Learning Paths for the First Time

A few weeks ago, my team was presented with the challenge to shift our instruction to personalized learning and flexible grouping to hit the big rocks our kids are having trouble with.  We got great help from our ELA lead and an initial example of how the new process should look like.  Immediately my mind went straight to Itslearning.  Over the years I've realized that I am not the most gifted person when it comes to filing and organizing paper, very often I find myself swamped in towers of never-ending ungraded assignments, I feel overwhelmed and quit.  So when this challenge came to us, it was easy for me to think that the best way to manage their learning paths and the different options for each of my kids was ItsLearning.  I was very excited and ready to start. In my mind, I had a vision of what it should look like and I started to draft and jot ideas for their assignments.  We collected materials, made sure they were in digital form, we created graphic organizers in Google, and then here we go.  The next step was creating the pathways, they needed to be a combination of online and offline resources. We were responding to our students needs to still have a book or a reading selection on paper.  I sat down for a couple of hours with a sketch of the pathways beside my computer, went to Itslearning, created the new plan and started adding resources, soon I noticed that my paths had some resources that needed to be duplicated.  I went the long route and created copies for each of those resources. I was ready for the pathways! That was the part that was exciting me the most, I knew I needed three and so I did.  About 30 minutes later my paths were ready and the troubleshooting began: How do we copy them into my teammate's courses? After a few trials, we realized that we were ignoring one of the best resources Itslearning has: The library.  I copied the path into our library and five minutes later everyone had access. My kids came in, I explained to them what they were about to do and I could see the excitement on their faces. We had a few bumps on the road that first day and we still do, but we keep working through them and little by little they are getting more used to this new way of working... Learning pathways are on their way.

MIA

MIA

I've been out of my classroom for PD and personal stuff four times over the last nine days.   Being out of the classroom sucks.  I missed maybe three days all of last semester.  Between meetings, being dad and working another job, it feels like I will never get caught up.

I know I will, but it has been a very long time since I have felt this way.

Student Goal Setting in Kindergarten

As I was completing Mid Year Testing with my kinder babies, I noticed that kids were getting frustrated because they didn't know all the answers and couldn't do everything they thought they should be able to do. I never told them what they should be able to do, but as we all do, they have this idea that they should be able to answer any question that I ask them correctly. I started showing these kids where they were at the beginning of the year so they could see their growth. This really helped my kids to feel successful and realize that they are learning and growing like they should be. This got me thinking, I really need to do this with all my kids. We are starting small and just creating reading goals, but I would like to add this to math and writing as well. Taking the time to meet with them and talk with them about what they already know and what our next goal is helps them to feel successful and gives them ownership over their goals.

Ideas for itslearning

Ways to use itslearning in the classroom:

Topics include uses for playlists and discussion board ideas.

Genius Hour

Today is a proud teacher-mama moment. My students are presenting their Genius Hour projects. All semester they have had one class period per week to work on a technology connected project of their choosing. I asked them to pick something related to technology that they would like to learn. Sure, I gave some suggestions for those who didn't know what to do, but some really embraced the idea. I have had kids choose a coding language to learn, working on creating 3D drawings, learning to make websites, program an ozobot, as well as some other truly fun projects.

Yesterday, one student taught the rest of the class how to create music online and played his song for us (which he has also used as background music in his final project). This morning, I'm looking at the computer two of them teamed up to build from scratch that they will be showing this morning. Others have created video games in various platforms. Imagine if we turned all that pent up creativity loose on all their subjects...

Presentation Day

I think one of the most important lessons learned from this is that it is OK to fail. They are not penalized for trying something and changing their mind. (They just have to record their efforts in their journal and explain what was hard or not to their liking.) They can pick up and try something else as long as they are working on something during that class period. If you haven't tried Genius Hour, I think it may be one of the best uses of time I've done with my students.

Stop motion video         
of the boys building
their computer.

Evolving why and how.

 itsLearning is a platform. ✔

Learn how to collaborate with teaching partner. ✔

Learn how to create a playlist. ✔

Learn how to individualize playlist. ✔

Make it look cute. ✔

Implement platform and manage student agency,  digital expectations and 

anticipate other ambiguous and challenging things... ↭

I have recently realized I am moving from a "superficial why" to slowly uncovering my real "why" as an itsLearning user. Part of my "evolving" why is connected to better understanding and learning the pedagogy (clothed by the platform). Definitely- itsLearning is a powerful tool for our students. 

What I mean by that is more important than understanding the "nuts & bolts" of itsLearning is understanding the shift in pedagogy that comes with implementing and using the platform with students.  The "nuts and bolts" allows users to create anything! itsLearning truly a blank canvas with limitless creative possibilities. It's so exciting!!

Unfortunately creativity has a needy cousin-- practicality. Let me first say I have taken a million Myers Briggs personality tests and they have all said that I am a true to the core ENFP . ENFP's are known for being creative but lacking in practical skills. To connect the dots I know next in my journey is to learn more about the pedagogy of blended learning. 

So what I can tell you so far is that there are still many missing pieces to implementing a playlist into the classroom. I am a constant work in progress and have been working on:

1. Holding students accountable

1. Setting students up to be successful.

1. Maintaining student to student and teacher to student relationships.

In regards to setting students up to be successful here one something I strategy I have used: 

I've named it "mirroring."  The idea of mirroring is that as a teacher you pair warm ups with content students will later encounter on a playlist. It's NOT rocket science but it is something I have learned that is imperative to student success.

For example:  I wanted students to participate in an online discussion where they had to analyze two word problems and write about it.

Discussion on playlist: 

Strategy: Mirror similar activity in warm up prior to students accessing discussion online: 

Student's solve 2 word problems then have class turn-and-talk/class discussion & write an analysis in their journal.

Class warm up: Rehearse solving 2 types of word problems.

Close warm up: Students compare and contrast the structure of the 2 word problems by discussing with classmates how were they similar, and how were they different. For example 1 problem uses a table the other does not. 

Result: The purpose and timing of doing this whole group warm up is because later students encounter a similar activity while working through their playlist and we want them to be successful:

Mirroring could also be done in small groups: 

 I knew that near the end of a playlist students would encounter an activity that asked them to determine a jeweler was selling real or fake "gold" (based on its density) and they had to justify their answer. 

I also knew that another student learning goal we had was for students understand the tools used to measure mass and volume. 

During small groups we killed two birds with one stone. Unplugged with dry erase boards and measuring tools students used a triple beam balance and displacement to determine if the sample of "gold" (pyrite) was real. 

Students find volume of pyrite using water displacement.

Students find mass of pyrite sample using triple beam balance.

On their playlist they would encounter a similar but different discussion problem:

They would also encounter similar problems to calculate density using pictorial models of the tools they used in small group.

Small group practice aligns to pictorial models of similar problems

Learning to Create not Consume

My first 5 years teaching (2008-2013) I was with a district that technology was only in a lab not in the classroom.  I had one computer in my classroom and that was my teacher PC.  Students used it only to do Accelerated Reader quizzes.  They considered innovation to be the fact we had active boards in some rooms and projectors.  Also if you were lucky you had a front row system to help project your voice in your room.  I really didn't know any other way.  I began teaching in SBISD in August of 2013.  I entered my Pre-k classroom and to  my surprise I had ipads!  Not just one but several!  I was beyond excited.  So how did we use those ipads?  Well of course I spent hours researching the top education apps for that age group and downloaded all that I could for free.  My kids were merely consumers and I saw nothing wrong with just that.  Fast forward to our district technology upgrades and integration of our mini ipads.  When we were told we would no longer have free range to download apps groans could be heard across the district.  I was one groaning too.    I mean what could a Pre-k/Kindergarten possible do with an ipad if they can't have the educational gaming and learning apps?    So they would just be for Istations and that would just have to be it.  I was bummed my attitude not exactly positive.  Then one day it hit me.  Education is a constantly changing environment and we are leaving the age of consumable technology and we are entering in to the creative technology world.  It reminded me of when my mom who had taught for over 40 years got a smart board.  She called and asked me to come show her how to use it and when I arrived to my absolute horror I saw she had been writing on it with dry erase markers.  At that moment my mom said she knew it was time for her to retire because she had no desire to learn new technology and she knew it was unfair to her students.  That is what popped into my head when I was trying to figure out what to do with these ipads.  So I decided I owed it to my students to learn about the apps on the ipads and in turn allow my students to use them to create.  Now I am not your sit down have a lesson you don't touch the technology kind of teacher.  I am the ok here is the ipad this is the app you will be exploring I have guided access on please enjoy exploring this app kind of teacher.  So we started with scratch Jr.  Guys if you have not used this app I urge you to change that!  The kids have figured it out in no time.  They are creating and coding with it and I love going by sitting down and listening to the stories they are creating.   Is it perfect?  No but it's authentic and engaging.  I have made a personal challenge to expose my students to every app the district has approved that is on their level on our ipads.  It's a gradual process but one that is paying off.  Just this week in our PLC I shared Scratch Jr, Green Screen Live and WonderWorkshop with my grade level and administrative team.  I expressed to them that like many I had to choose to change my attitude and mindset when it comes to how to use technology with my students.  We are no longer using it for them to consume but we are using it to encourage them to create.  We must remember that as educators it is our attitude and mindset that sets the tone in our classrooms, on our teams and on our campuses.  So I encourage you to be the one to think creatively and show others it is what the students in our classrooms need.