Using video tools in the classroom doesn't have to equate to a full-scale movie production. Video tools give students voice and allow them to demonstrate what they know. You don't have to be an expert in the tool, you don't need to develop a full-scale production rubric; just let the students turn on the tool and let them show you what they know. Students use their own voice, in their own words. Here are some examples:

• Screencasting on the iPad is a new iOS 11 feature that allows students to walk you through their learning process without having to launch an additional app.
• Explain Everything is a powerful tool that literally lets a student explain just about anything from a simple problem to a complex process.
• Stop Motion allows students to demonstrate their learning step-by-step. They can walk through a math problem or a novel's story line or a timeline.

Have your students submit their work through Google Drive or Showbie and enjoy experiencing what your students have learned!

Click here for my post on how to make using iMovie easier.

Digital tools are intended to support the teaching and learning that is happening in the classroom.

They are tools, that’s all. They don’t replace the teacher or bring some magical force into the classroom. They definitely don’t mean more than the relationship the teacher has with their students. That relationship is one of the most crucial factors affecting student achievement. They do have a place in instruction and that place isn’t the backpack nor is it in front of their faces for the entire class period. That place lives in a balance weighed between the learning targets and how we can best help students find their way to those targets.

Technology does come with negatives. That’s why planning, preparation, and intentional use are so important. That intentional use provides many positives, too! Here are some examples of what tech can do:

• Allow for deeper investigations by providing quick access to information (and good lessons as to whether or not that information is reliable and valid).
• Open the door to more creative output.
• Collaborate with others within and outside of the classroom doors.
• Improve the workflow.
• Provide more accessibility options for those who would benefit from them.
• Access authentic documents and sources.
• Access real-time information.
• Provide faster formative feedback.

The opportunities are exciting!

There is a learning curve when searching for that balance. It’s about understanding how the various digital tools function and what you can do with them. Taking notes, reading and submitting work are just a few examples of what might look different using a digital device. You may need to reach out for some help and even accept that your students might be able to teach you. That’s OK. Find what works for you.

Some ideas to consider:

• Walk around the classroom.
• Be present with your students.
• Find out which tools your students like to use.
• Have your students demonstrate how they use their favorite tool.
• Don’t be afraid to learn with your students.
• Observe other teachers.
• Reach out to one of the instructional coaches for input and help with planning.
• Co-teach with an instructional coach.
• Keep building those positive relationships with your students.
• Take a risk. Try something new.
• Don’t try everything new all at once. One step at a time.
• It’s OK when things go wrong. Nothing is perfect. We learn a great deal when things don’t go according to plan.

We can’t hide from technology, it isn’t going away. Let’s harness the good and work towards teaching our students how to use the devices that surround them in meaningful ways. Let’s work together!

Resources:

• How to Balance Technology in the Classroom
• How to Find Balance Between Teaching and Technology
• Technology and Teaching: Finding a Balance
• The Importance of Balancing Classroom Technology Use
• What Everyone Needs to Know about High Performance Teacher Student Relationships

The start of a new semester is the perfect time to review, reinforce, practice and even establish your classroom norms. Embedding digital tools into your procedures and norms is essential daily practice, but even more vital at the beginning of a course or semester. Our students may be older than some, but don’t assume that appropriate digital use is a natural practice for them. Our digital tools are tools meant to support classroom instruction. Understanding that isn’t innate. Our students are still kids, they still need direction, the still need guidance.

Digital tips for the start of the semester:

1. Put the phones away! Phones are the biggest distraction for students AND teachers. The notification temptation puts stress on the student and teacher. Put the phones away, model this for your students and put away your own phone until your planning period or the passing period. When technology is the appropriate tool, use the iPad, don’t allow phone use. Our iPads are restricted and filtered, student phones are not.
2. “Screens down” – Is the iPad not being used for the activity at hand? Tell the class “screens down.” Students place the device (iPad, tablet, phone, laptop) on the desk with the screen facing down. You are able to easily see and monitor their devices and they can’t sneak in a distracting activity. “Apples up” is another option.
3. Screens up, iPads flat on desk – Is an iPad an appropriate or acceptable device for the activity? Have the students place the device flat on the desk with the screens facing up. It’s easier to monitor student work that way.
4. Swipe to clear – Do you need to have a class that needs to be monitored a bit more closely? Is it an assessment day? You might want to have the students double-click the home button and swipe up to clear all the apps. After they have cleared all the apps, then assign the appropriate app or site to open.
5. Practice procedures – It may sound elementary, but practicing procedures makes it more natural for you and your students. Be consistent with your procedure vocabulary
6. If, after warning and redirection, you feel you need to take the device from the student, please remember that it may only be removed for your class period and must be returned at the end of the period. The iPad is the binder, folder, text and learning tool for other classes.

Technology isn't going away. Let's work together to discover for ourselves and model for our students how to use that power to investigate, discover, collaborate, communicate, demonstrate and learn!

Resources:

• Cell Phones are a Distraction Even When Not in Use: Study
• Digital and Print: Helping Teachers Find the Right Balance
• Technology and balance in an all-or-nothing world
• Technology and Teaching: Finding a Balance
• The Balance of Screen Time
• Why Phones Don't Belong in Schools

We all feel the need for this break! As it turns out, this break is essential for teachers to recharge and be fully prepared for the next semester. Need some ideas on what to do? Want to read about the research? Check out these resources and find your best recharge practice.

• 6 Strategies for Teachers to Teachers to Recharge Over Winter Break
• 7 Tips to Recharge Over Winter Break
• Christmas Break Vital to Teachers' Psychological Well-Being, Study Says
• It's Official, Teachers Must Relax Over Christmas to Avoid Burnout
• Tips for Teachers: How to Recharge During Winter Break​

During this break, take time to rest, relax, and recharge. Spend time with family and friends. Reflect. Practice self-care.
I hope that your winter break is all that you need it to be! 

These last weeks of the semester before winter break move so fast! There seems to be so much to do: managing grades, final exams and keeping students engaged. In addition to an extra cup of coffee or two, we can all use a few tips as we move forward toward the end of the semester.
Let’s look at some tips and suggestions gathered from the sources listed below.

Keeping students engaged:

• Maintain normal classroom procedures and expectations
• Vary end of semester projects
• Use tools like Flipgrid, Padlet, Book Creator, Google Sites or Google Forms to allow students to reflect and use their voice
• Include peer and self-assessments
• Share products through presentation, a blog, Google Site, Padlet or Flipgrid

Maintaining your own sanity:

• Maintain a supply of Kleenex – there’s a lot of illness going around
• Be mindful of your time on social media
• Reach out when you need help
• Take breaks
• Be intentional with your sleep
• Get prepared for second semester before you leave

Teacher Fun:

• 7 Winter Break Teacher Memes That Nailed It
• 18 Hilarious and Inspiring Winter Break Memes for Teachers
• How To Survive December in The Classroom

Resources:

• 5 Ways to Keep Students Engaged During the Holiday Season
• 6 Tips for Keeping Students Engaged in Class
• 7 Strategies to Thrive at The End of The Semester
• 7 Teacher Tips for Surviving The Week before Holiday Break
• Keep 'em Engaged Through The Holiday Craze
• Teacher Tips: Four Tips for Surviving December

Students feel valued when they feel safe and feel that they've been heard. It's within that environment that they are free to take risks and grow. The same is true for educators.
George Couros (The Innovator's Mindset) says, "the culture we create for our staff is also essential because it trickles down to our students... If we want educators and students to be excited to come to school each day, we have to create an environment where they feel valued. Feeling valued doesn't mean that we don't have flaws and weaknesses; it is just that we do not start from that point."

At Pine Creek High School we have collaborative teams that are engaged in team building and collaborative work to develop that environment. This isn't a box to be checked, but an ongoing process supported by Learning Leaders, Instructional Coaches, Department Chairs, and Administration. The process in which we are engaged is an exciting one. The path may not be straight, but it has direction and support. For this I am thankful and I am excited for what we can achieve.

#30DaysofThankfulness

Click here for more on student voice.
Click here for more on taking risks.

The week before a break can be a tough time in the classroom. Depending on student focus and attendance is a risk. Why not try something different to keep students engaged and provide opportunities for those taking their vacation early?
Here are some tools that give students voice including some digital resources that can also provide opportunity for absent students to be involved:

• Padlet: pose questions with real-time answers, vote on responses, brainstorm together, KWL
• Today’s Meet: create a question and see the live responses, a backchannel during presentations, videos, discussions, lectures
• Flipgrid: video responses to questions or scenarios, formal or informal feedback, respond to each other
• Sketchnotes: visual note-taking and journaling
• Blogs: journaling, reflection, evaluation; Weebly and EduBlogs do provide private classroom options
• Surveys: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
• Socratic Seminars, Spiderweb Discussions, Fishbowl

Interested in more information on incorporating student voice? Check out the November 6 newsletter for more information and ideas.

Student Voice is a powerful tool to increase student engagement. We see the benefits when students are engaged: they “demonstrate internal motivation, self efficacy, and a desire for mastery” (Guthrie qtd in Davis). This is key to personalized learning and the Future Ready framework.
Allowing for Student Voice is scary for both student and teacher. We begin constructing a “journey of us.” This co-constructing of knowledge isn’t easy or comfortable. It might mean sometimes saying “I don’t know” (Alber). Better yet, it could lead to us saying, “let’s find out together.”
How do we frame this co-construction of knowledge? Here are some ideas adapted and modified from Alber, McCarthy and myself:

• Develop norms together.
• Brainstorm or pre-assess student knowledge and interest: pose questions, use surveys.
• Create inquiry teams to explore the class’s interests and needs: jigsaw topics and share results.
• Listen: students will be more invested if they know you care.
• Model thinking: read, discuss, pause, question, make connections in front of your students and with your students.
• Provide project options: when student choose, they are more engaged in the outcome.
• Practice reflection and feedback: coach questioning strategies, establish class protocols, provide opportunities for reflection and feedback.

What tools are available to facilitate this?

• Padlet: pose questions with real-time answers, vote on responses, brainstorm together, KWL
• Today’s Meet: create a question and see the live responses, a backchannel during presentations, videos, discussions, lectures
• Flipgrid: video responses to questions or scenarios, formal or informal feedback, respond to each other
• Sketchnotes: visual note-taking and journaling
• Blogs: journaling, reflection, evaluation; Weebly and EduBlogs do provide private classroom options
• Surveys: Google Forms, Microsoft Forms
• Socratic Seminars, Spiderweb Discussions, Fishbowl

This isn’t an easy part of the journey. It’s messy and can be unpredictable, but the results are worth it!
Resources:

• Rebecca Alber, 5 Ways to Give Your Students More Voice and Choice
• Millie Davis, What a Day to Celebrate Student Voice and Choice
• Adam Fletcher, Intro to Student Voice
• John McCarthy, Establishing a Culture of Student Voice
• Bill Palmer, Including Student Voice
• Jennifer Smelling, 8 Ways to Empower Student Voice in Your Classroom Student Voice

​As a language teacher, I always understood that it took a certain amount of vulnerability to begin to speak in the classroom: you had to create sounds that you may never had made before and you sounded funny, what would others think? It was an intentional regular practice to establish an environment where it was acceptable that we were all learning, all trying, and consistently working on improving and it was OK to speak. It often helped that I was usually the first to do or say something awkward (most of the time intentional). It was a practice that didn’t end during the first week of school, but one that became an integral component of my planning. Speaking is a natural part of language instruction, so I was creating a pallet where that could happen.
 
Speaking a different language was a risk, but it’s in taking risks that new skills and problem-solving abilities are developed (“Risk-taking”). It requires letting go of your comfort zone and guiding students into letting go of theirs. It necessitates an environment where it’s OK to fail and it’s understood that failure is a part of learning. Student need to understand “that making mistakes is a necessary part of learning” and “that embracing failure and overcoming fear are both a part of living well and learning even better” (Crockett). It’s the environment that we create which allows this to happen. That positive environment provides a pivotal role in learning, creates a sense of belonging, a community, increased participation and building confidence (Coaty). The result is that “students can learn and flourish in this environment because they feel empowered to take risks by expressing their unique insights and disagreeing with others’ point of view” (Gayle et al).
 
Here are some suggestions adapted and modified from Starr Sackstein’s article:

• Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. Use your as examples.
• Admit when you don’t know something and discover it with your students. Adopt the “Let’s find out together” model.
• Applaud the risks that students take, successful or unsuccessful. Honor the learning process.
• Explore some tools, digital or other, that allow for a wider student voice.
• Try a backchannel tool for increased student voice.
• Practice your wait time.
• Develop your own classroom parking lot for questions or concerns.
• Review and reinforce classroom practices that promote a positive classroom community and encourage risk.

 
Reflection questions:

1. How do you help ensure a positive climate in your classroom?
   1. How do you establish it?
   2. How do you maintain it?
   3. What do you do when something or someone violates that?
2. How do you encourage risks?
3. What do risk look like in your classroom?
4. How do students feel supported in your class?

 
“Kids need to understand that innovation can only happen when we move away from what has already been learned and done and with some creativity and courage, we make really make meaningful change together.” Sackstein
 

Resources

What are the 4 essential questions in the collaborative team process?

• What do you want your students to know and be able to do?
• How will you know if they’ve learned it?
• What will you do if they don’t?
• What will you do if they do?

These are the questions essential for collaborative teams. Where does digital learning fit within these questions?
Digital learning is embedded within each of the questions. It supports the learning process, provides the data, and gives means to the learning.
As we look at the standards and plan what we want our students to know and be able to do, digital resources like Nearpod provide means of engagement and interest in the lessons. Resources like Flipgrid and Padlet provide student voice. Resources like Explain Everything and Book Creator allow students demonstrate their learning. Resources like Showbie allow students to differentiate the format of their answers on everyday work. Resources like those that GSuite provides allow students to work collaboratively on a variety of products, share their products in teams and with the teacher. There are so many resources available for students to demonstrate what they know and are able to do!
How will you know if they’ve learned it? Nearpod provides on the spot feedback on how students are understanding the material during instruction. Kahoot, Socrative and Zipgrade provide immediate formative feedback. For performance assessments, Google Slides, Keynote, PowerPoint, Explain Everything, iMovie, Book Creator and Padlet are student-friendly tools that allow for students to demonstrate their understanding in more creative, individualized ways.
What will you do if they didn’t learn the material? In the secondary world, there are deadlines: learning outcomes by specific times. How is this addressed without falling behind? Digital resources provide a different means to address this. iMovie, EdPuzzle, Blendspace, are a few means to provide supplementary instruction. ZipGrade and Socrative provide easy means to re-assess students. The LMS of your choice provides a place to house those supportive resources.
What will I do if they do know the material? This is the time for students to lend their voice and choice to demonstrate that learning! Have your students create the learning experiences by choosing a tool or combination of tools to explain what they know.
It’s all about the right tool for the learning experience. Sometimes it’s print, sometimes it’s digital, sometimes it might even be the student’s choice.