Tell Your Learning Story!

Who doesn’t like a good story? Many students, yes, even high school students, enjoy gathering around their teacher or a guest reader, listening to a story being read to them. How many of us spend an evening, relaxing either at a movie theater or in the comfort of our own home, watching a movie? How often are teens online viewing YouTube videos? Fire up your laptop, or mobile device and whether you enjoy a drama, a comedy, a tragedy, or history, you can find something that appeals to the story lover inside. Storytelling is an ancient art and before the written word was the only means of conveying knowledge and entertainment. Storytellers were sought out and highly respected. So what does this have to do with educational technology and today’s students? Rather than be only the “listeners”, why not let them be the storytellers? Sure, they may be writing some stories in their English classes but let’s take it further. In our 1:1 iPad environment, students have an entire video creation studio at their fingertips. Download iMovie and start putting that built-in camera and microphone to use to tell the story of their learning. Want some ideas for what is possible? Visit Rushton Hurley’s Next Vista for Learning website. Search for almost any topic and you’ll find a student created video about it. There’s even a Lightbulbs section that breaks the videos down by subject. Want to know what subject has the most student created videos? Math! Well now… there went that excuse!

Here are some tips (thanks to Matt Miller for these) that might help make video creation projects go more smoothly:

• Storyboard - map out what you want to say and draw out what scenes you want to shoot before beginning to shoot video. This will speed up the process measurably.
• Remember it doesn’t have to be perfect - Think YouTube not Universal Studios!
• Give yourself a little leeway - start your recording and then don't speak for about 4-5 seconds and then leave a few seconds of silence when you're finished talking. This will give you some room to add titles, transitions, etc. You can always crop what you don't need out later.
• If your video includes interviews it might be worthwhile investing in a low-cost lavalier microphone similar to this one available from Amazon to enhance the audio quality.
• Bring in other elements - still photos, news clips, personal interviews, and music will add depth to the story.
• Share with a larger audience - don’t save these videos for just your eyes! With student permission, show them at open houses and community forums, post a link to the website, even have students submit to one of Next Vista for Learning’s contests!

So put on that director's hat, grab your portable video recording studio and let your students tell us a story!

Augmented Reality for Classroom

I always learn a lot while attending the AssisTechKnow conference that Kent ISD puts on every Oct. This year was no exception. One of my biggest take aways this year was Augmented Reality in the classroom. The two teachers that presented, Karrie Martin and Melanie McFadden did a great job walking us through the possible uses of several different AR apps such as Daqri 3D Elements and Anatomy 4D, Quiver and various AR Flashcard apps that all bring chemistry, anatomy, coloring pages, and earlier elementary concepts to life. My favorite was Aurasma, an AR platform that allows one to easily create AR auras. With this tool, teachers and students alike can truly add value to their classroom reality. The tool is available via a browser as well as apps for both iOS and Android so platform isn’t a problem and the process of creating an Aura is pretty straight forward. You need the app, something for the trigger and a video for the "live" portion of the aura. Open the app, create a new aura, select or take a photo of your trigger, overlay your video and finalize the aura. Use the same app to scan the trigger and view the aura after you finish.

You’ve all walked through a high school hallway and admired student work displayed on the bulletin board. Now imagine having this student work come to life! Point your mobile device with the Aurasma app installed at the student work and listen and watch the student explain why and how they accomplished the work and what they learned from it.

Ideas for how an educator can utilize an app like this are endless. Here are a just a few examples:

Take your teacher home with you: How often to you discover that students have forgotten the instructions for a worksheet by the time they get home? Create a how-to video and make the worksheet the trigger. The student uses Aurasma and suddenly you’re there with them at home explaining what they need to do.

Book Talks: Students looking for a good book to read for class? A book cover can become the trigger for a student’s video explaining why someone should read the book. Print out labels of the Aurasma app icon to tape to the book so students know which ones are triggers.

Virtual Meet the Teacher: Parents waiting in line for conferences? Why not have a trigger posted outside your classroom door or near your conference station that parents can scan with Aurasma and find out what inspires you, what goes on in your classroom and why you love teaching!

Explain Math Problem Solutions: Post the solution to a complex math problem and it becomes the trigger for the student’s explanation and demonstration of how they accomplished the solution.

Give Aurasma a try and I'm sure you'll find several uses for Aurasma! Oh, and did I mention it's FREE! The awesome just keeps coming!

My sketchnote of Karrie & Melanie's session at AssisTechKnow16

Just take a moment...

School gets busy. Works gets busy. Life gets busy. I mean, it’s October people! What happened to August and September?! With all that busyness we get tired and often don’t take those moments that we all need to slow down, analyze and reflect. While reading the various blog updates that get sent to my inbox there seemed to be two common themes; reflection and sharing.

Change, information overload, and daily “noise” from all of our various screens (I have 3 on my desk right now) and media are constants in today’s world. We need to take the time to analyze all of that information to make good decisions about what is good information, what will work well for us now, what we want to consider at a later date and what we can just say, “Eh, that isn’t for me!” So how does one find the time to reflect? Don’t find it, schedule it! Whether it’s fifteen minutes or a couple of hours, open up that calendar app and make an appointment with yourself. Set a reminder that will pop up on your phone, iPad, and computer. When that reminder pops up, shut the laptop, put your phone and iPad on silent or Do Not Disturb (swipe up from the bottom of your iPad screen and hit that little crescent moon symbol), and enter your quiet place. As John Dewey said, “We do not learn from experience... we learn from reflecting on experience.” So, take a breath and then just think about how your day went. What went well, what didn’t go well and what could you change to make it go better? Jot down some notes if you wish so that when you get busy again tomorrow your thoughts don’t get lost in the shuffle. Those notes will also help with the next step, sharing. Yup, reflecting just isn’t enough. You need to share with others. Whether it’s bouncing ideas off of your colleagues in the lunchroom or writing a blog post for the world to read, we all have a story to tell. So tell yours and by doing so you may spark others to share their thoughts and then all can move forward.

Hmmm… guess I need to take a look at my calendar and set up a few appointments with myself! See you at lunch!

SPRING BREAKOUT!

Some of the CCHS teachers who saved
the world at their April PD session

It's spring (or at least the calendar says it is) and time for something different for our April delayed start PD. After attending the ½ day MACUL workshop on BreakoutEDU, lead by Kelly Kermode from Forest Hills Public Schools, I was excited to try a BreakoutEDU activity with our teachers. I decided to run the Dr. Johnson’s Lab game for the PD. Boxes, locks, and other equipment were purchased, clues were printed out, and mixed curricular groups were organized. I had a couple teachers and our technology specialist try out the game to make sure everything flowed well and that all the locks worked correctly. They then assisted as facilitators in the rooms where we hid the clues. On PD day, the concept of BreakoutEDU was presented to teachers using the facilitator’s presentation available on the BreakoutEDU website. The scenario for the Dr. Johnson’s Lab game was laid out and… It was a hit! Teachers enjoyed the game and all groups were able to breakout and saved the world! After consuming their antidote we met briefly to review this new activity.

And then... I had a “Doh!” moment. I didn’t have them sit down with their department groups to discuss how they could use BreakoutEDU to facilitate learning in their subject area. Instead, I let them go a few minutes early. Granted there wasn’t a lot of time remaining before classes began for the day and who doesn't like getting out a bit early but it was a missed opportunity! Even with limited time we could have begun the conversation. It was the one comment that was repeated in the feedback survey. “We would have liked to discuss the use of BreakoutEDU in our subject area.” Sigh… I felt like holding up the EPIC FAIL! sign from the breakout games, having someone take a photo and posting it on the bulletin board in the teacher lounge. Or, maybe not...

Moodle to the rescue! I created a discussion forum and posed the question, “How could you use a BreakoutEDU activity in your classroom?” Now, not only can the teachers discuss but we’ll have a resource to refer back to and can continue the discussion. I was also able to add some of the content that I didn’t include in the presentation such as digital breakouts, the searchable site for games, and other resources. Several of our teachers have used or are planning a BreakoutEDU activity in their classrooms in the near future.

So a “Doh! Moment” can become a great resource. I think that’s called learning from failure or at least that’s what I’m going with!

MACUL16 Reflections and Take-Aways

The Michigan Association for Computer Users in Learning (MACUL) 2016 conference in Grand Rapids, MI, was, in one word, AWESOME! I was able to attend Wednesday - Friday and came away with so much. Big ideas, new technologies, makerspaces, student showcase, workshops and even the tried and true speaker-led sessions. This is a state-wide conference where you learn from national edtech leaders, in-the-trenches classroom teachers, tech-guru administrators, creative students and get to experience new and innovative technology gear in the vendor area. I loved it! By Friday afternoon my feet were tired and sore but my MACUL issued bag was full of goodies and my brain was (and still is!) full of cool and inspiring new ideas. From Gamestar Mechanic to introduce the basics of programming games to Breakout EDU for a team-based classroom gaming experience. From Google Hangouts or Mystery Skype to Google Streetview to create photo spheres to share with the world! It’s gonna be a busy spring!

Where will #DLDay 2016 take you next?

Digital Learning Day 2016 is in the books and we here at Catholic Central High School had a blast Tweeting out what some of our teachers were doing with technology. The best part? We didn't ask the teachers to do anything special. We simply took photos of what happens everyday here at CC and honored teachers for doing it. Students were asked about what they thought their teachers were doing well with technology in the classroom and then presented certificates (designed by our student tech support team) of tech use merit to those teachers. Several teachers were surprised by the certificate because they didn't think they used tech all that much. It was how they used the tech that captured their students attention.

So where do we go from here? 

As I was reading through the twitter feeds for #DLDay, I found a post about 20 ways to use tablets in the classroom. Since all our students have iPads, this caught my interest. There are some really cool ideas in here! Some I've introduced before and some were new to me. Read on for a few of my favorites.

The first thing I had to try were the Discovery Learning and YouTube 360-degree videos. Seriously, I may be late to the party but these are awesome! Load one, hit play and then move around with your iPad. From behind the scenes at the Iowa caucus to tours of Australia to being in the jungle with a band of gorillas, there's a 360-degree video for it.

Another media-centric idea is creating a pod-cast. This might be good for World Language classes or for those students that have difficulty typing but no problem speaking. There are many apps for voice recording including the one mentioned in the article. I've also worked some with Voice Record Pro which seems to have many features for importing and exporting sound files, conversion to other formats and is also free. If you're interested in trying out podcasting let me know and I can provide some how-to resources I've acquired.

What about note taking? How can we amp it up?
Try Sketchnoting - I know that I've mentioned it before. Ya, ya... Several times. But it bears repeating! The built-in and updated Notes app or other drawing apps such as Paper by 53 are great for this. Trust me when I tell you that artistic ability is not required! Simple boxes, lines, bullets and color help to organize and group your thoughts together. With the new features built into these apps you can now organize your notes using lists, hand-written or typed text, shapes, and allow import photos that illustrate concepts.

Your students write all the time. Let them turn their writing into a book or graphic story using an app such as Book Creator. There is a free version available that allows you to create one eBook. For unlimited books and additional templates such as the comic book template you'll need Tthe full version for $4.99 (or a school can purchase with an Apple VPP voucher for a 50% discount with 20 or more licenses.) It's easy to use and the final product can be exported in several formats.


These are only a few of the ideas mentioned in the article. Read through it and find one that sparks your interest and give it a try!

The 4Cs - New Way of Learning?

I was perusing Feedly the other day and came upon this post, The 4 Cs of Learning by Jeff Utecht on his The Thinking Stick blog.

Ahhh... 21st Century Skills and the 4Cs. You know 'em! P21 was founded in 2002 and has been promoting the 4Cs: Communication, Collaboration, Creativity and Critical Thinking ever since. I pulled the image at left from the missionliteracy.com site which challenged Michigan ELA educators to use 21st century skills to provide sound literacy instruction in 2006. So, here we are, 16 years in. We can quit talking about becoming 21st century schools. We ARE 21st century schools. What do or should the 4Cs look like today in our classrooms?

Collaboration: The simple definition per Merriam-Webster is to work with another person or group in order to achieve or do something. What does this look like in 2016? It is no longer students in the same classroom working together on a presentation they will give to only the other students in that same classroom. Take a look at some of these Flat Connections videos created by students across the world learning and working together. Interested? You can sign up for the 2016 projects or... start smaller and work with another classroom in your own building. Perhaps a social studies classroom working with a theology classroom during 6th hour or two Freshman English classes taught by the same teacher working on a project together. Either way, expanding the audience will get students more engaged!

Communication: People communicate. It's what we do. However, how we communicate changes over time. When was the last time you wrote a letter to a loved one that lived in another city? More than likely you sent them an email, Facebook, Twitter or text message. Yet most of these social platforms are taboo in our schools. Yes, I understand that they can be misused but so can a piece of paper and a pencil. If we teach our students to use social media properly the likelihood of misuse goes down. Become comfortable with these platforms yourself. Communicate with your students on platforms they use. Unsure of where to start? Read through this Social Media for Teachers Edutopia post that covers many different platforms and contains guides to their use. Learn to use social media for your own professional development and you'll discover uses for it in the classroom everyday.

Creativity and Critical Thinking: These two just go hand-in-hand. Students take the skills and knowledge acquired and apply that to whatever problem is before them whether it is creating a poster, a diorama or a presentation. They can take it even further to design and build a physical product as a solution to a particular problem. These are all forms of using critical thinking and creation. But, as mentioned in Jeff's post, in 2016 it's time to start teaching students to be not just problem solvers but problem finders. Last year our Girls Who Code team did just that. They discovered that there wasn't currently a simple means for local food pantries to communicate what supplies were needed most to their donors. The girls met with the various food pantries organizers, app designers and programmers and then began to design an app that would do just that. They moved beyond the walls of our school and began working with other professionals as they continued to learn the skills needed to complete the app. It was awesome to watch as the girls moved through the process, learning what was needed when it was needed and with very little adult assistance. Whether it's a physical product, producing a book talk video or writing a guest post for a theology blog, there's an audience for what you and your students are creating. Discover who that audience is and then share what your students are doing. You provide the structure & routines, assist with timelines and provide opportunities so they can choose why and what they are learning at any given time. Interested in learning more about design thinking? Our diocesan schools are being offered a unique opportunity to learn more about human-centered design thinking this July. Check with your department head, school administrator or instructional technology specialist for more information.

The 4Cs: Collaboration, Communication, Creativity and Critical Thinking. How are you utilizing them in your classroom in 2016?

Happy 2016!

Welcome back! 

Christmas break is over and the new year is here. As you are preparing your students for 1st semester exams most of you are also planning for 2nd semester. So... any edtech resolutions? Planning to try something new or just continue progress toward making your classroom more collaborative, engaging and interactive? Below I've listed two recent updates to popular tools and one new iOS app that may spark some new creative classroom lesson plan ideas.
Share your ideas or new tools, apps, edtech finds in the comment area!

1. Send EdPuzzle Lessons to Google Classroom: Free Technology for Teachers blog has a video tutorial to walk you through how to do this.
Are you an Google Classroom user? Do you also use EdPuzzle to assign and assess student learning using various videos? Well now you can send your EdPuzzle lessons to Google Classroom and keep everything in one place for your students. Richard Byrne, author of the

2. Start a Google Doc, Slide or Sheet from a Template on the iPad:

What??? Previously this wasn't possible on iPads but in December this feature was added. Within the appropriate app (Docs, Slides or Sheets NOT in the Drive app) tap the red + sign in the lower right corner and you now get an option to Choose Template along with New Document. You can choose various templates designed for the app type such as brochures (yup!), essays, etc. in Docs. Budget or grade books, etc. in Sheets and various slide presentations in Slides. Also fairly new in Docs and Slides is the ability to add images, shapes/lines, and tables. Yeah Google!

3. Create a meme using Adobe Post:

Adobe Post is a new iOS app (it's designed for iPhone but still works well on the iPad) that allows the user to use photos from their library, take a new photo or choose from free online photos.
They can then design their meme by adding text in various styles, changing the color palette, etc. Students can then share their finished photo. Sharing options include saving to Google Drive and Google Classroom. Students could demonstrate their understanding of a particular concept using just one photo and a few well chosen words, design a meme for a character in a book or show how they are feeling about their learning that day!