What's happening in 6th grade?
What a neat tool I learned from those who participated in EdCamp Voice! This is a versatile digital corkboard that can be used for many purposes. I have already integrated several "Padlets" into lessons in my first units in both 6th and 7th Grade Social Studies. This web app can take any traditional activity or assessment (e.g. entrance/exit slips and/or anchor charts, etc.) and transform it into a live collaborative document the students and teacher and track in real-time. One neat feature includes the ability to turn anonymity of responses on and off. Sometimes there are different assignments that may or may not require a student's name to be attached to it. By taking the student's name off the assignment, it can allow the student to respond more freely in some cases. Another neat feature is the ability to turn commenting on and off. Allowing students to collaborate and communicate with one another is always a benefit. Ideas of How to Use Padlet in the Classroom1.) Discussion Board: Present a uniform question to the class in which they will all respond to with their own thinking. For example, you may ask the class: What was the highlight of your summer? Summarize in a well-written paragraph. This enables students to share their thinking with an audience contrary to the traditional "write-in-a-journal-never-to-be-seen-again" type of written responses. The students are also able to read their classmates' responses and respond to one another if the teach allows this feature. Students can also model good writing for one another by sharing this common platform. 2.) Traditional KWL, "STW - See, Think, Wonder" Charts", etc. : There are many practices such as the KWL or STW in which teachers provide a graphic organizer or chart to the student and ask them to respond to various prompts. For example, on a KWL Chart, a student writes what they know about a topic and what they want to know about a topic before learning the given topic. Later on, the students go back and finish the chart by writing what they have learned. The only problem with completing this via paper and pencil is that the paper usually never sees the light of day after the students completes the assignment. Probably not even the teacher! The benefits of moving these traditional assignments to Padlet are that the documents become live and collaborative! The students again are able to share their thinking with the class and the teacher can allow students to comment on one another's work if that is the desired outcome. 3.) Curate Material: Finally, you can have the students curate all sorts of material using a Padlet board. For example, if the class is learning about Brazil, you may want to assign students a specific topic you would like to them to research. If a student is assigned "Brazilian Food," he or she may want to share links to recipes, Youtube Videos, or images of traditional Brazilian food for the class to see on the Padlet. The possibilities are endless with what topics you may have the students curate. This function works very similar to Google Keep except that is a bit easier to collaborate as a class using Padlet.
Padlet is a very versatile tool as the possibilities for how it can be used in classroom are plentiful. The key, again, is the ability to collaborate and communicate with peers using this digital platform. Enjoy!
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DisclaimerNot long ago, I was a teacher who didn't quite understand the potential of digital integration in the classroom. Until this past year, parts of my instruction included moving traditional paper guided notes which accompanied a PowerPoint to the Google Docs platform and calling this use of digital technology. No. No. NO!!! I wish I could step back in time one year or THREE YEARS and give myself a lesson. You cannot just take a paper worksheet or assignment, digitize it, and call it tech integration or use of tech in the classroom. Digital integration of technology in any classroom has all the potential in the world to take any traditional classroom to the next level! 3 C's of Learning in 21st Century ClassroomCommunication. Collaboration. Creativity. (Now, I realize that some sources use "different C's" but these are the C's I'm sticking with here!) To an extent, I would skim the surface of these "C's" in my classroom but pale in comparison to where could be in terms of unleashing the potential of my students. In a 21st century classroom, a teacher MUST move past the cookie-cutter-students classroom model and begin adopting innovative practices using the new technologies that are afforded to us unlike ever before. Today, information is a click away. Are we teaching students information that they can "Google?" Or, are we challenging students to communicate, collaborate, and be creative in the world around them using the vast number of digital tools and resources at their disposal? 1.) Communicate Many digital platforms allow us to provide voice to all students in our classrooms. Before, students who were more shy or hesitant to engage in classroom discussion maybe did not share great ideas because they were shy or less inclined to share with the pressure of their peers around them. Now, with technology, students have the ability to communicate with one another via a back channel that can be provided via digital platforms such as Padlet or Google Classroom. Digital tools also provide a brand new platform for students to communicate their thinking and ideas in a more authentic manner with the world around them through different sharing abilities. (To be discussed shortly!) 2.) Collaboration Students now have the ability to collaborate asynchronously or synchronously on any assignment. With tools like the Google Apps which allow sharing and other tools which promote sharing across platforms and users, students are able to work together in pairs or groups on an assignment unlike ever before. This collaboration extends beyond completing a poster together or even working together on a Google Slides Presentation to share objective information about a given topic. I'm still discovering what exactly this means but... I know that the end goal of my tech integration should be in building students who learn to collaborate well with one another while diving deeper in their journey of life-long learning all while creating then sharing their work with the world! 3.) Creativity Last, but certainly not least - Creativity! According to this article from Business Weekly, by 2020, creativity will be the third most desired quality by employers in those whom they hire in the workplace. Employers are not looking for people who will regurgitate what they learned in history class - my class... Unfortunately! Employers are and will be looking for people who are creative, out of the box, and innovative thinkers! How else will businesses succeed and reach those to whom they are marketing except through the efforts of creative marking, innovation, and vision!? How does this pertain to the classroom? We must provide an avenue and outlet for our students to be creative by allowing them to - yes - have more freedom and choice. Students are often motivated when they have a stake in choice how an assignment is completed. But wait! How will the entire curriculum be taught if much of the time is student-centered? How will I ensure that my 6th graders can identify the difference between a butte and a mesa? How will I make sure my 7th and 8th graders know and can apply the present-day ramifications of each constitutional amendment? Hold up! Does this really matter if the totality of our students only ever have one way to show their learning and thinking? (A chapter test!) We should certainly be covering the curriculum as we are expected, but as 21st century educators, we are called to engage and enhance our students' learning experiences unlike teachers have even been able to do before. These chapter tests will mean nothing in future work places... Except that the students will be able to say that at one point they were able to memorize and regurgitate information on an exam! (Disclaimer: Yes - there is a place for this and I hope to reflect on it another time. Tests should never be the sole assessment tools a teacher uses, even in high school!) We need to prepare our students to be creative and make decisions by working through the creative process. After all, in the real world, employees will be expected to create and solve often without 100 guidelines as provided in a teacher-created rubric. Let go. Let them create. Nevertheless, how can we foster creativity? Introduce different multimedia resources. Allow student choice of pace, path, and medium! Allow the students to show their learning in a way that they feel most comfortable. Unleash the potential! In conclusion: Break the mold. Break from tradition. Use these new tech tools in new innovative ways. Be creative yourself as a facilitator of learning! Let go and let your kids!
Hello all! Just finished participating in my first Ed Camp Voice, or Ed Camp in general. What an awesome community of educators from around the country. This was a neat free self-paced teacher collaborative event over the Voxer app. I was able to catch all the material and collaboration I wanted while still doing the daily routine, going for walks, or going in the pool. Highly encourage you to join Ed Camp Voice next year! (Wish it was around more than once per year!) I came upon this event on Twitter and suggested the topic of Blended Learning for one of the groups. Surprisingly enough, I was asked to "moderate" this discussion. I'm so glad I did as I gained a ton of wisdom, knowledge, and resources - probably more than the participants! Very thankful. I digress... After this EdCampVoice experience, I am excited and ready to "dive into" blended learning after dabbling in it a little this year. (As per the stages of implementation in Blended in Action, I worked through the Pre-Pilot stage with one class at the end of the year.) I have listened to several podcasts, read blogs, am reading Blended in Action, and connected with teachers on Twitter and am convinced that blended learning is the future of education.
For many years, teachers have been hearing the need to always differentiate instruction in the classroom. This has been the "buzzword" since I was in college and likely long before. Some have mastered differentiation before the dawn of digital edtech in the more recent years, while others, like myself, have held more tightly to the traditional direct instruction model in their classrooms while still trekking through the new edtech options available - and not using to their potential. There is the old adage among teachers that "a teacher teaches the way that they were taught..." This is so true! I had some great history teachers (whom I enjoyed!) who lectured with PowerPoints... And you can guess what a lot of my instruction looks like today. We are called to break the mold in this era of exploding digital technology. (All while taking it in stride and using all tools prudently and effectively!) |
About MeLouie here! 5th Grade Teacher. Level 2 Google Educator. Love all things Google. 1:1 Chromebooks. Archives
June 2020
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