Alas, it is time for my final Go Geek Vermilion blogpost (as I reach for the Kleenex). I know we have all cursed technology at times, but we are seriously fortunate to have so much accessibility to devices and programs in this district. So with our plentiful tech, my hope is that geekiness reigns supreme for teachers and students alike in Vermilion. Here are some ways how . . .
Try new things. We all appreciate a different approach. Even a failed lesson is a learning experience.
Make content relevant. Keep in mind that we are preparing students for life beyond school, not simply the next grade level.
Use tech to your advantage. Students, you should be doing most of the work. Teachers, use tech to ensure your students are working harder than you and to increase your efficiency.
Focus on relationships. Teachers, you may be the only consistent adult in a student's life. And yes students, your teachers are human just like you.
Practice a growth mindset. We CAN get smarter. You have to believe this with every fiber of your being.
Look beyond your classroom. Connect with educators and students from other places and learn from each other. Give your students a wider audience to showcase their work.
It has been an absolute privilege to teach and learn with you these past 16 years. Thank you for your guidance, support, and collaboration. Stay connected!
Shared BrainHoney to Schoology tutorial with principals
AV/VR Sandbox construction?
Geospatial esri.com software for geospatial technology http://www.esri.com/connected (Shawn Bergman is working on making it web-based) K-12 applicable (Tracy from ODE)
Digital newsletters (Rocky River does a district-wide digital newsletter); broadcast cart to film student announcements; Brian Zeller does a digital newscast
Simple and practical ideas - scratch jr. & PBSkids iPad apps for B.Hayes, inquiry science for 7th & 8th grades for Janelle Molenaar from Midview Schools, StarLab certification and lesson plans from CMNH for Jen Bengele, PBSlearning Science and growth mindset presentation from Bonnie Meyer http://pbskids.org/learn/
Jen attended NOECA Tech Integration Network meeting; great idea for a staff training on apps and how they relate to rigor and relevance framework
PD on Growth Mindset for entire staff, parents, possibly in the fall
Title I parent meeting on Growth Mindset
Title I school districts get free admission to Great Lakes Science Center, aquarium?
As a Christmas present this year for "our son" we decided to purchase a small desktop 3D printer. I'd be embarrassed to tell you how many minutes I've wasted standing in front of this mesmerizing little machine as it lays down layers upon layers of melted plastic, resulting in a three-dimensional object of my every imagining. We have used it to create everything from a lime juicer for guacamole to Maya temples for a 5th grade social studies project. My 7-year old even created heart charms to give away to classmates for Valentine's this year.
In Vermilion over the past year or so, we have been gradually acquiring 3D printers for student use and now have three of them - one at the middle school and two at the high school. The question that seems to be on everyone's mind is "How do we incorporate 3D printing into our classrooms?". Before we delve into ways we can leverage these machines for learning, let me show you how easy it is to use one:
After the printer software is installed on your laptop, you can find an object to print, import the file into the software, and start printing in under 4 minutes!
Some examples of how 3D printed objects have been used for instruction in our classrooms include designing solutions to solve a problem, using printed models as examples and other class activities, and printing out manipulatives used to demonstrate a concept. For example, a few weeks ago I printed out a replica of a terracotta warrior for a 6th grade social studies BreakoutEDU lesson on ancient China. Also, I have printed ten frames for the Kindergarten classes as well as a capital/lowercase letter matching game. In Mrs. Schneid's art class at the high school, a student designed and printed out a tool to clean the print head on their Makerbot 3D printer which kept getting clogged. If you are interested in getting your feet wet with 3D printing, the resources below will help you begin.
Design Software:
Tinkercad (web-based, open source software accessible to all students)
Sketchup Pro (available to students and staff in Self-Service)
Scuptris (free downloadable software for teacher use)
Autodesk 123D (free downloadable software for teacher use)
FreeCAD (free downloadable software for teacher use)
Back in August of 2016, it was announced that our outdated BrainHoney Learning Management System, or LMS, will be laid to rest at the conclusion of this school year, at least in our Vermilion schools. Alternative programs suggested at the time to help make the transition a gradual process included Google Classroom (true, it's not a fully fledged LMS yet, but makes work flow a breeze), Schoology, a platform similar in appearance to BrainHoney, and Edmodo, an LMS that looks more like a social networking site.
Good news! Thanks to the district *team that attended the annual Ohio Education Technology Conference (OETC) back in mid-February, we have learned that there is a way to directly transfer BrainHoney files into Schoology. Watch the following tutorial to see how to export a BrainHoney course and import that course into Schoology.
*The 2017 OETC team included Sheila Greene, 3rd grade intervention specialist, Lisa Murray, 3rd grade math teacher, Brian Hayes, elementary STEM teacher, Katie Cseh, grades 1-3 community classroom teacher, Gabriel Caudill, 7th grade science teacher, Lori Ozmun, grades 4-7 intervention specialist, and Mark Kuhnle, high school Spanish teacher. Thank you for bringing back valuable information!
At VLSD, grades K-7, we use the MAP tests to measure a student's growth in math and reading 3 times throughout the year, in fall, winter and spring. We have just recently completed our winter testing term for the 2016-2017 school year. The Northwest Evaluation Association, or NWEA developed these Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) to aid teachers in personalizing learning for each student. The results of these assessments provide teachers a list of the specific skills a student is ready to learn and are instrumental to goal-setting. After taking the MAP, teachers will conference with each student about his or her data, where he or she would like to see themselves by the end of the year, and what actions he or she needs to take to reach their goal.
Recently, NWEA completed a data correlation report with the Ohio State Assessments which will now help us predict how our students will perform on the AIR tests based on their MAP data. The correlations between the 2 assessments are shown below are are based on Winter MAP scores.
Winter MAP reading correlation with Ohio ELA AIR Test
Winter MAP math correlation with Ohio Math AIR Test
Wowzers Math Pilot at VES
Wow! I mean Wowzers! A lot of action is happening in our district, including a grant that Julie Youskievicz, 1st grade intervention specialist at Vermilion Elementary, recently received to pilot a personalized K-8 math program called Wowzers which can be explored at http://www.wowzers.com/. Not only did she apply and receive the grant, she also reached out to her fellow educators and offered to set up the free pilot for their classes as well.
Student Profile Reports
NWEA MAP testing is heavily underway and now there are interactive Student Profile Reports available to teachers which provide even more detailed information about what each and every one of our students knows and is ready to learn. The student profile reports have the potential to be instrumental for planning as well as an invaluable tool for student conferencing and goal setting. Check out the introductory tutorial about these reports here:
Kami
Useful tool alert! The Chrome extension Kami, located at the Chrome web store, allows for the easy mark up of PDFs reducing our use of paper and getting those reluctant writers interacting with our documents. Plus, if used in conjunction with Google Classroom, it streamlines work flow a hundred-fold. So save some trees, student headaches, and your valuable time! Install it on your Chrome browser today and encourage your students to do the same. No administrator password required.
Perusall
Allison Hinkel, 7th Grade ELA teacher at Sailorway, and I are exploring the free website Perusall (http://perusall.com/) which requires students to actively interact with a text and respond to each other rather than reading in isolation - the former being a superior alternative shown to enhance learning. Better yet, it provides us with confusion reports so we can see at a glance concepts and ideas from the text our students struggled to comprehend! Simply upload a PDF file into Perusall and highlight the excerpts you would like students to comment on or answer questions about.
Thinking Out of the Box with BreakoutEDU
Looking for something completely different and fun that will enthuse both you and your students? Try a breakout session from BreakoutEDU! I did one of these with my computer science students about encryption and it was a powerful learning experience that infused hands-on learning, history, authenticity, and content. Other teachers that have used a breakout lesson and have reported positive learning experiences are Leia Gentile and Angela Dewitt for 7th grade social studies and Becky Jessen for Honors Biology in 10th grade. Additionally, this lesson variation has been introduced in staff meetings at both VES and SMS. Nikki Dekam, 6th grade social studies, and I have an ancient China lesson in the works and are implementing the breakout session next week with her classes. If you are interested in investigating the lessons available, visit http://www.breakoutedu.com/games/. Here is a snapshot of how the breakout went in my computer science class:
Makey Makey
Andi Askins, art teacher at Sailorway, is providing high-tech choice to her students involving an upcoming art project using Makey Makeys, electronic devices that can turn any conductive material into a keyboard.
Yes, even bananas can be made into a keyboard!
Swivl
Our resident educator teachers in the district have been working tirelessly to submit videos of their teaching to the state for their licensure. So, how have they been able to teach their accomplished lessons and videotape themselves at the same time? The Swivl, of course! The Swivl is a robotic base for a smart phone or tablet, such as an iPad, that follows the motion of the teacher, recording both audio and video. The videos captured on the Swivl using the Swivl Capture app automatically upload to the cloud and can be saved on a laptop or uploaded to a YouTube account. I'm looking for a few brave souls that would like to share a few minutes of a favorite teaching strategy using the Swivl or that would like to explore the Swivl Recap app to gather student feedback. Any takers?
Swivl device.
Sailor Sharing💜
Sailor Sharing is yet another one of my desperate attempt to unite us in collaboration as educators across the district. You have been invited to be a contributor of this Blogger site, so if you were wondering what that invitation was . . .
Please consider taking a moment - and yes, that is all it takes - to share the learning going on in your classroom with a wider audience. It could be a post no longer than a sentence highlighting a tool, site, strategy - you name it - you found helpful. The Sailor Sharing blog can be found at http://sailorsharing.blogspot.com/. If you need help posting, you know where to look👀
