Add The World To Your Lessons

Google Apps For Education (GAFE) offers great opportunities for collaboration and connecting students to other students in the world. However, in division one, this is not always easy due to students' skills. Google Hangouts offers a simple way to connect your classroom to other classrooms through a webcam.

There are actually three types of Hangouts. You can do instant messaging/chat. You can do a Hangout video call. Finally, there is Hangouts on Air which is when you broadcast your video call. This post will focus on the video call hangout.

Tools You Will Need

A Google Account

To participate in a Google Hangout, you will need a gmail address or a GAFE email address. The person/class you are connecting with will also need a Google account. To connect with another person/class you will need to be Google+ contacts with them or you need their gmail address. 

Camera

You can use a built-in camera on your device however an external webcam usually offers better quality. The first time you use the camera, you may be asked to "allow" it in a pop-up window.

Microphone

You can use the built-in mic in your device. If your desktop computer does not have one, then you will have to use an external one.  The first time you use the microphone, you may be asked to "allow" it in a pop-up window.

Speakers

You can use the built-in speakers from your device. However, sometimes you will get feedback or echoing, so you may want to use external speakers that you can move to limit this. If the conversation is one-to-one consider using a headset mic.

Bandwidth
If you have a poor internet connection or slow computer speed, you can adjust the bandwidth. The lower the bandwidth will also lower the quality of the Hangout.

Make Learning Relevant: Add The World To A Lesson

What Is A Mystery Hangout?

"Mystery" events started (and still continue) with Skype." Mystery Skype is an educational game, invented by teachers, played by two classrooms on Skype. The aim of the game is to guess the location of the other classroom by asking each other questions." ~ https://education.microsoft.com/skypeintheclassroom

The same process can be used with Google Hangouts. Watch the video below to see how it works.

Not Just For Social Studies

There are a number of different ways teachers have begun to use Google Hangouts and Skype, not just Mystery Hangouts. Really it is only limited by a teacher's imagination and connections. Here are some events and activities:

• Dot Day in September
• Global Read Aloud in October - November
• Google Virtual Field Trips - various
• Mystery Number - various

Please leave a note in the comments for other events and opportunities!

Make It A Part Of A Larger Collaboration

This summer I had an opportunity to see how division one teachers have used Hangouts in combination with other GAFE resources to connect their students with others. A class from Alberta connected with a class from Illinois through Google Docs and Google Hangouts.

Collaborate With Other Teachers

This summer I participated in Project Overseas. My team was made up of teachers from Ontario, New Brunswick and Alberta (me). Prior to leaving we needed to collaborate and plan. We used monthly Hangouts as a way to communicate face-to-face. It provided a much easier and effective way to collaborate before we left than by only using email.

Pitfalls

Anyone who has used technology in class, from old-school overhead projectors to iPads, knows problems WILL happen.  Sometimes these are avoidable (properly charged devices) and sometimes they are inevitable (light bulb dies). Using Google Hangouts is no different. There are some issues that are avoidable, if you know what to plan for, and some you will have to deal with when they happen.  One thing I like to do to be proactive is do a test Hangout with the teacher I'm connecting with before we connect during class time.

What timezone is that again?
My student teacher learned this the hard way last year. He did not double check the timezone that the class we were going to Hangout with was in. As a result, they were not in class when we tried to call them.

Webcams and Microphones - Give Access!
When a user first uses a webcam/camera or microphone on a device, the device will often ask for you to allow this. It is a small pop up that sometimes can be missed.

Bandwidth
If you know your school's internet is going to be heavily used on a certain day, avoid setting up at Hangout for that day.

Okay, So How Do I Find Like Minded Teachers?

Twitter

Social media is the best way to locate another class to connect with. On Twitter, you can start following like-minded educators. You can also follow hashtags, such as:

• #eduhangout
• #mysteryskype
• #mysteryhangout

Google+

Google+ is another great resource for connecting. Again, you can add like-minded educators to your circles. You may want to add Google in Education on Google+ to your circles. This is Google’s official education account on Google+ and they host and post educational Hangouts. You can also join communities that are all about making connections, such as:

• Connected Classrooms (website: Connected Classrooms)
• The Global Sister School Project
• Mystery Hangout For Schools
• Mystery Hangouts for Foreign Language Teachers
• Mystery Location Calls
• G+eduhangout Community

Facebook
I try not to use my FB account for teaching. However, I am sure there are a number or groups there for Google Hangouts or Skype as well.

Please leave a note in the comments for FB events and opportunities you know about!

Further Reading/Viewing

• Edu Hangouts website
• Google Hangouts Guides for Teachers
• Gooru: How to use Google Hangouts
• 6 Ways Teachers Can Use Google Hangouts
• Spreadsheet of curricular ideas from EduHangout
• Hangout resources from Cybraryman

 * Disclaimer: As Hangouts has gone through many changes, many of these links do not have updated information.

Global Read Aloud - Finding the Right Tool to Connect

Were you inspired by Colette Mondor's post to participate in The Global Read Aloud? 

Now, are you wondering how to make connections with other classrooms?  

Looking for something simple and effective?  Me too! 

I was mulling over my options for sharing, when a colleague mentioned  Padlet, and I knew I found the answer.

The creators of Padlet describe it as, "possibly the easiest way to create and collaborate in the world."  And in many ways it's true! 

Padlet is an online bulletin board, where students share their thoughts and ideas with others. Participants share via text, audio, video, photographs or documents.  

Using Padlet for The Global Read Aloud

It is easy to create and share a Padlet with others, enabling Read Aloud participants, to share their responses to the weekly chapters. This week, students reading, The Year of Billy Miller, are reading Chapter 5 of part one, and chapters 1-3 of part two. 
Take a look at this Billy Miller Padlet created and shared for week 2 by a teacher in the United States.

The Year of Billy Miller Week # 2

You will see this tool in action during the second week of The Global Read Aloud, October 12 - 17, 2015.  
My grade threes are using Padlet to share their Text to Self and Text to Text connections. And we are eager to share with others. Let me know if your class wants to connect with us.

Get Started 

Once you have signed up for your free account, (limited features) log on using your Google user name and password. You can purchase an education account with added features, however I found that the free account meets my needs for now. 

Once on Padlet, click - Create a New Padlet. There are two easy menus, to help you design and share your padlet.  Start with Basic Info which enables you to state the purpose of your online bulletin board. 

The Gear Icon enables you to modify your padlet, by selecting the wallpaper, adding an image to associate with the wall, writing a description, and determining the layout of the posts. 

The Privacy Icon, a small lock, enables you to set the visibility settings for your Padlet. There are several levels of privacy and I chose 'Hidden Link' which means that it is public on the web but not searchable on Google.  You can also select levels of accessibility for participants. Do you want participants to write, view or moderate posts? However most important, scroll all the way down and check  the box - Moderate Posts, which will allow you to approve or delete any posts before they are public. 

Sharing Your Padlet

Under the Link Icon you can find an assigned URL for your Padlet, which you can also personalize. This is the link to share with collaborators.

Another option is to click on the Export and Share arrow where you'll find countless ways to share. I used the embed code to add the padlet below to this blog post. To do this, copy the code under the embed title.  In editing mode for a Blogger post click on the HTML button on the upper left of the screen. Scroll to the end of the text on the page, and paste the embed code there.  Now click on Compose and you will be back in editing mode. The Padlet will appear in your post.  

Try Padlet

Think of the many ways to use a tool like this in Division one.  Now go ahead and try it! Just double click on our wall and share your ideas.  Just so you know, comments on this Padlet are moderated and will appear once approved. 





Padlet is a great way for Division I students to share and collaborate.  In many ways Padlet is like Twitter, students are sharing short snipits of information. The strength is that everything on one Padlet is about a related topic. There are no hash tags to follow and no one will retweet your post. 

Finally,  you can observe others posting on your Padlet in real time.  Share your padlet, keep it open and you will see the bulletin board change as others contribute.  What fun!

So You Want To Participate In The Global Read Aloud

What Is Global Read Aloud?

Last May, Div1Edtech blogger Marge Kobewka mentioned learning about The Global Read Aloud (GRA). The tagline for GRA almost explains exactly what it is: one book to connect the world. GRA lasts six weeks. Teachers who participate read the GRA book(s) with their students and then use Twitter (#GRA15), Google Hangouts or Skype, Kidblog and other internet tools to connect their students to others reading the same book. 

As not all students around the world are the same age, or reading ability, there are actually a number of books that are a part of the GRA. For instance for older division one students there is The Year of Billy Miller. For division two students there is Fish In A Tree.  For division three students there is Fish. For division four students there is Yaqui Delago Wants To Kick Your Ass. While there are suggested ages for each book, there is no hard and fast rule for which book you pick for your students.

There is also an author study for picture books, so each week there is a different book you read. This year the author is Amy Krouse Rosenthal.  Global Read Aloud nicely ties into Read In Week in Edmonton as both are in October. 

How Do You Participate?

This is my first year participating in the GRA. What I have done so far:

1. Selected the book(s) I was going to read. This year I decided to do the author study.
   TIP: Do not wait until the last minute to locate the books. I did procrastinate. I found out that our school library only had two of the six books. So I went to the Edmonton Public Library (EPL). They had nine copies of first book, Chopsticks, but they were all loaned out. As a back up measure I looked to see if any Chapters in Edmonton had Chopsticks available. They were all sold out! Fortunately the hold I put on a copy at the EPL became available in enough time to have it for week one. In the meantime, I have had my school librarian borrow copies of the other books from other EPSB schools. We now have all the books! Phew.
    
2. Filled out the form on the GRA website. This populates a Sheet.
   TIP: Do not fill out the form and hope you will be contacted. I filled out the form and forgot about it. Then during the first week, I was left without any "global" connections to kick off GRA. So I spent sometime looking through the Sheet for other people doing the author study. For my purposes, I wanted people who were also on Kidblog and/or wanted to do Google Hangouts. I sent out a number of emails. I heard back from three people and made two connections so far.
   
   There are other ways to connect with GRA participants. Facebook seems to be a popular way to connect this year.  I did not find using the Twitter hashtag #GRA15 helped for making connections yet. Regardless of how you try to make a connection, remember to be proactive. Do not wait for others to come to you.
    
3. Planned how I will make my students' learning public. I decided to use Kidblog. I decided to get my student blogging earlier this year because of GRA. I felt that blogging was the best way to make my students' learning visible because it was a platform I was comfortable with. Also, it was a way to start participate in GRA without having secured connections. As well, it is an easy platform for others (even those without a Kidblog account) to interact with my students because of the comment feature.
   TIP: Test your settings for accepting comments from the public. I some how had turned that setting off initially.
    
4. Started reading and writing.
   I explained what The Global Read Aloud was on Friday as a wrap up to Read-In Week and a kick off to the GRA. Then we read Chopsticks.  Students did a first draft of explaining their favourite part in their reading journals. As my students are still new to blogging, I am currently requiring them to do a paper draft first. When the recess bell went, some students asked if they could stay in for recess to work on their writing because they knew other children were going to be reading their thoughts! That's the power of having an audience and purpose for writing!
   
   Students will be typing their blog posts about Chopsticks this week. Stay tuned to Team Spectacular's Blog.
    
5. Gave a shout out to the author on Twitter.
   We wrote a short tweet to Amy. We are keeping our fingers crossed that we'll get a reply. Students enjoyed the play on words in Chopsticks, so wanted to use the word "sweet" (said by Sugar in the book)  instead of awesome. There was much debate if the word sugary was needed. 
   

It's Not Too Late To Join!

As it says on the GRA website somewhere: it's okay to get behind, just don't get ahead. Do not worry if you are just getting started. Just start! You can make this as a huge event as you want, or, if you are like me, keep it simple. Check out how Shannon Pasma's class started: CTV Edmonton, Global Read Aloud.

Want To Know More?

There are a lot of resources for GRA. Here are just two:

• Official Website: The Global Read Aloud 
• On The Eve Of Global Read Aloud, Tips For Success

Countdown to a New Year!

The Final Countdown

The countdown is on! Are you sitting back and relaxing, knowing your classroom is ready to go, frantically trying to put everything together, or somewhere in between?

Wherever you are in your planning and organization, take a moment or two to ask yourself, “Am I where I want to be with using technology for teaching and learning?” This is the time for you to be more reflective on what you want to achieve with students, while you are not in the thick of teaching!

Digital Kids

We’ve all watched the videos and heard the conversations around Digital Kids. The message has been clear - use technology with your kids. However, this message comes with no extra time for teachers to learn and build their confidence and skills with technology. While many of you are ‘full steam ahead’ teachers, fully integrating technology, many teachers feel that technology is an ‘extra’ to be packed into an already full curriculum. Once you get going with it, though, you will find many ways to use technology to enrich your classroom practice and engage students!

Small Steps, Please

If you are just getting started, think of baby steps. Each one of the items below will take you 10 minutes tops to set up! Choose one thing that will make your teaching life a bit easier:

Organizing your inbox with Gmail

Using Google Docs to collaborate with colleagues to create units, lesson plans or report card comments

(While you’re at it, why not use the Upload button on your Drive to store all of your favourite Word documents in Drive? Sub plans, lesson plans, centres rotations, all available quickly for editing whenever you need them!)

Using Kahoot to create an engaging question and answer game or even a test

Creating a Symbaloo so all of your links are in one place for easy access for students

I’m Ready For More!

Get your students going with Chromebooks

Have students create Google Presentations to show their learning (Grade one teachers, this is a great activity to do with your buddy class!)

Get students writing with Google Docs and Read&Write for Google

I’m Ready For Even More!

Use Google Draw to create digital worksheets, get pictures for research questions and even write their own Geronimo Stilton story!

Before you know it:

You will be a Digital Teacher!

Subscription Based Websites For Math: Prodigy $

Subscription Based Websites

For the second summer in a row, I attended the GAFE Summit in Calgary. One of the sessions I went to was Emily Fitzpatrick's session: Not Your Momma's Math Class - Elementary. It got me thinking about what subscription based websites I wanted to invest my time in (and sometimes money) and that support the grade two Alberta math curriculum for the upcoming school year. This the second blog post in a series of (number to be determined).

Series

1. Mathletics
2. Prodigy

Prodigy

Emily introduced me to a new math game this summer: Prodigy. Like Mathletics (my previous blog post), Prodigy is solely a math-based program. It is much more gamified than Mathletics. Unlike Mathletics it has a free and premium option. I have not used this with students yet. I did create a teacher account and created a student account so I could explore its potential.

It Is Free... But

When you sign up for the teacher Prodigy account, you have access to all the educational content of the game for yourself and your students for free. The premium features are truly extras and are purchased by parents. However, students will be constantly reminded they are missing out on the premium features throughout game play. 

While I appreciate companies need to make money, it is a negative for me as a teacher making a choice about what to expose my young students to. On the one hand, this is a reality of the many apps that they are probably exposed to on their (or their family's) iPads, tablets and so on. So by having the same experiences in school, it gives me the opportunity to talk about the commerce element of digital citizenship and awareness. On the other hand, it is not something I necessarily want my students exposed to virtually after every task in the game. 

Content Is Read To You ... Sometimes

As a teacher of students who often are struggling readers, I LOVE when a product has reading support. Prodigy does provide players the option to have the question and answers read to students. However, the non-math gameplay also has a lot of reading and most, if not all, of this does not have reading support. While it is not essential to the game play, I can see it being frustrating for students.

It Is Canadian ... If You Are From Ontario

It is Canadian based! Yay! It has a Canadian curriculum you can assign your students. Yay. It has only one Canadian curriculum you can assign your students. Oh. While most Canadian curricula are similar, they are not the same. Initially I thought that might not be a problem. Much like Mathletics, teachers assign a task based on a specific outcome. Great, I can avoid the topics that do not align with the Alberta curriculum. However, once students complete their tasks Prodigy assigns them random questions based on the overarching curriculum you have assigned your class. 

How is this problematic? Well, when playing as a grade one student, I was asked to tell the time on an analog clock. This is not in the Alberta curriculum until grade four. Now students go from independent practice to likely needing direct instruction from a teacher or adult for some of the content. 

Gamification Equals Motivation... And Distraction

All the quests and actions that will level you up are math based. However, there is a whole world to explore. There are shops to look at and other players to check out (you cannot interact with them). Students could easily not do math while in the game. This will require the teacher to be very vigilant in monitoring student activity. As a result, teachers may spend more time monitoring students being on task than assisting students with math.

Digital In-Game Support

When students are answering math questions, they have access to lots of support. They can be given hints by selecting a question mark icon that gives them a tutorial on the topic of their question (there is an option to have this read aloud). Students access to a variety of manipulatives for each question: coloured pens to draw on the question, fraction blocks, base ten blocks, Canadian money and counters.

Diagnostics

Like Mathletics, Prodigy provides teachers with a wealth of data regarding student progress. 

Is It Worth It For Younger Students?

As a teacher with access to Mathletics, Prodigy is not going to be worth me investing a lot of my class time with younger students. They have a great deal of support and resources for teachers. It has great potential and I will continue to keep my eye on it.  I think it could be something I teach my students and then send home or for use in free time. I do not see it being regularly used in my math classes at this time.

Subscription Based Websites For Math: Mathletics $$

Subscription Based Websites

For the second summer in a row, I attended the GAFE Summit in Calgary. One of the sessions I went to was Emily Fitzpatrick's session: Not Your Momma's Math Class - Elementary. It got me thinking about what subscription based websites I wanted to invest my time (and sometimes money) in that support the grade two math curriculum for the upcoming school year. This the first blog post in a series of (number to be determined).

Series

1. Mathletics
2. Prodigy
3. EDpuzzle coming soon

Mathletics

I have used Mathletics for the past seven years or so. The subscriptions have been school-wide. It has been a well used resource in my class. I like it because you can differentiate and assign tasks. Most students like it because of the "Live Math" feature. 

How I Use It

In September, I have (ask the staff member who administers Mathletics) the assigned passwords changed to be the same as the district passwords students have. The usernames are not changeable. I hide all content (under Courses) from students. These will be the assigned tasks that I will use, so I do not want some students completing them ahead of time. I also initially turn off Times Tables (these are songs). 

At the beginning of the year, I do a few whole class lessons to teach how to use Mathletics. Students are prompted when they first log in to customize an avatar. I give them about five minutes and then explain this will now be an "at home" task. I then show them how to access Live Math and allow them time to play a few games. I show them the games in the Problem Solving area, again I allow them some exploration time. As well, I show them Rainforest Maths and allow them to play a few games.

The second time we do Mathletics as a whole class, students are assigned a task. I demonstrate how students can have the words read to them. This is when they learn that all other activities (Live Math, Rainforest Maths, etc) are locked to them until they complete their assigned tasks. Once they have completed their assignment, students are then free to go onto other parts of Mathletics.

In the Results section, I get to see how each student did on the various assigned tasks. The majority of the time, students truly try their best on a task. Occasionally I have a student who I know is capable score 0 or something similar on repeated tasks. They typically click through the assignment to get to Live Math. After a conversation and continued monitoring this promptly stops.

Once I feel students are independent, Mathletics becomes a regular centre in math. It also is something I can easily leave for supply teachers. Students get to take their username and password home and are free to use Mathletics at anytime. I have learned that as a result of this practice, I need to set assignments in the morning of the day I want to use them. As I mentioned above, you can differentiate. Students can receive different assignments at different levels.

Once a unit is complete, I show (turn on) access to the topic under the Courses setting. Typically many of the activities have been completed during centre time, but not all of them. Students are now free to redo activities and/or complete any activities that were not assigned. Near the end of the year I turn on the Times Table Tunes for students (and provide them time to listen to them) to get them excited about what they will learn in grade three.

What I Did Before Mathletics

Before my school had Mathletics, I would use a wide variety of free game-based math websites for centres. What I like about Mathletics is that it saves me time and it holds students accountable (they know I can see their progress). I no longer have to spend time finding math websites (I actually still do, but to a lesser extent) that relate to the current topic for centre work. I also do not have to spend time teaching students how to use new websites each time we do centres because they are already familiar with Mathletics. As well, I have found students are less likely to be off-task.

So, Is It Worth It?

I started with the question is Mathletics a website I want to invest my time and my school's money? Yes, as a division one teacher, this has been a great resource.