The History 2.0 Classroom

iPads X Calculus X Educreations

2012-01-28T11:19:00.000-08:00

This is the thought process I use when considering using technology in a classroom: How can we leverage technology to create an environment where students are able to share, demonstrate their understanding & create something that others can use in the future? With that question grounding my approach I move onto my next question...

What can you do with 3 iPads in a high school calculus class? That was what a colleague of mine and I wanted to figure out before the cart of 30 iPads shows up next week.

The answer, have students create problem solving screencasts during class using the Educreations app. Our thought process was that within one class period, students that were able to solve specific problem types would create a screencast of that process which could be played back within the class period to help students who were not able to solve that same problem.

The process we came up with worked quite well & gave students an opportunity to teach each other within the class period. The structure of the class was as follows:

- The teacher provided the answers to all of the homework questions.

- Students identified which problems they got wrong.

- Students that solved those problems correctly took an iPad into the hallway to create a screencast.

- The app was logged into the teachers account ahead of time, when student's finished & published the screencast it was instantly ready to view by the entire class.

- The teacher then projected the screencasts & played them back for the entire class just moments after they were created by the students.

- Click HERE to view a selection of screencasts created during class.

Screenshot of the screencasts made by students during class

Reflection on the integration & process:

When I return back to my original thought process, I feel confident that the way in which the technology was integrated into this math class was successful because:

A - the students were demonstrating their understanding

B - the students were contributing to each other's learning

C - the content they created is now accesible to all of the students

Now...what to do when we have 30 iPads in this classroom...

iPad X Macbeth

2012-01-28T06:35:00.000-08:00

I visited the classroom of an English teacher in my building the other day (@katrinakennett) and saw an interesting integration of an iPad in class. While some schools may already be 1:1 or have class sets / carts of iPads, this classroom is operating with one teacher iPad, a situation that many teachers find themselves in.

This class is reading Macbeth, no easy task for high school students. Where the iPad comes into play is during in-class reading. Where traditionally a class may take turns reading through the paper text and have discussion to clarify, explain and expand on the text, the iPad allows the students & teacher to make notations within the text that the entire class can see when the iPad is projected.

iPad projected with Good Notes
& Macbeth

To create this setup in your classroom, the following are needed:
- iPad
- iPad to VGA / HDMI adaptor (to connect to the projector)
- GoodNotes iPad app (allows for notations)
- PDF version of the class reading

The students and teacher are reading from the same PDF version of Macbeth. On the iPad, open the PDF version within the GoodNotes application, project the iPad and begin creating notations.

What is especially helpful about creating notations on the iPad (with or without a stylus) is that all types of notations can be created.
- Highlight text
- Write within the document
- Create drawings / images within the document

iPad with Good Notes
and Macbeth

As the class is reading through Macbeth, the teacher or students can use the iPad to create any of the above mentioned notations. The true benefit of this setup lies in the ability of every student in the class to see the notations as they are being created. In this way, the teacher can effectively model how they go through the process of actively reading a text. Students can see what types of ideas are highlighted, underlined, circles, drawn on and connected.

iPad projection and
student notes

My suggestion would be to scaffold this process, whereas the teacher spends a day or two modeling effective active reading and notations. Once students are aware of the classroom expectations, specific notations symbols, and are comfortable with the process, the students can take over the iPad and be responsible for displaying their active reading process.

iPads X Geometry X Wix X ExplainEverything

2012-01-25T18:03:00.000-08:00

I am a tech integration specialist and I love my new job! I have the fortune of working with all types of teachers and students and it is a great experience when I get to work with a teacher who is excited about the possibilities of integrating technology in a way that allows students to truly demonstrate their understanding in a way that could not have been achieved without the technology and allows them to publish their voice to a broader audience than could have been achieved without the integration of carefully selected technology...

I am currently working with @rhallteach's 9th grade geometry class. Earlier in the year I had trained a number of teachers on screencasting and @rhallteach immediately saw the possibilities in her classroom. We started by having students use her enoboard and screenr to create video tutorial screencasts of a specific problem type that they worked on and prepared to present the night before. The process was slow and cumbersome, there were simply too many students sitting and watching ( I know, shocking for an IWB ).

Our next step was to integrate iPads into the equation. With just three iPads, students were able to create so many more screencasts in one class period as compared to the IWB & screenr method. The first app we selected was Educreations. The learning curve was practically non-existant and the students dove right in creating problem solving video tutorials. We logged each iPad into @rhallteach's Educreations account, so when the students finished and published the screencast it immediately appeared in her account on the Educreations site.

Then we ran into our first problem. The ultimate goal of the project was to create a site where each chapter or concept that was covered during the year would be compiled on a class site. The Educreations videos worked great when viewing the site on a computer, but when the site was viewed on the mobile version, the Edcreations videos wouldn't play on an iPhone or iPad...

The solution, Explain Everything. The switch came about because video tutorials created on iPad with Explain Everything can be uploaded directly to YouTube. The YouTube videos can then be viewed on both the full and mobile version of the site. The switch to Explain Everything was ultimately necessary because we wanted the students to be able to access and view each other's videos from both a computer and their own mobile device. When students create the screencasts with the Explain Everything app, we will into the teacher YouTube account ahead of time, so when the students are done and ready to publish the screencasts will be uploaded directly to the teacher's account. The upload process from Explain Everything to YouTube is a bit long, but the end result is well worth the extra time.

Here is the view of the site on a mobile device:
**Note - only chapter 7 is partially complete at this time**

On a mobile device (iPhone, iPad or Android) click HERE to view the mobile site

Here is a view of the site on a computer:

On a computer, click HERE to view the full site

The platform we are using to create the site is Wix. I selected wix primarily because of the ability to create both a full and mobile site from within the platform. At this point the students are responsible solely for creating the content, but as we work on the screencasts throughout the rest of the year I will train them on how to create hyperlinks for the mobile site and embed the videos in the full site. Unfortunately we started the entire process halfway through the year ( possibly a blessing in disguise ) and at this point the students are starting at chapter 6 and working their way forward. However, throughout the rest of the year, the students will be signing up for problem types from previous chapters to backfill the site with video tutorials. I think that by the end of the year they will have created quite a finished product...

iPad: eBooks X LibriVox = Free Read Along

2012-01-05T15:28:00.001-08:00

While I was playing around with my iPad tonight I came across a cool little trick I thought I should pass along.

If there is a classic book that is in the public domain that you are interested in reading, check out LibriVox to see if there is a free audio version of the book. If the book exists in LibriVox there will likely be a link to a free eBooks version available from Gutenberg as well. Use the link provided to grab the free ePub version of the book.

Head back over to LibriVox, select the chapter of the book you want to listen to and start the audio.

Then, double click on the home button and open up iBooks to access the free ePub version of the book...magic, the recording will continue to play and you can follow along in the text while a lovely voice from LibriVox reads along.

Having missed a few classics along the way, I'll be reading ( and listening ) to Beowulf.

Best Tech Integration Ever

2011-12-27T18:36:00.001-08:00

Violence in Sports X Podcasting

2011-12-27T10:34:00.001-08:00

In my lone class that I currently teach at Plymouth South HS I try to expose the students to various types of projects and work that integrate technology, while focusing on my class objectives & over-arching school goals. Our current school focus is on public speaking. My spin on that was to have my students present orally, but asynchronously, in a podcast.

The course unit was "violence in sports." After two weeks of exploring, reading & discussing the issue, students worked in pairs to create a "violence in sports" podcast.

Technical Requirements:

- Students used HP laptops with Audacity to record the audio.

- The LAME encoder had to be downloaded to each laptop. The encoder is needed to export the Audacity file as an MP3 file.

- I settled on uploading the projects to SoundCloud. I wanted to use Podbean in order to then publish the work on iTunes, but the upload process wouldn't work at school.

- I then created a blog through blogger to embed each podcast from SoundCloud. I have recently started creating individual blogs for individual projects. I like the idea of creating a specific, project related URL for each project. The project blog:
www.sportsviolencepshs.blogspot.com

My Take-aways:

- It took much longer than I initially planned. This had to do with the technical learning curve with using Audacity & the amount of content that I required each group to include.

- The structure of a podcast is much like a paper.
1. Introduction / Overview of show
2. Specific ideas / stories / supporting evidence
3. Conclusion

- I saw students working very hard, sharing ideas, arguing, working through problems, succeeding, enjoying the process & ultimately they took pride in their final product.

- This experience only reinforced my belief that being able to create, edit and publish audio ( and video ) may be just as important as being able to write a traditional essay on paper. This project required days of writing and preparation before the students even touched the computers to record and edit their audio. Yet, with the scripts written, the hard work had only just begun. It would be days of work to follow to record, edit, re-write and fine tune their final product.

- Deadlines can & should be flexible.
My thought was that from beginning to end this project would take a week. It took nearly two, for two reasons.
1. All recording & editing was done in school.
2. 45 minute periods fly by. Even when the groups were diligently working, they might record on segment per day.
When I see students working, being challenged & persevering, I see no reason to not extend a due date.

Enjoy the podcasts...
www.sportsviolencepshs.blogspot.com

Hamlet X Issuu = Online Graphic Novel

2011-12-22T05:06:00.000-08:00

The project is done! I've been fortunate enough to work with a 12th grade English class that has been reading and creating a graphic novel interpretation of Hamlet. The entire class has been submitting their ideas and vision to one talented artist, who has then turned them into panels for the class graphic novel. This has been an outstanding experience, and it was especially rewarding to watch the pride that the last two editors took when finishing and uploading the book to Issuu.

Without further delay...the Hamlet Graphic Novel.

Open publication - Free publishing - More hamlet

Issuu X Hamlet = Online Graphic Novel

2011-12-17T06:30:00.001-08:00

This week I had the opportunity to work with a 12th grade English class at my school that has been working on a collaborative graphic novel of Hamlet.

There is one student in the class that has taken the drafts, notes and rough ideas being submitted by the class and has turned them into eight panel versions of each act.

The teacher was interested in publishing their work online. Based on the resources available, HP laptops and a scanner, I settled on using Issuu to publish their book.

The Process: I wanted to help the small group of student editors and help them develop some new skills and abilities, not create the book for them. Three students in the class (the artist & two editors) joined me in the computer lab to begin the process.

Step 1: Students learned how to scan & organize and save the original drawings. We settled on scanning the original drawings as PDF documents.

Step 2: Students learned how to use the Windows 7 Snippet tool to break the original drawings up into a new structure that would help organize and tell the story. Here are a few examples of their snippet choices.

Step 3: The students started the process of creating the graphic novel by editing in Word. They would take the snippet images and organize them according to their choices on image placement and size. It was fascinating to see them discuss which images should be enlarged to have their own page, which images should be grouped together and which ones should be resized for emphasis.

In just one class period, with no prior experience, the small group of three scanned, snipped, organized, saved the originals and began the editing process.

Progress: The students then took the early rough cut of their Word document and saved it as a PDF. We then uploaded the PDF to Issuu.

Note: This is a very rough draft, flip past the first page

Open publication - Free publishing - More hamlet

Word vs PPT: It quickly became apparent that resizing and managing text and images in Word is not the most user friendly process. As an alternative, I had the students recreate their work using PowerPoint. They found it much easier to insert images, include text, rearrange, edit and generally manage the project. We then did a test export from PowerPoint to PDF and uploaded the PDF to Issuu. The finished product is slightly different than the Word to PDF version, but I think it actually looks a bit more like a graphic novel, with the slightly slimmer appearance.

Note: I suggest viewing in full screen mode.

Open publication - Free publishing - More kulowiec

Final Edits: When the editing is group is done creating the rough draft and each scene is uploaded, we are going to project the online Issuu version in class and have a group editing day, where the class will collaborate and decide on the final placement and structure of the images, text and page arrangement. The student editing team will make the needed adjustments and upload the final version.

It's Not About Technology

2011-12-15T08:00:00.000-08:00

I was fortunate enough to be asked to present at the Student-Centered High School Conference in Bedford, NH today. My presentation was focused on how to successfully integrate technology into a classroom to create an environment where students can create and publish their work to a wider audience. The presentation is uploaded as a PDF document, but I have also provided links to all of the resources mentioned below the presentation.

Here is a link to the presentation as a Keynote file as well...

Authentic Intellectual Work in Social Studies: Scheurman and Newmann

Leonardo's Laptop

Student Common Craft Videos:
- Nacirema Video 1
- Nacirema Video 2

Group Blogging:
Posterous - Group Blogging Platform
Holocaust Responsibility Blog
Trojan and Panther Norms Blog

Choose Your Own Adventure Videos: Tutorial

2011-11-23T04:23:00.001-08:00

Last year, along with a class of outstanding 9th grade students, we created French Revolution vs. Egyptian Protest Choose Your Own Adventure (CYOA) YouTube projects. I have had a few requests on how to go about making the projects so I put together this video tutorial. The tutorial provides the technical insight into how to upload and link YouTube videos with the built in Annotation & Spotlight feature. However, the most critical aspect of these projects is the planning. Below the video is the document that my students used to plan and organize their videos.

Polleverywhere & Socrative

2011-11-10T11:42:00.001-08:00

I have written extensively in the past about using Polleverywhere in the classroom to promote student engagement, discussion and participation. I recently wrote a piece for the National History Education Clearinghouse, "Cell Phones as Classroom Tools".

In the piece I explain a general overview of how to get started using web based classroom response systems, potential obstacles and a general framework / questioning strategy that may be adopted in any classroom...

Enjoy!

MassCue 2011 Presentation

2011-10-27T02:48:00.000-07:00

Here is the presentation from my morning session at MassCue 2011...enjoy!

YouTube, Twitter & the Curriculum

Here is a supplemental information that might be helpful...

- Green Screen Tutorials for iMovie

- Youtube Annotation / Spotlight Tutorial

- Youtube Help Page: Accessing the Annotation / Spotlight Tool

ePubs & iPads...Distribution in a 1:1 setting

2011-10-19T17:29:00.000-07:00

Although I do not yet teach in a 1:1 setting, I am looking forward to the day when I can distribute custom made ePub files to a class of student iPads.

The process I have devised is simple.

1. Create a custom ePub file using any number of free ePub conversion sites:
www.dotepub.com
www.2epub.com

I use the Chrome extension from dotepub, it turns any site into an ePub file with one click of the extension.

2. Upload the ePub file to a box.net shared folder.

3. Distribute the URL of the shared folder to your students and have them enter the URL into an internet browser on their iPad.

4. For future access, have the students add the URL of the shared folder to their homescreen.

5. When students click on the shared folder, they will be able to select from the ePub files that the teacher has uploaded to the folder. By clicking on one of the files, the student will be prompted to open the file in ibooks.

*Update: Based on a comment left on the blog regarding why a teacher should go through this process, here are my thoughts.

- With the free online resources (dotepub & 2epub) anyone can create ePub files from a number of different file types. This essentially means that educators have the ability to create custom ePub files that can be shared with one click into all of their student iPads.

- When the custom ePub files are uploaded to a Box.net folder & that folder is made public, any student that visits the URL of the folder can quickly pull that ePub file into iBooks.

- Reading in iBooks. This is by far the biggest benefit to creating and distributing custom ePub files. Within iBooks, students have the ability to:
1. Highlight
2. Insert Notes
3. Look up words in the dictionary
4. Search the entire text for keywords
5. Bookmark pages

- With the ePub file in iBooks, the iPad becomes a reading and storage device that eliminates the need for paper copies, sticky notes and lost readings. An entire year's worth of readings can be stored in each students iPad and all of their notations, highlights and notes are also stored within each ePub file.

Here is a link to a shared folder I created on Box.net with two ePub files.

Here are the screenshots from my iPad that were taken when I visited this post and clicked on the link above. As you can see, the ePub file is downloadable from the Box.net shared folder and the user is then prompted to open the file in iBooks.

Enjoy...back to thinking of ideas on how to use iPads that I don't have :)

Create eBooks...on an iPad...for Free!

2011-09-29T14:23:00.000-07:00

I do not teach in a 1:1 iPad classroom, and my school doesn't have a cart of iPads. And while there is still some discussion and argument as to whether an iPad is a computer or a "computing device", my perspective is increasingly leaning towards the idea that an iPad is a legitimate substitute for a computer in the hands of students in a classroom. My latest find only confirms this point.

At EdCampCT this summer, Meg Wilson (@ipodsibilities) mentioned a website during her iPad / eBooks session that allows any site to be instantly converted into an ePub file, that can then be easily read on an eReader / iPad. The site, http://dotepub.com/. The concept is straight forward, add the Dotepub bookmarklet or extension to your browser and any site that you visit can be turned into an ePub file. That file can then be dragged into iTunes and when synced with an iPad, the website has be easily turned into an ePub file that can be read offline at a future date. Here are a few screenshots to explain the process

Step 1: I went to the New York Times website to find an article...

Step 2: I like to click on the printable version of the article as to make a smoother transition when converting to an epub file...Then click on the Dotepub extension in your browser to convert the page.

Step 3: Once it is converted, I drag the ePub file to iTunes...

Step 4: Once the document is dragged to iTunes, sync your iPad and the article can now be read offline within iBooks on your iPad.

Yes, this is impressive, relatively easy and could end up being quite helpful in a classroom. You could easily take this ePub file and email it to your students and when they open the email on their iPad it will automatically give them the option to open the ePub attachment in their iBooks app. Here are a few screenshots of that process.

Here is the hypothetical email that you can send to students with iPads. I sent the email with the ePub file as an attachment...

When the attachment is opened on the iPad, the student will be given the option to open the attachment in iBooks.

While the above strategy is extremely helpful, it isn't the actual purpose of this post. Instead of going through the process of creating the ePub document and emailing every student who needs the document in their iPad, they have the ability to visit any site that you point them to for class and they can create the very same ePub file on their iPad and it will be imported directly into iBooks. The process outlined below has to be done on each iPad in order for that device to have the ability to convert any site into an ePub file.

Here we go...

Set 1: Visit www.dotepub.com on an iPad.

Step 2: Add the page as a bookmark in your browser.

Step 3: "Select All" and "Copy" the text in the middle of the page. It is located in the grey box.

Step 4: Edit the bookmark that you just created for the dotEpub site.

Step 5: Delete the URL for the dotEpub site in your bookmarks

Step 6: Paste the text that you copied in step 3 into the "Address" field of the dotEpub bookmark. Note that this process only has to be done once. Now that the bookmark is adjusted it is time to make ePub files out of website directly on your iPad.

You are now ready to create ePub files directly on your iPad!

Now you can visit any site you like, or direct your students to visit a particular site. This can be done by providing a hyper link from a class blog.

Again, I like to first choose a printable version of the site if it is possible...this is not necessary.

Then, click on your bookmarks in the browser and tap on the dotEpub bookmark. This will automatically convert the site into an ePub file.

Once the page is converted, the you can choose where you would like to open the ePub file.

Depending on which apps you have on the iPad, you will have a number of choices. Select iBooks to open the document in your iBooks app.

The ePub file will then automatically appear in the bookshelf of your iBooks app. The article that I converted is in the top left hand corner. But why go through the process? Continue reading and I will explain...

The iBooks app offers a number of built in resources that students can take advantage of while reading. Below are a few screenshots from an iPad demonstrating these possibilities.

To access these resources, simply click and hold on any word. A menu will then appear that allows the reader to Copy, access a dictionary, Highlight, Note and Search.

The built in Dictionary option...

The Highlighting option...

The Note option (write a short sticky note within the text)

The Search option (allows a reader to search the entire document for one word)

Thank you for reading this far down in the post...I try to keep them much shorter, but I figured the screenshots were needed in this case. Like I said at the outset of the post, I don't have a class full of iPads and probably won't any time soon. But I know a number of schools are 1:1 iPad, are going 1:1 or are currently piloting a program. Once the Bookmark is created and adjusted, it is a seamless and quick process to go from website to offline, readable and personally editable eBook. Enjoy & let me know how the process has helped you out in your iPad classroom.

Back to reading on my iPad...

The Network Institute 2011 X 150 Minutes with Students...

2011-08-09T17:17:00.000-07:00

For the past three days I have been participating in The Network Institute at Nashua North High School in Nashua, New Hampshire. The purpose of attending the workshop is to explore in greater depth the concept of authentic assessment and to continue the process of implementing senior projects at my school.

On day two of the workshop I was fortunate enough to work with about 25 students from the thirteen schools that are part of The Network. I was given two 75 minute blocks to work with the students to create projects that could demonstrate the use of technology in the classroom. I had ambitious goals, and just like my classroom, I think I set unreasonable expectations...and like always, the students met the challenge.

Project 1: I created a blog on Posterous and changed the settings to allow anyone to post to the blog via email. Here is the result: www.thenetwork.posterous.com

Project 2: Inspired by the 'Vision of Students Today' video by Michael Wesch, I asked the students at the institute to work in pairs and answer the question: When I graduate, I want to be able to _______. Two students took the filming role, the rest of the students took their places with their signs, and three students took responsibility to edit the footage in iMovie. Here is the result:

Project 3 & 4: The group was then split into two smaller groups. One group created a video project & the other created a round table podcast. The video group was given the direction to make a 'Common Craft' style video that depicts a "good day" at school and a "bad day" at school. I realize now that I could have given a bit more direction and expectation with regards to including content and ideas from the institute goals and discussion. While the content may not be exactly what I expected, watching a group of students who did not know each other prior to the institute work together collaboratively, take leadership roles, plan, organize and complete a project in such a short amount of time was inspiring. Here is the result:

The other group ( a bit smaller ) sat together, brainstormed the ideas they had explored during day one of the institute and created a podcast. Here is the result of their work.

On day three of the institute the students will have a 30 minutes to share their experience creating the projects, working together and explaining how technology can be integrated into the classroom to promote authentic assessment and engage students to promote learning.

In addition to the projects, a few students in the group took the lead to make a Facebook Group for the students involved in The Network Institute. Students at the institute with Facebook accounts are now members of the group and have the ability to stay connected with each other in the future to promote change in their schools.

I plan on interviewing as many students as possible tomorrow to get their feedback on the experience.
I can't explain how fantastic it was working with these students, absolutely the highlight of my experience at The Network Institute!

Mapping & Statistics 2.0

2011-08-04T07:10:00.000-07:00

To get ready for the upcoming school year, I thought that some mapping 2.0 & statistics resources would be helpful, here are my favorites:

Conflict History

A combination of a timeline & world map that allows you to quickly browse through every world conflict from 3000BC through 2015. Click on the name of any conflict and the the map will highlight any country that was involved in the conflict.

Mapping Worlds

Explore statistics from categories including: People, Planet, Business, Politics, Living. Statistical information associated with each category & their sub categories will transform the size and shape of the world map.

World Mapper

Explore from 30 core categories and multiple categories with each topic. Each category has a unique map associated with it that is morphed according to the statistical information. Each map has a brief description of the statistic and can be printed as a pdf document.

Our Changing World

Explore statistics & their impact on a global map from over 20 categories. Each category creates a playable and viewable map that morphs a world map that can be paused and replayed to examine the statistical impact on the world.

National Geographic MapMaker Interactive

Create customized layers on any map that include:
Water, Land, Climate, Population, Political & Economic, Environment & Society. For each uniquely created & layered map, a custom URL is created and the map can be printed.

Gapminder

Explore hundreds of statistical categories by using the Data tab on the Gapminder web site. Within each category topic, click on the 'visualize' button on the far right and a graph is instantly created that allows you to explore and analyze the data over a selected period of time. The graphs can be customized to your liking.
Gapminder also provides a desktop download and provides teacher resources.

It's Not Twitter, It's People...Why my Sports in Society Class will Skype Interview Jay Bilas

2011-07-12T05:39:00.000-07:00

This was the tweet Jay Bilas sent out at about 7:30 last night while I was riding home on the commuter rail from Cambridge, MA to lovely Plymouth, MA. Jay has been quite outspoken on twitter about the NCAA and college institutions, with their ability to create enormous revenue streams through endorsement deals, sponsors and television contracts, yet the college athlete receives no monetary compensation while essentially providing the labor and talent to draw in the corporate dollars.

I like to tell other teachers that I have the best job in the world. At the end of the school year I was given the opportunity to become a technology integration specialist...I am far from a specialist. I enjoy using technology in my classroom and I constantly want to learn about and try new things with my students to make their learning experience relevant, engaging and exciting. Along with my new role, I still get to teach one class, Sports in American Society. The course examines social issues through the lens of sports. We cover topics such as: Social Media, Race, Violence, Drug Abuse, Gener Equity, Economics and Law.

I have sent @messages to Jay before, requesting that he do a Skype interview with my class. With his consistent involvement on twitter. I thought he would be a perfect fit for our unit on the impact of social media on sports. We also have a unit on the NCAA that examines the issue of paying amateur student-athletes, another common theme of his tweets. Here is the message I sent:

However, this time instead of going at it alone and having my one @message request buried in a sea of twitter messages, I asked my PLN and more specifically the unbelievably supportive crew behind #sschat to retweet my request to Jay.

I owe a huge thank you to the following members of my PLN for helping out with my request:

Now, to address the title of the post. Although Twitter was the platform that allowed me to have access to Jay, twitter had very little to do with why he accepted my request. It was all about people and relationships that I have been able to build that made this happen.

@Cybraryman1 Jerry has been helping out with #sschat (Social Studies Chat that I created with @Ron_Peck last summer) from its inception and was the first to retweet my request.

@rmbyrne I taught a workshop with Richard last week for EdTechTeacher.

@Becky_Ellis_ Becky is the single reason why #sschat is still growing. She has Skyped into a conference presentation I did about PLN development and I will be presenting with her at NCSS in December about #sschat.

@kyteacher I was finally able to meet Angela a few weeks ago when we were both instructing at an EdTechTeacher workshop.

@ShawnMcCusker Shawn has become an integral part of #sschat and we also collaborated on a Holocaust Responsibility project this year, where out classes (IL & MA) posted to a common project blog and had a Skype discussion for an entire day.

@Dontworryteach Although I haven't met Jamie yet, she has also become a major part of #sschat and we will be presenting together at NCSS in December.

If it weren't for these relationships, no one would have retweeted my request and my students wouldn't have a September interview with the best men's basketball analyst on ESPN. There has been a great deal of talk lately about Google Plus and Twitter, which one will be the platform that educators use to continue to collaborate, share and improve their practice. Ultimately, it doesn't matter which platform is used. What truly matters are the relationships and connections that can be created through the platform. Relationships that are bigger than Twitter, Google Plus, Facebook or any other platform that comes along when those three no longer exist (I know, I know).

Once again, I would like to thank everyone who helped last night. When the actual interview takes place I will be sure to capture video and pictures for a follow up post. Who would have thought I would be able to tweet this last night:

Google Docs X Organizing & Promoting the Writing Process

2011-07-07T10:04:00.000-07:00

Google Docs is a fantastic tool for professional and student collaboration. After using Google Docs for an extended period of time, it becomes evident to most Google Docs users that your inbox can become a cluttered, hectic and confusing mess. Magnify that confusion X 100 when you start to have students share their documents with you for evaluation and grading and you can have a colossal mess on your hands.

Based on my experience using Google Docs for the past two years, I have come up with a strategy that I think may help anyone who plans on using Google Docs with students next year. The purpose of this strategy is two fold:

1. Stay Organized (both teacher & student)
2. Promote the writing process, revision & resubmission of work

Purpose #1: Staying Organized
Whenever my students share their documents with me for a formal writing assignment, I have them follow a common file naming convention. The naming convention I have established for my class is:
Class Period - Assignment Title - Student First Name ( & possibly last initial if needed ). By following this naming convention, as students begin to share their work I can quickly scan to see who has shared their document and who hasn't and I can quickly organize my Google Docs inbox by dragging each file into the appropriate group folder for that class & assignment.

Here is a screen shot of my Google Docs account after students have shared a recent writing assignment:

Once students have shared their documents with me using the appropriate file naming standards, I organize my Google Docs inbox by creating a new group (Google's version of a folder). At the beginning of the year I create a Group for each class and then create sub groups within the larger class group each time a new assignment is shared. Here is a screen shot of what my Google Docs account looks like with this organization structure.

The Group on the left, 'G Period: Sports in Society' is the first group I made at the start of the school year. The Groups, on the right, are sub groups that I made throughout the year, that are part of the larger 'G Period: Sports in Society' group. By using groups in this method, you are able to filter out the view of you Google Docs account and instead of seeing every document that has been shared with you by your students, you can limit your view to see just what you want to see. To get student papers into each group you simply have to drag the paper from the right, into the group on the left. Here is a video tutorial I created about the process of creating groups to stay organized.

Purpose #2: Promoting the Writing Process & Revision of Work
Probably more important than staying organized (although it does make the experience much more pleasant) the real power of using Google Docs with students is that it truly enhances student engagement and their active participation in the writing process.

I have come up with a procedure that my students use that is initiated by changing the title of the document when the paper is submitted, revised and graded.

When my students share a paper the title will be:
Class Period - Assignment Name - Student First Name - Submission 1

When I have read and graded the paper, I change the title name to:
Class Period - Assignment Name - Student First Name - Graded 1

If a student notices the title change in their inbox, they are free to resubmit & will change the title to:
Class Period - Assignment Name - Student First Name - Submission 2

Here is a screen shot of my Google Docs inbox during this process:

To enhance the writing process further, while students are working on their documents and have shared them with me, I will leave them two types of feedback.

1. I will insert comments throughout their paper that appear in the right hand margins.

2. I will right a paragraph of advice at the end of their paper.

When a student then reads the comments and advice, revises their paper and resubmits using the strategy I outlined above, I will notice the title change of the paper and go into the document to examine the changes.

I use the revision history option to see any differences between drafts. To access the revision history of a document: File--->Revision History. Any changes to the document will be trackable in the right hand column with a time stamp for the change. This strategy allows me to quickly and easily make note of any changes and improvements to the document.

Good luck using Google Docs...I hope this helps.

Polleverywhere X Presenting Polls

2011-07-07T06:02:00.000-07:00

Polleverywhere made a nifty little update a few weeks back that allows students or an audience to auto follow any poll that you pull up from your account. Instead of having students or your audience go to www.poll4.com or www.polleverywhere.com and enter their vote (typically numbers) into an empty text box...

old version by visiting www.poll4.com

Now, anyone with a Polleverywhere account has a specific URL that your students or audience can visit on their laptop or handheld smart device (iPad, iPhone, iPodtouch). Instead of seeing an empty box to enter number to vote on a poll, they will automatically be directed to the poll that you have pulled up on your Polleverywhere account.
Instead of an empty box, they will see the response choices you have made available and they can simply click on their choice...

New view by visiting unique user URL with clickable response choices

To create your own unique Polleverywhere URL, first create a free Polleverywhere account and then visit this page from the Polleverywhere blog to reserve your unique URL.

Create eBooks in a Snap...for Free!

2011-07-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to post this for some time & finally had the time to pull it together. Although all schools are not 1:1 yet, nor do all students have iPads, iPhones, iPods (or other various eReaders) the ability to create and publish online is an increasingly helpful skill. Feel free to use the information below to create or have your students create their own eBooks.

**UPDATE** If you have a Google Docs account, you can skip the process of using Bookrix and simply upload the epub file to the google docs account & share / link to the file.
Click HERE for a link to a Google Document with the directions below.

For a more extensive look at using and creating eBooks visit see the Teaching History with Technology page on eBooks.

Posterous X Class Blogging

2011-05-22T08:16:00.000-07:00

At Edcamp Boston, @dancallahan came up with the idea of creating a Posterous blog for the event that anyone in attendance could post to during the unconference. Posterous is a perfect platform to have everyone and anyone post to a group, concept or project blog.

Posterous is the platform of choice for multiple authors on one blog. When a new blog is created through Posterous a unique email address is created for that particular blog. To post to the blog, individual authors simply need to log into their personal email account, compose a post & email their post to the Posterous blog email address.
*The email address for the blog is located on the blog 'Manage' page, just below each published post*

In additional to posting to the blog via email, Posterous offers a number of great features associated with email posting:
- the email subject is the blog post title
- attached documents will be automatically embedded within the blog post
- attached mp3 files will automatically be embedded in a Posterous audio player within the post
- embed codes from youtube videos included in the email will automatically be embedded in the post
- picture(s) that are attached will be embedded above the post in a slide show format

When setting up a new blog in your Posterous account, there is one adjustment that needs to be made in order to allow multiple people to post.
- Click on 'Settings' in the top right hand corner (looks like a gear)
- Scroll down to 'Commenting & Posting'
- Edit the settings to allow 'anyone can post, I will moderate'
As student emails are sent to the class blog, they will appear in the blog inbox and you can view and publish them as they are submitted.

If you are going to have multiple classes post to one blog, you may want to consider using a naming convention for student posts. In the subject line of the email I use 'Class Period - First Name - Post Title'
As a follow up to posting, you can have students visit the blog, find a post from a classmate in their class period or from a different class period to read and post a comment.

Here is an example of a class blog my 9th graders have been contributing to based on an WWI vs War on Terror Project. Small groups created podcasts & video projects as a group portion of the project & then everyone posted to the blog individually to reflect on the project or to share their personal thoughts on one specific topic from the group project.

Polleverywhere - Advice & Questioning Strategies

2011-05-22T06:36:00.000-07:00

Whenever I get a chance to speak with educators about using cell phones in class, the discussion usually moves towards Polleverywhere. While many schools and classrooms are fortunate enough to have the funds to purchase sets of classroom clickers, polleverywhere offers educators an viable alternative to traditional classroom response systems, by taking advantage of the cell phones that students are already brining into our classrooms.

Before I go on any further, proclaiming the immense benefits of using student cellphones & polleverywhere in class, I will address legitimate concerns.
*If you have never used polleverywhere, here is a short tutorial I made on creating and managing polls.

Concern #1 - School cellphone policy - When I started using polleverywhere in my classroom, we had a 'no cellphone in classrooms' policy. From my experience, there are two approaches educators can take if they are in this common situation. Here is a great resource on cell phone management.

1. Ask for forgiveness, not permission - I started with this approach. The first time I used polleverywhere, I violated the school cellphone policy, asked students to take out their phones and vote on a poll. Based on the feedback of students, participation and level of engagement, I was confident that I could then go to my principal and ask for forgiveness for violating the policy, while asking for forgiveness and permission in the future.

2. Ask for permission - While I admit to using cellphones in class without permission, I then took the classroom experience created by polleverywhere, clearly explained the benefits, classroom management strategy, potential pitfalls and outcomes to my principal. Engage in a conversation with your school administration if you have a no cellphone policy in your school. From my experience, administrators will often be open to the idea of teacher initiated cellphone use. Invite them into your classroom the day you are going to use cellphones & polleverywhere, and ask them to participate as well.

Concern #2 - No cell phone or no text messaging plan - While my experience points to high school students having unlimited text messaging plans, there are occasionally students who either don't have cell phones or have limited / no text messaging. There are three viable solutions to this problem:

1. Group voting - Place students into pairs or small groups that require a debate or consensus before the vote can be placed.

2. # of votes per device - When creating a new poll, there is an option in the top right hand corner that allows the poll creator to decide how many time a single device can place a vote. By default it is set at 1 vote per device. However, that can easily be changed to a predetermined number or unlimited. From my classroom experience, I have found that students will either pass their phone to a friend, vote on their friend's behalf, or in some instances, I let my students use my iPhone to vote.

3. iPod Touch - If there is a wireless network in your school, or if there is a wireless point in your room, just one or two iPod touch devices can solve any student device concerns. Simply connect the iPod to the wifi signal and go to www.poll4.com on the device browser and students will be able to quickly input their vote and pass the device to the next student.

Hopefully, those three work-arounds will alleviate any concerns you may have over student access and equity when using polleverywhere in your classroom.

Questioning Strategies
Once you have decided to give polleverywhere a go in your classroom, it is time to consider questioning strategy and question type, keeping the ultimate goal in mind - student learning, engagement & participation. Below are the question styles and strategies I have used in my classroom.

1. Specific multiple choice with one correct answer - This type of question can be used as a quick formative assessment strategy. While polleverywhere does not function exactly as a classroom response system (being able to track specific user responses), it can provide immediate feedback to help you guide further instruction.
*There is a feature in polleverywhere that allows you to group your polls. Simply create your specific questions, check off the small box next the questions you would like to group & click 'group' across the top menu bar. You can then name your 'group' and at any point new questions can be created and added to the group by dragging & dropping into the group.
*When transitioning from one class to the next, you have the option of deleting the responses or creating a copy of the poll. When the poll is live, both of these options are in the top right hand corner of the page.

1.1 Generic multiple choice polls - Instead of creating multiple questions with specific answers, try creating a few polls with generic responses
- A,B,C,D
-Yes, No
-True, False
This strategy will allow you to quickly poll a class based on an existing quiz, test or homework assignment. Also, by using this strategy, you can simply keep one poll projected and clear the results for the next question. This eliminates the need to go back into your poll inbox to select the next poll.

2. Open text polls - I use this strategy when my high school history students are reading primary source documents in class. I will leave the poll open & projected in class and while students are reading I will have them text in:
- key vocabulary words
- quotes
- questions
- thoughts
It may be helpful (although tedious) to number the lines in the document ahead of time. When students text in a question, idea, thought, or quote they can also include the line #, as to direct other students to the location of their idea.
Because students can respond anonymously to polls, it is important to consider if you want students to identify themselves in their response. I have used student initials with open response text polls to address this concern.

3. Spectrum of Understanding / Agreement polls - These are by far my favorite type of poll to use in class. Instead of having students respond to a specific question, with one correct answer, I try to engage them in debate by having them vote on a spectrum of agreement or understanding.
For example, in the question below that is adapted from a US Holocaust Memorial Museum assignment on assessing responsibility for the Holocaust. There is no correct answer with this type of question and students respond based on their unique perspective regarding responsibility for the Holocaust:
1. Not responsible
2. Minimally responsible
3. Responsible
4. Very responsible

Get a free sms student response system at Poll Everywhere

Another, similar type of polling question below provides a number of potential responses, none of which are absolutely correct, but will lead to classroom debate.

Make your own poll voting question with Poll Everywhere

One last tip that you may want to consider with any questioning strategy, hide the results as they come in from student responses. When I first started using polleverywhere, watching the instant feedback appear on the screen is what grabbed student attention and engaged the class. However, thanks to the feedback from @derekbruff based on a video from my class, he suggested that if students can see the responses coming in from the class, it may influence their vote.

Now when we use polleverywhere, I use the following strategy:
1. Students vote - poll results are hidden
2. Students debate what they think the results will be. They don't necessarily debate their choice, but rather what they think the class is thinking
3. Reveal results
4. Students react to results & debate / defend their individual choice
5. Reflective writing - based on one vote or a series of polls from class

*Poll results can easily be hidden by scrolling over the top right hand corner of the poll when it is live and clicking on 'directions'

Here is a Polleverywhere tutorial I made, enjoy:

What I Learned

2011-05-15T18:32:00.000-07:00

The end of the year is quickly approaching & I wanted to find a way to have my students reflect on their freshman year and share their thoughts and perspective with the world. This is where the "What I Learned" project fits in. Over the next few weeks, I am going to have all of the 9th graders on my team create short videos where they will reflect on their freshman year and explain 'What I Learned'.

The videos will be short (2-3 minutes in length) and can span any content, lessons or ideas that they have been exposed to this year. I have a vision for this project. I want it to turn into something big, something inspirational where students from across the country can post their videos, watch videos posted by other students and learn from each other.

It doesn't have to be just videos that are submitted, students can submit email posts, can upload documents or submit mp3 files to the site as well.

The 'What I Learned' projected blog is http://ilearned.posterous.com/

To submit a 'What I Learned' blog post, upload a document or mp3 file, simply email the content to:
ilearned@posterous.com
The subject of the email will become the post title when it appears on the site.

To submit a video to the 'What I Learned' project, simply email the embed code of the video to ilearned@posterous.com

I'm not sure how big the project will become, but I believe it could end up being a great experience for teachers and students to end the school year.
Please feel free to contact me on twitter with any questions: @gregkulowiec
or via email: gkulowiec@gmail.com

Edcamp Boston - we planned, they showed up...

2011-05-11T14:28:00.000-07:00

The buildup to Edcamp Boston was a combination of both nerves and excitement. As part of the team of educators that planned the event, I was privy to all of the questions, decisions and discussions that were part of pulling together May 7th. Like most events, you can't quite predict everything that will happen the day of. Yet as a result of the hard work of the organizing team, when 8am rolled around Saturday morning, educators began showing up to Mircrosft NERD, Edcamp Boston had begun.

I would like to personally and publicly thank Dan, Karen, Larry, Laura, Liz & Steve for letting me be part of the organizing team & event. I just read Dan's reflection on Edcamp and I have to echo the same sentiment he expressed in his post. By the end of planning and organizing and Edcamp the people on the organizing team become more than just people you work with, they become your friends. Although there was unbelievable learning & sharing at Edcamp Boston, the lasting impact for me are the six new friendships.

I want to highlight some of the session that I was able to attend and recognize the educators who were so brave enough to spontaneously present and share their ideas. If you were unable to attend the conference, check out the Posterous Blog that Dan created, where anyone could email links, resources, pictures and thoughts on the day.

Liz ran an 'Intro to Twitter' session in the morning. A great choice, as I often forget what it was like to get started using twitter. It can often feel like an empty abyss. You see teachers chatting and posting ideas, yet it seems like no one knows you are there. Here are a few of the resources that were shared in the session.
Cybraryman1's list of Twitter Chats
Twitter4Teachers Wiki
Here are a few more that I have come across that I have found to be helpful for teachers getting started on twitter.
Josh Stumpenhorst's Twitter Tutorial
Josh Stumpenhorst's Twitter Tutorial 102

Sean ran a session on Creating an Audience Greater Than One. Here is the googledoc of notes that was generated during the session. There was a fabulous discussion around providing an audience for students that extends beyond their classroom. The issue of Facebook was brought up and it was interesting to hear multiple perspectives on the issue. Lately I've been leaning towards creating a Facebook page for my World History class next year, but the alternate perspective was brought up quite often, with arguments ranging from the safety and security of the teacher, to exposing our students to multiple platforms beyond Facebook.

Katrina ran a session on creating self grading rubrics using Google Docs...which can so eloquently be called 'Self Grading Goobrics'. Like most of Katrina's projects, this is a work in progress (that is a compliment to all of her hard work), and it will undoubtedly progress throughout the summer. The concept includes a bit of coding (similar to an excel spreadsheet). The benefit to using the Google docs version is that a copy of the rubric can be made for each student and linked directly into their google docs paper. As the student progresses through the paper or submits improvements and revisions, the rubric can be revisited and updated to show progress in student writing.

And of course the Smackdown at the end of the day. I was thrilled to see how many educators stayed for this session. For a conference that started at 9, had 5 sessions and took place on a Saturday, we had a room full of people ready to share. Here is the link to the Google Doc created during the Smackdown.

If you weren't able to attend Edcamp Boston, be sure to check out Edcamp Keene on August, 17th and Edcamp CT on August 18th....oh and don't worry, the planning has already begun for Edcamp Boston 2012!

Is Plato's Cave a Classroom?

2011-04-07T12:41:00.000-07:00

I used to teach ancient world history & was therefore able to expose students to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. Here are two interpretations if you have never read the Allegory from Plato's Republic

I'm not sure why this idea crossed my mind recently, I haven't taught the allegory for a few years. I used to reenact the story with my students. I had a few students sit down and face the front wall, with a projection of shadows created by images. We would go through the entire process of having one person escape, see the images, leave the classroom (we would all leave), go outside, see the shadows created by the sun, see the real objects, see the sun, return to the cave and profess to the remaining prisoners that we have just seen reality...so how does this have any connection to teaching, education reform and teaching with embedded technology?

I like to consider myself the prisoner from Plato's allegory who has escaped the cave, seen reality and has returned to spread the word. I read blog posts of educators I respect, read often about education reform and do my best to integrate technology into my classroom, not for the sake of using technology (as I did a few years ago), but to support learning goals and promote learning. I do everything in my power to share my perspective by presenting at MassCue, NERC and by facilitating training sessions at my school and in various school districts. I offer free drop in after school workshops at my school (twitter, google docs, live binders, blogging, wikis, podcasting, movie making...).

When Plato's prisoner returned to the cave, he is laughed at by the remaining prisoners because he has difficulty seeing in the dark cave and can't make out the shadows projected on the wall. He can no longer perceive their reality. Plato even suggested that if the escaped prisoner were to attempt bringing anyone else out of the cave, he would be killed by the prisoners.

In my perception, Plato's prisoners laughed at the escaped prisoner and mocked his inability to see the shadows because they were uncomfortable and threatened by the idea of change, that there could possibly be a reality beyond what they understand.

I often think that Plato's Cave is a classroom. The teacher being the person holding the objects in front of the fire, the students being the prisoners who perceive the projected shadows as reality. There are hundreds, if not thousands of educators who have escaped this cave, have seen the reality that is available in our classrooms through reform and technology integration. However, for many educators and students, Plato's cave is still reality. There is resistance to change, disbelief that change is possible and just as Plato's prisoners laughed at the prisoner that escaped, educators who advocate for change and technology integration often find themselves in the same position as the escaped prisoner...

Twitter & Blogs....a flash in the pan?

2011-03-26T05:24:00.001-07:00

Are teachers on twitter & writing blogs a fad, a flash in the pan?

Thoughts please...

Currently Reading...

2011-03-23T09:14:00.000-07:00

As part of a keynote I'm presenting on Friday with EdTechTeacher, for the Rocky Hill Public Schools (CT), I have been re-reading and reviewing the white paper: How Computerized Work and Globalization Shape Human Skill Demands by Frank Levy & Richard Murnane. The paper is a shorter analysis of their book, The New Division of Labor: How Computers Are Creating the Next Job Market.

I highly recommend taking a look at the white paper, as Murnane & Levy write with a unique clarity, insight and concrete examples that can help educators understand how computers are reshaping our economy, the jobs that will be available to our students & more importantly, how we can begin to restructure our classroom instruction to help develop the expert and complex thinking skills that are required to compete and hold a job in our changing economy.

I'll attempt to summarize my understanding of the paper & how it relates to how I teach my 9th grade World History students:

- Computers are taking & creating specific types of jobs.

- Computers don't cause unemployment, they can replace only specific types of jobs / tasks:
1. Routine Cognitive - cognitive tasks that can be accomplished by following specific rules
2. Routine Manual - manual tasks that follow precise, physical movement that can be programmed

- Computers can't (at least for now...) replace specific jobs / tasks:
1. Expert Thinking - solving problems for which rules don't exist
2. Complex Communication - understanding human interaction
3. Non-Routine Manual - physical tasks that don't follow if-then rules

What does it mean for teachers & education...
If it is the case that computers can and are eliminating routine cognitive and manual task based jobs from the economy (and at the same time creating complex communication jobs), then it implies that the skills we should stress and place a high emphasis on are those that require complex thinking, problem solving, collaboration, interaction and expression. If we continue to expect our students to simply recall information that is provided & presented, we are preparing them for jobs that don't exist. However, if we begin to shift our instructional approach to take advantage of the vast amount of instantly accessible information, help guide our students to develop the skills necessary to sift through, evaluate and manipulate that information, we are moving towards instruction that is preparing them for the jobs that do and will exist in the future. It is safe to say that educators are no longer the curators of information and that the textbooks we use in class do not have the most current, engaging or expert information available. Step one, allow and promote access to information in our schools and classrooms. Step two, help our students developed the skills and abilities necessary to find, understand, analyze and evaluate information. Step three, expect our students to not simply regurgitate the right answer, there is no right answer available in the jobs that exist in their economy. Expect our students to create, analyze, share, collaborate and produce something new based on the information that is collected. Why expect simple recall and regurgitation when that skill isn't necessary and can be replaced by a computer? Computers (at least for now...) can't interpret information, collaborate with others, produce something new and unique to solve an unexpected problem and donate that creation back to the class, school & society. These changes don't imply that the current skills and abilities that are stressed in education are outdated. On the contrary, the ability to read, write and effectively communicate are at a premium. The technology and web tools that are available to educators and students must be incorporated in the classroom not simply for the sake of using technology (we have all heard this before), but instead to amplify the ability to read, write and communicate ideas. Let your students blog & share their posts with the world with twitter's #comments4kids. Expect your students to create videos & share them with the world on YouTube. Allow your students to create podcasts & publish them for world consumption on iTunes. The technology that is available to educators and students is mind boggling. Barriers no longer exist for our student's voices to be heard. Prove to them that they must be able to read, write and communicate their ideas clearly by providing them with an authentic audience that extends beyond your classroom, school and community.

lunch is almost over...

Google Apps Reflection @ Plymouth South HS

2011-03-20T07:54:00.000-07:00

This week I was finally able to get my 9th grade students using google docs to write a paper for my World Studies class. It has been a long process, but thankfully our district is transitioning to Google Apps for Education and the 9th Grade Freshman Academy at Plymouth South High School is 'piloting' the process for the rest of the year. The first step was to get the permission slips signed and returned, here is a link to the document that we sent home with our freshman.

Once the permission slips were in, we hit the ground running by using google docs to write an Industrial Revolution DBQ: Effects & Responses. My College Prep classes were allowed to pick a DBQ, my honors class had to combine both DBQs into one thesis and response (I'll write a post on that later).

Now for the purpose of this post, reflections on using Google Docs.

1. Getting Started: It didn't take long at all to get 9th graders up to speed. The Tech Integration Specialist in our district went with the following structure for the student user name: (year of graduation)(lastname)(firstinitial)@student.plymouth.k12.ma.us. The password structure is (firstinitial)(lastinitial)(studentIDnumber). The students in our school already use their student ID number at a punch pad to pay for their lunch, when I told each student their password, very few of them even wrote it down as they use it every day. When considering a username & password combination I would recommend this style.

2. Sharing & Naming Documents: I think this is the most important aspect of using Google Docs with students. I came up with a file naming strategy that is easy to follow: (Class Period)(Assignment Name)(Student first name). As the documents started to flood into my Google Docs inbox I could easily differentiate between classes and drag and drop each assignment into an appropriate Group folder for the class period & assignment. A typical assignment in my Google Docs inbox looks like:
C Period - Industrial Revolution DBQ - Steve

3. Creating Groups (Folders): Before I began using Google Docs with my students, I made Groups (folder) and sub Groups (sub-folders) for each class period and upcoming assignment. It is crucial to keep your google docs inbox organized in order to make sure everyone of your students has shared their document. It also provides a bit of sanity as you can limit the view of your documents to a specific class or assignment.

4. Inserting Comments & Feedback: This is by far the best reason to use google docs to have students submit their work. When students begin working I have them share the document with me and allow me to edit their work. While they are writing I will periodically jump in and out of their papers to see their progress and process. I use the 'insert - comment' feature to leave them specific feedback in the margins of their paper. Instead of reading their final draft when it is turned in, leaving comments & hoping someone will rewrite their work, I can leave comments throughout the process, the students can modify and improve their work and the students received the guidance, feedback and support they need along the way.

5. Resubmission of Work: In my district we chose to not include email as a tool for students to use with their Google Apps account, therefore they can't email me to let me know if they made improvements to their paper after the 'due' date of the assignment. The due date for the Industrial Revolution DBQ is Sunday night, and I will check in on their work, and post a grade directly in their paper. However, I made it very clear to my students that they can use the feedback, modify and improve their paper and I will read it again. I think using Google Docs as a platform for student work provides an incentive for students to revisit their work and improve their writing. When students know that I can instantly see their work (synchronously or asynchronously) I think they are more likely to revisit, improve and resubmit. But, without email I had to figure out a way to have my students inform me of improvements or follow up final drafts. The solution: I have them modify the file name to: C Period - Industrial Revolution DBQ - Steve - 2nd Final Draft (or 3rd, 4th...). Now, when I check the group for a particular assignment, I will be able to quickly identify who modified their work for an additional evaluation of their writing.

Born to Learn

2011-03-18T06:02:00.000-07:00

I came across this video the other day thanks to a twitter post by @andycinek. The last time a video struck a cord with me like this one did, was the first time I saw Ken Robinson's talk at TED about how schools kill creativity.

When I first watched this film, I felt like the very core problem with education was addressed. Being that the unique talents, abilities and human desire to change and be different isn't embraced, it is devalued, inhibited and eventually beaten out of our human desire to learn and be creative. We see it every day, students are trained to pursue grades and lose sight of the purpose, to learn, explore, create. But I don't think it is their fault. We have created a system where learning is often secondary to grade attainment. It isn't too late, to change the atmosphere in your classroom. I have taken small steps this year to try to create a culture of learning & exploring. A culture that values creativity and original ideas. I do think grades have a place in education and I'm not of the mindset of abolishing grades. I think we can create a balance in our classroom, where we value the abilities of our students, allow them to be creative and flourish. We all want to learn, create, grow and challenge the past. As the very last line if the video suggests, adolescence is not a problem, it is an opportunity.

To learn more about Born to Learn, visit their site, and check out the article from the Huffington Post.

Communism vs. Capitalism X NPR X Steve Nash

2011-03-13T08:03:00.000-07:00

Every year when I cover the Industrial Revolution with my 9th graders, I go into some depth with understanding Karl Marx & Communism. To introduce the topic, we play the 'Rock, Paper, Scissors Karl Marx Game' and then we begin examining ideas from The Communist Manifesto.

We begin by examining four quotes from Karl Marx to understand the concept of alienation & exploitation, that occurs (according to Marx) by working in an industrialized society. We then move read directly from The Communist Manifesto. This excerpt, focuses on the beginnings of class oppression. In addition to both excerpts, students participate in various writing assignments to demonstrate their understanding of the readings.

One of my favorites to use is a 'quick write' challenge. After reading and discussing the documents, everyone in the class writes for two minutes. The purpose is to get the students to 'get out' or 'dump' every idea they can think of onto the paper as quickly as possible. I then have students count the number of words on the paper & I have students read their 2 minute responses. After a number of students have read, we do the 2 minute challenge again, but increase the time to 4 minutes. Based on the ideas shared by the group, the new goal is to more than double the word count.

Finally...the purpose of the this post:

Students have played the game & have been exposed to, analyzed & have written about the concepts proposed by Marx. But, I still want to make sure they truly understand communism, and more specifically the differences, advantages and disadvantages as compared to capitalism. I have never quite found a method that I like that connects with the students and allows them to debate, challenge their perspective and demonstrate their understanding...that is, until I came across this NPR podcast: Steve Nash, Basketball's Selfless Socialist?

When students arrived to class the next day they were greeted with a question on the board:

What style of play is best for an athletic team, to play like capitalists or communists?

At first students were confused, they looked at capitalism and communism as economic principles, theories or systems, not as a way of thinking or behaving. Then, they began to write, and write, and write. Then we began to debate the merits of each way of playing. What was surprising, was that the students came up with ideas and perspectives that I hadn't considered when designing the activity.

Here are a few examples:

- they argued from a player's perspective

- from a coach's perspective

- from a fan's perspective

- from a T.V. executive's perspective (this one surprised me)

- Real life examples: Miami Head (capitalist) & Boston Celtics (communist)

- History: Chicago Bulls - were they capitalist or communist?

One student asked if he could draw a picture to demonstrate his understanding:

Once the debate was finished, we listened to the NPR story about Steve Nash. I had students take notes during the story & then do a follow up written response. We then concluded class with closing remarks from students.

Every once in a while as an educator we create classroom activities that connect with students. Activities that take ideas from our curriculum and place them in a context that is real to students. A context that allows them to completely understand a complex idea, connect it to their prior knowledge and experience. This was one of those times.

Please use the materials provided and let me know how it goes in your classroom.

No Technology...good old Rock, Paper, Scissors....Shoot!

2011-03-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

We are currently examining the Industrial Revolution. As part of the unit we examine the teachings of Karl Marx, learn about the stages of history, exploitation and a world wide worker revolution. Before we get into any Karl Marx, my students play the Rock, Paper, Scissors - Industrial Revolution simulation. The game is simple. Everyone starts with two paper clips, people challenge each other (rock, paper, scissors) to win paper clips. If you lose all of your paper clips, you become a worker for the person that you lost to. You can gain your independence if you earn two victories for your boss. However, once your independence is achieved, you are right back in society with one paper clip and only one loss away from becoming a worker again. The purpose of the simulation is to get students to understand Marx's theory of exploitation of the working class. Usually towards the end of the simulation, I will announce that I don't appreciate the level of exploitation that is taking place that I then redistribute the wealth evenly amongst the class.

Is the classroom loud, absolutely.
Is there energy in the room, to much to describe.
Is everyone participating, yup.

Are they engaging in a physical activity that will allow them to remember and connect an academic idea, that is the goal.

As the game plays out, I stop it about halfway through and create a list on the board of owners & their workers. Later in the game, I stop it again and modify the list to show the changes that have taken place in our 'society.' (the results are below)

What I like the most about this activity is displayed in the Round 1.2 image above. I never discussed corporation, mergers and joining forces...and look what happens. The three 'Owners' that exist later in the game are all corporations that have joined forces to increase their capital and workforce. It is revealing and interesting to listen to their negotiations about who owns the corporation, who has power and who are the workers.

The simulation can be played in 15 minutes, or you can let it play out for an entire period.

I follow up this activity by having students examine excerpts from Karl Marx's writings. They theory that they are exposed to in the readings is easily connected to the experience they went through while playing the game.

Hyper PLN Collaboration X NCSS

2011-02-23T07:24:00.000-08:00

I had an energizing experience Tuesday night. While the deadline was quickly approaching for proposal submissions for this years NCSS Conference in DC, @Ron_Peck, @Beck_Ellis_ and I were putting the finishing touches on a proposal about using video projects to help teach history. This proposal alone is impressive. Ron, Becky and I have never actually met. Last summer as our paths started to cross on twitter, we came up with the concept of a unique chat for social studies teachers on twitter...#sschat was born. I remember the first few weeks of the chat. I was working at a basketball camp at Massachusetts Maritime Academy and was refereeing games during the chat. During free throws, time outs and in between quarters I was pulling out my iPhone to check the stream of conversation and add in a few thoughts. The first few chats were small, there were about a group of 10 people involved. Last week, the poll that Becky posted received just under 40 votes, a record high for #sschat.

The term PLN is tossed around and referred to by educators frequently, but beyond reading blog posts, exchanging ideas, assignments and projects on twitter I haven't really experienced a truly powerful moment with my PLN until now. Back to the NCSS Proposals.

Around 8pm, as Ron, Becky and I were finalizing the video proposal, I mentioned to @Dontworryteach (teaches in DC & another #sschat original member) that our submission was almost finished and we would all hopefully be able to meet in DC next December.

Then, in a relatively innocent comment I tweeted:

I have to admit, I was exhausted, had no idea that we would actually be able to pull this off. The deadline was about 3 hours away. Off I went to New Tokyo to pick up dinner. By the time I got home Jamie (Dontworryteach) had already started a google document to write the proposal and had invited me to join the process through twitter and email. By the time I jumped in, she had already put together a fantastic outline and had done the bulk of the work. Look who was on board editing as well, Ron and Becky! We furiously edited, discussed ideas in the chat box, re-edited, asked questions and finalized the proposal. Jamie asked one of her friends @stasikk to jump in to help proof the final draft. Finally, about three hours later, the proposal was submitted and the feel good tweets started rolling in:

I think what was truly amazing and energizing about this experience is:

1. None of us has ever met face to face.

2. I know Jamie was exhausted, I had no plans to work on this, Ron, Becky and Angela were working on other proposals, @stasikk probably had no idea her help would be requested, yet we plowed through until nearly 11pm to get this proposal submitted.

3. It all came together because of an idea that sprung up last summer, #sschat.

I feel like I finally understand what it means to have and be a part of a PLN. My colleagues on twitter are an endless source of inspiration, resources, ideas, comic relief and support. My fingers will be crossed until we all hear back from NCSS!

Egypt & France X Choose Your Own Adventure X Green Screens

2011-02-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

Update: This project was featured on WBUR's (90.0, Boston NPR Station) "Here and Now" program on February 18th.

Once again I had a project planned and ready to go...spent a few minutes on twitter a couple of nights ago, scrapped the plan and decided to roll out an entirely new project. My students have come to accept and expect this of me at this point.

My 9th grade World History students have been studying the French Revolution & the Egyptian Protests. (I wrote earlier about the resources we used in class as well as a Egypt infographic writing assignment we did last week.) The project was originally just going to be about the French Revolution. However, when the events in Egypt started to unfold, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to have my students learn about a revolution as it happened. The goal was to see them make connections, discover differences and hopefully recognize a pattern that tends to occur within revolutions.

Then, I came across a few messages on twitter from @neilringrose about 'Choose Your Own Adventure' style videos that could be made with youtube. The concept seemed straight forward enough. Plan out a series of videos that can be linked together within youtube (using their notation 'spotlight' feature). This process gives the viewer the opportunity to decide what information they will view next.

The Knewton Edtech Blog has a great walk through and example on how to make these videos.

To apply this technique to my history class, I had students create videos that compared the French Revolution & Egyptian protests. The videos were extremely structured and every group was given the same graphic organizer to manage the work flow. In the future I may choose to have the groups come up with their own organizer and work flow, but for the first time through I wanted to keep things manageable. Here is the organizer that I handed out to each group. Each box in the organizer represents a separate video that is uploaded to youtube individually. With each individual upload, the videos can then be linked together to allow the viewer to decide their path.

Planning:
Day 1 - Introduction & begin writing scripts
Day 2 - Finish scripts
Day 3 - Begin filming
Day 4 - Finish filming

Because I only have one Macbook, I do have to do the editing myself (in iMovie) and I upload the videos to my youtube account to then link them all together (in an ideal situation, my students would be editing their own clips and uploading them to their own accounts...)

I also decided to borrow a few green screens for the project. When a group is discussing the early stages of the French Revolution, they may have a picture of Louis XVI edited in. When discussing the early stages of Egypt, Tahrir square. Besides making the videos a bit more interesting, I was able to teach my students how to appropriately name files in order for them to be shared with other people. Just this requirement alone, having specific file naming structure and conventions is beneficial for students to learn and understand.

I had never used green screens before. The one tip I would give is to make sure there is a light between the person being filmed and the screen to avoid any shadows appearing on the green screen. To have a selected image appear on the green screen you just have to drag the desired image into a new iMovie project, and then drag the footage over the image. The advanced settings have to be turned on first to make sure the green screen option appears. Another tip, make the length of the image the same as the video clip. Here is a tutorial on youtube about using the green screen feature in iMovie.

What was absolutely amazing about the project was how seriously the students took the filming process. I had three green screen setups in my classroom and another in our graphics department that one group used. Within my classroom, without instruction the groups would rotate turns filming and would wait in complete silence while another group had the camera running. If a group need to discuss their next shot, they would walk out into the hall and prepare without disturbing the other groups. If none of the groups was shooting, it was absolutely organized chaos, but good organized chaos.

Within four days, all six groups finished filming, and I should have the videos posted in a day or two.
Note: Choosing a path works best when viewing the project directly within youtube.

Writing X Infographics

2011-02-11T16:32:00.000-08:00

In an effort to find more ways to initiate in class writing assignments I tried a new technique yesterday. My 9th grade world history students have already covered the French Revolution and we have dedicated the entire week to learning about the protests in Egypt. Next week they will create a comparative project (movie, podcast, songs...)

Finally, onto the purpose of this blog post. To begin class yesterday, I had three infographics about the protests cued up to project. I projected each infographic for two minutes and told the kids they could take notes or just observe the content. I then switched to infographic two and three...six minutes had gone by. Then, I told the students they would have five minutes to turn the visuals into fully developed written paragraphs about the Egyptian protests. They could use prior knowledge from assignments throughout the week or could base the writing just on the visuals.

As the clock ticked, the pencils and pens were furiously moving and rarely did a student even look up to think about what they should write. After the five minutes had elapsed, I told the students to put their pens / pencils down. In every single class, there were at least four students who were adamant that they needed more time and wanted to write more...okay.

I then had students share their writing. It was some of the best written, organized and presented information they have produced all year. Some students wrote thesis statements and backed them up. Some students made predictions about what would happen based on the information. And, a few students made comparisons to the French Revolution. It was an unbelievable experience and I highly recommend this writing strategy.

Egyptian Uprising Resources

2011-02-09T04:02:00.000-08:00

What a unique situation I am in as a teacher. My 9th grade classes were just wrapping up the French Revolution, as the Egyptian protests began. I decided to dedicate the next week to exploring the protests with my students and next week they will be completing a comparative project between the French Revolution & the Egyptian Protests.

Here are the resources I have used so far with my classes:

Egypt's Protests Explained - Time Magazine Videos

Mubarak Interactive Timeline - New York Times

Ways to Teach about Unrest in Egypt - New York Times

Choices Program: Egypt - Brown University

Mubarak Interview - ABC News Video

Day by Day Photographs of Egypt - New York Times

The Future of Egypt: No Clear Leadership - New York Times

These are only a handful of the best resources I have found. If you know of any other helpful resources please leave a comment and link.

Inception X Traditional (Required) PD

2011-02-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

Don't think about changing education...

All you can think about is changing education, but it was my idea, not yours. Your subconscious knows that it was my idea, and it will reject the idea.

Inception...I've been meaning to watch this since I saw the previews and I was finally able to sit down and watch the film. Besides doing my best to follow the story, the levels of dreams, the attempt to plant an idea in Fischer and the unreal cinematography, I was particularly struck by a conversation about midway through the film. Cobb's team was sitting around discussing the possibility of planting an idea (inception) into their target's subconscious through his dreams. Two points stood out from this discussion that made me immediately think of teaching and education. Cobb suggests that for an idea to stick, to grow and to be truly accepted by the target it must be emotional, positive and simple. Cobb's team is attempting to get Fischer to consciously decide to break up his dying father's company, thus allowing Saito to take over the energy industry. They quickly realize that if they plant a completely developed idea: Destroy your father's company, it will be rejected by Fischer's subconscious and will never manifest in reality. Someone suggest a negative idea, that Fischer hates his father. Cobb points out that a positive idea has a greater chance of sticking than a negative idea. They quickly reframe the negative idea into a positive one and simplify the idea. The idea has to be so simple and positive that it can grow naturally in the subject, and then it will eventually turn into the finished idea.

For inception to work, an idea must be:
1. Emotional
2. Positive
3. Simple

If an idea is too well thought, if it is negative and lacks emotion it will be rejected by the subject...

Call me strange, but this conversation struck a cord with me, especially when I think about traditional (required) professional development sessions I have attended.

We have all been there before, a professional development day (or half day) where the presentation seems like a poorly executed attempt at changing or improving our day to day classroom instruction. The ideas are explicit & detailed. They include statistics, handouts & rubrics. I'm not suggesting that a well planned presentation that includes stats, handouts and rubrics is a waste of time. But what I do know, is that from my experience traditional professional development isn't emotional, positive and simple. Just as Cobb's team in Inception realized that if they plant an idea that is too well developed, negative and unemotional, it will be rejected by the subject, I think that PD sessions that feed a completely developed finished product (too complex), that provide little time to interact with other educators (unemotional) and focus on what is wrong (negative), will be rejected by educators.

I can only speak from my personal experience, and what I have found is that self driven, user created professional development fits into the framework outlined in Inception. If we want change, truly want change, could it be that the ideas that we share with other educators should be much simpler? Instead of taking someone step by step through an entire process, leaving them with a completed, complex and unemotional idea, should we do the exact opposite? Like it was suggested in Inception, do ideas that truly stick and become part of someone start is simple, positive & emotional experiences?

Why did I go to EduBloggercon East last summer? Why am I getting involved in and going to EdCamp Boston in May? Why do I participate in #sschat on Monday nights? Because the environment is exceptionally positive, the format is extremely simple and the experience is emotional.

I left EduBloggercon East with a positive emotional experience. I invited a teacher in my department to travel to Boston with me, to experience the day. We took the train home energized and excited about who we met, what we talked about and where we could go with the new ideas we had been exposed to. But, the ideas weren't complete, they were just the beginning of an idea. They were ideas that still had to grow and mature. In other words, we walked away with idea that would become ours. I remember the ideas shared at in these settings because they were shared in a positive environment, an environment where people were there by choice, not by force or expectation.

I want my PD to be emotional, I want my PD to be positive and I want my PD to be simple. User generated PD fulfills all of these Inception requirements. User generated PD is emotional because it is inspiring. Whether it be a conference (EdCamp) a less formal get together or a discussion on twitter, everyone is there by choice and the ideas are shared in a positive environment. If the goal is to create change in education, could it be that the three rules outlined in Inception can get it done? Can traditional (required) PD be simple, emotional and positive?

Cellphones X Picasa X Animoto

2011-01-31T14:53:00.000-08:00

I enjoy trying to figure out new ways to use cell phones in a classroom setting. Here is my latest go at it.

Create a Picasa (or Flickr) account. I chose Picasa because of the google connection / ease of sign in and the ability to edit uploaded pictures in Picnik. When the account is created, you have to find the unique email address that is generated for the account. This email address can be used to send pictures take by a cell phone via text messages. This email address can be changed at any time and can be customized to fit your liking. (this tutorial below should help...sorry for the lack of audio)

Once you have located the email address it is time to start uploading some pictures from your phone. Because so many of my students have cell phones with unlimited texting plans, I decided to have them snap the pictures of the previous night's homework assignment and text message the picture to the Picasa email address. The pictures will show up in the Picasa account after a few moments and at that point that can reorganized into a unique folder for that assignment and viewed as a slideshow or embedded.

I took it one step further by logging into my Animoto account (free education upgrade available), creating a new project and importing the new pictures from the Picasa folder with the student photos.

Once the project renders in Animoto (usually takes a few minutes) it is ready to share with the entire world!

There are so many applications for this type of cell phone use.

Math: Assign students one or two problems, have them snap a picture as they complete each step in the process of solving the problem and turn those pictures into a presentation that can be used the next day in class to have each student teach their problem to the class.

English: Have students create drawings based on a page or passage from a reading. Snap a picture of their reading, send off the image with a text message and the images can be projected and shared the next day in class. This type of sharing could create a great debate or discussion.

History: Students could create political cartoons based on a topic of study for homework and snap a picture of their cartoon, send it via text message to a teacher Picasa account. The pictures could be the foundation of a class opening discussion about the cartoons.

Here is a finished product that I helped the English teacher on my team create based on a homework assignment.

How do you use cell phones?

RSA Animate Project Reflection

2011-01-19T15:16:00.000-08:00

The RSA animate video project is wrapping up, time for a reflection.

I have received some positive feedback about the project from my students, educators on twitter and other teachers in the building. Based on the level of participation, quality of the final product and overall excitement and energy in the class I think the project was a success.

For anyone who is interested in the same type of project, here is the process.

1. Gather information - I usually spend about 2-3 weeks per topic. In this time the students are gathering information about the topic we are studying. (Students read, analyzed and wrote about a primary source document for each Enlightenment thinker we covered.)

2. Create - We spend about a week per unit creating something. Within the week of creation here was our schedule:
Monday: Planning & Writing
Tuesday: Writing
Wednesday: Begin Filming
Thursday: Filming & Voice overs
Friday: Finish voice overs

3. Students complete story boards for each scene in their film & wrote scripts for the voice over.

4. Once students were ready to film, we set up the classroom with three "frames" on the front dry erase board & had flip cameras set up on tripods facing the board.

4. When the filming is complete I used iMovie to edit the video clips together.
To manage the number of projects (25), within iMovie I created a new event for each group and created a Project Folder for each class period, and a project for each group.

5. Once the video was imported from the flip camera, the audio is stripped from the footage and the footage is sped up to 400%. Here is a tutorial on how to speed up footage in iMovie.

6. Each group would then individually record voice overs in the hallway. Within iMovie, there is an easy voice over feature that allowed each group to record the audio in about 10 minutes. Here is a tutorial on doing voice overs in iMovie.

Here are two final products:

We will be finishing up all of the projects tomorrow...I am exhausted. Managing this many groups, video clips, editing, voice overs and anything else that pops up is challenging. But, watching every student in every group participate to make sure the project comes together is extremely rewarding. My students are engaged, excited, collaborating, thinking and contributing to a positive learning environment.

If you are interested in trying out a similar project, send me a message via twitter: @gregkulowiec or leave a message on the post.

Thanks for reading.

Wiimote IWB Revisited

2011-01-15T09:26:00.000-08:00

I have started using my Wiimote interactive whiteboard nearly every day recently. I thought it would be nice to revisit the inexpensive option with an updated blog post. I remember seeing Johnny Lee's video on TED Talks and racing to Radio Shack when school ended that day to buy the supplies to make my own IR Pens.

I now run the program on a MacBook instead of a PC. Here is a video tutorial I made when I first started running Johnny Lee's Wiimote IWB program on my HP laptop last year.

This year I am running a new program and using a MacBook instead. I ran into quite a few problems on the PC. The biggest headache was connecting the wiimote. The built in bluetooth capability on the PC worked sometimes and it only connected consistently when I started using a Rocket Fish bluetooth dongle. Connecting to a MacBook is much easier and requires no additional bluetooth software. I have also started using Uweschmidt's wiimote iwb program, it is extremely reliable.

Here is a short walkthrough on how to connect and setup a wiimote iwb on a MacBook.

The placement of the wiimote in the classroom is a trial and error process. When I first started using the inexpensive alternative, it took me quite some time to figure out the correct location and height for my wiimote. At one point I would place it above the projector that was mounted on the ceiling. The wiimote was too far from the whiteboard and that resulted in a very low tracking percentage. I now place it in between the projector and the whiteboard, about 5 feet from the board and 3 feet off the ground. With this setup, projector--wiimote--board, my iwb tracks at about 80%. I wish I knew exactly what that meant, my understanding is that the higher the percentage, the smoother the line.

Infrared Pens: This was probably the most challenging aspect of getting the wiimote iwb working. I decided to make the pens myself. All of the materials can be purchased at Radio Shack for under ten dollars (enough to make two pens). Here is a the video I used to create my infrared pens. It walks you through the process and even provides a parts list from Radio Shack! This is essentially what I used to create my pens. The pens can also be purchsed:
Penteractive
WiiTeachers

I haven't purchased IR pens through either one of these websites and can't speak to the quality of construction. I think that part of the project is the feeling of accomplishment when it is finally up and running, creating the homemade pens is part of the fun. Embrace your inner child and solder at your kitchen table!

Now what? The wiimote is placed correctly, the program is running and the wiimote iwb is calibrated...what do you do with it?

My favorite (and free) application is Triptico's application that can be downloaded and run offline.

Although the wiimote iwb is essentially a hack that many classroom teachers will feel uncomfortable with the setup, it is an extremely inexpensive alternative.

Here is a link to a piece in my local paper (Old Colony Memorial) about the cost saving alternative and benefits of creating and setting up a wiimote iwb in your classroom.

Flipping a History Classroom

2011-01-13T12:56:00.000-08:00

The concept of flipping a traditional classroom has been getting some attention lately. The concept is simple enough, instead of the teacher lecturing during valuable class time, the students watch videos (hopefully created by the teacher) at home to gather the content. The class time is then used for students to discuss the content, problem solve, do experiments work collaboratively or get the attention they need from the teacher to master the concepts they were exposed to at home.

Flipping seems like the perfect solution for a math or science classroom. Instead of spending the time lecturing in class & having the students solve problems at home, alone or with parents who are overwhelmed by the content, the students gather the concepts and content at home and solve the problems in class. I can imagine a classroom where students sit together based on how well they understood the material from the night before and work on problems together. While the students who still need help sit in another section of the room, working closely with the teacher as the work on problems and get the support they need.

Here is a great example of a flipped chemistry classroom by Aaron Sams in Woodland Park Colorado.

But I teach history...I would love to avoid lecturing in my classroom and although I try to avoid a straight lecture at all costs, sometimes it does happen. But suppose my students went home every night and watched a video lecture that I had prepared, what would we do in class the next day? Here are some ideas:
- Read primary source documents, understand the context in which they were written and have outstanding discussions.
- Debates
- Socratic Seminar
- Quick writing (2 minute challenge writing to see how well the previous night's content was understood)
- Students reteach - have the students prepare mini review type lessons to teach the content back to the class. With this technique, groups of students could watch different lectures, a sort of "at home jigsaw" technique.
- Projects - imagine the amount of time that could be freed up in class for students to create projects & write.

Flipping the French Revolution:
The next unit that my 9th graders will be studying is the French Revolution. I have decided that I will flip the unit for one of my classes. Anytime I try anything new I test it out on one class to make sure it is manageable and to compare their outcome to the rest of the classes.

In my effort to flip this unit I am compiling video resources to have my students watch each night. I have another week before the unit starts, and this is just an early list of resources. I won't have time to create the videos myself (that might have to wait until the summer time).

Kahn Academy - French Revolution Videos
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

This list will grow as I return to this blog post and update the resources...please feel free to comment with any additional French Revolution videos that I should use.

My biggest concern is letting go of the direct instruction and having my students (hopefully) watch the content at home. Will I know if they watched? Will I know if they get it? Will I know if it is working? Only time will tell.

RSA Animate X The Enlightenment

2011-01-13T12:03:00.000-08:00

All of my freshman world studies students began working on their group unit films for The Enlightenment today. In the past they have made Common Craft style videos, this time I gave them the option of making RSAnimate style videos as well.

Here are a two of my favorite Common Craft style from earlier in the year:

To provide more options this time, the students can make RSA animate style films as well. I first came across RSA when someone posted a Ken Robinson speech on twitter that was adapted by RSA:

This would obviously lead to my students making similar films, based on the content we are covering in class.

The Setup: I usually structure my class to spend two to three weeks gathering content and background knowledge, then I set them loose for about a week to create something collaboratively to demonstrate their understanding. That being said, here is the project outline.

Day 1: Get into groups, go over the assignment & begin to plan. I give my students storyboard sheets that allow them to plan the image for each scene with notes below. They also have another script sheet that allows them to completely write out what they will say in each scene. I did some setup on day one as well. While the students work, I rigged the tripods to allow a flip camera to be attached.

Day 2: Plan, plan & plan

Day 3: Dress rehearsal - the students have to walk through their entire film, iron out any problems and fill in any gaps.

Day 4: Film - I have tripods that I have modified to allow flip cameras to be attached with a rubber band. Three groups will be filming on my big dry erase board in the front of the room, and I borrows some big dry erase boards from a science teacher who uses them in his physics class to do $2 Interactive White Boarding. Once the video has been shot, I will import the video clips from the flip cams into imovie. The audio from the original video is then removed from the footage and the clips are edited together. The final video footage is then sped up to run 2 to 3x faster than the original footage, this give the video the appearance of extremely quick writing & drawing that can be voiced-over later.

Day 5: Voice over - Now that the audio has been removed, it is time for the groups to voice over the footage. In imovie, you have to simply click on the small microphone icon, click on the selected clip and start recording. This will probably be the most difficult part because I have one Macbook Pro and every group will have to voice over one at a time. I'm sure there is a faster way to accomplish this part of the project, if anyone has any tips for the voiceover please let me know.

Day 5 at Night: Upload the projects to youtube for world domination :)

When the final projects are done, I will be sure to add them to this post!

UPDATE: One group was on the ball this week and after only two days of prep they were ready to film. The filming took about 25-30 minutes and we haven't done the voice over yet, but the girls were thrilled with the rough cut.

No Textbook 2011 X Adam Smith

2011-01-12T13:54:00.000-08:00

In a continued attempt to not use the textbook with my 9th Grade World Studies class, I used these two great resources today to cover the concepts presented by Adam Smith.

First with started with a great interactive to help students understand the concepts of supply and demand. This works particularly well when used in conjunction with an interactive white board.

Then, we examined a primary source document:

I have been avoiding the textbook all year, primarily because I want my students to read and be exposed to the original ideas in the primary source documents that are often simplified and glossed over in the text. Although the primary sources can be mor challenging to read and take longer to get through than the text, I have been pleased with the response by my students. I'm starting to get the sense that my students recognize that the textbook often doesn't provide the depth and insight that the actual documents can provide.

Why I Teach...

2011-01-07T14:31:00.000-08:00

An extremely mature 9th grade student of mine (who always peruses through the books on my desk) asked if there was a book she could read that would be interesting. I gave her Malcolm Gladwell's, Blink. I'm a fan of Gladwell's writing and figured she would enjoy his style as well...she came into class today and quietly let me know that she finished the book and asked if she could have another for the weekend.

Another 9th grade student of mine in a CPII (lowest level in my school) World History class let me know that last night he was debating the Enlightenment ideas that we had been covering in class with his father. He told me he took out the three primary source documents we used in class to explain to his father why Rousseau had better ideas than Hobbes.

After our review activity today, where students organized a random mix of ideas and assigned them to the appropriate Enlightenment thinker, we conduct a two minute challenge write (I do this often and the kids enjoy the challenge).

Two minutes went on the clock and we all had to write as much as we possibly could about the three thinkers we had covered so far. I think the kids enjoy that I do this with them, I in return challenge them to beat me. The two minutes passed (I was able to get another victory :) and I then asked the students to write for another five minutes, explaining which thinker they agreed with the most, and which thinker they believe had it all wrong. The bell abruptly wrang as they were explaining their choices, and as they left the room heading to their next class, I could hear them arguing with one another about why Hobbes is better than Locke, or why Rousseau is better than Hobbes...

This is why I teach.

Local article on the Wiimote IWB

2011-01-05T12:36:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank Rich Harbert of the Old Colony Memorial for writing this piece about the wiimote iwb that I have been using in my class the past two years. With shrinking school budgets, and a need to integrate technology into classrooms, it was nice to see an inexpensive alternative getting a bit of recognition.

If you are interested in making your own Wiimote IWB, start with Johnny Lee's TED Talk.

I am currently running Wiimote Whiteboard from Uweschmidt, it has worked quite well running on a Macbook.

My favorite application to use with the wiimote iwb is the free, downloadable application package from Triptico.

2011-01-04T13:32:00.001-08:00

Finally set up posting to this blog via text messaging.

Guns, Germs & Steel (video) X Triptico X Wiimote IWB

2010-12-21T13:58:00.000-08:00

As part of my 9th grade unit on European Exploration and my continued effort to not use the textbook until 2011 (that effort will undoubtedly continue through the new year), I decided to use part two of Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs and Steel video to end the unit. My goal / objective was to have the students examine European exploration from a new perspective, one that isn't mentioned in the textbook, one that would force them to reconsider what they have typically assumed about this concept.

After watching the film (we spent two days, covering roughly 25 minutes of content during a 50 minute period) and reviewing our notes, the students were given the opportunity to debate and demonstrate their understanding of Diamond's theory. Ultimately, my goal was to have the students consider the significance, relationship and importance of the many advantages the Europeans had over the native peoples of the new world.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, I used Triptico's "Word Magnets Tool" to have students visually plot their perspective on Diamond's ideas. While watching the film, we identified seven advantages:
Guns, Germs, Steel, Animals, Farming, Writing & Geography. Using Word Magnets, I created two

scales that the students would have to take into consideration when rating each advantage.

X Axis = Not Important - Important
Y Axis = Skill - Luck

The procedure that I used was to have a student pick an advantage and plot it on the board. They would then have to address the class and justify their decision and placement. Another student (and often more than one) could then propose changing the placement of that advantage, and again they would have to justify to the class why they moved the advantage. Each advantage was moved at least three times, and what I observed was students who typically do not want to, feel comfortable or are willing to contribute to a class conversation, were more than willing to approach the board to move an idea. Once the class had settled (the best a group of 30 9th graders can agree) on the placement of each advantage I had them turn their chart over and rank the seven advantages from most important to least important, followed up by a writing assignment for homework to justify their ranking.

In my quest to keep technology integration as inexpensive and reasonable as possible, I have to mention that Triptico's application is free to download (thanks to some very impressive work by David) and I have students manipulate the magnets with a wiimote IWB (thanks to some very impressive thinking by Johnny Lee).

Red Pencils > Technology

2010-12-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

So much for expensive technology to improve teaching and learning...

My students are currently writing five paragraph essays about European exploration and the arguments presented in Guns, Germs and Steel. They aren't writing using google docs, they aren't blogging about their thoughts and they aren't adding their paper to a class wiki. We are focusing on the writing process, the structure of the essay, writing a clear thesis statement and supporting the argument throughout the paper.

When the students arrived in my class today, I handed everyone a red colored pencil. They took out their notes, writing assignment and their rough drafts. Then, I had everyone draw a red line under the last sentence that they completed on their rough drafts. In the margin, the wrote the time (11:50). I told everyone that we would stop again in 15 minutes to check their progress, draw another red line and note the time (12:05).

I'm sure this technique has been used before by an extremely creative and intelligent English teacher, but I haven't used the technique before. To my surprise, the volume level was extremely low, students were only talking to each other about the assignment, and the amount of down time was extremely low.

At 12:05 another red line was drawn, the next mark would come at 12:20...the next 15 minutes flew by and I was amazed as I watched students write, and write, and write. 12:20 came, another red line was drawn and students knew that at 12:35 the last red line would be drawn for the day.

At the end of class I took an informal poll to see what my students thought about the new technique and if it allowed, challenged or motivated them to write more in class. Everyone raised their hand.

I do my best to use technology in my classroom, but it was just, if not more rewarding to watch students write more than I have ever seen in a class period.

Red colored pencils are quite a tool.

Extra Note: The 15 minute choice wasn't arbitrary. In a school wide PD a few years back about brain based teaching and learning, we were exposed to the idea that the teenage brain can only focus on one particular task for as many minutes as said teenager is old. Therefore, my 9th graders being 14-15 years old should (hypothetically & according to Marcia Tate) be able to focus for about 15 minutes at a time.

Triptico Choose 10 X European Explorers X Thesis Statements

2010-12-15T15:15:00.000-08:00

I think my blog is turning into a Triptico sales pitch, only Triptico's application is free. The application was recently updated to include their "Choose 10" activity. I hadn't used this before but it looked like it would be a promising activity.

The concept is simple. There are 15 squares on the board, 10 have accurate information, 5 are incorrect. The students were given a grid of 15 boxes and had to volunteer to come to the front of the board to choose a correct answer. Like always, I had students manipulating the board using a wiimote iwb that gets them up and out of their seats.

I was absolutely amazed by the number of students who wanted to participated, come up in front of the entire class and demonstrate their background knowledge. I asked one class why they were so willing to participated, here are the responses.

"It allowed me to show the class what I know."
"Getting up out of my seat, it made me pay closer attention."
"The class never got boring, I could get up to show off, and I wanted to see what other kids would pick."

Simply revealing correct facts doesn't really get to the higher level thinking that I want my students to demonstrate in class. Therefore, in addition to the "Choose 10" activity I had students write thesis statements after each choose 10 was complete. We started with Christopher Columbus Choose 10, then wrote a thesis statement about Columbus. The same process continued for Cortes, Magellan & Pizarro.

The thesis statements that the students developed were outstanding. They again told me that by physically reviewing the material, they were able to better incorporate the ideas into well developed thesis statements.

Again, if you haven't looked into the Triptico application, I can't recommend it enough!

History Plotted: X & Y Axis

2010-12-11T07:04:00.000-08:00

Last year I started using Triptico's resources from their outstanding website. The two that I (and my students) enjoyed the most were Word Magnets & Plot It. Unfortunately, when I returned to use Triptico this year, the resources were pulled down because their popularity had grown. Then, to my surprise, the resources had been packaged into a free downloadable app that could be used offline...even better!

Every resources isn't included in the application, but Word Magnets remains. With word magnets, I developed an idea to have my students plot their names on an opinion spectrum about historical events or people that we are covering in class.

For example: We recently covered Hernan Cortes and I had students plot their names based on their perspective about Cortes. On the X axis: Hero & Villain. On the Y axis: Achieved Goal & Didn't Achieve Goal. With the Word Magnets Application, I would add in students as they approached the board. (I had students manipulate the magnet using a homemade Wiimote IWB). Here is what the final product looks like.

Once the students plot themselves on the grid, the debate begins. Each student creates the same X and Y axis on a blank sheet of paper and listens as anyone who plotted outside of their quadrant explains their reasoning. I have the students record arguments from each quadrant. When the debate and justification is complete I then have students flip the paper over and write one complete argument that defends their position. An alternative is to have students write about one half of the plot (Hero + Achieved + Didn't Achieve) or (Achieved + Hero + Villain).

To my surprise, at the end of the debate / justification several students asked if they could re-plot their name. I asked why they wanted to re-plot and they said it was because ______ had some really good points and their opinion has changed! An unexpected, but fantastic outcome.

Every time I have done this activity the class is engaged, willing to participated and prepared to write about the debate. The combination of the physical movement of students (approaching the board to plot), the visual (the plot itself) and the required ownership of defending their position leads to an extremely productive activity.

The most difficulty aspect of this activity is developing terms for both the X and Y axis that will lead to debate and that will result in varied responses by a class of students. Also, if you don't have an IWB or Wiimote IWB, a wireless mouse that can be passed around the classroom works great.

Any comments or new Plotting History ideas would be more than welcome!

It's not about the tool!

2010-11-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

I'm fortunate, extremely fortunate. I teach in a school that supports my interest in integrating technology, provides the resources that I request and more importantly, allows (and willingly provides) time for me to share ideas with other teacher in my building.

I teach on a freshman academy (4 teams, 4 teachers per team, 100 students per team, common planning time every day). After some brainstorming discussions over the summer with my freshman housemaster, we decided to implement a "Best Practices" meeting once a month. Each team will be provided time to share what they are doing on their team that could benefit the other three teams...my team was asked to go first.

We decided to present ideas on the use of flip cameras. I have been having my students make common craft style films this year, the science teacher on my team filmed a lab and the math teacher on the team has plans to have students create instructional videos for solving equations.

Although the creation of a video for a class project is engaging for the students, I don't think that is the important part. Although training teachers how to use flip cameras and edit the footage is necessary, again, it isn't the important part. Technology integration is not about the tool!

Everyone is different. Some teachers jump right in, some need every last detail, some need to see it work first, and some drag their feet. What is important to know about integrating technology into the classroom, is that it is never about the tool. Using technology for the sake of using it leads to...well, nothing really.

I just hope tomorrow that when my team is presenting about the use of flip cameras, that the teachers there understand that the presentation isn't about flip cameras...it is about providing a real audience for our students.

The projects created by my 9th grade students have been viewed by:
- Educators across the globe because of twitter
- College students
- Educators (MassCue)
- Other high school students (in and out of my school)

My students are posting their projects on their facebook pages, sharing them with their parents and are coming into my class each day telling me how many more hits their project has on youtube.

When is the last time a student posted a worksheet on facebook? When in the last time a student's multiple choice test was shared with college students training to become high school history teachers? When was the last time a student called an older brother in college to tell them to read their paper about the Middle Ages? All of this has happened this year, but it's not about a flip camera, imovie or any other piece of technology. It is about allowing the students to be creative, demonstrate their understanding creatively and then providing them with an audience that is bigger than my two eyes.

It's not about the tool...

Thoughts on Grades, Grading & Homework

2010-11-06T07:50:00.000-07:00

Lately I have been reading Alfie Kohn's pieces on grading & homework in an attempt to create a classroom where students are more concerned, less concerned with what letter will appear next to their name.

My current practice is to use "Work Packets". During each unit I list everything we do on a portion of the board, with each assignment (notes, readings, writing, homework, essays) and each assignment is numbered. The students are responsible for numbering their work, keeping track of what they have, what is missing and what needs to be completed. I don't check their packets during the unit and if homework is assigned it isn't checked either. The expectation I have tried to created in the classroom is that I assign homework when needed to help a student explore, understand or expand upon what we did in class.

With freshman there is of course a learning curve and adjustment period. They often try to turn in assignments to me each day in the first few weeks of the year until they realize that I don't take their work each day. I chose this method five years ago for two reasons:

1. If a student did not complete an assignment on night A, there is incentive to complete it on night B (C or D...) if they know ahead of time they won't be punished for not doing the work. I wanted to create incentive for my students to learn.
2. Not checking homework every night allows me time to be more creative, to search for new materials, to never rely on the textbook and make sure the time they spend in class is meaningful and engaging.

At the end of the unit (usually about two-three weeks) students should have a completed "work packet". Now that the content has been gathered, discussed, shared and analyzed, students are expected to create something to demonstrate their understanding, growth and learning.

I set a goal this year to not give any style of standardized test. Instead, I wanted students to create something each unit to demonstrate their understanding, abilities, creativity, unique thoughts and growth. We just finished the first term, and so far I am pleased with the results. Every one of my freshman has been involved in creating a movie or podcast (which have been published on Youtube or Itunes). They have also engaged in lively debates and reenactments. They appear to be engaged. They tell me they enjoy my class and I have seen them collaborate together, challenge one another and truly demonstrate a desire to learn.

Ultimately, at the end of a unit, a student in my class receives two grades.

1. Work Packet
2. Unit Creation (movie, podcast, essay, script, comic book, play...)

I give a point value to the unit creation that is double the work packet. My thought being that the more important aspect of the course is the demonstration of learning, growth, creativity and understanding. For each unit creation, I don't hand out a rubric. My instructions are the same:

1. Be creative
2. Demonstrate your understanding
3. Be persuasive
4. Work collaboratively

I don't know if this system is right. But over the past five years, I have found that it works. It works for my students (they are engaged, creative and thoughtful in class) and it works for me (I have time to be creative, reflect and improve).

I have been considering writing this post for sometime. I finally chose to because I would like feedback, thoughts and comments on the structure of my class. Does anyone do something similar?

Ipod Touch X Poll Everywhere

2010-11-03T10:11:00.000-07:00

I have eagerly been awaiting the release of the ipod touch 4 to be able to begin using QR Codes in my classroom. Unlike the previous ipod models, the 4th generation has a camera. The camera allows the touch to scan and decode QR Codes, which in turn call allow students to have access to any web content in the palm of their hand, while sitting at their desks.

Now that I finally have an ipod touch 4 (and hopefully, somehow getting a class set soon), I thought I would explore other uses of the touch.

My first thought was with Poll Everywhere...and the results were exactly what I was hoping for, it works!

The first step is to go to www.polleverywhere.com on the touch. At the bottom of the screen click the + symbol and add Poll Everywhere to the home screen of the touch. This will allow the students to quickly and easily access Poll Everywhere. Here is a screen shot of the touch with Poll Everywhere added to the home screen.

Once Poll Everywhere is added to the home screen, the students will have instant access to www.poll4.com (the web response option for Poll Everywhere).

Once students access Poll Everywhere they can vote via the web.

Every new poll that is created, by default does not have Smartphone (web access) voting turned on. To allow Smartphone (web access) voting, the option must be chosen. Click on "Ways People Can Respond" and then check off Smartphone.

When the new poll is projected in the classroom, students can now vote online with the touch. This option eliminates the biggest problem that teachers run into when using poll everywhere, cell phone / text messaging in the classroom. Some classrooms may not have cell reception, schools may not allow cell phone use, or in schools where cell use is allowed for educational purposes, the ipod touch provides an alternative to voting for students who do not have cell or text messaging plans.

The question to the right is the first test poll that I attempted in my classroom using a touch. The numbers that were automatically generated are:

76327 for YES
77297 for NO
190799 for NOT SURE

These numbers are then entered into the touch at www.poll4.com. Once the poll is submitted, the response will immediately appear in the poll results. Each touch will receive a green 'Yes' confirmation screen when the vote is submitted successfully.

Because students are voting via the web and not from a particular cell phone number, multiple students can vote from one touch. Therefore, a class set isn't necessary, 5-10 touches for a class could suffice for a class of 30 students. Students can vote and then pass the touch for the next student vote.

The results below are from 4 votes that were cast from one touch, without changing any settings on Poll Everywhere. This option would also work with an older model touch and opens up the possibility of having students instantly respond. Instead of investing in a class set of clickers or response systems, ipod touches can fill the same need and allow for greater web access.

MassCue 2010

2010-10-27T19:46:00.000-07:00

Here are the slides for the two presentations I will be given at MassCue on Thursday.

QR Codes in the Classroom

Social Learning with Ning...Youtube & iTunes

Islam Unit X Common Craft

2010-10-18T14:46:00.000-07:00

In an ongoing attempt to avoid standardized tests, and have students create something at the end of each unit as a demonstration of their understanding, one of my 9th grade World Studies classes recently created "Common Craft" style videos based on our study of Islam.

The process was quite simple:
- Two days were devoted to planning, creating storyboards, scripts and drawings.
- One day devoted to filming. I took my class to the cafeteria so I would be able to help every group and they could have their own space to work and record their projects.

Once the projects were recorded (using flip video cameras), I did the editing in imovie. I would have loved to have each group edit their own work, but I wanted these posted quickly. I am pleased with the results and from the amount of work the students put into the planning, I'm definitely going to do it again.

The only problem I ran into while editing is that a few of the Flip cameras imported as avi files, the rest as mp4 files. Imovie will import mp4, but not avi...a free download (Handbrake) saved the day and allowed an easy conversion from avi to mp4.

Here are the results:

Iphone X Google Docs X QR Codes = Grading an entire class from 1 sheet of paper!

2010-09-19T14:00:00.000-07:00

**UPDATED BELOW THE ORIGINAL POST**

As I am borderline obsessed with coming up with ideas on how to harness the power of QR codes for my classroom and education, I think I may have come up with a viable concept. The basic idea is to be able to use my iphone to read student work from the comfort of my couch or coffee shop. Here goes...

1. Have students complete their work using google docs. When the work is complete, make sure they change the privacy settings to "anyone with the link" instead of private.
2. Students then visit a QR Code generator website (Kaywa, Delivr, Qrstuff) and turn their work into a QR Code.
3. When the code is done, students then visit a public & editable google doc that is created ahead of time by the teacher. The google doc would have a table inserted ahead of time by the teacher where each student could insert their code & name.
4. When the table is full and the students have completed their work, the teacher just needs to print out one sheet of paper instead of carry an entire class set of work home.
5. The best part...sit on your couch with an iphone (or any smartphone w/ QR Code reader), scan one code at a time, read through the work and place a grade on the sheet of paper or gradebook.

*Important Update: In attempting to pull off this idea I just came across a few important tips:
1. Use the Kaywa QR Code generator. Choose the small size code.
2. Have students shorten the URL to their google doc. The shorter URL allows for a simpler QR Code that can be decoded by a QR Code reader with better accuracy.
3. QR Codes can't be copied and pasted into a Google Doc. Students must save their QR Code as an image, and then insert the image into the table on the Google Doc.

Of course the one downfall to the system is that you can't leave feedback on the assignment. Therefore, this option might be best for assignments that don't require extensive comments from the teacher.

I think I'll be trying this idea out this week!

Posterous X Student Blogging Option?

2010-08-24T07:52:00.000-07:00

I created a posterous account last year, but never really played around with the platform enough to determine if it was worth using as a teaching / learning tool.

With some free time this summer to explore Posterous a bit further, I'm leaning towards using it as a blogging platform with one section of students. The most important reason behind my thinking is that Posterous easily allows students to post via text message (110 character limitation). With a smartphone, students can post via email, send pictures, video and voice memos.

My thinking behind this decision
1. We have a school of over 1400 students with one computer lab.
2. I have one desktop, one laptop, and one netbook in my classroom.
3. Last year, of the 120 students I taught, all but 5 of them had cell phones with texting plans.
4. Students could post anytime, anywhere, without an internet connection.

Potential applications:
"Live Blogging" in and outside of class. While students are reading a primary source document, excerpt from a book or the textbook, they could text to post to their Posterous blog. While watching films in class, students could keep a running journal of their thoughts and observations by texting to their blog. During lectures, students could post questions, thoughts or critical ideas that they want to record.

Homework Blogging. Students could easily complete their homework at any time, in any location. This type of blog posting could change they way teachers look at homework. Instead of specific questions and assignments to complete, students would have to demonstrate that they are thinking about, reflecting and considering what they are learning about in class. The Posterous blog, in this sense becomes evidence of reflective learning. Students could post at anytime, when it strikes them, to demonstrate their thinking and reflection. The teacher could set up the expectation that students will post X number of times per day, week or term. As blog posts are time stamped, the student and teacher could easily assess if this reflective process is taking place.

Has anyone used Posterous as a student blogging platform?

Google Moderator X Back Channel X Twitter Test

2010-08-11T09:17:00.000-07:00

I've used a number of different back channel tools in class (Edmodo, twitter, todaysmeet) and have been happy with the results. But, I just came across Google Moderator (maybe I missed the boat on this one, but I hadn't heard of it). What I like so far is that once a discussion is created & the url for the discussion is shared, people can participate in the discussion (by posting ideas & questions). The best part, is that anyone who participates in the discussion can either "vote" up or down for a posted idea. The best ideas or questions will essentially rise to the top of the discussion and participants will be validated as others "vote" up their post.

Here is my test, I have created a discussion that I put on to my PLN on twitter. The discussion topic, "What have you done this summer to improve your teaching?" I'm looking forward to the responses, not only to see the tool in action, but to get some inspiration before going back to school. Most of all, I'm running a tech training session to 9th grade teachers in my district at the end of the month, and I can't wait to show them a populated discussion before I show them how to use the tool.

This is a "must use" for me next year!

Please participate and vote in the discussion.

Cheers!

BLC10 Day 1 Reflection: Shouldn't our schools be more like BLC10?

2010-07-15T01:52:00.000-07:00

An idea struck me yesterday. After listening through the keynote by Dr. Mitchel Resnick, Darren Kuropatwa, Jeff Utecht, and Adora Svitak's presentation, I was energized, excited, exhausted, disappointed to be heading home for the night, and wanting more the next day. The buzz in the rooms, the passion of the presenters and the desire to connect, share and collaborate with other teachers was strong...why can't school be more like BLC10? Dr. Resnick gave us a platform Scratch, with wide walls and a high ceiling for our students to create and publish. Darren showed us the importance of design, in delivering our message and our lessons. Jeff inspired us to connect our classroom to the world and to give our students an authentic audience. Adora urged us to listen to the leaders in our classrooms, all 30 of their growing voices.

Why can't our students come to school, hear a great, dynamic & inspiring message. Then hustle off to a breakout session, eagerly listening, taking notes, creating, collaborating, back-channeling and exploring the whole time?

I was disappointed when a session wasn't what I expected or didn't fulfill my needs and goals. Shouldn't our students feel the same way when a class falls short of what it could be, when it doesn't help them meet their goals and needs, when the teacher isn't inspiring? I wanted to be in two places at once yesterday...shouldn't our students feel that way about the potential and possibilities available to them in school and their classes?

It's 4:45am, and I can't wait to get on the train to Boston at 6:09. Shouldn't our students feel this way about school?

Images: Bob Sprankle, blc10 uploads

sschat = success

2010-07-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

Our first #sschat is over, and with the help of a number of very enthusiastic social studies teachers across the country, we were able to share, learn, collaborate and grow in just one hour! (6-7pm est.)

Since I've never organized or tried to manage a #discussion before, I'm trying to figure out how to sort through and figure out exactly what we discussed...and after some searching, I came across two #hashtag organizers that provided some great data on the discussion.

Here is the link to The Archivist analysis of #sschat, and here is the link to the What the Hashtag analysis.

After looking through the data, I have to give a special thanks to:
@Ron_peck
@Ellsbeth
@Dontworryteach
@Cybraryman1

Without their active participation, #sschat wouldn't have been a success.

Here is a brief summary of what we all came away with from the discussion.

- Voicethread: Upload a primary source document & have students comment / doodle to demonstrate their understanding of the document.
- Worlde: Turn a document, speech or reading into a word cloud. Have students analyze the document visually before reading & then compare the visual analysis to reading the document. (thanks to @Agins213)
- Great set of voicethread resources. (thanks to @cybraryman1)
- Create historical figure facebook pages (thanks to @kyteacher)
- Students tweet as historical figures & recreate an event (thanks to @woodenmask)
- The American Objects Project ( thanks to @woodenmask)
- Google Voice as an oral homework assignment tool & cellphone to mp3 creator
- Project Based Learning Resources (thanks to @cybraryman1)
- Ancient Civilizations Resources (thanks to @cybraryman1)
- You are here podcast resources (thanks to @classroomtools)
- Doc of the Day: National Archives (thanks to @ellsbeth)
- Edmodo for backchannel discussions
- Polleverywhere: Cell phones as classroom clickers
- Social Studies Research Resources (thanks to @findingdulcinea)

Thanks again to everyone who participated. We look forward to growing #sschat, and keeping the weekly discussion lively and engaging. Please let me know of any topic or idea you would like to discuss in the next #sschat, @gregkulowiec.

Next Monday @ 6pm est!

Getting #SSchat Off The Ground

2010-07-08T09:23:00.000-07:00

I've been inspired by, involved with, and motivated by quite a few #edchat discussions in the past, and have sat in and participated in #ptchat. I recently noticed that math teachers are organizing with their own #mathchat...it is time for history teachers to unite and have their own synchronous chat through twitter.

#SSchat was born. I don't know how many history & social studies teachers will get involved in the discussion, if it will catch on or exactly how long it will take to grow the discussion. Either way, it will be a fun experiment and test of how involved history teachers are with using twitter as a professional growth tool.

Here is a link to the twtpoll to vote on what to talk about in the first #SSchat.

Spread the word about #SSchat and I'll see everyone Monday night (7-12) at 6pm.

Prezi X Note Taking

2010-07-08T06:55:00.000-07:00

While recently sitting in on a presentation made by Justin Reich (Co-Director of EdTechTeacher) about classroom management and assessment in a web2.0 integrated classroom, I quickly logged into my prezi account, opened a blank canvas and started taking notes on his talk.

I have used prezi in the past as conference presentations (the learning curve is steep, but worth the effort) I had never considered using it as a note taking / discussion recording tool. As Justin's presentation continued, I found it easier and easier to keep up with his ideas, connections, listener questions and insights.

Here is what I ended up with:

Assessment on Prezi

Some concluding thougths:
There are limitations with using prezi as a primary note taking device.
1. An internet connection is required.
2. Storage within a free prezi account is limited
3. Presentations must be downloaded and stored offline to free up storage space.

There are also some quickly recognized benefits:
1. Notes become intuitive. Lecturers, presenters, films & presentations do not always share their information or message in a linear format. Prezi allows the note taker to think and receive the information in a non-linear format.
2. A "path" can be created after the presentation. This might benefit students, as they would be forced to review & rethink the information that they were just exposed to and then make connections to content or message that they might not have realized.

THWT 2010 Summer Workshop

2010-07-02T09:34:00.001-07:00

Kanye West X Bob Dylan X Civil Rights...this is one of my old lessons.

2010-07-01T09:12:00.001-07:00

Open publication - Free publishing - More kanye

EduBloggerCon East 2010 X Almost Here!

2010-07-01T05:48:00.000-07:00

BLC is just around the corner (I've never been and can't wait to attend this year), but before the conference, I will be attending my first ever "unconference" on July 12th. Organized by Liz Davis and Lisa Thumann, this is a user generated and created conference where like minded, creative educators will spend the day collaborating and sharing ideas. I'm looking forward to attending for two reasons:
#1 - I'm bringing two teachers from Plymouth South with me to Boston & they are excited to branch out and attend.
#2 - Many of the people attending I already follow on twitter & I'm looking forward to meeting f2f and collaborating with these well respected educators.

Here is a link to the EduBloggerCon East 2010 Wiki

Here is a link to the EduBloggerCon East 2010 Sign up page

30 Goals Challenge X Day 2

2010-06-18T08:52:00.000-07:00

I took a day (or two) off after posting the first goal I accomplished for the 30 day challenge, I guess life (and work) got in the way. Here goes my second goal and thanks again Shelly Terrell for coming up with the 30 Goals Challenge!

Goal #7: Step out of your comfort zone.

A few months ago I was asked by my House Master to attend a conference in Las Vegas (end of June), to present about the Freshman Academy Model that we use at Plymouth South. The conference is run by Education Northwest, "From Structure to Instruction", and it is the first national conference I will attend. Presenting to an audience of educators and administrators isn't exactly out of my comfort zone. I have presented at MassCue the last two years and NERC last year, as well as PD sessions in my school, but always on instruction, teaching, motivation and technology integration. This presentation and conference is an entirely different animal.

Comfort Zone Violation #1: I will be presenting with two administrators from my school. I already have a great working relationship with both of them, that isn't the concern. My concern, I am extremely controlling when it comes my work and the finished product we are creating. I'm going to have to let go and understand that we are working as a team and recognize that I can't and shouldn't do this presentation alone. I need their help, and we will be better off each delivering a portion of the presentation, the part that we are the most knowledgeable about.

Comfort Zone Violation #2: The purpose of the conference is to demonstrate and present how change can occur in schools. The premise, we changed our structure at Plymouth South and we now have a Freshman Academy that has been in existence for five years. We then have to demonstrate how that model improves instruction to benefit, teachers, students and the school as a whole. I thought this task would be easy. However, I soon realized that as a teacher I was only seeing the tip of the "freshman academy iceberg". There was a grant that I had never read through, long term plans that I didn't know about and perspectives from the administration that needed to be woven into the presentation that I didn't know existed. The experience of putting this presentation together has been eye opening.

Comfort Zone Violation #3: Data, data & more data. As part of the presentation focuses on how instruction has been improved, I thought it would be important to share data with the audience. The data that I chose to analyze was: freshman failures rates, team teacher experience and freshman discipline statistics.
I gathered data going back to 1999 for the failure rate data, and back to 2005 for the discipline data. I used google docs spreadsheets to organize the information and then displayed it in the google gadget "Motion Charts". I rarely examine data. Although I might look at test scores and item analysis every so often, I have never looked at big picture, school wide data like this. The results absolutely pushed me out of my comfort zone. My impression was that our freshman academy model (100 students with the same History, Math, Science and English teacher) was lowering our failure rate. However, I never did any analysis or research to figure out if we were actually achieving our goal. Hopefully this data will push everyone teaching on the freshman academy out of their comfort zone and we can begin a process of increasing learning and driving these numbers down.
Percentage of Freshman Class Failing Multiple Core Academic Courses (1999-2010)
To view the chart correctly:
1. Change X Axis preference to time
2. Change the color preference (top right) to unique
3. Change the size preference (top right) to percentage of class
Then hit play in the bottom corner of the chart.

Summer X 30 Goals Challenge

2010-06-16T06:31:00.000-07:00

The school year ended yesterday and about a week ago I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted to do with my summer (or should I say the free 2/3 weeks in my schedule). I noticed a tweet by Shelly Terrell about her concept for a summer 30 Goals Challenge and knew right away that I had to begin my 30 day journey to become a better educator, co-worker and learner.

Day 1 = Goal #12 "Reach Out" Accomplishing this goal actually started a few weeks ago when it was finally confirmed that I was going to be attending BLC10. Thanks to my PLN, I noticed a retweet about EduBloggerCon East 2010 that would be taking place on the Monday before the conference in the Park Plaza. I had heard of "unconferences" and was slightly jealous of blog posts and tweets from fellow educators that had been attending various conferences around the country, now it would be my turn. Then I came across Shelly's summer challenge and realized that attending by myself would contribute to the change I hope to see in my school and education. I decided to reach out. First, a fellow History teacher (4th yr.) who is eager to learn and wants to be exposed to new ideas in education. Then, a first year English teacher who inspired me in her first year with innovative projects (filming Macbeth w/green screens) and energy. I admit, those two were easy sells and I approached them because I see them as agents for change and desire for change. I look forward to July 12th, when we head to Boston together, learn and grow as educators and friends...

How Twitter Transformed My Teaching

2010-06-10T12:20:00.000-07:00

Now that the year is nearly over, I have been thinking about the changing nature of my teaching and development as a teacher. Traditional professional development, delivered by the school to the masses is helpful and it exposes a large number of people to one particular idea or viewpoint. I wanted more, and the answer came when I started to use twitter as an individual professional development source. I was skeptical at first. I didn't know who to follow, what to read and how often I should check in with my account. However, I quickly realized that whenever I logged in, something useful was being written by someone that I followed. Once I got involved in #edchat discussion, my PLN grew, the ideas came faster, my network spread and the learning, ideas and a progressive view of education came quickly. Twitter re-energized me as a teacher. It allowed me to see a world of educators that I didn't know existed. I thought I was in an isolated bubble, I found out that I was surrounded by like minded educators, who are excited, want to see change and are passionate about making it happen.

How to Use Twitter to Grow Your PLN | Edutopia

Twitter as a PLN (Personal Learning Network)

BLC X EduBloggerCon East 2010

2010-06-08T08:26:00.000-07:00

I am fortunate enough to be able to attend BLC10 in Boston this summer (July 14-16), but I am really excited about attending EduBloggerCon East 2010 (July 12). I had only heard about EduBloggerCon and was thrilled to see that Liz Davis & Lisa Thurmann would be organizing before BLC, only a short commuter rail and Redline ride from Plymouth, MA.

As educators, we live in a truly amazing time. We can collaborate with the best teachers in our school, district, state, region and world. They are all at our finger tips. We can read their blogs, follow them on twitter, get involved in #edchat discussion on twitter, make skype calls...change is happening! What truly amazes me about the opportunity to attend this unconference is that now we can meet these fellow educators face to face. I follow many of the people (on twitter) that have already signed up to attend EduBloggerCon East. I never thought I would be able to meet any of them face to face. The connections that have been created online will now be solidified with a personal connection.

Lip Dub X Local Paper

2010-06-07T05:50:00.000-07:00

I would like to publicly thank Rich Harbert from the Gatehouse News Service and Old Colony Memorial for running a story on the 2010 Plymouth South High School Lip Dub that I helped produce a few weeks back. The project was one of the most meaningful and inspirational projects that I have ever been a part of in my six years of teaching. Rich did an outstanding job capturing the story, positive impact and purpose of the project.

Check out the story in the Old Colony Memory HERE.

I would love to have posted the video, but due to copyright concerns it hasn't been posted online.

MindMapping X "Looking for Lincoln" X Glinkr

2010-06-04T09:46:00.000-07:00

My U.S. History I Honors class has been exploring President Lincoln this week, and I have been trying to expose them to Lincoln the individual, president and father, not just the mythical Lincoln.
We have used a number of resources to accomplish this goal:

PBS' "Looking for Lincoln" by Professor Henry Louis Gates (the entire documentary is viewable online)
Was Lincoln a Racist, The Root, Feb. 12th, 2009.
The Emancipation Proclamation
The Gettysburg Address
Lincoln: Great or Reluctant Emancipator

I would normally have them write a paper that explores Lincoln, tries to demystify the man and determines if he was a "great" or "reluctant" emancipator. However, this year I have decided to have them create a mindmap of their understanding of Lincoln. I came to this decision based on my experience of using iMindMap Pro on my iPhone. IMindMap has allowed me to capture my thoughts quickly, and organize them visually / conceptually that I couldn't have done if I was writing a traditional paper.

The MindMapping tool I chose was Glinkr. I chose this one because of the ease of use and more importantly, Glinkr will generate an embed code that my students will use to publish the mindmap in their blogs. One important tip: for an embed code to be generated, the student must chose to not make the timeline private, or once the timeline is created, choose "Edit Properties" to change the timeline from private to "Creative Commons".

I hadn't used Glinkr until this morning (I am assigning the mindmap today) and I quickly figured out how to create, link and move ideas within the mindmap. Here is a quick test Glinkr that I created...when the student mindmaps are done I will include a few in this entry as well.

Cross District & Cross Curriculum Project = Final Skype Call

2010-06-02T12:06:00.000-07:00

After months of planning, and a successful two week intensive course on the Great Depression, J.D. Wilson, Jr., an English teacher at Wareham High School (MA) and I recently finished our cross district, cross curriculum Ning project (www.depressionandwrath.ning.com). It was an outstanding experience as a teacher to learn how to manage a live and active Ning. It was also extremely rewarding to see my students participate in discussions with the students from Wareham. Mr. Wilson's students were reading The Grapes of Wrath, as my students studied the Great Depression. There were discussion forums that both groups participated in and multi-media projects created by students that allowed Mr. Wilson's students a greater historical perspective while reading the book. My students were also able to read comments that the Wareham students left about their multi-media projects (authentic feedback). I had a number of students that also created discussion forums without my prompting, and were thrilled when the discussion posts started to pile up within their forum. They took ownership of the discussion and wanted to see what everyone had to say.

The most exciting part of the project was the culminating Skype call to connect both classes. The call lasted about a half hour and was a complete success. The next day students in my class were asking if we could call again because they wanted to ask another question! When was the last time students asked you if they could do more work? Here is a short video of the call:

Find more videos like this on The Great Depression and the Grapes of Wrath

It has been a while...Boston Globe Article about VHS

2010-06-01T13:35:00.000-07:00

This article was in the South Shore section of the Boston Globe this past Sunday. The article covers the emergence of online classes for public high schools in Massachusetts. I am proud to say that I just finished teaching my first class (Sports in American Society) this year and can't wait to begin teaching the course next year as VHS (Virtual High School) migrates from BlackBoard to Desire2Learn.

Teaching the course was a fantastic experience professionally and personally. I learned how to manage 25 students from all over the country without any face to face interaction and turn the 15 week course into a meaningful learning experience. I was also able to develop a friendship with Nancy Dawson, Plymouth Public Schools Site Coordinator for VHS. Along with being able to teach the class, 25 Plymouth students were given seats through VHS and were able to take a multitude of classes.

#140 Conf

2010-04-25T05:56:00.000-07:00

It has been too long since my last post. Lately I have been watching back a number of the presentations at last week's #140 Conference. This video was one of my particular favorites, because of the message about technology integration & because I already follow all of the educators on twitter.
Aparna Vashisht: @Parentella
Kevin Jarrett: @kjarrett
Lisa Nielsen: @InnovativeEdu
Mary Beth Hertz: @mbteach

Video Grading with Screencasts = Authentic, Helpful Feedback

2010-04-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks to a retweet by Derek Bruff last week, I came across a blog entry about "video grading". I have made screencasts before, as tutorials for PD sessions or as a resource for students when using a new technology in class for the first time. However, I never thought about the implications of using screencasts for grading.

I have one section of U.S. History I Honors (10 grade) students who maintain blogs via blogger. They publish all of their writing assignments on their blogs, and I post comments on their entry for feedback. But after reading through the tweeted blog entry about video grading, I had to give it a shot, and it couldn't have been any easier.

I already had Jing installed, and then created an account with screencast (the free account provides 2G of storage) to store my screencasts.

The steps are simple:
1. Run Jing - a little yellow sun will appear on the top of the screen
2. Choose your workspace to record
3. Begin recording and commenting on the student blog entry.
4. When the recording is done, click "share with screencast"
5. Login to your Screencast account and retrieve the URL for the video. I also suggest renaming the file with the student name and project.
6. Paste the URL into the comment section below the student blog entry and you are done. Now the student has authentic communication about their writing.

Extra Tip: In addition to talking about the paper, I like to leave notations so the student can see exactly what I am referring to in their work. To do this, I suggest using Screen Marker, a free download that allows you to make notations anywhere on your workspace. These notations are saved when working in Jing and become part of the screencast.

Here is an example of a screen cast of a student blog entry made with Jing. I can't begin to explain how easy it is to grade using this method. I haven't received student feedback yet, and I am interested to see what they think about this technique. I am especially interested to to find out if they are more likely to listen to a 1-2 minute discussion about their work, than to read through comments that teachers traditionally leave on pen and paper assignments. That might turn into an entirely different project!

Google Motion Graph Test

2010-04-07T10:09:00.000-07:00

Here is a data set that I entered into a google spreadsheet. Once the data was entered (Number of core classes failed, years, number of students), the data was highlighted and inserted into the google gadget "Motion Graph". The data can then be visually interpreted and viewed over time. Just click on the x axis variable and change it to time to view the information over the span of data entered. It is also helpful to change the graph to have a different color for each group, as well as changing the size of the bubble to reflect the size of the population (both can be on the right hand side of the graph.) The data I entered is freshman end of year failures for the four core classes (english, math, history, science) and it is then broken down (failed 4, failed 3, failed 2 and failed 1). The goal of the analysis is to determine if the PSHS Freshman Academy model (which has been used since 2005-2006) is having a positive impact on freshman failure rates of the four core academic classes used in our team model. The data set is incomplete, as I am still gathering information, but so far I like the layout of the Motion Graph.

Test Broadcast via Ustream

2010-03-29T15:18:00.001-07:00

Online video chat by Ustream

Web 2.0 History Ning

2010-03-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

To help facilitate the NERC session I am presenting on Tuesday I figured I would create a Ning to demonstrate how easy they are to set up and manage. Now that it is running, I figured I would keep it up and send out the invite to see if anyone will actually join.
http://web20history.ning.com/ Please join the group & share any ideas about integrating web2.0 tools into a history classroom.

NERC 2010

2010-03-22T12:45:00.000-07:00

Head to NERC in Sturbridge, MA on Tuesday to present about creating a Wiimote IWB and Web2.0 Integration. I will be blogging from the conference so stay tuned for a new entry Tuesday.
Here is the agenda I will be following during my clinic.

Google Books X Frederick Douglass

2010-03-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

Nothing too significant to post today. I have wanted my U.S. History class to read the Narrative of Frederick Douglass for quite a while, but I don't have any copies of the book and I'm not interested in buying a class set. A quick search on google books and I found the entire narrative for free. Embedded it on my class blog and we are going to have a socratic circle discussion next Thursday and Friday. Check out the class blog post here: www.kulowiecushistory.blogspot.com

Student Evaluation of Technology Integration

2010-03-18T06:02:00.001-07:00

Because of my quest to integrate technology into my U.S. I History class, a brilliant student of mine took the time out of her busy day to create a visual / graph interpretation that expresses her evaluation of the technology we have used in class. This might force me to reconsider ever using Weebly agian! And guess what, today we are Blogging & Edmodoing (is that a word?) all in the same day.

Technology

Visual Thinking from Derek Bruff

2010-03-16T15:53:00.000-07:00

I used Triptico earlier in the year to help students visualize the multiple causes & responsibility level of the American Revolution. Derek Bruff has included that activity in his presentation about Visual Thinking...it is under the "Schematic Diagrams Section"
The presentation is very interesting and reinforces the idea that learning can be enhanced when associated with images. Thanks Derek.

Visual Thinking in University Teaching on Prezi

Reflection time...finding balance & a culture of sharing.

2010-03-15T16:59:00.000-07:00

Sorry, no technology this time...

I have recently been spending quite a bit of time reflecting on my teaching and especially the balance that I try to manage between exposing student to new web2.0 technologies and making sure the content that I need to cover is learned by the students. I had to, and will continue to examine my use of technology:

Do I use technology for technology sake?

Is content being sacrificed?

Are the students still learning / demonstrating their understanding through the web integrated projects & lessons?

Do I have the students use technology to keep myself interested in the content, is it only for their benefit, or a combination of the both? And if it is both, is there anything wrong with that?

I can't answer these questions. I can only think about them. But I feel confident that in asking myself the questions I will find the balance I am looking for.

I recently had a class of freshman make websites with weebly as a project for a unit of study. As part of the website they had to have a reflection page where they were to address questions around their learning, demonstration of learning, comparison to a traditional paper / test and any final thoughts. Their comments have been revealing, confirming and a pleasure to read.

I have also been trying to visit other classrooms during my prep period as much as possibly lately. In every room I walk into I have been met with a smile and an energetic welcome. I don't write anything down, I just sit and take in what is happening: classroom management, new assignments, managing discussion. I want to find new ideas from the teachers in my building. I was thrilled today, when a teacher I visited last week came and sat in on one of my freshman world studies classes. He participated in the discussion, paid attention to what we were covering and asked the students questions. The atmosphere was...different. The students seemed to treat the class with slightly more regard. Almost as if another adult could find this important / interesting than they should as well. I know we can't visit classrooms that often, but a great climate was created by simply seeing another teacher in the room.

Results from PD Feedback in Duxbury, MA

2010-03-10T14:28:00.000-08:00

Here are the results from the feedback form that was completed by 21 educators in Duxbury, MA. The results are based on a presentation about 21st Century Learning & Teaching that I presented and follow up training sessions on blogging, voicethread & cellphones (my session) I was particularly interested in the results from the first and last question...

How would you rate your level of web 2.0 integration?
High Level: 3
Above avg: 5
Average: 7
Below avg: 5
No Integration: 1

How would you rate the speaker & presentation?
Outstanding: 12
Above Average: 8
Average: 0
Below Average: 1

The ideas presented were:
Inspirational: 6
Motivational: 11
Helpful: 4
Not Helpful: 1

What web 2.0 tools would you like to learn more about?
Blogging: 6
Websites: 5
Podcasting: 1
Cell Phones: 3
Collaborative Writing: 2
Nings: 2
All: 1

Debate X Triptico

2010-03-10T07:41:00.000-08:00

One of my classes had a debate today. The topic, New Imperialism: Positive or Negative. The format was rather simple:
4 minute constructive argument for each team. (Big picture ideas, setting up the detailed argument)
3 minute detailed argument
4 minute rebutal
3 minute closing statement

Also, any time that was left on the board by one team was awarded to the opposing team to add onto their closing statement time.

What kept the debate moving along quickly and kept everyone engaged were two tools provided by triptico.
The full screen timer & swingometer, both perfect for class debates.

Integrating these two tools was simple. During each portion of the debate, the time was projected on the board. Then, while the student was speaking I would use the swingometer to award their team points based on the content they provided in the statement. Overall, it was a great class today. Everyone was engaged, paying attention to the arguments & furiously writing down notes while the opposing team presented to make sure the idea could be refuted later in the debate.

The tools work even better when manipulated by a wiimote iwb. I was able to stand in front of the class while each student was speaking and move the swingometer as good ideas were presented by each team. Although this is not the most imaginative or innovative demonstration of technology integration, it certainly added to a traditional class activity and enhanced the typical classroom debate.

Duxbury Feedback Form

2010-03-09T02:03:00.000-08:00

Duxbury Educators: Please click HERE for the link to my feedback form.

Thank you,

Greg

Ipadio & Cellphones = Content on Itunes

2010-03-08T07:41:00.000-08:00

Write up coming soon!

Use your cell phone to create a podcast that is then distributed to itunes for student download.

Reflections on Delivering a Keynote (Second Draft)

2010-03-08T07:39:00.000-08:00

**Second Draft Info is added below**

I was fortunate enough to have delivered a keynote address about 21st Century Learning and Teaching at Duxbury High School (MA) on Friday as part of their professional development day. The experience of being able to share ideas with an entire staff of high school teachers was outstanding. The feedback that I have recieved so far has been positive and negative, and I left at the end of the day feeling that I inspired teachers to make that first and often scary step into technology integration.

I also took more away from the day than I expected and realized possible. Fielding questions from the staff and responding to their questions, concerns and thoughts made me truly examine why I am so passionate about moving my classroom into the 21st century and sharing these ideas with other educators.

There were three questions in particular that stood out. During my morning presentation, when I was talking about building a PLN and being involved on Twitter, Nings & reading blogs, a member of the staff expressed concern about managing time is for family and balancing the two, a valid concern. I clearly remember when I first started to build my PLN. I spent too much time at home at night reading tweets, blogs and Ning forums. The message I tried to relay back to the concerned teacher, everything in moderation. We have to keep a balance between our lives outside of school & our desire to stay cutting edge. My thought, the tweets will keep coming & the blog entries aren't going away...don't worry if you don't feel like reading them every night, week or even month. Just check in when it is time for inspiration.

The next question that stuck with me after I left was: How do you decide when it is appropriate to teach with technology? Another great question, that was challenging to answer and I had honestly not truly considered. This is my sixth year teaching world studies and at this point I am comfortable with the content I teach every year. At this point, I want to keep my experience in the classroom interesting and motivating, for myself and for my students (the question still isn't answered). So, how do I make the final decision to have my students create a project, hand in an assignment or integrate technology into a unit of study? A quick checklist will do:
1. Are the curriculum standards going to be met?
2. Will the project demonstrate that the standards are met?
3. Will the students be motivated / engaged?
4. Are the students learning an important 21st century skill?
5. Will the students still authentically learn and understand the key concepts?
6. Am I using technology for the sake of technology?

Upon developing this list, I feel confident that the question has helped me as an educator to determine when and when not to integrate technology in my classroom.

The final question that is worth addressing revolved around the word "discussion." I often use Edmodo with my classes and refer to the interaction online as discussion. A member of the staff made an interesting point when he stated that "discussion" is face to face, human interaction. I never once considered the implication of referring to online discussions in the same light as face to face discussions. They are, of course not the same and require a different set of skills to be able to succesfully participate in either. I am not interested in overlooking the required skill of human interaction, face to face discussion and being able to look someone in the eye / read body language. However, if we want to move our students into the 21st century, and provide them the skills necessary to succeed in that environment, we have to expose them to online discussions. The skill set is different, the interaction is somewhat anonymous, but I am confident that our students need to be able to engage in both to be successful in the 21st century.

Upon recieving feedback from the staff at Duxbury, further reflection is needed. Going into this presentation I had a concept / vision in mind. I wanted the ideas to come quickly and be somewhat overwhelming. Whether that was the right avenue to take with this staff is yet to be answered, and may never be conclusively. However, I know that when I sit in an audience and listen to someone speak about teaching, learning and/or education, I want to be inspired, overwhelmed and left feeling slightly uncomfortable with the idea that I haven't tried or heard of that particular idea. That was my whole mindset for how I developed this particular presentation. Did it go over well with some, yes. Were there staff that disagreed with some particular points in my presentation, absolutely. As a presenter in the future, I need to understand that not everyone wants to feel overwhelmed, or be told that they have to change to adapt to a 21st century classroom. Possibly, what teachers need to hear is that there are tools available to them that can enhance their teaching, expand their impact on students and at the same time prepare their students for a world that we can't even begin to understand.

I hope everyone in Duxbury learned as much as I did from the presentation.

Here is the presentation I used in the morning. Unfortunately, some video is missing & it might be a bit difficult to follow.

Edited Down Keynote

View more presentations from gkulo.

GoogleVoice X Voicethread

2010-03-03T13:32:00.000-08:00

At the request of a colleague who was asking for options for recording voice comments outside of voicethread I just found a new option. The old method first...

In the past I have used Ipods with Belkin recorders to have students record longer comments or speeches for Voicethread projects. I then sync the ipod, and upload the comment.

THE NEW METHOD! Simply hand out your GoogleVoice number and when students call there is an option to save the voice message. Below the message, click on "More" and you will see an option to save.

Then login to Voicethread and choose the upload option for voice comments, choose the audiofile and there you go.

Weebly to the Rescue!

2010-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

It has been way too long since I posted...time to get back to work. Nothing specific today, just some musings about what I am thinking about right now and what direction I want to take my classes in in the next few months.

I just started experimenting with Weebly last week and I like what I see so far. Teachers can register for the free education version and are given 40 student accounts, get a colleague to sign up via your referal and get an additional 10.

What I like so far:
FREE, FREE, FREE...now to the specifics.
1. The students things up quickly and it took very little training on my part to get them creating within the first class period.
2. I can manage all of my classes (I have created 3) and all student accounts from my login page. When students forget their login or password I can solve the problem quickly and easily.
3. It was quite easy to create each class and input student names & passwords. (I made the password the same for every student and gave them the option to change them at a later time.)

Drawbacks:
I really shouldn't be complaining, after all weebly for education is free. However, I quickly realized that each student can only have one website at a time, and can only publish 5 pages on their website. I am not a big fan of paying for online resources, after all, we don't know exactly how long they will last. However, I am truly thinking about paying the $40 to upgrade to a pro account. Students can each have up to 10 websites, with unlimited number of pages. I joked around with a class of 18 that we could all split the cost, and a number of them were quite willing...I didn't take them up on the offer.

Writeboard X Group Paper on the Cotton Gin

2010-02-15T05:56:00.000-08:00

The experiment continues...and I won't stop until my students are completely comfortable with the "computer stuff" I throw at them. On a completely unrelated note, we haven't used Edmodo in quite a while and a large group of students have turned the word into a verb and have been pestering me with, "Mr. Kulowiec, are we edmodoing today?" I consider it progress.

Onto Writeboard. I posted earlier about my first attempt with using Writeboard to have students write group papers. Last week everyone had to write a blog entry about the impact of the cotton gin. I gave them a number of web based resources (http://kulowiecushistory.blogspot.com/2010/02/monday-feb-8th.html) and they were off to write. On the Thursday before vacation I introduced the class to writeboard, broke them into 3 groups of 4/5 students, set up the boards ahead of time for them and informed them that the group paper was due by the end of February break. Of course there was a little complaining, and apparently there is no internet connection available at Disney World. I have been checking in periodically and the results have been positive. It is interesting to see who takes over the group, who follows and who doesn't get involved. What I was hoping to see, was a collaborative effort, where students would share the beginning of an idea and have it finished or developed by someone else in the group. I'll post the results later.

SCVNGR X Chapter 6 Review

2010-02-10T05:06:00.000-08:00

Here is a short clip of my students using SCVNGR as a chapter review for a test.

(Disclaimer: This isn't the greatest video ever, I wanted to keep their faces out of the footage.)

SCVNGR X US History Test Review from Greg Kulowiec on Vimeo.

SCVNGR Time!

2010-02-01T07:36:00.000-08:00

I have always wanted to take my U.S. History I Honors students on a field trip to Boston to explore the Freedom Trail. Problem is, I couldn't figure out an interesting way to integrate technology into the trip. I thought about having them make podcasts along the way, or take pictures with their cell phones and text them to one central location, but I just didn't think that was enough...problem solved. SCVNGR.

Basic Concept: Take the old fashioned scavenger hunt and make it incredibly more interactive by using a cell phone (text messages), smart phone or iphone app. Sign up for a pre-made scavenger hunt on the website and recieve your first clue...and hint. Once you are in the correct location, there will be a challenge that can be answered via a text message. The correct message will then provide the next clue to your phone, and you are on your way. There are different types of hunts (groups can follow the same or different paths to vary the experience), and hunts can be easily created by users. I haven't done a hunt yet, but I plan on doing the Freedom Trail Hunt in Boston on February vacation!

So after a little exploring, I am sold on SCVNGR. After watching a video with the original founder explaining the concept and their funding plans...I have thought of a few classroom applications (below)

Meet SCVNGR! from DreamIt Ventures on Vimeo.

Classroom Applications:
1. Test Review - teacher created scvngr where the students work in groups to review a chapter or unit of study. The Clue and hint will point students to a particular part of the text, and the challenge will test their knowledge / ability to find the information in the book.

2. Literary Hunt - similar to the idea above, this would work well for English teachers who want to have students explore a novel in a different way. The hint provided could test the student's understanding of the story (or how well they placed sticky notes / took notes about the book) and the challenge could be story based (example: Who was "character 1" speaking with when he stated, ".....")

3. Movie SCVNGR - While students are watching a film / documentary in class, they can play a hunt based on the storyline. The teacher could make a hunt ahead of time and the clues & challenges could be based on the film. (I might have to try this one as well!)

PASS Session I

2010-01-14T05:21:00.000-08:00

PASS Session I Introduction

PASS Session I

View more presentations from gkulo.

Google Forms X iPod Touch / iPhone

2009-11-14T16:08:00.001-08:00

Woo Hoo! I just made my first self grading quiz using google forms. Now if I could only get a few iPod Touch for my class to do this all the time.

Click HERE for the quiz. - It is only 3 questions, just as a test.

I have used google forms in the past to make a registration form and to collect data from my students. I had always thought about using it as a quiz / testing tool, but had no experience using formulas on spread sheets. I found this screencast that explained step by step how to make the quiz self grading.

I have a class of 16 U.S. History I Honors students that I would like to try to implement this quizzing method with. Time to write a great grant proposal to get a few iPod Touch for my classroom.

QR Codes X iPod Touch 4th Generation = Bridge from paper to web

2009-11-10T02:08:00.000-08:00

**UPDATE: The iPod Touch 4th Generation has a back facing camera & can scan QR Codes!**

Here is a presentation I gave as MassCue this year about using QR Codes in the classroom. I still only have one iPod Touch 4, so the project is off for now...

Unfortunately, I'm a complete moron. An iPod Touch doesn't have a camera, I don't own one and just assumed it did. There have been rumors through various media outlets that suspect the 4th generation iPod Touch will have a camera, which means my original idea would work. But, until an iPod Touch with a camera is released, this plan (and grant proposal) will have to be put on hold. Oh well...(The iPod Touch 4th Gen has a camera & it works when scanning QR Codes)

I learned about QR Codes during the summer and have been trying to figure out how to integrate them into my history class since then. For those who haven't heard of QR Codes yet, think of them as condensed bar codes (like in the grocery store), that can be embedded with any information you want. A QR Code can be easily generated (google search "QR Code Generator") and then the creator can decide what website, youtube video, text, google document...is embedded in the code. The code can then be printed out or placed on a website / blog. The QR Code above is embedded with this blog's URL.

But how do you extract the information?

Simple. Many cell phones are now being equipped with QR Code readers, and there are a number of programs available (most for free) that can be downloaded to a cell phone. Another alternative is to use an iphone or ipod touch. Both the iphone and ipod touch can be equipped with a number of applications (ranging from free to 1.99) that allow QR Codes to be scanned and extracted. Once scanned by a cell / iphone / ipod touch, the web browser on the device will automatically be pointed to the information embedded in the code.

I am leaning towards implementing QR Codes with the ~~ipod touch~~ because of their built in wi-fi connectivity, which eliminates the need for a web browsing plan needed when using a call phone to scan a code. All that is needed is a wireless router in a classroom (I know this is easier said than done...I'm trying to figure out how to get one in my room)

Now the important part...

Applications to Teaching:
QR Code Gallery - Fill your classroom with pictures, maps, political cartoons, portraits and works of art, all with tiny QR Codes that point to video, websites, speeches...
QR Code Textbook - The teacher or students could create a virtual textbook by creating content (blogs, websites) or pointing the QR Code to existing content that would enrich the static material on paper. This has become my project over winter break. I am going to create a supplemental textbook with the name of the topic and four QR Codes on each page.
QR Code Homework: Have students submit homework through a QR Code. They could complete the homework on a google doc, publish the doc and then embed the URL in the QR Code.
QR Code Test: Questions on a test can be QR Codes, that when scanned point to questions, that can then be answered on the test. This method could eliminate cheating because students would have no idea what question their classmate is working on at that time.

QR Code Generators:
http://qrcode.kaywa.com/
http://www.qrstuff.com/

These are just the beginning of the possibilities. I will create a presentation that includes these four ideas and some new ones...visit back for the new post and presentation!

Iste Siglit Fall Newsletter X embedit.in

2009-10-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

Just came across www.embedit.in, which seems like an amazing tool that allows any type of document to be embedded in a website / blog. My first attempt is an article that I recently had in the Iste Siglit Fall Newsletter. Check out the results and start embedding!

Twitter X TweetDeck X MassCue...oops, Edmodo

2009-10-28T15:43:00.000-07:00

Colonial Themes via Twitter

Bacon's Rebellion #Mrkulo

Wiimote IWB Presentation for MassCue

2009-10-28T08:36:00.001-07:00

Connecting a wiimote to a computer:

Example of a PDF Document with annotations through Jarnal
Lincoln With Annotations

Wiimote IWB Software Websites:
Johnny Lee
Boon Jin's Smoothboard 1.6
Mac Version

Helpful Wiimote Websites:
Wiimote Project
Penteractive IR Pens
WiiTeachers

Iste Siglit Fall Newsletter

2009-10-25T12:19:00.000-07:00

The Fall Iste Siglit Newsletter is out and I was fortunate enough to contribute an article about using cell phones in class (page 10-11). The ideas are similar to my appearance on PRI's The World Technology Podcast from this summer.

Click HERE for a pdf version of the newsletter.

Triptico "Plot It" X American Revolution

2009-10-21T19:24:00.000-07:00

Today was a great class in room 65. While preparing to write a paper about the responsibility & causes of the American Revolution, I distributed a list of 30 events that had been covered in the unit. For homework, students explained each event and plotted the event on a chart (seen below). The next day, using Triptico's "Plot It" and a Wiimote IWB, I had students come to the board, grab the idea and drag it to where they thought it should go on the chart. Each student had to defend their decision. The best part of the activity was hearing the reaction of the class as each idea was placed by a classmate. There were shouts of agreement, frustration and disagreement from the crowd. The class was packed with discussion and was very fast moving...teaching doesn't get any better than this.

Here is what the final chart ended up looking like. It doesn't do justice to the interaction the activity created!

Along the X axis: British Responsibility, Colonists Responsibility
Along the Y axis: Caused Revolution, Did not cause Revolution