Jump In and See What Happens!

In early April, inspired by this Div1Edtech in EPSB blog post we, Caroline and Marge, decided to jump in and try Kidblog with our respective grade 1 and 3 students.

Our setting is unique, as all of our division one students are distance learners, online.  Our students are spread across Alberta and around the globe. We connect in real time with our class each week through an online collaboration tool called, Blackboard Collaborate and instruct our students asynchronously  through a learning platform called Moodle.

Getting Started with Kidblog - Things We Learned

We  purchased a premium membership as this enabled our students to use their Schoolzone and Google account passwords to log on. No need to worry about another password. Simplicity is the goal.

1. Enrolling students: Once we set up our Kidblog account we received an individual class code. Students go to the  Kidblog webpage one time only to enter their display name and the class code to create their own individual blog within our class blog. Several students thought they needed to use the class code each time resulting in several pages under that student's name. We corrected this by creating a video demonstrating how to log on to the class blog once the students had enrolled.
2. Finding the our Kidblog web page and creating a post: Once our students had enrolled themselves they needed to easily find the blog, know how to log in on the page, and most importantly learn how to write a post.  Once again we created a video for our distance learners to view.
3. Use the Blogroll Widget: We added each other’s class  to our blogroll.  This allowed the grade threes to see the grade one blog and visa versa - each class could comment on each other’s posts.  Consider the potential benefit to students as they connect with other  grades within our district, across the province, country or internationally.

Grade One - Engaging with Learning

Grade ones were beginning to explore and investigate Needs of Plants and Animals so to model for the kids how we are actively engaged in research everyday I took them through a mini-lesson on what Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels in their book, Comprehension and Collaboration Revised Edition call parallel annotation.  

Using a simple piece of nonfiction text projected on our online whiteboard, I showed students how I left tracks of my new learning that come right from the text on the left side of the page, and then how I recorded any new questions or connections on the right side.  For grade ones, I used colored Post-its as suggested in the book;  pink for the new learning and yellow for the I wonder questions.  

Here’s my parallel annotation:

I then told the students that we engage in research every day when new learning prompts us to ask questions and find answers. When I find the answer to my new question, ‘What food can I see for animals in the wetland habitat that I run in tomorrow morning?’ I will blog about it.  

This got students really excited!  It was time to have them practice. Students were now provided with their own piece of text to make a mini - inquiry.  

Here’s an example of what one student came up with:

Once this activity was completed, students were ready and eager to track their thinking as they asked questions, found some answers and satisfied their curiosity through mini-inquiries of their own as they related to plants and animals. The motivation was high because of the opportunity to share their discoveries with others through our class blog.

Students were asked to complete the following for a blog entry:

• Take a photo of your plant or animal.
• Write at least one sentence about what you learned or observed.
• Write one I wonder question that came up for you.

Here’s an example:

Students were not done yet!  They were then asked to practice collaboration with others by making specific comments on a classmate’s blog.  Grade ones have learned that they practice collaboration when they use considerate language and listen carefully to what another student is saying.  

Students were asked to include the following in two comment entries:

• Write at least one sentence about what you learned from a classmate.
• Write one I wonder question that came up for you.

Here’s an example:

I am so excited to report that grade ones are off and running with their mini-inquiries. The comments from peers are motivating them to dig deeper and uncover new learning as they keep the conversation going. The strongest part of the learning is that they are demonstrating that research can be 

F-U-N!

Grade Three - Students Sharing Excitement

Grade threes were beginning a study of Animal Life Cycles. Our purpose for blogging was to keep a journal to record observations of, and learning about, the growth and development of a living animal. Students followed individual interests under this common topic. They found tadpoles to observe, studied sow bugs, learned about chickens, observed caterpillar larvae, and one student who was unable to obtain any of the typical life cycle creatures to observe, focused her studies on Triops.  For these students who live across the province and around the world, our class blog was an opportunity for meaningful sharing and learning from each other.This wider audience made kids eager to share! 

I asked another class to respond to our posts and a grade 8 class wholeheartedly jumped in.  It was an opportunity for these junior high's to practice digital citizenship by giving constructive and encouraging comments to grade 3 students. Suddenly I had an avalanche of comments to approve! (Beware of this, it is a good problem to have.) Grade threes were intrigued and asked the next day in our online class, just who these commentators were. They were delighted! 

Grade threes are also focused on inquiry using two column notes to track their thinking, another strategy from Harvey and Daniels book, Comprehension and Collaboration .

The engagement and enthusiasm took off as curiosity extended beyond the original topics. Students began to notice and wonder as you will see in the following posts.

There you have it,  we jumped in and used Kidblog with delightful results for our students. We discovered that it is ideal for kids at a distance, as it gives them the opportunity to see what others are doing and to learn from each other.  We encourage you to jump in as well. It’s never too late!

Next, we are considering using Kidblog for student math journals and we're very interested to hear your ideas for math journals using a blogging format.

And by the way, if you wish to encourage young scientists, feel free to leave a guest comment on our student’s blogs.

 Wonder Share Grow Explore Learn Share

Caroline Schollaardt Marge Kobewka

Unleash Your Students' Knowledge With ScreenChomp!

Recently, I attended a professional learning opportunity on assessment which was led by Myron Dueck.  Myron is the author of "Grading Smarter, Not Harder: Assessment Strategies That Motivate Kids and Help Them Learn", and a leading authority and speaker on effective assessment in the classroom.  In one of his sessions, Myron shared with us the use of using whiteboards for assessing children in the classroom.  Essentially the student shows their learning of a particular concept using a small whiteboard and marker while explaining their understanding.  The teacher or another student can record the "whiteboarding" session with a camera or tablet.  The teacher can then assess the student's learning and also show the child's learning during parent/teacher meetings or student led conferences.

The day after the professional learning opportunity, I ordered thirty whiteboards from Scholastic using my Bonus Bank.  When the whiteboards arrived, I was eager to get started.  I gave pairs of students a whiteboard and an iPad and asked them to show six ways to represent numbers which was a concept we covered previously in math.  One student would show their knowledge on a whiteboard while the other student would record the "whiteboarding" session over the shoulder of the presenter.  This was a fantastic way to gain insight into a child's thinking and it also provided a powerful sample of work I could use for assessment and/or evaluation.

One other reason I wanted the students to record their thinking was to share their "whiteboarding" videos on our YouTube channel so that other children who may be struggling with a specific concept could watch our student videos and hopefully learn from children their own age.  This is essentially the same strategy to learning that Khan Academy has been so successful with.  The issues I have found with the above "whiteboarding" strategy has been camera shake, lots of noise from the camera, and often a limited view of the student's work.  Enter the ScreenChomp app.

ScreenChomp is an amazing iPad app produced by Techsmith, the same company who brings us fantastic software such as Camtasia, Snagit and Jing to name a few.  The app is completely free to download and use and the simplicity of the program is pretty amazing for division one students.  My students were able to essentially pick up the iPad and create some pretty awesome videos after playing with the app for only a few minutes.

There are many ways that students and teachers can use ScreenChomp in the classroom.  Some examples are:

• Students demonstrating their knowledge on specific concepts (e.g., rock/water cycle, math concepts, verbs/nouns).
• Teaching a concept for a student who was absent or for a flipped classroom.
• Students creating videos for other students to learn.
• Teacher lessons and extension activities
• Students creating videos about their families
• Demonstrating traditional and cursive handwriting
• The possibilities are endless

Examples of Student Created ScreenChomp Videos

Here are some ScreenChomp videos that students from my grade three classroom created.  This is a YouTube Playlist so you can skip between videos.  Also, text was added to the video using Movie Maker.

ScreenChomp is extremely easy to use and I encourage you to play with it and let your students create videos on a topic of their choice.  Below is an extensive tutorial on how to use ScreenChomp.

ScreenChomp Tutorial

Main Screen on ScreenChomp- Refer to image below

• Your ScreenChomp Videos - this is where your videos save to.  You can see in the image below that I have 3 created videos there.
• Adding Backgrounds - here you can add a background image as you will see later.
• Complete Erase - if you hold this picture down, it will erase the entire whiteboard except backgrounds.
• Multiple Pens - you can set the pen colors/thickness ahead of time or on the fly as you will see below.
• Eraser - this allows you to erase like a normal eraser.
• Record Button - press this button to begin recording your whiteboarding session.

Main Screen on ScreenChomp

Creating Videos Using ScreenChomp

Hannah creating a ScreenChomp video

Adding a Background Image

When you start creating a video on ScreenChomp, you may want to add a background image.  In this example, I am adding an image of the water cycle for a student to explain.  First you need to click on the "Background Image" tab as seen below and choose where you would like to upload the image from. You can choose an image:

1. on your camera roll by selecting, "Choose From Library",
2. from your Dropbox account.
3. by taking a photo using your iPad.

Background Choices

After you choose your image, you can move it, resize it, or rotate it.

Move, Zoom, or Resize the Background

Below is the image of the water cycle inserted and ready to go for my "whiteboarding" session.

Water Cycle Background Added

Setting the Pens

You can always change the pen colors and thickness while you create your video but I like to have three pen colors chosen before I record my video.  To do this, just choose one of the pens and a color/thickness screen will popup.  See the image below.  Choose a pen color and thickness for each pen.

You Can Change the Pen Color and Thickness

Recording Your "Whiteboarding" Session

You are now ready to record your video.  To record, just hit the "record" button.  Once you press the record button, you will be given a countdown screen like the one below.

Countdown to "Whiteboarding" Session

Your ScreenChomp session will begin when the countdown session is over and you will know it is recording because you will have a microphone and timer in the upper right hand corner (see above image).  During the recording, you can do several things like pause the recording, change pens and colors, erase small sections or completely erase the entire screen except the background.  You can also scroll to a new white space.

Full Erase and Spot Erase

To erase everything except the background, you can hold down the "Complete Erase" image for three seconds.  A cloth will appear and will erase the screen.  The cloth does not show up in your video.  To erase only small sections of the pen drawings, you can choose the eraser and erase on the screen.  

Two Eraser Options - Complete or Spot Erase

Scrolling

While recording, you can scroll up or down.  This will give you white space where you can continue your "whiteboarding" session.  To scroll, put two fingers on the screen and scroll up or down.  See the image below.

Scroll Up or Down While Creating Video

When you are done creating your video, press the "stop" button and your video will be saved.

Saving Videos Created Using ScreenChomp

Hannah enjoying ScreenChomp 

Viewing your video
You are done recording your video and are ready to preview it.  Once you press the stop button, the screen below appears.  From here you can:

     1. Playback the video
     2. Delete your video and try again
     3. Give you video a title
     4. Share your video

Options For When Your Video is Created

Saving Your Video

In order to save your video, you need to choose the "Share" image above.  This will save your video back on the main ScreenChomp screen.  You can see in the image below that I have three saved videos and one that is currently saving.  Videos are saved on the ScreenChomp server but I like to download them in MP4 format.  This will be covered below.

Where Your Videos Are Saved

Accessing Your Saved Video

You have now saved you video and you want to access the link or download it.  To do this, choose the video you wish to access from the files of saved videos.

Accessing Your Saved Videos

Once you choose the video you would like to access, the screen below will open.  From there, you can:

     1. Play the video - also in full screen

Share It

     2. Copy the link

     3. Email the Link

     4. Tweet the video

     5. Open the video in Safari

Sharing Your ScreenChomp Videos

Downloading Your ScreenChomp Creation

Downloading on your iPad

     1. From the screen above, click "Open in Safari"

     2. Safari will launch with your video.  Scroll down below your video and click on the "download"

         link.

Downloading ScreenChomp Videos

Downloading on your computer

     1. Choose "Email Link" (see two images above).

     2. Email the link to yourself so you can open the url on your computer.

     3. When you click on the link, you will be taken to your video like the above image.  

     4. Scroll down until you get to the option to "Download".  

     5. Click on "Download" and save it to your preferred location.

If you have any comments or questions, please post them below.  I will update this post if questions arise.

Discoveries on Twitter or, why my colleagues would love this tool.

Discoveries

This past year, Twitter has been a great resource for learning and connecting with fellow educators. Through Twitter I have been able to:

1. Learn about fabulous picture books from librarians passionate about good literature. This website: Watch. Connect. Read.  by K to 5 Librarian @Mr.SchuReads, introduced me to delightful wordless books: Chalk and Fossil by Bill Thompson. Great inspiration for writing!

2. Discover and participate in global events that engage students with kids around the world. The Global Read Aloud, is an event I am considering for the next school year.  If your students have participated in the past, I’d be interested in hearing about your experience.

3. Discover science projects that give students a chance to participate in meaningful research and the opportunity to contribute their data to a project with the Canadian Space Agency, through, Tomatoshere,.

4. Learn about professional texts such as: Inquiry Circles in Action Comprehension and Collaboration by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels.  A teacher in Ontario, @avivaloca, mentioned  this worthwhile read.

5. Learn how others are using apps for the ipad. A gem of a discovery was an easy to  use app called: Explain Everything.  With parental support my grade ones used this app to create videos for the 100th day of school. Students have also used this to demonstrate math problems, and science projects.

What's Next?

Now that I use Twitter, I am considering how I might use it with my students. Could Twitter be a tool to support learning, innovation and the creation of knowledge? Recently I met @MissAHoeksema who has a class Twitter account. Her grade three students tweet to share learning and to tell about their day. I am curious to hear from other teachers who have class Twitter accounts. The effective use of technology tools is part of our broader understanding literacy.

So consider using Twitter if you have not done so. Develop a PLN, Professional Learning Network, of fellow educators who learn and share by connecting with teachers around the world, across Canada, and right here in our district.

You Are Invited
 

Join Twitter to participate in twitter chats on topics of interest. You are invited to join a twitter chat on May 28th at 5 pm MST. Follow #leadepsb to explore, learn and share with EPSB colleagues.  See you there!

Website Review: Discover Water

A Review of Discover Water

Summary

Discover Water is a website developed by Project Water Education for Teachers. "Project WET’s mission is to reach children, parents, teachers and community members of the world with water education that promotes awareness of water and empowers community action to solve complex water issues."

Discover Water provides information about the Earth's water in a fun and informative way by combining text with games, quizzes, activities and videos. 

Suggested Grade Levels

This would be a great website for grades two to six. Some of the content is advanced for grade twos and threes, but many of the information sections have an option to have the text read to the viewer.

Curriculum Connections 

This website is great for science research. 

• Grade Two: Exploring Liquids
• Grade Four: Waste and Our World
• Grade Five: Weather Watch

Suggested Uses

This could easily be used as a centre for reading or for science. I had my students do a semi-guided research activity. I provided them with a jot notes form that had some guiding questions. Students were allowed to work independently or with another partner. It took two science lessons.

I demonstrated:

• how the website was set up
• how to have the introductions read aloud
• one activity (reminded them to do each activity ONCE)
• one quiz, these are called What Did I Learn (5 questions each)
• a jot note from the activities done together in the Blue Planet section

Skills Needed Prior to Use

Students will need to know how to get to websites (I had it linked from my class website). They will need to know how to manage the volume to not disrupt others (we use head phones). 

Area of Concern

Students may get overly focussed on the games/activities on the site versus learning about water. Monitoring student work as they use the website should remedy that.

Virtual Lego??? Grade 1 Science-Building Things

Grade 1's love the Science unit, "Building Things". This year I tried Lego building with a twist of technology. Through google apps I found a Lego Builder app. It is a great app that allows students to use their imagination in a new way. My end goal was to have each child build a structure that had a purpose. I wanted it to be open ended to allow for students choice.

To begin I had to get the app on each of my students users. This was labour intensive for me and my EA because I did this in October when they were still learning the basics of logging on. In hind site I would have had older buddies in to help or requested a few parents to help with this  or possibly log on for them and add it for them ahead of time. You decide what works best for your school community. When they were finally on I told them to explore and try to figure out how to build. It is not easy if you have a high percentage of students without experience with basic computer skills. In my case I found that my students were not willing to take a risk and try so this first lesson did not go well.

Attempt two with the Lego Builder App,  I decided to start by doing a demo on the Smartboard.  I reviewed how to find the app on the Chromebook, then I modelled the basics of how to choose, place, turn the bricks. Off we went and this went significantly better. Everyone was able to build and some took risks this time and figured out how to change the colours of the bricks. I followed this lesson with four or five exploration/ practice times.

The next step was to have our grade 3 buddies join us for building a structure for the first time. The grade 3's had not used this app so it was a great opportunity for the grade 1's to teach the basic skills to older students and then the grade 3's helped them plan a structure that had a purpose. They built bridges, cars, houses, castles, boats and an ice rink. This time I had a few partners discover that they could turn their structure to see it from all angles.

Finally we were at the point where the grade 1's were going to build independently! I added a little more motivation by letting them know that I was not the only one who was going to see their work. We were going to make a YouTube movie showing their work and recording them describing their structure. Now we added the complication of needing to save their work so they could go back over a number of classes. This became a bit of a challenge. Students need to go to sign in to Publish your design. To do this students go to the top right of the Lego Builder App where it says sign in. They then have to enter their G-mail and password. They then click sign in with Google and are prompted to enter it all again. It is a bit tedious but most of my students were able to follow step by step and complete this independently. They then will need to hit save periodically as I found with all of the students working at the same time it would freeze and they would lose their work. They learned quickly to save every couple of minutes.

The products they built were creative and when making the movie we found a lot of them had created a story that went with their structure. To make the You Tube video I used the You Tube Capture App on my phone and recorded each child's segment. They had their structure on the Chrome book and then they manipulated to show what they made and what it's purpose was. Some described what it was and how they made it. Some told a story about what was happening. Some reflected on what they liked the most and what challenges they had while using the app. I then had Chrome books set up at the Celebration of Learning and parents watched the video of their child's work.

To improve this project for next year I would have limited the speaking time for each student as the final product had to split into two parts. I would have provided time for them to practice speaking to a partner about their structures so they had louder voices.

What I loved about making this movie as their presentation of their learning, is that students who would not have been able to reflect in a written form were provided success. All students were excited and engaged in trying their best. This open ended task resulted in some traditional looking structures and some very creative structures and this allowed for greater success.

I have shared a link to part 1 of Grade 1 Builds below.


http://youtu.be/9toWxbTx5LE