Persevering through my own frustrations--help is out there!

When I first learned about and used the Subtext app ("Turn any book or text into a digital classroom," their motto promises), I'll admit that I was a little overwhelmed and therefore put off. I tried to overcome and used it with one short story last fall, and it went ok, not outstanding, but fine. The problem was that some minor things went wrong and the kids had a few too many questions I didn't feel comfortable enough trouble-shoot, so I got intimidated and didn't persevere (my bad).  However, I was fortunate enough to take an in-district course taught by my amazing colleague Jen, and she helped me through most of my confusion. Also, even more important than teaching me how to use the app, she showed me that she didn't let obstacles stop her. When I asked her questions she didn't immediately know the answer to, she went straight to Subtext support and got us the answers (the support staff at Subtext is impressively responsive and helpful, FYI.).  Since then, I've used the Subtext regularly and it's changed the way I approach teaching literature (this is not hyperbole).

Diving into this world of technology still intimidates me two years into this iPad one-to-one process, but I've realized that I can't just get frustrated; for every obstacle I encounter, there is a usually a (relatively) easy way to find an answer or alternative if I am willing to put in a few minutes to look or ask. Sometimes I'm actually overwhelmed with how many options and resources are out there because I feel like it's an impossible feat to keep up with it all, but that same obstacle is also a godsend when I need help, so I'll just keep plugging away!  

Return and Reflection: How much has changed in two years

It's been far too long since I've posted, but it's amazing to see how much has changed--and how much my own views have changed--since I started piloting this iPad one-to-one thing two years ago:

•  I've learned to become far more flexible about how students choose to implement assignments, so some of my earliest posts would no longer matter to me at all, such as my post wondering if students should write or type for annotations on Notability. I now allow my students a lot more choices, such as  giving them a list of options of apps/resources to use to complete an assignment, or even letting them find the technology resources themselves. 
• I've found some far better ways of implementing some of the early lessons I had tried last year: instead of using the Gabbit app, which was a good idea but a pretty limited and faulty app for my purposes, now I would have my students use Tellagami, and maybe a year from now,my students or I will find something totally different that works better. I still love using Nearpod and would highly recommend it. 
• I've learned that there are times when the iPad is amazing and really helps engage students, but I've also found times when I want students to put the iPads away and just discuss with one another, act out a scene from a novel, or just draw with markers and color pencils--and I've also realized that it's ok not to use the iPads for everything. 

I'm looking forward to next year when my district is going 100% with the iPad one-to-one, but I'm definitely still battling the distraction factor the iPads represent and I'm still looking for better ways to combat that. 

My letter to editor about disastrous SpEd legislation

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20130513/discuss/705139954/

Self-reflecting to improve on a lesson gone wrong, and having students take on the role of technology experts for each other

The lessons I learned:
I can't expect a fun app like Gabit to do the work for me. We have to work though how to effectively use the technology to facilitate our learning. Sounds pretty obvious, but I certainly had to learn this lesson the hard way.  As a result, I found myself attempting to salvage a failed, hectic, frustrating lesson by having the students become the experts and teach each other. The next day and again later, we completed some self -eflecting and retrying based on what we noticed went wrong.   While the end products were only okay and didn't work for all the students, at least I got to see my students take on the role of experts and help each other! Definitely a far more effective way to approach any technology than thinking of only the teacher as the expert!

The geeky details:
We’ve been working on learning some common prefixes, suffixes, and root words using the Nearpod  app to take quizzes on about about five word parts at a time. Then we practice either with words I give them that they try to define based on knowledge of word parts, or they try to think of words that use the prefix/suffix/root word and we share those.  We've played a game to see how many of them can correctly define some words by applying the prefixes/suffixes/root words we've been learning.  It's been really fun and very engaging for most of them, especially as Nearpod notifies when students time out of the app!

It's been going well, but I figured I needed another way of assessing that they're able to apply the lessons we are learning and practicing together, so I thought  instead of just adding more and more words and word parts, we should take a step back and do some further application of the ones we've already learned.

I was trying to create a different fun activity where they could create something using their iPads to apply the words we've been learning. I found a free iPhone app called Gabit where students can create an avatar/character, they can record their own voice for the character, and even have the character do a few  motions. They can easily record up to 30 seconds and save it to their camera roll and then share it through email.  Or at least it seemed pretty easy to me since it worked perfectly when I tested it out. 

 So I typed up an assignment where I gave each of the students one of the root words, asked them to compose a sentence where the root word is used correctly in context, and then had them explain what their root word is and how they used it effectively in the sentence.

I created a practice Gabit video myself to show them, and I thought I was all set. Here's my sample:

 

 

Unfortunately with the app, students can also add background music and distort their voice to make it annoyingly high or low, which ruined a few of their creations because their voice was drowned out--no joke, the student who came up with the word "audible" did this. Fortunately he has a great sense of humor and so we had a good chuckle in class together applying the prefix -in and talking about how inaudible his was. (The app also has some more annoying options like burning and farting, so I was relieved that all my students were mature enough to stay wary from those ones.) 

Things started off poorly immediately--it was a free app, so I figured it would be easy for them to quickly download and use.  However, for some reason, it worked for 10 of my students but not the other 6. No matter what I tried, I couldn't help them find the app. It just wouldn't show up no matter what I did or what our AV assistant guy tried once I ran and got him. (The next day, our tech coordinator Paul was available, and he was able to find an alternative way to help the students find the app, but the app still kept crashing and messing up for a bunch of them.)  They were just getting frustrated and off task as a result. I had given them a template to first compose the sentences they would record, but I had to keep running around trying to keep them focused and without my TA, who was out sick,  it was much harder.  (When she's gone for a day, I notice even more how lucky I am to have my friend Angela as my TA).

They were all working at different paces, so when the first students had finished up their sentences and were ready to record, I send them out into different parts of the hallway to record their voices. That was incredibly hectic to help them individually while still keeping all the others on task, but that part actually worked out well in the end because then the students who went first became my experts and I asked them to use their iPads to help the next group of students, especially the ones who couldn't get the app to install on their own iPad. I did get a kick out of seeing those students shine while teaching their peers!

But of course it was crazy to juggle what everyone was doing and keep them all on track when we were having technology problems and a few problems styling focused. Plus, I also have some conscientious kids who always want me to check their work to make sure they are doing it ok, which is something my TA is usually great at doing with them too--without giving them answers, she quickly and subtly redirects them if they are getting off task or doing something wrong.

 

The only good part is that the next day, we looked at their videos, and with each of them, we reflected on what worked well and what we needed to improve. Then the students who were having technology issues the previous day completed theirs, which were noticably better.  We tried the activity again two more times to see if we could improve. Most of the students improved, a little at least, but the app kept crashing, so I think I may need to give up on that activity idea or find a different app with this idea. 

 

Here's a student sample that actually did work out ok:

 

Students take ownership of a reading expert's ideas, and my TA teaches using InspirationLite App

The geeky moment: I watched as my students, led by my TA, built upon Kelly Gallagher's reasons for reading and added their own reasons.  They also used InspirationLite, a great mind mapping and outlining template app to facilitate the discussion.

The geeky details:

Early in the year, my class spent a day on what I call "Thinking About Reading Thursday" discussing the reasons why they read.  We used the Socrative app for them to respond to the question and they got to anonymously or publicly vote on and discuss their reasons for  why they read. I use Socrative  to ask an open-ended poll question/conversation starter. Once they have all responded, they get to vote on each others' reasons.  So I asked them to tell me in about two minutes "Why I Read."

 

Then we had a more open ended discussion using those answers as a springboard, where a lot of them shared which response they had posted and gave further examples, and then others shared their own examples.  We also connected this discussion with amazing reading expert Kelly Gallagher's 10 reasons to read from his book Reading Reasons. 

I had laminated each of his reasons on separate sheets of purple paper, so as we discussed their Socrative posts, they naturally connected to most of Gallagher's reasons, and then for the last few, my amazing TA and friend Angela helped them see connections, so we were able to post each reason on the wall as we discussed.

Since then, on "Free Read Fridays" they have been filling out responses--to share at the end of hour aloud--where they pick a quote from their book and write how they are modeling and applying one of Gallagher's reasons to read. They then post their colorful responses on the wall next to the reason they discussed. 

 

 

Hopefully we can use this as a visual, colorful daily reminder of the value of reading. 

A couple weeks later, Angela pointed out to me that while they do seems to be covering all of Kelly Gallagher's 10 reasons, they kept gravitating toward the ever popular "Reading is rewarding" reason. So Angela volunteered to lead a "Thinking about Reading Thursday" discussion about what we can add to Gallagher's list and make it our own. She found this awesome free app called InspirationLite that has countless mind map templates (Some of you may use or have used software like this--I know my district had it a few years ago.) 

She and the students used the app and their previous wall posts to come up with their own specific ways and reasons that "reading is rewarding."

 

 

 So since then the students have been posting on both Gallagher's reasons and ours.

There are so many moments I've enjoyed about these ongoing discussions. 

First, how lucky am I to have a TA who is a qualified and thoughtful certified English and ESL teacher? Plus, Angela's had an iPad for a while, so she is frequently trouble shooting and solving problems around the room. She also found this great InspirationLite app that I'm definitely suggesting to my AP students for their research paper outlines, as it turns a mind map into an outline with a click of a button--in correct MLA format!!! (English teachers would agree with me that the excessive exclamation mark isn't overkill here.)

Here are some of the many InspirationLite templates:

 

Second, I enjoyed watching the students take ownership and add to Gallagher's awesome ideas. (Have I gushed yet about how much I like his writing?) And I love that I got to observe as Angela took the lead in the discussion.

Scavenger hunt for Wi-Fi with my AP classes=impromptu fun and functional

The geeky moment:
I wish I I had taken a picture as my 26 students and I quietly sauntered through the hallway holding out our iPads searching for a good signal where the app I wanted to use would download and work. Fortunately the auditorium area had stronger WiFi, so we conducted class on the auditorium stairs today. It was surprisingly enjoyable and fairly successful for a "make it work" moment. (Tim Gunn would have been proud.)

The geeky details:
Our technology director Paul ended up with some extra iPads, and so he was able to give them to my two AP Language and Composition classes, which was ideal because half my students are already part of the school's pilot program through their physics classes, so by supplying the other half with iPads, now two more classes are part of the program. I couldn't be more thrilled and overwhelmed with the prospect of prepping and teaching using the iPad for two more classes.

So today was our first time using the iPads for instruction after a very smooth, swift initial set-up day last Friday with Paul while those students who already had the iPads also assisted the others through the process. (A particular highlight was when the students applauded as Paul walked in the room with the cart of iPads.) For my initial iPad reading class, Paul had been able to get in to the classroom over the summer to boost the WiFi and set up everything to prevent hiccups, so things have been amazingly smooth as far as connectivity goes. But since he just got these students the iPads during the school year, he couldn't have known this would happen in this classroom located in a different hallway, especially since everything had worked so ideally just a few days before when he was in our room showing them how to set up the iPads.

But today, the wifi just wasn't cooperating as the students tried to download the iBooks app, a free version of Scarlet Letter, and the Nearpod app at the same time. Those who have had the iPads for a month now started chatting about the places throughout the building where they have better luck with wifi. So I asked them pack up all their stuff and then somewhat obnoxiously pantomimed for them the manner in which I expected them to walk silently through the hallway while holding out their iPads and watching for increasing wifi and and the app downloading.

After firmly insisting upon absolute silence in the hallway, we all headed off. Perhaps it was the novelty of the crazy hallway skulking the 27 of us were embarking upon together, but they were great with keeping quiet in the hallways during this strange promenade. We made our way toward the auditorium as they started whispering, "It's working better here." and "Yeah, mine too." So we set ourselves up on the stairs and tried the lesson again.

They were impressed when they signed in to Nearpod and I immediately pushed slides about Scarlet Letter and American Romanticism onto their screens. They were amused when the app notified me in red that a student had timed out and so I jokingly called out our endearing class clown on his little infraction. And they were hooked when I broke up the typical lecture format with surveys and polls and trivia questions about the topic.

During the day, I ran into another one of our other technology guys, and so he actually came by for my afternoon AP class to check it out and help. I was able to repeat the same process and trek to the auditorium, and this time it went even more smoothly with his walking around and troubleshooting when a few students got confused or timed out of the app by accident. Yay for an awesome support system!  (Also, when I told Paul about the wifi issue, he promptly resolved it and we have had no further problems.)

Using the Nearpod website and apps for a multimedia presentation/pretest on prefixes and suffixes

The geeky moment:
I love it when I spend from 5 am to 8 am cram-prepping an unnecessarily complicated iPad lesson for that same day, the whole time panicking and convinced that I had shot myself in the foot. But then it all worked out almost perfectly, and I left class with the stupidest grin on my face. Nothing like a successful multimedia presentation as an engaging pretest on prefixes and suffixes.

The geeky details:

I used the Nearpod website to create the multimedia presentation. Once I published it online (thanks to my colleague Don for teaching me that very important step), I was able to use the Nearpod teacher app to push this same presentation onto the screens of all the students, who signed into my classroom through their student accounts using a short simple pin #. 
 

I began with refresher question about what prefixes and suffixes are and why they are important. They each submitted their answers and I then pushed back onto their screens what I considered the top answers. Then I asked them a five question quiz, where they clicked on what they thought was the correct definition of eachprefix. I got data immediately and was able to use the data immediately.  
 

One of my awesome girls was multitasking for me, and she recorded on butcher board all the prefixes and suffixes I chose to assess after consulting numerous top words' lists and my students' biology class vocabulary list. For every prefix or suffix the students knew, I asked this student to write in blue, but for every word part missed by three or more students, she switched to red marker. 
 

Then, I pushed a slide that asked them an open-ended question where they just typed any sample words they knew that had the prefixes or suffixes. Again, we shared and discussed a few and recorded the examples as well. We repeated this process all period (and every Wednesday for the next two weeks to finish up all the long list) and the students participated both using the iPads and also by blurting out examples. Both were helpful.

After the pretest and butcher paper aspect was over, I had about ten more slides with challenging words that included some of the prefixes and suffixes. We played a game where they tried to figure out the meaning of the words using the knowledge they had just gained (and the butcher block posters that their classmate was nice enough to create). They really got into the competition aspect of it and really pushed themselves to figure out the meaning of the words. Perhaps I'll need to use the competition idea again.  

One of the best parts was that Nearpod also notifies the teacher in red when a student has left the app and gone to other apps or timed out, so I could always keep track of student engagement.

Trouble shooting/mistakes I learned from:

While frantically creating it that same morning before class, I accidentally posted two slides asking very similarly worded questions. Fortunately The app lets me see each slide before I post it, so while in preview mode, I noticed that during class and just skipped that slide, and the kids were none the wiser.

I must have "made a mistake on my key," as all 14 students and my tech coordinator who was observing all said they knew the prefix "pre" but it immediately popped up in red for all of them, so I confessed my error and we moved forward. Better go back and fix that for the future--although now that I've published it, that'll require cloning a new one, but that's pretty easily done on the website.

So meta: I utilize my students' classroom online discussion to name and brainstorm about this blog

Yay! I officially have a title for this blog. And I love who created it--my students. They brainstormed some ideas and eventually I chose Syed-ucation.  

The geeky details: 
In my two junior A.P. Language & Composition classes, I've used various forms of blogging over the years to conduct class discussions and extend the classroom community of writers and readers and thinkers to an online medium many of them are already comfortable with.  I started in 2005 using blogger, which was great until I discovered sites that were more specifically made for classrooms. I used edmodo the last few years, and this year I've recently switched to Schoology. 

We have folders for discussions for certain classroom texts, but I also created a folder for an ongoing semester-long discussion of any appropriate, newsworthy, current, or interesting topics they post about and argue/discuss with one another. They are also encouraged to post any texts or videos for their peers to analyze--visual, literary, or rhetorical analysis-worthy texts. So far, for example, a few have posted about sports-related controversies such as the replacement NFL referees and the possibility of adding instant replays to MLB. Some others and I posted about events happening in the news, such as the New NYC law about sugary drinks over 16 ounces and the reaction to the killings in Libya. Others have posted some of their favorite songs for others to analyze as poetry. It's been pretty helpful in keeping them informed and interested in discussing important topics and improving their writing and argumentative skills.  

Since the point of the class is for them to be analytical thinkers and writers, I figured I would share with them that I'm doing the same with this blog, my own writing. So I posted up my own question/rhetorical analysis, explaining my blog to them and asking them to help me brainstorm a title and analyze what type of persona and tone I want to take in my own writing.  

The responses were great. Even the suggestions I didn't use may end up in my future blogs, and I'm now trying to persuade my colleagues to use the runner up on our department t-shirt: Post-Grammatic Stress Disorder.  How great is that?

What I really enjoyed about doing this classroom online post--in addition to how meta it is that I was asking my students for advice about my own online posting about my teaching--was that they conducted awesome discussion about how they wanted it to be a pun on my name since my persona would be something quirky and geeky. They also analyzed that it would be most helpful for me to have a title that reflected my interests and personality but also was open enough for me to write about various topics in my life and teaching.  So yeah. I'm pretty pleased with the results. 

On a somewhat related note: One of my former students from many years ago is now a librarian in our school, and she helped me with the goodreads widget on the side. I loved being taught how to do all this stuff from a former student. Thanks, Monica! 

Notability Note-taking: Stylus vs. typing?

The geeky moment/question: 

I used the note-taking app Notability last Tuesday and today to practice text marking an article. The kids did well with the discussion and using pre-, during-, and post-reading strategies and connecting text-to-self, text-to-text, and text-to-world. Their first attempt at writing with a stylus or their fingers, however, produced mixed results. So now I need to figure out if I should give them more time to practice this skill over the next few weeks, or should I avoid frustrating them and instead move in to typing notes in Notability instead? Is writing on a tablet really a necessary skill for them to learn? I'm not sure whose advice to get about this. There's probably not much research out there on this, right? Hmmm. 

The geeky details: 

Last week I picked a brief ESPN.com article on how the Chicago White Sox had gotten swept by the Tigers that weekend since about half my class told me they are White Sox fans during the general interest inventory. It's possible their interest in the White Sox came as a result of my sharing that the Sox are my all-time favorite team (when I projected my own interest inventory as a sample for theirs). Today I picked an article from USA Today about how the presidental candidates are putting aside negative advertising out of respect for the anniversary of 9/11. Both articles seemed to work well to keep them engaged. 

I only have 14 students, and I'm not ready yet to teach them the whole work flow process using something like Dropbox, so instead, I just created a group email list and then emailed them the article. Together we walked through how to open a file from email into Notability, and we walked through the basics of the app. They seemed to pick it up quickly and helped each other too.  At the end, I just had them share it back with me via email. I figured I'd do this for a few weeks before adding the element of another new app/system. 

Most of my students took all the notes, but about half of them have notes that are barely readable. They are big, messy, and all over the place. This week, one of the boys actually handwrote half his notes with the stylus but created text boxes and typed some of the notes, without my ever teaching them this method.  Maybe I should ask him to show them what he did and why, and then let them choose whichever version they prefer, as long as it produces similar results.

iPad Set-up: The students learn what "pilot" means and I use the iPad set-up as a "get to know you" activity

"Click twice on the arrow to get all caps."
"Use two fingers to scroll down so you don't accidentally make that line."
"You can record your voice with that microphone at the top."

These are the types of statements, suggestions, and sometimes commands my students have been blurting out in class as they learn the basics and nuances of using the iPad.

I allotted two days for initial iPad set up, which ended up being a good way to prevent frustration and set the right atmosphere for our class. After the first day of assigning each student his iPad and doing basic set-up and email, the second day included trouble shooting all the email/login issues we had noted the day before and installing my list of chosen free education apps. The best thing that could have happened was that all the students walked into class on the second day at different levels of iPad knowledge. Plus, I had two other very competent adults in the room to work with them to trouble-shoot.

As my tech coordinator Paul and my amazing TA and friend Angela walked around patiently helping, I started doing the same; soon I instead found myself chatting with each of them about something they installed or planned to install (pictures, wallpapers, apps, and of course games). One boy discussed his pride in his Mexican heritage through his home screen picture and showed me that he's still choosing between other photos of Mexico for his lock screen option. He then volunteered to show me how to do it. (I already knew how, but of course I let him "teach" me anyway.) I bonded with five of them over our shared love of the White Sox. Two boys shared with me pictures of their dream sports jerseys and shoes. I saw more One Direction and Justin Beiber pictures than I really needed. I chatted with another boy, who taught me that the fans of his favorite band are called juggalos. (The band is ICP, in case you aren't hip like I am. Ha ha!).

Another girl showed me how she had organized her iPad into folders: She separated "games" from "school" (My ICP fan also has a similar folder, but of course his is called "Skewl.") Later in the hour, when we were installing the list of apps I had planned, she also shared all her app choices and even led the class in installing them. (The clever girl had thought to get apps like dictionary.com and a calculator.)

Since then, they've regularly been sharing their discoveries and tips. Some of my shy, quiet little freshmen have even gotten up in front and walked the others through how to do it. Letting them take the lead on some of these things is working out pretty well so far.

On the first day of school, my students and I discussed what the word "pilot" meant and what we'd all have to expect as members of this pilot program. Within the first two weeks of school, they're proving to me that they understand and now embody that world.