To Doodle is to Remember!

When I was a student my notebook pages were full of doodles. Usually just boxes, flowers, and various animals. None of them could be called artistic but it helped me to focus on what was being said and not stare out the window. If any of my teachers ever saw my notes they just shook their heads and told me I needed to clean those up, stop doodling and start paying attention. It wasn't until just recently that I started seeing posts on Twitter of these wonderfully artist notes that conference attendees were posting called Sketchnotes. I was intrigued but slightly intimidated because there was no way that I could draw something like that. Then I attended a MACUL conference session on Sketchnoting by Karen Bosch (@karlyb) and I'm hooked. I purchased The Sketchnote Handbook by Mike Rohde and started practicing. No artistic ability is needed. If you can draw a stick figure, lines and arrows, you too can sketchnote! I sketchnote using my iPad and also using paper and gel pens. On the iPad, I like using the Pencil stylus and the Paper app both by 53. I also use the Noteshelf app which gives me a more notebook style of note. There are many apps, most free or free to try, that work for sketchnoting and you can use a stylus or just your finger on the touch screen. I switch back and forth depending on the situation and what I have with me. Now I can doodle away but the difference is that no longer are the images disconnected from the content. Not only does this help me focus better but since the images relate to the content, my brain now has two paths for memory, visual and auditory. Plus... these are notes I actually don't mind reviewing, something that rarely happens with my text only notes. So... download a free app or grab that paper and pencil and give it a try with your students!

Sketchnote from ATK 2015 conference

Examples of one of my Sketchnotes 

ISTE session need two pages!

Look How Far We Have Come!

I was recently reviewing posts from an older blog I started about 3 years ago. Here are some example post titles: "Exploring BYOD at CCHS", "Need Ideas for Using Your New iPad" (and that referred to the first iPad 2s folks!), and the controversial "Moodle for Online Learning" (about our upcoming switch from Blackboard to Moodle -- oh the stress that one caused!)

It's now November of 2015 and we are no longer doing BYOD. Why? Because every student has a school provided iPad! Yet it was the BYOD program that showed us that these tools could be great assets in the classroom. It also let us discover that managing a multitude of different operating systems, applications and access wasn't what we wanted teachers concentrating on. The iPad 2 devices that the BYOD pilot teachers were testing seemed to meet the needs we were looking for of long battery life, available education apps and portability. All high school teachers received their iPad 2 devices and we moved from BYOD to iPad carts available for checkout. We brought in Apple to work directly with our teachers for several days as well as having our own "techie" teachers run various PD workshops. Teachers were able to become accustomed to using the iPad 2 for both their own personal learning and for their students. Those that utilized the carts in their classrooms were able to focus on the learning possibilities the devices provided. This program also helped us discover some of the gaps in our wireless network and support systems. We were able to increase bandwidth, add additional access points, a wireless network management system and additional support personnel. These upgrades have greatly improved the reliability of our network, the additional personnel has been a godsend and we have had a multitude of professional development. All of this added up to ensure the smooth implementation of the 1:1 program.

Then there was the move from Blackboard to Moodle. It wasn't that Blackboard didn't work for us but we were going to lose our low-cost access. Our ISD host was making the move to Moodle. Yes, it ultimately came down to money and a limited tech budget. After much wailing, handwringing and handholding, teachers went through the process of moving their courses over to the new platform. Administration scaffolded their expectations and now, a little over 3 years later, all of our courses have associated teacher-developed Moodle pages and students have access to their course information, assignments, supporting documents, and additional learning materials 24/7 from their personal device. Another success!

So why am I walking down the preverbal memory lane? Because as we continue our 1:1 journey and the professional development talk revolves around project-based learning, differentiation, student-lead learning and teachers as guides, I want to you pause for a moment and look in the rearview mirror. Pat yourselves on the back. Realize that you are all awesome educators and... You've Got This!

Vary Your PD Offerings to Reach More Staff

Last week I attended the AssisTechKnow 2015 conference at Kent ISD in Grand Rapids, MI. It was one of the best conferences I’ve been to in a while. Educators coming together to discuss assistive technology, UDL and ways to increase engagement and learning in the classroom for all students. Chris Bugaj, MA CCC-SLP was the featured presenter and is a very engaging speaker. I walked away with a ton of ideas. Now the real work begins...

While I don’t have my own classroom, I do have students. My students are the teachers and staff! So how do I differentiate professional development? Teachers, just as our students, come to the table with different resources, skill sets and learning needs. Put them all in one room for the typical sit-n-get PD session and many walk away dissatisfied. Some jump at the opportunity to implement technology and can’t get enough of it. Others are overwhelmed after a tool share session or feel they just don’t know enough about it to implement it. There are teachers who need time to play around and get comfortable with a new tech tool, others that jump in with both feet and figure it out as they go or some who are willing to let the students be the leaders. Either way, all need some type of support and PD. Below are some great ideas thanks to Chris Bugaj’s presentation “Multiple Means of Professional Development.”

Email PD - How do your automatic replies read? The typical is “I’ll be out of the office attending [insert conference or activity here] from [date leaving] to [date returning]. I will be checking email as I am able…” and you sign it with your name, phone #, etc. What if you also added links to your online help resources, how-to videos and step-by-step guides? Often the emails you get are about the same topics so give them the answer in your auto-reply and/or your email signature! Teachers can use this tip as well and include links to their Moodle pages or Google Classroom in their signatures.

PD DVDs - Most of our staff have Internet access at home but, just like our students, there are those that either live in a rural area without access to high speed Internet or have chosen not to have that expense. So, all of those how-to video guides that you so dutifully loaded onto your online space are not available for those teachers. No problem! Burn the videos to DVDs and create a checkout system. Call it PDFlix or [Mascot]Box to steal from some big names. Include a short assessment so that when the teacher returns the video they can submit their assessment and receive credit for their self-directed PD.

These are just two of the plethora of ideas that were shared. As Chris stated “Be an Experience Designer!” and take into consideration the resources and skills your students, or teachers, bring to the task. Thanks to the Kent ISD Assistive Technology staff, the KVO and KTC students, Chris Bugaj and all that made this a very worthwhile conference!

Formative Assessments - Stupendous or Stupefying?

Teachers, students, classrooms, and iPads. Technology integration in the classroom is expanding on a daily basis. iPads are used for note taking, researching an answer to a question during a discussion, in-class presentations by teacher and student, and various project-based assignments such as audio recordings or iMovies. One use for iPads in the classroom is for quick assessments of knowledge a.k.a., formative assessment. We've demonstrated some of these types of tools during professional development days but with the ever changing tech landscape there have been changes, improvements and new tools created. So what does formative assessment look like in your classroom? Do students groan in protest when you announce a quiz? Haven't you complained about the number of Google Forms you've had to complete? Is it because of the quiz itself or do you always use the same tool? Granted, groaning before a quiz is a typical response but mixing up the tools you use for formative assessment can make things a little more interesting. So... Here are some other ideas for formative assessments to add to your toolbox:

Socrative - Build traditional quizzes, assess on the fly with Quick Question, check for understanding with an Exit Ticket or create a quiz and let students compete during a Space Race. Socrative give exportable feedback results and includes percentages so you can use it for grading as well if you choose. There is even a collection of shared quizzes that you can borrow from and contribute to. Lots of tools for zero dollars!

Formative - Many assessment tools allow for uploading of images but with Formative students can also draw using their finger or a stylus on the iPad. This means it's a useful tool for math and science as well as other subject areas that require the ability to show your work. Teachers see live results and can give immediate feedback.

Kahoot! - Students like Kahoot! It turns assessment into a game. The colors are bright, there is music playing (if you choose), and they can compete against their classmates. Use it for quizzes, surveys and/or discussions. Here are some suggestions for playing! Access via a web browser on computer or iPad.

Paper by 53 - Wait a minute... Isn't this a drawing app? Yes! An awesome free tool that will allow students to visually display their learning. Who needs poster board any more? Paper by 53 is a great tool not only for visual note taking (sketchnotes) but can also be used to illustrate student understanding of the concepts you are discussing in class. Students can share their drawings with you via email, Google Drive & Classroom, Evernote, etc.

Explain Everything - This whiteboarding/screencasting app has it all! Yes, it's a paid iPad app but we've purchased licensing so all teachers and students can download the app from our AirWatch App Catalog without cost. Write, draw, import images or pdf docs, record audio, add additional screens and when you are finished, export to Drive, Evernote, YouTube, etc. Use Explain Everything for assessment, video lessons when you are going to be absent, have students create a lesson to teach each other, etc. With this one you can, as the name implies, explain anything and everything.

Today's Meet - This Twitter-like back channel app is a nice tool to give students an experience similar to Twitter but keep conversations within your classroom. You create your meeting room and students join. Once they join, they can ask questions, answer a question you pose, or comment on a discussion. If you want to keep things anonymous so that those students that don't normally share can participate during a discussion have them use a pseudonym or assign each student a random number that you know but the other students in the room wouldn't recognize. Access via a web browser on computer or iPad.

AudioBoom - Have auditory learners that have a hard time demonstrating their knowledge using traditional text methods? With AudioBoom, students can create and share audio podcasts. After uploading to their AudioBoo account they can share their podcast to Google Classroom to turn in their assignment.

EdPuzzle - Many teachers use videos in the classroom or in a flipped environment. EdPuzzle allows your to check for understanding of the video content by allow teachers to embed questions within the video content. Teachers can use videos from YouTube, Khan Academy and other resources. Create your content and assessments on your computer and students can download the EdPuzzle App for use on their iPads.

With so many different tools at your fingertips, assessment can become a fun and informative classroom activity.

The Journey Begins...

When it comes to educational technology and integrating these tools and techniques into your teaching practice, have you ever felt like you were caught on a technology round-about and getting no where or some how managed to take an exit ramp leading to a road you aren't sure you want to be on? I think we've all been there before and if you've been in that place, you know it's often tempting to just throw in the towel and give up. Don't! I'm here to help with ideas, new tools, not-so-new tools, suggestions for using those tools and perhaps a place where you can find a road map to straighten out those hairpin turns and get you back on the road to successful technology integration. So in other words, you drive and I'll help navigate!