Transforming teaching, learning and leadership through the strategic application of technology has been Miguel Guhlin’s motto. Learn more about his work online at blog.tcea.org, mguhlin.org, and mglead.org/mglead2.org. Catch him on Mastodon @mguhlin@mastodon.education
Areas of interest flow from his experiences as a district technology administrator, regional education specialist, and classroom educator in bilingual/ESL situations. Learn more about his credentials online at mguhlin.net.
Are you ready to make your next career move? Want to know how you can achieve escape velocity and get into the tech director orbit? Every other week, someone will ask me, “How do I begin my journey to becoming a technology director?” When I left the classroom, my goal was not to become a technology director. Rather, it was to learn what I needed to know. Every time I thought I knew enough, I would find out I did not. Then, I realized that I needed the authority and responsibility to advance teaching, learning and leading with technology. Why couldn’t the current technology director get the job done? Why did students and staff have to wait on time-sensitive solutions? These all motivated me to keep learning.
If you are on a similar journey, you may find the following tips useful. After reflecting on my journey, I’d like to share those insights. In this short blog entry, I’ll share some of what I’ve learned. The rest, you may need to discover on your own.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
Planning for Success
You can divide the steps to success in myriad ways. Here are the steps as I see them:
Achieve escape velocity
Prepare well
Distinguish between management and leadership
Let’s take a moment to review what each of these mean.
#1 – Achieve Escape Velocity
Are you familiar with the term, “escape velocity?” It popped into my head one sunny afternoon. A technology applications teacher was sitting in my air-conditioned portable building quizzing me. She asked, “How did you get to where you are?” The question took me back in time. I realized that my journey was completely different than what her’s. That said, it had some similarities. The first is that she would have to achieve escape velocity:
In physics, escape velocity is the least speed needed for an object to escape. Escape from what? Escape from the gravitational influence of a massive body. The escape velocity from Earth is about 11.186 km/s (6.951 mi/s; 40,270 km/h; 25,020 mph) at the surface.
When your boss, your organization thinks they know you so well that you have little more to offer, how do you escape? How do you achieve escape velocity? The truth is, you will have to leave. Instead of claiming the comfort and shelter of a familiar space, you will need to embark on a journey. And, as Bilbo Baggins told Frodo in Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings:
“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
That’s the truth. If you’re OK with that, then follow these steps:
Be visible at the regional and state level (e.g. TCEA, ISTE, CoSN, TxDLA, ASCD/Texas ASCD, CAST)
Ready to go to your first interview? Before you say “Yes,” ask yourself about the following:
Is there a roadmap to success that identifies best path, common roadblocks and detours?
Do you have an eportfolio? That is, a digital portfolio that highlights your strengths? That identifies areas of growth? Each illustrated with real life examples from your experience?
Have you aligned your skills, certifications, and experiences to the job announcement expectations? Do you know YOUR stuff?
This can be the challenge. You are going to spend a lot of time preparing for the job. While some people “luck into” the job because of the relationships they have, you will need to know your stuff. And, there is no quicker way to find out what you lack in experience than real-world situations. Get the experience before you start a new job.
Here are the ABCs of preparing well:
A- Build Your PLN
One way to start is to build your professional learning network (PLN). The toughest challenge isn’t keeping up with the technology. Rather, it is understanding how to leverage it for your organization. In the past, we faced limits. Now, learning isn’t restricted to a special event bound by time and place.
Our learning takes us beyond a meeting, or a conference or from 8:00 to 3:30 PM when school is in session. Today, we tap into a flow of conversation, a web-based learning ecology, that we can learn from 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
B- Seek Insight
Leaders often face a blind spot. Ask yourself how much you know about the real story compared to what your current leader does. Chances are, you have some operational details they would love to have but no one wants to tell them. You may want to read First Things First: A Technology Leader’s First Steps blog entry.
The questions you start with determine where you end up. For example, you could ask the following:
How do you bring about change in an organization that doesn’t want to change?
How do you start and put in place projects to achieve success?
How do you change policies and procedures, or work around them?
Or, you might ask, “How can I build relationships with everyone to increase the trust factor? How will othes perceive me when I deliver on my word and get things done in a strategic way? How can I have crucial conversations that build mutual purpose and respect?” These are all powerful questions to ask. You may end up answering all.
One of my favorite fables for leadership is Kotter’s Our Iceberg is Melting. Here’s a quick video overview:
This is an amazing fable with profound implications. Be sure to read the book.
Here’s a tip. When you have to exert top down authority that your organization has granted you, you’re done. Time to reflect on your mistakes, and begin again elsewhere.
You will need relationship smarts to navigate any number of roadblocks and challenges. If challenges were dances, your dance card would be full up. You must learn to dance with change and love it even when you get stepped on, kicked, or worse.
And this list only scratches the surface. What do you do when principals complain about tardy equipment deliveries? How do you tell the superintendent it’s the warehouse’s fault, not your technicians? It’s all about emotional intelligence, trust, and relationships. Management of complex projects is one thing. Leadership is another.
Ready to start?
Still motivated to pursue a technology director position? Your journey may be only beginning. Keep hold of your tenacity, determination, and lifelong learning ambition. You’ll need them.
How are you showcasing student accomplishments in your classroom now? One great way to do so combines video, audio, and text in a simple interface. That interface? Blogs. At the TCEA 2020 Convention, I had the opportunity to share a few ideas and resources with educators. Let’s take a moment to revisit some of those ideas, even if you missed the TCEA 2020 Convention.
Make Conversations Happen
Blogs and podcasts make it easy to engage students. After all, who wouldn’t find their own voice and performance engaging? Here are few examples of educators sharing how they are making conversations happen or how to create conversations.
Ready to explore some specific ideas? Let’s begin!
Step 1: Select a Blogging Platform
One of the first steps you need to take is to select a blogging platform. This is an online space to share content. Avoid getting caught up in the strict definition of a blog (e.g. RSS feed or an online space with content you can subscribe to). Another point you need to consider is that you need something you can control as the teacher. Students are often blocked from using tools like Blogger because they are for students older than thirteen years old. As a teacher, you need an online platform that makes it easy for you to manage content online and student posting.
Fortunately, we have access to a wide range of tools. You are looking for something that’s easy to set up, maintain, and support. Here are a few blogging platforms that give you control over publication content and commenting:
Items two through four above cost money, while blog platforms one and five are free. Although Wakelet isn’t a true blogging platform, several educators have chosen it. The ability to embed all sorts of content, including Flipgrid shorts videos, make it a choice worth exploring. You can see one example from Jon Forney’s Wakelet class blogs collection above.
Seesaw Class Blogs is a great free alternative, but your work does end up in a system that may cost money in the future. Another possibility not listed above is the new Google Sites. While Google Sites is a wiki rather than a blog, it is easy to maintain and update. Schools may also want to use G Suite EDU’s Blogger, which is full-featured and allows for close control.
Before you commit to any one solution, be sure to run it by your organization’s technology team.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
Step #2: Select Podcasting Solution
Unless you’re engaging in full-blown podcasting which involves scripts and audio editing, use Voxer to record interviews of less than 15 minutes and then post to social media (e.g. Instagram, Twitter). Be sure to combine your media shares online via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. In the meantime, here are some suggested tools for working with podcasts:
Voxer.com (Android/iOS/Web): Use this mobile or web-based tool to record “voxercasts” featuring students, staff, and community. Easily share links to audio. Here are some examples in a Glide app.
Shadow Puppet EDU(iOS only): Snap pictures of great learning or displays, combine them with your audio narration, mix in music, and then share as videos online.
Hokusai (iOS): This audio editor (try Audacity on Win/Mac laptop or Beautiful Audio Editor on Chromebook) makes it easy to edit sound. In-app purchases extend functionality.
If you are in a classroom situation, it may be prudent to set up a microphone on a desktop computer. This makes it easy to edit audio using a free program like Audacity Sound Editor. If you need recording on the go, then get a portable microphone for your smartphone or tablet.
Here are a few choices:
iRig Mic Cast for iOS/Android ($35) – Less expensive that the Mikey Digital, this offers solid audio recording. This is what I carry around with me for interviews. It also comes with iRig Recorder software. I like the fact that it plugs into your microphone jack on your device and includes another headphone jack for earbuds. You can also get a handheld microphone that plugs into your iPhone or iPad. As the website says, it features “unidirectional pickup pattern that minimizes background noise, making it ideal for single-source audio recording.” Learn more online.
Shure MV88+ (>$80) – While this version is iOS only, the MV88+ works with iOS and some USB-C enable Android devices.Learn more online.
Remember, you don’t have to have a microphone for your smartphone. But audio quality will improve if you decide to use one.
Quick Ideas for Podcasting in the Classroom
Wondering how you can use podcasting in the classroom? Here are a few.
Current Events Newscasts: Practice nonfiction reading skills by having your students do weekly or monthly podcasts on an interesting current event.
Reading Radio: Have your students make short radio broadcasts summarizing the books they are reading.
Roving Reporters: Send your students out into the “field” (a.k.a. the school) to interview key players in important school events.
Celebrate Culture: Have your students record podcasts about important cultural months like Black History Month or Hispanic Heritage Month and then present them to the school or parents to commemorate the events.
Podcasting Library: Have your students collaborate to create a library of podcasts from which future students can learn.
Music Casts: Have band or orchestra students create podcasts for each instrument, detailing specific notes, sounds, and characteristics of each instrument.
You can find more ideas online with a quick Google search. Start small and build up.
Step #3: Decide Where to Save Content
When podcasting, it can be difficult to find a reliable place to host your audio or video over the long term. Consider one of these locations:
Enhanced podcasts (video)
YouTube
Google Drive
OneDrive
Seesaw Class Blog (vidcasts)
Flipgrid
Audio only
Google Drive
OneDrive
Seesaw Class Blog (vidcasts)
Write About
My recommendation? Rely on YouTube for video-casts (vidcasts), if possible. Otherwise, take advantage of whatever cloud storage solution your school or district uses. For example, G Suite EDU provides unlimited storage, and Microsoft OneDrive for Schools is about the same. Need more inspiration? Check out the TCEA TechNotes podcast series.
Step #4: Make an App
Want to reach your audience, which includes students and parents? Appify your podcast using a tool like Glide. It is a service that lets you add information to a Google sheet, then quickly create an app from its contents, all without coding.
You can save your blog entry links (or links to audio/video) to a Google Sheet, then have Glide put it into an app. Just pick one of your sheets and Glide assembles it into a polished app that you can customize, share with a link, and even publish to the app store. You can view a tutorial online.
Showcasing student work has never been easier. With a few quick steps, you can publish your students’ creations online to a global audience. You can then appify that content and make it accessible for your local community.
Many administrators I know spend their time between two devices. The devices include their Windows 10 computer and their smartphone, usually an iPhone. If you’re using a Windows 10 or Mac computer, then you may be unaware of a powerful, free tool that can help you stay organized. In this blog entry, we’ll explore a few tips that take advantage of Joplin to organize your email, critical documents, contacts, to-do lists, and more.
Safeguarding Data
Before we go any further, let’s take a moment to explore why we would use a free, open source note-taking and to-do tool. As administrators, we often deal with sensitive data that requires encryption. Wouldn’t it be neat to have a tool that featured end to end encryption? That way, it doesn’t matter if someone did get access to your smartphone, iPad, or laptop/desktop device. The data would safeguarded.
The tool we’ll be using is the free, open source tool, Joplin. It saves data in encrypted format in your cloud storage solution, such as Dropbox. If you have used Evernote, then you’re familiar with how Joplin works. The only caveat is that you cannot access Joplin data via a Chromebook or web browser. You CAN save information from the web (such as articles, blog entries, pictures) to Joplin.
Let’s explore a few ways Joplin can make your life simpler. In the last tip, we’ll discuss encryption.
“I get hundreds of email per day. Most are throw-aways, but a few I need to refer to time and again. They are process and procedures of how we do things. I try saving them in Google, but they get lost.” One way to overcome email challenges like this is to create a notebook in Joplin. Use that notebook to house critical messages, processes, and procedures.
Use the Joplin Web Clipper to copy critical content from your G Suite EDU inbox to Joplin. The Web Clipper is a browser extension that allows you to save web pages and screenshots from your browser.
For example, I received this email about conducting technology audits. Since it’s a webinar I would like to attend, I saved the message (which arrived via Gmail) to Joplin. You can see the original message below, followed by how it looks in Joplin:
From My Email Inbox:
What It Looks Like in Joplin:
One of the main benefits is that I now have a Markdown-formatted, easy-to-edit version on my device. This is a great way to pull content from the web and remix it. Once this content is in my Joplin notebook, I’m able to move it around and put it in any notebook I want via click-n-drag.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
Tip #2 – Save Digital Documents
Tools like Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive make saving scanned documents easy. While both house your data, the data is not encrypted at rest. That means that anyone who gains access to your account can see them. This can happen via a phishing attack or cloud storage hack.
The questions I often get from security-savvy administrators is, “Is it encrypted? Is it safe?” They are leery of trusting anything to cloud storage without encryption. Joplin can be their perfect assistant. It offers end-to-end encryption, protecting data while in transit from your device to the cloud. It also encrypts that data while at rest. This means that, even if someone gets access, they will not be able to read or view the contents of your notes.
Pictures you save to your Joplin notebook feature encryption. Of course, once you save a picture into Joplin, make sure to remove it from your smartphone’s photo gallery.
Tip #3 – Check That Off Your List!
“What I like to do every morning is make a checklist of what I need to do each day.” She held up her phone and waved it in front of me with a smile. “If I run into new items, I add them to my digital checklist and keep going!”
A lot of us have “To-Do” lists, but it’s so easy to see them as a list of items that never gets worked through. While many are using Microsoft To Do (which got a workover from Wunderlist folks) and Google Keep. others may not want a collaborative tool. One of the challenges of relying on a cloud to-do manager is that it may not sync up in low bandwidth environments. As such, you can rely on Joplin because it keeps a copy of all your to do lists and notes on each device you have.
Tip #4 – Track Your Troubles
“The ceiling is dripping right into this computer lab,” pointed out a colleague. I opened up a note in the Joplin notebook I had setup for the campus and snapped a picture. I added the the classroom number and now I had a visual record of a building problem. Later, when I got back to my office, I could write an email and attach the evidence.
Use the Joplin app as a trouble-tracker and documentation tool. School administrators run into problems daily. Snap a picture of the problem into a Joplin note to keep a record of it.
Tip #5 – Manage Your Meetings with Joplin
Stuck attending an endless parade of meetings? In most meetings, we write notes that won’t make sense to others. With a keyboard, I am able to take detailed notes. I can also snap pictures of meeting materials. This could be business cards, meeting agendas, and handouts. This makes organizing so much easier. Even if you take notes on paper, you can later snap a picture and drop it into your meeting notebook on Joplin.
I’ve tried all sorts of digital note-taking tools and digital styluses, and I keep coming back to the old tools. Those tools? Pad-and-pen or a keyboard, then save it all into a Joplin note.
You can also track vendor interactions. Any campus or district administrator knows that vendors are going to come calling. Depending on how I set up my notebooks in Joplin, I can organize by project and match vendors to the job. This makes it easier later.
A Note About Encryption Before We Finish Up
Protecting your private data, including notes about work, can be a real money saver. When you encrypt data at rest, you ensure that others cannot access sensitive data. What’s more, it’s protected under the Texas Safe Harbor law.
That means that what’s encrypted doesn’t have to be reported as lost or stolen. That’s a money saver because it means you don’t have to pay for identity protection for affected parties. Joplin encrypts data stored in your digital notebooks and cloud storage (e.g. Dropbox). I hope you’ll take advantage of encryption (but don’t lose the password).
What else could you save in Joplin’s Notebook app? A few more I can think of include travel receipts, critical notes, and more. Take a moment to explore Joplin and see if it works for you. Remember, if you don’t have any security concerns, then Google Keep may work well for you. If you need a full-featured text editor, then Microsoft OneNote may meet your needs. It’s a question of what you need the most. Since I am a minimalist, Joplin works well for me. Find out if it will for you.
Ever wish you could take plain old Wikipedia entries and make them a bit more exciting? While many teachers eschew Wikipedia as a valid source of information, it is an everyman’s encyclopedia. But a challenging aspect of Wikipedia is its text-heavy format. How do you encourage students and others to pore through it? The answer is easy. Make it into a game. In this blog entry, we’ll explore a fun tool, Naraview, that turns Wikipedia entries into a learning expedition.
Naraview is my 6th graders favorite way to rev up their brains at the beginning of a lesson. It opens their thought process towards the topic of the day in an active game that doesn’t stress learning. At the end of each game they have new knowledge to share that they stumbled upon on their Naraview journey. Creating endless relevant classroom dicussions – what more can a teacher ask for? (Source: Inbal Franco-Veig, English Teacher, Naraview website)
Meet Naraview
With its simple interface, Naraview offers you the opportunity to create a learning journey. You search for the title of a Wikipedia entry as the starting point. Then, you type in the title of the end point article. The distance between the two is one of discovery.
To create your Naraview journey, follow these directions:
Choose a Wikipedia article to start your journey. You may add a question or let Naraview offer a generic one.
Naraview will send you an email, as well as display a code you can share with students.
Players log in to the game with a nickname and the code and then navigate through the articles in Wikipedia.
The goal of the game is to offer you, as the teacher, a glimpse into students’ thinking.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
Creating a Game
Creating a game is simple. When you get to the Naraview website, you click on CREATE NEW GAME button. Then, enter your first topic. At first, I tried to copy and paste a link to the article. That will not work. Instead, search on the title of the article you want to find. For example, my starting article was “World War I.”
Your next step is to agree to the terms of service, then click NEXT to enter the destination. This is as simple as step 1, starting point.
Your last step is to move to add a question. You can type your own question or pick one from the drop-down list.
Once you’re done, you can share the code with students, as shown below:
Playing the Naraview Game
Once the game has been created, students will visit the website and enter their nickname and code:
Students will then begin the game:
Their goal is to review materials and respond to questions:
As students play the game, exploring links, the teacher gets to see how students navigate various Wikipedia entries. Naraview presents this journey as a bubble map:
The game ends only when a student finds their way to the destination page. Upon achieving it, Naraview lets the student know:
The teacher is notified in the dashboard:
Ever Exploring
Need an activity that taps into the natural curiosity of learners? Naraview offers that level of engagement. While some students who may dislike reading may find this tedious or boring, I found the level of frustration spurring me on. What link would connect me to my final destination?
Have you use Naraview, tools like it, or played similar games? Let us know in the comments!
Looking for Teacher Approved apps for your children? Wish you could align Google Play store apps to a teacher-approved checklist? The Google Play store has made them easier to find. In this blog entry, we’ll peek at what you will find in their new section.
Did You Know?
TCEA provides you with a list of student-friendly apps online. Be sure to check out the Must Have List of Android Apps. TCEA helps educators find the best apps for their students and their curriculum. Our professional development team tests and reviews apps, sharing recommendations in curated lists that are helpfully categorized by subject and purpose, so you can find exactly what you need. See more apps for your device.
Finding Kid-Friendly Apps
Are you at your wit’s end, keeping your children engaged? You are not alone. Some parents toss their children an Android tablet to buy time while they try to prepare a meal, care for another child, or get a moment of peace and quiet. But how do you know that what you are encouraging children to “play” is educational? That’s where Google Play Store has taken some steps.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
Teacher Approved
For parents, seeing a badge stating “Teacher Approved” may make all the difference. Google certifies that apps sporting this label are “enriching and entertaining.” They’ve even contracted with educators to make the decision:
To share the best apps for kids on the Play Store, we’ve teamed up with academic experts and teachers across the country, including our lead advisors, Joe Blatt (Harvard Graduate School of Education) and Dr. Sandra Calvert (Georgetown University). Apps that have been rated by teachers and meet our quality standards receive a “Teacher approved” badge. (Source)
Each app sports a simple badge.
How to Find the Teacher-Approved Apps
While it would have been cool for Google to create a “Teacher-Approved Apps” button, they instead did this:
At the top, tap Kids. All apps in this section are teacher approved.
For Movies and TV, tap Family.
For Books, tap Children’s Books.
When you tap on Kids, you will see only the apps that are teacher approved. Go to the Kids tab to see “Teacher approved” content. Google Play Pass subscribers can find it at “Apps and games for kids.”
If you are scratching your head and wondering, “Is this that easy to find?” you are not alone. Google could have done a better job for students and parents to locate content.
Selection Process
Wondering how Google decided what is “teacher approved” and what is not? They asked trained teachers to rate apps based on a framework that evaluated things like:
Design quality
Appeal to children
Enrichment potential
Ads and in-app purchases
Age-appropriateness
Teacher-approved apps appear in the Kids section on Google Play, are featured in banners or collections, and display the badge. Most important, they show what teachers found valuable in the app details page.
Don’t be afraid to give this app a try with your young reader. It may be the type of engagement your child needs. Read along with your child to improve engagement.
Did you see School Library Journals blog entry from February 11, 2020? Titled, 18 Tech Tools for Content Creation, Coding, VR, Audio, and Video, it offers a list of digital tools. While this is, no doubt, a fantastic list, it may send the message that all we’re doing in ed tech is gathering tools. Imagine that neighbor, who when you walk into their garage, has every tool imaginable. Each is shiny, pretty, and seldom used. That sends a message, right?
The message is that collecting digital tools, a dime a dozen now, is our sole purpose in educational technology. We all have digital tools in search of instructional activities. The question is, How could we do this better?
Did You Know?
Only one of the SLJ’s tools, Microsoft Immersive Reader, has earned a research-based design product certification. The certification is new from ISTE’s EdSurge’s Digital Promise program. How are the digital tools you select for use in the classroom aligned to research?
Lesson Construction
Ready to drop a few digital tools and apps into your lesson and spice things up a bit? Before you do, however, consider whether “sprinkling” tools into popular lessons will actually add value to the learning or distract from our ultimate goal.
How Can You Tell If Digital Tools Add Value?
Does the technology we add to a lesson add value or subtract from it? One way to focus curriculum and instruction teams as they are planning lessons is to ask some questions:
Are the lesson plan components reflecting high-effect-size (HES) instructional strategies?
Are you focused on activities that are cool or evidence-based strategies that work?
Do all lesson plans incorporate the teacher clarity goals strategy? How are those communicated to students?
Which specific digital tool is proven to work best with a specific HES instructional strategy?
In my Coaching for Results series, I explore how to better answer these questions using high-effect-size instructional strategies.
Lesson Plan Components
Need an example? Let’s take a look at what is typically found in a lesson plan:
Grade
Subject
Topic
Description
TEKS
Technology TEKS
4Cs
Resources (linked in G Suite EDU Drive document)
Device Type (e.g. Laptop, Chromebook)
Suggested Apps
As you can see from the list, there’s something missing, right? Let’s explore this in the context of a web-based lesson plan example.
Sample Lesson Plan
Grade Level: 3rd grade
Subject: Language Arts
Topic: Understanding and Analyzing Text
Description: Students will use Google Drawing to create a book snap. Teachers can ask students various questions or use analysis tools in the snap. iPad users can use Book Creator or the simple drawing tool on iPad. They will do that after taking a picture of their book selection.
LA TEK: Figure 19: (A) establish purposes for reading selected texts based upon own or others’ desired outcome to enhance comprehension; (B) ask literal, interpretive, and evaluative questions of text; (C) monitor and adjust comprehension (e.g., using background knowledge, creating sensory images, re-reading a portion aloud, generating questions); (D) make inferences about text and use textual evidence to support understanding; (E) summarize information in text, maintaining meaning and logical order; (F) make connections (e.g. thematic links, author analysis) between literary and informational texts with similar ideas and provide textual evidence
Technology TEK: (1)Creativity and innovation (A) create original products using a variety of resources; (B) analyze trends and forecast possibilities, developing steps for the creation of an innovative process or product; and (C) use virtual environments to explore systems and issues. (2) Communication and collaboration (A) draft, edit, and publish products in different media individually and collaboratively; (B) use font attributes, color, white space, and graphics to ensure that products are appropriate for multiple communication media, including monitor display, web, and print; (C) collaborate effectively through personal learning communities and social environments; (D) select and use appropriate collaboration tools; (E) evaluate the product for relevance to the assignment or task; and (F) perform basic software application functions, including opening applications and creating, modifying, printing, and saving files.
4Cs: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Creativity
Resources: How to make booksnaps, Book Creator
Device Type: Laptop, Chromebook, IPAD
Let’s review this lesson in light of the questions asked earlier.
Focus on High-Effect-Size Instructional Strategies
1. Are the lesson plan components reflecting high-effect-size instructional strategies?
In the example, there is no high-effect-size instructional strategy recommended or evident. The purpose of the LA TEKS reference is to enhance comprehension. The suggested activity is a book snap. A book snap allows for a digital representation of text excerpted from a book or text. In other words, it is a way for students to summarize (0.74 effect size) a book. Visible Learning Meta X defines summarizing as relevant to reading comprehension.
Summarization can include any of the following behaviors:
Deleting unnecessary material
Getting rid of material that is repetitive
Substituting a subordinate term for a list of items or actions
Selecting a topic sentence
Constructing a topic if one is only suggested by the text
In a book snap, you focus on selecting sentences, then you bring the characters alive or share an opinion. Depending on the type of book snap, you can also engage in metacognition (0.58 effect size):
Meta-cognition is thinking about thinking. It includes methods used to help students understand the way they learn.
As you can see, having students make a book snap with Google Drawings implies a lot. But we miss the boat if we don’t address the high-effect-size strategy. Worse, this TA:TEKS connection could be more specific. Reference the TA:TEKS connection, but list the specific actions. That is, inserting images, cropping, using digital camera, font choice, and selecting text.
How could we change the description of this lesson? Change it in a way that better reflects the high-effect size instructional strategies.
A video tutorial of how to create a book snap:
Are you focused on activities that are cool or evidence-based strategies that work?
“Book snaps are cool because they are a way to express creativity through a book. You can share how you think about a character or part of a story,” says one student in this video. (That’s a great video to watch to learn how to make book snaps, by the way.)
How long does it take to make a book snap? Would the Reciprocal Teaching (0.84) strategy work better than summarization with book snaps? If yes, why not use that approach, even if there is no technology involved?
Teacher Clarity and Digital Tools
Do all lesson plans incorporate the teacher clarity goals strategy? How are those communicated to students?
How would you craft the Teacher Clarity learning outcomes? One way is shown below:
Today we will select sentences that best summarize a key concept in the text
So we can learn to identify important parts of the text and get rid of parts that are extra or repetitive
We will know we have it when we are able to briefly explain a text in a few sentences.
You may need to ask whether this lesson is surface, deep, or transfer learning oriented. Summarization and metacognition are surface learning. When you’re putting together a lesson, how could you specify the learning goal? That is, the intended goal of surface, deep, and/or transfer learning?
Which specific digital tool is proven to work best with a HES instructional strategy?
Although the HES instructional strategy is absent, the digital tool is Google Drawing. Google Slides would also work. There are many digital tools possible, but focusing on one is best practice.
The message isn’t to avoid book snaps. It’s to be intentional and up front about strategies that work. That is, explain which high-effect-size instructional strategy you are using and how that digital tool fits in. Otherwise, you may fall into the trap of chasing activities that are fun, cool, and use technology for technology’s sake. Avoid quoting entire swaths of TEKS and TA:TEKS. Instead, explain in brief what you are teaching and students are learning.
Ready to step into the future? You may find this new iteration of an app worth exploring. It will be even more useful if you are a high school or college student and need help studying. Google for Education announced February 12, 2020 that they have a new tool to assist you. What’s amazing is that it uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to work. The updated app that Google acquired and revamped is Socratic.
Socratic makes over one thousand high school and college-level subject guides available, relying on artificial intelligence to find and simplify answers to questions. The questions answered come from subjects like Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, History, and Literature. Believe it or not, it can also answer questions about Physics and Trigonometry.
Socratic’s main features include the following:
Get problems into Socratic via camera, voice, or typed search
View online resources, including diagrams and videos, to solve the problem
Self-paced instructions and videos with explanations
A growing library of content
Getting started is as easy as getting the app and using it. Android users can get the app via the Google Play store. Need the iOS version? Get it here. (If you are clicking on this link to the app via your Chromebook or computer browser, log in with a personal account. The Google Play store doesn’t play well with G Suite EDU accounts and will give you an error.)
How Socratic Works
Wondering how Google’s AI works in Socratic? Google designed the app to assist students who may be studying on their own. You can use the voice search to ask a question. Another way involves students snapping a photo of a problem. Then Socratic will do its best to find an answer.
Did You Know?
Sign up for one of our Google Certified Educator certifications. You’ll learn about more than Google Meet, as well as earn 12 CPE hours per course. Use these courses to get Google Educator certified. Find out more online.
When you first load Socratic on your device, you’ll have to sign in. You can try to sign in with a G Suite EDU account. If that does not work, try a personal Gmail account.
Sign-In Screen
G Suite EDU Account Not Found,
Use Personal Account Instead
Snap a Picture of a Problem
Once you have logged in, you will grant Socratic camera access. After that, you can snap a picture of a worksheet with a word problem or type it in, as shown above. Here’s what a solution response will look like:
Some teachers may express concern about an app that can assist students for self-paced learning. Those few detractors aside, this is a boon to independent learners. Take a few steps into the future of artificial intelligence with Socratic.
What apps or tools can assist you and your students in tracking how fast you read? In this blog entry, we’ll extend our conversation on the use of repeated reading. In a previous blog entry, I focused on different ways to put in place repeated reading. Instead of the traditional go-in-the-corner-with-a-student, we can use technology.
Technology affords both teachers and students with infinite more opportunities to connect. In this blog entry, we’ll take a look at some ways to assess student fluency. But before we do that, let’s take a moment to review the repeated reading strategy.
Review of Repeated Reading Strategy
The repeated reading strategy, which enjoys an effect size of 0.75, involves:
Repeated reading is an academic practice that aims to increase oral reading fluency. … During repeated reading, a student sits in a quiet location with the teacher. The student then reads a passage (50 to 200 words) aloud at least three times. The teacher calculates reading fluency. She does so by calculating words correct per minute that the student has read.
If the student misreads a word or hesitates for longer than 5 seconds, the teacher reads the word aloud. Then, the student repeats the word the correct way. If the student requests help with a word, the teacher reads the word aloud or provides the definition. The student rereads the passage until he or she achieves a desired fluency level (source: What Works Clearinghouse).
Now that we’ve reviewed a few aspects of repeated reading, let’s take a look at how you can assess it.
Note: Curious about the norms for repeated reading? Use Hasbrouck and Tindal (2006) Oral Reading Fluency Norms from Grades 1-8. Find them online in this free set of graphs from Jen Strange.
Assessing Repeated Reading
Ready to assess repeated reading? Providing this feedback to students can aid them in improving fluency.
One minute reading. In this approach, the student reads for one minute as the teacher counts the total number of words read in a correct way. Make a note of the Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM).
Timed repeated readings. Like the previous approach, the student reads for one minute. He will do so several times (three to five times at least). The teacher counts WCPM for one minute. Graph results with a bar graph.
Words Correct Per Minute (WCPM). The teacher chooses a package and then times the student as he reads it. You can find tracking sheets available online at no cost.
Many educators use this approach in the classroom. But they may not realize it’s high-effect size and positive impact on reading fluency.
Appifying Repeated Reading
Would you like to use technology with repeated reading assessments? While not required, it can make the job of tracking WCPM easier. These tools can automate scoring and save teachers time. Let’s explore a few.
App #1: One Minute Reader
First up, let’s take a look at Read Naturally’s One Minute Reader for iOS devices such as the iPad. From their website:
The One Minute Reader reading fluency app for the iPad accelerates reading achievement. It combines the research-proven components of teacher modeling, repeated reading, and progress monitoring. The reader works at his or her own pace in an appropriate level of material. This motivating app guides the reader through the steps. The reader masters a story by reading along with audio.
Then, the student practices the story until he or she can read it with fluency and comprehension. The program automatically tracks the reader’s progress. The reader can print or email the story, the Story Summary (results from the story), and/or the Book Summary (results from the whole book).
The cost of the app varies. You can start with a free version, then buy more with in-app purchases. In-app purchases will get you eight books of five stories each (40 stories in all). The cost for each set of 40 stories is about $20 each. The books are available for different grade levels. Demonstration videos are available online for you to view. Get the iOS app online via the website.
App #3: K12 Timed Reading and Comprehension Practice
With many features, this $3.99 iOS app offers over two hundred and fifty stories in fiction and non-fiction and includes a fluency timer that calculates word per minute for each reading attempt. You can also see summary charts and graphs.
Bonus Resources
The web is full of resources for teaching reading and assessing fluency. Two more tools you may or may not be familiar with include these, even though they are not apps:
Istation ISIP Oral Reading Fluency
Many educators will be familiar with this final tool. Istation’s Indicators of Progress (ISIP) Oral Reading Fluency tool is a computer-based tool. It records the voices of students for automated scoring. Or the teacher can later listen and score the audio. It requires a headset with a microphone connected to a computer or laptop. Learn more about technical requirements online. Cost varies on several factors, so you will need to contact Istation.
Fluency Practice Passages
Although not an app per se, the Fluency Practice Passages website organizes texts that you can use with your students. Each text comes with a lexile level. Students can read these for one minute each.
Ready to get going with repeated reading in your classroom? In part 1 of this repeated reading series, we discussed various tools you can use. In this second installment, you now have an easy way to use iOS apps to assess fluency.
Google Classroom is your command-and-control center for your digital classroom. As incredible as it is, you can make it an even better companion. How? Just try out the add-ons in this blog post.
These Chrome extensions and add-ons expand your ability to do work. Instead of adding them all at once, add them one at a time. This will give you the time you need to learn how to best use each one.
Add-On #1: Share to Classroom
Need to get everyone on the same page? Use this add-on to push web pages to any of your Google Classrooms. This makes it easy for you to share content (e.g. announcements, assignments, web pages) with them. Students can also use this add-on to share websites back to their teachers.
Wish you had an easy way to see what’s going on in your Google Classroom? Classwork Zoom (unrelated tothe Zoom.us web conferencing tool) translates Classroom activities into a timeline of information.
Classwork Zoom relies on information found in your Classroom, such as:
Assigned student work in Google Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drawings
Assignment deadlines from the class calendar
Watch this short video overview:
Note: Classwork Zoom currently offers free access to G Suite schools that are closed due to the coronavirus.
Add-On #3: Kami Extension – PDF and Document Annotation
Last week, a colleague remarked she had never heard of Kami for PDF and Document Annotation. After trying it out, she couldn’t help but be impressed. Kami makes it a simple matter to annotate documents by writing, drawing, and typing on them.
Some of Kami’s features include:
Providing students with documents that they can complete
Simplifying the return of completed documents for grading
Using Kami as a digital whiteboard overlay for an on-screen document
Sharing documents for collaborative annotation or discussion with others
One of my favorite PDF viewers and editors, Xodo is the everyman’s PDF tool. You can use it in your browser, making it ideal for Chromebooks. It works on Android devices as well. It makes it easy to read, merge, annotate, sign, and share PDFs. Xodo has served me well, allowing me to sign forms on the go. In the Google Classroom, it saves you time as you can edit PDFs on your computer and then save to Google Drive (or Dropbox). Use the Chrome extension or visit their website.
“I really miss my dual monitor setup in my classroom,” said a colleague. Wish you had an easy way to split your screen? Put Google Classroom on one side, other work on the other. Give the Dualless Chrome extension a try. This add-on divides your browser window into two. You decide the ratio of how much space each window will take.
But, Wait, There’s More to Add to Google Classroom!
Are you a super admin who needs to manage all the Google Classroom courses in your domain? Or a classroom teacher who wants to manage your own classes? Give this G Suite Marketplace add-on, Classroom Manager, a try (watch video). You can add it to Google Sheets and it will make it easy to do the following:
An admin user can use the assignments menu to get an overview of the work being set by all teachers in the domain.
Drill down to view:
Number of assignments with details such as when an assignment was set, when it is due, who set it, title, and description
Announcements made for each class
How many students, and what teachers, are associated with a course
Edit various details of domain courses via the spreadsheet with the add-on enabled, such as:
The course status and name
Section and description
Room
Course owner
Add and delete teachers and students
Schedule jobs to sync data about teachers and students of classes with data from your School information system
Unlike other solutions, there is a cost for Classroom Manager (annual fee of $99 for a super admin or $10 for annual teacher license). If you get the super admin license, you do not need to purchase individual teacher licenses. Schools can take advantage of a similar tool known as Little SIS for Classroom. Available from Amplified IT, it is free to schools until July 1, 2020 due to COVID-19.
One final point to keep in mind. There are many apps that work with Google Classroom. You can even take our self-paced course, Google Classroom, if you want to earn your digital badge and certification.
Wonder what technologies you can blend into high-effect-size instructional strategies? In this blog entry, I revisit the revised Strategies That Work app that you can use on your mobile device. It also works in your desktop’s or laptop’s web browser. Read the “Coaching for Results” series, yet? If so, you know how to match instructional strategies with technology. You can make those strategies relevant to how children learn today with technology.
In the Strategies That Work app, I shared several important instructional strategies. The app makes it easy to find information about each one. A recent update now includes a list of suggested technologies for each strategy. Find it online at https://tceastrategies.glideapp.io
If you’d rather not work with an app on your device, there’s another option.
Access Strategies via a Google Doc
In this Google Doc, you will find a list of strategies that you might want to use in your classroom. Matched to each is the latest description and effect size from the Visible Learning Meta X database. You will also find a column with a list of technologies that teachers and students may use. The purpose of the technology list is to complement and expand what you may know about using them.
Let’s take a quick look at two examples. We’ll explore how a single technology and single instructional strategy work together. The strategies and matching technology are in four categories, including the ones I referenced in my “Coaching for Results” series.
Example #1: Summarization (d=0.74)
Although it lacks the punch of a strategy that accelerates three or more years of student growth, summarization is a critical one to know and use. The Visible Learning MetaX database defines summarization in this way:
The ability to summarize a text is often taken as a marker of reading comprehension. Many scholars have advocated explicit summarization training for students who struggle with comprehension. This can include deleting unnecessary material or materials that is redundant. It can involve substituting a subordinate term for a list of items or actions. Or, the summarizer may select a topic sentence or constructing a topic sentence if one is implicit in the text.
When asking students to summarize, we can have them engage in any one of the following activities:
Traditional paper-and-pencil activities
Verbal activities as part of reciprocal teaching strategies
Recording some form of multimedia
Several technologies lend themselves to the use of summarization. While there are some obvious connection, one key component of summarization involves annotation. Digital annotation of websites and digital documents can prove quite useful.
Each tool has much to offer within its sphere of influence for annotation purposes. Digital documents (e.g. PDFs, Google Docs, Microsoft Word) offer many opportunities for student-led annotations. Even tools like Amazon’s Kindle eReader app have made annotation easy, and exporting those into other documents straightforward.
“Hypothesis is my literary Facebook. When I’m reading I sometimes wonder, does anyone actually understand this? Am I crazy? With this brilliant tool I know I’m not alone,” says Shannon Griffiths, Student, Plymouth State University.
Give Hypothes.is a try with a team of professional learners. You can add it to your Chrome browser since it has an extension.
While not my first go-to strategy to use, I can see why mnemonics is an under-estimated teaching technique. Mnemonic instruction works for students with learning problems, including learning disabilities (LD) or mild intellectual disability (MID) (source). The Visible Learning Meta X database defines mnemonics in this way:
A practice by which students learn a significant amount of information for long-term recall by memory. There are five classes of mnemonics: linguistic, spatial, visual, physical, and verbal.
Linguistic:Pegword and keyword methods form this approach. They associate a new idea with familiar words and/or phrases to help remember the item.
Spatial: This uses the loci, spatial grouping, and finger methods. Each connects a new concept to a familiar place, pattern, or finger. This aids in memorization of the material.
Visual: These rely on pictures or visualizations that create an association to the target concept (e.g., symbolics, pictographics).
Physical: This approach makes use of the body parts to aid in remembrance. Do this via movement or physical sensation.
Verbal: This method uses meaning and stories to help students remember. Some approaches may rely on grouping, semantic organization, and story-telling or narrative chains.
How do you go about storing information for long-term memory recall? You use a mnemonic. While it’s easy to create a linguistic mnemonic focused on keywords, others may be as much fun.
To make pegword mnemonics, you need an app or paint software. This comes standard on many computers, not to mention is available as part of Google and Microsoft Office Suites. One can imagine students creating pegword mnemonics using an iOS app like Doodle Buddy.
As you can see, the more you know about an instructional strategy, the easier it is to use technology as a part of it. Applying them in the classroom will involve drawing a connection. The connection must be made between learning outcomes and how the tech will be used.
One of the first steps you need to take is to select a blogging platform. This is an online space to share content. Avoid getting caught up in the strict definition of a blog (e.g. RSS feed or an online space with content you can subscribe to). Another point you need to consider is that you need something you can control as the teacher. Students are often blocked from using tools like Blogger because they are for students older than thirteen years old. As a teacher, you need an online platform that makes it easy for you to manage content online and student posting.
Unless you’re engaging in full-blown podcasting which involves scripts and audio editing, use Voxer to record interviews of less than 15 minutes and then post to social media (e.g. Instagram, Twitter). Be sure to combine your media shares online via Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. In the meantime, here are some suggested tools for working with podcasts:
While it would have been cool for Google to create a “Teacher-Approved Apps” button, they instead did this:
Socratic makes over one thousand high school and college-level subject guides available, relying on artificial intelligence to find and simplify answers to questions. The questions answered come from subjects like Algebra, Biology, Chemistry, Geometry, History, and Literature. Believe it or not, it can also answer questions about Physics and Trigonometry.
