Many articles, tweets, and posts about integrating technology ttell us that it is not the technology, but how we use it to change our teaching that matters. I agree, how use technology within the classroom is important and that it is a tool not an end in itself. We should use technology in creative and collaborative ways.
However. I think in my classroom its all about the technology.
We have 5 ipads, and a cart of Macbooks that we can use daily, and the students can BYOD. If we had more we would use more, but it is certainly not essential to have a 1:1 setup. In fact, even when avaliable we usually work in pairs or teams to ensure collaboration, and to promote peer to peer support. I would much rather have 5 iPads all the time than sign out class sets that we share with the school. We use them exclusively for creating: making videos, slide shows, photography, blogging and skyping. We need them to be available at all times because, just like our other classroom tools, we use them throughout the day. Having our own class iPads means they are always charged; they are always updated; they only contain our apps and content; and they do not get too full. We have them synced through iCloud and they are very manageable with little effort.
Now, back to the all about the technology...
Technology has transformed our classroom. It enables us to reach out to the world through daily blogging, skyping, Youtube and Twitter, We are able to share our learning with others and to participate in other classes' projects, experiments and blogs. It has enabled us to experience first hand sources for research such as the pictures, maps and diary entries within Passageways and the information from the Government of Canada to become explorers and to blog about our travels.
It enables us to use rich resources such as Discovery learning, or to watch video clips from credible sources such as the BBC, NASA, and National Geographic, to better understand what we are learning and to produce our own videos and share them with others on Youtube.
Technology has enabled us to publish our learning in our blogs and given new importance to our writing and artwork while providing parents and others a window to our work. We have been able to reach out to others and to share globally through initiatives such as Global Read Aloud and given us choices in how we present our learning. Publishing and sharing has brought us confidence and inspired us as we learn. It has given us purpose, self direction and choice.
Our Class is all about the technology: http://mrsdycksclass.weebly.com/
Every year it is a struggle to get my students to master their times tables. We listen to music, have timetable drills, play times table games and I assign them for homework. I've tried it all. Last year I tried something new. I had the class create their own times table raps and for the first time virtually all my students learned their tables.
This year we are working to make times tables ebooks with voice over fact "raps". It is a time consuming project but if the students learn these facts it will be time well spent, as very few of my class know them.
The assignment:
1. With a partner create a rap for the 6 times table.
Example:
6 and 4
are on the floor.
6 times 4
equal twenty-four.
I
2. t took a while to get the students rhyming the second line with the
last. They automatically wanted to rhyme it with the first instead. They
struggled with a few that were harder to rhyme but eventually they
succeeded.
Use the storyboard sheet provided to re-write out the verses and then create pictures to go with them.
3. Create the illustrations and then take pictures of them with the iPad camera and upload them to Dropbox
4. Use Book Creator and the iPad to create a digital 6 times table rap by placing the illustration in, and adding a voice over. Some students may choose to add a text box too.
Timeline:
4 to 5 days per times table fact:
Day 1: create the rap
Day 2: make the storyboard and start the illustrations
Day 3: finish Illustrations
Day 4: create book and voice overs.
Last year was a true adventure in
learning for me. I have always used technology in my teaching but I have
never had so many opportunities to integrate. Access to technology,
availability of new apps, online space to blog and the emergence of
iPads have opened new doors to us.
Today I went to the first Innovative Learning meeting of the year.
It was exciting to see and hear of the changes moving forward in
project based learning. As part of the day's activities we
re-considered our progress and re grouped for a fresh start as each of
does every fall ready to take on another year of learning. We made short
artifacts of the year that was as we looked ahead.
This year I want to find new
opportunities to support my class and new resources to individualize
learning for each of my students.
1. In year 1 of the
Project we dabbled with Pinterest and although we only managed to dip
our toes in and bookmark our work to share, I can see now that there are
other great possibilities for this year. I want to set up separate
boards for each child:
to post links to their online blogs, movies and to post photos of their artwork;
to pin the resources they find and the photos they use in their
creations. This year we used dropbox but Pinterest makes it much easier
to bookmark and collect resources because it is so visual.
one for me to post resources and links to new projects. I make
webpages for each of our projects with video, links and instructions and
I think Pinterest will help me organize and make them quicker to
access. Also the class can add new links they find that we should use or
share Then they become part of the assignment creation phase.
2. I will continue to make movies with the class. Last year we
made two. Both were follow up projects to novels. The class loved
making them and it helped them develop a stronger understanding of
setting, character, key events, and plotlines. They said it made them
become the characters and they learned to work together and value each
other. This year I would like to open up
opportunities for them to use this format to make documentaries of our
First Nation's workshops and research Owls. Now that Book Creator can
hold videos we can embed our videos and then write about making them. Or
perhaps create a book that contains them all and allow a question and
answer or comment section to go with each video. Lots more
possibilities.
3. I would like to find more
opportunities to give students choices. They love to take charge of
their own learning. I think that after they have tried a variety of
presentation and research projects they should have the opportunity and
the confidence to decide which ones they want to try again.
4.
Sharing. Last year we shared our books and videos at assemblies and
through YouTube and our blogs but we did not have a partner class to
work with to get feedback.This year I will involve
at least one other class and help them to start their own class blogs,
publish ebooks and I will mentor other teachers as they work on their
own class projects. Also I will find another class that is blogging and
link up with them to comment and share our work and give my class an
opportunity to appreciate the work of others. I want to set up groups to
share online resources and ideas with others on our new Surrey Schools
website and I hope others will add and share theirs with me. I would
like to find a way to meet with some of my twitter colleagues to
share, compare, plan and engage in collaborative projects together.
5.
Assessment: Last year we did school wide writes and as I looked at the
fall and the spring writes I was amazed at the growth. The new writing
is focused and far more detailed. The students edited more, their
stories had better overall structure, and their voice shone through. I
will need to see if the same is true next year. When they published
their research on the CPR with Book Creator they were able to publish
their findings in their own words - a big step for grade four. Was this
just a one time event or does blogging make such a major difference in
student writing? Some of the most dramatic changes were made by my
lowest students. Year 1 was inspiring and I am looking forward to
an another great year. I am sure that more opportunities and ideas lie
just around the corner. Starting all over with a new class of "rookies"
seems daunting, but I know that jumping right back in always works,
the children always amaze me and the year flies by.
This year has been an adventure in integrating technology. Our school acquired a cart of iPads as part of a pilot project in innovative learning. Our goal was to use them in class to see if and how they changed the way we teach and learn. The project was not just about using ipads in class but about discovering how using them would change the learning experience. My class got 5 iPads to use full time and I got personal Ipad to use.
Integrating technology was not new to me, but the iPads were. The first thing I did was to explore many of the Apps that were available to use in a variety of applications. I looked at apps that helped learn math facts, others that let you create books, video and music, and still others that let you download and read eBooks. I had intended to try it all.
Including the MacBooks, my goal was to use this equipment to create online portfolios of student work to motivate students and to allow parents to follow their progress throughout the year. We started with publishing a creative writing assignment for
Halloween. Each child followed the writing process in planning,
drafting, editing and publishing their own story. They learned how to
create a webpage, took photos of their illustrations and posted both.
During the process they learned how to use Dropbox, how to upload
pictures from iPads and then download them to use in a
blog. We worked through many problems, and their resolution and enthusiasm grew with each success. They learned to value each others opinions and to rely on each other for support.
Then we started blogging...and writing took on new importance to the class. The students began to take charge of their own learning. They stared blogging about class activities. Laterthey took on a new role as a character from our novel and their blogs became her diary.
I had started a blog as well to experience it myself and record and reflect on our progress.
"We started to blog with the idea of blogging once every week or two. We
now blog every day we are together. The kids are always looking for more
ideas to blog. They write more now. They are more creative in their
blogs and they are always busy taking pictures of their work with the
iPads to publish their work in their blogs. "From My Blog at the time (Blogging a Class Changer)
About this time we finished our Literature Circle novels and started a new project. We worked in our groups of four to create a video of the books. The students rewrote the book as a play, created sets, characters and scripts and used the ipads and MyStopMotion to create animations of the books. They used iMovie to do voice overs for them. I showed them briefly how to use the app and gave them very basic instruction on iMovie. They took up the challenge and became directors, actors, and producers.
"We jumped in
feet first and again the class surpassed all expectations. We all
started together but soon leaders emerged and as problems were encountered,
solutions were found. Everyone was proud of their finished movie and
gained a deeper understanding of the elements of a story. As I watched
and listened I realized just how important this was to them and marveled
at their new found expertise in setting and character portrayal. " (Reflections on Innovative Learning year 1)
We also took on the researching of the building of the CPR and its importance to B.C. We watched several YouTube documentaries on the building of the railway and took notes. We then set out and found old pictures of Immigrants working on the railway and the dangers they faced. We used Book Creator to meld our notes and pictures and created voice overs for the books. I wondered if students would emerge from the project with more than just technology skills and they impressed us by answering questions on their books, When I asked them if making the book helped them learn they said ."Yes, cause the information keeps traveling around your head when you need to use it."
I am amazed at all we have accomplished and how we have grown as a
team. Technology has become entwined in my daily classroom routine. I don't plan how and when to use technology.
On any given day, you will find some of my class filming or doing voice
overs as others are drafting and still others are blogging. Some are
busy taking photos of their latest artwork or making illustrations for
their blogs. Some may even be using the time to finish up some Math or
scrapbooking. We have many projects on the go and we are often all in
different stages of creating. We have blocks of work time and students
help each other, teach each other, work together and technology is just
another tool in our crayon box.
As we worked through each project I worried about the time
involvement for each. Were we taking too long? Was each project and
effective use of time? Would students finish with a deeper understanding
of the content they used? How could I evaluate each student's learning
effectively?
It is gratifying to know that the
students think they have learned more and have a deeper understanding
of the content we set out to learn about. They felt that they would
remember more about the topics than if they had just read about them,
answered questions, or written reports.
My personal
observations of the time they spent actively engaged and the
collaboration required in creating the movies, books, and blogs would
mirror those of the class.
"I have learned as much as I have taught and am excited to try new
projects next year. Each new project we finish seems to open a new
door of possibilities for another."
PS We never got to those Math apps or any of the other teaching apps. In May I erased them from the iPads and we are all happy filming, writing, taking photos and building portfolios. We used Pinterest to bookmark our work and highlight out portfolios Our adventure has just begun. We are already looking to next year.
I am currently a grade 4 teacher in Surrey B.C. I have integrated technology in my teaching for over 20 years and have given many workshops on how to do so. I am a past president of CUEBC and was Conference Chair of TELED, a twin International conference on technology integration in Victoria, and New Orleans. I participated in Ministry of British Columbia investigation into k-12 requirements for the successful integration of technology in schools. As part of this year long investigation I was one of the co-authors of the final report Conditions For Success. I appeared on Working TV in a documentary on the pros and cons of using technology in elementary school.
This is a documentary made by my students about our year long journey in project based learning with technology. The students interviewed each other and mixed in clips of their work. I asked them to think about how the technology changed the way they learned and what they learned.
This is their voice.
This is what they want you to know about their adventures along the way.
"Using the blog is incredible because we can share our projects with the world
When making our movies we cooperate with each other and get closer
A textbook has limited information when the web has millions of results
computers are very fast for searching up stuff
When we did our Barkerville journals it felt like we were there
When we are on Youtube looking at our movies it looks like we have fame and people we don't know, know us
In a group you an share your ideas and create something amazing
Kids feel like they have more trust
Blogging about a book or something makes you feel like your in the book
If you bring your own technology you can work on your stuff at home too
Putting movies on YouTube might make it go viral
We learn by doing it
When we do blogs we have to research things and by getting information we are learning
When you have a blog you can share your information with everyone elsse I really like our website because you can look back on it all"
As I read of a new group of schools stepping up to work on the
Innovative Learning Initiative I took a moment to look back a year and
reflect on what our school and in particular, my class has accomplished.
From #sd36learn I read
The National Council of Teachers of English (2008) defined twenty-first century readers and writers as those that need to:
• Build relationships with others to pose and solve problems collaboratively and cross-cultural
This
year students learned to work collaboratively on a daily basis. They not only took
on all of the projects I created for them but as the year
progressed many added their own. They loved blogging and took every
opportunity to add extra blogs and include their own choices of what
they wanted to share. As their teacher, I watched them grow in competence
and in self appreciation. I decided that blogging was something that I
should take on as well. So I started this blog to help me reflect, share and experience blogging with my class. As their teacher I felt I should learn and experience
new opportunities with my class. Their energy spurred me on. Next year, I will create a blog to
share with them and work towards interacting with them on the next step.
Comments.
• Develop proficiency with the tools of technology
We started with publishing a creative writing assignment for
Halloween. Each child followed the writing process in planning,
drafting, editing and publishing their own story. They learned how to
create a webpage, took photos of their illustrations and posted both.
During the process they learned how to use Dropbox, how to upload
pictures from iPads and then download them to use in a
blog. We worked through many problems and the students found that if
you placed all the photos into iPhoto before using them in iWeb that
most orientation problems disappeared.
We moved on to
making movies of our Literature Circle novels and my class found creative ways to combine Apps to add voice-overs to
their stop motion animations. I was amazed at how easily they moved into the
role of teachers and supported each other as we made the movies. I was
worried about whether or not we could accomplish such a big project. I
tried out a few animation apps and decided to go with MyStopMotion. I
was worried about my choice and hoped all would go well. We jumped in
feet first and again the class surpassed all expectations. We all
started together but soon leaders emerged and as problems were encountered,
solutions were found. Everyone was proud of their finished movie and
gained a deeper understanding of the elements of a story. As I watched
and listened I realized just how important this was to them and marveled
at their new found expertise in setting and character portrayal.
On relection, I realize that we experienced truly transformative learning experiences as a class.
Foundation elements of the Innovative Learning Design Project:
bit.ly/sL7SwN
Learning tasks that are authentic (e.g. project and problem-based), relevant and cross-curricular
Assessment that is ongoing, performance-based, equitable and guides instruction;
Constructivist instructional models that engage students in inquiry
Diverse learning needs are met with differentiated content, process and product
Collaborative learning opportunities that are incorporated into both physical and virtual spaces
Use of technology as a learning tool
Creative and critical thinking skills are pervasive across all curricular area
Students are able to influence and actively participate in shaping their learning.
As the year unfolded and students' abilities and proficiency with technology increased they started to ask for more projects and opportunities to direct their own learning by
choosing to do extra projects,
asking for new ways to research and present their learning,
looking for input from other classmates, and valuing contributions from others
expecting to share their learning and teach each other
asking for choice in shaping new projects, and debating what they should be
wanting to work in teams and building on each others strengths
demonstrating a more involved understanding of content
I am amazed at all we have accomplished and how we have grown as a team. I have learned as much as I have taught and am excited to try new projects next year. Each new project we finish seems to open a new door of possibilities for another.
I asked the class how using the Macbooks and iPads changed how they learned. They said:
"It makes learning fun!"
"It makes you remember what you learn. It makes the information travel around your head."
"It means we get to work together."
"We have learned so much about blogging, webpages, movies and book making."
"It is so easy to tell others what we found."
" We love making voice-overs."
" It makes us feel in charge."
"Making movies was the best because we got to do so many things."
