iTIP of the Week: Increase Student Engagement With "Yes-No-Why"

Hi all!

Engagement = Students writing, speaking, creating, DOING!

This is how we define engagement in my school district. It can also be defined as "visible learning." Engagement has been, historically, defined incorrectly as politeness. As long as they are looking at me, they are engaged.

Now, we know better!

Every week, I will be offering some simple and effective techniques that will help increase student engagement in your classroom. Let's get started with...

Yes-No-Why

1. Pose a debatable Yes/No question.

2. Provide "think-time" for the student to formulate their position. Allow no writing, no talking...just silent thinking. You choose the time allotment. Set a timer and stick to it!

3. Have the students write their answer in no more than 1-2 COMPLETE sentences. Give them about a minute to write. Again, set a timer and stick to it!

4. Students Pair/Share their responses. Have them read their answer VERBATIM! This can be with a shoulder partner or have them walk around the room to find a partner. You decide what works best for your situation.

By having them write in complete sentences and then share their responses verbatim, you are getting them to speak in complete sentences. This is something they don't do often. Writing is also visible learning!

This technique can work in any classroom, promotes writing across the curriculum, and puts them at the upper level of Bloom's Taxonomy. By having the "why" component, the activity automatically becomes an evaluation question. 

Give it a go!

Have a happy day!

Google Classroom How Tos

Hi all!

Here is my playlist for my instructional videos on using Google Classroom. Enjoy!

And here is my Slidedeck, if that is more your style...

The Last Few Months...

Hi all!

I have been quiet, but the school year was wrapping up and things get very hectic. You know how it is! Here are some highlights of the last few months and some things I have been geeking-out over:

Kahoot! 

This is an awesome web-tool that makes formative assessment FUN! You can create your own "quiz" or choose from the large number of those already created. It is device agnostic and runs like a quiz show. Kids are given "kahoots" (points) for answering correctly and quickly so the competition really ramps up. At the end of the game, the teacher can download the data of the students' achievement and use it to inform their future instruction. Kahoot! has been used by my teachers from 6th - 12th grade and the kids LOVE IT!

Here is Kahoot! being used in a 7th Grade Science classroom:

Here is the YouTube channel for Kahoot!

Google Leadership Symposium

On Good Friday, I had our region's Google rep contact me wanting to collaborate with my school district. They wanted us to host a Google Leadership Symposium where approximately 80 school leaders would come together and talk about technology and revolutionizing the classroom. So, in 3 weeks, we designed, organized, and hosted the symposium. It was an exciting event and we received a lot of good feedback. Here is the site for the event!

Kearney Public Schools Summer Technology Courses

My colleagues and I are currently watching over our district's Summer Technology Classes. We are in charge of designing, scheduling, and supervising this event. This is two weeks of learning and sharing that has become a valuable part of the culture at Kearney Public Schools. Teachers can take classes for pay or credit through University of Nebraska-Kearney. Here are our offerings this year:

• 21st Century Learning/Technology Integration
• Quizlet
• Beginning Google Apps
• Intermediate Google Apps
• Advanced Google Apps
• Google Chrome
• Beginning Google Sites
• ePortfolios
• Moodle
• Safari Montage
• Tech Tools for Formative Assessment
• Mimio
• iPads in the Elementary Classroom
• iPads in the Secondary Classroom
• iBooks Author
• Kidspiration
• YouTube
• ...and more!

I hope you have an awesome summer! I will still be here sharing cool things I am learning and using. ON TO ISTE 14!

Have a happy day!

Chromebook 101: Email Etiquette

Hi all!

My high school went 1:1 with Chromebooks this past January. As the Learning Coach, it is my responsibility to provide professional development for both teachers and students. Every Monday, I provide teachers with a different lesson to share with students regarding their Chromebook and how they can use it safely, respectfully, responsibly, and effectively.

I figured I should share this will all of you!

Today's Topic: Email Etiquette

Here is an article on email etiquette you might want to share with your students as well: http://goo.gl/7FTuL

Have a happy day!

Google Docs & MLA Format Are Like Peas and Carrots

Hi all!

Since we have gone 1:1 with Chromebooks, and embraced Google Apps, we are providing learning opportunities for both staff and students.

The following two videos address how to format your papers, using Google Docs, in the MLA format. It is different than working in another word processing application, so we felt it would be a teachable moment for all.

Setting Up Your Paper

Page Numbers In The Outline

I hope these videos help you out!

Have a happy day!

What Are We Doing 1:1 After Three Weeks?

It's Friday!

We, here at Kearney High School, are just completing our third week of 1:1 with Chromebooks. I have been in some classrooms and have seen the awesome things happening for myself and I have also polled the staff on what they are doing.

Based on their answers, I categorized the usage and here is the list so far:

Chromebook Uses

Communication

• Class Websites (Google Sites, School Fusion)
• Learning Management Systems (Moodle, Schoology,  School Fusion)
• Gmail (Large increase since 1:1)

Collaboration

• Padlet
• Google Docs Projects
• Discussion Boards

Creativity

• Theatre Project utilizing YouTube and Google Docs to summarize each chapter and how it relates to a given play.

Critical Thinking

• Google Search (Having it “at the ready”)
• Real time data analysis in science classes

Engagement

• Graphic Organizers (Google Drawing)
• Guided Notes (Template Gallery/Make a Copy)
• Shared Slide Decks

Instructional Input

• Online Textbooks
• Khan Academy
• Desmos graphing program
• GeoGebra
• MusicTheory.net

Formative Assessment

• Socrative
• Infuse Learning
• Padlet (Parking Lot)
• Exit Tickets (Google Forms)

Assessment

• Google Forms with Flubaroo script
• Moodle
• Infuse Learning/Socrative
• Voicethread

This is a great start! We only asked our teachers to consider the Substitution level of the SAMR Model for technology integration and so many of them have cleared that hurdle by a mile! I can't wait to see where we go from here!

Have a happy day!

We Have Gone 1:1!

What a good week!

Kearney High School, in Kearney, Nebraska, started its venture as a 1:1 school this week. Before the holiday break, we handed out Chromebooks to our 1500 students and this past Tuesday is where the rubber-met-the-road, so to speak. It was a very cool week!

Starting Tuesday, we were going to be able to see if our network was going to hold, and it did! We had put so much work and preparation into our wireless network, yet due to a checkered past, many were still skeptical. It worked like a champ!

As I walked around the school, I saw teachers using Padlet for collaboration, shared Google Presentations for guided note-taking, Google Sites and Moodle as learning management systems, Google Forms for exit tickets and workflow management, Socrative and Infuse Learning for formative assessment...IT WAS SO COOL!

What was even more special were the reactions from teachers.

• The teacher who is slow and reluctant to implement new things is now so excited about comment-only grading using the comment feature of Google Docs.
• The math teacher who was not in favor of 1:1 has "flipped 180°" because of how he saw the increased engagement of his lower-achieving students. Now he wants to know how he can use Google Forms for assessment.
• The science teacher who was so excited to see the power of Infuse Learning as a method of formative assessment.
• The other science teacher of 30+ years who is using Moodle and Google Drive with her students. She is very nervous, but I can see she is proud of herself as well.

As an instructional coach, it is exciting to see teachers take steps to rock the boat a bit. They are trying new things, they are using new tools, and it is helping to create a new culture of learning. 

We know that a device, in and of itself, will do NOTHING to increase student learning. What does make a difference is how the teacher uses that device in the classroom. I think we are on our way!

It was a good week!

Have a happy day!