Google Voice Typing & 2nd grade Homework

My 2nd grade daughter is a whirling dervish.  She is sharp, intelligent, but she cannot sit still. Get her excited about something and she will talk... and talk.... and talk.... and talk about the topic. But I notice that when she is asked to write or type something, those quick thoughts fly away rather than travel down her arm on to the page.

When I reflect on why I like blogging, it has as much to do with my interest in the written word as it also does with the dexterity of my fingers and the voices in my head. My younger years of playing piano have transitioned from playing the ivory keys to flying over the QWERTY keyboard.  To be honest, I was never a virtuoso, but a very shy piano player, never truly confident in my abilities and reluctant to play for others. While I could play a classical piece of sheet music, I couldn't hear the music in my head if I was asked to improv for jazz band.  Relating this to writing, as my fingers fly over the keyboard, I can hear in my head the words I want to appear on the page. My thoughts quickly travel down my arm and out of my fingers on to the screen because I am a proficient typist.  My students are always wowed by this parlor trick:  I can type coherent sentences with correct punctuation and spelling without looking at the screen. It creeps them out when I'm looking at them as they talk to me, but typing something on the computer.

So last night, my 2nd grade daughter's homework included typing up a paragraph about rainforest
animals.  What could take me a few minutes to type up a paragraph would take my daughter eons to get on the screen.  What to do?  I wanted her to do the homework herself, rather than me typing it up for her, but her typing skills are not developed yet.  And as I'm trying to clean up dishes after a long day of school, it wasn't feasible to take the time for her to practice typing AND writing at the same time.  So using Google Voice Typing, we were able to separate the skills of typing and writing AND get the homework completed in a short amount of time.

Our Process:

1. Open a new Google Document
2. Go to TOOLS, select Voice Typing
3. My daughter and I discussed the topic prior to hitting the record icon. Then when she knew what she wanted to say, she hit record.
4. My daughter spoke her thoughts aloud and Google captured her words on the screen.
5. Using the keyboard, my daughter edited her work, moved the cursor, hit record, and would clarify areas that needed revision. 
6. When the paragraph was completed, she learned to use CONTROL-A to select all the text and chose a font to style her work.

Proud Mama captured the moments: 

When I think about my 9th grade ELA students who struggle with writing, I wonder if they have similar issues: their brains are working too quickly and their fingers can't write or type fast enough to capture the thoughts on the page. With Google Voice Typing on our class set of Chromebooks, students could record themselves or a partner answering an open-ended response question and once the words are on the page, they could work together to edit and revise the response. Due to time constraints, so much the writing process is condensed and by the time students get to high school they are expected to have proficient fine-motor skills to write or type quickly.  One look at any papers I may collect and you will be able to distinguish the proficient writers based on their penmanship and the words on the page. 

Google Voice Typing can help any fast-thinking, whirling dervish of a student to get his/her words on the page so that more time can be spent crafting their writing as opposed to recording it. 

Change that to "Click to Write!"

Creating Curriculets with Students

Cheryl Morris asked me if students can create their own curriculets, embedding questions and quizzes inside a text. Her plan: have students work in groups or as individuals to create their own curriculets and share them with other students to read and answer the questions/quizzes-- like a suped-up literature circle! What a great idea to promote higher level thinking!

Screenshot of the opening of A Tale of Two Cities in Curriculet

However, student accounts and teacher accounts function differently in Curriculet, so while students can embed their own annotations in a text, they cannot add a layer of their own questions and quizzes.  But Cheryl's question got me thinking, and I have a workaround solution: set-up a couple of fake-teacher accounts where students can take turns creating curriculets.

Initially, I thought setting up one account for all students to access would work, but the security features will not allow multiple, simultaneous logins on the same account. Each fake-teacher account will need to have its own email address (running out of addresses to use, check out GMail's plus feature). I do NOT recommend each student creating his/her own fake-teacher account for managerial reasons. It would be too difficult to monitor 30 or 130 individual teacher accounts. The teacher should set up the fake-teacher account(s) prior to giving access to the students so that students can focus on creating/editing the curriculets and not be delayed or confused by set-up procedures.

Why wouldn't I want to give my students access to my teacher account on Curriculet?  Wouldn't that be easier?  My teacher account includes performance data from current and previous years.  I do not want students accessing the teacher dashboard.  The fake-teacher accounts are created so that they can access the curriculet-editor feature. The fake-teacher account will not have any active classes tied to it. As I outline in the steps below, students will share with the teacher the created curriculets and the teacher will assign the reading of the created-curriculets through his/her real teacher account that has groups and classes already set-up.

The Steps for Students-Created Curriculets:

1. The teacher creates the fake-teacher class accounts for students to use.
2. In the fake-teacher accounts, go to Curriculet's STORE and select the titles for which you want students to create curriculets, or in the LIBRARY upload a Google Doc or Word Document students will use to create the curriculet. Name each curriculet appropriately.
3. State the ground rules and objectives for usage and give students the username and password for the fake-teacher class accounts.
4. Students log in to Curriculet on the fake-teacher accounts and select the text(s) from the LIBRARY. I envision students creating curriculets for short stories, poetry, or excerpts of lengthy texts.  Multiple curriculets can be created for the same text.
5. Students embed their annotations, questions, and quizzes in the text.
6. When finished, the students SHARE the created-curriculet with the teacher by emailing the link (or to keep a record of the created-curriculets in the teacher's files, have students copy/paste the link to a Google Form/ Spreadsheet or LMS assignment). 
7. The teacher (in his/her real teacher account) adds the created-curriculets to his/her LIBRARY and assigns them to the class to read.
8. The teacher (in his/her real teacher account) monitors the students' reading of the created curiculets, checking for accuracy and (if he/she so chooses) shares with the creators the readers' performance data.

Want to see this process in action?  Watch the screencast below...

Thinking this through from a lesson-planning and implementation point of view, the teacher could provide the students with the specific guidelines for how many questions, annotations, and quizzes to embed. Or the teacher could let the students run free and have a reflective discussion after the curriculets are created where students analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of their creations. I like giving minimal directions so that I do not stifle student creativity and have an opportunity for metacognitive analysis, but the teacher can make that call. Users can make many versions of a curriculet layer for one text, so students could be creating curriculets for the same text at the same time. I suggest following a specific naming convention so that each curriculet version can be differentiated: Year Pd Group Name.  Example: 2015 Pd2 GroupA.

Keep in mind that many texts in the Curriculet Store come with the layer of questions, quizzes, and annotations already created, and tech-savvy students will be able to find them. So, I would make sure to have a clear purpose and objective for the student-created curriculets that goes beyond the assessment of comprehension. 

Thinking about time constraints, I do not recommend having students create their own curriculet for a lengthy novel unless the teacher is dividing the class up with each group focused on a specific section of the novel.  Again, each student or group should make his/her/its own curriculet layer starting at the assigned section (the teacher creates the curriculets for each section ahead of time). Do not try having all students working in the same curriculet at the same time. It won't work.

In order for this process to work, I recommend that the teacher monitors all accounts and does the set-up work ahead of time.  If students are focused on the task of creating the curriculets, there should be little room for shenanigans.

Giving Voices to Stars

In case you missed in my myriad of tweets every Monday Night and Tuesday morning for the past few months, my former student, Matt McAndrew, has been a contestant on NBC's The Voice. Every Monday at school has been, "Matt McAndrew Monday!" and every Tuesday, students take out their phones as part of their Do Now to Vote for Matt. I am over the moon and so enthralled with Matt's performances.


I can't stop listening to Matt's duet with Adam Levine, "Lost Stars" nor reflecting on this whole crazy Matt McAndrew & The Voice craziness. Playing this video for my students today in room 5-1, I pointed at the spot where Matt used to sit in class and pointed at the screen showing Matt singing with Adam Levine. 

I am in awe and humbled as an educator. I cannot predict what my students will become. And sometimes, on a rare occasion, there is a glimmer where I can see the girl or "boy caught up in dreams and fantasies reaching for someone" he/she will be. But never would I have predicted what Matt has accomplished the past few months. Now, that doesn't mean I didn't believe he could do it... that means I didn't see it coming. I didn't recognize the glimmer or "lost star" back in 2005; I was too caught up then in the assignments & grades & rigor of education.


Thank you, Matt, for this gift of sharing your talent with all of us, for reminding me to look for the glimmer and the "lost stars". All I can do is be a teacher on a daily basis who will give students the skills and support to do whatever they want to do whenever they find their calling. No test score or homework assignment will ever determine the worth of the students in class. Thank you to all the Southern Regional High School (and everywhere in the world) teachers who shine for our students.


Regardless of tonight's outcome, Matt McAndrew is a star.

PBL & Flipped Learning at Home using Rainbow Looms

My daughters are 8 and 6 years old and they have gotten into the Rainbow Loom craze.  In the melee of doing laundry and catching up on stuff during our November break, I realized that flipped, project based learning was going on in my own home. My girls are intrinsically motivated to create their bracelets and often refer to YouTube videos for how to create them. Through the process, my daughters are practicing counting skills, recognizing and following patterns, hand-eye coordination, and organizational skills.  My girls are also demonstrating search and evaluation skills as they scour YouTube for videos that work well for them to follow, and (thank heavens) interpersonal skills as they work together.

This got me wondering about how the Rainbow Loom craze could be brought into the classroom. Not only could students work on all of the skills (and more) that I mention above, but they also could practice writing skills creating how-to manuals and digital literacy skills by creating their own video tutorials. I would love to read/hear/see if/how folks are incorporating Rainbow Looms into their classes.

I just snapped pictures of my girls, and my 6 year old first-grade daughter counting her pink bands and laying them out in pairs, declaring, "I'm counting by twos!"

Look closely for the pairs of pink bands laid out on the carpet and don't mind Charlie's photobomb.

#ECET2NOLA Starting

I can't stop thinking about the Elevating and Celebrating Effective Teaching & Teachers conference that I attended last weekend. I keep thinking about the notions of leadership and being a change agent as I reflect on how I got to attend such an inspiring event.

I'd like to say it started on the plane on the way to New Orleans and #ECET2NOLA, but it started before that.  It started before we were at the gate waiting to board the plane. It started before the invitation to #ECET2NOLA. It even started before #NJPAECET2 where we met face to face after months of planning and prepping for the regional conference. I keep thinking (read: obsessing) about how I got to this point, and I realized after lengthy discussions and quick interactions with others, I've been asking the wrong question all along.

It is not about "when" or "where;"  it is about "who."

Every moments begins with someone that incites it. I keep thinking about how ECET2 as an organization got started. What was the chain of interactions; what was the inciting incident? I need to do some research.  And as I've been desconstructing and mulling all of this over while walking through the halls of my school with my thoughts being interrupted by greetings from present and former students, I realized that the inciting incident begins with the smallest of gestures.  What starts the interaction between two people that leads to more interactions that eventually escalates and expands into a conference? It is one word, "Hi." It is the courage to say one word, "Hi."

PD on a Plane

At the gate, seven of us make introductions and realize that we have been brought together by one person who had the courage to say hi to us on Twitter, at TeachMeetNJ, at NJPAECET2... Barry.  One might think there would be awkwardness or that tap-dance of give-take getting to know one another, but it was so natural and energizing. 

Fast forward to the embarking on the plane, finding seats, scrambling for overhead space, and then begins the hat dance of "will you trade seats with me?"  Moving so a husband and wife can sit closer together, I end up 5 rows back in an aisle seat next to a young woman in the window seat and across the aisle from two others in our #ECET2NOLA party. Our conversations at the gate spill over to the aisle of the plane. The three of us, Scott C., Ryan, and myself, chat about educational issues until I hear from the window seat, "Excuse me, I overhear you are teachers.... I am a teacher, too..."

What was scheduled to be a three hour flight becomes a three hour mini-conference on the plane. From a keynote address in the aisles to break out sessions about flipping and being an administrator, we talked about best practices and how to problem solve specific classroom issues. Christina, my window seat companion, thanked us profusely about how helpful the conversation was was for figuring out how to increase student engagement and ensure students are performing in her class. She even went on to say, "Thank you so much. You have no idea what you have done for me."  I replied, "Yes, I do know because someone did the same for me years ago."

Saying HI Matters

In year 12 of my teaching career four years ago, I experienced a crisis. Struggling with being a wife, mom, coach, and teacher, I was lacking a sense of community and a way to manage it all. I needed a new way of doing things and people that would lift me up. Poking around on Twitter and local conferences, I connected with Cheryl, Andrew, Karl, and Liz.  Without these people, I would not be where I am today.  I am grateful for the opportunity to pay it forward with Christina. 

The courage to say HI and engage in a conversation opens a door to a space that was not known prior. We can't get to new places if we aren't willing to start the process. And starting the process begins with the most simplest gesture of making a connection to someone else: make eye contact and say hi.

When I build relationships with new classes each year, I make sure I learn my students' names as fast as I can, and then outside of the classroom, I make sure that during the change of class that I say hi to my students in the hall.  Not only does it give me practice recognizing their names and faces in various contexts, but saying HI in the halls lets my students know in the simplest terms that I care about them and see them as people. When I first start saying Hi in the halls, I was the one to say HI first and some students would try to walk past me and not make eye contact. I will lean towards them or step in their way so they are forced to look up, see my smiling face and hear me say hi. And when I say hi, I am energetic and exuberant, showing my happiness at having "run into" the students in the hall. Now two months into the school year, both former and "new" students are saying hi to me first before I say hi to them. They know I care because I say HI, and I know they care because they say HI to me. 

If you want to elevate yourself or your students, start with saying HI. 

It isn't about when it started.
It isn't about where it started.

It is about WHO started it.

Be the person who starts the chain reaction.  Be the person who says HI to colleagues and students in the hall.  Be the person who joins a community of educators. Be the person recognizes the greatest in others.

#CEL13: Choice

During the 2013 Conference on English Leadership in the Transforming Decisions session lead by Gordon Hultberg, English teacher and department head at Intermountain Christian School in Utah, we discussed the concept of choice in our ELA classrooms.  How often do we give students choice and how are teachers' own personal preferences represented in the choices we allow?

The session prompted participants to examine the ways in which we offer choice to our students: the texts they read, the assignments they complete, scoring, grades, participation.... The list goes on to encompass all facets of our classroom activities and procedures.


Aptly named, this session forced me to reflect on the choices I provide for my students and how I can transform the decision making process.  When I reflect on the choices I offered students during the first years of my career, I usually provided them with options that I would have wanted as a student, but here in lies the problem: I was providing the choices I wanted. I was not really walking in their shoes; I imagined myself as I WAS as a student.  My intentions with providing choice were sincere, but who I am now is much different from the student I was 20 years ago, and who I was then is much different from who my students are today.

must change the mindset/culture! it is OK that the teacher is not the expert in the room. #cel13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 24, 2013

In the past 2 years, attempting to offer my students choices that are not biased or preconceived, I offer a "Show Me" option instead of an assessment I design for unit tests. Students "show me" that they know the material by synthesizing their knowledge and skills into some kind of product. I want to see that they can be an expert in their own right. The students have complete choice to show me that they know the material, and I grade it using an OSU rubric (Outstanding, Satisfactory, Unsatisfactory). Instead of taking a test on the Trojan war, one of my students last year chose to write a multi-scene screenplay of the Apple of Discord episode. Amberlynn's writing was captivating and she showed me she knew the origins of the Trojan War without ever selecting A,B,C, or D on a multiple choice test. Amberlynn trusted herself to take a risk and try something new, and my supportive classroom environment enabled her to take that risk.

in order to promote choice, SS & Ts need trust & positive foundation to go ahead & risk try something new! #CEL13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 24, 2013

Despite promoting student-centered learning, I will state that I'm not able to offer every opportunity for choice. For example, our district curriculum dictates which books are taught, and we engage in whole-novel study as a class. The curriculum content is selected by the teachers with approval from administration.  This make me wonder about curriculum design in general.  Yes, there needs to be a plan so that instruction is purposeful, but does the curriculum need to have content and/or skills standardized?  Why do all teachers in a district need to teach the same book at the same time?  I can see both sides of the argument for a standardized curriculum. But, is the bigger issue about trust?  Is a standardized curriculum merely a system of control?  What are we missing out on by having a standardized curriculum? How is the standardization limiting risk-taking and exploratory learning?

Does risk always represent a negative? Can we substitute choice and make it seem positive? #cel13 @pradlfan
— James Forman (@drforman) November 24, 2013

I'm fascinated by literature circles and how to implement Donalyn Miller's & Penny Kittle's ideas about reading in the classroom. While I like whole novel study because it gives me a focus for class, I'm still wrapping my head around how to do it differently. ELA teachers, what is the design of your reading instruction? Do you, your students, or the district choose the texts being read in class? Please share your experiences!


This tweet has me thinking, as well:

Perfection is the enemy of classroom risk taking #cel13 @pradlfan
— James Forman (@drforman) November 24, 2013

How/why/when my students and I can choose has got me thinking: there is a hierarchy of choosing.  Much like Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, the more we control internal and external factors, the more opportunity we have for choice and the more power we have in choosing for ourselves and others. Perfection implies that mistakes cannot be made or were never made--everything is perfect. Yet, we cannot explore and learn without an element of risk. But in order to be willing to try something new and risk making a mistake, we must get out of our comfort zones as our needs are met at each level. As we move up Maslow's hierarchy, we constantly make choices at every level and our circle of loci expands. If our needs aren't met, we won't move up the hierarchy and seek that opportunity for risk.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Pair Maslow with a hierarchy of choice,  and we can see a relationship between the types of choices we make and the ability to make the choice. When we are focused on our physiological needs, we are concerned primarily with ourselves as individuals, but as we become self actualized, we are capable of making choices for the greater good.

Image made using PowerPoint.

Bringing this into the classroom, I need to be mindful of where my students  are situated on the hierarchy. Are they ready for choices that affect the entire class or do I provide choices that are focused on the individual?


I've been working on this post for a few weeks now, and my mind is still swirling with ideas that I'm trying to get on to the page, but I'd like to hear from you, dear reader, what drives the choices that are offered in your class and how do you get your students to be self-actualized? Do you encourage your students to be risk takers? How can you create a school culture that allows risk taking for the greater academic good?

Create Certificates with Autocrat

Autocrat is a versatile mail merge script created by Andrew Stillman that can be used to generate and send documents to recipients.  You can send letters, assignments, grades & comments, lesson plans, and more with Autocrat. Big thanks to Cheryl Morris for teaching me about Autocrat for assignment delivery!

General Steps:
1. Create master template Google document that includes the mail merge tags: <<  >>
2. Create Google Form for entering the information that will be merged.
3. Install and run the script on the response spreadsheet.


For teachers, sports teams, clubs, and administrators, Autocrat can be used to create and send certificates as needed. With just a few minutes of set-up, you can have a method for quickly generating certificates and have a record of all items organized on a spreadsheet.

Think of all the ways you could use this to promote positive interactions and recognize accomplishments!

• Perfect Attendance 
• Honor Roll Certificate
• Free Homework Pass
• Athlete of the Week 
• Student of the Week 

Share your ideas!!!!

I created a screencast demonstrating the process for certificate creation.

#CEL13: Connections

I couldn't afford the cost of attending the entire NCTE conference this year in Boston, but I was able to attend and present at the Conference on English Leadership, an intimate conference tied to the main NCTE event that was held November 24-26.

The 2013 CEL convention focused on the theme of Transformative Literary Leadership and Learning, and my session was STOP BLEEDING RED INK: Using Paper and Online tools to assist in evaluating student work. I'm very passionate about changing the perception of English teachers as red pen wielding warriors. English teachers should not be lugging home piles of papers to red pen and spending 20+ hours outside of school grading student work. Available technology AND teaching strategies can empower students to create better products better than any red mark on a paper. I'm very grateful to Heather Rocco and the CEL leadership for the opportunity to share my thoughts how on to transform literacy learning in the classroom with people who can effect change in their districts.

Celebrity Sightings & Twitter

Twitter has become such an integrated part of my professional learning. Sharing resources, working out issues, and conversing on Twitter with like minded individuals has propelled my teaching practices.  On more than one occasion, I was called "prolific" in reference to my tweeting habits during the conference-- if they only knew. One of the highlights for connecting via Twitter is being able to meet tweeps in person, face to face. 

#CEL13 love that so many of those I follow on twitter are here in person!
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

There were quite a few people at the conference who I did not recognize until they mentioned their Twitter handle.  One such moment occurred with Colette Benett:  it wasn't until I saw her Twitter handle @teachcmb56 that I realized I follow her on Twitter and regularly read her blog. "OH! You're Used Books in Class! I love your blog!"  was my immediate response when I connected with her and fellow teacher Stephanie Pixley during #CEL's social hour.  Nothing beats discussing Odysseus, Frankenstein, and Pygmalion over a class of Cabernet. 

Amazing geeky awesomeness. Talking abt The Odyssey over wine. #cel13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

Colette made an interesting point in one of the sessions (please forgive my paraphrasing): Teachers are always doing dress rehearsals; we are never actually performing a final show. Every period we teach is just a dress rehearsal at best, and if we are lucky to teach the same prep, we can perform it multiple times with the 3rd showing probably the most successful. I think she is right! I wonder, how can teachers be on stage for a final performance? Evaluating teachers' performances via the Danielson model isn't the answer. I also wonder, why do teachers need to be on stage? Why not let the students "steal the show"? Let the teacher be the stage director or set designer-- more thoughts on this for another blog post.



Another moment was during the lunch keynote session, where I sat at a table with fellow educators Meenoo Rami, Amy Baskin, Kate Roberts, Maggie Roberts, Chris Lehman, and others: catching sight of @teachkate written on a name badge, I exclaimed, "OH! YOU'RE @TEACHKATE! I follow you! I'm @KtBkr4!" Once our Twitter handles were shared, we realized that we already "knew" each other. 

#CEL's keynote line-up was jammed packed with Twitter-celebs, amazing educators who cut the edge. Eric Sheninger touted the importance of being connected in his conference opening keynote. Troy Hick's keynote on digital writing resonated with me for it focused on what I am trying to do with my students: get them writing more and for an authentic audience. I carted around my copy of Hick's Crafting Digital Writing hoping to catch an autograph.  Donalyn Miller's keynote on fostering life-long readers was funny, smart, engaging. Meenoo Rami's keynote on connecting with her students and empowering their learning through relevant projects. I want to be in class with all of these people!

Tough decision: tweet or eat during @meenoorami 's keynote .... Actually not tough decision.... #cel13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 26, 2013

One of many highlights for the conference was sitting with Meenoo Rami, Kate Roberts, Maggie Roberts, and Chris Lehman during lunch and unintentionally twitter-bombing Donalyn Miller's keynote. We realized rather quickly that the noise we heard emanating from the podium was her phone vibrating every time she received a tweet. We couldn't stop tweeting because her speech was relevant and inspiring, and needed to be shared.

@KtBkr4 @meenoorami @donalynbooks I thought that was so funny and a good reminder of how rich the conversation is around the speakers!
— Christopher Lehman (@iChrisLehman) November 26, 2013

#cel13 @donalynbooks HERE IS DONALYN'S SLIDESHARE: http://t.co/r7JzUyNDhk
— Christopher Lehman (@iChrisLehman) November 25, 2013

One session really got me thinking about writing instruction. Erika Bogdany's Breaking Down Walls: how to break down the walls of a classroom for inclusive learning among staff and students.  By changing the mindset and having staff model independent reading and participate in an Educator's Editing Workshop, student accountability, connections, and performance are increased.

AH-MAZ-ING Educator Editing Workshop breaking down walls. Ts & Ss see/learn more abt process of learning & selves. #cel13 @ErikaBogdany
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

Interesting concept: Educator's Editing Workshop. Other subject area Ts read/edit Ss work. Strategic, Deliberate & structured #cel13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

The Educator's Editing Workshop is simple: invite other staff members from other subject areas to sit with students and conference about their writing.  Amazing concept. Erika is to be commended on her ability to pull this off. She really got me thinking about how I could bring this to my school.

If you've read my other blog posts about grading writing, I harp on this issue: writing is never finished.  Erika made this point in session.

change language: "final draft" needs to be "BEST Draft (for now)" Can always make writing better later. #cel13 #engchat #flipclass
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

So why do we mislead students by labeling it as "final"?

Another highlight was bumping into Penny Kittle and getting her to follow me on Twitter. 

Yay! @pennykittle follows me! Gushing blushing goodness! Love twitter for connections & #cel13 for opportunity to meet f2f
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 26, 2013

I have some reading to do: I picked up copies of Penny Kittle's Book Love, Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer and Reading in the Wild.  While I have had a hand in crafting the curriculum, I'd like to see what else I can do with my students besides whole novel instruction for reading. While I didn't grab it YET, I'm also enamored with Chris Lehman and Kate and Maggie Roberts' concept of Falling in Love with Close Reading. Their session got me thinking about how much close reading I do with my students (A LOT). Really, we don't need to close read everything in class. It does take up a lot of time and I can always sense the moments when my students have had enough. So putting Kittle's and Miller's ideas into practice with this notion of selective close reading, I wonder how I can restructure my class so that reading is more student centered and authentic.

I want to close read every text I teach w my Ss. Good to put in perspective! It is ok to only do parts, not whole. #cel13
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

Really, CEL could be renamed Connecting English Leaders because this conference was more than just sharing ideas about the future of ELA in schools or sharing progressive projects in conference session.  This conference promotes collaboration and connections. I have so much more to process and write about this conference-- probably another 10 blog posts, but to sum it up for now, take a look at these two tweets:

"at end of day we want to feel like we are energizing our colleagues" @MaggieBRoberts #cel13 Lift each other up, not be beaten down
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 25, 2013

"Our work can't happen in isolation" #cel13 @meenoorami here! Here!
— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) November 26, 2013

To see ALL of the tweets from #CEL13 search Twitter or try drinking from this firehose of a stream.

EdmodoCon 2013 Guest Post #4: D. Easterling

Our fourth guest blog post is written by Dara Easterling, a Catholic elementary school teacher from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Dara has been teaching for almost 14 years and loves helping young children to learn about and use technology in a productive and creative way.

Hello all,

I want to share one experience in particular while watching an EdmodoCon session online.  The one experience was with a session called "Classroom Gymnastics"presented by Kate and Liz.  First, let me just say the presenters were phenomenal.  Second, the resources provided in the presentation and in the folders associated with the Edmodo group are very easy to understand and will help me in my flipping.

Lastly, that there is not just a one size fit all model to communication, collaboration, and instruction within learning.  It takes flexibility and a willingness to attempt new things in order to move forward.

When you think of gymnastics, particularly women's gymnastics there are the following elements.  I am using these elements to outline what I got from watching and listening to the session.

Rounds
-  preparation is key (lesson template along with timing of lesson; gathering of resources)
-  student participation is key no matter how limited it may be
-  working technology is important

Apparati
-  Edmodo
-  equipment (iPad, laptop, etc.)
-  classroom or other learning environment
-  apps or Web 2.0 tools

Scoring
-  built in assessment tool with Edmodo
-  ability to complete a skill in the routine

Completion of Skill 
-  video clips or other presentation to show what was learned and how growth came about
-  collaboration

All of these things I plan to meld together during the upcoming school year and hopefully end up with my students and I earning a perfect "10" for our routine.

Thank you, Dara, for attending EdmodoCon 2013 and the compliments! I anticipate the you and your students will be Olympians in the sport of learning!

You can read about Dara's adventures in elementary education on her blog, Kontemporary Kreations. 

If you would like to contribute and share a EdmodoCon 2013 post, please submit!

Talking Squirrels & Ninjas: Silly Technology Use

While browsing through the Language Arts community on Edmodo, I came across a post by Kalina Noelle, who shared a simple and easy newspaper clipping generator, and Mrs. Osborne who replied with another site with even more newspaper templates. Cool!

While the newspaper clipping tool is very useful for creating story starters or fake articles about content studied in class, I also came across something even cooler on the site and generator blog:

Talking Squirrels. Really?!

Who doesn't love talking, googly-eyed squirrels, owls, tomatoes, cats or flowers!? Not me!

And it gets even better! Shut up!  

How about some ninjas and wizards writing messages?! No way!

Use them for eye-catching quick reminders for class or just plain ol' silliness to jazz up boring content on a class webpage. Awesome!

#OdysseyExperts & Showcasing Student Work

In my last post, I discussed that academic writing needs to be put on display and showcased to motivate students to write well. Writing is meant to be read, not to be locked up in a folder in a file cabinet or later tossed in the trash after the grade received.  Students think that when they turn in the assignment and meet the teacher's due date, the writing is good & done.  My other posts address my frustrations with grading the "got it done" academic writing:

• Confessions of a HS English Teacher
• The War on Writing Without Red Pens: Winning?

But what if teachers steered students in another direction and away from the impending due date? By telling students that their work will be published, instead of graded, they will (hopefully, fingers crossed) write a better final product than the "good enough, got it done" essay, and then once the essay has been written, peer edited, and then published, the teacher can go through the work and assess if the objectives of the assignment were met. While I'm not a fan of putting grades on student writing, I get it: teachers need to follow the rules or expectations of school districts and have grades in their grade book.  With the red-pen system students only see the negative and the grade, but by using a showcase approach, teachers can arrive at the same destination but in a more positive manner.  In a way, it is tricking the students to write better the first time than waiting for the grade on the paper.

Student Showcase: #OdysseyExperts

The Design

One of the Topic Pages with Links to Student Essays

Teaming up with Sam Patterson and using Google Sites, I created a place for my students to showcase their Odyssey essays and receive feedback from Sam's classes and anyone else who visits the site.  The process was fairly easy:

1. Create the site.
2. Organize the essays by topic.
3. Embed each essays on subpages to the topic page.
4. Create a Google Form for comments and embed the form on each essay page.
5. Embed the spreadsheet on the comment page.
6. Create a page for comments from Sam's classes and embed a shared folder.
7. Share, share, share with my PLN.

The Feedback Display

Sam's classes had two options for submitting their feedback:

• complete the form on a chosen essay page or 
• save their comments document in a shared folder.  

Public Comments Spreadsheet

Only owners and collaborators on a Google Site may comment on the pages, so as a work around, I embedded the same form on each student subpage and created a public comment page where all the comments will appear.  I was initially going to do a comment form and spreadsheet for each student, but that meant 65 separate forms for each essay on the site, and the more I thought about it, the more sense it made to have a public comments page where the students would have to read through the comments to
find their own. The point of this project was to make student writing and feedback visible, so I want all students to see all essays and all comments.

Shared Folder of Collection of Comments

While the shared folder doesn't allow for complete visibility of feedback because my students will have to open each document in the shared folder to see all comments, students would still be able to see 1 or 2 other comments for other students because each of Sam's students wrote comments for more than 1 student on the document. In addition, some of Sam's students made videos and screencasts of commentary for my students. #EduAwesome!



After 14 years of teaching, I'm just tired of student writing being hidden and dying a death in a dusty folder in a locked file cabinet, and students thinking that the only relevant audience for their work is the teacher. I want the writing to breathe and live. By putting academic writing on display and allowing for interaction, students will see their work and the work of others and gain a better understanding of their potential and abilities for writing.

Please visit the #OdysseyExperts site, read, comment, and share. The students need to see that their writing is alive. 

It is Not a Project to Get Students Talking: Two Tools

Teaching 150 high school students, there are bound to be some who get lost in the crowd, lack confidence, or distracted by personal technology usage, but with the following tools and techniques, the quiet students can have their voices heard, the text-ers can be academically occupied, and all learners can be engaged by using technology that taps into students' behavior and aligns with Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, Humanism, and  Social Learning Theories.

TodaysMeet.com

I really have to thank Cheryl Morris for introducing me to this simple tool last summer and providing me with ideas that I've put into action this school year.  TodaysMeet.com is a website that allows a person to create a closed chatroom that only those with the URL can join.  A la Twitter with it's 140 characters per message, the teacher creates the name of the room and provides the students with the URL address. Students type in the URL in their web browser and enter their names in to join the room. The chatroom or backchannel can be accessed on a computer, tablet, or smartphone, and puts students' texting talents to work.

Caveat: Expect some shenanigans the first time using the backchannel as students move through Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs and engage in social learning and digital citizenship. I've had students enter false names and type ridiculous messages, but once they get settled, they can move from the realm of ridiculousness, needing the attention of others, enter the sphere of learning to understand and engage with the content, and finally, make connections with other students in a self actualized and transcendent manner.

Uses:

1. For informal class discussions and viewing activities, allow students to speak aloud and/or communicate via the backchannel depending on their comfort level with speaking aloud in class. A moderator can monitor the the backchannel and interject in the verbal discussion as needed.
2. In structured Socratic Seminars, students in the outer circle communicate via TodaysMeet, while those in the inner circle speak aloud.  
3. While watching video clips in class, post questions and comments  to the backchannel instead of stopping the film every 30 seconds (like I do, or did before TodaysMeet) to point out visual nuances or comment on the action.  
4. During class presentations, students can ask questions and provide constructive criticism without interrupting the speaker or waiting until the end of the presentation.

To allow students to revisit the conversation as needed, download and save the transcript and then upload it to Edmodo or other LMS, or email a copy to all participants. Students can also save their own copy of the transcript directly from the site. Here is a transcript of a Socratic Seminar on Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men.

As seen in the transcript of December's Socratic Seminar on Steinbeck, students practiced interpersonal, listening, and critical thinking skills.  As they became vested in the activity,  the students were quick to point out those who dominated the conversation and others who provided thoughtful responses.  The entire conversation was student-centered, and all I had to do was monitor and provide guidance as needed.


During our viewing this week of the first 30 minutess of The Odyssey staring Armand Assante, I posted questions to the TodaysMeet chat room, as well as gave them a handout with the questions printed. Since this was the first time using TodaysMeet during a film, I scaffolded the process and anchored the new activity with something familiar.

During my pd 7 class, one of my "deskflowers" (like a wallflower, but sitting in a desk, of course) bloomed for all to see, providing intelligent comments and smart answers to the questions I posed and was recognized by another student for her contributions. Despite the typos, this was the first time Nikki really heard Alyssa "speak" in class and Alyssa was recognized for participation in class. Pretty darn cool, especially if you knew Alyssa's back story.

Now, as expected, they were sharing answers via the backchannel, but the recognition of Alyssa's contributions by Nikki could not have been written in any lesson plan.  By providing the students an opportunity to communicate, we are also providing them an opportunity to make interpersonal connections that otherwise would not have occurred.

Google Hangouts

One of my go-to Google guys, Troy Cockrum, told me to not be afraid to Hangout by myself, and he was right. And my ELA-flip-coach Cheryl Morris, who I have mentioned here so much that I should just rename this blog "Putting Cheryl's EduAwesome Ideas Into Practice," provided me with the opportunity to do just that.  Working with Cheryl and the other #CoLab flippers from the Flipped Learning Journal on a series of video discussions of John Green's The Fault in Our Stars, I snatched up the opportunity to record a discussion with a quiet student who wows me with her nerdfighter prowess and a video with another student who's own life connected with the characters in Green's novel.

Gabbie won't speak up in a room of her classmates, but after school on Friday, we recorded an 11 minute conversation using On Air Google Hangout where she couldn't stop talking about the author and all she knew about the story. Using the Google effects as an ice-breaker while we filmed and simultaneously projected the video on the front screen (as well as live posting to YouTube), Gabbie was able to face her fear of "public" speaking.  With more practice, hopefully Gabbie will realize just how valuable her contributions can be and that she should not hide in a crowd.

On Saturday, I had the pleasure of chatting with my former student Steven about Chapter 2 of The Fault in Our Stars and his own experience with cancer.  Again, this wasn't for a grade, but to show how fictional stories resonate in own lives and to give one student the opportunity to share his story with others.

You may have noticed that the style of the video differs despite using the same tool.  For Gabbie's video, I opened a Live, On Air Google Hangout with no other participants and flipped my web camera around to capture us sitting in the desks. We were technically hanging out by ourselves online, and Gabbie's buddy, Amber, played cameraman by changing the effects and starting/stopping the broadcast. For Steven's video, we did a regular Live, On Air Google Hangout and chatted back and forth for 15 mins, then with a little editing magic using Camtasia, Cheryl inserted titles and cut the conversation to 6 minutes for me (Thank you, again!). Google Hangout is a useful tool that I am just beginning to realize its applications in and out of the classroom, and I have just barely begun to delve into the world of video editing. Oh, what I want to learn to do!

Coincidentally, if you are interested in getting in on the discussion, The Atlantic is doing an organized Twitter chat on The Fault in Our Stars and you can view the rest of the Flipped Learning Journal's book discussion videos on YouTube.

Why do they work?

Both TodaysMeet and Google Hangout appeal to visual and kinesthetic learners and social learning proponents.   The visual learners can see the conversation in the backchannel, as well as see the movie like nature of the Google Hangout when not actively participating in the video.  Kinesthetic learners are busy exercising their fingers when using TodaysMeet, and, as an active participant in a Google Hangout, the learner is a movie star whether it be on a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. The students work collaboratively to understand the material and practice interpersonal skills.

The longevity of both of these tools in found in what they provide at no cost to users whether in the classroom or not. Both allow for synchronous communication no matter the location or context of the participants. Todaysmeet can be used during business meetings/presentations-- just imagine Mad Men (if they had computers or smartphones) backchanneling during a pitch!-- and, while I like the serendipity of Twitter and opening the chat to the world wide web,  since schools and/or businesses many need closed and secure communication, TodaysMeet is a more viable option than chatting using Twitter. With archiving using YouTube, Google Hangouts allow for a variety of connections, including hanging out with President Obama. Politics aside, if the President uses Google Hangout as a modern version of Roosevelt's Fireside Chats, then why not apply this tool in the classroom?

By using technology that appeals to student behaviors and needs, we can give all students a voice and opportunity to be in the spotlight.


References

A Gaggle of Google Docs

My district has enabled students and teachers to begin using Google Apps for Education. HURRAY!!!! I know GAFE is old news for many of you, but this is a big deal for my district. The roll out process has been slow and methodical so that issues can be prevented and addressed.  I've been given the privilege of testing GAFE out with my 9th and 12th grade students, and I'm figuring out how to best keep the Google Drive organized.

If you, dear reader, have any additional tips or tricks PLEASE, oh PLEASE, share them!

Creating Class Lists

The first step in getting organized is creating class lists in my Google contacts. We use Genesis as our online grade book system, and by creating a student email report, I made a spreadsheet of students in my class, copy/pasted their email addresses into the groups I created in Google contacts. No need to search through the school directory: a  very quick copy/paste and my classes are listed in my Google contacts in less than 30 seconds. This is very helpful for sharing documents and folders: I just type in the name of the group and all the students are sent the document/folder.

Shared Folders

I created a shared folder for each of my classes for delivering collaborative class or group documents that are to be used during period. The shared folder is just for documents that I create and deliver to the students, not individual documents that they will turn in to me. Think of the class folder as a one way street. I also post the link to the document on the class page in Edmodo.  With multiple ways of finding the document, students have no reason not to get the task completed.

Following the instructions provided, shared folders can be customized to create class and student folders that have viewing and editing permissions automatically enabled.  While I like having the ability to do this, I am afraid of being inundated with folders.  Also, I use Edmodo for turning in all assignments and by having the students link their Google Drive account to their Edmodo backpack, I don't need the various drop box folders for students since Edmodo organizes assignments for me.

Google Doc Assignment Delivery

Using the Autocrat script in a Google spreadsheet, students can fill out a Google form that will delivery a Google doc that has the file name, heading, and sharing permissions already configured (Thanks Cheryl for helping me with the set up!).  For all the years we have been using word processing, my students have never internalized how to appropriately name a file. I have drilled and drilled them on using file naming conventions and there are always a few students who send me files named "Essay" or "English."  The Autocrat script prevents this from happening. Yes, I want students to learn how to properly name files and I'm hopeful that by seeing the process modeled using the Autocrat script that eventually they will internalize the file naming conventions. 

I'm am using Autocrat for two things:

1. Delivering a general blank Google doc that student can type the assignment on. The Google form that delivers the document can be used infinitely ad nauseum. All student files will be organized in the same folder following the naming convention I specify: Pd Last First Assignment.
2. Delivering a specific Google doc that includes a template (for example a chart) for the student to complete. A new form/spreadsheet will have to be created and the autocrat script configured for each specific Google doc. All student documents will be in a folder for each assignment and the naming convention is again completed for the students.

At first, I was very worried about having too many files in a folder when it came time to grade the assignment, but having the students link their Google account to Edmodo and then turning in the assignment through Edmodo keeps things organized for me when it comes time to grade.  I can insert comments and make changes on the Google Docs as I can in Drive, but I don't have to worry about searching the Drive folders for the specific assignment.

I'm also exploring how to use the same Autocrat script to provide individualized feedback on student assignments (Thanks Troy for sharing this!). I haven't played with this yet, but I am just realizing the possibilities!

What About Archiving?

What I haven't figured out yet is how to archive all the student files at the end of the year, and do I need to archive them?  I know I can just un-share the folder or delete the assignments within a folder at the end of the year, but the packrat in me is leery of just deleting all the students' work.

What do you, Sir and Madame Reader, recommend when the school year concludes? 

My Notes on Classroom 2.0 - Technology and the Developmental Needs of Adolescents

As a 14 year veteran of teaching 9th grade, there have been times when I get caught up in the curriculum and keeping pace with standardized testing, but Stephen Davis, the Featured Teacher for the November 17, 2012 Classroom 2.0 LIVE show,  has numerous links to resources for meeting the Technology and the Developmental Needs of Adolescents in and out of the classroom.


What are the developmental needs of adolescents?

    Developmental Needs = PIES

• Physical
• Intellectual
• Emotional 
• Social

All lesson plans take into account the PIES because as Davis explains, "Focusing too much on state standards created lessons that are like a museum: perfect and static." Consider the layout of the classroom and the activities within the lessons: teachers do not have to present themselves as perfect because that is not reality. Using the PIES, "creates lessons that are like a house that is lived in: comfortable and realistic."


To meet physical needs in the classroom:

• Use SCVNGER to go on a scavenger hunt
• Use You Tube to watch and mirror movements in plays, sports, dancing, and musicians
• Use Nike BOOM and iFitness to workout or lift weights

To meet intellectual needs in the classroom and execute abstract thought processes:

• Veritasium - showing science concepts to people on the street 
• The Onion - experience and learn satire (not all age appropriate)
• Philosophy- play games that are philosophical in nature

To meet emotional needs of adolescents and deal with the paradox of trying to be an adult but stay relevant to peers:

• Deviant Art - artistry, but not all school appropriate
• Jammit - learn an instrument, download music from favorite band and have music notation on computer and can play along (can also slow down pace without affecting pitch & even isolate one instrument)
• Instagram - photography, use filters to represent tone & mood in one or a series of pictures-- can see patterns of emotions in photographs (reflect to see the pattern)

To meet the social needs of adolescents who want to be alone, yet also want to be part of a group:

• Social Voice - student writing on controversial and debatable issues
• Instagram - moments become memories
• Wallwisher - for exit slips 

Why do teachers need to meet the needs of adolescents? According to Davis, he is ....

                "Trying to effect change not demand change"

                                  "Helping the students equip themselves"

                                                  "Bring[ing] back humanity to education"


When students feel that they are seen as humans and not some repository for information, a cup to filled, and they have a personal connection to their education, they will do more than just earn an A+.