PBL- Project-Based and Problem-Based Learning

I am not a PBL purist, but I use a lot of project-based and problem-based learning in my classroom.  Yes, there is a difference, and the experts can go into great detail on this!  Purist PBLers will tell you the assessment is built within the PBL.  Great...but we have the dark, standardized test cloud looming.  My kids and I have found a solution.  When we tackle a new PBL, I ask them to make the decisions about what they feel they need to learn to master the concept as the project/problem progresses.  All the while, I am secretly planting ideas and information as we go.  After the culmination of the PBL, we assess in test format to see where we need to tweak our understanding.

I captured one of our PBLs in progress for a graduate assignment using Adobe Spark (previously Adobe Slate).  Student samples are included.  Keep in mind my students don't always produce stellar content, but they are 100% engaged and learning!

Digital Literacy Matters!

TCEA 2016 - Writing for the 21st Century

I am excited to be presenting at the TCEA Convention in Austin again this year!!  I decided to tackle a subject I love, but that often rankles others when they hear "writing across the curriculum" thrown their way.

Join me Thursday afternoon to grab a bunch of great ways to incorporate writing into any classroom with technology!

Tweet and tell your friends!

#21stcenturywriting

5 Ways to Use QR Codes for the New Year

A friend of mine asked for some new ways to use QR Codes in the classroom, so I started gathering some information.  As I gathered, I felt a blog post brewing.  We are probably all familiar with the odd little squares - "quick response codes"- but how can they benefit us as teachers?

To get us started on this venture, let's talk about creating our own codes for the classroom.  QR Code creators are everywhere!  I'll show you the ones we use, but please know there are many more, and probably better, code creators out there.  Please comment and share great ones you have found!  My students generally create online rather than on the ipads because of printing convenience.  We use QR Code Generator because it's quick and easy, and you do not have to sign up to use it.  That is always a PLUS!

Created with QR Code Generator on the Web

Many of the sites want you to subscribe, some with a fee, to get the extras.  No thanks.
Another site that will add a little more pizzazz to your QR Code is Unitag QR.

Pizzazzy Unitag

You can change colors, add alien eye corners (??), and common logos... nothing the kids really need.  It will ask you to join, for your email, etc.  However, you can download your code without giving them any info.

On the ipads, we use Qrafter and QR Code Maker.  Both are free, and both have ads.  We just live with them!  On the reading side of our codes, we have a variety of readers, including Qrafter.  My favorite is Scan, but I just checked, and it is $1.99.  I got it free at one time, so you might want to keep an eye on it for a "free" day.  I saw another called i-nigma used in a workshop that is also free, but I haven't used it enough to have input on it.

Now, for the reason we are here! What can be done with these little square dudes?

#1 Vocabulary Word Wall  (Sorry for blurry pic)

Wall my students were creating for STAAR Review - They created QR Codes with answers.  Then they quizzed themselves or partners on meanings.  The answer was handy with a quick check of the QR Code.

#2 Website Retrieval

Before I started using Symbaloo on a regular basis, I posted QR Codes for easy access to websites we used.  I created a page of the specific QR Code with the website title on each.  Then I cut them apart and taped them on the tubs on each table, as well as a few prominent places around the room.  Students could then easily point their device and get to the needed site.  No more, "Ok Everyone, type w...w...w...dot...t...."  "Wait, what?  Could you start over?"

#3 Support for Students
Need extra assistance for students with different needs?  Why not embed vocabulary clues or explanations next to text on your tests?  There are several apps/sites that allow users to create short audio snippets.  Links can then be added to QR Codes.  An audio clip QR Code can be placed next to each question for students who require oral testing.  The students use headphones to hear the question and can repeat it as many times as necessary.

#4  Sharing Student Work
There are so many great ways to share student work nowadays, but QR Codes are still a great way to easily direct audiences to the work.  Student portfolios can be archived on student blogs, on ThingLink, on Padlet... I feel another post stirring!  Imagine Open House...What parents wouldn't love to point their phone at a QR Code on a picture of their child and be able to see something  their child had created?

#5 Interactive Books, Treasure Hunts, and Secret Questions
Ok, so I had to cram several in one group to keep from changing the title of this post.  :) 
As your students create classroom books of stories, vocabulary, problem solving, etc, QR Codes can be added for interactive questions, hidden answers, self-checking tools, audio files of students reading the page.... and so much more!  Treasure Hunts are always fun, too, when QR Codes pose questions that students must solve in order to get to the next clue.  

There are so many ways these squares can be used!  Please leave a comment and share your ideas with us.

Wrapping Up Another Year - Let the Fun Begin!

The end of another year has come.  I've had time to reflect on successes and failures of the year, of which, there have been both.  I finished up some school meetings yesterday, and this is my first official day off!  Guess what I did?  Well, aside from a chapter in a murder mystery, some photography, and some chores, I hit Twitter looking for new ideas for next year!

So what did I find?
Google Expeditions coming in the fall to use with Google Cardboard was an interesting read.  Where have I been?  I didn't even know about Google Cardboard.  I did play with the Cardboard app by putting my phone in my antique Stereoview.  Medium cool.  I'm on the fence, though, as to its long term usefulness.  After video-conferencing with scientists in Alaska, this seems like a step backward in connecting, but I may be wrong.  It happens... often!

In reading a favorite blog, I found the SeeSaw app which promises to be a great portfolio tool!  I am excited to use it next year.  Students can add photos of work, voice recording, video, and links to our productions.  Parents who have signed up for an account get a notification when their child adds something.  They can only view their child's work.  Awesome!  Padlet walls have been a great tool for gathering student work, but this is a very promising organizational tool...And, drum roll, please.... it's free!  I wondered why the company would offer all of this for free, so I did some more research.  Free parent accounts allow parents to view work from the last 30 days.  If they would like to pay $9.99, they have access to all of their child's work from year to year.  I guess the company is banking on parents wanting to keep things.  

I know I have told you how much I love BoomWriter, but I wanted to update you on the latest additions.  They now have nonfiction writing sections and a vocabulary piece. 

Here's what the site says about the vocabulary section:

WordWriter delivers an interactive vocabulary experience that lets students write, read, and share newly learned words in original content.

WordWriter enhances students’ vocabulary development through application into their own written work, and it provides teachers with an effective tool that allows them to gauge students’ understanding levels and provide individualized feedback.

I am already figuring how we can use all of the components next year.  I will be posting ideas as they pop in my head.

May your summer be filled with blessings, fun, rest, and a growing enthusiasm for the new year!

Classcraft Has Come to Rm31Corp!

Yes I have an avatar, and I look awesome!

After the TCEA Convention in Austin, our class has picked up a new tool!  I have to say our class is already a dynamic learning environment.  My kids and I live every day in "Beta".  We are constantly trying new things, tossing the ones that don't work, and adding the good ones to our keeper pile.  I found a jewel at the convention!

Classcraft turns your class into a living video game.  Each student becomes a character.  You are the Game Master.  You control points, powers, and random events.  It is Class Dojo (which bored me quickly) in overdrive.  I was uncertain how long the excitement would last, but I am amazed that my students are still very involved in keeping their clans alive.  I will keep you posted on how it all plays out by the end of the year.  Be sure to check it out at Classcraft.  There are free, freemium, and premium accounts.  I chose the freemium which allows more teacher access.  It also gives students an option to spend up to $4.99 on outfits and such.  I made a NO PURCHASES OR YOUR CLAN DIES rule.  It has worked so far!

The Writing Fire

I love to write - journals, blogs, stories, articles, scripts - it doesn't matter.  I ought to own stock in the company that makes composition books!  A fast moving pen on paper excites me, and the "New Post" boxes on my collection of blogs are quite addicting, as well.
Now, I'm not about to say I write well, or even consistently.  The world is so full of opportunities to share ideas in the techie world in which we live, I have a hard time lighting in one place too long.  Maybe that even adds to the adventure!
I think I heard a "So what?" out there.  Kids.  That's what.  I look into each face and see. possibly, the next Shakespeare, Rowlings, or Geisel... remember him?  How do we, as teachers, light that fire in young writers?  How can we share the craft, so that they never want to stop telling their stories?

We've been discussing writing on our campus.  We've asked the question, "Why don't kids like to write?"  I started thinking about what excites me.  Maybe it's the story-telling.  I love to tell stories.  Possibly because we ask kids to write a large amount of expository writing...
That's not it, though.  I write a large amount of expository writing, and I love it.  It happens I'm working at it right now.... hoping to spark an idea, share a thought - even if for just one person.  It's real for me.  I have an audience (I know I do because I read my posts to my dog) and a purpose.  Kids need the same thing.  They need an audience outside of the crazy lady with the red pen.  They need a real purpose - not a writing prompt.  Ok, I know they have to be able to write in response to a prompt for the sake of passing a test, so don't start shooting, yet.  That should not, however, be the reason we write - any of us.
An audience, you ask?  Surely somebody asked.  Ok, maybe it was the dog... but yes, an audience!  Again, with our high-tech world, opportunities for writing for a world-wide audience are at our fingertips, and our kids' fingertips, like never before.

I absolutely love to set the stage for a particular writing project.  I don't think my students even realize how much they write for me!  After some prep work this week, you could have heard a pen drop as an entire room of kids wrote for 45 minutes without a peep.  You see, it is important to them.  Their writing will be published, and, no, I'm not talking about hanging on the bulletin board!  We're just using good ol' pen and paper at the moment, but let me introduce you to some fantastic tools.

Let's start with Boomwriter.  This website can be used on computers, tablets, and phones!

A blurb from the site:

Get your class, student group, or club using technology to collaboratively write a real book. BoomWriter is totally free, and groups of five children or more can use it to read, write, compete and get published! Register your school or club on BoomWriter today.

Another great tool is Book Creator for iPad.  Students can create multi-media books with ease!  Students can collaborate and compile articles/chapters together to create a book.  These can be exported to ebooks readers without cost.

Need ideas?  Check out @mywriteabout on Twitter!  The website is coming soon, as well.  Daily pictures give interesting ideas for student writing.  I know, I said it's not about prompts, but it does have some good ones!

My post is getting quite long, but I must mention Bookemon, as well.  My kids have used this book designer for several years, and I love it!  It is web-based but has an app called bookPress.  Teachers can set up a classroom, and everything is free.  Students can actually have their books printed if they so choose - for a fee, of course!

I haven't even scratched the surface of the incredible writing tools available for our students today.  If you have some great finds, please comment and share!  Now, teachers, get those authors writing.  By the way, who's got the Stephen King of the future in their class???