My plan is to start implementing this stuff into the classroom this year and collaborate with my PLC members to make new materials. There is a lot that I still need to experiment with and I expect a few set backs along the way, but thanks to this class I have a lot more confidence and knowledge about the way the chromebooks can be utilized. One thing that I still am unsure of and will be a challenge for me is how these will work for students or how students will respond. Only time and student feedback and test data will show me if things are truly going well.
Wednesday, August 26, 2015
Reflection
I have really taken a lot away from this class. I have always found it frustrating to incorporate a lot of technology with the only real access for us being the laptops. When I learned that my classroom would have access to chromebooks I really wanted a better idea of how to use them. This class has provided a huge amount of brainstorming between me and my other PLC members. Some of the tools we are planning on using are pear deck, google classroom, forms, and webcasting. All of these can be manipulated by different subject levels to promote a lot of learning and I am excited to see how it all goes.
My plan is to start implementing this stuff into the classroom this year and collaborate with my PLC members to make new materials. There is a lot that I still need to experiment with and I expect a few set backs along the way, but thanks to this class I have a lot more confidence and knowledge about the way the chromebooks can be utilized. One thing that I still am unsure of and will be a challenge for me is how these will work for students or how students will respond. Only time and student feedback and test data will show me if things are truly going well.
My plan is to start implementing this stuff into the classroom this year and collaborate with my PLC members to make new materials. There is a lot that I still need to experiment with and I expect a few set backs along the way, but thanks to this class I have a lot more confidence and knowledge about the way the chromebooks can be utilized. One thing that I still am unsure of and will be a challenge for me is how these will work for students or how students will respond. Only time and student feedback and test data will show me if things are truly going well.
Activity 9: Digital Citizenship
Ethical Issues:
Miss Starbucks ran into an ethical issue because she didn't follow the right path to have her students using the app. Miss Starbucks should have had the app approved and should have taught the students in her classroom how to appropriately use the technology and what type of comments were acceptable.
In this situation since student data is at risk, I think she has put students in jeopardy. I would recommend she have the student immediately remove the student data and seek approval from the principal before continuing to use the app. Additionally, she should notify parents of the type of technology she plans on allowing students to use.
I don't have any personal experience with this, but students are always asking to see other students grades and they don't understand why I won't let them. Student data privacy is not something they regularly think about and it is up to us to make sure we protect that information.
Mr McFly is in a similar situation to Miss Starbucks. He did not get prior approval for the app he was using in his classroom. It doesn't say what account his students were using, but he should have taught the students how to use their student accounts and should have also instructed them on sharing rights and appropriate use.
In this situation it does not seem like the well-being of anyone is really at risk, but it likely depends on how mean/vulgar/etc. the comments on the videos got. I think Mr. McFly needs to make sure the principal is aware of the technology he is using and he needs to require certain privacy settings on the projects he assigns.
Again, I don't have much personal experience with this, but I know how hurt students can be by others comments. I would hate for one of my students to be put in a situation they felt uncomfortable with because of my assignment.
I like the resources because it very clearly lays out how a teacher should go about getting technology into their classroom. With these straight forward steps for teachers to follow it would make teachers, admin, and parents happy with outcomes.
One procedure I would like to implement is to have some grade level common expectations regarding students giving online feedback. This would be taught and enforced by all teachers. In my own classroom I would like to incorporate parent awareness into my syllabus.
Miss Starbucks ran into an ethical issue because she didn't follow the right path to have her students using the app. Miss Starbucks should have had the app approved and should have taught the students in her classroom how to appropriately use the technology and what type of comments were acceptable.
In this situation since student data is at risk, I think she has put students in jeopardy. I would recommend she have the student immediately remove the student data and seek approval from the principal before continuing to use the app. Additionally, she should notify parents of the type of technology she plans on allowing students to use.
I don't have any personal experience with this, but students are always asking to see other students grades and they don't understand why I won't let them. Student data privacy is not something they regularly think about and it is up to us to make sure we protect that information.
Mr McFly is in a similar situation to Miss Starbucks. He did not get prior approval for the app he was using in his classroom. It doesn't say what account his students were using, but he should have taught the students how to use their student accounts and should have also instructed them on sharing rights and appropriate use.
In this situation it does not seem like the well-being of anyone is really at risk, but it likely depends on how mean/vulgar/etc. the comments on the videos got. I think Mr. McFly needs to make sure the principal is aware of the technology he is using and he needs to require certain privacy settings on the projects he assigns.
Again, I don't have much personal experience with this, but I know how hurt students can be by others comments. I would hate for one of my students to be put in a situation they felt uncomfortable with because of my assignment.
I like the resources because it very clearly lays out how a teacher should go about getting technology into their classroom. With these straight forward steps for teachers to follow it would make teachers, admin, and parents happy with outcomes.
One procedure I would like to implement is to have some grade level common expectations regarding students giving online feedback. This would be taught and enforced by all teachers. In my own classroom I would like to incorporate parent awareness into my syllabus.
Tuesday, August 18, 2015
Activity 10: Collaboration
We created a google classroom with a selection of our favorite applications from the nerd camp, directions on how to use them, and information on application.
Google Classroom
class code: p5vy14
Google Classroom
class code: p5vy14
Monday, August 10, 2015
Activity 6: Google Classroom
I actually started using google classroom this past year with my Environmental Science class. I thought it was the perfect platform for a paperless classroom. We did this on a couple of minor assignments to try it out. However, in hindsight I set up the assignments with the wrong setting. After completing this activity I now realize that I just sent everyone the assignment, but not their own copy. It caused a lot of confusion and ended up with documents shared with me in all kinds of ways.
Now that I know how to navigate it better I can see making use of it in all of my classes. I like that it automatically organizes into folders. I also like the tip about creating a numbering system for each of your assignments. That would be really helpful when students are trying to search their own drives.
Now that I know how to navigate it better I can see making use of it in all of my classes. I like that it automatically organizes into folders. I also like the tip about creating a numbering system for each of your assignments. That would be really helpful when students are trying to search their own drives.
Activity 8: Assessment Part 2
Below is the first google form I have ever made. I found it pretty easy and very useful for quick setup. I also think it could be easily used with students. One struggle other teacher have had with google forms is the unequal access that students have. Being able to use google forms in the classroom on the chromebooks that students can access quickly is going to make it a lot easier to implement this into a more regular classroom activity.
After working with flubaroo and google sheets I can see how it would be very easy to differentiate instruction for students. The first thing that comes to mind is student grouping. In my classroom I could see pairing up students that have high content knowledge with students that struggled. Flubaroo allowed me to see that information very quickly and I could make groups in a matter of minutes. I could also see grouping students with other students at the same level and preparing specific lessons (supplementary video, direct instruction, etc) for each skill level.
Additionally, because this is so fast and easy to use as long as all the students participate it can be utilized just like the polling applications or a kahoot. It can be used to identify key areas that as a whole class we need to revisit. Finally below is my branching form that links to differentiated instruction videos.
After working with flubaroo and google sheets I can see how it would be very easy to differentiate instruction for students. The first thing that comes to mind is student grouping. In my classroom I could see pairing up students that have high content knowledge with students that struggled. Flubaroo allowed me to see that information very quickly and I could make groups in a matter of minutes. I could also see grouping students with other students at the same level and preparing specific lessons (supplementary video, direct instruction, etc) for each skill level.
Additionally, because this is so fast and easy to use as long as all the students participate it can be utilized just like the polling applications or a kahoot. It can be used to identify key areas that as a whole class we need to revisit. Finally below is my branching form that links to differentiated instruction videos.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
Activity 7: Assessment/Polling & Data Gathering Part 1
I created the following two assessment tools:
Poll Everywhere Cell Organelles Self-Evaluation Poll
Kahoot Mindsets Quiz
I like that the poll everywhere can be accessed in a lot of different ways (website, text, twitter). It would be great for an end of class or beginning of class poll to see where everyone is or to figure out what the big questions are when you don't want something to take a long time and just are interested in a quick and easy response of the majority. I also like that the answers can be short text and anonymous. Sometimes kids have questions on the homework and they might not want to ask because they are embarrassed. This allows them to be anonymous. Additionally, if we didn't have time to go over all the questions I could just poll them and figure out which are the most crucial to hit.
I have already used Kahoot in class a few times. I, personally, like the competitive aspect of the program, but also feel like it turns some students off. I have used Kahoot to review for a test or follow-up on information that we covered the previous day. I think the data that is provided from kahoot is great for teacher interpretation and I have used it on-the-spot to clear up misconceptions and re-teach material when a majority of the students to not meet proficiency.
Activity 5: Apps, Add-ons, & Extensions, Oh My!
The first app I downloaded is Lucid Chart. It is a diagramming and flow charting app. In biology a lot of what we discuss in class are processes. I think it could be cool to have students use an easy app like this to create a flow chart or diagram like this.
Creating it took me under 5 minutes, so I would anticipate it taking the students about 15 because they would have to think about how they wanted to display the information first. I also found the add-on Lucid Diagrams which opens up Lucid in your google docs. That is handy because it automatically shows you all of your diagrams and allows you to drag and drop them in. I can see this being handing in a google classroom assignment where you ask groups of students or individuals to all post their ideas to one document. This app unlike some of the other diagramming apps does allow multiple people to edit it at once, just like a google doc.
The only hiccup I had was a lot of extra white space on my images. That was quickly solved when I found the "crop to content" button.
The other app that I can see using a lot is probably considered very lame, but in the world of science labs and not wanting kids on their cell phones constantly it would be essential. It is called, Timer Tab. It is an incredibly easy to use timer and would be great to have easy access to on the chromebooks while students are working on their labs that need to be timed in any way. It has 3 settings that you can see in the image below (countdown, alarm clock and stopwatch).
Creating it took me under 5 minutes, so I would anticipate it taking the students about 15 because they would have to think about how they wanted to display the information first. I also found the add-on Lucid Diagrams which opens up Lucid in your google docs. That is handy because it automatically shows you all of your diagrams and allows you to drag and drop them in. I can see this being handing in a google classroom assignment where you ask groups of students or individuals to all post their ideas to one document. This app unlike some of the other diagramming apps does allow multiple people to edit it at once, just like a google doc.
The only hiccup I had was a lot of extra white space on my images. That was quickly solved when I found the "crop to content" button.
The other app that I can see using a lot is probably considered very lame, but in the world of science labs and not wanting kids on their cell phones constantly it would be essential. It is called, Timer Tab. It is an incredibly easy to use timer and would be great to have easy access to on the chromebooks while students are working on their labs that need to be timed in any way. It has 3 settings that you can see in the image below (countdown, alarm clock and stopwatch).
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