Mobiles in the Classroom: Scary or Innovative?

Yet again, this week, I had the opportunity to interview one of my roommates from college. She is a high school Language Arts teacher in Colorado, after teaching in Michigan for a few years. In order to find someone to interview, I posted my need on Facebook, and she responded. I wasn't sure what type of mobile devices I wanted to focus on, so I was really excited to find out that her students use all types of mobile devices. Here is what she shared with me about her experiences using those devices in her classroom.  

School Policy: Our school allows teachers to use their own discretion with personal devices. We feel that any form of technology is welcome in our classrooms as long as it is used appropriately. Some teachers still require students to "Power Down and Put Away", which was the previous policy about devices in the classroom, but for the most part, devices are welcome in classrooms. If a device is being misused in the classroom, we follow the cell phone removal policy:

1st Offense: Take away device, bring it to the office, and call parents. Student may pick it up at the end of the day.

2nd Offense: Take away device, bring it to the office, and administrator call parents. Student may pick it up at the end of the day.

3rd Offense: Take away device, bring it to the office, and administrator call parents. Parents may pick it up at the end of the day.  Device is no longer allowed in the building.

My Classroom: In my classroom students have to put their devices in the upper right hand corner of their desk. If a student has multiple devices, they stack the devices.  Devices have to stay on the desk at all times.  If the devices go in the student's lap, the device then migrates to my desk.  Students are allowed to listen to music, look up information, or even text, with teacher approval.  Any texting tends to be responses to parents or other family members.  Devices are mainly used for gathering information and listening to music.  If a student has a question about anything, they are allowed to use their device to get the answer.  They do not have to ask if they can use it; they just have to keep it on their desk.  When listening to music, students have to use earbuds, and the music cannot be loud enough for their neighbor to hear it.     

Parental Involvement / Feedback: Initially, some parents had concerns about this policy, but this mainly came from parents of students who don't have smart devices.  Students had gone home and said that they had to have a smart phone for my class.  Once parents were informed that this was not the case, everything was fine.  I explained to parents that students have access to my iPad to look up information, if they choose.  In addition, students work in groups most of the time, and at least one member of their group usually has a device.  After the initial concerns, parents were appreciative of the policy because it embraced technology.  Parents also appreciated being able to text their students during my class, if they had a question.

Challenges: There were still a handful of the 150 students who misused the devices.  When this happened, I talked to parents and the device stayed on my desk for a week of class. Parents were extremely receptive to this move.  In addition in the beginning, the students who did not have smart phones felt a little self conscious.  Once they made their own routine for accessing information, everything was fine.  Many students just snagged my iPad or a friends devices to answer their question.  My students always left little surprises for me on my iPad.  The surprises tended to be just selfies, and it was never anything that upset me.

What I learned: I learned that cell phones and personal devices are no longer taboo in today's classrooms.  If a teacher embraces the use of all kinds of technology in the classroom, it empowers students to find information on their own and creates a certain amount of academic independence. 

I was completely blown away by the information she gave me. WOW! I love when I learn about the amazing things my friends are doing with their students. People I knew before they started molding the minds of our future. My friend really put it out there that she encourages students to use mobile devices in her classroom. She doesn't make them power down or unplug when they enter her room. If I put myself in the mindset of one of her students, I would love her class. It also makes me rethink what it might be like to experience this as a teacher. I feel that if this was an option, the teacher would have to be strong enough to stand their ground in the event of controversy with parents, students, or administration. While this is something that I would love to do, I'm not sure if I would be brave enough to be an innovator in my building in this sense. 

Always Something New

Today I'm going to share a few new sites that I have discovered, how to sign up, navigation, and how to incorporate it into education, professional development, or personal life.

Wideo
The first site I'd like to share is an online video maker. I selected this site because the name just sounds fun! Creating an account was super simple and FREE. The only thing that may be a drawback here is that the site is still in beta, which means it could be a here today, gone tomorrow type of site. However, I decided to give it a try. Here's a basic overview of how to use it.

Since this is the first time I've ever been to the site and I'm the type of person who is a little timid to try something like this without a base of knowledge, I clicked on the "Learn" tab at the top of the page. One on this page, you have 7 "How To" videos to choose from and watch. The first 5 of them are all 5 minutes or less in length, which makes for an easy quick intro to the different options that are available in Wideo. Video 6 is a 30 minute long webinar and video 7 is about an hour long. If you have the time and really want to learn how to use this program, watch these! On this page, there is also a link to download a storyboard. This is a great option to have when using with students. 

Now, to create a video. You can start with a template from the template page or click "New Wideo" to see all the template options, including a start from scratch option. These two pages are very similar and take you the same place, so I'm not sure if both are needed. When you start from scratch, it opens in a new window with a short tutorial video. You can watch this or not. I found it helpful and would recommend my students watch it before getting started. 

As I started creating my video, I loved that there are a ton of options to choose from when creating something from scratch. I also like that a tip box pops up on the side of the screen when you begin to animate your objects. Basic step-by-step instructions make it a no brainer to animate. LOVE! :) I did have a few glitches at first when trying to animate my text. However, I played with it a bit and would be able to coach someone through it, now. 

I stumbled through a couple slides and came up with a very short intro that can be showed to staff at my new school. I simply saved it, gave it a title, and clicked share. I did find that in order to download your video, you have to pay for an upgraded account. However, you can embed or post a link to it without charge. So....here's my wideo!

42 Tasks

As a person who is big on making to-do lists, I often find that my lists disappear, get buried under other paperwork, or aren't sticky enough to stay put. 42 Tasks is the answer. Registering is a breeze and this program is free.  Also, there are apps for both Android and Apple, which is great for all users. To add an item, just type what you want to add to your list in the box, then click enter. A calendar with a few different options will pop up. 

Select the day you want to add it to, choose which folder and time, then click save. The list seems to generate according to the order you add it, but simply click on the month tabs to go to exactly which month you want to see. There are a couple other options, such as selecting a background color. Limited choices, but the background doesn't matter much to me. You can also add notes to your agenda items and create different workspaces. 

If you add something to the wrong workspace, simply click on the pencil beside it and change your workspace. Easy peasy! I definitely will be using this in my new position this year! I am also going to share it with my coworkers.

Another great thing about this is that you can add contacts to your workspaces. That way, you can work on a project together and add to one list instead of having multiple floating around in cyberspace. Due to connection issues, I wasn't able to download the app to my phone to see the comparison between the two. However, I am planning to download, so I can have the app at hand all the time. 

Padlet

Padlet is a site that I have used before in the classroom, but today I'm giving it a look from the prospective of an Instructional Coach. Since I plan to use this site next year, I went ahead and created an account. 2 steps and you are in! Once you have created an account, click on the plus sign and create your new board. 

This is the the panel that shows up on the side of the page when you create your board. You can modify settings from here. I clicked on "Modify Wall" to get more options. Here's what I ended up with. 

I really like that you can select different options for labels or add your own photo. Depending on what you are using it for, you can add a portrait that fits your topic, such as a picture of the capital building for a post on government. This is where I added a title and description as well. I also added a background. Settings for this are similar to that of the portrait option, add one that they give you or your own. One option that I really like is the layout option. If you can handle the chaos of the freeform option, your users can post anywhere. If that bothers you, like it does me, you can select the "stream" option and posts are made below the last thing posted. 

The privacy options are great when using this with a class. I don't like to use things that can be searched for by the public when my students are using it. Personally, I like using things that are password protected. I feel it locks things down a bit more for my kiddos. I also liked being able to choose the URL that can be shared. Makes it a lot easier to type in. Or you can use the link given to you, and use a URL shortener to share a shortened link with users. 

I used this site when it was called WallWisher as a brainstorming board with my students. Now that it is Padlet, and has more options, I really like it! 

This is definitely a site that will be used during PD sessions for back channeling or during staff meetings to gather more information that may not have time to be shared.

Out of all the sites that I shared and explored today, I really like all of them. I plan to use them all next year and can't wait to get started!

My Toolbox Runneth Over

With a wealth of tools available to teachers, it's sometimes hard to decide which ones are useful and how to best use them in education. Here's a look at a few amazing tools and how they might be used in the classroom, school, or at home.

URL Shorteners
Nothing is more frustrating and overwhelming then trying to get to a website that is 652 characters long.

This is where URL shorteners come into play. My students have always had trouble getting to websites if they don't have a simple link to click on, so I started using URL shorteners to make this process easier when I don't have a link embedded for them to click on. Here is the link to my blog, which I will share with staff in my building next year in my new role of Instruction Coach. http://goo.gl/oYL2gn This will fit easier on a business card than the actual link to my website and will be easy to share. I have used this many times with my students when I need them to get to a Google Form to take a quiz. As you know, the links to those look similar to the one in the meme above. Using goo.gl as a URL shortener, I have been able to make it easier for my students to access what I need them to more efficiently.

QR Codes
QR codes are being more and more evident in every day life. Sitting at my table right now, I see one on my McDonald's cup, one on a phone case package, and one inside the cover of a book I recently finished. All I have to do is pull out my phone, scan the code with my QR Reader, and I am taken to more information about the product I have in my hands. However, more and more educators are using them in their classroom every day. Next year, I plan to use Delivr to post a QR code outside my office door that will boast the Website of the Week. Since I can't currently move into my office due to construction on my building, I'm posting the QR Code image here. This will be the first site of the year that I will have posted.

Bookmarklets
The term "bookmarklets" is new to me, as I have always called them extensions. However, I've used them for years to access sites quickly, "pin" something from the web to Pinterest, or cut out excess junk from an article I'm trying to read with Readability. This unit has introduced me to a new bookmarklet called Quietube. Simply drag the bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar, and you are ready to go. When showing a Youtube video to a class of students, you never know when something inappropriate that would violate CIPA laws will pop up. Here's how it works. Find the video you want to show on YouTube and click the Quietube bookmarklet. Everything else on the screen will disappear, and you will be left with your video that will play on a blank screen to show to your students. Genius! I will definitely be sharing this one next year with my staff. :)


References:
I want you to type this website into your browser. www.history.com/HG345fsdxf43214322545646/index/gfdhfcvgbncvbcvbdasdgf12134/#13/GHT67ITS/derp.html. (n.d.). quickmeme. Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/3oi5rs

Digging Deeper

As educators, we are constantly researching new sites and ways to enhance learning and engage our students. I feel that I am pretty tech savvy, but there are new sites being created daily. So many that it is often hard to keep up. I love that this assignment is forcing me to look more into sites that I see regularly and research how they would work in the classroom.

Curation
Let's start with the site Symbaloo. Symbaloo is a very simple site to use and navigate, which I love. There is nothing more frustrating when looking into a new site than struggling to figure out how to navigate it. Basically, Symbaloo is a visual way to set up bookmarks. Creating an account was a breeze and took less than a minute, I verified my account, and I was ready to go. Symbaloo sets up a quick start board for you when you create your account with many well known sites already in it. However, I wanted to create a board just for sixth grade, so I clicked the plus sign at the top. Bam! New board. To add a tile all I had to do was click on the tile. There are two ways to go about setting up a tile. You can either copy and paste the URL, or search for the site you want to add. This was my favorite part. There were SO many sites already in there! My board was set up in no time. In the past, I have taken the time to set up a class website and include links to all the sites I use throughout the year. This is WAY easier! Plus, I know for a fact that my district is going to be offering a PD day this summer on using Symbaloo. I know many educators use it for quick links, which is how I would use it. However, I think it would be great for administrators to use for their staff, and Instructional Coaches to use for their fellow teachers.

Creative
In the creative sense of technology, a site that I've never had much luck with, but know many others that have, is VoiceThread. The basic idea is to create a slideshow that can be narrated over. Simply upload your images, record your audio, and create your thread. Once you have created, share the link with others who can view your thread and leave comments that are either typed or spoken. A teacher friend of mine uses this all the time with her third graders. One project I love that she does is a report on the Venus Fly Trap. Students create pictures of the plant. The teacher scans them and saves them to a designated location that the students can access. The students then upload the photos and verbally talk about the plant after they have researched it and written a script that they read. Their projects are always really great! Personally, I had to use VoiceThread for a Wilkes course. I muddled my way through it, but was always afraid of recording my voice. I think the best part of using this with students would have to be the speaking part of it. Many students are like I am when it comes to recording themselves. Knowing they have to speak in order to share their information forces them to have to practice the information before sharing it.

Social
Twitter is a unique "monster" when it comes to education. Many of our students have Twitter accounts and tweet multiple times a day. To them, it's a basic way to share what they are doing. However, move Twitter to the educational setting, and it's a whole new ballgame! At the beginning of the year, my principal asked me to present to staff how to use Twitter in education. So, I mustered up my courage (I didn't use Twitter at the time), created an account, and started exploring. Personally, I use it to follow fellow educators and education users. If I post something it is education related. This is not a site I use on a personal level. For the classroom, however, I wanted to create a class account that I could post updates of what was going on in our classroom and share important dates with students and parents. Many educators do this! I also know of districts that use Twitter to post updates about what is going on in that district, including sporting events, construction updates, snow days, and graduations. Even though Twitter was intended to be used personally, many educators are branching out and using it in ways that benefit their class.

New Tech In the Classroom

This week, I talked to another 6th grade teacher in my building. I asked her if there were any new tech tools she was using with her kids. She stated that this year, she decided to use Nearpod with her class. Here is her synopsis of it.


"Nearpod is a great app that allows me to set up lessons on the iPad that students follow along with.  I can incorporate pictures, videos, and websites, as well as assessing students understanding along the way by having them draw a picture in the app, answer a question, or write a short response.  We can then view some of the drawings or responses as a class to make sure that everyone is understanding.  The app also saves reports of how the students did on the multiple choice questions.  There are many lessons already made or I can make my own lessons.  It is a great tool to keep the students engaged and learning."

I asked her how she decided to use the app. She told me, "I saw a presentation about Nearpod at a technology conference I went to and definitely wanted to try it out in my classroom.  I liked it because it seemed like a more engaging way to present information to students and get feedback from them throughout a lesson."

She says the the only obstacle for using it was ensuring that the app was downloaded onto our iPads. Since it is a free app, that was not a problem.

Advice she would give to another teacher would be... "I would tell other teachers to make sure that students are using headphones when doing a Nearpod lesson.  The videos don't quite sync up so it is quite noisy if everyone is watching a video at the same time."

I was very intrigued by what she told me about Nearpod. I, too, had heard about Nearpod at a technology conference, but never had the opportunity to use with due to the lack of mobile devices in my last district. My colleague is someone who is willing to step out of the box and try new things with her class. I feel like I am pretty up on technology, but I have a tendency to not use a tool because of various constraints. I'm really inspired to be working with her and love that she is willing to share her knowledge with me and others in our building.

Creative Commons License

According to Creative Commons, the attribution non-commercial license "lets others remix, tweak, and build upon your work non-commercially, and although their new works must also acknowledge you and be non-commercial, they don’t have to license their derivative works on the same terms." I chose this license because I feel it is important for teachers to share their ideas with others. I also feel like if a teacher chooses to share their work on a blog, then they don't mind if others use their ideas in their own classroom. Before Pinterest and other such sites, teachers browsed blogs, forums, and other such websites to find ideas and ask other teachers questions. Now, teachers pin their ideas. The number of ideas I have found on Pinterest is amazing! I always say, "How did anyone teach before Pinterest?" It is because of this that I chose the license I did. 





This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.