ISEdCoach Chat March 22

What a great chat.

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?

Design a Flag

In the end, we teachers are really just salespeople. If the students aren't interested in what they are learning, it is harder to motivate them to learn. But when students are eager, there is no stopping them.

In our MYP Design course, we aim to push students to use authentic clients. When they have an actual client, the whole design process is actually easier for them since they are able to discuss what the client wants.

A few student-created flags. Can you guess where they are from?

In the beginning of the year, we used design scenarios - one of which being a Design a Flag scenario I adapted from a 99PI episode on flag design. (And looking at it again, I forgot to have them first design a one-by-one-and-a half inch flag. Note to self.)

Some students did pretty well, but those who weren't interested were lost through the whole project.

Next time ... 
Reflecting on the unit, I wonder how it could have been made more engaging. Could I have had all them make a flag for the country, city, family (clan), or the school? That way they could brainstorm and draw inspiration from each other as well as share research. This feels like something I would do in elementary school, though.

If I were to try this project again, I might use 99designs.com. They have design projects that might be good for students to follow the design process when someone has written out the directions beforehand. It also gives them an authentic chance to design for a client.

Also, I forgot that it is recommended you design your flag on a 1" by 1.5" rectangle. That way you can judge how it might look from a distance and keep the objects simple.

Tech Educator Programs

Certifications can show that you are willing to go further to learn and develop as a teacher. Certifications for a type of technology can show that you are proficient or at least a working knowledge of the software.

Here are three certifications you might want to try.

Apple Distinguished Educator

This was one of the first certification programs and is one of the most difficult to achieve. To become an ADE, you need to demonstrate you integrate Apple products in innovative ways through a 2-minute video. They give some advice for how to do this, but planning early is important.

Apple Teacher

Apple Teacher is the ADE's little brother. There are two types of certification - Mac and iPad. Each has a total of nine (could be 10 as they are adding more) and each program has five questions that require you to read a scenario about a project using and determine how to solve it by dragging in answers or selecting from a few choices. The tests are free, so there is no reason not to try.

While not available in every country, you can create a new account (with any email address) in a country where it is offered.

Google Certification

Google Certification has a few different levels beginning with the Google Certified Educator Level 1.

From there you can try the Level 2 test. The first two are requirements for the next level of Trainer and Innovator.

The Level 1 test is $10 USD and is scenario-based. It takes about an hour to complete. Google supplies study materials and there are Google Plus groups with people discussing how to study for it.


Others of Note

Many tech apps or programs offer some sort of certification, two I highly recommend are the Book Creator Ambassador program and Common Sense Media's Digital Citizenship program.

Going through certification can not only show you know how to use the product but also shows a dedication to learning and maintaining a level of proficiency, so go out, get certified, and share your knowledge.

cross posted to tekiota.com

Using Trello in MYP Design

I started using Google Classroom for the first time this year. Foolishly, I thought students knew how to use it, and assignments started coming in that were in the wrong format or getting "lost".

I was doing some resource gathering for collaboration tools and found that Trello has and education page that gives some examples of how it is used in classrooms to facilitate collaboration, but when I saw the example of the writing process, I thought I need to try this in Design.

The MYP Design Cycle is less of a cycle, and more of a linear process. Yes, students should be able to jump back and forth, but in reality, they go step by step.

(I do realize the way I am teaching plays a huge role in this. And that gives me an idea to let students go through the cycle as they please as long as they, in a way of their choice, "hit" the criterion.)

A photo posted by Thomas Hammerlund (@thomashammerlund) on Nov 22, 2016 at 9:05pm PST

Each student is assigned a card to which they attach their design document with all the criteria. If they have a presentation, they can save it in their Drive and link to it. Images and annotations are also a part of the document.

As the students are graded, I move them along the design process adding labels for quick communication if needed for missing work, or to come talk to me, or one for if they need help.

It is not perfect, so far it is working well. I like that everything is in one place, the process is visual, and due dates are visual as well.