Personalization

As ACS continues training at the secondary level, Rachel has emphasized personalization of instruction as both best practice and a management strategy. Moving from theory to practice is a process that begins with an understanding of personalization. Edutopia helps by identifying ten tips that focus on a productive environment in which every child is engaged.  

http://www.edutopia.org/stw-differentiated-instruction-ten-key-lessons

Featured iPad Apps

One of the tips from Edutopia is to automate special skills training. In our world, for better or worse, this includes ACT testing. Practice is necessary both for timing as well as phrasing of questions. Many classes are using ACT practice as warm up activities. Several apps are available that provide practice, including a free app from ACT called ACT student. The disadvantage is the limited number of test questions, but the advantage, besides being free, is the immediate feedback for students (which happens to be another personalization tip from Edutopia!)

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/actstudent/id431920584?mt=8

Maximizing Google

Google has several applications that support Edutopia's tip number two: Gather and Use Immediate Feedback on Student's Understanding.

In previous posts, examples of Google script to grade forms and using YouTube videos have been identified. Both are easy to create, provide immediate feedback and provide for multiple ways of engagement. When considering multiple means of engagement and video, often viewing is assigned as a passive activity. However, enabling the comment feature and assigning questions changes the engagement.

Edutopia has a tutorial on practical ways to use YouTube in your classroom: 

http://www.edutopia.org/youtube-educational-videos-classroom

In addition, by integrating videos into a web presence or learning management system, assignments can be 

created that require student response. Assignments can be set up to be a general class discussion, or submitted 

individually, depending upon the type of formative assessment you are seeking.

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

The blog has focused, and will continue to focus on Moodle and Edmodo. However, as Rachel has encouraged the use of Schoology a review of the systems may be helpful. A great overview is this article comparing the three platforms: http://wazmac.com/discussion/edmodo-v-moodle-schoology/

The article is helpful as it provides the benefits and limitations of each instead of promoting one over the other. 

It is accurate to say that Moodle requires more training and support, but I am happy to partner with you for 

successful implementation. Edmodo is the easiest to use, but most limited in features. Schoology falls between

the two, but has an app available for the iPad. However, much like the Google Drive app, simply having an app 

does not mean that the functionality of the web based product is found in the app. Technology, in this case the 

iPad as the tech tool, should not drive decisions. Moodle is clunky on the iPad, but fully functional. Edmodo

and Schoology have apps, so operate more smoothly with the iPad, but do not provide full functionality.

At the minimum, consider the following as necessary elements for the face of your classroom.

1. Calendar for assignments and due dates.

2. Integration with tools already using

3. Assignment access

4. Assignment submission

It may be possible for you to simply use your ACS class website as you begin personalization simply by adding

the features identified above.

Twitter Friday Follow 

With so many resources from Edutopia, it is a natural progression to recommend as my Friday Follow. Tweets are mostly articles with explanations and links to tutorials and tools. The focus on pedagogy over tool choice follows best practice policies.

Library News

Connecting the library space and resources with personalization of instruction requires only one thing: collaboration! Modeling to students how professionals work in teams provides them an important experience and frame of reference. Other ways to connect:

* student choice of space for working and learning

* Makers space for creativity breaks or ways to demonstrate understand learning

* 1:1 student assistance for technology from the library staff

Online Learning Days

Michigan's winter weather has created a school situation not seen in recent history. Many districts, including our own, are over the allowed weather days. The debate in the legislature, Governor's office and the Michigan Department of Education is whether districts can add minutes to their days to make up time or whether days should be added to the end of the school year. Meanwhile, states such as Ohio and New Hampshire are finding ways to use the technology age to eliminate loss of learning time due to inclement weather. Here are some ways that our technology could be used if we were able to use online learning days instead of inclement weather days in the future. Feel free to share your suggestions for how we could address inclement weather days as online learning days in the future.

Featured iPad Apps

The focus of any technology used in a "blizzard bag" should be how can it be used if access to the Internet is limited or unavailable. For 1:1 districts, for instance our 1:1 iPad high school, emphasis could be on the apps that you do not Internet for function. This will help determine the lessons that are created in advance for students. My recommendation would be that Apps that students have already used for classroom assignments and creative activities should be the focus. Unless you want the online learning days to provide students the opportunity to explore curriculum and create products that would not happen in the face-to-face classroom.

My recommendation is to make the student a creator! Instead of completing a set of math problems, challenge the student to record a story problem using their choice of math concept learned in previous lessons.  Digital storytelling or digital story problems are great ways to engage students differently during their online learning days. Ben Rimes,K-12 Educational Technology Coordinator at Mattawan Consolidated School, is well know for his video story problems and digital story telling. His recommendations for story telling and story problem apps include the following:

Elementary: Students can use the camera app to record video and audio. The benefit to using the camera app is that it is a built in app (available to all without download) and it functions without wi-fi access. The disadvantage is that there are no editing features; recording is a one-shot process! A slightly more advanced app, but still easy to use is Videolicous. A screen capture and editing tool. There is a free version, but videos are limited to one minute. 


Middle and High School: For older students interested in some "artsy content" (that's a Ben quote!), Vimeo is an app that works on multiple devices and provides a community of video creators to create channels, store video, connect with other users and edit content.

Maximizing Google

Many teachers by this time have taken advantage of our Google Apps for Education and are using Drive features and apps with their students. The first thing that I would suggest is that "Blizzard Bags" are created as part of class Google Drive folder and downloaded with instructions as part of the course introduction. A separate folder within your class folder title "blizzard bag". In order to make the material available without access to wifi, simply set the folder and/or assignments as "available offline". The video below demonstrates how to help students with this setting.

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

By definition, an online learning management system will NOT be available offline. So this is a limitation to Moodle and Edmodo, or an online learning management system. However, many students will still have access to the Internet. As with any blended environment that is implemented well,prior knowledge as to which students need alternative assessments because of lack of access at home will guide your decision to how you create and post assignments for online learning days. For instance, students in library science and Theory of Knowledge understand that assignments due dates do not change because of inclement weather days. Students who experience technical difficulties because of lack of access are required to make a plan with me upon return to school. 

From a management perspective, You can create a topic area in Moodle that is designated for online learning weather days. This should then be part of the course orientation, emphasized face-to-face as well as highlighted in introductory videos. For Edmodo, consider a backpack designated as a "blizzard bag".

Regardless of your LMS, any day designated as a "blizzard bag" or inclement weather day should include a teacher update to the system. It is important to have established online communication so students know that they should check and where they receive their message and information. The following videos demonstrate communication options in Moodle and Edmodo.

Twitter Friday Follow 

David Tebo, @tebotweets,  Superintendent from Hamilton Community Schools has embraced the concept of alternative learning for inclement weather days, offering challenges via Twitter for his district students. Several of his teachers have joined in with challenges appropriate for grade level. Parents and students then share pictures and videos with their teachers and Mr. Tebo, who promote the learning activities over social media. Here are some examples of his challenges and teacher challenges as well as student submissions.

Library News-Award Books are in!

Creating independent reading projects is more than just an English class assignment! Student choice is an important aspect of connected and personal learning. With our 1:1 iPad there are creative opportunities for students to engage in reading for creative purposes. Check out this resource page for 23 alternatives to book reports. Call or e-mail me to arrange collaboration time. Highlighted below are some new award winning informational texts that have been added to the library collection.

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Digital Learning Day 2014

Wednesday was the 3rd annual Digital Learning Day. Promoted by the Alliance for Education, Digital Learning Day "is a nationwide celebration of innovative teachers and common-sense, effective applications of digital learning in America's schools that support teachers, improve learning and provide options for students to achieve their highest potential". Some schools and teachers have embraced this day as a way to introduce digital learning. Others argue that digital learning should not be assigned a day, but be integrated into the daily school routine. This year, Algonac Community Schools celebrated by doing what we do every day, using our digital tools to improve learning and provide options for students.

Featured iPad Apps

Drawing Grid by Maciej Chrzastek is a free app available on the iTunes store. The app will draw a layer of grid on top of an image without making any changes to the image. The grid will help you keep the proportion of the drawing object and is customize-able, allowing changes to color and opacity for the right contrast. Students in Mr. Griffin's art class use the app to practice scaling and to use grid strategies for proper placement.

Maximizing Google

One of the applications available in Google Drive is a blog tool, called Blogger. In fact, this blog is made with Blogger! There are many applications for blogs in the classrooms. As a GAFE school, students already have access through their school account. Blogs can be set to private, shared only with specific people (the teacher, or a class) or shared publicly. In European Literature and Composition, Ms. Melanie Bokano decided to have students blog because she felt it was important that they continually write and explore their own thoughts and ideas. It is also a wonderful way for them to practice synthesizing information- drawing their own conclusions about information studied and making parallels between what is being studied and the students' own life. Having the technology readily available to them through the the Blogger and Word Press apps allows for  consistent writing practice.On Digital Learning Day, students completed their 8th blog post, analyzing four essential questions from Macbeth. The questions will be used in the future for formal research papers. 

Blogs can also be used as Reading Journals:

Or for an online book club:

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

Mrs. Stephanie Ford's 6th Grade Social Studies Virtual Learning is a small group of students who are taking a technological approach to academics, which better suited their learning style. They have a Moodle-based classroom and are currently working on collecting research to write a state report.  They are also writing letters of request to visitors bureaus and creating an oral presentation in the form of an informational booth at a Travel Fair that their friends and family are invited to towards the end of the month.

Twitter Friday Follow

Digital Learning Day should not be a once a year occurrence! Follow @OfficialDLDay for tools, resources and examples of best practice. This is a good resource to find interactive opportunities for students and classrooms. 

Library News

With the emphasis on digital learning, it is a good time to highlight the digital resources that are available through the library, especially databases. With 1:1 implementation, library services and collaborative assignments can still take place in the library learning center space, with the advantage of every student having a personal devise. No distribution, login, or wait times! Schedule time for research, projects or help with tech tools by contacting Rachelle via e-mail or phone.

Algonac High School subscribes to one database, Global Issues in Context, from the Gale corporation. Watch the overview video below for an introduction:

Don't forget to use the FREE resources, including test prep, databases and teacher support material; available through the Michigan eLibrary. 

Digitizing Exams

At the high school level, helping students prepare for exams is an important college and career readiness task. At AHS, the implementation of 1:1 iPads allowed teachers to support students in this process in new ways. As with all good  strategies, the potential for how the strategies could be used in other ways became an interesting discussion. Look for changes in credit recovery and blended or online learning opportunities as teachers create transformative learning opportunities with the technology we are given. Many of the examples come from Ms. Burns digital Algebra II exam review, which includes the use of the Explain Everything app, shared Google drive class folders and YouTube.

Featured iPad Apps

Explain Everything, an app developed in partnership by MorrisCooke and The Constructionist Toolkit, was created "to help connect visual and functional designs to both current and educational research and the practical realities of school settings". The app functions as a design tool, allowing users to annotate, animate and narrate explanations and presentations to create lessons activities, assessments and tutorials. The app is reasonably priced at $2.99, with discounts available for Apple Education Volume Purchase. The app easily uploads videos to YouTube, allowing closed-captioning to be added.

One of the unique features of Explain Everything is that the app is supported with a free iTune book manual, which is updated as new features are rolled out with updates. 

Maximizing Google

Instead of focusing on a particular aspect of Google, or a specific app, the power of the tool is often how the possibilities come together. This is evident looking at Ms. Burn's Alg II exam Review. 

• The process begins by establishing a shared folder between teacher and classroom. This allows communication of assignments, support documents and resources that are digitally accessed. When Ms. Burn's creates the review, it is simply added to the shared class folder. Students now have anytime, anywhere access. 
• Ms. Burn's then used the Explain Everything app reviewed above to create tutorials of example math problems.
• The app allows easy upload to Youtube. The YouTube video is then linked to the exam review

Students now have access to not only an outline of content covered on the exam, but teacher examples of problem solving as well as practice assignments for exam preparation. I love it when good tools come together!

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

Learning platforms provide several options for exams and exam reviews. Edmodo and Moodle both have 

quiz features. Students that are familiar with using the platforms should have no problem taking their exams electronically. Additionally, if classes are developed with assignments, lessons and resources posted in one location, review of material can be systematic and does not depend upon the student's ability to keep track of paper assignments, a real struggle for many. 

Creating a Quiz in Moodle:

1. Create a "Quiz" Assignment.

2. Add questions to your quiz.

Creating a Quiz in Edmodo:

Twitter Friday Follow  

My Twitter Friday Follow recommendations for this week are AHS Government/Economics teachers Mr. Mike Cesaro (@MichaelCesaro)  and Mrs. Kathy Barraco (@kathybarraco). These teachers are excellent examples of teaming and collaboration to enhance curriculum and classrooms. One strategy that they used over the last year is to conduct extra-credit Twitter exam reviews. The teacher Tweets out an exam review question, and the first student to respond gets extra credit. This works well as a review, as there is incentive for students to participate and Mrs. Barraco and Mr. Cesaro provide feedback to all students who participate. 

Library News

At the high school, semester exams are a signal that ACT testing time is just around the corner. The library offers both print and digital resources for ACT and SAT preparation. Most resources are more than practice tests. Included are an overview of the tests, thinking being assess and strategies for individual components as well as timed test taking in general.

                     

Michigan residents can also access test preparation resources through the Michigan eLibrary. Through grants, the state has purchased access to The Learning Express Library. Simply create an account and begin your ACT practice. In addition to ACT practice, there are courses in reading, writing and math for students K-12. Any students or teachers interested in creating accounts can schedule time with Mrs. Wynkoop for assistance.

Tech Enabled Athletics and Extra Curricular Activities

Many advantages of a 1:1 environment extend beyond the classroom. Shared devices, apps and tools create more ways to connect, communicate and evaluate. For athletics, record keeping and feedback in regard to performance and statistics are time consuming. Technology can offer more ways to collect and record data for statistical analysis and to analyze physical performance. In addition, student organizations are often paper-drive and require communication with busy students. Technolgy can be used to create paper-less solutions and any-time communication. Featured below are some examples of how athletics and extra-curricular activities are taking advantage of available technology.

Featured iPad Apps

Statistics, statistics, statistics. Coaches are continuously gathering and analyzing data to evaluate athlete performance. Apps can be found that are designed for specific sports or more generalized use. Highlighted below are 3 apps coaches have found useful. While the featured apps are not free, generally the paper and time that is saved can still result in cost benefit.

iStats Wrestle seems a bit pricey at $39.99, but there are some features that make it well worth the investment, according to Varsity wrestling coach Brian Ranger. First, the app is not subscription based, so there is no renewal fee. Second, the app syncs across multiple devices, making statistical tracking during tournaments seemless. According to the app developer's description "iStats Wrestle is a robust application that lets you manage and track statistics for a wrestling team and sync stats between multiple devices. Simply input your wrestlers, enter stats as a match happens, and the app does the rest. It will score every match, keep all matches chronologically ordered, organize matches into events, and generate statistics for each and every wrestler on your team."  

Varsity girls basketball is using an app called GameChanger. The app also has versions for baseball and softball. There is no charge for coaches and statisticians. Instead the designers finance the upgrades and support through fan purchase of premium accounts that allow tracking of teams and individual athletes.Coach Matzka has is using the app this season and feels that it has assisted the process of data tracking.

Several teams take advantage of Hudl as a way to view and analyze video game footage. Football, basketball and wrestling have found this tech tool has increased access for athletes to highlight film, both internally and for studying opponents. The app is free and allows analysis of film that has been uploaded as well as capturing video with your device. Hudl has it's own YouTube Channel of support and training videos, allowing less tech savvy coaches to integrate the tool. The video below demonstrates how coaches can take their information on Hudl and make it available offline. Great for travel, outside practices and areas without wifi.

Varsity Cheer coach, Minna Turrell, has found the app Coach's Eye to be a game changer this year. Developed by Tech Smith, an industry leader in screen capture and recording software, the primary function is to analyze physical movement in many forms. Coach Turrell goes beyond this basic function and uses the  slow-motion feature to analyze timing, arm position and formations. In addition, the app allows recording of complete routines with voice over capability allow feedback from coaches on athlete performance or creating video examples with voice instructions for cheerleaders to follow when learning routines. The app is only $4.99 and has in the past been offered for free for a limited time.

Maximizing Google

Communicating with parents, athletes, students and the community is a vital part of successful programs. Google has several apps and features that assist with communication, but one of the most powerful is the blog. In fact, this tech blog is a Google Blogger site! Blogs provide communicators a way to quickly share information,  including images, video and text with the all the advantages of a web-based tool. With options of instant update notifications for followers, to the ability to broadcast through other social media like Twitter, Facebook or even linking to web pages, blogs provide a quick and easy solution to communication issues.

AHS Athletic Director, Mr. Jamie Thiede, recently began a blog for AHS athletics. The blog provides a way to communicate information, explain procedure and policies and highlight athletic success. Check it out today! http://algonacmuskratathletics.blogspot.com/

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

Many learning management systems, including Edmodo and Moodle, have assignment options that can be used for voting. At AHS, Student Council and NHS have used the "Choice" activity when voting for officers. This is easily transferable to the classroom, any time a student needs to make a "choice". Because the management system requires a login, it creates a secure voting system that is automatically tallied. Online voting or polling allows voting to occur over a time period instead of at one designated time. Great feature for our students with busy schedules. The screencast below demonstrates how to set up the Choice activity in Moodle.

If Edmodo is your learning platform, you couuld use the "poll" activity for voting or making a choice.

Twitter Friday Follow

Schools are coming around to the idea that if you want to communicate with students and parents, you have to make it available where they are already engaged. Twitter has become a great communication tool for athletics and extra-curriculars. Some coaches set up an account specifically for the team or sport while others choose to ask their athletes and parents to follow their professional account. Many of your favorite teams, sportscasters and athletic organizations are also on Twitter. (My favorite is Jim Brandstatter: @brandymancan). Here are some suggestions for all things Athletic at Algonac High School:

General athletic news and information (including blog posts!): @AlgonacSports

Sport and team specific (not an exhaustive list, check with your favorite coach or sport web page):

Wrestling: @brianrangerahs   Football: @Algonacfootball  Cheer: @TurrellAHS

Varsity Girls BB: @MrMatzka (bonus: Coach Matzka tweets out cool sport related quotes)

Library News

Getting kids reading can sometimes be a challenge. That is why a good library collection is necessary. By the time many students are in middle school and high school they have stopped reading for pleasure. Their only reading is of the analytical, literary deconstruction type that is part of an English curriculum. This is where the connection between reading and sport can be powerful. Here are some offerings in the AHS collection for our sport-minded students. And coaches.

                       

              

Empowering Students

While there are many challenges to overcome with technology integration, especially in a 1:1 implementation, there are also many benefits. Much of the time, attention has been focused on how teachers are using the tools to change delivery of instruction or addressing classroom management. Instead, this post will focus on how students have used the new technology as a way to "own" their own learning. 

 

Featured iPad Apps

 

 

The first featured app was found by Sophomore Allison Urban. Allison was looking for a way to study for an upcoming Anatomy and Physiology quiz that went beyond the usual flashcards. What she found is a LabelED, a free app from Gerrard Apps. The app works by allowing the user to import images and create labels on the image. Labels can be name only or include details, definitions and audio recording. The user can then choose from two different methods of quizzing, location or multiple choice. Users can organize the material by creating "books" of different subjects or units. There are books already available in the app for purchase that feature subjects such as bones and muscles.

 

As an aspiring interior designer, Krystina was tasked with creating floor layout solutions as part of the redesign of the library. The assignment was to create two potential layouts for a new seating area to present to students. The students will choose from the layouts how the new seating area will be arranged. Krystina looked at several potential options, including web-based programs, but chose the iPad app  MagicPlan for the project. Going beyond a scaled placement concept, the app actually measures and and draws your floor plan from pictures that you take on the iPad.

 

Maximizing Google

 While students are using Google Drive and Apps in teacher-directed capacities, they are finding an advantage on their own to how they can organize their work and increase submission of assignments. Several students have mentioned the ability to share Google Drive items has decreased their missing assignments. Senior drama student, Angelica, struggled in the past with keeping papers organized and submitting assignments on time. To solve this problem, Angelica created one document in her Google drive drama folder and shared it with her teacher. Every day she opens the same document and adds her response. The assignment is already "shared" with Mrs. Bokano, eliminating missing assignments.

 

Getting the Most Out of Your Learning Platform

 

Teachers choose to integrate a web-based platform for their students for several reasons.  From a student perspective, the ability to access not only assignments but instructional resources during an extended absence is invaluable. Damon, a senior football player, was out following shoulder surgery. In his blended and online classes, he was able to continue to participate as if he were in the classroom. Daily agendas, class discussions, tutorials, video instructions and assignment submission are all accessible through the online platform. Both Moodle and Edmodo provide the structure necessary to provide this for our students.

IB Bio Moodle class

 

 

Twitter Friday Follow

 

The conversation surrounding teens and social media most often focuses on examples of bullying and displays of inappropriate behavior. But there are ways that social media can be used in an appropriate context. Teachers are using Twitter as a way to send reminders about tests and assignment due dates, ACT has practice questions that they tweet daily and the school communicates news and celebrations. Recently, the students at Algonac High School began using Twitter in a distinctly different way. Instead of negative comments, bullying and complaining seen on many accounts, an account has been created to promote community and provide a positive social media interaction. 

 

 

 The students at Algonac High school also pride themselves in being the best fans and supporters of their school in our area, as evidenced by the "Rat Pack" student section.. One way that the "Rat Pack" shows their pride is by using social media to connect students with basketball events. Over Thanksgiving break, seniors Zach Liederman, Jeff Geck and Keith Kirby created the Twitter account @ALGratpack. The account keeps students and supporters informed of game locations, times, and student activities such as "white outs" at targeted games. As the season gets into full swing, game highlights, player shout outs and final scores will also be shared. The account was recently contacted by The D Zone about a contest for the best student section in the state. Zach, Jeff and Keith will be submitting videos and pictures of the student section during games to submit for the contest. Follow @ALGratpack and attend AHS basketball games to show the State of Michigan Algonac High School "Rat Pack" is the best student section in the state!

Library News

 

Before you leave for the holiday break, check out a book or two for leisure reading. Many of the recent and soon-to-be released movies are book adaptions. The listing below is a sample of what you can find in the library collection.