Piloting a Blended Model of Learning

I tagged this post with "flipped learning" since I don't have a page for "blended learning". I guess I should add one. (I made a Blended Learning tag.)

Today was one of the first-ish lessons in the unit. I have been reading about the Modern Classrooms Project for a number of years, and have been promoting it while not having my own classroom, but this year I have a chance to work with the Grade 7 Math Team (team of 1) to pilot a unit on Geometry. 

When I was first planning this unit, I thought it would go more smoothly than it has so far.

I should explain what hasn’t gone well—mainly the communication with my co-teacher and the limited time I’ve been able to spend in the classroom. Since this is my first time blending a unit, I didn’t know exactly what to expect.

I’ve done a lot of reading on blended learning and flipped classrooms, and I know it’s normal for things not to go perfectly at first. Still, I think it would be easier if I were in the room and leading. Because this isn’t my own classroom, I don’t have the same authority as the homeroom or content teacher.

At the beginning of the year, I was scheduled to be in this class three times a week, but that has dropped to once a week. So during this unit, I’ve only been in the classroom once so far, and that’s made it difficult to prepare students for what to expect.

I haven’t had the chance to clearly explain to students what they should be doing, and I’m already seeing the effects of that. I did make a video explaining the flow of the unit, but I had wanted to redo it before we started and didn’t get the chance.

Here are a few of the changes and run-ins the students have had:

• The lessons have three kinds of problems - Must do, Should do, Aspire to do - and they are color coded. Students were looking for "Must do" to do - not the color.
• The videos are a support. They are there if the students need them like a textbook. Some students are not using them at all, or are unsure of what to do.
• I changed lesson 0 vocabulary baseline to aspire to do since not many students got to it. This is what I believe to be a crucial part of the unit, and I need to get them back on that.

Lesson 1

• Mini lesson (anchor problem) ended at about 13:05 - giving the students more time to work on math.
• We are still in the weeds with learning how to do the lessons, and one student asked me what would happen if he finished all the lessons early. I said there is always more, but this students was particularly engaged with GeoGebra - my Aspire to do tasks.
• Each lesson has an essential question. I changed this from an "I can ..." statement because I thought they knew what they were. I got a question about what it was and why I was "giving them more work".

Reflection after lesson 1.

---

I'm looking through the data I've collected about Grade 7 and the geometry unit I'm blending. There are a number of things I should have expected, but I had hoped things would go more smoothly. I should have known that things wouldn’t go 100% smoothly.

One thing that stands out is that because I wasn’t there and didn’t have good communication with the homeroom teacher, students weren’t properly informed about how the unit runs. In fact, they were misinformed. They weren’t told to complete the exit tickets I call “lesson snaps” for each lesson.

I had to go in last Thursday and explain what to do, but I don’t think many students were really listening. There’s a low response rate to the lesson.

Looking at the data from Lesson 1, the question was:
Kelly says that angle CEB is vertical to angle AEF. Explain why her reasoning is incorrect and name the angle that is vertical to CEB.

A lot of students assumed the angles were right angles. They need to be shown that unless you're told it's a right angle, you shouldn’t assume it. They don't have protractors to measure the angles themselves, so they have to rely on the given information.

Another issue is that this is a two-part question, but many students only answer one part. Which part they answer varies by student. They either need to be explicitly taught to recognize two-part questions, or the question should be split—or maybe both.

Tech Inspiration

This year I have set up a Slack Channel where I can share out different tech ideas for teachers at my school. 

When we came back I was asked to do a presenation about "tech". When I asked what I should talk about I was just told that the ideas I have been sharing out have been great.

Here is what I came up with.

I wanted to demonstrate a few tools (Answer Garden, Yellkey, Bit.ly, and Jamboard for icebreakers.)

Teachers were mostly interested in Baamboozle, Google Earth, Screencastify, and Google Arts and Culture.

Some of the links might work but some will not work. Yellkeys will definitely not work because they were set to 24 hours. (yellkey.com)

Teaching the Art Elements with Google Slides

In June we were on a two-days-a-week schedule. It was kind of tricky because the specialist classes had to be scheduled in. Some specialists also had MYP classes, and the upper school was on a different schedule which added to the trickiness.

The art teacher asked for some extra time, so I offered her a class period thinking she would come in and teach. I was wrong and was given a lesson plan. Don't assume anything!

The lesson was on art elements. Students were to make rectangle art with colored paper, using the elements of art to make an art piece.

I don't know what happened - actually I do know - but the student quality was not good and most students were just slapping paper together somewhat randomly. They were not into it.

So I decided to give it another try. But the second time I wanted to use Google Slides. I thought it would be more engaging for the students and could show them some new skills like aligning and centering shapes, but also students were using coolors.co to look for color palettes and they needed devices.

The new directions were:

1. Find your slide in the Google Slide deck
2. Go to coolors.co and choose a palette
3. Make rectangles on your slide taking the space element of art into consideration.
4. How can you add texture?
5. Color the background with one color from the palette (Show how to change the background color using the HEX color)
6. Color the rectangles using other colors (Show how to add HEX color to shape)

When you are finished, add a screenshot to Seesaw and answer the questions:

1. What did you do differently this time compared to last time?
2. What elements of art did you use and where are they in your picture?

Results the second time were much better. 


Students were able to show their art (if they selected it to show) at the student led conferences. 

Tech Ideas for a BLM Learner

Photo by Waldemar Brandt on Unsplash

I got an email from a friend asking what kinds of activities I could suggest for an EAL / ELL / BLM student.

The request was for ideas and things the student could do independently.

Here are the ideas I shared back.

===

1. Google docs voice typing. 

Write a few sentences that you want her to practice. Then below type 1, 2, 3. Have her voice type to practice her pronunciation. (Idea from 

EXAMPLE

I live in Taiwan. 

1. voice type

2. voice type

3. voice type

I live in Japan. 

1. voice type

2. voice type

3. voice type

2. QR code listening activity

When I taught Grade 1, I would select articles for students to practice their reading. I copied them onto paper and attached a QR code that led to me reading the article. 

For a middle school student, depending on her level, you might be able to find Newsela articles, give her the link to the article and your reading. 

Here is a few examples I made for my Grade 1 class a few years ago. 

 Audio Book QR Codes

3. Book Creator book about herself - she does the speaking

She could do a project in Book Creator introducing herself. BC allows you to record audio and it is really easy to share out your book after you are done. Here is an example, it's elementary but shows adding audio.

This could be done with whatever she is learning.

Or, if you want to spend a little time, you could create this kind of book for her.

4. Video diary

I was thinking it would also be good to track her progress by having her do a video diary.

5. Words Their Way Word Work

You could have her do some word sorts from words their way. You could have a recording of the pronunciation, then have her record herself saying the words.

6. App - https://iknow.jp/ (paid)

This is not free, but I used to use it. 

I think I would do a station rotation model of 3-4 of these activities. 

Another site I just thought of is elllo. It has a ton of English-learning activities on there. 

===

Start with the Why: TPACK

This post is a script for a podcast episode I am making for a course. This transcript is slightly different from the recording.

Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org

WHY

Unlike other frameworks, TPACK has the educator examine possible technology integration lessons from three different lenses - pedagogical, content knowledge, and technical.

I first heard about TPACK in 2015 while I was taking Coaching Digital Learning | Cultivating a Culture of Change through The Friday Institute. Immediately could see that it was a good support to what I knew about evaluating technology integration and could work nicely with the SAMR model.

TPACK differs from other technology integration frameworks that I know in that it forces the teacher to consider different pieces of knowledge before getting started.

WHAT 

The TPACK considers technology integration through the three lenses of Technological Knowledge, Content Knowledge, and Pedagogical Knowledge.

Technological Knowledge
I first understood this, or remembered this as, "The technological knowledge piece of the framework requires you to evaluate yourself based on how well you know the [technology] you want students to use." That didn't sound right to me because how would the teacher then give the student a choice in which tool to use? Looking back at tpack.org (on the page, What is TPACK?), I was relieved to see that I was wrong. Technological Knowledge looks at how well the teacher knows how to use technology as well as different ways of thinking about technology use. Most important in my opinion is "being able to recognize when information technology can assist or impede the achievement of a goal." (Koehler & Mishra, 2009 via tpack.org).

Content Knowledge

Content Knowledge is how well you know the content you are teaching and how it differs from year to year in the curriculum. 

Pedagogical Knowledge
Pedagogical Knowledge is how well you, as a teacher, understand teaching methods and ways students learn.

In addition, there are four additional areas where these circles of knowledge intersect. They are Technical Pedagogical Knowledge (TPK), Technical Content Knowledge (TCK), Pedagogical Content Knowledge (PCK), and Technical Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK). All these are wrapped in what context you are teaching and what the students are like.

HOW

I don't see TPACK as a ladder or as a way of moving up a scale, rather, I see the TPACK model as a way for teachers to assess themselves and look for opportunities to "collaborate with teachers at your school or within your Professional Learning Communities (PLCs)" (What is the TPACK Model?). This is where I see both the strength of TPACK and its weakness.

I really like the idea of teachers working together. When teachers work together ideas flow and new ideas can be created. On the other hand, I have worked in schools where collaboration is not easy. A teacher might be in a small school and not have a teacher or a coach they can work with. This is where I think teachers need to take matters into their own hands and reflect using the TPACK and SAMR models themselves and get connected with other teachers online.

Using technology with students is easy, but integrating technology purposefully is not and takes time. Using frameworks like TPACK can help you become more in tune with what you are doing.


Information gained from the following sources
tpack.org
TPACK in 3 Minutes
What is the TPACK Model?

Note 2 - I found out after making this fictional podcast that there already is one called Start With the Why.  Too bad it only ran 16 episodes.

I am taking a MOOC (again) about technology integration (2015). These are my notes.

Strategic Technology Integration

STEP 1: EVALUATE AND ASSESS

• Find Inspiration and Evidence of Tool Effectiveness
• Use your intuition. Ask yourself: "Does this tool allow me to do something in my teaching practice that I can't do without it?"
• Poll your personal learning network
• Attend a professional conference like ISTE or TCEA.
• Ask a colleague to sit in on a lesson
• Search the web for research-based evidence
• Take a free online graduate course at Tarleton State ;-)
• Assess Your Own Understanding, Skill, and Confidence Level with the Tool
• Do you truly understand the functional purpose(s) of the tool and its general capabilities?
• Assess Your Students' Understanding, Skill, and Confidence Level with the Tool
• Do your students truly understand the functional purpose(s) of the tool and its general capabilities?
• Assess Your Resources and Time Needs
• Do you and your students have access to the hardware, software, bandwidth, and technical support that is required?
• Try to forecast the amount of time it will take you to learn to use the tool from both the teacher and the student perspective.
• Try to forecast the amount of time it will take you to test run and troubleshoot problems with the tool.
• Try to forecast the amount of time it will take you to scaffold your students' use of the tool.

STEP 2: LEARN AND PLAN

• Invest dedicated time and energy into learning the tool (ideally from the student perspective first!).
• Seek out training (professional development, online, from a colleague, or even from your own students).
• Seek out opportunities to talk about and show others what you're learning.
• What does success look like in your mind's eye?
• Try to imagine how your class looks (organized chaos?), sounds (quiet, focused chatter?), and feels (energy in the air?) when learning is occurring using a technology tool. Try to work backwards from that point to determine how you reach that state of success.
• What learning objectives can you accomplish with the aid of the tool?
• What pedagogical strategies will you call upon?
• What learning strategies will you call upon?
• How will you scaffold your students' use of the tool?
• Try to view things through the lens of the students. How will you provide them with instructions?
• What might be hard for them to conceptualize or manage?
• Where might students get off track?
• How much 'experimenting' will you allow students to have with a tool?
• What is your timeline for implementation?
• This timeline should include the remaining steps 3-6.
• Always overestimate the amount of time you think tasks will take by 1-2 hours. ;-)
• What is your backup plan?
• As you probably already know, technology misbehaves. Work with your support network to brainstorm workarounds for when the technology doesn't act the way you want it to.

STEP 3: COORDINATE

• Schedule dedicated time with support staff, colleagues, and even your own students to accomplish the goals you set in Step 2.
• Test-run your use of the tool alone first, and try to forecast areas where things could go wrong. Develop a scaffolding strategy based on this.
• Schedule time for support staff to assist you with a test run and for the "prime time" roll-out.

STEP 4: TEST

• Test run the use of the tool in the exact environment that you will have in "prime time"
• Test run your scaffolding on a test audience (your colleagues, your friends, your family - anyone who will agree to it!)

STEP 5: IMPLEMENT

• Use the tool for the first time!
• Be okay when (not if) the technology misbehaves! Just keep your cool and move to plan B.

STEP 6: RE-EVALUATE and RE-ASSESS

• Evaluate the effectiveness of the tool in your context.
• Did it facilitate learning?
• Did it streamline a task?
• Did it engage learners?
• Did it engage you?
• Assess your own attitudes, understanding, confidence, and skill level.
• Was it worth the time and energy you spent?
• Will it get easier the more you use it?

Make a Magazine Cover

I am currently taking a continuing education course and the first assignment is to make a magazine cover about what we learned using what makes a good magazine cover.

I love the idea of making a magazine cover to synthesize and summarize ideas in a creative way.

Assessing students by having them make a magazine cover seems like an extension of Project Zero's the headlines thinking routine.

Creating a Storyboard From Google Slides

This morning I was asked about a storyboard template for a video project. I happened to have some storyboards on my desk at the time and the teacher said he was looking for something like that. I knew from yesterday that a Google search would give plenty of results for a paper option.

Almost a million results!

As we continued to talk, however, we agreed that students needed a way to adjust their stories within the storyboard. My recent work in elementary has me seeing the benefits of Google Slides, so I thought of that solution.

After thinking about what that might look like, I was uncomfortable with the side panel view of the slides. I know from PowerPoint and Book Creator, having a way to see a "birds eye view" of the document -- especially when slides are image heavy, is more my style.

To get an overview of a presentation in #googleslides - go to print preview. Next step - add editing functionality pic.twitter.com/9ajTOIazZV

— Thomas Hammerlund (@thammerlund) March 18, 2016

    

But then I was reminded, how many time have I actually used a storyboard? Has this become a futile exercise that can be eliminated?

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.