Flipping ELA-- More than Students Reading Books at Home

I had the wonderful privilege to present at the 2015 NJEA Convention in the Flipped Learning Theater with the pioneering Jon Bergmann and the ever-enthusiastic Marc Seigel. I presented two sessions:  Flipping the English Language Arts Classroom and Technology Tools for Flipped Reading.

@KtBkr4 is about to rock her Flipping the Lang Arts Classroom. #NJEAConv #flipclass pic.twitter.com/PSNPEPusDE

— Marc Seigel (@DaretoChem) November 5, 2015

Learning some new things from @KtBkr4 at her "Edtech Tools to Flip Reading" presentation #njconv pic.twitter.com/JtRdQiphi9

— Mr. Dan Dreher (@Mr_Dreher) November 6, 2015

My slide decks are below. I'm really proud of my visual design for these slides! Slide Carnival has some excellent templates that can be customized. Be sure to click on the hyperlinks within the slides for access to resources. Lots of goodies!


Speaking with Jon Bergmann at the convention for his BAM radio show, "The Flip Side," the question was broached, "Well, isn't English already flipped?  Read at home and come to class ready to apply?"  My answer is a resounding NO! For some students, reading is the difficult task, and I want to be present with my students for the difficult tasks. I can Flip 101 (aka replace live, direct instruction with video or tech tool) many things in the classroom, including reading, but I need to make sure that students are adept at the skills when we are face to face before I send them home with flipped tasks to complete.  The "face-to-face before do at home" time will vary depending on the content.  For some material, I need 5 minutes to make sure students are adept, but for other skills or content, my students may need multiple class periods to demonstrate that they are proficient independent learners.

I am a big fan of the "in-class" flip:  allow students to practice self-pacing and independent learning in class rather than at home.  Remember, the primary premise of Flipped Learning is to make the best use of face-to-face time with your students. So if this means they need guided, independent learning (I know, such an oxymoron) prior to unsupervised, independent learning (I know, redundant), then that is what I will do.  The flip at home will not be successful, and we will lose precious face-to-face time if I don't scaffold the process and gradually release control to the students.

The Flipping ELA Slide Deck features some activities and resources for how to Flip 101 and Mastery Flip an English Class. I've learned so much from my Flipped ELA peeps that I can not take credit for all the things in the slides. While I use what I share on the slides with my students, the original ideas may have come from one of the phenomenal flipping ELA teachers listed towards the end of the slide deck.



The Tech Tools for Flipping Reading will provide some examples of Flip 101 screencasts for modeling close reading, as well as edtech tools such as Booktrack Classroom and Curriculet for flipped reading instruction.  And make sure you listen to the interview with Jon Bergmann because I share how my students practice close reading using Google Docs as we Explore-Flip-Apply author's purpose and literary devices in texts.





Be sure to reply in the Comments to this post with your strategies for flipping your class or any questions you may have about how to flip!

Session Formats & The Grade Divide #flipcon15

Lindsay Cole and I led a session at #Flipcon15 on the great divide between grades and learning, entitled "The Grade Divide"  (get the pun?).  When we first wrote up our proposal for this session, we envisioned small group / roundtable discussions where participants shared their opinions and best practices with getting students to focus more on learning and less on the grades.  When we learned that we were a featured session held in the large lecture hall being streamed to the virtual audience, we recognized that our original session format needed to shift.

When my students write, I constantly have them focusing on the Task, Audience, and Purpose (TAP) of the writing: What are you writing? Who are you writing for? Why are you writing this?  The same questions apply to giving presentations.  What are you presenting? Who are you presenting to? Why are you presenting? The answers to the TAP questions will drive the session format.

Lindsay and I knew that we did not want a "sit and get" type session, nor could roundtable discussions work in a lecture hall of static seating with a virtual audience viewing the live action in the room. We decided to try a talkshow style format: pose a question to the group, poll the physical and virtual audience for their general reaction, share our specific stories, and have audience members volunteer to share their stories as well.

@KtBkr4 and @lindsaybcole starting the great discussion about grading. What should be grade? #flipcon15 pic.twitter.com/8xNSTd8Jt7

— Shai McGowan (@slm12) July 15, 2015

The greatest fear for the talkshow style session is that no one will show up and no one will participate.  As you can see from some of the tweets, people showed up AND participated. If you view the archive of our session, you'll see me dashing about with the handheld mic.

Would the education way work in business? 1 person controlling the process of 150 other people? #flipcon15 @lindsaybcole @KtBkr4

— David Prindle (@dprindle) July 15, 2015

@KtBkr4 @lindsaybcole killing it #flipcon15 pic.twitter.com/I6xQsPLrDU

— Christina Roy (@smallbutfeisty) July 15, 2015

Great grade divide session with @KtBkr4 @lindsaybcole this am! #flipcon15 #watchyourrep pic.twitter.com/gY8aC0QLSb

— Daniel Welty (@weltyteaching) July 15, 2015

Love this. Should we be grading everything? Let's change the culture and say no. #flipcon15 @KtBkr4 @lindsaybcole pic.twitter.com/zJx3MDw9GL

— Shai McGowan (@slm12) July 15, 2015

In order to engage our audience, we took a different approach with our slidedeck, as well the session format. When thinking about how to design your slide deck, answering the TAP questions will determine the type of format for your session.




Lindsay and I realized that this session couldn't be "death by PowerPoint" with gobs of information on the slides. So to spark participants, each slide had a meme and guiding question.  We were purposeful in our selection of memes--the meme had to work with the guiding question and be school appropriate.  Additionally, to give us something to talk about and engage the audience, we added in polls and discussed the results. So the gist of our format was: poll audience, tell our stories, view the poll results, and have audience members tell their stories. By asking a poll we could have everyone participate and then focus in on specific folks to share their stories. What was the purpose of our session?  Get people talking!  We couldn't get them talking if we were having them read slides full of information.

Can learning take place without grades? Awesome question! #flipcon15 @KtBkr4 @lindsaybcole pic.twitter.com/ppkKD0p1Lz

— Meg Richard (@frizzlerichard) July 15, 2015

@KtBkr4 "we need to teach more to our Calvins" #flipcon15 pic.twitter.com/rKJwDgDbfW

— Aaron Sams (@chemicalsams) July 15, 2015

More of our awesome audience during Grade Divide @lindsaybcole @dprindle @BrdCmpbll #flipcon15 pic.twitter.com/ACanpqfPeE

— Kate Baker (@KtBkr4) July 16, 2015

Reflecting on the session, I think it went very well, although it was a bit rushed at the end.  We could easily have stretched this 60 minute session into 90 minutes without editing the slidedeck. And as evident from the tweet below from flipped learning pioneer and band leader Aaron Sams, the virtual audience was having a very lively discussion.  Our moderator, Dan Spencer, did a great job keeping Lindsay and I informed about the virtual audience, even stating at one point the stream was flowing so fast he could barely keep up. I'd like to figure out a better way--other than on Twitter-- for the virtual attendees to interact with the physical audience in the room. It would be cool to somehow have them share their stories via GHO during the session.

Virtual attendance just passed onsite attendance at @KtBkr4 and @lindsaybcole #flipcon15 session #830ishard

— Aaron Sams (@chemicalsams) July 15, 2015

This discussion about the Great Grade Divide could be an all day discussion. #flipcon15 @KtBkr4 @lindsaybcole

— Shai McGowan (@slm12) July 15, 2015

If you were in the audience for this session, what did you think?  Anything Lindsay and I could have done differently/better?

Whether or you were there or not, how do you create conference sessions that engage the audience?

Flipped Learning Podcast: Tools for Assessment

I had a great conversation with Troy Cockrum and Joan Brown about tech tools for assessment on the Flipped Learning Network's Podcast. I look at edtech as a vehicle for learning and a way to leverage the workload for teachers.

Check out the conversation:

Curriculet & Edmodo: #BetterTogether

This week Curriculet announced the release of an Edmodo app version that allows teachers and students to use Curriculet using their Edmodo credentials and classlists. The app is a portal or gateway and opens Curriculet inside Edmodo. I am ecstatic about this announcement!

I've been using Curriculet (previously known as Gobstopper) for two years now, and I can't say enough good things about it! Get me started talking and I can't stop! But my one tinsy, itsy-bitty complaint--which has nothing to do with Curriculet per say-- is that my students continually forget their username and password. While Google log-in is also available for Curriculet on the web, there is at least one student who struggles with remembering his/her log-in information. Trust me; I've taught them naming conventions for passwords, but there is always one. Now that Curriculet can be used inside Edmodo there is one less log-in for students to deal with.  I wish more web tools would partner with Edmodo for app creation, because not having to worry about logging in is so valuable for students to continue using a digital tool.

Also, class creation on my end of things is seamless with the Edmodo app. The classes or groups I have created in Edmodo will automatically be created in Curriculet with just a few clicks of adding the app to my groups. Click on this link to learn more about adding an Edmodo app to your group, and click on this link to learn more about launching an app in Edmodo.

Here is a behind the scenes look of my classes using Curriculet:

While Curriculet may seem geared towards the English Literature classroom, it can also be used to support reading informational and fictional texts in History, Science, and World Language classes. I bet you could even find texts to use in Math! Please let me know if you do! Take a look at the screencast Edmodo Support Ambassador Mr. Jose Angel made for Spanish-speaking users.

If you are wondering, why bother to use Curriculet or thinking that the traditional way of teaching and reading a text works. Take a look at this inforgraphic.  When reading Romeo & Juliet, Curriculet saves me 50 hours worth of administrative tasks.  Imagine freeing up 50 hours of your time!

Animoby: Animated Learning for Anybody

For those of you looking for a whiteboard video creation tool to use on any tablet,  check out Animoby.

Android App

Apple App

Similar to other whiteboard screencast tools, Animoby lets users create multipaged screencasted videos.




Take a look at this demonstration from Animoby:




Features:

• Use on Apple or Android devices
• Variety of tools and colors
• Connects to Dropbox
• Import PDF's from email or Dropbox
• Able to insert images
• Able to zoom in and out
• Save as compact files
• Share and email projects
• Various background templates
• Share to Facebook, Twitter, Google+

New users will appreciate the extensive video tutorial menu on Animoby's website. The videos are easy to understand and demonstrate use of the app. While the interface is intuitive and easy to navigate, having the tutorials available is a positive. Also, visit Animoby's homepage to view what other users have created.

Students could use Animoby to demonstrate understanding of concepts taught in class. Imagine screencasts of students solving equations-- talk about showing your work! Students could also demonstrate active reading skills by recording themselves talking through reading a text on a PDF or picture taken of an excerpt from a book. Music and Math teachers will appreciate the preloaded backgrounds available: from blank sheet music to various styles of graph paper, subject area teachers will easily be able to create screencasts to use in their classes.   I'm partial to the white lined paper background, as you will see in this example I created: http://www.animoby.com/a/3214

I used the Animoby app on my iPad to create this screencast of the literary device, Personification. I did a quick Google search for images, saved them in my camera roll, and added them to the presentation, cropping the images as needed. Animoby's save feature allows me to start a project, save it unfinished, and return to as needed before recording and publishing it to the web.

Recording was simple, and the quality is excellent. I really like that I was able to zoom in and out of each image while recording. You'll hear my dog Charlie barking at the neighborhood cat in the background, but I can still be easily heard over the noise. I could have deleted it and re-recorded the audio, but I chose not to for the sake of demonstration. After the final product is published, I emailed it to rmyself to generate a URL from which I can get the embed code or share to Facebook, Twitter, or Google+. The embed code could also be used for adding the Animoby projects to blogs or Edmodo posts. 

What I would like to see is Animboy be able to connect to Google Drive.  I use Google Drive more so than Dropbox, and having this option would be a major plus. It would also be nice to have the option to include background music. While Animoby works great on tablets, I wonder if a paired down version could be available for smartphones. Teaching in a BYOD district with most of the students using smartphones, having a screencasting tool for a smartphone would be an asset.

Animoby is versatile and easy, and I'll be sure to recommend it to colleagues and students.

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!

EdmodoCon Guest Post #3: M.Valois

Our third guest post comes from Megan Valois, a high school History/English teacher in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Megan is the guest moderator on the Canadian Ed Chat (#cdnedchat) on Twitter who enjoys expanding her PLN and learning about new tech tools to improve her teaching and class experience. Here is Megan's recap of EdmodoCon 2013.

On Tuesday, I participated in a virtual conference - a professional learning opportunity - called #Edmodocon. It was presented by the good people over at the #Edmodo app/website. 

If you aren't familiar, Edmodo is a social learning platform for schools, often called the "Facebook" for schools because its format is similar. Edmodo has many advantages for many reasons. It's a great, safe place for teachers and students to connect; students can post questions, submit assignments, create projects, access notes, join discussion groups, and much more.  Students need access codes to join a class so it's secure and safe. Check it out: www.edmodo.com

#Edmodocon provided educators with the chance to 'virtually' participate in a full day conference to learn more about the amazing ways to utilize Edmodo for classroom learning and success. More than 20,000 educators globally tuned in! There were several sessions throughout the day by presenters on a range of topics, including digital citizenship, project based learning, "flipping" the classroom, building leadership capacity and more! 

Some of my take-aways from the sessions were:

1 - Using Edmodo for literature circles
2 - Ways to teach students how to be better digital citizens
3 - New apps (compatible with Edmodo) to try - ie: Explain Everything
4- Re-emphasis on what I already knew about how amazing project based learning is
5- Flipping the classroom

Patrick Fogarty's session: Access, Engagement, and Equality with Edmodo was one of my favourites. Loved his "30 second lesson" ideas, where students can create a video in "30 seconds" about a key concept. This is a great way to teach the skill of summarizing main ideas! You can build on this by having students string together a series of related '30 second lessons' too! 

He also reminded us about the core philosophy of differentiated instruction - my biggest passion. He shared: "It's professional malpractice giving kids work they can't access in multiple ways". To meet the needs of all learners, we must give opportunities for choice! 

Flipping the classroom/BYOD by Kate Baker and Liz Calderwood was another gem. The idea of classroom flipping is "a form of blended learning in which students watch lectures online and work on problem sets with other students in class. This approach allows teachers to spend more time interacting with students instead of lecturing. This is also known as backwards classroom, reverse instruction, flipping the classroom and reverse teaching."[1][2] 

I am already a huge proponent of BYOD and am very intrigued by flipping the classroom. It's definitely something I'd like to try, even for just a few lessons, to see how it works. The advantages are so very clear - that more time spent actually working out problems in class with teacher support will benefit the students. My fear, of course, is that the 'homework' of watching the lesson won't be done and then the in-class time would be wasted. Does anyone have suggestions for me or guidance about this? Would love your feedback because I am really keen on trying this if I can wrap my head around how to make it work! The ladies in this session were engaging and passionate; it was a great watch! 

One of the more powerful moments of the day was Sheryl Sandberg's virtual address as part of the Lean In organization. She reminds us that we are "teaching future leaders". Her talk was about gender stereotypes in leadership and what we can do to promote leadership among young girls and women.  Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tk0Gq00LHMc

Thank you #Edmodo for a great conference! I already look forward to next year!

Thank YOU, Megan for your recap! 

You can connect with Megan and read about her academic adventures at her blog. 

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

COMING ATTRACTIONS! Edmodocon Recaps! Guest Posts!

I am so awed, overwhelmed, and overjoyed with presenting at Edmodocon 2013 and meeting phenomenal, inspiring educators.  Let me just say, I am BEAMING and get GOOSEBUMPS every time I talk about it with my home PLN.


 It was just...yeah... No words, just beaming smiles and goosebumps. Mind has been blown and Baker can't talk--as Liz and anyone else who has worked with me can attest, this is a miracle!

Screenshot of Liz & I at EdmodoCon. Photo Credit: N. Dale

As soon as I can process this and find the words,  I will be writing a series of blog posts on Edmodocon and the presentation Liz Calderwood and I gave.



In the meantime, I'd like to put a call out to all you wonderful and amazing readers...



For those of you who attended the conference, virtually or in person, please share your experiences as a guest post on my blog. I'd love to hear from you, the audience, about your experience with Edmodocon!  Great take-aways? Favorites? Recaps? Share, share share! Your submission can be in written, audio, or video form. 

Just complete the form below and provide a link to where I can find your submission and I will copy/paste into a post here. For those of you who don't have your own blog or are unsure, this is super easy because you don't have to worry about design: I'll do that for you! And if you already published it on your blog, I don't mind! Posts will go up ASAP. You keep 'em coming, I'll keep posting them! My only stipulation is that you demonstrate appropriate and professional digital citizenship. #JustSayin'

There is one very important thing that was evident during Edmodocon that I can put into words right now:

Using Edmodo as a management and communication system has transformed my teaching, learning, and connectivity, but it is the PEOPLE who created, maintain, and use Edmodo that make all this magic happen. The tool is leverage to lift the load of learning. No matter the tool you use, it is the PEOPLE who matter most.

Thank you to Edmodo and all the educators, students, administrators, and support staff who use Edmodo. If you thought I was fired up before, just wait and see what I'm going to do to next. Radiating, blazing, Edu-awesomeness! I hope you will join me, because...

 We make each other better, together.

Edmodocon 2013

I am so thrilled to share this news!

My best buddy and partner in crime, Liz Calderwood, and I are presenting at Edmodocon 2013 this summer!  We are one of 15 presenters chosen for this global, virtual and free conference.

Our session is titled Classroom Gymnastics: How to Use Edmodo for BYOD, 1:1 (When you can be), Paperless, and Flipped Learning. I hope you will join us online on August 7th, 2013 and view all the presentations.

Registration is now OPEN, so please reserve your spot! Did I mention it is FREE????

THANKS!

#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. 

Writing about Grading Writing (Again)

I'm constantly writing about the dilemmas of student writing and how to grade student academic writing in an efficient and effective manner. This is probably borderline obsessive... but, I am the type of learner who when faced with an issue/problem/question, obsesses until ... ...  ....

Options for Grading Writing:

1. Traditional: teacher does all the grading and marking up of students' writing. 
2. Progressive:  students peer edit and self assess using guided structure provided by teacher
3. Techie Traditional: teacher uses Google forms with the Autocrat, Doctopus, and  Goobric scripts, as well as other online rubric tools to assess student work.
4. Techie Progressive:  teacher designs the rubric and assessment process on a Google form using the Autocrat script and the students peer edit each other.
5. Ungraded: the teacher does not grade the writing.

Options #1-3 require time and effort in class and by the teacher.  I have happily peer edited on paper with my students, but there was just too much paper and it took up time in class.

Option #4 can be completed in and out of class, but it takes time to set up the forms, feedback docs, and scripts. BIG HUGE THANKS to Cheryl, Karl, Troy & all the Twitter peeps (Again & AGAIN) for walking me through creating this process, and the creator of the Autocrat script, Andrew Stillman, for answering my gazillion questions. I'm working on ways to better streamline the process (and not split my infinitives), but trust me, it is well worth the effort to guide students through troubleshooting their writing.

But, Option #5 I'm stealing (again) from Cheryl Morris. :-)

Un-grading Student Writing

In our #ElaFlip Hangout talking about assessing writing, Cheryl stated that she tries to detach grades from student writing. I forgot to ask if she was talking about creative writing or academic writing, but should it matter? 

Art & Academic Writing

Picture from J. Kronenber'g's Blog Post "I Can't Explain  It"

I completely agree with not scoring creative writing. I have never been comfortable putting a grade on creativity and therefore have never sought out teaching a creative writing course-- it is art and art is subjective: one critic might give Ellsworth Kelly's Blue Panel an A+ and another might give it an F. The simplest question in assessing the art is, "Does it hold meaning for me as the viewer?" The same subjective scoring can be used on student creative pieces.

I know, I know, some will say, rubrics make the scoring objective, but really? Rubrics turn writing into objects that sit on shelves. Rubrics are limiting!   Students only strive to hit the points on the rubric and not beyond.  They become complacent when they get the grade, and whose grade is it when the teacher designed the rubric?

I know, I know, I could get my ninth grade students to design the rubric with me, but they are just learning how to write, so do they know what to even put on the rubric? And me leading them for what to put on the rubric is still me, the teacher, controlling the rubric. I could use my O-S-U rubric (again) or use standards based grading and score for mastery, but does the grade on the paper push the student to continue writing? No! As Cheryl and the other ELA flippers (Andrew, Katie, Dave, & many more) will agree, as soon as a student receives the grade, he/she thinks the process is done. The point should be about keeping students writing until ...  ... ...

I fondly remember the yearly high school trip to The Metropolitan Museum of Art in NYC, and every time we flew through the exhibits just to sit in front of that blue panel and "critique" it.  My naive teenage friends and I would mimic high brow folks and comment in horrendously fake British accents on the composition, scale, and other fancy art terms, nicknaming it, "The Blue Rhombus of Life". Granted, our obsession with this painting was seemingly in a joking manner, but the fact remains that painting is still hanging in Gallery 915.

"I have worked to free shape from its ground, and then to work the shape so that it has a definite relationship to the space around it; so that it has a clarity and a measure within itself of its parts (angles, curves, edges and mass); and so that, with color and tonality, the shape finds its own space and always demands its freedom and separateness."- Ellsworth Kelly

But, this got me thinking: is this why I've had so much trouble scoring student academic writing? Every method I have used, revolves around my expectations: how well did the student follow my directions, display the knowledge I taught, and use the conventions the students have been taught throughout their academic career? I can lead the students through trouble shooting and revising their essays. I can score them on participation  meeting checkpoints, and being held accountable for the process, but do I, the teacher, really have to put a final grade on the essay?

During the #ELAFlip hangout, Katie Reagan explained that her students peer edit with other classes and students not at her school.  Getting students out of their comfort zone certainly motivated them to perform. What about an even greater audience on the web?  What about publishing their work for a bigger audience than my two hazel eyes to see? Wouldn't that "grade" the piece? It is so simple:  Is the writing ready for publication and to be "hung in a gallery"? And wouldn't that prospect motivate the student to perform well? Isn't that better than any grade I could put on the page or in my gradebook?

To adapt Kelly's words, writing is also about playing with the "color and tonality" of words so that words take shape and have a "definite relationship" that has "clarity and measure". Creative writing is an obvious form of art, and academic writing should also be considered no less an art, but many teachers and students drown in the red ink and forget the art of academic writing.

So, stop grading and focus on crafting, molding, and painting with words. 

Turn your student writers into artists.

Post Script:  Check out my next post, #OdysseyExperts, because I put into practice my ideas about showcasing writing.

Online Mentoring via Edmodo & Google

In December, Dean Shareski, professor at the University of Regina in Saskatchewan, Canada, put a call out on Twitter for teachers who would be willing to pair with his pre-service student teachers for a virtual mentoring project. While I've mentored pre-service teachers in person (and in New Jersey), doing so online was new for me, and I jumped on the opportunity. Using Edmodo for the virtual classroom space, teachers and students connected from 1,972 miles away.

SRHS to University of Regina = 1,972 mi, approximately 30 hrs driving

I've had the privilege and honor to work with Jozette Sherstabitoff the past few months. Joz connected with students on Edmodo and worked with them on collaborative Google Docs. Joz and I communicated via Edmodo, Gmail and Google Hangouts.  I have thoroughly enjoyed working together, but what is more important are her thoughts on the experience....

Mentoring

28MAR

My mentoring teacher, Kate, asked me to write a guest post for her blog. Check out Kate’s blog @ http://kbakerbyodlit.blogspot.ca/.

When I first entered into this mentoring program, I was a little hesitant. First off, I am a middle years person and Kate teaches senior English. I was a little intimated to start, not knowing what I could offer her. However, as the semester progressed, I realized that the difference between our teaching levels did not necessarily matter. I was still able to learn many new things that can be applied to my level of teaching.

Here are some reflections on what we have done and what we have learned.

What have Kate and I been doing this semester?

• Commenting on assignments in Edmodo
• Commenting on papers in Google Docs
• Having a Google Hangout with the students
• Making a video for students to watch
• Creating a quiz on Edmodo for students to complete after watching my video

What are the benefits of being mentored?

• Learning new tools. The biggest thing I took out of mentoring is Edmodo. Edmodo is like an online classroom, where Kate can upload videos, assignments and quizzes. It is a great way to have students collaborate online and outside of the classroom. Edmodo is also great for reducing paper use!
  • I can use Edmodo in the middle years just the same way Kate uses it at the senior level. I could upload videos for students to watch during class and after class. Assessments can be taken online just the same as at the senior level.
• Learning new teaching styles. I was exposed to the flip classroom idea through Kate. I have heard about the idea before and was able to see some models throughout her class. The exposure will benefit me in the future if it is a style I choose to adopt.
• Learning new assessment techniques. Kate got me thinking about assessment in general and the styles I use.
  • The assessment she uses can be applied to middle years level. For example, Kate uses a rubric called OSU (outstanding, satisfactory, unsatisfactory) and gives students a mark from it. The rubric can be used to assess at the middle years level.

The main benefit of being mentored is the thinking that happens! Kate always had me thinking about what I would do differently, what I like, and what I do not like about her class and education in general.

What are the benefits of being a mentor?

• Reflecting on assignments. Kate keeps me updated on the learning that is happening in her classroom. While telling me what is being taught, I believe she is able to reflect upon the significance of their tasks.
• Getting another opinion. Kate explains what the students are doing and how she is assessing them. When Kate tells me about the assignments and assessments she is able to ask my opinion, what I would do differently, what I like, etc. Kate is able to see a different perspective through my answers, and justify her own reasons by explaining what she does to me.
• Another set of eyes on her students. Kate asked me what I thought about her student’s online identity. Having another aspiring teacher look over student work is a pure benefit for the students. They have another proof reader to help them be successful.

The main benefit of being a mentor is the reflection that happens. I think Kate is able to reflect on her teaching by showing me what she does.

I would like to thank Kate for the experience she has given me. I enjoyed her, and her students very much. Thank you for taking me in!!! 

In addition, check out our Google Hangout discussing technology integration in the classroom.

Be sure to follow Jozette Sherstabitoff on Twitter @jshersty and read about her other adventures in teaching on her blog http://misssherstabitoff.wordpress.com/

And as a culminating project for the teachers and students involved in this mentoring experience, Dean Shareski organized a virtual lip dub of Chris Hadfield and the Barenaked Ladies'  song, "Is Somebody Singing." Take a look at the locations of the participants. Pretty darn cool.

Thanks again to Joz & Dean for this opportunity, and Edmodo and Google for making it happen!  

Integrating Technology in the Classroom

Using Screencast-O-Matic and Windows Live Movie Maker, here is a "quick" tour of how I integrate technology in my classroom.  Be sure to check out the complete list of projects and resources by clicking on the Integrating Technology tab.

Howard Gardner 15 years Later

With all the focus on standardized testing and the discussion of the flipped classroom in education today, it is interesting to return to Howard Gardner's interview with Edutopia in 1997 and reflect on then and now.  

Talk about RELEVANCY!

Consider these questions:

• How do digital tools tap into students' multiple intelligences?
• How is assessment still mystified today?  Do digital tools take the mystery out of assessment for students?
• How do digital tools help in the transition from a teacher-centered to student-centered? Or do they hurt?

Collaborative Digital Information Projects

My students used their phones to create voice recorded projects and I'd like to continue evolving their skills into eventually being comfortable doing collaborative digital presentations. Technology can easily be used to facilitate student presentations and overcome the fear of public speaking and provide valid opportunities for reflection and collaboration.

In this video, Kate Summers explains how her science students use collaborative tech tools for creating projects that teach concepts to other students.

In order for this project to work, students need access to tech and inter-personal skills to effectively and efficiently work with others.  With our Google integration almost ready for roll out in the coming month, I could have students engage in such activities and have them post the projects to Edmodo for sharing and review.  

In the Spring, we will be working on Homer's The Odyssey and Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, both of which are heavy with historical information. In the past, I've divided students into groups and they would research a topic and then later jig-saw to share the information. Completed using paper and having students present in class, time constraints and preparation became an issue. By digitizing the projects, students can work in or out of class and presentations can be viewed multiple times online ensuring all information is absorbed.

My PLN: Eye See You...

Randomized Word Cloud created using an uploaded picture of my eye on Tagxedo.
I can not claim responsibility for placement and size of names! :-)  

Who do you see?

My eye, really.

People and collaborative places make up my Personal Learning Network. Facebook, Twitter, and Edmodo are central to my online community. Researching (and sometimes lurking) online in addition to participating in organized chats has resulted in many serendipitous connections and ideas for projects and lessons. My Google Reader is also loaded with blogs from other educators and friends (I'll add a list of links soon, but in the meantime, check out those listed to the right).

In nature we never see anything isolated, but everything in connection with something else which is before it, beside it, under it and over it.     

- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 

CSI: Salinas

Teaching students to infer and formulate arguments can easily be in context of a novel.  Using Steinbeck's Of Mice & Men, students can analyze the text to create an outline for a mock trial for either George or Lennie.  The final project can be completed on paper, using word processing skills and completed using a student's BYOD device.

A student's smartphone or tablet does not have to just be used for a special occasion in the classroom. I encourage my students to use their device daily for note taking, recording ideas, reflecting, and researching. For this assignment, students will use their device throughout the process and to create the final products.

Collecting Witness Statements

This project requires students to examine the story from various viewpoints and use textual evidence to support the perspective.  Students begin by collecting witness statements from ALL characters mentioned in the story:  The Boss, the various ranch hands and even the quickly mentioned Girl in the Red Dress. On paper, students would complete the chart and cite page numbers to reference statements. Students need to consider what each character knows and how their viewpoint is different from the reader's perspective.  Not all characters know all events.  After all witness statements have been collected, students would organize the characters into lists by who likes George or Lennie.

Collecting Physical Evidence

Students also need to examine the setting in various scenes to collect physical evidence that can be manipulated to support their case. The evidence can't be disregarded or changed, but it can be used to support viewpoints. This piece of the project is very important for students to formulate their arguments because there are certain things they cannot get around.  For example, (spoiler alert!) the cause of death for Lennie can't be changed. Students can't get around the location of the bullet wound and state that George was attacked by Lennie and shot him in a different spot. The self-defense angle for George will have to account for the ballistics evidence as shown in the story. Lennie never handles the luger so his finger prints cannot suddenly appear on the gun.

Additionally, students can manipulate the crime scene. For example, Curley's Wife dies in the barn, but the defense team for Lennie could state that she fell from the hayloft and died as a result of her injuries. The prosecution could refute this claim with the physical evidence of hay, fibers, puppy fur, etc found on Lennie's and Curley's Wife's clothing. We know from Crooks' statements that Curley's Wife is always in the barn, poking around where she shouldn't be and even threatens Crooks in Chapter 4. It is conceivable for the defense team that CW was in the barn, wearing her little red mules, and met with an accidental death. Although, the prosecution for Lennie's case should bring up the evidence of CW's smeared make up being on Lennie's hand (which readers know got there when he "reprimanded" her for yelling).

Select a Case & Position

After witness testimonies and evidence have been collected, students need to decide which case and position they want to argue.  There are four possibilities:

I tell the students that truth doesn't really exist; truth is just a bunch of people agreeing to see things the same way. The point of this project is in the process and the ability to support the case. I've watched enough CSI and Law & Order to know about circumstantial evidence and proving reasonable doubt, and I've done week-long mock trials in class where students are assigned roles, but there's always those few students who don't get into character and invalidate the activity. I've changed this over the years to just a persuasive-argumentative assignment to preserve the integrity and prevent the three-ring circus. The objective is to have the students examine all of the  evidence and witness statements prior to selecting a case, so that students will realize the best argument instead of picking a side and trying to support it and then start over when they realize they don't have enough evidence to support their position. 

Prosecuting George for the death of Lennie is easy. There's enough evidence to prove that he did it between the lack of signs of a struggle, the ballistics evidence, and motive. George constantly belittles Lennie (as Candy overheard) and there's witnesses who can attest that George has been manipulating Lennie. The Boss will even state that George has been stealing Lennie's pay. Sympathetic readers will shout, "But Lennie can't take care of himself! George has to!" But all that matters is PERCEPTION: to a jury George can seem manipulative, controlling, and heck, with his new best friends, Slim & Candy, what does he need Lennie for? 

Defending George is another viable option because he can be portrayed as a hero: the Girl in the Red Dress from the town of Weed will testify that George saved her life by beating that big lug over the head with a fence picket. Even the pugnacious Curley will state that is was George who pulled his hand from the clutches of Lennie's vice grip. But, there is that ballistics evidence to overcome: shooting someone in the back of the head usually isn't done in self-defense...

Defending Lennie is difficult. One could try the insanity plea, but throughout the novel, there are examples of Lennie knowing right from wrong, and there are are the numerous times where he threatens violence. Sympathetic readers will shout, "But Lennie only gets violent when the things he loves are threatened! He doesn't mean it!" But to a jury, the PERCEPTION is that Lennie is a menace to society who kills mice, puppies, and pretty women. Ouch.

We've all read enough school uniform essays to know that the easier side to choose is in support of uniforms, and school uniforms in this day and age is a dud topic. Students like reading OMM and that connection enhances this activity. They see George and Lennie as real people instead of some nebulous persuasive essay topic, which makes this activity so valuable. 

Another valuable lesson is in organization: Once students have made a selection, they organize their information into an outline. To facilitate the process, students fill in the blanks on the provided template to create a rough draft and then use the draft to type up a final copy.  

The Final Product

Students type up an outline for their case and is an individual grade assessing ability to follow directions, craft a legitimate argument and demonstrate understanding of outline format.  Students would peer edit each other's outlines using the provided checklist.

For the BYOD component and to make up for not doing an actual mock-trial, students would work in groups comprised of people with the same court case and position. Students would create a digital portfolio of crime scene photographs, videos of witness' testimonies, and/or scenes from the mock trial.  The final group portfolio would be posted on Edmodo and as part of their online participation grade, students would comment on each of the groups' portfolios. Students would complete self evaluation forms using a checklist and OSU rubric.

I don't have student examples created just yet because we start our OMM unit next week and this project is for the end of the unit, but I am recruiting former students to create some sample witness videos  They will be posted in the next few days.