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genius hour
Content AreasEducational TrendsGood TeachingSTEM/STEAM

Getting Started with Genius Hour

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

genius hour quoteThere’s been a lot of discussion over the last year about implementing genius hour in the classroom. Genius hour is the strategy of giving time for students to do self-directed learning on interests that they are passionate about. Google regularly provides employees 20 percent of their work week that can be devoted to “passion projects,” believing that this will better engage the staff and make them more excited about all of their work. There is nothing magical about the “20 percent” number; it’s more important that you give students some time for open-ended learning in which they can pursue their own interests. Here are a few resources to help you get started integrating this educational trend into your classroom.

YouTube Videos

Website Resources

Genius Hour Blogs

So how will you implement passion projects in your classroom? We’d love to hear your story. And if you have a great resource that you would like to share with our readers, please drop it in the comments section below.

 

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live video
Content AreasDigital LiteracyOnline Tools and Apps

Engaging Students with Live Video Feeds

by Susan Meyer
written by Susan Meyer

This spring, a giraffe named April at the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York has captured hearts and minds around the world. Thousands over live video watch her stoically stand and pace in preparation for the end of her 15-month pregnancy and the birth of her fourth calf.

While the world waits with baited breath for April to give birth, I started thinking about the value of live camera feeds. Why are people of all ages so enchanted? There is something incredibly compelling about live video. And therefore, it can be a powerful tool when used in the classroom.

Live feeds usually involve stationary webcams that observe the same place over a period of time. They enable students to experience the world in new ways, allowing them to travel to far-off places and see unique moments in nature. For example, they can observe how animals behave both in zoo environments (when a field trip to the zoo isn’t in the budget) and in their natural habitat.

Sources for Live Video Feeds

Here are some great sources for live camera feeds to bring into your classroom:

  • From nesting bald eagles to fish swimming in kelp forests, Explore.org has a great collection of live webcams. In addition to dozens of cameras that are live at any given time, the site also shows “off hours highlights” so that you can catch up on the best things that occurred on these feeds when they were live. My personal favorite is the live cam of Brooks Falls in Katmai National Park in Alaska. You haven’t seen truly skilled fishing until you’ve watched grizzlies catching salmon swimming up a waterfall.
  • For learning about the solar system and allowing your students to observe planet Earth from above, NASA has you covered. There are live streams from the International Space Station. The station orbits the Earth every 90 minutes. You can watch the Earth’s surface changing below, the sun rising and setting, and even follow the path of the ISS on a map.
  • After watching the Earth from above, students learning about landforms, biomes, and climate can see what is happening at some of the most beautiful places in the country: our national parks. The National Parks Service has a number of live feeds throughout the park system. You can find a listing of all of these feeds here. Where else can you visit the cliffs of Acadia in Maine, watch Old Faithful erupting at Yellowstone, and see mountain goats at Glacier National Park, all without leaving the classroom?
  • EarthCam.com also provides many live feeds at cities and landmarks all over the world. Students can visit the Eiffel Tower, the Statue of Liberty, and the Washington Monument. Social studies students can travel the globe seeing world landmarks in real time. They can view places that have been inhabited by people for thousands of years and they can witness people interacting with these places.

Curriculum Connections

Here are just a few ideas for how to use live video feeds in the classroom:

  • When teaching a lesson about life cycles, show a nesting eagle (or other bird) and have students check in daily to see how the eggs and chicks are developing. Research the life cycle of the bird being observed and have students make predictions about when they think the next stage will happen (example: when the eggs will hatch, when the chicks will start developing feathers). Have them track their observations in their science journal.
  • To support a lesson on world geography, let students pick a city in the world and share live footage from landmarks in that city. They can see not only the place or landmark, but also the number of people who visit it during the day. They can present their observations from the live feed, along with their research about the place or landmark and why people might want to visit it.
  • When learning about habitats, students can study a live feed of a particular place (such as a coral reef or a rainforest). They can record what plants and animals they see there. They can also take notes on the type of weather that appears. Visiting the feed over the course of several days or weeks, they can notice if the weather changes or the animals that appear are different. Over time, they will develop a well-rounded understanding of that particular place.

These are just a few ideas for how to use live camera feeds in the classroom. Do you have any live video feeds that you particularly like? Or do you have any of your own ideas for how you have used camera feeds in your classroom? If so, please share your thoughts and ideas in the comments.

 

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Android apps
AndroidBYODChromebooksContent Areas

Running Android Apps on Your Chromebook

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

Last May, Google announced that you would soon be able to run Android apps on your Chromebook. Well, okay, maybe not your Chromebook. If your Chromebook is like mine, it is several years old and will most likely not know what it is like to run Android apps. But if you happen to have a newer device, then it may just be possible.

You should know, too, that just because you go buy a new Chromebook at Walmart, Best Buy, or Amazon, that doesn’t mean that it will run Android apps. Be sure to look on the Chromium Projects site to see a list of those that are capable of running the apps. According to the Chromium Projects, starting this year, all Chromebooks that become available are supposed to work with Android. Even if you don’t see your Chromebook on the list, it will still receive updates until its Google-determined end-of-life, which should be about five years after it debuted.

Enabling Google Play Store on Your Chromebook

So, you’ve checked the list to identify a Chromebook that runs Android and you are ready to purchase it and use it in your classroom. Right? Wrong. You need to also check with your Google Suite for Education domain administrator to make sure Enable Google Play not enabled screenshotthat the option to access the Google Play Store on your Chromebook is enabled in the dashboard. You can check your Chromebook by going to Settings. Scroll down until you see the Google Play Store (beta) section. If the option is greyed out, then you’ll need to bake a batch of cookies to take to the domain administrator and ask if they can enable the feature. (Giving cookies increases the chances of having this feature enabled by 64 percent.) If you log in with your personal Google account on the Chromebook, you’ll notice that it is already enabled. But you do NOT want to use your personal account with your students and other teachers. For safety reasons, you always want to use your district account, even if that means bribing the domain administrator or waiting a few days for it to be enabled. Google Play option is available imageOnce the option to enable is made available, you’ll be able to enable it in Settings and manage Android preferences (similar to if you were setting Android preferences on an Android phone or tablet).

Google Play Store betaYippee! You have it enabled. So where it it? Click on the Launcher icon which, by default, is the icon on the bottom left on the shelf. You will now see the Play Store (beta) icon. This beta Play Store is currently a stipped down version of the Play Store you would see if you accessed it through the browser. And yes, you will need to use the beta Play Store to install Android apps. When accessing the store via the browser, your Chromebook will not be an option in the dropdown list of compatible devices. Once you click on the beta store, you will recognize the various categories to help you narrow down what type of app you are looking for. If the developers have not completely finished updating the app in question, it may be available as a beta version. When I spot checked several of the Android apps I have on my phone, almost all were available and ready in the Play Store. You might even find that some app developers have made their product available as a Chrome app (that you install via the Web Store) and an Android app (that you install via the beta Play Store). Either way, once installed, they will appear in your launcher window.

Finding Android Apps

Now that you have that feature enabled and you can access the beta Play Store, let’s talk about finding Android apps for your Chromebook. If you are wanting educational games or drill-and-kill apps, those are fairly easy to find; just search the store for the content area and/or skill you are interested in. Always be sure to install and play with the app before recommending it and allowing students to use it. Besides checking that it meets the content standard(s) you are reinforcing, you will also want to pay attention to any advertisements that might pop up.

If you want to be on the cutting (or bleeding) edge, you can try new Android apps before they are officially released; just click on the Early Access button in the beta play store. Remember that apps in the early access area are experimental versions and are not ready for prime time.

Here are a few open-ended apps that can be used for a variety of content areas. At this time, no web address is provided when looking for Android apps. So you’ll need to search for the name of each; an icon has been provided to help you more quickly identify the correct app.

autodesk sketchbook app iconAutodesk SketchBook – Whether it is illustrating, diagramming, or sketchnoting, you’ll find this to be a simple app to use. When done, save the image to your Chromebook.

trello app iconTrello – More than just a to-do list app, Trello can help you keep track of projects. You can work alone or collaboratively with classmates to keep track of project-based learning activities.

trading cards iconTrading Cards – This isn’t your traditional trading card maker. Templates provided include fictional person, real person, fictional place, real place, object, event, and vocabulary. Once you enter information on the front and back of the card, you can share it as a photo to your photo gallery.

pic collage iconPic Collage –  Share your message with pictures! Pic Collage lets you start by selecting your photos and then adding them to a grid with templates (start with a themed background) or freestyle (begin with a blank slate and add to it). You can also easily add text and search for photos on the internet to add to your collage.

Running Android apps on your Chromebook definitely increases the productivity value of Chromebooks in the classroom and allows students to be more creative in their learning and sharing. So if you have a Chromebook that can run Android apps, try one of the apps shared above and let us know what you think. If you have installed other Android apps on your Chromebook, we’d love to hear which ones you’ve found engaging, helpful, challenging, or just down-right fun.

 

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Alexa
Content AreasEducational TrendsESL/ELL

Alexa: Your New Teacher Assistant (Updated)

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

One of the newest trends that is getting a lot of attention lately involves controlling devices with our voices. Amazon is just one of many that are working to make their VUI (voice user interface) more intelligent and user-friendly. One way Amazon is doing this is by providing a host of skills to their personal intelligent assistant Alexa. Alexa runs on Amazon’s Echo, Dot, and Tap devices. You may know someone who has received an Echo, Dot, or Tap as a gift recently and wondered what all the commotion is about. I didn’t pay too much attention myself until I received a Dot as a gift. Then I started discovering the many ways Alexa could be used in the classroom…and possibly as your new teaching assistant.

Out of the Box

Once I unboxed my Dot and connected it to the internet via my wireless network, I was able to get Alexa to provide basic information and perform simple tasks:

  • Alexa, what is the weather for tomorrow?
  • Alexa, what is the capital of Alaska?
  • Alexa, what is 37 times 414?
  • Alexa, tell me a riddle.
  • Alexa, set a ten-minute timer.
  • Alexa, sing me a song.

Classroom Uses

There are many ways that Alexa can help you in the classroom even in addition to adding skills (which we’ll highlight in the next section).

  • Get rid of all of your dice, cards, coins, and other probability tools as Alexa can take care of that for you. Just ask her to flip a coin, pick a card, roll a dice, or pick a random number between 1 and whatever top number you want.
  • Use Alexa in your classroom to support literacy by having students ask her how to spell a specific word, suggest a synonym, or provide a definition.
  • Social studies students can skip an internet search by asking Alexa simple geography and civics questions.
  • Math students can use Alexa to check their work when they’ve finished an assignment, and science students will find Alexa is great at converting units of measurements.
  • If it’s been a stressful day, you can ask Alexa to play a track like “Nature Sounds for Relaxation” and give your students the opportunity to unwind.
  • To help your students keep up with current events, set up daily news briefings from the app.
  • Splurge for an Audible account (free 30-day trial; $14.95/month after that) and have Alexa read an audiobook to the class. Or have her read Wikipedia articles to students in need of reading support. The device can even read any Kindle book that you own (both free and paid), if you don’t mind the robot voice.
  • Encourage students to become more knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects with an “Alexa Fact of the Day.” Each day (or class period), a different student gets to ask Alexa a question about any (appropriate) subject the student is interested in. Have students keep track of these facts in a journal and then quiz each other about them at the end of the month. They can even use these facts to stump their parents.
  • This device can also be a great way for kids to practice speaking as they must enunciate pretty well in order to be understood. You can also have them practice their questioning skills by thinking of the question they want to ask before asking it.

Consider adapting your rule of “Ask three before me” to “Ask Alexa and three before me.” You’ll find more ideas of how to use the basics of the tech by visiting Erintigration’s site.

An Alexa Just for Kids

Amazon AlexaOn April 25, Amazon announced a new Alexa designed just for children. The Echo Dot Kids Edition, which costs $79.99 and is geared toward ages 5-12, is available for pre-order and starts shipping on May 9.

There are a lot of nice features in this new Dot, including Parental Controls, a case, and a year of FreeTime Unlimited, which includes great resources like kids’ Audible books, ad-free music stations, and fun, kid-friendly alarms. The device can decipher “kid speak” and rewards those who are polite in asking for something. It is also cautious in answering delicate questions such as “Is there a Santa Claus?” or “Where do babies come from?” The device comes set to not allow any Amazon ordering by the children and does not collect any personal data, which may set your mind a little more at ease.

If your student or child loves LEGO Duplo blocks, you can even add an Alexa story skill that guides younger children (aged 2 to 5) through playtime with the blocks. The customizable stories are themed around animals or vehicles. Alexa can encourage them to build creatively or recognize colors.

ClassAlexa

An enterprising set of teachers from 31 different states has now created ClassAlexa. Defined as “an extra pair of hands for busy K-to-8 teachers,” the add-on has hundreds of activities. The teacher can ask Alexa for an activity, like a ten-minute countdown or a word problem. Within a few seconds, Alexa “speaks back” the activity to the class, providing prompts as needed. Activities include brain breaks, math and ELA review questions, transitions, discussion prompts, countdowns and timers, social/emotional support, random student pickers, voice note taker, and class fun and games (coming soon).

The Starter version is free and includes five of the most popular activities with limited variations and a customizable random student picker. The Full Member version is just $20 before August 1 ($40 a year after that) and includes everything.

This blog was updated with additional content on July 5, 2018.

 

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balance scales with curriculum and technology
Content AreasLeadershipProfessional Learning

Which Comes First, Curriculum or Technology?

by Dr. Bruce Ellis
written by Dr. Bruce Ellis

As I work with leaders (technology directors, curriculum directors, and administrators) around the state, I find it interesting to hear their answer to the question, “Which comes first, the curriculum or the technology?” Sometimes the answer I get is a reflection of the role they play. Sometimes I’m likely to get someone trying to straddle the fence and give a non-committal answer. More interesting than the actual answer (“curriculum” or “technology”) are the reasons that are shared to justify the positions. So, which do you think comes first: the curriculum or the technology?…and why?

When the Technology Comes First

There is no argument that a robust infrastructure is a necessity for today’s work. With everything and everyone needing to do something online as part of their job duties, bandwidth is always a growing need. But, for our argument, let’s consider that infrastructure is a given. What happens when all the other technology comes before curriculum?

Technology plans are made, many times in isolation of the curriculum department, so that quotas are met, refresh cycles can continue, and a better student-to-computer (or student-to-device) ratio can be touted. In and of themselves, these are not bad. But, in light of relevant student use, administrators may be frustrated to find that these processes lead to distributing dust collectors – expensive dust collectors – that are proudly put out of sight by meaningful educators who have either not been trained in their use or see no value in the learning curve that may need to be invested to make use of the technology.

I can count too many districts that have made aggressive efforts to increase their technology without considering curriculum goals and outcomes; many times making use of bond funds specifically designated for technology. “Designated for technology” shouldn’t mean “divorced from the curriculum.” Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that technology isn’t important. But it should be identified after the curriculum goals and outcomes have been clarified.

When Curriculum Comes First

Curriculum directors and administrators need to have discussions to determine what the outcomes of the curriculum should be. I’m not talking about stats for the district improvement plan or the latest stakeholder newsletter. I’m talking about what it should, or could, look like for students to demonstrate mastery. When we take the time to identify those possibilities and think about how students may have to demonstrate mastery (communicate, produce, collaborate, etc.) as working adults, it becomes very easy to identify which technologies should follow these outcomes.

Identifying the curriculum outcomes also provides a framework as to what professional development should look like. We are quick to demand more than just “seat work” from students, but don’t carry those same expectations to teachers. This dichotomy hinders our teachers’ growth and reinforces the notion to other teachers that technology is “just a fad” or is unimportant.

A Close Second

When I say that curriculum should come first, I should probably follow that up by saying that relevant technology should be a very close second. When district leaders, specifically technology and curriculum directors, work together, a more robust curriculum and relevant technology integration is likely to occur. This can be easily seen in districts where the technology director and curriculum director are having continuous robust discussions and planning how to best utilize their budgets, including IMA funds.

So where do you stand? Which do you think should come first, the curriculum or the technology? And, more importantly, are you able to justify your position in a way that promotes student learning and prepares them for their future?

If you would like to know more about how we structure authentic training that emphasizes curriculum over the technology or details on having TCEA provide professional development in your district or at your campus, contact me at bellis@tcea.org. I’d love to talk with you and discuss how we can create amazement with your teachers and/or staff.

 

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math and science
Content AreasGood Teaching

Open Resources for Math and Science

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Need to model complex math and science concepts for your students? Use any of the 130 award-winning PhET math and science interactive simulations. Available for grades three through adult learners, these are  open educational resources (OERs), which means they are free to use. Each simulation will work on any device, making it perfect for 1:1 and BYOD classrooms, as well as those with only teacher projection.

Explore Simulations

Each PhET lesson (e.g. Balloons and Static Electricity simulation) comes replete with resources. Included are a video primer, lesson ideas, and teacher-submitted activities. Watch this video for an overview. A main goal of PhET is to assist students in becoming scientists. As learner-in-chief in their classroom, teachers ask questions (combine them with Quizziz or Kahoot for quick assessment) to highlight key concepts and spur deeper inquiry.

Measure Learning with Your Favorite Learning Management System (LMS)

Combine PhET and the Learning Management System (LMS) of choice to further support student learning. This can help students see what factors affect friction. Students can then respond to multiple choice questions or elaborate in short answer form.

Did you know? You can learn how to blend technology into instruction. Schedule an online or face-to-face professional learning session with TCEA’s Certified professional learning team.

Support Open Inquiry

Another approach involves using a student-centered strategy called POGIL (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning). Students work in small groups with individual roles or in cooperative learning groups if the learning needs to be scaffolded. POGIL activities focus on core concepts. They encourage a deep understanding of course material and develop higher-order thinking skills. Find out more | See it in Action

Engage in Video-Based Reflection

Deepen reflective interactions focused on a simulation with video. Use Flipgrid to pose video questions about a simulation’s key concepts. Students respond via their mobile device’s built-in video camera.

Conclusion

These approaches and technologies are so easy, you can get going quickly. Select your interactive simulation and scaffold the inquiry with POGIL. Then, assess learning with retrieval practice tools (like Quizizz/Kahoot), and Flipgrid. Your students will be thrilled you made the effort!

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Toontastic 3D
Content AreasGoogle Tips and TricksiOS Tips and Tricks

Take Storytelling to New Heights with This Free App

by Lori Gracey
written by Lori Gracey

Toontastic 3D from Google is the latest storytelling app available, and it’s absolutely amazing. Students can draw their own characters, easily animate them, record their own narration, and create unbelievable stories. And did I mention that the powerful and open-ended app is free???

Available for both Android and iOS platforms, Toontastic 3D is perfect for storytelling with cartoons. There are no ads, no in-app purchases, and no registration, email address, or logins required. Google recommends the app for students ages 6-12, but I believe high school students would enjoy creating with it as well. And it would work with students working in pairs or alone. In addition, the app works just fine without Internet access. Finished animations are saved on the device in the app, but can also be exported to the photos app or library. Check out this 30-second video about Toontastic 3D.

Toontastic 3DAs with any tool, the strength of the learning that results comes from how much thought students have to put into it in the first place. So they should definitely be asked to storyboard their cartoon first and have it peer edited for clarity, flow, and understanding. The app encourages students to use “Story Arcs” in planning their masterpiece. According to the website, “A Story Arc is a scaffolding tool that helps you map out a story’s plot. Whether they’re learning Language Arts or Science, kids can practice communication skills using story arcs as formulas for convincing arguments.”

Recommended Story Arcs

Short Story (3 parts)

  • BEGINNING Where you introduce the characters and the setting of your story
  • MIDDLE Where something happens, like a problem
  • END Where your story wraps up

Classic Story (5 parts)

  • SETUP Where you introduce the story setting and characters
  • CONFLICT Where you create a problem for your characters
  • CHALLENGE Where you make the problem even more difficult
  • CLIMAX Where you help the characters solve the problem
  • RESOLUTION Where you show the problem has been solved

Science Report (5 parts)

  • QUESTION Start by asking a research question. What do you want to know?
  • HYPOTHESIS State your hypothesis. What do you think will happen?
  • EXPERIMENT Explain your experiment. What data are you collecting, and what’s your control?
  • RESULTS Analyze your results. What observations did you make?
  • CONCLUSION Make a conclusion. What did you learn, and do you have any more questions?

Ways to Use Toontastic 3D in the ClassroomToontastic 3D

There are absolutely a TON of ways to use this resource:

  • At the beginning of the year, the teacher can share a cartoon she has created previewing the upcoming learning for students. Students can interview each other and then create a story about their friend using a photo they take of them. They can create a “welcome to our school” animation for parents and visitors.
  • In social studies, have students create cartoons about a state, historical figure, or time period they are studying. Or take primary documents and create a story about what they reveal.
  • Students can retell a particular incident from a book they are reading, create a book talk promoting their favorite book, or retell a story from a different character’s viewpoint or with a different ending.
  • If you really want to test your students’ creativity, ask them to create a short cartoon explaining a new math or science concept.
  • Design public service announcements after students have researched a particular problem in their school or city.
  • ESL/ELL students can use the app to illustrate vocabulary words.
  • Campuses can do their morning announcements using Toontastic 3D, whether created by staff, volunteers, or students.
  • If a concept is particularly difficult, the teacher can create an animation tutorial explaining it for students to watch whenever they need to.

Toontastic 3D empowers your students to be the actor, narrator, cartoonist, animator, director, artist, writer, or creative genius that they want to be. Download it today and get them started!

 

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Title and a 4 emoji writing prompt of smiley face, rocket, octopus and grapes
Content AreasGood TeachingGoogle Tips and TricksWriting

A New Type of Writing Prompt

by Peggy Reimers
written by Peggy Reimers

I have been around long enough to see many crazy fads: pet rocks, Care Bears, Smurfs, and Angry Birds. Do you know the current fad in pop culture? Think. Think hard. You know it, (I know you do) because THESE are everywhere. Picture walking down the aisles of Walmart, CVS, Target, or your local grocery store, and what do you spy?

Emojis. Yes, you read that correctly, Emojis. These small images that represent emotions have been transformed into tattoos, pillows, slippers, Halloween costumes, and Pez dispensers. So why not use them in an elementary writing class?

One of my nightly rituals is to scan Twitter for resources, and while doing so, I came upon Eric’s tweet “Emoji Writing Prompt Generator w/ Google Sheets.” According to Twitter, Eric Curts is a tech integrationist, a geek, and a Google Apps Certified Trainer and Innovator. And he has a fantastic blog called Control Alt Achieve where he posts his educational creations. Eric used Google Sheets to create a writing prompt generator that produces a random set of two, three, four, or even five emojis at a time. Instead of providing words for a writing prompt, he used a formula in a spreadsheet to inspire kids to have fun writing a story or a poem.

According to Eric (and I SO agree), there are several great reasons for using emojis as writing prompts:

  • “Since emojis are images, they can be used with students of any age, language, or reading ability.
  • They can provide a wide range of ideas since each student will have their own interpretations of the pictures.
  • Emojis are very popular with students, so they will likely have familiarity with the images.
  • They are fun! And writing should be fun. And learning should be fun. And school should be fun!”

Using the Emoji Generator
emoji

To start using this wonderful resource:

  1. Click here to go to the resource.
  2. Click on the blue button, “Make a Copy.”
  3. Your copy will open up in your Google Drive.
  4. The copy will have the name “Copy of Emoji Random Writing Prompt Generator.”
  5. Click on the tab to select the number of emojis you want to generate.
  6. Press “Ctrl” and “R” to get a new set.

Other Educational Uses of Emojis

Other possibilities for the Emoji Generator:

  • Use the emoji generator and have students vote on which one they like the best. Graph the results.
  • Create a word problem using emojis.
  • For younger students, they could say beginning and ending sounds of each emoji. They could also verbally tell a story or write a sentence using the emojis.
  • Name the emoji and list its rhyming words.
  • Can you make the emojis fit into your life right now?

A Sample Emoji Prompt and Story

Screenshot of the emoji writing prompt with sad face, footprints, and bathtub.

Let me give emoji writing a try with a true story for my life today: “My refrigerator quit cooling this morning. I am sad. I used my feet to find my phone and called the appliance repair service. Now I need a hot bath to relieve my stress.” Give it a go; see what you and your students can write with emojis.

Featured image Emoji Writing Prompt, by Eric Curts

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Minecraft
Content AreasMicrosoft

Fantastic Voyage: Minecraft Lesson Planning

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Embarking on a fantastic voyage of learning with Minecraft? Let’s review the building blocks of project-based learning success. Minecraft Global Mentor, Benjamin Kelly (@BBTNB), starts us off with this project,  Minecraft Musical Chairs:

Fantastic

Anatomy of a Project

Texas educators may want to add a few more components to Ben’s project task card:

  • SWBAT statement
  • TEKS and ELPS
  • Engaging scenario
  • Formative assessment activities.

Let’s take a closer look at these building blocks.

Block #1 : Student Will Be Able To (SWBAT)

Minecraft Project Task CardsJared Dees writes “SWBAT stands for “Students Will Be Able To….” Use SWBAT to focus a lesson plan on what the students learn by doing. Ask yourself “How do these verbs Jared includes align to what students do in Minecraft?”

Block #2: Relevant TEKS and ELPS

Learning happens on the messy journey from problem to solution. Aside from using The TEKS Resource System, hook students with a problem scenario.  Match the grade level TEKS to a core content-embedded scenario.

In Ben’s example, students show how they can work together. They construct a 3D physical representation of their learning by first developing construction criteria together and then adding their own positive improvements. In this way, student-architect teams achieve constructions they could not do alone.

Block #3: Fantastic Voyage

In the Project Task Card above, I adapted Lynne Telfer’s (@lynnetelfer | blog) lesson, Create Fred The Human Body! from the Minecraft: Education Edition website. In The TEKS Resource System, this science lesson for grade 7 students helps them grasp the key concept that individual components combine to perform functions as a system.

During this unit, students study human body systems for the first time…They identify the main functions of the systems of the human organism.

Block #4: Assessment

Adapt an existing assessment, (e.g. rubric) from an existing one, such as this one offered on The TEKS Resource System. To gain maximum credit, modify the rubric as shown.

The 3D model of the human body is highly detailed, accurate. The model reflects the selected system with a high degree of accuracy. Each component is clearly labeled. Signs and Non-Player Character (NPC) provide functional details. Critical fluid flow is accurate and possible. Specific information on how size, scale, properties, and materials are included.  3D human body modeling is evident, analyzed, and explained.

Conclusion

While you can  teach this lesson the old-fashioned way , using Minecraft: Education Edition makes students architects of their own learning in 3D virtual environments. Research shows this is a growing future work trend (source).

Be sure to check out these links to additional lesson ideas.

 

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interactive
Content AreasMicrosoft

Creating Interactive Math Textbooks

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

“It is not the reader of a text who learns the most,” says Stephen Knudsen, “but rather the author.  When a student makes a textbook in a course, the student engages daily in all classifications of learning…when students are asked to make a textbook, they are required to remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate and create. The results of this process are often nothing short of astonishing!”

Combine popular math tools like OneNote and GeoGebra to create astonishing, interactive math textbooks. Let’s find out how below.

Creating a Digital Textbook

Microsoft OneNote makes digital textbook creation easy. Students can work together on a single OneNote notebook that is organized into “notebook, section groups, sections, and pages.” Create a OneNote notebook as a textbook template, then share it via Docs.com. Students can grab the OneNote notebook digital textbook template, then enhance it. Each student or group of students can take responsibility for a specific section. OneNote enables you to insert all sorts of content, such as Vimeo, YouTube, Office Mix, Sway, and Microsoft Forms.

Organizing a Digital Textbook

Want to create a digital textbook template for your students? Let’s adapt Stephen Knudsen’s suggestions for a digital textbook:

  • Section 1: Welcome
    • Title page featuring student-created cover art
    • Dedication
    • A short Foreword by the teacher or someone who has read the textbook
    • Table of Contents. You can use Onetastic add-on to OneNote to auto-generate a table of contents for each “section chapter” and the digital textbook as a whole.
    • Author’s page with pictures of students, including their Twitter addresses
  • Section 2: Chapter 1 – Introduction
    • Organize the OneNote notebook into sections. Each section is a chapter.
    • Each section chapter will include its own table of contents and introduction.
  • Section 3: Chapter 2
  • Section 4: Chapter 3
  • Section 5: Chapter 4
  • Section 6: Chapter 5 – Conclusion
  • Section 7: Chapter 6 – Appendix

Students create hand-drawn resources and then digitize their creations with the mobile-friendly Office Lens app. Tablet access? Students can create their first draft of figures within OneNote. Identify key terms, record video/audio definitions and explanation. Design tall buildings and describe in a video how they were created. For math problems, students can use OneNote digital whiteboard technology to draft their explanation. Or rely on Microsoft Snip’s whiteboard capabilities and then embed that in the OneNote page. A few other tips include adding tags to chapters, creating a hyperlinked table of contents for each section, and setting a page template specific to each section. When complete, future classes can access the digital textbook via OneNote Online or a “frozen” copy can be permanently published at Docs.com.

Exploring GeoGebrainteractive

Wondering how to add difficult mathematics constructs? Take advantage of GeoGebra tools and materials.

GeoGebra is dynamic mathematics software for all levels of education (free to non-commercial users) that joins geometry, algebra, spreadsheets, graphing, statistics, and calculus. It also runs offline and works on various software platforms and devices (Source).

GeoGebra enjoys a rich community of support (check out Kurt Soeser, fellow Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE), work | watch his video) with over 500,000 pre-created resources. In addition to creating content with GeoGebra, students can also place any of those half a million resources within their digital textbook. Want to see this in action? Go to my TCEA Connect OneNote notebook using this link. You can also watch the YouTube video walkthrough.

Conclusion

Rather than rely on traditional textbook publishers, adopt a maker attitude in your math classroom. Empower students to create digital textbooks using Microsoft OneNote and GeoGebra. Publish to a worldwide audience and ensure that the learning is meaningful and authentic.

Featured Image Source

“Embed GeoGebra in OneNote” via Kurt Soeser as featured in the LearnOneNote Conference. Available at https://www.learnonconference.com/kurt-soeser-2016 during 11/12-11/17, 2016.

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