Professional Development

As a member of the technology committee in our school I have been asked to deliver some professional development to my fellow teachers.  We recently purchased a set of 31 Chromebooks for our school and teachers are excited about using them in the classroom.  However,  many teachers have questions about how to use them with a class full of students.  The focus of the professional development I will be providing will be to show my colleagues how they can use the Chromebooks to enhance student learning.  

I have decided that the best route to take for this professional development will be to take something I have already done with my students and show that lesson to the teachers.  I hope to have the teachers be the students and teach them exactly as I would if they were in my class.  By modeling the use of technology for them it is my goal to give them ideas on how they can effectively integrate technology into their classrooms.   Also, I hope by using an actual lesson it will make what they learn in the professional development more meaningful and useful. 

 I haven't decided which lesson I will use yet, but I do know the digital tools I will be using: Actively Learn, Ed Puzzle, and Google Classroom.   I have used each of these tools with my class and have found them to be very effective.  Also,   I think that each of these tools is very user friendly and the teachers could use them with their students the next day with minimal set up.  

We have a very talented staff at Orleans Elementary School full of dedicated teachers.  I am very excited about getting the opportunity to share some of my knowledge with them.  I also know that by having these types of Professional Development more lines of communication will be opened and more sharing among our staff will occur.  

As part of my PLN, Personal Learning Network, I use Twitter.  I think that Twitter is a great way to connect and learn new and innovative things I can use in my classroom.  There are some extremely talented educators on Twitter that I have learned a lot from.  Another avenue I use to learn and grow as an educator is by reading Blogs.  There are some very informative Blogs out there that are written by some great educators and leaders.  Keeping track of all that information can be daunting, and that is why I began using Blogtrottr last summer.

I learned about Blogtrottr during a professional development training session on integrating technology into the classroom, and have used it daily since.  Blogtrottr delivers messages to my email from all of my favorite blogs whenever they are updated.  I chose to get daily emails, but you could choose to get real time or hourly updates as well.  Currently I subscribe to over 30 blogs and most are emailed to me first thing in the morning.  I spend a few minutes sifting through the emails before I begin work.  Some of the content will catch my eye and I will read it right away.  Others I will pin to one my my Pinterest boards to look at later, and a few I will just delete because the content doesn't apply to what I am trying to do in class.  

Blogtrottr isn't the only way to keep track of your blog reading.  I also use Feedly to keep track of blogs I follow that are not educational, and really like it as well.  However, I like the convenience of getting the emails every morning and being able to scan the content in the messages.  The key to finding and using information found on the Internet to help you grow as a teacher is to develop a work flow for researching and curating information.  Blogtrottr has been a key part of my work flow, and has helped me access helpful information.  I would highly recommend it.

Aurasma

After talking to a colleague who had witnessed a demonstration on Augmented Reality I began to do a little research on the topic which led me to Aurasma.   Aurasma allows users to create "Auras" that pop up when you scan objects or pics with your phone or tablet.  I was intrigued by the possibility of using this app with my students so I decided to give it a try with book recommendations.

The assignment was for the students to use their own device, phone or tablet, to create a short video or presentation to be used as an Aura.  Students that didn't have a device could use my Ipad to record their video.  Most students created a short video that they shared with me on Google Drive, which I then uploaded to Aurasma.  One student chose to create a Powtoon presentation for their book recommendation.  Those were the only instructions I gave them.  Some of the students just recorded themselves telling about their favorite book while others wrote scripts and acted out a short skit to tell about theirs.

Once the videos were all shared with me I uploaded them to Aurasma and used a pic of the book cover to act as a trigger.  In Aurasma when you scan the trigger image the Aura plays as long as you are pointing the device at the trigger.  When you point the device away from the trigger image the Aura goes away.  All of the Auras were on my public channel so I was the one to put it all together so the students could scan and watch them.

The book recommendation Auras turned out well and I can definitely see myself using this again in the future.  I would like to create Auras for science as an example.  Students would scan a trigger image in their book and it would take them to a short video that explains a concept.  I could also see using math problems as trigger images with the Aura being an explanation of how to work it out. Also, I would like to give the students an opportunity to create their own channels to host the Auras that they make, instead of me having to take their videos and create them.

Using Aurasma for book recommendations was my first attempt at using augmented reality in the classroom.  I have just started learning about this new tool for engaging students and plan to keep exploring ways to use augmented reality to help my students learn and grow.

Chromebook Cart

My school recently purchased a cart of 31 Chromebooks for our K-6 building.  This is the first step into possibly going 1:1 in our building in the future.  The thought process right now is that we will get Ipads for Kindergarten and first grade, with grades 2-6 getting Chromebooks.  Since we have gotten the Chromebooks I have noticed a few things while using them with students.

First, I have noticed that the students like using them and look forward to having them in class.  Part of that is undoubtedly due to the fact that they are new.  Students, like everyone else, enjoy trying out new things and in this case they have enjoyed having the opportunity to use the Chromebooks.  The other reason I think students like using the Chromebooks is that they are comfortable learning in this way.  Students today have gown up in a digital world and feel comfortable using these tools.  They also expect to be able to use digital tools at school, as in the rest of their life.

The second thing I have noticed is that as a teacher I need to work on ways to use the Chromebooks as more than just a substitution for what I was already doing.  We have done some things with the Chromebooks that quite honestly we could have done just as well with pencil and paper.   I feel that the wonderful thing about using the Chromebooks, and technology in general, with students is that it gives teachers the opportunity to do more in the classroom then was possible in the past.  My challenge as a teacher will be to find ways to use these tools to help students enhance their learning.

Third, I have noticed that I don't have to have all of the answers.  When working on the Chromebooks the students have asked me some questions I didn't know the answer to.  In those situations I have encouraged the students to ask a classmate or just Google their question to see if they can figure it out.  This is has led to some great collaboration among peers and some much better projects.

I firmly believe technology in schools is a great tool that will help teachers as they strive to prepare their students for success in the future.  Technology can never replace the guidance and instruction that a teacher provides, but it can be a great tool to use with students.

Actively Learn

I am constantly searching for new and engaging technology to use with my 6th grade students.   Working with students who are digital natives challenges educators to reach them in ways that they are used to, and online digital tools allow teachers to do just that.

One of the best tools I have come across this school year is Actively Learn.  Actively Learn allows you to insert text from the internet, pdf files, Google Docs, or choose from already created assignments.  Once a text is chosen teachers can insert questions to check for understanding. Questions can be multiple choice or short answer and can be labeled with Common Core Standards. You can also insert video clips and pics into your questions.  Questions can also be set up as gates that  students must answer before being allowed to go onto the next question.

Another feature of Actively Learn that I really like is the ability to insert notes.  Teachers can insert notes into the text to help clarify meaning of words or parts of the passage.  Links can also be inserted into the notes or directly into the article that will allow students to access other websites to further their understanding of the material.

I have also given students a text with few or no questions and allowed them to insert their own notes. Having students insert notes into the text serves as a great way for students to annotate what they are reading.

Actively Learn is a great tool to use with students and I am constantly discovering new ways that I can use this tool with my students to enhance their learning.  I would highly recommend that you give it a try.