Professional Development - Close Reading

I am excited to be participating in the Alief Literacy Mini-Conference this year.  My sessions will focus on Close Reading in the Intermediate Classroom.

You can find a link to information here. 

Or use the QR Code below to access a Padlet with additional resources.

Thing 13: Reflection

For the final 13 Things post, answer the following questions:

1. How has your thinking been transformed about the integration of iPads into the curriculum?  What surprised you about this process?

- I wouldn't say my thinking has really been transformed as I readily integrate technologies into teaching regularly.  I do think the iPad has some unique qualities vs. laptops or desktops.  The iPad's tactile and manipulative nature is engaging for students and teachers. If you need something moved, put your finger on it and move it! Smaller? Pinch it!   Another feature making it a great tool is the portability. Use it seamlessly in the library, walk to the science lab, snap a picture outside, record a movie in the classroom - all from the same tool without much effort.  The interface is very intuitive (for students) and apps really target specific needs.  No real surprises - just some realities on limitations.  I tried posting all blog entries through the iPad, but found it TEDIOUS for uploading pics. Somehow I made it happen but wouldn't really be able to tell you how. For large amounts of typing I had to move to my laptop (Thing 11). There was just too much text to type using the iPad. These are considerations to take into account when planning a lesson also. So more than anything I reaffirmed that integrating technology into lessons requires advance planning and having a backup plan. Students are often more flexible than teacher in this respect and given a few moments will probably figure the tricks out faster than us!

2. What are your favorite tools, features, and/or apps which you learned about during this professional development? 

- Feature: Portability!  You can really take advantage of location and "teachable moments". 

- App: Educreation - I can envision a bank of tutorials created by students and teacher. Great app for getting students to explain new learning and processes. (I hope that some update will allow editing of tutorials)

- App: Garage Band - good tool for summarizing new learning or providing background information through podcasts. Will be exploring this more this year. Will need to consider hosting issues and access. 

3. What was your biggest “aha” moment during this training?

- Hmmm. Aha/frustration - the iPad is not seamless between eChalk and Blogger and Google Drive. Really hoping this is resolved. 

- Aha/frustration - limited apps. 

- Aha! - There is so much potential with the few apps available and the iWork's productivity tools. For those students with Google Drive access, this will increase options. 

- Aha! - Plan, plan, plan!!! I'm glad that I was able to take this class and play with everything a bit before the new year.  

Thing 12: Evaluating iPad Lessons

After reviewing a few lesson I realize that students in all age ranges will have opportunities to utilize this engaging tool effectively.  The iPad is well suited for active research and productivity.  When used in conjunction with the numerous apps the possibilities just grow. 

Comments left on the following blogs:

Librarian Denise http://13thingshudson.blogspot.com

Betty George http://bettytgeorge.blogspot.com

Thing 11: Planning and designing Your iPad Lesson

Writing Unit: Persuasion

TEKS:
6.18  Writing/Persuasive Texts. Students write persuasive texts to influence the attitudes or actions of a specific audience on specific issues. Students are expected to write persuasive essays for appropriate audiences that establish a position and include sound reasoning, detailed and relevant evidence, and consideration of alternatives.

Objectives:  
Students will write a persuasive essay on a self-selected topic that includes sound reasoning, detailed and relevant evidence, and consideration of alternatives. 

Students will use collaborative technology to compile research. 

Students will publish completed essays in written format and through a podcast. 

Materials / Resources:

• iPads with Internet access
• Writer's notebook
• Chart paper and sticky notes (or document camera, paper, and media projector)
• media projector/computer, or iPad connected to media projector
• District Rubric for Persuasive Essay - District Writing Rubrics

Selected Sites and Productivity Tools

• Padlet.com - Resource Page
• NEWSELA.com
• NYTimes-Room For Debate
• Alternate editorial sites
• GoogleDocs
• Class eChalk Page
• Library/District Research Databases
• GarageBand app
• Optional Educreations tutorial on Persuasive Essay

Time Period - 4-6 Days

Process:
Day 1 - Teacher presents a series of current issues from news headlines using NEWSELA.  Teacher presents splashpage from NY Times - Room for Debate website.  Students briefly explore the websites for key issues. Using chart paper and sticky notes (students record key issues that they find interesting, engaging, or relevant to them on sticky notes and apply to a Circle Map. Alternately, a blank Padlet could be created and students record their ideas on the electronic stickies.

Teacher would then facilitate moving the stickies together under similar topics and themes.  This could also be transferred to a Tree Map.  On Padlet, the notes could be moved in the same way. 

Individuals, table groups, or teacher-selected groups would select a key issue or topic of their choice. If individual, then they would form groups based on similar topics to help provide support through the process.  Teacher would create a Padlet for each group/topic for students to begin adding information, ideas, and resources.  Using the provided sites, the students would be begin to research their issue.  Teacher would provide probing questions and help refine their ideas. 

Teacher would end first day by reviewing the rubric with students and planning their next research day. Possible homework would be to continue the research process through either the Padlet or adding to a GoogleDoc

Day 2 - Teacher reviews rubric and assignment expectations.  Teacher reviews the model essays on the Resource Padlet, identifying the key components (This could also be done through an Educreations Tutorial as part of lesson or homework the previous night).

Students continue researching their topic and recording electronic notes on Padlet or GoogleDoc. Research resources will include the selected sites, library databases, or even a teacher-created Custom Google Search for students requiring additional support.

Students write rough draft in GoogleDoc.'

Day 3 - Students go through revision process (self and peer) using the rubric.  If key lapses in required components, allow students opportunity to continue research.  Students who have completed revising and editing can move on to final draft.

Day 4 - Students can record essay on GarageBand to create a podcast.  This will be housed on the class eChalk page, sent to teacher on GoogleDrive, or linked to on Class Padlet or blog.  Allowing students to record the podcast will provide an opportunity for more expression and conveying tone than a written essay alone. 

Day 5 - Students should read at least one essay and listen to the companion podcast and provide feedback.  If time permits, students should listen to and read more than one. 

Teacher should end with class discussion on purpose of this unit and pros/cons of the process.  Students should share new learning either about topics, or process. 

Possible extensions - Class debate on key issues; multimedia presentations created  by group with text, sound, podcast, images in Keynote or iMovie.

Thing 10: Copyright, Fair Use, and Creative Commons

Part 1

I've encountered much of the information regarding copyright, fair use, and Creative Commons previously. A few things stood out though. We often remember to have students give credit for work they use, but we don't spend enough time on the specifics of fair use. Students will cite a source but then use way more than what would be considered allowable. In fact students and teachers alike will use long segments or entire songs and videos.  In our efforts to celebrate student work we post PowerPoint presentations and projects on the internet not really thinking about fair use of the content. An in-school audience is different than a potentially worldwide one. I think it important to plan accordingly by establishing clear guidelines and modeling expectations. Focusing on creating original content and using sites with more public domain resources would help alleviate some of the issues. 

Part 2

The teacher in the video engaged her students with mashups and parody which really blurred some of the lines of fair use. She was able to have students look closely at the criteria and help determine whether or not it fell within guidelines.  She required students to support their answers to be sure that they can demonstrate real understanding.   In the end students had deeper understanding and made connections to the lesson. Working with the campus Library Information Specialist we could model appropriate copyright and fair use during research projects. Partnering with teachers would be important to create rubrics and to communicate expectations. The LIS can also show students many if the tools within the research databases that make citing sources much easier. 

Thing 9: Collaboration

The tools in this assignment are very effective and engaging collaboration tools.

Skype - Great way to  communicate with places from another campus to around the world.

• One way of utilizing Skype is by partnering with other schools. I could see this being used by classes at different campuses. You could host a debate between classes. The 6th grade Social Studies curriculum has a rainforest debate that would work well, with each class taking the specific roles. 
• Another way to use Skype is to partner with one of the many museums or university programs that offer guest speaker programs. Even NASA offers great opportunities to listen in on talks or communicate with experts and astronauts.  Students are certainly engaged during these sessions. With careful planning and question preparation, the Skype sessions can be powerful learning experiences - allowing for students to interact with and explore places generally out of reach. 

Padlet - I love Padlet. It works for me. It is easy to setup and easy to share. 

• Targeted resource page - I often setup Padlets for teaching units. You can include video links, documents, websites, and notes easily modified. You can open up the Padlet for users to add resources too. I've created a writing focus Padlet that teachers added to. We clustered like resources together and added comments as we went through the unit cycle. 
• Padlet can be used as a collaboration tool. As students research a topic, they can post to the Padlet with comments and resources. As the Padlet administrator I can move the resources to cluster together like items. I've also posted questions on the Padlet and had students add responses and resources underneath. I do require students to provide their name for accountability. 

More than anything, the tools in this assignment increase engagement by making students active participants and accountable. The interface of Padlet is intuitive and simple. The accessibility of Google Drive makes it flexible for classroom, lab, or library.  Skype opens up students to opportunities and places that are generally out of reach. 

Thing 8: Research and Inquiry

Google Custom searches are very useful when working with classes in the library, lab, or classroom. Students often get distracted with the search results when done as a blind search. Working as a group, I would focus on the keywords that would produce the best options. After creating the custom search engine I would then share it with students in their google mail accounts or via my class eChalk page.   Using the custom search engine would allow me more time to monitor and work with individuals with their annotations and less time trying to steer the students towards the correct sites. I could easily see this being done with Social Studies content in the intermediate level or science content.

Thing 7: GarageBand for iPad

Creating podcasts using the microphone feature would be  the most useful aspect of GarageBand in my classroom.  I was not able to access the app on my iPad, but downloaded it to my iPhone and found the general interface pretty straightforward. I looked at a few tutorials on YouTube and found ways to easily increase the amount of recording time and to silence the metronome. Once those two issues were resolved I recorded a few general information podcasts. Publishing was very simple.  I would probably not utilize the instrument features often, if at all. 

I think this has great potential in the classroom.  After viewing the sites referenced in the assignment, I feel a weekly or unit summary of key content would be an appropriate use. Students could be selected on a rotation basis or be required to provide a script that would be selected. I could see introducing this with a basic template and allowing small groups to draft a podcasts. Podcasts would be a good tool for students who have been absent and also for sharing new learning with parents and other classes.   The podcasts could contain a general summary of the week or focus specifically on a key event or lesson.   As a content specialist I can see creating a podcast of a general overview of the upcoming objectives for the marking period or unit. This would benefit new teachers who can get overwhelmed with information on the pacing guides. 

I would probably host the podcasts on the class eChalk page and archive them after a few weeks for space issues. I could also create a class blog assuming it could be accessed at school. Alternately I may archive them on my Google Drive and share them with students there. I will have to play with this a bit more in the fall. 

Thing 6 - Screencasting with Educreations

Part 1
Educreations is a great Screencasting tool accessible on the iPad. I am impressed with the number of good quality tutorials already available on the website. It took some time to look through the library but it was worth it.  One that I found useful in the future is found here:

Educreations: Lesson on Theme

I chose this lesson as a simple review and reteaching option for the concept of theme. It is a very clear and concise tutorial that can be used as prep for an upcoming lesson or for those struggling with mastery of the concept and need to hear it from a fresh voice.

Part 2

I created a short tutorial for teachers for accessing the NEWSELA site. I plan on providing a link to the tutorial on the Language Arts Resources campus eChalk page. 

Pros / Cons of Educreations 

Pros

• Easy to use, intuitive interface
• Simple tools and recording
• Fast uploading and publishing
• Options to choose audience

Cons

• Unable to edit recording. (from what I can tell) Fix: Be prepared and keep it simple. Provide time to practice. Notes or a script would be helpful. 
• Background noise.  Fix: Quieter recording environment provided. Or, use earbud microphone for recording. 

I look forward to creating an archive of tutorials for each unit this year. My audience will most likely be teachers. We often overload teachers with information at content meetings so this provides an option for a refresher on the details. Great tool overall that I think would be useful in any classroom. 

Educreations - Tutorial: Using NEWSELA in the Literacy Classroom

Thing 5: Digital Storytelling with iMovie [The Literacy Block]

Digital storytelling in the literacy block

We often utilize personal narratives at the start of the year as a way of  building community, reviewing the writing process, and establishing a writing portfolio.  A digital story could fit into the process a couple of  ways. 

Objective: Students will create a digital story using narration and images focused on specific important personal event. 

• Students could use narration and images in a straight retelling of their narrative. These could include images from the event, drawings, or collected stock images. 

Objective: Students will create a digital story reflecting on the personal impact of an event. 

• A more impactful presentation would be one that focuses on the reflection piece of their personal narrative. Students in 6th grade are to not only describe the event, but also reflect on the impact.  They could choose key images, quotes and dialogue from their narrative, narration, drawings, and music that best conveys the mood and tone of their piece. The focus would be more on the meaning of the event personally rather than a just a retelling.  

This would definitely require some time and modeling but worth it to create a polished portfolio piece. Finding a few mentor pieces would be important and teacher preparation. Following up with a project gallery walk would provide an audience. If placed on a personal student blog, students could provide feedback. 

(Additional assignment component - comments on other participant blogs)
hicksipads.blogspot.com/2014/06/thing-5

Thing 4: Photo editing - using photos in the writing process

As an iPhone user, I utilize a wide variety of photo editing apps. I found the interface simplistic without too many frills. This makes iPhoto a good fit for students and initial iPad users. Fewer tools and options allow you to focus on the task at hand and the content.

The next portion of this assignment is a bit confusing so I'm going to submit my response from both interpretations (instructions vs. instruction)

Discuss ways to use this feature to enhance instructions: Using photos to create instructions or tutorials can be very helpful for clarifying steps and process. It can also be very useful when working with ESL/ELL students who are still working to develop language proficiency. 

Discuss ways to use this feature to enhance instruction:  Using photos in instruction as a teacher allows me to provide more concrete examples of content. I can also take pictures of key components of a lesson for review and reteaching, or to provide support for those students who were absent.

A classroom activity using iPhoto:  

I would have students utilize the camera during a revising cycle in  writing class. Our students often have very weak leads in their work that does not engage the reader. I would have them snap a pic of their original piece in their writers notebook. I would then have them take a pic of the lead from 3-5 novels that are similar to their genre. They would edit these mentor text pieces to be cropped to focus only on the lead. They could then see more clearly not only the words, but how the author chose to format the text (paragraphing, punctuation, etc. ). Choosing the most effective lead they would then revise their piece in a similar style. They could even try 2 or 3 options. They would then snap a pic of their revised piece. 

As an assessment, I would have them paste the cropped/edited pics of the original, the mentor piece, and their revision to a Google Doc. They could then share this document with the instructor or another student for peer review. Alternately it could be submitted to the eChalk homework Dropbox. I think this could be an effective way to use iPads in conjunction with Writer's Notebooks and the writing cycle without tearing out pages from notebooks or requiring a run to the copier. Students could also archive work in a digital portfolio for reflection on growth through the year. 

Per the assignment, below are my photos - original and edited. 

Original during editing process

Edited and Cropped

Thing 3 - iWork suite

Linking together effective productivity tools, the iPad, and literacy content is crucial when time is limited and content expectations are packed. After exploring the various tools I would plan to utilize Keynote .

Lesson objective: Students will conduct an author study and present their research using Keynote. Students will focus presentation on author's style, published work, and related works. 

Using Keynote offers a great amount of flexibility for the student. The application is already available on the iPad where they will be doing the majority of research. The intuitive nature of Keynote, the available templates, and ease of use make it a great fit for students. They can then focus on the content and information and less on format. 

I would plan on students posting this in the eChalk homework Dropbox after saving as a Microsoft presentation. This would allow for me to efficiently score using a rubric provided during the research process. Additionally I could provide email comments in a more timely manner. Students would also add the presentation to their Google Docs portfolio allowing student reflection at end of year. Allowing the different formats to be saved would allow them to make changes if needed regardless of their access to PC or iPad. 

Each tool has potential, but I enjoy the clean, professional product that results from Keynote. I find it very easy to use and really lets your content shine.

Thing 2 - Getting Content Off the iPad

Having spent time with classes using tablets previously I recognize the challenges of using mobile devices when it comes to content. Whether structured research, product creation, or "teachable moments", student work needs to be accessible. Students may need to complete a partially finished project or may be exploring a topic or the course if several class sessions.   I have found  two sites of great help working with Intermediate students. 

1.  Google Docs/Drive - This is such a valuable tool that I happy to say many teachers on my campus are embracing. Students are able to create using a variety of productivity tools and then access them from other devices fluidly. (Often more easily than the teacher!). The opportunities for collaboration are perfect for the Language Arts classroom.  It is important to be well prepared to help those students who have trouble accessing their docs due to lost passwords or infrequent use. In the classroom I often have a couple students become "experts" to help out with troubleshooting so that my attention can remain on content.  

2.  Blogger vs. Kidblog - This year I plan on using Blogger a bit more. I have found that the interface of Kidblog is tedious. It can be very effective for literature discussions especially if you need to moderate discussions and posts. However, I miss the flexibility that blogger allows for more input and comments from a variety of sources. I also like the interface and format.  Depending on the template, it minimizes distractions. You can also easily load information and share content easily. This is a great way for students to showcase work or new learning. The process would take plenty of modeling, but in the long run, it would be a great interactive and collaborative learning tool.