Scratch in Science

Tried Scratch on Friday with my kids...some have had an introduction in STEAM, others had never seen it before.

Here are a few examples of what they did:

5-1 Debriefing & 5-2 Organizing Data

I used Google Spreadsheet and Forms.  I tried Zoho, but since I've never done anything like this before, I felt like I needed to start from scratch.  I didn't understand what I wanted the final product to look like, so Zoho was too advanced for my neophyte level.  It took me several hours to get the spreadsheet to look the way I wanted it, and then I imported data from one sheet to another.  My team teacher and I have been dabbling in this, so that basic premise was the smallest of my hurdles.  Once I had the form created, and that data imported into the collection sheet, I set up conditional formatting for the incorrect answers to stand out.  Finally, I had to call my brother, the software consultant, to explain how the "if" statements work.  I wanted the one sheet to import the names of students who missed each standard into a list on another - he helped me with this.  I must admit, it felt great when he was rattling off symbols and phrases that I understood.  Who knew we actually can speak the same language (he's five year my junior)?

Live form for teachers to fill in data:
https://docs.google.com/a/yarmouthschools.org/forms/d/18tp9KDnPtoCzqRj8nYVh0PDgrTpLdbxxqwBOalR7ODg/viewform

Student Data:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0As-OQpU74y-pdGdsYnFlU2psdEJZckcwcUpldjdfLXc&usp=sharing

The Student Data spreadsheet is broken down into several sheets.  The standards from the assignment are on one, so additional standards can be added if necessary.  DataCollection contains the answers from the form the teachers complete based on their students' responses.  Incorrect answers are color coded so they stand out.  The form remains live so teachers can input additional student data.  Finally, the Student to Standard Missed sheet contains a list of each standard as well as the students who missed it.  Each sheet is formatted for up to 50 students.

As you can see from the data, M:01:NO:6.4 (S) seems to be answered incorrectly most often.  I also noticed that Zorian and Zamsung missed quite a few of the questions and would probably benefit from additional support.  I'd strongly suggest daily review skills; there are some great programs available for practice on basic skills.

Now that the spreadsheet is set up, I could use this for any standards and for any content.  I'd love to include a list of websites that would accompany each standard as well.  I'd like to think our Lead Math teacher has resources for each standard categorized somewhere, but since these standards are for NH, I didn't bother asking her.  The whole process was much more interesting than I expected.  From a teacher's perspective, I despise data collection.  My students are kids, not numbers.  I know that the numbers collected will help me determine their skills and abilities, but to get the numbers we rely on so much testing.  My poor kids are tested out after the first month of school!  I just wish the whole process didn't require them to test three hours a day for four straight days.  I wish there was a more practical, less intrusive way to collect the data.  I'm get off my soapbox now.

My team teacher and I have used spreadsheets with one of our social studies units quite extensively.  During the unit, students pick and choose from a list of assignments in order to earn points toward their final grade.  The grading used to be a nightmare; everyone turns assignments in at different times, the score sheet were in individual folders, and the criteria for each assignment on a separate sheet.  In the end I had to record scores in multiple places.  

To alleviate a lot of the paper work, we created a spreadsheet with a list our kids, the list of assignments, the criteria, and the possible points per assignment.  Then, we created a spreadsheet for each kid that imports the data from their line on the master spreadsheet.  Consequently, each time I grade something, my kids immediately see their score.

Student View

It also facilitates an emphasize on submitting work prior to the deadline, so they can revisit an assignment if they want more points.  Another benefit is that I'm not inundated with 5-10 assignments for 20-24 kids at the end of the unit.  It also reinforces the idea that completing a variety of assignments increases their overall understanding of the material and ultimately more helpful on the final assessment.
Click here for the "menu" of options from which the kids can choose for our Gilded Age unit.
Click here to see my grading spreadsheet.

4-2 Teacher Training

Click "Open in Blendspace"

4-1 Building Relationships

First and foremost, in order to build a relationship with a colleague, you must have trust.  An integrator or strategist must be approachable, open, creative, calm, and patient.  If a teacher doesn't sense these qualities, s/he won't access you and, "we will have wasted every dollar we have spent on classroom technology," (Smith, 2000) if a classroom teacher refuses to use it.  

The other day our TI introduced our new Digital Professional Portfolio at a staff meeting.  As he literally flew through the directions, I immediately sensed the tension in the room rising and the levels of anxiety on the verge of disaster.  I immediately started wandering my way through the room and answering any questions I could.  I pointed some people in the right direction, guided others through individual steps, and sat even had to sit down with others one as he laboriously struggled through each phase of the process.  Interestingly, when the meeting concluded, many of my colleagues thanked me for the help and support.  In addition, as soon as these same people had trouble, they came to me with their questions.  

The strategies I noticed that did not work that day, when the TI jumped into the process, he hadn't typed up any directions for those people who need to go at their own pace; he didn’t show a few steps and wait for people to repeat them, he cruised right through from beginning to end and then showed his frustration when people had questions; and finally, he spoke so fast, people couldn’t watch what he was doing and then reproduce the same action before he had already gone onto the next step.  

Most of the time, I let my actions speak for themselves.  I observe other teachers in our faculty groups or in our learning area meetings, and then share resources with them whenever I find something they could use, whether a website, a program, or an article.  Whenever I'm in a small group that needs to present our work, I offer to pull it all together to show others how engaging and helpful technology can be.  In the past, I’ve shown teams of teachers, what I consider basics, but others see as revolutionary; for example:  how I organize my email into folders, how I save parent emails by labels, and how I create groups in email so I can contact my students quickly.  The purpose is to show everyone that the use of technology is meant to be helpful, inspiring, interactive, and rewarding - it shouldn't be an additional component, but rather a tool that weaves itself into our other required tasks.  Finally, I watch people to see how they use technology and offer suggestions when I see them going about processes in a round about fashion, or provide guidance as to how technology may benefit their current plan - actions I wouldn’t think of doing if I hadn’t established a prior rapport.

Smith, M. (2000). Strategies That Work: One school technology leader’s winning strategies for staff development in technology integration. [online] Retrieved from:  http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=60 [Accessed: 17 Oct 2013].

3-1 Collaboration Scenarios

Scenario One: Upon walking into the classroom of a new eighth grade English language arts (ELA) teacher, the teacher informs you that she will be teaching a lesson on fate versus free will the following week. She plans on using excerpts from Oedipus Rex and Dante’s Inferno. She has not put the lesson plan together yet but intends to have the students present examples from the readings to support their case through a persuasive essay.

I have no idea what these books are about, but would suggest several sites to help kids plan out their essays:

• https://bubbl.us/ - Allows kids to map out their ideas, add support, and see a visual of their arguments. 
• Thinglink - Allows users to create interactive images to reinforce content using links, music, video, or voice. Students are able to find pictures to summarize content, use text/links to reinforce learning. Might be a building block to a persuasive essay because it allows kids to personalize the situation by making connections visually. 
• iMovie - Students could create a "movie trailer" as a hook for their essay. A great way to make their ideas concise and add music and/or pictures for effect. Again, all scaffolding for their written essays.

Scenario Two: A high school science teacher is presenting a unit on astronomy, specifically on how Polaris is no longer the central point of the northern sky. The teacher is confident that he can teach it out of a book but is anxious to give the students a better experience from the lesson. He is hoping that the technology integration specialist will be able to help make a more authentic study for the students.

• StarSafari - An app on the iPad that allows the viewer to travel through the Milky way.  You can make any celestial body the center of the screen and see specific facts about it.
• StarTracker - An app on the iPad that allows the viewer to see what is above them in the sky at any point from any location.
• NASA.gov - A great resource for current information - except for right now because of the government shutdown.
• Sky & Telescope website - Provides awesome images and articles regarding Polaris.
• http://www.cosmotions.com/

Scenario Three: In a fourth grade social studies class, the class is discussing the role of landscape and surroundings on early natives—what type of food they ate, the type of dwellings they built, and of course defensive systems or escape routes. Many of the students have never traveled out of their own state and are not familiar with alternate surroundings. The social studies teacher has requested that the technology integrator help her create a new lesson.

• Google Earth - Allows kids to pick any location and zoom into street level views or just hover from the air.
• ePals - Connect with kids of the same age and have the kids interview each other to compare and contrast their surroundings.  Shows kids how different people live know so they can hopefully open their minds to the historical component of the lesson.
• Native American Facts for Kids - Contains tons of information, through which a teacher would have to browse in order to pick and choose appropriate grade level material.
• American Indian Children's Books and Literature - A list of resources about and/or by Native Americans.
• Abbe Museum - Museum about the Wabanaki Nation - has some great brochures discussing their online exhibits and education programs.

Scenario Four: According to the math teacher, math is everywhere. The teacher is concentrating on a geometry unit discussing area and volume. The teacher is hoping to have the students design a home consisting of 1500 square feet of living space with three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a family room, and a kitchen. A playroom or dining room are nice to have but are not needed. In the past, the teacher has asked the students to draw it out with paper and pencil; however, this proved to be a poor choice for reasons he has not given. The teacher is currently thinking of using craft sticks and glue to have the students build models, but this does not fall within the budget. The teacher is turning to the technology integrator for help. 

• SketchUp - A free program that allows users to create 3D structures.  In doing so, they calculate measurements, can add wallpaper, paint, carpeting, and furniture, as well as choose the building material (brick, clapboard, siding, etc.).  Kids can create not only buildings, but detailed drawings of any object they'd like.  The detail is incredible.

2-5 Motivation to Collaborate

Not being the Technology Integrator for my building, but rather the person teachers come to with questions, I can attest to the fact that, “it doesn’t matter how much (or how little) technology a teacher  might be using in their classroom, what does matter is that they see you as approachable, dependable, collaborative, friendly, and above all, willing and able to support their needs,” (Cofino, 2009).  Last week, I was helping a sixth grade teacher (who has been teaching in our district since the year I was born) during a faculty meeting, and not only did he thank me then, he reiterated it later in the office, and again in a team meeting to his colleagues the next day.  Being nice, helpful, patient, and genuine can go a long way when working with struggling and often stubborn adults.

Kim Cofino also says that “successful collaboration with one classroom teacher begins to create a ripple effect among other teachers at the grade level...By sharing the results of quality collaboration more teachers may become interested, spreading the effects far and wide throughout the school, helping move the entire school community forward,” (Cofino, 2008).  In our district, the technology integrators started a new program last year for Technology Lead Learners.  Teachers in each building had to apply for this role, which provided us with an iPad for use in our classroom, but also put us in a role of liaison between classroom teachers and the Tech. Integrators.  Many teachers feel as though the integrators are out of touch because they aren’t in the classroom day in and day out.  This new program brings two groups together nicely.  Teachers who are intrinsically interested in technology and typically spend many hours dabbling in new ideas, meet once a month to discuss new discoveries, have an iPad to use in the classrooms, and share whatever they can with the colleagues.  I do all the same things I did, since teachers saw me as their initial resource anyway - but now I have an iPad and an official title.  Luckily, I jumped at the chance when I did, as they had hoped to add new teachers every year, but expanding the program was cut from the budget. 

Finally, “teachers say that more opportunities for collaboration with other teachers and greater access to technology and other instructional tools would significantly improve their ability to help diverse learners succeed,” (Staff and Wire Reports, 2011).  Technology integrators need to have a vast toolbox and allow teachers time to bounce ideas off of their colleagues as well as provide time to practice in order to feel comfortable using the technology and taking it back into their classroom.  Teachers need to become the learners and brainstorm with others as to how the technology weaves into a curriculum while not adding more to their plate.  Technology is not a panacea for education today, but rather a powerful tool that engages students while preparing them "for jobs and technologies that don’t yet exist . . . to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet," (Fisch & MacLeod, 2007, p. 2).

References

Cofino, K. (2009, August 2). Lessons Learned: Tips for New Technology Facilitators [Blog post]. Retrieved from Always Learning website:  http://kimcofino.com/blog/2009/08/02/lessons-learned-tips-for-new-technology-facilitators/

Cofino, K. (2008, January 13). Work With the Willing: Moving Teachers into the 21st Century [Blog post]. Retrieved from Always Learning website: http://kimcofino.com/blog/2010/03/20/creating-a-culture-of-collaboration-through-technology-integration/ 

Fisch, K., & McLeod, S. (2007).  Text for did you know presentation. Retrieved July 21, 2013, from Shift Happens website:  http://shifthappens.wikispaces.com/file/view/Text%20of%20Did%20You%20Know%2020.pdf 

Staff and Wire Reports. (2011, March 23). Survey: Teachers want more access to technology, collaboration. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from eSchool News website: http://www.eschoolnews.com/2011/03/23/survey-teachers-want-more-access-to-technology-collaboration/ 

2-2 Conrad Wolfram's Talk

Conrad Wolfram makes a great point, “what is the purpose of teaching kids how to calculate math when we have computers that can do it all for them anyway?” (Wolfram, 2010).  However, isn’t that similar to saying, why do we need to teach kids how to handwrite if they have computers on which they can type everything?  I appreciate the fact that math is difficult, but isn’t there a sense of accomplishment when a problem is calculated correctly? 

Doesn’t it instill a sense or drive or perseverance?  Even though kids can use a calculator, they still need to understand which number is divided by which, just like they still may need to sign their name or be able to read an application.

I believe Wolfram’s message extends across all subjects, the point is to make content more relevant to the real world and everyday life.  There is a clear product when someone learns programming; you see the results of your labor.  I saw a presentation by a gentleman who teaches at an alternative school and teaches programming and film production.  Through his content, he teaches math (ie. ratios for filming and production); the kids just don’t see it that way because they are learning a skill that uses the content and not just the content in isolation.  Teachers think we're teaching real-life situations because we present the information through word problems that present realistic scenarios.  Unfortunately, kids don't see it that way, they still don't see a connection, hence the typical question, "when are we ever going to use this anyway?"  Why is it that kids at an alternative school appear to receive a more useful, realistic education than the mainstream, public school kids?  Is that because our state-wide and national assessments are based on process and basics and not outcomes, engagement, or hands on situations?

Specific points I would make when beginning to work collaboratively with teachers would revolve around Kim Cofino’s idea of a technology coach (Cofino, 2008, ¶4).  The role of a coach is to guide a player through drills and routines to provide a foundation through which the needed skills become natural.  I’d like to give teachers time for practice with my guidance or with kids and accessing my support.  I would then push them to try new skills or strategies and challenge them to practice on their own so they can become more proficient.  Finally, I’d  reassure them from the sidelines when they launch a new idea in their classroom while offering a voice of guidance.  Technology integration is a process, we don’t expect athletes to perfect a skill after one attempt, we can’t expect teachers to embed a new tool into their curriculum without practice, support, more practice, more practice, and more support.  Teachers also need to realize they need practice and just because they have years of classroom experience, they aren’t going to become technology experts without a few stumbles along the way. 

Reference

Cofino, K. (2008, January 13). Work With the Willing: Moving Teachers into the 21st Century [Blog post]. Retrieved from Always Learning website: http://kimcofino.com/blog/2010/03/20/ creating-a-culture-of-collaboration-through-technology-integration/ 

Wolfram, C. (2010, July). Conrad Wolfram: Teaching kids real math with computers | Video on TED.com. TED: Ideas worth spreading. Retrieved October 2, 2013, from http://www.ted.com/talks/conrad_wolfram

2-1 Motivation

As a technology integrator, I would create a survey that lists various websites and programs and see how often teachers have used each.  By doing this, I could get a feel for different teacher’s comfort levels and experience.  Then, I’d like to do classroom walkthroughs to see what each teacher in a grade level is studying as well as what technology they already use on a daily basis (iPad, Elmo, laptop).  Finally, I’d like to sit in on content area meetings so I can hear about the upcoming units, content, and plans.  

Next, I’d brainstorm some ideas and bounce them off various teachers.  I’d ask if they’d like me to sit down and walk them through an integration tool or if they’d rather I introduce it to kids and have them watch.  They could also introduce it while I walk around the room and interject additional support or be there if a student asks a question with which the teacher needs support.  I would not go into a classroom and have the teacher use the time for anything but watching, assisting, teaching, or learning side-by-side with the students.  We have evolved from the old model when classroom teachers dropped their kids off in the computer lab and went to do something else.  Our 7th and 8th grade students have 1:1 computer that they can take home throughout the school year.  New to our district this year, every student in 2nd through 6th grade is also 1:1, but the computers remain at the school.  I would love to eventually work myself through each grade level so kids become more familiar with me and my role and don't just see the computer lab teacher as the "go to person" when something doesn’t work.  

In addition to modeling in classrooms and observing in content meetings, I’d like to hold weekly technology drop-by sessions so teachers who have time or ideas can use me to help write criteria or problem solve possible strategies for integration.  I’d like teachers to know my door is always open for collaboration and team-teaching.  Ideally, it would be great if I could hold a weekly technology content meeting per grade, but with time crunches the way they are now, I don’t see that working.  I actually foresee having to join teachers while they are on duty or eating lunch just to have some face to face time.  I also know how often teachers suddenly decide they want to try something new and need a resource.  My goal is to create a website or Diigo list that teachers could access when they want a fresh idea.  The website would be categorized by content and skill level (and whether or not kids have used it before and can then assist the process).  I'd love to see teachers willing to take risks and use me as their spotter or safety net.