Course 1 - Who Inspired you to do Creative Work?

• Who inspired you to do creative work (a friend, a mentor, or a teacher)? 

This question is a hard one for me, probably too hard. I wanted to talk about a past teacher. I can think of a few teachers who were influential:

• Grade 3
• Grade 4
• Grade 5
• Grade 6
• Grade 7
• Grade 10
• Grade 11
• Several in college

This list gives me for an idea to make a post of the most memorable lessons from my own schooling. 

The teachers' areas of specialization are also interesting because they weigh heavily in social studies and in college, I chose international relations, a course of the social studies group of subjects, as my major.

• How did that shape your approach to teaching?

I don't remember much about schooling before high school - my mind was always focused on things outside the classroom, but I do remember a shift from junior high to high school and college. Assignments moved from more project-based learning to essay/writing assignments, then to lectures and essays in college.

I remember a unit on communities in junior high were we were asked to interview all our neighbors in what we considered to be our neighborhood. So, we first had to decide and justify what we consider to be our neighborhood and identify it on a map before going out and knocking on doors.

In high school, I had a new (to teaching) teacher that had us simulate the Cuban Missle crisis. I don't think his lesson went according to plan (we always opted for the nuclear option) but it made us look at the even a little differently and I still remember it as an interesting way of teaching. 

A few ideas for MEDIA-RICH LESSONS

cross posted to tekiota.com

The traditional center rotation involves students moving from one area to another, and at each stop, they learn something new.

When I used centers in elementary school, I needed students to be able to pronounce words properly, but I couldn’t always be right there to correct or help them. I started using QR Codes to give students access to an audio recording of words they were to pronounce. Another one was when reading in groups, point a QR Code to a URL of a recording of the book they were reading so they could listen before starting to read.

That would be one way to give students access to other information they could consume on their own.

Another way is to create a Google Drawing (or Slide you can embed in a blog) that has icons of the media type you are linking to (via Eric Curts). Have text you want students to read? Put an icon of a Document in your Drawing and add a link to the icon that leads to the Doc. Have a movie you want students to watch? Put an icon of YouTube and link to it. (Think of the DragonGate graphic.)

Another way to do this is by using a HyperDoc. In this example, the teacher has put the information students will need to know, along with a place for them to write notes on their learning.

Consumption vs Creation

It is great to have students use technology, but how can you use technology to have students create? Always try to push students to the top of the pyramid.

How Much Choice is Too Much?

Advanced PHP #KAStw

A photo posted by Thomas Hammerlund (@thomashammerlund) on Sep 21, 2016 at 12:24am PDT

The above picture was taken during the "maker club" activity I am supervising. It is an after school activity where students can work on what they are interested in within certain parameters. One of them is coding, and the above student was working on a website for a client of his.

Yes, a client. This student freelances as a web designer.

I am sure he does more. He has presented at technology conferences because he is an expert on internet security.

He is also in my MYP Design class.

During the maker space time, I asked what he was working on and he told me. After thinking about it for a little while, I wondered if he might rather work on his own projects during class. He would still need to do the things he would normally have to do for a design project - he would just be doing a different project.

I asked him if he would be interested in trying this for the next design cycle and he was very eager.

This is something he will be doing again next semester, but I wanted to give him something meaningful in the meantime.

Computational Thinking Resources

Computational Thinking is often related with Computer Science. That makes sense, they are related. The problem is when the thinking ends there.

Did you know you can use Computational Thinking in any subject?

The following quote is from Google's Computational Thinking Course:

Computational Thinking (CT) is a problem solving process that includes a number of characteristics and dispositions. CT is essential to the development of computer applications, but it can also be used to support problem solving across all disciplines, including the humanities, math, and science. Students who learn CT across the curriculum can begin to see a relationship between academic subjects, as well as between life inside and outside of the classroom.

From the Google Computational Thinking for Educators Course 

Teaching Computational Thinking is also teaching critical thinking.

Team Computer Science Group Man by geralt via pixabay.com CC0

Here are a few resources I have recently come across to get you started.

Computational Thinking for Educators Course 

This MOOC from Google guides you through ways to integrate Computational Thinking into the courses you are teaching. It is a great way to introduce yourself to computational thinking.



Computer Science Unplugged

Computer Science Unplugged is a great resource because it gives you access to resources that you can do without a computer at any grade level.



Google CS First

Google CS First is a new Google resource for computational thinking. CS First gives access to resources for activities that can be integrated into any subject area.



MIT App Inventor

MIT App inventor is for more advanced coders. This gives students a platform for creating their own apps

Hanging Out with an Ocean Between

Way back in August, I met with Lulu to talk about her goals for the year. She explained that one of her goals was to do more Mystery Hangouts this year. Last year they were a big hit with her students. Mystery Hangouts are fun for the students, but also takes learning geography beyond memorizing (DOK 1) to using the clues you are given to find the place you are looking for (DOK 3).

 

Soon after speaking with her, I happened to find a teacher on Twitter looking for classes with whom to connect.

Students were broken up into different groups to perform different roles. One group thought of questions for the other class, one group tried to take the clues given and find the other class on the map, one group recorded answers, another took pictures recording the process, one group was working on a globe.

Although students were disappointed they "lost" (the other class beat guess we are at KAS in fewer questions) they all answered "fun" when asked how it was.

I am looking forward to seeing the students get better at this as the year goes on.

Get students excited about what they are doing #KAStw

A photo posted by Thomas Hammerlund (@thomashammerlund) on Sep 1, 2016 at 7:54pm PDT

Skyping with @nnruthai #KAStw

A photo posted by Thomas Hammerlund (@thomashammerlund) on Sep 1, 2016 at 7:50pm PDT

20 Questions with Google Maps

One fourth-grade elementary teacher at KAS introduced her class to Mystery Hangouts last year. (If you are not familiar with Mystery Hangouts, think Mystery Skype - same idea.)

With a date scheduled for Thursday, I met with both fourth-grade teachers today to see how we could prepare the students for their first hangout of the year.

We looked at what skills the students will need for this activity, and decided to do a warmup on Wednesday to practice the skills.

Not wanting to teach the students each little detail about Google Maps, we are going to role play the activity so the students will see how to use it in action. The second skill students need to learn is how to ask a good question.

The Lesson
We started by getting the students logged into the computer and email. For most of the students, this wasn't an issue, but there were those students who had issues whether it be caused by user error [students mistyping] or computer error [computers not being charged or updated]. This ate up 15 minutes, but I believe this is a necessary use of time. It's a now or later process, and usually in those instances, now is better. So I think this was time well spent (despite the way I worded the sentence). Time needs to be factored into the planning of lessons involving tech in the elementary grades.

No matter how long you think it will take, add at least ten minutes.

Exploring maps and questioning in G4 #KAStw https://t.co/elA8lHAl5K pic.twitter.com/5gZzMzvzBi

— Thomas Hammerlund (@thammerlund) August 31, 2016

So we got started. With one teacher saying "Find my old school", and the students started asking questions.

I worked with this group of students a lot last year, and I know they can [could do a lot last year] but this was a new experience for them and they need practice with listening to the information given to them, and determining the next step.

More practice they shall receive.

Getting the Most Out of IT

What skills and competencies do our students need to be successful in college and their careers?

• learn to learn
• grit
• be self-aware
• problem solving
• creativity
• communication
• attention to detail
• community awareness

What are the characteristics of learning activities that will help students develop these skills?

• open-ended
• realistic situations / authentic
• connect with peers 
• collaborative
• authentic speakers 
• feedback

 ISTE's Ed Tech Coaches Network (Links to an external site.)

How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Links to an external site.)

Designing Classroom Environments

Chapter 6 of this volume proposes a framework to help guide the design and evaluation of environments that can optimize learning. Drawing heavily on the three principles discussed above, it posits four interrelated attributes of learning environments that need cultivation.

1. Schools and classrooms must be learner centered. 

Teachers must pay close attention to the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that learners bring into the classroom. This incorporates the preconceptions regarding subject matter already discussed, but it also includes a broader understanding of the learner. For example:

• Cultural differences can affect students’ comfort level in working collaboratively versus individually, and they are reflected in the background knowledge students bring to a new learning situation (Moll et al., 1993).
• Students’ theories of what it means to be intelligent can affect their performance. Research shows that students who think that intelligence is a fixed entity are more likely to be performance oriented than learning oriented—they want to look good rather than risk making mistakes while learning. These students are especially likely to bail out when tasks become difficult. In contrast, students who think that intelligence is malleable are more willing to struggle with challenging tasks; they are more comfortable with risk (Dweck, 1989; Dweck and Legget, 1988).

Teachers in learner-centered classrooms also pay close attention to the individual progress of each student and devise tasks that are appropriate.

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Suggested Citation: "1 Learning: From Speculation to Science." National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000. doi:10.17226/9853.

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Learner-centered teachers present students with “just manageable difficulties” —that is, challenging enough to maintain engagement, but not so difficult as to lead to discouragement. They must, therefore, have an understanding of their students’ knowledge, skill levels, and interests (Duckworth, 1987).

2. To provide a knowledge-centered classroom environment, attention must be given to what is taught (information, subject matter), why it is taught (understanding), and what competence or mastery looks like. 

As mentioned above, research discussed in the following chapters shows clearly that expertise involves well-organized knowledge that supports understanding, and that learning with understanding is important for the development of expertise because it makes new learning easier (i.e., supports transfer). Is this right? Didn't I read that unorganized information helps students learn?

Learning with understanding is often harder to accomplish than simply memorizing, and it takes more time. Many curricula fail to support learning with understanding because they present too many disconnected facts in too short a time—the “mile wide, inch deep” problem. Tests often reinforce memorizing rather than understanding. The knowledge-centered environment provides the necessary depth of study, assessing student understanding rather than factual memory. It incorporates the teaching of meta-cognitive strategies that further facilitate future learning.

Knowledge-centered environments also look beyond engagement as the primary index of successful teaching (Prawaf et al., 1992). Students’ interest or engagement in a task is clearly important. Nevertheless, it does not guarantee that students will acquire the kinds of knowledge that will support new learning. There are important differences between tasks and projects that encourage hands-on doing and those that encourage doing with understanding; the knowledge-centered environment emphasizes the latter (Greeno, 1991).

3. Formative assessments—ongoing assessments designed to make students’ thinking visible to both teachers and students—are essential. They permit the teacher to grasp the students’ preconceptions, understand where the students are in the “developmental corridor” from informal to formal thinking, and design instruction accordingly. In the assessment-centered classroom environment, formative assessments help both teachers and students monitor progress.

An important feature of assessments in these classrooms is that they be learner-friendly: they are not the Friday quiz for which information is memorized the night before, and for which the student is given a grade that ranks him or her with respect to classmates. Rather, these assessments should

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Suggested Citation: "1 Learning: From Speculation to Science." National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000. doi:10.17226/9853.

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provide students with opportunities to revise and improve their thinking (Vye et al., 1998b), help students see their own progress over the course of weeks or months, and help teachers identify problems that need to be remedied (problems that may not be visible without the assessments). For example, a high school class studying the principles of democracy might be given a scenario in which a colony of people have just settled on the moon and must establish a government. Proposals from students of the defining features of such a government, as well as discussion of the problems they foresee in its establishment, can reveal to both teachers and students areas in which student thinking is more and less advanced. The exercise is less a test than an indicator of where inquiry and instruction should focus.

4. Learning is influenced in fundamental ways by the context in which it takes place. A community-centered approach requires the development of norms for the classroom and school, as well as connections to the outside world, that support core learning values.

The norms established in the classroom have strong effects on students’ achievement. In some schools, the norms could be expressed as “don’t get caught not knowing something.” Others encourage academic risk-taking and opportunities to make mistakes, obtain feedback, and revise. Clearly, if students are to reveal their preconceptions about a subject matter, their questions, and their progress toward understanding, the norms of the school must support their doing so.

Teachers must attend to designing classroom activities and help students organize their work in ways that promote the kind of intellectual camaraderie and the attitudes toward learning that build a sense of community. In such a community, students might help one another solve problems by building on each other’s knowledge, asking questions to clarify explanations, and suggesting avenues that would move the group toward its goal (Brown and Campione, 1994). Both cooperation in problem solving (Evans, 1989; Newstead and Evans, 1995) and argumentation (Goldman, 1994; Habermas, 1990; Kuhn, 1991; Moshman, 1995a, 1995b; Salmon and Zeitz, 1995; Youniss and Damon, 1992) among students in such an intellectual community enhance cognitive development.

Teachers must be enabled and encouraged to establish a community of learners among themselves (Lave and Wegner, 1991). These [teacher] communities can build a sense of comfort with questioning rather than knowing the answer and can develop a model of creating new ideas that build on the contributions of individual members. They can engender a sense of the excitement of learning that is then transferred to the classroom, conferring a sense of ownership of new ideas as they apply to theory and practice.

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Suggested Citation: "1 Learning: From Speculation to Science." National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000. doi:10.17226/9853.

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FIGURE 1.2 Students spend only 14 percent of their time in school.

Not least, schools need to develop ways to link classroom learning to other aspects of students’ lives. Engendering parent support for the core learning principles and parent involvement in the learning process is of utmost importance (Moll, 1990; 1986a, 1986b). Figure 1.2 shows the percentage of time, during a calendar year, that students in a large school district spent in school. If one-third of their time outside school (not counting sleeping) is spent watching television, then students apparently spend more hours per year watching television than attending school. A focus only on the hours that students currently spend in school overlooks the many opportunities for guided learning in other settings.

Technology to Support Learning

Attempts to use computer technologies to enhance learning began with the efforts of pioneers such as Atkinson and Suppes (e.g., Atkinson, 1968; Suppes and Morningstar, 1968). The presence of computer technology in schools has increased dramatically since that time, and predictions are that this trend will continue to accelerate (U.S. Department of Education, 1994). The romanticized view of technology is that its mere presence in schools will enhance student learning and achievement. In contrast is the view that money spent on technology, and time spent by students using technology, are money and time wasted (see Education Policy Network, 1997). Several groups have reviewed the literature on technology and learning and concluded that it has great potential to enhance student achievement and teacher learning, but only if it is used appropriately (e.g., Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1996; President’s Committee of Advisors on Science and Technology, 1997; Dede, 1998).

What is now known about learning provides important guidelines for uses of technology that can help students and teachers develop the competencies needed for the twenty-first century. The new technologies provide opportunities for creating learning environments that extend the possibilities of “old” —but still useful—technologies—books; blackboards; and linear, one-way communication media, such as radio and television shows—as well as offering new possibilities. Technologies do not guarantee effective learning, however. Inappropriate uses of technology can hinder learning— for example, if students spend most of their time picking fonts and colors for multimedia reports instead of planning, writing, and revising their ideas. And everyone knows how much time students can waste surfing the Internet. Yet many aspects of technology make it easier to create environments that fit the principles of learning discussed throughout this volume.

Because many new technologies are interactive (Greenfield and Cocking, 1996), it is now easier to create environments in which students can learn by doing, receive feedback, and continually refine their understanding and build new knowledge (Barron et al., 1998; Bereiter and Scardamalia,

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Suggested Citation: "9 Technology to Support Learning." National Research Council. How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School: Expanded Edition. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, 2000. doi:10.17226/9853.

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1993; Hmelo and Williams, 1998; Kafai, 1995; Schwartz et al., 1999). The new technologies can also help people visualize difficult-to-understand concepts, such as differentiating heat from temperature (Linn et al., 1996). Students can work with visualization and modeling software that is similar to the tools used in nonschool environments, increasing their understanding and the likelihood of transfer from school to nonschool settings (see Chapter 3). These technologies also provide access to a vast array of information, including digital libraries, data for analysis, and other people who provide information, feedback, and inspiration. They can enhance the learning of teachers and administrators, as well as that of students, and increase connections between schools and the communities, including homes.

In this chapter we explore how new technologies can be used in five ways:

• bringing exciting curricula based on real-world problems into the classroom;
• providing scaffolds and tools to enhance learning;
• giving students and teachers more opportunities for feedback, reflection, and revision;
• building local and global communities that include teachers, administrators, students, parents, practicing scientists, and other interested people; and
• expanding opportunities for teacher learning.

Based on the key ideas in the research, and the Museum learning activity in the video, how will you coach other teachers to use technology to enhance learning?

I will try to look for ways to connect learning to students lives. If students have an interest, why not let them go for it? If an activity is meaningful to them, students will more likely be engaged in it. Along the same lines, look for ways in which the students can be more active in how they show their learning or use a specific process to achieve a task. (Evaluate the process or the product.)

I want to ask more questions in general, but one in particular; How can we build a better community of learners where students are not afraid to fail or ask peers for help? If students are able to get over the fear of being wrong, 

Students should be able to take action in their learning. We will look for authentic learning activities where students can see the results of their efforts. Hopefully, students will be able to demonstrate understanding and competence.

How can we incorporate other subjects?

I Don't Have Time To Integrate Technology

Last year I felt like I was moving at warp speed for most of the year. Last week we finished the New Year Orientation and fortunately I didn't have that feeling quite as much. Still, it was a week where I wish there was more time. 

One day of orientation we broke the faculty into groups and had conversations about how we integrate technology into our classrooms. 

I first joined the PE teachers (since that is a subject I would like to work with more this year) and was able to listen to their reflections. I also heard some strong opinions as to why it doesn't work.

I was then pulled into the math teachers group where I heard some opinions that sounded similar.

There is no time to integrate technology
I have things that need to be covered
Students are not interested in staying inside for that sort of thing
The big creative projects are great, but I have to prepare my students for their IB exams

I put these comments in the back of my mind. I see them as challenges; not only to the teachers, but these are challenges I will have this year.

Then I was talking with a different teacher [on a different day] about her ideas. She got an idea from another teacher to teach tools along the way, and then give the students the freedom to choose how they want to show their learning.

I want to have a conversation with those teachers in math and PE to get them started. Maybe then we can figure out a solution to their needs together.

My Daily Breakdown

I just realized the title could be interpreted in other ways. I'll leave it.

I've had this a form template that +Geoffrey Derry shared with back in the autumn. I didn't do much with it, in fact, I did nothing with it until last week.

Then I started playing with it.

This is his creation, so it suits his needs. I still need to tweak it. But I like this. I like being able to quickly visualize what I have done on a particular day. I like the idea of being able to quickly show what

Putting Your Learning into Practice

In this activity, we are asked to work with another teacher. Since it is summer, I am going to pull a lesson from our Atlas Rubicon and go this one alone to get practice coming up with suggestions.

I'm not sure if it's because of the summer, but lately, I have been trying to brainstorm ideas for interesting lesson ideas but have been coming up flat.

Ask if they have an activity that the two of you might improve through collaboration.

Character stories - Realism/Fantasy/Plays

Review the information about ways that technology might enhance learning from the last activity with your learning partner.  

Questions to ask ...

How could we add a real-world problem to this unit?
Are there any tools that might scaffold learning?
How can we provide more opportunities for feedback, revising, and reflection?
How can we give students access to quality information, primary documents, or points of view not available otherwise?

How can we allow students to engage in learning activities that would otherwise be infeasible (examples: human/animal anatomy, or online scientific investigations)?
How can we differentiate learning for students with different needs?
How can we help students understand abstract concepts?
How can we help student gather information, organize, synthesize, analyze information and draw conclusions?.
How can we foster student discovery of a concept or construction of their own understanding of a concept?
How can we enable students to share ideas and collaborate with remote groups?
How can we help students receive feedback on their work from outside the classroom?
How can we enable students to participate in the democratic process?


Now review the common learning tasks- communication, collaboration, gather and analyze information and creatively share their learning- with you peer.

communication
Students will read and write during this unit. They will also




collaboration




gather and analyze information






creatively share their learning



STANDARDS

Writing a Play
Write a play with Characters, Setting, including a problem and solution.

Language Arts (HM Theme 3)

·           Compound words

·           Synonyms

·           Action verbs

·           Suffix –able

·           Main verbs & helping verbs

·           Word endings ­–edand –ing

·           Syllables

·           Past/present/future tenses

Performing in a play
This is an oral and visual assessment. Must include props and work on voice.

Identify ways that some or all of those are present in the learning activity your peer wants to improve.
This unit has been


Discuss ways to improve the lesson, and incorporate the changes the two of you agree on.


Once you are through revising the activity, take some time to debrief the process.

• Be sure to ask you peer what was helpful about the process you followed and
• What they might suggest you do differently next time.

Idea - Sway