Making Pre-Test Review Interactive and Cooperative

Written by Quinn Loch

A couple weeks ago I was inspired by a review activity that AP environmental science (APES) students did at Prospect High School. In the activity, students were split into groups and assigned a topic in which they had to visually represent the most important concepts, diagrams, and terms within their topic. Students used neon-colored wet-erase markers on the black science lab tables and had great results. A lab table one day, and a make-shift "whiteboard" table the next. Time to get some markers!

Neon wet-erase markers on science lab tables.

I decided to try my own spin on it and have groups of students rotate around the room answering one of six questions for one of six topics. After six rounds, each group will have answered one question per topic. I used big pieces of butcher paper for this unit - going to give wet-erase markers a try the next time.

This jigsaw strategy is nothing new, however technology can lend a hand in making the end products accessible for students outside of class. After each poster's topic was finished, one student from the group took a picture and uploaded it to a Schoology Media Album. This media album provided another resource for my students before their first big test.

Our Unit 1 Review Media Album

I asked my APES students at the end of the jigsaw activity if they liked it and I got an overwhelming "Yes." I told them that I had seen this done another way, where each group was in charge of single topic and on student responded, "Oh yeah, that'd be cool too"!

My goal is to pool these resources both on paper and on schoology throughout the year, so that when the AP review starts in April, we'll have lots of resources to draw from.

Recharge with Professional Learning! ICE 2016

Written by Linda Ashida


February is a great time to take a break from our daily routines as educators and recharge by attending a professional conference.  And, as Kirsten Fletcher reminded us in her recent Collab Blog post, taking time out for professional learning benefits our students!

Last week I had the opportunity to recharge by attending the ICE 2016 Conference: Welcome to the Future.

In this post I will share highlights of just a couple of sessions that I attended. They were inspiring, stretched my thinking and re-energized me.

Keynote speech by Jenny Magiera. 

If you ever have the chance to hear Jenny Magiera speak, don't miss it!  In her keynote she inspired all of us to all be courageous, step out of our comfort zones, and "share our crazy pills" to encourage others to join us in our Edventures. She shared powerful examples about the power of student voice.  Check out the video her students submitted to the White House Film Festival campaign:  #YesYouCan.  You will be inspired!

Jenny also led an engaging workshop on Professional Learning.  Participant Katie Muhtaris captured many of the ideas presented in this sketchnote:

Katie's tweet is an example of how we can multiply our learning through social media. By following #ICE16 on Twitter during the conference, I expanded my professional learning network and learned from sessions, like this one of Jenny's, that I didn't even attend.

Social Curation by  Joyce Valenza

Curation is a search strategy, an activity to promote learning, a critical thinking activity and if we teach our students to curate, we teach them to take responsibility for their own learning, be a trusted guide, and form community and learning networks.  Joyce Valenza stressed the importance of teaching curation skills to our students. She shared a wealth of examples and resources. If you are interested in exploring curation resources, check out this this link to her presentation.

 

To "see" more about what ICE 2016 looked like and how it inspired participants, and for a wealth of resources, check out #ICE16 on Twitter.  

Using Group resources in Schoology for collaboration

by Kirsten Fletcher

While most of our staff are lucky enough to have collaborative course-alike teams, many of our smaller programs have teachers who have no one else in the building to help them plan, write assessments, create activities, etc. This blog post is for all of us loners! (Of course, it is also useful to all PLCs who use Schoology and like to collaborate.)

As a French teacher in a small program, I never have a course-alike team in the building. I have learned to survive by relying on my colleagues throughout the district. Together, we created a Schoology group where we house shared resources. We might not all implement the same plans at the same pace, but we do have an awesome collection of teacher-created resources at the click of a mouse. This has the added benefit of acting as a back-up of important files. The Schoology group is especially helpful when a new colleague joins the team. We don't have to find and share individual files. We just add him or her to the Schoology group and everything is already there.

Here's how it works. Log in to your Schoology account. Create a Schoology group. Have your colleagues join and make everyone an administrator. Then within that group, create a shared resource folder.

Create a Schoology group

Create folders in the group's Resources

Agree on a protocol for organizing your folders. The district French team, for example, created a folder for each level of language (French 1, French 2...). Within each of those folders, we created folders for each unit of instruction. Then we broke down our documents into Vocabulary resources, Grammar, Assignments, Summative Assessments, etc. Once we had a common system of organization, we took the time to upload our favorite materials (in .doc format so colleagues can revise).

Organized by units of instruction

Types of activities within each unit

Now that the system is in place, we continue to add new materials during workshop time as well as throughout the year. I took a class last summer with a colleague on flipping the classroom and the two of us created Schoology grammar checklists for every unit in first semester of French 2. We shared these with the group so everyone can use them and no one has to duplicate the work. When one of us creates a new formative quiz in Schoology, a writing prompt with a Schoology rubric, or a video for a flipped lesson, we upload it to the appropriate folder and let our colleagues know that there is a cool new resource. This has been such a time saver!

Share anything: files, videos, quizzes, discussions or assignments (with rubrics), test bank questions...

I'd like to offer a quick shout-out to my amazing district French team: Effie Kalkounos (EGHS), Sara Kahle-Ruiz and Sharon Horwath (RMHS), Kathy Wilkens and Jenna Sandstead (PHS), Barbara Meyer and Zaya Denardo (BGHS), Elyse Hoffman (WHS), Betsy Noble and Valerie Miceli (JHHS). They are all amazing and creative educators who inspire me to be a better teacher. Merci, mes amies!

The Collab Lab Resource Hub

Written by Linda Ashida

The Collab Lab Resource Hub is the website that serves to document the myriad professional learning experiences at Elk Grove High School, and to curate resources to facilitate future learning.

We invite you to explore check out the Resource Hub.  Among other things you will find: 

•Information about our Teacher-led Institute Days.

•Resources to impact learning in 1:1 classrooms.  Under the "Resources" tab you will find helpful links on Notability, Schoology, and more! Many of the resources have been contributed by staff at EG or other District 214 Schools.

•Information about our Elk Grove Lead Learners Team 

•Information about our Peer Observation Groups

The Collab Lab Resource Hub is a work in progress, so some pages are more developed than others, but they still serve to as one important way, in addition to using social media (this blog and Twitter) to document and share our professional learning journey and curate resources to multiply our learning.

How do you document and curate resources from your own or your school's professional learning? Please share your examples!

We always look forward to receiving feedback, suggestions, or resources you have to share.

Leave us a comment or come see us in the Collab Lab!

Educational Uses of Infographics

By: Rachel Barry, Chris Cirrincione, Bonnie Kale, Midge Snow, Izabella Wnek, and Katie Winstead

Infographics are visual aids in the form of diagrams, charts, etc. used to summarize information. These are particularly beneficial to students who are visual learners.  There are countless ways to use infographics in the classroom, such as course syllabii, pre-teaching a topic, review of key concepts, and announcements.  Here are some powerful examples of using infographics in education:

1. Syllabii
Infographics are a great way to spice up your syllabus and the first few days of class.  Often times syllabi are long with a ton of information that students/parents will need throughout the year.  An infographic is a great way to summarize the most important information in a visually appealing graphic.   During the first week, when Chris Cirrincione went through the syllabus, he used the infographic instead.  Chris then posted the infographic to his Schoology course and referred back at various times, including Open House.

    

Infographics not only summarize important information, but also appeal to more visual learners, who often lose interest quickly when reading through a long, and often boring, syllabus.  English Language Learners, and students with learning disabilities and other special needs, also appreciate a more interactive and engaging alternative to the traditional syllabus.  When using the infographic, Izabella Wnek noticed a marked increase in students who are willing to volunteer to read aloud in front of the class.  The simplified language, short pieces of text, and visual aids, promote understanding in all students.  In addition to reviewing the infographic in place of reading through a syllabus and posting it to Schoology, Izabella also created a poster of the infographic for the classroom that will be available for students to refer to all year long.

2.  Portfolio or Biography
As a case manager, Katie Winstead used to conference with all of her students at the beginning of the year and hand them a letter to keep and share with their parents. Out of the 20+ students she case manages, she would only have 1-2 of them in my classes, so the letter provided a great way for them to get to know her, where to find her, and what she was there for. The letter would often get lost, and students would ask her throughout the year when they could come to see her (either during the day or after school).  Last year, she started sending it in an email - but it was still so much information for students to read, process, and remember. This year she decided to make an infographic to send out to all her students and parents when she conferenced with them.  It's been great because students star the email (for easy access), have her picture on it (which is especially helpful for students who have difficulties with eye contact and remembering faces), and the information is much more visual and accessible to students.

3.  Review of Key Topics

Infographics can be used to succinctly display key formulas, relationships, or

concepts for students.  The visual aspect of it helps students to categorize relationships or view a hierarchy of ideas.  Rachel Barry uses the example below as a review guide for exponents, providing students with both a rule and an example in a simple graphic.

4. Announcements

An announcement can be made more visually appealing through the use of an infographic maker.  Some provide free layouts that can be edited quickly to spice up a simple announcement.  Here are examples that Katie Owen, Linda Ashida, and Rachel Barry created to announce professional development opportunities with our staff.

How do you make an infographic?

There are a series of online sites devoted to infographics for the most novice to the more advanced.  Many of these sites, such as PiktoChart, have a series of pre-made infographics that you can manipulate.  If you are more adventitious you can start from scratch and create your own, but they are as easy to make as designing a powerpoint slide.

Easel.ly is another website that provides vhemes (visual themes) and templates to create infographics. Users can upload files and manipulate their visuals to their liking.  Furthermore, users are able to check out public visuals that have already been created for inspiration, and even create groups that a whole team/PLC can join.  This way, visuals created by any group member can be used by the entire team.  However, if you are the only one who has jumped on the infographic boat (for now), you can easily provide a shareable link to interested parties.

Please feel free to stop by the Collab Lab if you would like some help in creating an infographic!

7 Reasons to Give Up Control to Your Students

by Mark Heintz

A few years ago I observed Linda Ashida changing the dynamic of her classroom by having students display all of the class materials through AirPlay. She relinquished control to the students and saw tremendous benefits.  Over the last year, I moved to a similar organization of the classroom and have seen the following:

1. Pacing. Students broadcasting over AirPlay changes the instruction pace to that of the student.  If a student displays any material from the class, they control the pace.  This way, I do not move too quickly through the information.  It forces me to have a student highlight the objective, open the reading, display the link, fill out the worksheet, or write the summary statement.  Having students display via AirPlay provides another layer of protection that further ensures all students are where they should be and are keeping up with the pace of the lesson.

2. Student examples.  Having students display everything over AirPlay provides live student examples of work.  Students become comfortable quickly with showing their work.  Providing their examples to the entire class provides instant feedback for their entire class!  What once was a one-on-one conversation, now benefits the whole class.  In a few minutes, I can evaluate several student's work in a timely fashion that benefits everyone.

3. A Safe Environment Focused on Learning.  If students display materials instead of the teacher, it rapidly creates an environment focused on the students' understanding of skills and content.  Students begin to feel comfortable sharing their work with the class.  They actually desire it, because it directly helps them get better at whatever you are working on.  Students know they can fail or be wrong at something because they will get the help they need to learn it.

4. Inclusion. A quiet student can have a loud presence through displaying via AirPlay.  An off task student can now be redirected through displaying the notes, writing down the summary, or displaying the materials to the entire class.  The student remains on task while displaying the information.

5. Students have all the materials.  When students display the course content, they have access to all of the materials.  As a teacher, I put up everything on Schoology.  For them to display everything, the course has to be logically laid out for each students to access the materials.  At the end of the lesson, they know where all of the learning materials were and often have them downloaded on their device.

6. Student Centered.  To have students display the materials, I plan on more student centered learning.  It forces me to create lessons that involve the students heavily and provides feedback to them constantly.  The lesson structure is developed with lots of checks for understanding that are centered around students displaying their work to the entire class.

7.  Freedom. Not being at my computer frees me to be with students. If I am not moving to the computer to change a PowerPoint, click on a link, pull up a reading, or anything else, I can be with the students.  I move around and see what they are doing instead of spending time at my desk. It minimizing my transitions as a teacher.  When students pull up the materials, I can be engaging students.

Blendspace

by Kirsten Fletcher

Looking for a way to save all those links that fit in so perfectly with your unit? The D214 French team spent some time this summer curating authentic listening and reading resources in Blendspace.com. Blendspace is visually more appealing than simply posting links on your LMS. 

If you haven't checked it out, Blendspace is a free website where you can create pages of information that you can organize however you want. We, for example, have set up a different Blendspace page for every theme. See an example here. On each page, we have links to a variety of activities such as videos, interactive games, reading passages, etc. For each link, we have typed instructions to guide students in their comprehension. For some, we have also created comprehension quizzes. 

-> Instructions for the reading activity appear when students click on the link.







Our team plans to ask students to choose 3 links on each unit's Blendspace page and complete the required activity. We have created a graphic organizer where students can show proof of their work. It is also possible to have students log in to Blendspace and work within the site.

One of the advantages of Blendspace is the ability to share with other teachers. D214 French teachers have made one another collaborators on our pages, so that if one of us finds a good resource, we can upload it immediately. Like Kahoot, teachers can also search previously-made pages that other teachers have created.

If you have any questions about this or would like to brainstorm ideas, please stop by the Collab Lab.

Enhancing Learning with Social Media

Posted by Linda Ashida (@Ashida_Linda)

I have become increasingly interested in the impact that Social Media tools can have on teaching and learning.  Many students still see Facebook, Twitter or Instagram simply as a means of social communication, without realizing that it can be a powerful learning tool. I am reminded of this when I visit colleagues' classes, in my role as Innovative Technology Facilitator, to teach lessons on Digital Leadership or Digital Presence. Students are often amazed and excited to learn about the opportunities social media can give them to share their work, receive feedback from authentic audiences, network, and extend their learning beyond the classroom. For example, after doing these lessons for students in our Leadership Through Service course, they began to regularly post on Twitter using their class hashtag #EGLTS. They were encouraged by the responses, feedback, retweets, or even by having their blog posts republished. These students quickly began to see the impact of social media on their learning and leadership.

In my work with teachers and students, I am also reminded about the challenge we all face with organizing all of the digital content that we come across every day.  Haven't you ever thought to yourself, "I know I read that online somewhere, and I saved it somewhere . . . " but you just cannot remember where?  Curation of digital content is an important 21st century skill for us and for our students, and it is greatly facilitated by social media tools such as Diigo, Pinterest, and Scoop.It.  Just do a Google search on a topic related to your teaching and include the word "Pinterest" in the search: You will find a wealth of great curated resources by other educators. If you are like me, from the examples of others, you will find yourself intrigued by the possibilities of using Pinterest to curate resources and have your students do the same.

For my own curation of content, I regularly use both Scoop.It and Diigo. Just today on Scoop.It, I came across this interesting article "Tools for Teaching and Learning."by Leila Meyer, via @ICTPHMS. Check it out! It gives examples of how to use six social media tools, including the aforementioned Diigo, Pinterest, and Scoop.It. It also shares ideas for using Voice Thread, Instagram and Feedly. Though they are examples are from college courses, they still apply to other levels of education.  

Do you have examples of how Social Media has impacted teaching and learning for you and your students?  Please share! Comment below!