out my AASL post: How to Identify and Reframe Design Problems in Your Space.

Tip #2: Make Plans

As you start to work through your survey data and document your problem areas, it’s a good time to start making plans and brainstorming ideas about what you’d like to do in your space. Look for various places to find inspiration for your facility (here are some good places to visit). Find digital inspiration on Pinterest; it can be an excellent way to discover beautifully-designed schools and libraries. Check out my Library and Learning Space Design board to get started.

If you feel like taking your plans to the next level, create a layout diagram or floor plan of your space (tutorial here). Even if you just throw some shapes into Google Slides or sketch out your space on paper, take the time to get a bird’s eye view of the layout and how everything fits together. It may help you see possibilities you hadn’t noticed before.

Tip #3: Work with What You’ve Got

Many people assume that you can’t change up your library space until you get funding. But you don’t need a grant for thousands of dollars to change up your space. There’s plenty of changes you can make that cost little to nothing. Even if you know that funding is coming down the line, start prototyping ideas with free or low-budget solutions. This will help you to know if more costly options are worth it (for more on this idea, check out the book Make Space: How to Set the Stage for Creative Collaboration).

Remove furniture and shelving that you don’t need and see what it does to open up the space. Get some friends to help you rearrange your tables, floor shelves, and other items that aren’t bolted to the floor. Sometimes a new furniture layout can work wonders.

Tip #4: The Collection Is Part of the Space

Usually when we think about the library space, we tend to focus on things like furniture, paint colors, rugs, etc. But the physical books in our library are a part of the space as well. Make sure your collection is well-weeded and that you’re adding books that students are excited to read. If possible, consider genre-fying your collection, or at least using labels or stickers to help students find the genres they love.

Tip #5: Spruce Things Up

Sometimes the little things can make a big difference like painting a wall or a pole a bright color, adding an interactive element like a whiteboard or chalkboard wall or, building a LEGO wall. Design new signage to help your students find things. Yes, some of these cost money, but the investments are relatively small, and the payoff can be huge.

Additional Resources

Reimagining Library Spaces: Transform Your Space on Any Budget: In my book, Reimagining Library Spaces, I breakdown a practical process for rethinking and redesigning a library space, no matter where your budget. Each chapter includes action steps and connections to the ISTE standards. The book also includes examples of four different reimagined library spaces.
Learning Space Design Resources page: On this page, I’ve curated various resources that I’ve found useful for thinking about library and learning space design.
The Space: A Guide for Educators: Robert Dillon and Rebecca Hare’s book offers up a ton of fantastic ideas for prototyping change in your space and getting your students involved in the process.
Library Spaces for 21st Century Learners – This book from AASL is a fantastic resource for planning changes to your space. I especially love the advice on surveys and focus groups and how to transform that data into actionable steps.

Diana Rendina is the media specialist at Tampa Preparatory School, an independent 6-12 school. Previously, she was the media specialist at Stewart Middle Magnet School where she transformed their library and piloted their makerspace program. Diana has received several awards including the 2016 International Society for Technology in Education Outstanding Young Educator Award and the 2015 American Association of School Librarians Frances Henne award. She co-authored Challenge-Based Learning in the School Library Makerspace and is the author of Reimagining Library Spaces: Transform Your Space on Any Budget. You can find her blog, Renovated Learning, here.

Photo: Eliabe Costa

June 15, 2019 0 comment

Educational Trends

E-Learning Trends Transforming the Classroom

by Guest Blogger May 29, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

It’s no secret that classrooms are undergoing significant changes in the ways they deliver education. As e-learning grows in popularity, students both in PreK-12 classes and colleges have a whole new world of learning opportunities at their disposal.

Today, educators are finding new ways to engage students and hold their attention. Through e-learning, the use of technology to augment the classroom experience, you can give students more opportunities to learn in more ways.

But where should you start? Let’s survey a few major trends. Here’s a look at five e-learning trends — with plenty of helpful links — that you should know about.

Learning Management Systems

One way to engage both students and teachers in e-learning is through learning management systems. Learning management system (LMS) software can provide your students with educational materials accessible anytime and anywhere using their own devices. LMS software can help you create an online course based on the curriculum that you’ll deliver in the classroom.

With LMS software, not only can you deliver content, but you can also track students’ progress. Your students can share their completed assignments, and you can share grades on the platform.

These systems come with several challenges, but if set up well, they can offer concrete benefits. Considering getting started with an LMS or switching to a new one? Check out these 12 criteria to consider.

Gamification

Learning is always more interesting and engaging when it’s fun. And what better way to make learning fun than to enhance it with games? In practice, this means applying game-like elements in non-game contexts, which includes point scoring, levels, badges, and learning paths.

Finding ways to gamify learning isn’t all about fun, but is about enabling students to interact with their learning materials in a way that increases their interest and engagement level. Tools like BreakoutEDU can help students (and educators) work collaboratively, think creatively, and retain knowledge.

Are you ready to get started? Take a look at GooseChase, an easy way to gamify your lessons.

Adaptive Learning

Adaptive learning may still have a long way to go to be fully implemented in classrooms, but it is finding its way in. This style of learning is focused on personalizing learning paths for each student, helping them learn at their own pace and in their own style. These technologies can also help campuses and districts build future-ready ways of teaching.

If you utilize LMS software, for instance, and see a clear picture of each student’s learning style, needs, and preferences, you’ll be able to adapt learning to meet all those needs. Note-taking tools like Microsoft OneNote also offer possibilities for adaptive learning. This personalized method can be effective, which is why we’re likely to see its continued adoption in the coming years.

Video Learning

Traditional classrooms are most effective for auditory learners, as standard lectures and note taking are focused around listening. With developments in e-learning, however, this doesn’t always have to be the case. Online learning brings all types of videos to education, and video-based learning is entering physical classrooms as well. Educators are giving video-based lectures or explainers, and providing students with instructional videos to study outside of the classroom. Even social media usage for schools, libraries, or classrooms — or in student projects — can be enhanced through video.

This trend can go hand in hand with microlearning, where you can use short, bite-sized video formats to help students easily digest the learning material. And yes — you can download YouTube videos! Find out how in this post. Explore more options in our “Simple Video Tricks” post.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

While much discussed, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) are still far from being fully implemented. But they are being increasingly used, especially in places like medical schools and aviation academies.

With VR and AR in the classroom, students can engage in a hands-on educational approach and fully immerse in their subject matter. They can explore the VR and AR interface, interact with graphical overlays, and explore 360-degree videos and real-life simulations. Students can gain knowledge and skills like never before, and better prepare for real-world applications of that knowledge. Searching for good examples? Check out how Cleburne ISD is using VR tech here.

Kamy Anderson is an ed tech enthusiast with a passion for writing on emerging technologies in the areas of corporate training and education. He is an expert in learning management systems and e-learning tools, currently associated with ProProfs Training Maker.

Photo by John Schnobrich on Unsplash

May 29, 2019 0 comment

Educational Trends Good Teaching

How to Use Ed Tech to Eliminate Student Stress

by Guest Blogger May 24, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

It’s well-recognized that technology is both a tool and, sometimes, a distraction, especially in the classroom. It’s easy to blame this problem on smartphones, as more students bring them to school. But the reality is that even smartphones, when applied correctly, can improve learning.

While it’s never good to have students playing games on a smartphone in the middle of a discussion, but there are ways to engage students through incorporating those devices. 5rIn fact, evidence suggests they can improve student experiences by lowering anxiety and creating a calm, safe environment. Anxiety-related disorders commonly affect young, school-age children, and General Anxiety Disorder affects 6.8 million adults, or 31 percent of the U.S. population each year.

Anxious brains prove tough to deal with and difficult to keep engaged. So it’s important for teachers and educators to understand available tools for resolving the causes of student stress. Many of the ed tech tools currently in place will work well if applied appropriately.

Pre-Planning and Experience Training

Teachers use several methods for planning lessons before administering them. Naturally, this helps alleviate a lot of stress on the educator’s side of the equation, but what about the students? They almost always walk into a classroom with no idea what to expect.

Teachers can remedy this by providing students with pre-planning and experience training tools. For example, long discussions and lessons can be augmented by providing pre-recorded audio up front. They can listen to the audio on their own time, preparing for the experience to come, a riff on the flipped classroom.

Pre-planning like this eliminates the need for students to take notes during the actual lesson, allowing them to pay closer attention. It also allows them to participate in what’s happening, by weighing in on questions or activities.

Understand Their Needs

Not all students are the same, and some will require a little more care and attention — something educators may not plan for. Students on the autism spectrum, for instance, often become more anxious as environments grow louder. Therefore, incorporating lessons that encourage chaos and a lot of interactions could damage some students’ experiences.

This may be the perfect time to break out some ed tech tools. When used in tandem, VR and headphones can help some, but they might do the exact opposite for others. Understanding the needs of your students is crucial to building a successful lesson and experience for all.

Consider Free Time

As an educator, it’s easy to think you have little time with your classes. Forty-five minutes to an hour may seem short, especially when you deal with complex subjects. However, for children, that’s a long length of time to stay attentive.

Sometimes kids need time to themselves. Try incorporating free time into your schedule for relaxation. You can make good use of this time by employing ed tech tools. Build some activities that allow for fun and free time but still share knowledge. Platforms like gamification, interactive environments and VR, and more creative activities can help inject fun and excitement.

Leave the Classroom

Believe it or not, exercise or a change of scenery can help with anxious feelings. Staying confined to a small desk area or within the enclosed walls of a classroom can have negative results.

In the past, taking lessons outside wasn’t feasible, but that’s no longer the case. Smartphones and other tech devices help make the process more effective. With the right technology, you can teach outside as though you never left the classroom.

Incorporate Unique Platforms

Computers and other tech devices have become more common in the average classroom. Unfortunately, they aren’t always used to their full potential. This is unfortunate because web access and experiences can further enhance education. Consider Webquests, for instance, a site encouraging students to seek out key information about a lesson through their own searching.

Educators could also make use of a variety of original platforms to enhance their lessons. Imagine creating more interactive video lessons using VR or teaching students to code to help demonstrate math? These experiences would further engage and stimulate the students as well, helping to release some of their pent up anxiety and stress.

Improving Knowledge Retention and Reducing Stress

It’s a long-known fact that engaged students not only have positive experiences, but tend to retain more information. But it’s also healthier for students to enjoy the time they spend in the classroom, especially when they can escape their growing anxiety.

It may not seem like it, but kids face a lot of stress and anxiety. It would be silly to dismiss their plight and even sillier to avoid dealing with it. Stress management for students should hold a much bigger focus in the classroom than it does. With the right ed tech solutions, lessons can become rewarding and engaging. By stimulating the mind of the average student, it helps alleviate some of their stress and allows a better experience for the course itself.

Kayla Matthews is an ed tech journalist whose work has been featured in Information Week, Noodle, InnovateMySchool, and VentureBeat. To see more of her writing, visit ProductivityBytes.com or follow her on Twitter.

“SensLab Meeting”by Medialab Katowice is licensed under CC BY 2.0

May 24, 2019 1 comment

Digital Literacy Libraries

News Literacy for Educators (with 15 Tools)

by Guest Blogger May 23, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Following the 2016 presidential election, America saw a steep rise in fake news and news designed for misinformation. As school librarians, we are also seeing a shift in how students consume news and information and their news source preferences. Now, more than ever, we need to integrate news literacy and media literacy into the teaching and learning students are engaged in through our libraries and curriculum.

What Is News Literacy?

According to the SchoolofJournalism.org

News literacy is the acquisition of 21st-century, critical-thinking skills for analyzing and judging the reliability of news and information, differentiating among facts, opinions and assertions in the media we consume, create and distribute.

We can’t talk news literacy without also addressing bias. We all have some level of bias acquired through our different experiences. Each of our individual biases is formed from a multitude of components including where we live, where we are from, culture (our own and our perceptions of others), pop culture, religion, and, of course, politics. What’s important for us to incorporate into our campuses about bias is helping our students and staff identify their own biases, understand that news sources contain bias, and then help them develop the skills to choose news sources in a more balanced way.

Why Teach News Literacy?

Many students want to have a better understanding of current events and news sources, but just don’t know where to begin. While doing a mini-lesson on news literacy with a group of 12th-grade students, they were asked, “What do you wish teachers/adults understood about how you get your news?” Here are a few telling responses:

“Sadly enough, sometimes I avoid watching the news, afraid of being subject to fake or heavily-biased news.”

“I do not watch the news that much except for on Snapchat. I wish we were actually taught about the current events.”

“I wish they understood that we don’t really know how or where to get the news. We also don’t really keep up with it as much as we should.”

In order to prepare students for the tumultuous news landscape of their present and future, we must hold frequent, candid conversations about evaluating sources for credibility, identifying bias, and striving for a balanced news diet. To develop these skills that are so essential to their growth as ethical global citizens, it is important for students to regularly interact with news, critically evaluate information, and engage in civil discourse.

Resources

FactCheck: FactCheck.org is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania. They are a nonpartisan, nonprofit “consumer advocate” for voters that aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. They monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and news releases.
Politifact: PolitiFact is a fact-checking website that rates the accuracy of claims by elected officials and others who speak up in American politics. PolitiFact is run by editors and reporters from the Tampa Bay Times, an independent newspaper in Florida. They use a number of scales they’ve created: Truth-O-Meter to gauge accuracy of statements, Flip-O-Meter to rate whether an elected official has been consistent on an issue, and Promise Meters to gauge progress made on campaign promises.
AllSides: AllSides is a news service aimed at cutting through one-sided bias and hyper-partisanship. They offer news stories on current topics “from the center.e ” “from thleft.” and “from the right” on a scale that rates the bias.
Snopes: Founded in 1994, Snopes is the oldest and largest fact-checking site on the internet. It is a common source for checking hoaxes, urban legends, email scams, and sensational, clickbait social media posts.
Britannica Insights: This is a Chrome extension tool to highlight Britannica School resources alongside your student’s search results. Free for Britannica School subscribers (18 states that have subscriptions). Doesn’t influence search results, but showcases those trustworthy sources that we always WANT students to use alongside their Google results. Once you click in, you will have all of the great features of Britannica, including adjustable leveling, videos, and other resources. Especially effective on historical events and people to help students gain context for their search.
TEDEd How to Choose Your News: Video discusses the history of news, how trust was broken with traditional news sources, and how the Internet has changed the way news is shared. Can lead to some great discussion with students on how the media landscape has changed. Explains the phenomenon of circular reporting and how fake news spreads so quickly and easily.
Source Deck Activity: This is a great research activity that I think would lend itself well to a news literacy conversation. Screenshot a variety of information sources and include the citation for each. Based on the snapshot and source information, students must evaluate the source and its relevance. Blog post on Britannica Learn with starter slides went up today.
Common Sense Media: I have loved their digital citizenship curriculum for years. They have compiled some great resources and lessons to help turn students into fact-finding web detectives. They are currently updating and adding new lessons to this collection.
NewseumED: NewseumED offers a wealth of resources for educators on media literacy, including lesson plans, artifacts, and case studies. They also offer virtual classes and professional development for educators.
Choices Program by Brown University: Non-profit at Brown University developing curricula on current and historical international and public policy issues. Students dig deep into multiple viewpoints on contested issues. Free lesson resources and complete curriculum available to purchase.
Checkology: A resource from the News Literacy Project that provides a virtual classroom with interactive lessons to help students learn to evaluate and interpret news. Activities to help them determine what news/information to trust, share, and act on. Topics include detecting/dissecting viral news rumors, investigating the impact of personalization algorithms, evaluating bias, and interpreting the First Amendment. Several sample lessons are available for free, with a paid subscription for the full curriculum.
Media Bias/ Fact Check: Media Bias/Fact Check (MBFC) is an independent online media outlet. On their About page, MBFC says they are dedicated to educating the public on media bias and deceptive news practices. This site can be used to look up news sources found online and through social media postings to help students understand where that particular news source rates on their bias and fact checking.
Above The Noise: This is a YouTube channel with great short videos about news literacy. Teachers can use the videos and have their students join the discussion on KQED Learn to investigate controversial topics and share their voices.
Factitious: This is a great “game” to introduce students to bias and the importance of looking at news sources. This could easily be incorporated into a news literacy lesson and used in conjunction with many of the other resources listed here.
Break Your Own News Image Maker: This is just a fun resource for students to make their own images like the ones you see in this blog post. It can also lead to discussions about the validity of images, image sources, reverse image searches, and how headlines are used as to gaslight and as misinformation.

Nancy Jo Lambert is a Google Certified Trainer and high school teacher librarian in Frisco ISD at Reedy High School. She is a presenter advocating for libraries by telling the story of the learning happening in her library. She holds positions in the Texas Library Association, American Library Association, American Association of School Librarians, Texas Association of School Librarians, and is the president of the TCEA LIB-SIG. She has been published in professional journals and won numerous awards and grants and was named TCEA Library Media Specialist of the Year the American Association of School Librarians Social Media Superstar Curriculum Champion in 2019.

Tiffany Whitehead, the Mighty Little Librarian, is an obsessive reader, social media user, and technology geek. She is the Director of Library at Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Tiffany earned her undergraduate degree in Elementary Education and School Library Certification from Southeastern Louisiana University and her graduate degree in Educational Technology Leadership from Northwestern State University. She has served as the President of ISTE’s Librarians Network and was recognized as one of ISTE’s 2014 Emerging Leaders. Tiffany is National Board Certified in Library Media and was named one of the 2014 Library Journal Movers & Shakers. She was the 2016 recipient of the Louisiana Library Media Specialist Award and the 2019 ISTE Librarians Network Secondary Award Winner.

May 23, 2019 7 comments

Digital Literacy

Book Excerpt: Gerry Brooks on Social Media

by Guest Blogger May 19, 2019

written by Guest Blogger

Gerry Brooks is known for his popular YouTube channel where he playfully digs into the thoughts, frustrations, inspiration, and excitement of being an elementary school principal. He’s also a featured presenter at the upcoming 2020 TCEA Convention & Exposition, back for a second consecutive year. He’s now collected his heartfelt, funny, and useful stories into a new book, Go See the Principal: True Tales from the School Trenches, released April 30. In the excerpt below, Brooks offers his take on the sticky issue of social media and schools.

Want to see Gerry in person? Register today for the 2020 TCEA Convention & Exposition. Learn more here.

I hate social media. I know. I know exactly what you’re thinking: how hypocritical. And it is. Social media has been a tremendous blessing in my life. Without it, I wouldn’t have this platform. I wouldn’t have been able to meet and hear from so many great educators and to express my support of educational issues. However, I can’t ignore how detrimental social media can be to a teacher, classroom, grade level, and school. Social media needs to be used correctly and it also needs to be monitored regularly — for kids and for teachers.

Here’s one example of when social media + schools can be positive: anytime you can use it to quickly communicate with school parents. We use newsletters, Facebook, websites, school apps, and mass calling systems to get the word out about fundraisers, theme days, athletic events, and days off. However, a variety of communication methods is key — not every parent has a computer or smartphone, which is why we don’t want to rely solely on, say, Facebook.

Many teachers do have Facebook pages for their classrooms, which can be a fantastic way to share photos and stories from the school day, but the school needs to monitor those pages closely. There’s nothing wrong with a post captioned “Here was our class party” or “Here’s a child who dressed up as Harriet Tubman who did such a good job on her book report.” But you need parent permission to post pictures of their kids online. Also, keeping that Facebook page means the added responsibility of monitoring comments, which may be more responsibility than overworked teachers need.

Otherwise, anytime a parent complains on Facebook, he or she is now complaining to all 25 parents. You may have two or three jump on the bandwagon and the teacher feels absolutely horrible. A post as simple as, “Gosh, there was a lot of homework tonight” can open the door to other complaints from parents. And as we all know, when you’re behind a computer it’s easy to misread statements as negative. It’s kind of like driving: when you’re in the car, you’re more apt to be negative about other drivers than you would if you were face to face with that person. On social media, there’s always one parent who will chime in with something negative. I highly suggest if you have a social media page for your classroom that you shut off comments or set the page so comments need to be approved before publishing.

I have called parents about negative Facebook posts. I’m careful not to dress them down or demand that they delete their posts, but instead to say, “I’m so sorry we’ve put you in the position where you feel like you can’t come directly to us. If you have a concern, please come to me.” This always works — I don’t aim to make them feel bad, but I can tell they’re thinking, “Why in the world didn’t I just call the school?” or, more likely, “Why didn’t I just keep that to myself?”

There’s always going to be that 1 percent who will rip you apart, but the bottom line is you will never change that person. Sometimes you just need to let it go.

I find that parents will say that they were frustrated with the situation and didn’t realize how negative it sounded. They just thought they were talking to their friends and didn’t think of how the school or the teacher would take the comment. Ninety-nine percent of our parents want positive relationships with one another and the school because they see the need to work together. There’s always going to be that 1 percent who will rip you apart, but the bottom line is you will never change that person. Sometimes you just need to let it go.

A major frustration with social media is when it involves parents who listened to their children and took them at their word rather than following up with the teacher when something might sound unreasonable or silly. I had a parent post on Facebook, “How stupid is it that the school has a new rule that kids can’t run on the playground during recess. Isn’t that what recess is for?” This caused several other jerky parents (that’s right, I said it) to chime in with what they considered to be stupid rules. I called the mother and asked where in the world she got that information and she explained that her daughter told her they weren’t allowed to run on the playground. I explained that the students were welcome to run on the playground except in the mulch area (this is the area where we ground our playground equipment) because it’s often congested with students and there are lots of poles and pieces of equipment they can run into if they aren’t paying attention or trip over while running. The parent completely understood the need for that rule when I spoke to her, but unfortunately, she caused a negative situation by assuming the information her child gave her was true, even though it was ridiculous.

There are times, of course, when teachers don’t think social media through well — like when they friend parents, which gives the parents access to their lives in a way that might not be so smart. Sometimes a teacher will call in sick and then parents see a photo of her at a concert or basketball game and ask us, “Why is she gone, yet on Facebook, we see she’s somewhere else today?” (The bigger lesson here, of course, isn’t just about teachers friending parents online, but also common sense and honesty.)

We’ve also had issues when teachers post pictures of parents that they’re dating, which isn’t wise in several ways. It’s unprofessional to date your classroom parent. Obviously, that’s your personal life, but when you post on social media for the world to see that you’re in a relationship with Billy’s mom and Billy wins a science fair, parents will say, “Billy’s getting special treatment because Mr. Smith is dating his mom.”

Parents need to be more alert than anybody when it comes to technology and social media. I’m leery when kids get phones at a young age — I see children as young as second grade texting their friends. A lot of parents feel their kids need a phone because they want to know where their children are after school, but just know that when you give child a smartphone, you’re opening him up to social media. You may say, “My child will never do this or that with her phone,” but children are smart, and they will do whatever they want to do when it comes to social media if they’ve got a smartphone.

Social media is a form of socialization for kids. That’s how they communicate right now. Keep in mind that their group text, Snapchat, or Instagram is their version of hanging out at the drive-in or whatever you did at their age.

However, I understand that social media is a form of socialization for kids. That’s how they communicate right now. Keep in mind that their group text, Snapchat, or Instagram is their version of hanging out at the drive-in or whatever you did at their age.

My advice? Prolong your child’s phone-free life for as long as possible. I went through this with my brother and sister-in-law. They were stressing because my sixth-grade nephew wanted a phone. A part of me thought, “Yes, he should have one for socialization,” but another part of me was like, “Oh my gosh, you’re opening up a real can of worms.” And we saw it right away — suddenly, he’s a kid who’s got his phone at the dinner table and who’s upstairs in his room on his phone rather than down with the family. His parents did a great job of saying, “You can use your phone during these hours.” Monitor the phone, and know what apps are on there. Yes, it’s good to give kids a sense of privacy, but you absolutely need to know what YouTube channels they visit and what apps they use because there are people who use social media to prey on children — even if it’s not in a sexual way. I’ve had kids at school bring in their parents’ credit cards and buy swords and shields in online games, who get around filters to inappropriate sites. It’s just the nature of how intelligent children are, the things they think they can get away with, and the things they actually do get away with.

I probably understand this stuff more than most principals and parents. I’ve taken down more than one video after realizing I’d uploaded some content that made people mad. One of the most popular videos I ever posted was called “Teacher Bumper Numbers,” which made fun of those 26.2 bumper stickers people put on their cars after they run marathons.

The video suggested bumper sticker numbers for teachers, like how many minutes we get for lunch and how many minutes we get for the bathroom. The very last one was 4,162, representing the number of times people have said to me, “You get your summers off.”

That video got picked up by a jogging influencer who has millions of viewers, and then it went through media outlets like Diply. Many comments from non-educators were rude, saying, for example, “You get paid plenty,” “You do get paid to not work over the summer,” “You knew what you were getting into,” and “Teachers make a lot more than mechanics.”

It didn’t bother me, but it started to bother the teachers, and I didn’t want that, so I took it off Facebook — and I’ve taken other videos down for less. People will say, “That’s ridiculous, you took it down for one or two parents.” Well, I know what it’s like to be a parent and I wouldn’t want to feel offended by something my principal posted — unless it’s a humorous video about parents who never turn in a field trip form all year. If you’re offended by that, turn in your flipping field trip form.

Before I put up a video, I screen it for several people like my best friend or teachers who might say, “Wow, that’s not going to go over well,” or “You know, you need to think about that.” I’m not afraid to put controversial stuff up, especially if it has to do with a lack of sup- port for teachers, but I don’t want an argument between teachers and parents or teachers and non-educators. I also just don’t have time to monitor every one of the 3,000 comments I’ll get on a video, so if they’re heated, it’s just not worth it. When I put a new one up, I will usually spend about an hour monitoring the content to make sure it’s not too controversial, but that’s it. I don’t have much time to interact with the commenters because if you speak with one viewer, you have to speak with them all.

My personal focus on social media is to put out videos, support teachers, and try to be funny. It’s not to monitor comments, comment back, or email. I understand how much time I have to put in as a principal and I don’t let social media in any way, shape, or form get in the way of that job.

Want to see Gerry in person? Register today for the 2020 TCEA Convention & Exposition. Learn more here.

May 19, 2019 0 comment

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