What will I see when I search?

Last week I had the opportunity to present to a creative writing class in our high school. Being in the role of assistant principal it's not often that I have the opportunity to teach a mini lesson. I was asked to introduce students to the idea of creating a digital portfolio in which they will publish the various formats of writing that they will be crafting in this class. The teacher and I developed a template using Google Sites for students to work with as they develop their portfolios.

While this opportunity could have been a simple tutorial in which I demonstrated the "technical intricacies" of Google Sites, I was compelled to pair this with a discussion on online reputation management and the power of publishing.

In the era of social media, smartphones, and mobile apps the ability to publish online is not only accessible, but enticing. Sharing online is the most common form on communication among students.

Over the years we have educated students about the danger of online publishing. Our message has been about protecting your identify and minimizing the availability of personal information. We have also spoke about the dangers of anonymity. The talk of 'being safe' expanded to reputation management. Students have been exposed to conversations regarding their digital footprint. We have focused on the permanency of what we share online and the outcomes that may be a result of these actions.

In speaking to this class of students I asked how many of  them have ever Googled themselves. I was surprised to see only about 10% of the students responded yes. When I asked them what they have learned about online publishing they were quick to cite the topics I discussed above. In my conversation with them I challenged the idea of protecting your identity online.

We discussed who may be looking for you online. Employers, college admissions officers, friends and family were discussed. My approach regarding this audience shifted their thinking from "be careful with what I share" to "what are you publishing online under your full name that adds value or differentiates yourself?" "How can you create a digital footprint that puts you at an advantage over others when applying for a job or seeking admission into a University.

When working with students we should be modeling best practice strategies in online publishing. Students should be sharing their best work, thoughts, ideas and creations for the world to discover. A Google search of your name should uncover the products that best represent you. Examples may be not only writing portfolios, but art work, images, or comments on publications.

As educators we should be working to develop the skills required to publish online. Authoring for the web requires an understanding of how we read online. The quality of the content must be paired with an appreciation and understanding of intuitive design and rich presentation.

A New Homework Strategy

The completion of homework remains a point of focus for some students when analyzing their achievement in particular courses. Some students find it challenging to complete assignments for a variety of reasons. When class grading policies incorporate homework grades this can have a significant impact on a student's grade. This can also be a point of frustration for parents, teachers and counselors.

Typically the goal of homework is to apply a concept that was introduced in class or to enter class the next day with prerequisite knowledge necessary for productive class discussions or group work. The goal is not to produce a grade, but to further student learning and understanding. Grading homework is an extrinsic motivator that does not impact some students. Homework that does not focus on student learning and understanding is graded for compliance.

I like the idea of providing students who miss an assignment the opportunity to complete the assignment. Myron Dueck, Assistant Principal of Summerland Secondary School in British Columbia shared an incomplete assignment form that he has students submit. This was shared in the March edition of Educational Leadership. When students complete this form they must select from a list of Interventions that are available to them. These may include extra help sessions, study hall, viewing a tutorial, or any other intervention that they will utilize to complete the assignment.

By providing an incomplete grade and a clear intervention plan to complete the assignment the student is provided with choice and a motivation to not have an incomplete for the course grade. There are many variations to this idea, but I believe this is a concept that is worth exploring with our at-risk students.

Moving From Passive Learning to Active Learning With Graphic Organizers

How do we effectively convey information/content to students to ensure that they not only comprehend it, but can then represent this new knowledge in meaningful ways? How can we accommodate students that struggle with curating important information and managing abstract ideas? What strategies can we employ to aid information retention? The use of Graphic Organizers provide students and teachers with a tool to organize important ideas logically and visually. 

Graphic organizers provide student and teachers with a resource to visually present important information in a logical format that can simplify the transition of applying that knowledge. For example, a History Frame graphic organizer may be useful to aid in comprehension of Social Studies topics. A History Frame will ask students to identify when and were an event took place, the problem, the stakeholders, the key events, what was the result and what was the future impact.

Graphic organizers may also be useful for students to better understand what they already know and still need to investigate.  A KWL chart is a great resource for students to identify what they know about a topic, what they would like to learn more about and then what they have learned. This type of graphic organizer can be used for a Do Now at the beginning of the lesson and then again during the closure as they identify what they learned and would like to explore further.

There are many types of graphic organizers that can serve a variety of purposes. These valuable instructional tools are widely available on the web for free downloads. Completion of graphic organizers by students may serve as a formative assessment for teachers as they uncover the thought process of students as well as their level of understanding. English language learners will benefit from being able to visually organize small chunks of text in a logical order to complete a task or demonstrate understanding.

Here are some resouces for graphic organizer:

Write Design Graphic Organizers

Thinking Tools

UDL Graphic Organizers

Improve Student Writing Through Electronic Conferencing

A new app available within Google Drive allows for the insertion of Voice Comments into Google Docs. The app is free and easy to use.  The tutorial below will demonstrate how to install it and begin using it.

This tool allows teachers to provide specific feedback to students regarding their writing using verbal expression. It can also be used for students to provide peer review. In the past I have connected my students with other students around the world to conduct peer review of writing using the comments features. This allows the students to gain the benefits of expressive verbal language. It's also really cool!

 

 

Reading..Connectivity..Technology and Attention

I have been the owner of an Apple IPad since they were released. I have found it to be my go to technology tool for consuming information such as emails, news, web searches, blogs, and audio and video content. I have utilized services such as Pocket and Delicious to tag and categorize resources that I discover online. Flipboard and Zite curate news and information from my most trusted sources and provide a simple and dynamic reading experience.  Checking emails, sharing content and conducting web searches are efficient and productive when using a tablet like the IPAD.

The long standing argument regarding tablets is that they are devices designed to consume content. While this may be a strength it is by far not the only use of the device. The ability to link text, embed videos and audio, link to discussion and commenting features, annotate text, and share are interactive features that allow for active consumption. An example of this is the app Subtext which allows for the creation of social community within the pages of a text. The app allows the teacher to layer in enrichment materials, quizzes and assignments as well.

The opportunity to take a passive act of reading and integrate interactivity, multiple means of representation of information and social collaboration extends learning, differentiates, and provides peer sharing and learning opportunities. This has be referred to as "social reading"

21st century information texts cross a variety of platforms. Many of which are social. News is no longer confined to newspapers, magazines and your nightly news anchor. Current events are delivered and discussed on social media using Twitter hash tags, blogs,  video sharing, and various social apps.   Information that is shared online is typically written in hyperlinking form, sometimes referred to 3 dimensional writing. The new information literacy skill requires students to validate text, navigate the hyperlinking trail of information that is contained in published content, curate and evaluate relevant information, make connections, draw conclusions and develop further questions.

Social and interactive reading is not just a required skill, but contributes to student engagement. Utilizing web-based literature circles, book clubs, discussion forums or embedded chatting features in documents and apps provide a collaborative learning environment with 24 hour access.

The development and sharing of podcasts or video tutorials provides a differentiated approach to content delivery and assessment. Students create such content to demonstrate understanding while providing an instructional resource for student who require additional modes of representation of course content.

While a tablet provides a number of advantages with regards to teaching and learning it does pose a problem. Students must learn to maintain attention and focus while  viewing active content.  Justin Reich (Contributor for Mindshift)  cited the work of Howard Rheingold ,by discussing the need for students to to remember their core purpose of reading and not get lost in the network of hyperlinked text.  Teachers, students and parents must employ focus and attention strategies and decide when focused reading or connected reading should be the goal.

 

 

Strategies for Improving Writing

During my time in education I have worked with a number of school districts. Having been in charge of educational technology during most of my time I have been called upon to provide technological resources that can help these districts improve writing. Teachers and administrators across all grade levels have sought out my knowledge on digital writing resources in order to fill their toolbox, engage students, and increase the quality of writing. While I have successfully curated a number of resources and found success with implementing technology to improve writing, I have concluded that  the best way to improve writing is not high tech at all.

What I believe is that writing can be improved by the following:

Consistency - Writing should be interdisciplinary. The expectations for writing across disciplines should be somewhat uniform. While the expectation of a DBQ writing in social studies may be different from a character analysis in English the fundamental components of a quality written piece should be consistent. Common rubrics, writing mini lessons, graphic organizers  and common vocabulary should be part of inter department collaboration.

Writing Every Day - Students should be provided with an opportunity and expectation to write in every class, every day. Do Now and Closure activities may provide opportunities for reflection or quick writes. Art and Music classes may provide opportunities for reflection and critique. Publishing a class blog or threaded discussion provides a writing opportunity that extends the school day.

Publishing - Here is were technology provides the most value. Students should be given the opportunity to write for an audience. By publishing student work we provide them with an authentic task that is engaging and may be rich with feedback. Google Docs provides opportunities for students to  publish electronically. The documents may be shared for peer review. A class blog or online discussion provides opportunities for students to publish for an audience. Requiring students to publish on online discussion boards, blogs, or just publishing their writing on social sharing sites provides a voice, a global audience and intrinsic or extrinsic motivation to produce quality work.

When a school, not a teacher commits to a collaborative effort to improve writing that is when we can expect change. Professional development and common planning time should be focused on defining good writing, developing and sharing rubrics, graphic organizers,  mini-lessons, and common vocabulary. When teachers are provided such a tool box with time to review and discuss the results we can have an expectation of growth and improvement.

Active Reading Strategies K-12

I have had the opportunity to work with students and faculty across all grade levels K-12. This experience and exposure has without a doubt made me a better teacher, observer, and most importantly filled my toolbox.

My visits to early elementary classrooms offer insight into differentiation and independent learning at a level of depth that is difficult to duplicate in higher grades. Many of the schools I have worked in implement balanced literacy programs with a focus on Guided Reading, Centers, and Reading / Writing workshop. During these early years of literacy instruction there is an emphasis on the skills of what good readers and writers do. Students are grouped by reading level and afforded the opportunity to work with their peers in small groups to learn and apply these skills.

During this time students learn pre-reading strategies such as activating prior knowledge, defining a purpose for reading and identifying text structures.  They also build skills to be implemented while reading such as questioning, making connections, managing speed, predicting,  how to infer and attack vocabulary. After reading students learn strategies such as "how to review", summarizing, and most importantly clarifying questions to ask.

These strategies, while taught as skills in early elementary, are proven to be vital for reading comprehension and learning. They are skills that should not be limited to a Language Arts classroom. Application of these skills should be integrated into all subject areas. As students move to higher grades the focus shifts from skill based literacy instruction to mastery  of content and analysis of text.

During my time coordinating I&RS teams I have worked with a number of students who struggle with reading comprehension. While the struggles manifest themselves in a variety of ways, the consensus is to develop reading skills to aid in comprehension. For that purpose i have found that the instructional strategies and skills taught in early elementary have a place in grades 6-12. All of our teachers would benefit from receiving direct instruction in "what good readers and writers do" in order to integrate these skills into their courses.

One of my favorite books regarding the teaching of reading comprehension strategies is Mosaic of Thought. While this book is typically found in elementary PD sessions or book clubs, it would be well placed in a high school as well.  US History II teachers would benefit in turn-keying instruction in monitoring meaning, activating prior knowledge, questioning, drawing inferences, imagery, and analyzing text structure.

As schools look towards increased differentiation and the elimination of levels our teachers need to fill their toolbox with strategies to reach all learners.  Recognizing that the teaching of reading strategies transcends grade levels and subjects is a great first step.

I have developed an active reading strategies chart that we share with teachers and students to aid in the development of comprehension. Active Reading Strategies Chart

Flipping The Instructional Design In Core Subject Areas

One of the highlighted additions to the Common Core Standards is the focus on informational text. Students are required to demonstrate comprehension of such text as well as the ability to produce written text  grounded in research, analysis and argumentation.  In order to develop these skills and to prepare students for college and career readiness a paradigm shift must occur in many of our content areas. In many schools the approach to addressing this shift has been the integration of literacy instruction and application into core subjects such as social studies and science.

The design process looks something like:

What do we want our students to learn?

What content must we cover?

How can we integrate literacy into this process?

With the help of the Literacy Design Collaboraive teachers can now Flip this process in order to have a more focused approach to literacy instruction without minimizing the content. In  fact, teachers who have implemented the "template tasks" developed by the LDC have discovered students develop greater and deeper content knowledge.

This model involves:

Select a Literacy Based Template Task

Select a topic from your curriculum

Fill in the blanks in the task from the topic

Select the content/ text students will read

Select the text the students will write.

The task templates are available for download on the LDC website. The tasks are designed to be integrated into LA, Science or Social Studies.

An example task is:

 

[Insert question] After reading _____ (literature or informational texts), write _________ (essay or substitute) that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the text(s). L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

Sara Ballute and Timothy Lent in New York City used that template to create a teaching task for high school world history:

Were the achievements and growth of the Industrial Revolution Era worth the cost to society? After reading secondary and primary sources pertaining to the British Industrial Revolution, write an argumentation essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

Monica Cressman, Sean Houseknecht, and Alex Shubert of the Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) School District used the same template for middle school science:

Should animals be kept in zoos? After reading the information texts provided, write an essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

The integration of the template tasks provided by the LDC represent a paradigm shift in core content instruction. While this model has proven to be effective it requires significant PD for all. This is a great opportunity in high schools for interdisciplinary PD. Having English teachers host PD on writing instruction for content area teachers, developing common writing rubrics and developing PLC's with a focus on this topic are some ideas worth exploring.

Students Use Social Media to Analyze Rhetorical Strategies in AP English Course

Social media has found a place in the classrooms of Chatham High School.  With the growth of social platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and Google +, schools have been seeking out best-practice approaches to utilizing these platforms with students. Mrs. Heather Rocco, Supervisor of Language Arts, recognized the value social media can have in the classroom. She introduced Today’s Meet, a private micro-blogging platform, to her department. Ms. Falkner, a member of the English Department, was first to jump on board and integrate this tool in her classes. Recognizing the powerful impact that such tools have on instruction and the need to integrate them in a safe and effective way, Ms. Falkner worked with Mrs. Rocco to introduce this private micro-blogging tool in her classes.

The students in Ms. Falkner’s AP English Language class have been utilizing Today’s Meet to integrate Back Channeling in their classroom.  Back Channeling is the practice of using networked computers to maintain a real-time, online,conversation alongside live spoken remarks. Today’s Meet is a free tool for developing  such a Back Channel. It allows teachers the opportunity to develop a private online forum for real-time discussions. Think of it as a private Twitter feed that is available to you and your students.  The service is free and does not require students to sign up or register to join the conversation.

Today’s Meet can be used in a variety of settings including presentations, workshops, movie viewing and class discussions. It encourages the room to use the live stream to make comments and ask questions . The feedback gathered can be used as a method to check for understanding, tailor your presentation, sharpen your points, and address audience needs. Ms. Falkner has been utilizing this tool to develop an active learning environment in her classroom. She is using Today’s Meet as a tool to teach the skill of analyzing rhetorical strategies.

Ms. Falkner discusses how she uses Today’s Meet below:

 

“My AP language students are very strong at identifying rhetorical strategies in a text, but they struggle to be able to articulate how a particular strategy functions or what effect it has in the text. In short, they struggle to analyze rhetorical strategies, but they can identify them with ease. In using Today's Meet while viewing a documentary, I'm attempting to separate out the two skills: students identify the strategies as they watch and note them in 140 characters, and then they work in small groups, after the film ends, to select a few of the strategies noted in the conversation and analyze how the strategies function and for what purpose(s)/to what effect(s). This division of "tasks" enables students to differentiate between what it means to identify and what it means to analyze.

The "backchannel" conversation also provides students a lens through which to view the film - they are watching each scene with the intention of identifying a strategy to "tweet" out to the class, so there's active viewing vs. passive viewing of the film text. The students are motivated to write thoughtful comments because they have an authentic audience of their peers (whose opinions are often far more valuable to them than that of their teacher!).

The activity requires that we teachers "let go" of our control of the lesson and turn the reigns over to the students to dictate the direction of the discussion following the film. With that said, I could always interject a "tweet" of my own if I felt that the students were missing a key rhetorical strategy in the film”

How have you used micro-blogging in your classroom? Please share your experiences by commenting on this posting.

Image Source:
Social Media Band Wagon: http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/media/social_media.html

Today's Meet: http://www.todaysmeet.com

Common Core Writing - The NY Times Can Help!

The NY Times blog Room For Debate is a great resource that can be used to instruct students in the process of writing logical arguments which is identified in the Common Core Standards.

Room for Debate is full of posts that take an issue or event in the news and curates opinions about it from four to six knowledgeable sources. The responses are limited to four or five paragraphs. This allows for the integration of this resources to fit within the constraints of standard class periods.

Here are some ideas offered by the NY Times to utilize this resource to support the common core standards.

• Analyze one of the debates and judge how the authors compiled their arguments agains the CC writing standards for making logical arguments.


• Start your own Room For Debate using Blogger or Google Docs. Post a link or details regarding and article and then invite 4 or 5 students to present logical arguments for or against the topic.


• Create a fantasy version of room for debate
  
  
  
  • Have characters in a novel debate an important issue or topic in the work
  
  
  • What about scientists debating a belief or argument?
  
  
  
  


• In the student opinion feature a question so posed for students to respond to. Students may publish their written arguments for a global audience of their peers.

Resources:
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/13/constructing-arguments-room-for-debate-and-the-common-core-standards/

 Image:
http://scm-l3.technorati.com/12/08/28/71661/copywriting-not-copy-my-writing.jpg?t=20120828121602

News Stories for Grades 1-3

In the past I have written about Tween and Teen Tribune. You can read more about them here. These sites provide news stories for students. Teachers may setup student accounts that allow them to leave comments that are moderated by the teacher.

Tween Tribune just released Tween Tribune Junior for grades 1-3.  It includes all of the same features as the other versions! This is a great resource for integrating primary source documents, current events, collaboration and student publishing into your classroom.

 

Enjoy!

National Poetry Month - Listen to Poems Read by Poets

April is National Poetry Month. While there are a number of online resources with activities to celebrate and explore poetry I really like the Poets.com Listening Booth .  The listening booth contains audio recordings of poet's reading poems. You can search by poet name or poem name. 

There are a number of benefits to having students listen to poems read by their actual poet.  This website lists an number of strategies and ideas to share with students when listening to poetry.  You may want to have your students first read the poem themselves and then listen to it read by the actual poet. That should prove to be a beneficial and enlightening exercise for all students.

 

Poet's Listening Booth - http://www.poets.org/audio.php/prmAlpha/

Listening to Poetry - Ideas for Teachers - http://www.poetryarchive.org/poetryarchive/teachersTips.do

Enjoy

 

Student's Illustrate, Record and Publish

Little Bird Tales is a free site that allows teachers and students to create and publish their own digital tales.  Here is what i like about it.



Class Management

• The has a simple to use teacher interface in which you can setup classes and control access.


• Teachers manage student accounts.


•  The teacher assigns usernames and passwords to the students without the requirement of student emails.


• The teacher controls the privacy and publishing settings

 

Student Access and Story Creation

• Students can use the drawing tools to create characters, backgrounds and objects.


• You can add typed text or record your own narration with the click of a button.


• Students may import their own pictures. After importing they may use the drawing tools to add to them or annotate them.


• The site is easy to use and offers a number of options for classroom integration.

 

The options are limitless with Little Bird Tales. Students may publish a story of all original illustrations and narration or they may develop a presentation about an event, person or curriculum topic. Students may develop bird tales as an enrichment activity. An example would be the assignment to create a tale that describes how to add fractions.

For more student publishing resources please see my digital writing wiki: http://digitalwriting.wikispaces.com

Enjoy!

 

 

Student Book Reviews Using Google Sites

Our district is a member of Google Apps for Education. We have started to use Google Sites for a number of initiatives. We started to use Sites for teacher websites in some of our schools. We also  used Sites to build instructional resources. Our interactive Pyramid of Intervention and  Collaborative Group Work Resource are two great examples. 

Recently two of our grade 2 teachers were looking for an online solution to publish their student's book reviews. We decided to use Google Sites as the tool. Each student illustrated a picture of themselves and a picture of the book. I created pages on the site to publish their profile pictures with links to their book reviews (that the students typed in MS word).  The result is a fabulous site that publishes their book reviews. Please take a look at our student's work here. 

By providing an opportunity to publish their book reviews we established an authentic task that proved to be engaging for the students. They were writing for a global audience and were very connected to the assignment. It was positive experience for everyone!

Enjoy!

 

 

How to Bring Celebrities into Your Classroom for Reading Instruction?

Storyline (www.storyline.com) is a website published by the Screen Actors Guild. The site features videos of  famous actors and actresses reading children’s books.  There is an index of books to select from.

The videos display well on an interactive white board. They can also be used in a listening center. With most stories there are activity guides and extension activities.

Storyline may be used during whole group instruction as part of interactive read aloud. It may also be used in centers. Storyline may be used to model inflection, fluency, and to engage students in the process of reading.  They are able to apply the strategies that we teach them while having fun listening.  You can pause, stop and rewind. You can also display captions in order to discuss word use throughout.

Storyline is fun and interactive resource that is a great tool for any balanced literacy initiative. There a re a number of uses in an elementary classroom. I would love to hear how you use this with students. Please leave a comment below to share how you use Storlyline Online with your students.

Enjoy!

 

 

Connecting Literacy, Technology, Science & Penguins?

We have been successful with implementing various author Skype sessions in all of our schools. These experience are always positive.  The authors that we have connected with have done a fantastic job inspiring our students. Most notably they have  allowed students to make an authentic connection to the writing process. They connect the strategies taught in the classroom with what real authors actually do. Sometimes it is just better when they hear it from someone other than their teacher. Each time we connect we also have a lot of fun.
This particular Skype session was different. The student's in Ms. Reichel's grade 1 class in Ellen T.  Briggs School connected with author Jean Marzollo. Mrs. Marzollo is the author of the well-known I-Spy book series. Ms. Reichel's class chose to focus on her non-fiction story Pierre the Penguin.  The students had been studying about penguins. They recently skyped with a penguin expert.

Here is a excerpt from Ms. Reichel's blog posting regarding the connection:

"We first read this book as part of our unit on penguins and instantly fell in love with the adorable Pierre who wears a tiny wet suit so he will stay warm in the water even though he does not have feathers.  Our interest in Pierre brought us to his home sitehttp://www.calacademy.org/webcams/penguins/.  There we were able to watch live footage of Pierre and his friends and read about how he is doing on the Penguin Blog.    

After that we were hooked!  We wanted to know more and were lucky enough to Skype with Mrs. Marzollo.  Not only did she read us the book but she also took the time to answer questions. "

What really differentiated this experience from other author Skype sessions is what unfolded during the exchange of questions with Mrs. Marzollo. The students shared that they discovered Pierre's birthday was the next week. He was going to be 29 years old. They had learned this and other interesting facts about Pierre while reading a blog published about him. This was new information for Mrs. Marzollo. She was so impressed with the knowledge she had uncovered from our students that she wrote a posting on her personal blog to highlight the experience. You can read it here.

The student's in Ms. Reichel's class are very excited to be mentioned on the blog of an international author. They believe that they are now famous! What is underlying here is what this has accomplished. The student's have seen a true purpose for their research. They were able to curate and communicate what they learned and share it with a global audience. This opportunity opened up a level of engagement that each of us strive for. If we could create opportunities for students to share what they have learned or created with the world, we can expect a level of  engagement and excitement about learning that is difficult to develop using traditional instructional methods.

 

 

 

A Collaborative Project to Build Bullying Awareness

The students in Mrs. Bock's reading class at White Rock Elementary school wanted to work together to apply what they have learned about bullying, character counts, and the writing process to publish a book about bullying. The students and Mrs. Bock had recently been introduced to Storyjumper  through one of my training sessions. Storyjumper is a free web-based application that allows students to create and publish page turning online storybooks. The books are viewable online and can be purchased as a hard cover children's book. 

Mrs. Bock recognized that while writing in isolation on a topic that is of interest to students may be engaging, she knew that connecting with another school to collaborate on a publication would spark student interest.   Mrs. Bock successfully connected with a class from the Califon school in NJ. Together both groups of students co-authored a book that addresses bullying. This wonderful publication identifies the characteristics of a bully, integrates the six pillars of character and offers solutions for addressing the problem.

The overall project was a success. The students enjoyed applying what they have learned about bullying and character counts. They were provided with an opportunity to collaborate with another class, apply problem solving skills, and publish for a public audience. These are key skills for the 21st century. Please follow the link below to read a copy of their book.

Click Here To Read Their Book

Congratulations to Mrs. Bock's Class! Great Job!

Collaborative Writing In Elementary Classrooms

The development of Web 2.0, or the Read/Write Web, has produced a number of free resources that allow students and teachers to publish and collaborate online. One of my favorite sites to use with students is Wikispaces.  Wikispaces is a web service that allows teachers to create a wiki in which students may contribute content. The service is free for teachers and students. After a teacher creates an account they can create as many wikis as they wish. There is a very simple to use management tool that allows the teacher o create student usernames and passwords.

Once a student is granted access to the wiki he or she can add content, respond to discussions regarding the content and even leave comments when reviewing materials developed by the teacher or their peers. The availability of a resource like Wikispaces offers a number of opportunities in the classroom.

A wiki is a forum in which students can collaborate, share and contribute content, and peer review each others work. For example, the students in Mrs. Daly’s (White Rock), Mrs. Young’s, (Stanlick) and Mrs. McLoughlin’s (Stanlick) grade 5 classes have been working with grade 5 classes in Buckingham County, Virginia on a shared wiki. Each student was paired with a student in Virginia who is at or near their writing level. We created a wiki for the project and a page within that wiki for each student.

The goal of this collaborative project was to provide an authentic opportunity for students to develop their writing skills. Each student was responsible for authoring a writing piece based on a common writing prompt. After the students added their written work to their page they were responsible for peer editing the work of their partner. The students followed a common template for peer review that was shared with all six teachers involved. The students provided the feedback
to their partners in Virginia through the discussion feature that is available on each of their pages.

This project has been a success. The students were provided with the opportunity to write for an audience. They enjoyed learning about their partners in Virginia. It was a great opportunity to experience writing from their peers in other states. The opportunity to send and receive feedback provided an opportunity for reflection regarding their writing. The student’s in Mrs. Young’s class and their partner class in Virginia will be continuing this project. They are in the process of organizing a wiki in which each pairing of students will co-author a single story.

While a wiki is a very simple and powerful tool for school to school collaboration, it can also be used effectively within a single class. For example, student’s in a U.S. History class may collaborate on a single wiki site focused on the 1920’s. Each student may be responsible for contributing a page of content about that era. The end result of such a project is an online textbook that may be shared and used year after year.

A Language Arts teacher may provide a single page on a wiki to each student to write an essay. The fact that the wiki is online allows the teacher to monitor and review student writing in real-time. The “add a comment” feature allows the teacher to provide comments that are highlighted and noted ion the sidebar of the page.

This method of writing replaces the process of collecting and reviewing first drafts. Instead, the teacher can guide a student and comment on their writing while it is happening. The feedback is immediate and will impact the quality and focus of student writing.

Skype with an Author

On November 8, 2011 two of our grade 5 classes hosted a Skype session with Jeanne DuPrau.  Mrs. DuPrau is known for the series of books that she has authored called "The Books of Ember". Within that series are The City of Ember, The People of Sparks, The Prophet and Yonwood, and The Diamond of Darkhold.

The City of Ember was made into a major motion picture. You can read more about that here. This is the novel that our classes read and thoroughly enjoyed.

Mrs. DuPrau lives in California. The logistics of having her visit were not within our budget and time constraints. However, Skype was able to fill this need. We organized a Skype session with Mr. DuPrau and the students in Mr. Argondizzo's and Miss Daly's grade 5 classes.

We used our classroom smartboard, a logitech webcam and a free download of Skype for the event. Each of our students in the session had a job/role. We followed the framework that I have made available on my wiki of resources.  Some sample jobs included:  recorder, time keeper, videographer, photographer, greeter, closing and of course question asking.

The event was a success. Mrs. Duprau shared her writing process as well as details about her novels. The students made an authentic connection to their classroom learning.  Mrs. DuPrau mentioned that our students provided some of the best questions she has had asked of her!

The students are working on a reflection assignment. The assignment consists of a two paragraph essay in which they will reflect upon what they have learned. Our teachers provided a guiding questions for this assignment.  We are looking forward to planning our next Skype session.  If  you are reading this posting and would like to connect with us, please respond int he comment section. We have many classes in grades k-12 that are interested.

Daily News Site for Teens and Tweens

Tween Tribune and Teen Tribune are bringing the worlds news and events to the classroom.  Every day they post the most compelling, relevant and interesting news for teens and tweens.  The stories are selected by teens and tweens working closely with professional journalists. Students are provided with the opportunity to comment on these stories. They can also submit their own stories and photos.  Teachers have the ability to create a class account. Once the class account is created the students can register with the site and join the class.

Safety Concerns

The site is fully compliant with COPPA. See Below

"TweenTribune and TeenTribune are in full compliance with COPPA - the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act – as outlined by the Federal Trade Commission. This means that:

• Students may not use their last names.


• Students may not use their email address anywhere on the site.


• We do not gather or store student email addresses.


• Teachers can moderate students' comments before they’re published.


• We only uses news stories from reputable news organizations, such as the Associated Press, and local newspapers and TV stations.


• Teachers' identities are independently verified before they are granted administrative privileges."

Teacher Pages - What does a class page provide

Teachers who create a class page that provides the teacher with the following access:

• View the stories your class has commented on.


• View individual comments by each student, on his or her own page


• View all comments by your students, in one report that can be sorted by students’ names, comments, or dates


• You can moderate, edit, or delete your students’ comments before they’re published.

 

Classroom Integration - Philosophy

Tween and Teen Tribune provides access to relevant and age appropriate news stories. Students are provided with the opportunity to read current news articles and comment on them. This type of activity provides  an authentic experience that can engage our students and promote the advantages of being aware of world and local news. This student-centered approach to current events and article review provides students with a forum to engage with a publication and engage in a meaningful task by reflecting or questioning through comments. The published comments are shared on each article which provides students with a global perspective and an audience for their own writing.

Classroom Integration - Ideas

Activities on Tween/Teen tribune meet class requirements for Reading, Writing and Computer Technology.

Students may be asked to pick a controversial story and post a comment that expresses their views on the topic. They may also be asked to select a comment that offers a view they disagree with. They can then be charged with writing a comment that refutes the comment with specific facts.

Assign topics based on the subject you teach. If you teach art have students read articles pertaining to art. If you teach science have them select science articles. The articles and responses can be conversation starters in the classroom. They may also be used to activate prior knowledge before a new lesson is introduced.

Students may publish their own stories, book reviews, newscasts, opinions or class news for the world to view and comment on. Remember, all comments are moderated by the teacher before going live.

Teen Tribune - http://teentribune.com

Tween Tribune - http://tweentribune.com

Create your class page here - http://tweentribune.com/content/tweentribune-classroom