Performance, Feedback Revision

All too often our students wait until a quiz or a test to tell them what they know and don't know.  By then, it's too late.

As an aside, a test never truly tells what students know or don't know, but that's another conversation.

At the heart of that problem is this question: Do we as teachers create opportunities for students to identify the gaps in their understanding?  The best way to do this, is through some sort of formative assessment.  Through that assessment, they're going to realize if they understand it or don't.

Bababa Brinkman has this funny video about evolution called Performance, Feedback, Revision.  He has a line that says, 

"How do humans learn to do anything? Like this: Performance, Feedback, Revision." 

Here's the video: 

We have to create a routine in our classes where students can perform (be assessed). Get feedback (identify their gaps).  Revise (relearn).  Then repeat the process again.

The Problem with Assessment

The problem with most assessments is the fact that they are often punitive.  This makes the assessment product focused, because what matters in the end is a grade.  This opens the door to anxiety and nervousness about performing well.  What's worse, it can promote negative behaviors such as cheating. Why would a kid cheat? Because getting a good grade is what matters. No matter the cost.

What I'd argue matters, and I think most teachers would agree, is growth and learning above all. It's about the process.  It's about performance, feedback, revision.  Yet, if we continue to place weight on the grade or end product, we're not really putting our money where our mouth is.  We need to place value in the learning process.   

See my related post from 2015, What have you learned from the PROCESS?

The Other Problem with Assessment

It's often TEACHER FOCUSED.  It's the teacher assessing the students to identify their progress.   In the case of formative assessments, such as exit tickets, cold calling, or any kind of quiz, it's all about the teacher getting the pulse of the class, and individual students.  While this is important for us to make sure we're pacing properly, meeting students where they are at, and adapting as necessary, it's of equal importance for students to gain that knowledge.  

The Three Rules to Guide Us: 

• Students need regular formative assessment to identify gaps in their understanding. Otherwise, they don't know what they don't know.

• Value needs to be placed on the PROCESS of performance, feedback, revision not just the Product/Performance, otherwise you end up with kids that only care about the grade, and not their growth. 

• Formative Assessments need to be STUDENT FOCUSED. Teachers AND students need immediate access to the results so they can repeat the performance, feedback, revision process.

Putting it together.

I argue that teachers need to have a system or routine in place to frequently quiz their students.  There's Khan Academy, Quizz, InnerOrbit, Flipgrid, Kahoot, Canvas, and so many more. Whatever quizzing method you choose to use, it needs to be quick, easy to complete and grade, standards based, targeted, and immediately available for students and teacher to adjust as necessary.  If you must, give them a grade for doing it, but don't grade based on how they did.

Some argue that this should be done every single day.  In their book the EduProtocol Field Guide, Marlena Hebern and Jon Corippo argue that quizzing every day can replace instruction all together in some instances. They're a big proponent of Quizz.

See also this New York Times article on the subject of quizzing every day.  To Really Learn, Quit studying and Take a Test.

Canvas

Since we use Canvas as our Learning Management System at LGSUHSD, all of our coursework is housed within that system.  There is a Quiz feature that allows you to create a myriad of assessments.  I'll be doing a series of 1CoolThing videos on how to create Canvas quizzes soon.

Early on in our school adoption of Canvas I spent a year making all of my quizzes on Canvas. For every lecture, I created a corresponding nongraded formative quiz, called the CFU, for Check For Understanding.  I made students complete this every other night (we have block schedule). It didn't count towards their grade, but was required.

Having a regular, low stress, quiz immediately after the introduction of content had a transformative effect on my class, and served as a system for helping students to track and take ownership of their learning .

One year my co-teacher and I compared testing scores with those who regularly completed our CFU quizzes.  The results were astounding, and we pointed it out in class that year, and every subsequent year.

The students who regularly took the CFU had a testing average a FULL LETTER GRADE above those who regularly DIDN'T take the CFU.

Here's my advice on how to create a system that meets the three rules:

1. Create practice quizzes that do not count towards a student's grade.  See: types of quizzes.  
2. Give them daily or every other day.  
3. Keep them short: <10 minutes and  <10 questions.
4. Tell students not to "cheat" on this.  You don't care if they get them wrong or right. Tell them to treat it like a real test so they are authentically assessing their understanding at that point.
5. Set it up so that students get their results immediately.
6. Allow students to take them as often as possible.
7. Look at the results immediately after students take them, and use them to influence your instruction.
8. Ask students to reflect on their learning.  Constantly reinforce the importance of learning as a process of performance, feedback, revision.

Here's an image I often draw on the board and use as a discussion about studying and learning in general:

Final Thoughts

I'm not going to lie, making these Canvas quizzes is work.  It takes time to create the questions, especially if you're embedding multimedia.  But it's an investment. After I spent a year creating mine, I've been using them ever since.  My advice? Partner up with a course alike colleague and divide up the work. Canvas' ability to import/export content makes it very easy to jigsaw these quizzes and share with each other. The more you collaborate, the easier it is.

Why would they do it if it's not graded?  In making regular formative assessments a norm in your class, you're creating a culture of constant improvement and iteration.  You'll have to have conversations about the importance of identifying gaps in their understanding.  If you make the quizzing fun or part of the class routine, everyone will do it.  If you are like me, and have it as part of their homework, then you're going to have students who don't always do it.  I created incentives such as several times throughout the semester I would turn a quiz into actual points. Anyone who did the quiz, got 5 points in their testing category; anyone who didn't, got a zero. While this was punitive in a way, it also was a reward for those putting in the work, and often kids made it a priority.

Many people are looking to Canvas as a way of doing summative assessments. While this may work in some cases, I'd argue Canvas quizzes, or online quizzes for that matter, are FAR MORE POWERFUL when used strictly as a formative assessment that are STUDENT CENTERED, LOW STAKES, and PROCESS oriented.

Next conversation is to think about alternative summative assessments. For that, I'd encourage you to check out this post by my colleague Steph Rothstein: Meaningful Finals


Share your thoughts in the comments.  Thanks for reading.

Student Discussion in 30:60:90

We all have our go to strategies we like to use.  For us, they may seem old hat; standard operating procedure. But in the hands of someone who hasn't done it before, it might be completely innovative.

Innovation is relative.

But that's another blog post.

Back in August I was helping with the new teacher orientation for our district.  It was a mix of district policies and procedures, teachers getting their computers, and that kind of thing.  One of the mini sessions was run by a colleague, and former assistant principal of mine, Kevin Mount.  He wanted them to talk about a topic, and just casually implemented one of his go to standard practices.  He described in about 30 seconds, and then immediately got the new staff members going.

He called it "30:60:90."

I loved watching it in action, and I guess you could say it was a 1CoolThing moment for me. I knew I would want to share the practice with others.  It was similar to something I have done, but I like the naming, the structure, and the great balance of deepening a conversation, without taking up too much class time.

Here's how it works:

Student are given a topic to discuss. Ideally it should be an open ended and/or higher level question that promotes divergent thinking.

Partner A talks on the topic for 30 seconds. Then partner B talks for 30 seconds.
The process repeats again, this time with each partner speaking for 60 seconds, and then again for 90 seconds.

It's that simple, and when it's all said in done, you've only devoted 6 minutes to the process.

With each rotation more time is allowed, and the conversation gets deeper and deeper.  The first round might just scratch the surface intellectually, but with more time in the second round a person has more time to get their point across and perhaps the partner discussed an idea worth elaborating on.

Pair this with the active listening process I've discussed in a previous post, and students will be better and speaking for a prolonged period of time.  Plus you're fostering equity of voice and meaningful conversations about a topic relevant to the class.  Of course it's all about the question you ask, but this process scaffolds students in the process.


Some Ideas:

• Use this any time you want to break up a lesson.  Just teach a lot of content? Pause and give time to recap in 30:60:90

• Students coming to class having done a reading? Start class off with 30:60:90.

• Just do a new seating chart, and want kids to get to know each other? Pick a fun topic and give them 30:60:90 

•  Save 6 minutes for the end of class for students to recap what they've learned.

• Subject area: I think this is pretty self explanatory for any subject. The only one it's probably not obvious for would be math, so here's and idea of how it could work in math:

• Give a partner pair 6 leveled questions: an easy, medium, and difficult for each person. Give them the interval of time to solve the problem and discuss their logic.  Partner A solves the problem while partner B watches and listens to their logic, then switch.  

Thanks to Kevin Mount for the idea and inspiration for this post.


Have another idea of how 30:60:90 could be used? Do you have a twist on the similar idea? Share your ideas or thoughts in the comments!

Wheel Within A Wheel

Learning is an active process.  The more students are using the academic language of your class, the more likely they are to remember and understand it.

One great instructional practice to encourage student conversations around content is an activity called Wheel within a Wheel.  This is a great activity to implement the active listening practice outlined in a previous post.

It's basically speed dating, and it's simple to set up.

Arrange your chairs in two circles. An inner circle with students facing outward, and an inner circle facing inward.  Then decide who's going first.  Give students a predetermined amount of time to talk (Use a timer students can see), and let them talk. If they're taking turns, have them switch.

Then, have the inner circle stand up and rotate.  Repeat.  If taking turns speaking, and the inner circle started last, then have the outer circle start talking.

When done, now have the outer circle stand and rotate the other direction.

The gif below shows what this would look like:

via GIPHY

Ideas for implementing it:

• Teach active listening. Have students practice talking for different intervals of time.

• Ice breakers: A great way at the beginning of the year for students to have a face to face with many people in the class.

• Jigsaw: Have student read different articles.  This is a way for them to share their reading with other people. They get practice describing their article, and get to hear from multiple sources.

• Presentation Prep: Are they going to be giving a speech, saying some lines, or giving some sort of pitch? This a great way to get those reps in. 

•  Giving Feedback. After students take turns speaking, they can give each other feedback on how they could have done it better.

• Any time you want EVERYONE in the class talking about something YOU want them to talk about, this is a great structured way to do it.

By keeping the conversations short and your questions varied, it tends to keep kids on task. There's less chance of them drifting off topic. 

Personally, I'm a big fan of this strategy. It's not something I do all the time. I use it maybe 3 or 4 times a year, but paired with the right activity, it can be extremely effective.  It's both content focused and SEL focused because of the community building you gain by having students talk to many people in a session.

Credit to Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding, who reference wheel within a wheel in their book The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching.

Reading Circles/ Inside out Reading

1CoolThing is all about that one simple idea that can spark an "AHA moment" and potentially transform what you do.

I had a bit of an AHA moment a couple months ago while at an NGSS training taught by Jim Clark. He's a retired science teacher that now does PD on NGSS integration.  His session was really great, but he shared with us a practice from his teaching days that I thought would be perfect for all subject areas and one that I wanted to share with our staff.

I've created a short video describing the process. Here it is:

I want to give Jim full credit for this.  He actually called it Inside out Reading.  To me, it's about going from the outside in, but I don't think "Outside in Reading" sounds very good.  So, I've just been calling it "Reading Circles."  I'm sure others have done this before and have their own name for it too.


Here's what I like about it:

• Subject agnostic: This could be used in any discipline and can focus on anything the teacher asks students to read from.

• It promotes student voice and equity. By having all students move two post its to the first ring, it ensures that all students have a voice.

• Great for differentiating.  A student with limited understanding from the reading may write lower level or basic ideas on their post its while an advanced student can write more in depth or thoughtful comments.  In either case, their contribution matters and everyone can contribute from the level they understood.  In the end, everyone arrives at the central idea. Those lower level student are more likely to get the reading after the discussion.

• This can be used as a form of "flipped" learning. Student read some new content as homework, and then come to class and have discussions about the topic. The teacher as facilitator can help ensure the main points got across to the students.

• It's manipulative: Students are speaking and using their hands to move ideas around. This increases engagement.

• The 4Cs: Promotes collaboration, critical thinking, communication, and creativity. Less of the latter, but certainly the first 3.  Especially if you have some good guiding questions for the activity.

• This could be used in jigsaw methods.  Assign multiple readings to the class. Each group has a discussion on their reading, then the class discussion focuses on pulling all of those readings together.

• Use it for movies:  Make movies shown in class less passive. Have students take notes on post it's and then carry out this activity after the film to pull out main ideas.

Here are some pictures I took from my workshop. You can see how we stuck post it's together that had similar points.

Overall, I think this is just a great tool to have in one's toolbox.  As with any practice, you don't want to use it too much, but by using it multiple times, students will get better at the process and the richness of conversations will increase too.

What ideas do you have? How could this practice be applied to your context? How could you take it one step further.

Here's Jim's contact info. Check him out:

Jim Clark

NGSS Innovations

https://nextgenscienceinnovations.wordpress.com/

BioInteractive Howard Hughes Medical Institute

@Biointeractive

@Sci_innovations

Active Listening: A structured format for improving communication.

Do you ever get cut off when you're talking to someone?  Your short pause as you collected your thoughts was the irresistible opportunity for your partner to interject with their thoughts.

Or maybe you were the person who couldn't NOT interject.  That silence was just too awkward.

Why does this happen? Is it that we just have so much to say and must get it out?  How do you think that makes the person who was interrupted feel?  Do they feel like their voice/thoughts were heard?

This happens all the time in adult life, and especially in schools among students.  No matter what, there are often people who tend to dominate conversations (I wonder, are they really conversations?) and people tend to fall into, or are pushed, into a passive roll.

Some people are introverts, and are very comfortable being quiet.  Just because they aren't talking doesn't mean they aren't engaged.  Even if they are quietly engaged, there's still a missed opportunity if they don't have the opportunity to speak.

Active Listening

Six years ago I attended a workshop put on by the Passage Works Institute called Creating the Engaged Classroom which is based on a book called The 5 Dimensions of Engaged Teaching  They have a practice called Active Listening that forces pairs into either speaking or listening roles.

I had a bit of an epiphany about it at the time because I realized I have so much collaborative work in my class, and I expect students to communicate with one another, but I never taught them HOW to communicate.  The most important part of communication is LISTENING.  

This practice was a structured tool that taught students how to manage their speaking and listening so that conversations were more equitable.  I have used it regularly in my classes ever since, and truly made my students better communicators, and thus more effective, in their group work.

Here's how it works:
Partner A and B pair up and are given a prompt to discuss. Both will take turns speaking for a predetermined amount of time.

Partner A speaks for the determined amount of time.  In that time ONLY partner A can speak. If they run out of things to say, they can remain silent for the remainder of the time, or resume speaking if and when they have something more to say.

Partner B does not say a word. They face their partner. They make eye contact. They give non-verbal acknowledgement of what the person is saying, but do not speak. They don't ask questions. They don't interject. They just listen. And if there is no more to say, they both sit in silence until the time is up or partner A decides to say more.




After the allotted time, Partner A and B switch roles.

The Implementation

The first time I do this, I have students talk for 30 seconds, and I pick a topic that is very easy to talk about.  Your favorite food?  Your favorite board game?  I love to draw a Would You Rather card; "Would you rather always have a bag over your head or have your foot stuck in a bucket?"

Then we do it a second time.  Now a minute. Same type of question, or maybe a little more challenging.  This time most students speak for 45 seconds or so, and then run out of what to say.  Here's where the personality types come out.

If Partner B can't handle the silence, they'll interject.  Maybe they'll just feel really awkward.
Sometimes Partner A has a really hard time speaking that long.  They feel awkward too.  Some find their way and start talking again. Some just sit in an awkward silence.

After this, we debrief the activity.

• How was it as the speaker?  Was it easy? Hard?

• How was it as the listener? Was it easy or hard?

• Was one easier than the other?

• How is this like or unlike normal conversations?

Themes that come up:

• Some students love to speak. The speaking was easy. Or it's the other way around. Some students love to be quiet and the listening was easy. 

Too much speaking by one person?

• Typically we have a predominant preference.  Those of us that are really good at speaking, might be the ones that overpower a conversation and need to listen better.  We need to learn to moderate ourselves and not speak too much.

• Some of us prefer to be quiet, or speak slower.  We need to make sure we strengthen our speaking "muscles" and work on getting our points across.

These are good conversations to have as a class.  They set the expectation that everyone's voice is important and being a good communicator means you can balance BOTH your speaking and LISTENING.  I once heard we have two ears and one mouth, so we should remember to listen twice as much as we speak.  That's cute and all, but let's just be more aware of how much we speak and be conscious of everyone's voice in a group discussion.

Building on the Practice
You have to do this again. Some time soon.

Progressively increase the amount of time you have them talk. They will get better at it.  Always start with a small interval of time and work up to something longer.  Same with questions. Start with easy questions, and then build in higher level questions.  These can by all means be content related questions.

After you do this three to five times, students will really get it. It won't take long for them to be comfortable talking for 2-3 minutes.  Once you have done the active listening process for a while, and you tell them "have a regular conversation now, but apply what you've learned through our active listening practices" they will be excited to speak in a normal conversation style.  You'll be amazed because the quality of conversation will be better.  Fewer kids will interject and the conversations will be more balanced.

In the future when you do group projects, or discussions, just a gentle reminder about speaking and listening at the outset will lead to a high quality level of communication throughout.

Some Ideas: 

1.  When doing this practice, use it to progressively move up Blooms Taxonomy. This pdf gives sentence stems for asking higher order questions.

• Level 1: Recall
• Level 2: Understanding
• Level 3: Apply
• Level 4: Analyze
• Level 5: Evaluate
• Level 6: Create

2.  Pick a level, depending on where you are in a lesson.  Just teach a new topic? Do a level 1 or 2 question. End of the period and them to take it deeper?  Pick a level 4, 5, or 6

3.  Periodically, give them a prolonged chuck of time.  5 minutes of just speaking.  If you've built up to it, you'll be amazed by what they're capable.

4. Do this practice every time you do a new seating chart, especially if students are in groups. It's a great way for each group member to have a face to face with their new partners, and build their skill too!

Do you have experience with a practice like this? How did it go? Have other ideas of how to use it?  She your thoughts in the comments below!

Building a Brand

My laptop is 🔥 now that I have the coolest sticker around. Who wants one! Share your #1CoolThing or meet with your #TOSA @srothteachlg or myself to get one! #golgcats #gofalconpower #lgsuhsd pic.twitter.com/kgLThfXijJ

— Kristofer Orre (@MrOrreBiology) December 12, 2018

When I started as TOSA 5 months ago, I had no idea what I would be doing.  It was so ambiguous and open ended that it was simultaneously exciting and scary.  I'm proud to say that it's really grown organically and I'm creating something, with my partner TOSA Stephanie Rothstein and other colleagues, that I think is really powerful.

Click here: See the first newsletter that showcases this multifaceted approach.

We're building a differentiated form of professional development focused on teacher innovation and professional growth, that comes in bite size chunks.  It's all about exposing teachers to new ideas and training to improve their practice; all while fitting within a framework of limited time to do so.  We'll leverage many digital tools (blogs, YouTube, infographics, Google Hangouts, etc.) to make this available any time anywhere, and pairing that with 1:1 sessions or small workshop type sessions.

Early on I was thinking about how we've all had those moments where we see a colleague do a really cool lesson, hear about a fantastic new tech tool, or we read about a topic and say "that's so cool! I have to try that." The idea goes on to be transformative for their practice.

I got to thinking, how can we get teachers to SHARE their cool things?  How can we create more opportunities for staff to have more transformative moments like that?

At first I just started sharing cool things I saw at our two campuses on Twitter with the hashtag #1CoolThing.  I was beginning to support teachers 1:1 and if it was a topic I thought others could benefit from, I'd record a screencast.  One of my first was one on Google hangouts.  With the encouragement of a colleague and thought partner, Traci Bonde, I realized this could be something bigger.

This led to me creating a YouTube Channel and the idea to create a model of professional development showcasing ALL the cool things from tech tools to SEL. From assessment to instruction.   I realized the best scenario would be to make this collaborative.

Organically, 1CoolThing was born. 

We want build a practice of all staff members sharing their cool things with each other, and the world. We want it to not just be LGSUHSD staff, but everyone.

Part of building this momentum, is through branding.  I designed these awesome stickers and now Steph and I can give these to teachers we work with that are trying new things, or teachers that start sharing their cool things on Twitter with the hashtag.

The hope is by people seeing the sticker, it will spark a conversation. First about why they have a sticker, but then morphing into the idea and practice of showing the good work that we do and the culture of collaboration and innovation we're trying to build.

Sporting a #1CoolThing Sticker means you have a growth mindset and want to simultaneously share AND learn ALL the cool things that could make you a better educator.

Put those stickers anywhere! Not just on your computer.

As you can see, the demand is already high:

Nice- stickers galore for everyone but me. @MrOrreBiology Dans only been with us 2 weeks. #1CoolThing NOT pic.twitter.com/JO8yXhHMTv

— Traci Bonde (@tr_bo) December 14, 2018

Honored to be the first laptop sporting this swag! #1coolthing @MrOrreBiology #lgsuhsd #gofalconpower #golgcats pic.twitter.com/6eqXk44yid

— Julie Grenier (@hrhjulieg) December 12, 2018

Using Flipgrid as a tool for debriefing professional development

Below is an email I sent this morning to staff at both LG and Saratoga.  I'm trying to get teachers to use Flipgrid not just in their classroom, but as a way of sharing out after going to a professional development.  Here's why: 

• Most of the time, if we go to even an average conference or PD day, we are the sole beneficiary.  Perhaps we share at lunch with colleagues, or even send a department email. For the most part, the learning stays locked within us. This is a lost opportunity

• Most conferences, you walk away with 1 takeaway or tool (#1CoolThing) Why not share that with others? It should only take a couple minutes. The effort is minimal, but the return can be huge.

• PD is expensive.  Sometimes districts balk at sending staff to expensive trainings.  If we can create an archive of teachers sharing what they gained from a PD or conference, then we will have a greater likelihood of getting funding in the future.   

• This creates a culture of collaboration and innovation because teachers are not only sharing new learning, but they can also respond to each other or follow up in person.  

Here's the email:

Happy Monday everyone.  I hope you had a nice weekend.

Following up on the newsletter last week, here are 3 quick things following up on the featured tool, Flipgrid.

1.  Did you just go to a conference? I know several have lately.  Please share 1 thing you learned from the conference in this topic on Flipgrid. Help colleagues learn from your experience. This also helps us justify future PD/Conferences.  Click the link, log in with you school account. Click the "+" sign and record a quick video.

  https://flipgrid.com/9dd69a0a

2.  Want to try Flipgrid just to see what it's all about before trying it with students? Click this link:

https://flipgrid.com/5906e9ec

3. Flipgrid shared this fantastic guide on Twitter outlining all things Flipgrid from basic to advanced.  It's a really well organized guide.

Flipgrid could be used down the stretch as a review tool. Get students talking about concepts from the semester.  Let me know if you do try it. I have some nifty Flipgrid stickers for you...

I know we all have a lot on our plate, so if this is too much, no worries. Do what you need to do and take care of yourself.

Kristofer

What happens when you are suddenly not available? The case for going digital.

Have you ever had "life" just happen and you could not be at work?  Like a, drop everything, family emergency, nothing about work matters kind of moment?

I have. Most people have. And if it hasn't happened to you yet. It will.

For educators this can be an especially difficult dilemma because not showing up to work means kids are left without a teacher, and the stakes are high. Their education is paramount.

Thus, suddenly being unable to make it to work can become doubly stressful because you are adding the stress of leaving your students in a lurch ON TOP of the emergency that you're dealing with.

I have had this happen to me several times in my career.  Though, the ones that have occurred in recent years have been much less stressful than those in the early years of my career.  What's the difference? 

Blended learning and organizing my class content on Canvas and Google.

I've spent a lot of time promoting the use of Google Docs and Canvas, for the purposes of enhancing the educational experience, differentiating learning, and preparing students for the 21st century.  This is all true and good, but here's another important reason.

If you have all of your course content on Google and a Learning Management System, your sudden absence has less of an impact on your students.  

Here's a question to think about if you're a teacher.  If you were 15 minutes late to class and your kids showed up, the door was unlocked, and they came in. What would they do? 

Would it be a free for all? Would kids be texting, playing Fortnite, or socializing with their friends, or would they sit down and follow a routine you've built such as doing a warm up, getting homework out, pulling computers out and checking Canvas, etc.?  

Here' another question.  If you suddenly couldn't make it to class, would it be a lost day?  Would you have to tell a colleague to get Movie bla bla bla and tell the sub to play it and make the students do a page of notes?  Or could you lean on what you have organized electronically?  Tell your colleague to write on the whiteboard: "Go to Canvas and do today's....."

Here's one step further.  What if you suddenly couldn't make it to class, or the remaining 3 weeks of the semester?

You get the picture.  What this really boils down to is this:  

Are you teaching in a teacher-centered classroom, or a student-centered classroom? 

Are you the center of the classroom universe or are your students?

Are you the Sage on the Stage or the Guide on the Side?

I can talk till I'm blue in the face about how important going digital is for your student's education, and you may agree or disagree with me, but here's an argument that I think really drives home the importance of going digital:

By blending your course into the digital space you extend yourself, and your vision into the digital space. You ensure that you are there, even when you aren't.  You ensure that the learning outcomes are not sacrificed, but reinforced.  Your class becomes more robust, stronger, and powerful.

Technology will never replace teachers, but technology sure does make us better and more effective.

This has other implications too.  I often hear teachers say that they can't be absent another day, or they won't take any days off for professional development because their students can't have them be gone.  What I hear them saying is, "I'm the sage on the stage and the center of the classroom universe. My students can't learn without me."  If they had created a course that was blended into the digital space, they would have a student-centered classroom, and know that their students would be just fine.

Obviously they can't be gone ALL the time, and there's certain things kids must have you there for.  For example,  I would never leave them to their own devices with a sub to run a lab that was dangerous or had expensive lab equipment.  If I taught an elective like shop or culinary, then yeah kids aren't going to get the same experience without me because they can't do it without me.  This is however is the exception to the rule though. Most all classes could get by for a few days here or there with NO problem.  

So, ask yourself:

• What would happen if I was late, or missed a day/week suddenly?

• What systems and routines do I have in place for my students to follow?

• Would my students follow these routines in my absence?

• Do I have my labs, activities, projects, assignments, worksheets, etc. in a digital format? 

•  Am I the Sage on the Stage or The Guide on the Side?

Here's some advice:

• Put ALL of your content in Google Drive.  This allows you to share with students or colleagues in a moments notice. This includes calendars or assignment sheets.

• Create MOST, if not all,  assignments in your LMS, such as Canvas or Google Classroom.  Build a routine of students turning work in electronically, so if you were absent, they would have no problem turning it in, and you could grade if from anywhere.

• Collaborate with colleagues.  By having common assignments, it's easy for them to step in and teach the lesson at a moments notice.

• Use videos (screencasts, recordings with a Doc Cam, YouTube, etc) for delivery of content.  This way students can still learn content without you being physically present.

• Use the announcement feature for sub plans.  Better yet, don't call them sub plans. Call them "student plans."  Post your plan as an announcement, and direct the sub to tell kids to see that announcement.  If you have time, you could even record a video giving them your instructions in person. 

• Implement some element of Project Based Learning.  When students are working on projects that they are self directed in, it's easy for them to continue working even if you are absent.

Becoming the guide on the side if you are the sage on the stage can be difficult if you are deeply engrained in this methodology, but if you can make the effort, you could save yourself some significant stress in the most stressful of times that pull you away from class.  Isn't it worth a try?

• Here's a great book on building "The Student Centered Classroom."
• Follow my YouTube Channel 1CoolThing to learn more tips and techniques to make your class more digital
• Post your thoughts or experiences in the comments. Have you benefited from having a blended class during a stressful time when you couldn't make it to class suddenly?

Innovation Newsletter Infographic

Below is picture of the Infographic Newsletter I created, which will be called the "Innovation Newsletter."  This is the first in what will be a monthly newsletter.  As the infographic shows, 1CoolThing is a multifaceted (or differentiated) approach.

The goal of the newsletter will be to highlight work that has been done by TOSAs the last month, showcase a new tool in more detail, and give staff shout outs for the work they are doing.  Some of this same information is available in other locations, like the YouTube Channel, but this may be a format that connects with some.  It's part of the differentiation.

The goal of this particular newsletter is to (re-)introduce the idea of "1CoolThing," highlight 1 tool that has been mentioned in previous emails called FlipGrid, and get teachers thinking about possibly joining Twitter.  In January we will begin a campaign to encourage teachers to share and connect via Twitter in order to grow their Personalized Learning Network.

Getting people to read emails is difficult, so hopefully an infographic with more visually appealing content will be more engaging.  The presentation view linked below is hyperlinked throughout, making it a richer, more "innovative," newsletter than your standard body of text.  You can also embed it or download it as a picture.

Click here to see the live view, with all the links.

Here's the full infographic:

1CoolThing: ThinSlides, Video Creation, and more

Below is an email I sent out two weeks ago to our staff on the idea of thin slides:


I don't know the best time to share 1CoolThing ideas, so I'm just going to mix it up.  Today it's coming on a Monday!

This 1CoolThing video is on a topic called Thin Slides and is a great way to get students creating something together.  

WATCH THIS QUICK VIDEO ON THE TOPIC:

I demonstrated the practice this morning in Seema Patel's class.  This is one of the things I can do as your TOSA.  Feel free to invite me into your class to help demo a technology or teaching practice.  

When I work with teachers, I like the 3 step practice of "I do it. We do it. You do it." so you're getting the support, but also learning to do it yourself. Depending on the teacher, we may start with me doing it, or jump straight to the teacher doing it it all with me just being there.  Nevertheless, I'm here to support you when you need it, in a way that works for you.

Check out the video and reach out if you have any questions or want more information.

Cheers,

Kristofer

PS: Want more?

1. Subscribe to 1CoolThing YouTube Channel to see more videos as they're added. I don't necessarily email everyone when a new video is published.
2. Follow #1CoolThing on Twitter where I share the great things I see teachers doing daily.
3. Do you have a cool thing you want to share? Please email me and have me come in. 

1CoolThing Coffee Session: Google Docs

As the full time TOSA for LGSUHSD, I'm trying to create a multifaceted, meaningful, relevant, and focused form of professional development.  There are significant constraints that I have to work within. The biggest of all is time. Teachers are VERY BUSY, and it is difficult to find time to do anything, let alone learn a new tool and implement it in a lesson.

1CoolThing is about showcasing bite size pieces of information, techniques, tools, etc. that are beneficial to them and their practice.  Because it's small or short in duration, it's more manageable and likely for them to entertain the idea, and maybe even give it a try.

The ultimate goal of 1CoolThing is to promote greater collaboration and innovation within our classes and help teachers grow and learn, just like we want our students to.

Today I tried something new.  I held a 35 minute session before school that I called "1CoolThing Coffee Session."  The focus was on Google Docs.  I picked some topics on Google Docs that were a mix of basic and advanced, and sent an email to all staff last week that I would be offering this session the following week.  I sent a Calendar invite to staff with a link that included the option to join as a Google Hangout. I included in it my 1CoolThing video on how to join a hangout this way.

This alone was an epiphany for some, as I was tied in on a colleague's email later that day that read:

"If you guys saw Kris Orre's 1CoolThing video today, it's exactly about what we're doing.  So let's try to practice and see how likely it is to use this feature in class for <  **** >, and instead of you guys coming down here, just log into the meet.... (This link is also in the calendar invite, just like Kris taught me today.)

Maybe you'll be on the road home to vote -- just pop your phone up on the car stand thing.  Let's see how this works!"

The morning of the session, I created the hangout and simultaneously recorded my session using a Swivl and my iPad.  I've now uploaded the video to my 1CoolThing YouTube Channel.  The full video is down at the bottom of this post.

Early morning #1coolthing coffee and mini lesson with @MrOrreBiology. Great attendance by Ts and Admins both live and remotely. #lgsuhsd @LGSUHSD #gofalconpower @SaratogaHigh #golgcats @LosGatosHigh pic.twitter.com/gsprEIpks3

— Julie Grenier (@hrhjulieg) November 7, 2018

@MrOrreBiology is running 1st #1CoolThing Coffee Session teaching Google Doc 101 + demoing Swivel recording equipment & Teachers are in room OR via Google Hangout. BOOM. @LGSUHSD #LGSUHSD @LosGatosHigh #golgcats @saratoga_high #gofalconpower pic.twitter.com/gabDaHvPF5

— Traci Bonde (@tr_bo) November 7, 2018

Below is the link to my document. It's nothing special. Just a Google Doc with the features I was talking about. I also hyperlinked to all the 1CoolThing videos I had already created.

http://bit.ly/2F66nj1

Overall, I'm happy with how this went. I had about half a dozen people show up in person, and 4 log in and listen via GHO.  There were lots of good questions and discussions, and I think everyone walked away with at least 1 cool thing that they could use.  I got an email later in the day that said:

"The Force Copy extension is cool!!!" 

That's basically what 1CoolThing is all about.

Next week I'll try it at all over again at Los Gatos.

Loving my job right now.

1CoolThing: Flipgrid and Canvas

Below is an email I sent our staff on October 10th. For most, this was the very first time they had heard of Flipgrid.  

I wanted to share a new digital tool that has been picking up a lot of interest by educators around the country, and the world, for that matter.  Our world languages departments have been looking into it and some (such as Sarah Voorhees) have already been piloting it in their class with very promising success.  It's called Flipgrid and the applications are endless.

In short, it's like a video discussion board, but presented in a way that kids enjoy.  It is similar to the social media they use daily.  Before you stop reading :) watch this 2 minute video that describes it in a nutshell.

It's become so popular and widespread, that Canvas has integrated with it.  On Monday I showed SHS World Languages how they can link the two services.  You can even use rubrics in Canvas to quickly assess the videos.  Here's a full breakdown of how to do it.

Here's how to link the two services: 

It's perfect for world languages for obvious reasons, but could be applied to any subject.  There are uses in math, social studies, science, and more.

As always with 1CoolThing videos or topics there's zero pressure to adopt, but I hope you'll at least entertain the idea. If it's something that interests you, reach out to me and I can answer questions, help set it up, or even demonstrate it in your class for you. I'm here to help.

Cheers!

Kristofer

PS: Want more?

1. Subscribe to 1CoolThing You Tube Channel to see more videos as they're added.
2. Follow #1CoolThing on Twitter where I share the great things I see teachers doing daily.
3. Follow what other educators are doing with Flipgrid on Twitter via #flipgridfever and #flipgrid

Since this email was sent out, I've already worked with several teachers on using Flipgrid with Canvas.  So far I find the integration to be a little clunky. Basically once a teacher links the two accounts, students can only access the "grid" by first going through Canvas.  They can't just pull out the phone, type in the code, and go.  That's awkward. 

There's also no way to subdivide topics into class section. Right now if a teacher teaches 3 periods, all 3 will be blended into one big one.  That's ok for some, but not for all.

For now I'm advising teachers to just stay within Flipgrid only until things get worked out.

I will say though, the ability to grade the video within Canvas is AWESOME.

I'm currently playing with Flipgrid with our "Google Masters."  I've had them share their goals for our cohort.  Additionally, I'm experimenting with Flipgrid as a way of getting teachers to share what they learn from PD days.  I'll do a blog post on this in the future....

Kicking the tires on the old blog

It's been a while. Nearly 2 years since my last post!

I think it's fair to say I don't naturally have an urge to journal or write, and I definitely don't have a lot of free time.  Balancing work and family life made it pretty difficult to keep the blog going, even if there were things I would have liked to share.

Some things have definitely changed in that time.  One of the biggest change would be that I'm no longer teaching. I've embarked on a new chapter of my career.  I am now the full time TOSA for my district.  My job title is "Instructional Coach," and for the next two years my responsibility will be to support teachers at Los Gatos and Saratoga High Schools.

Transitioning out of the classroom has been an interesting experience.  It's exciting because it's a new challenge, and I felt like it is a perfect match of my skill set and the need.  I get to help teachers grow as educators by both supporting them with things they want to work on and also showing them things they've never done or even considered.  When I went into teaching I did it because I felt like it was the one job that I could have the greatest impact on the world.  Educating our youth is an investment in our future.  Now when I help teachers, in a way I feel like I'm amplifying my affect.  It's pretty cool.

Yet, there's some weird sides to becoming a TOSA.  You have to pack up everything in your room, but not get rid of things because you're going to back to teaching.  And some people will tell you won't get your room back.  Some people think you won't come back at all.  I have no aspirations to go into administration, yet many think that's what I'll do.

After a couple months on the job, there have been a few events that have made me consider starting my blog back up again.

1.  I read Innovators Mindset by George Couros.  He talks about blogging a lot as a form of digital portfolio.  I'm totally sold on that as a teacher.  See previous posts on the subject.  He mentioned a great article from Wired Magazine that made me think that even my bad blog might be beneficial.

Read it here: Why Even The Worst Bloggers are Making us Smarter

2. I stumbled upon this article on Twitter: Blogging is the New Persuasive Essay.  The article made me think beyond why we should be having students blog (again, totally on board with it), but the format of it made me think about how I should be writing my own blog stylistically.

3.  I participated in a @TOSAChat on the topic of blogging.  A lot of the conversation got me thinking about how I could use a blog in my new role. It got me thinking about the title of my blog and the focus of it.  My education, and my role in education, is constantly evolving.  What started as a blog about an experiment I was trying in class, evolved into a blog about things I was doing in general. Now as a TOSA, I could use this as a platform to share resources with colleagues, and my PLN.

The one thing holding me back has been time. Remember: I HAVE NO TIME.  I didn't know how I was going to be able to find the time to blog, and I don't know how my district (and colleagues) would feel about me blogging on the job.

4.  Then the final thing tipped me over: my awesome TOSA partner Steph Rothstein sends Traci and me a vox on Friday saying she has started her blog.  Check it out here: https://tosatakeaways.blogspot.com/

The Next Step in the Evolution of my Blog

Her approach totally pushed me over the edge.  She said that she's basically going to copy and paste some of her emails that she sends to staff into her blog.  I listen to that and think: "Genius!"

So that's my plan, that hopefully won't take up extra time.  I'm just going to post many of the things I share with staff.  I've already started a YouTube Channel called 1CoolThing, so just created a page here based on my initial email I sent to staff outlining what it's all about. Check it out here or click it up at the top of this page.

Moving forward I will use this blog to archive topics I email staff about. I'll also use it as a place to embed my videos with a little more explanation on the topic.  I also plan to reflect on my role as a TOSA. I hope both educators and TOSAs can get some benefit from this blog.

Image by author.

Picture at top of the page: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e5/Time-Allocation.png