Maximize Learning with Digital Tools: Moving from Consumption to Creation

“Students as Creators” © 2016 Alice Chen | All Rights Reserved

We are starting to see them pop up more frequently in U.S. classrooms: the iPads, the Chromebooks, and the laptops. As more schools move toward using technology in the classroom, we are faced with the question of how to use these devices effectively in our instruction.

Undoubtedly, it's an exciting time to be an educator. We are no longer limited to just using textbooks or curriculum guides. The number of apps and websites available to us has exploded exponentially in the online educational space. Students are using math apps to brush up on much-needed skills. They can watch science videos that bring concepts to life. With social media, they are able to access the latest news within minutes of the occurrence of an event. However, is that all we wish our students to be able to do, to only become consumers of information?

I believe that students should be using technology to its fullest potential in the classroom. This means that not only should students be using it to access the wealth of information on the Internet but that they also should be using digital tools to create meaningful content from what they have consumed.

Cross-Curricular Integration

Though I teach English Language Arts, I believe in integrating other academic content whenever possible. I always try to provide a scientific or historical perspective when the lesson lends itself, and PBS LearningMedia is perfect for this purpose. This fantastic and free online platform has over 100,000 resources available that covers topics from all content areas and grade levels.

For example, my students just finished reading a wide selection of speeches for our rhetoric unit. We studied various speeches for their beauty of language, persuasive elements, and powerful message. One of my favorite speeches from this unit is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream.” I want this speech to come to life for my students and for them to also appreciate the historical significance of this time period. Below is my approach to teaching this piece by leveraging digital media resources and Google Drawings.

Lesson Plan for “I Have a Dream”

1. Introduce the Civil Right Movement by showing students these media pieces: "The Legacy of the Gettysburg Address" and "Civil Rights and the 1950s | Crash Course US History #39".
2. Students read "I Have a Dream" in groups, stopping to discuss each paragraph and the rhetorical strategies Dr. King used.
3. Divide the speech into different sections and have each group create a Padlet to demonstrate their understanding of this piece. Each group must include the following components: a quoted passage, an explanation of the quote, two analysis of the rhetorical strategies used, and proper attribution for any media they included. Here is an example that my students created.
4. Students examine the following primary sources provided by PBS LearningMedia: the original pamphlet advertising the 1963 March on Washington, the manual for march participants, and the March on Washington official program.
5. Based on the information from the three historical documents above, students create a 21st century flyer advertising the event. Below is an example of one group’s work on this project.

“Digital Flyer” © 2016 Anisha & Jake | All Rights Reserved

Using Digital Tools for Authentic Assessment

Instead of giving my students a traditional test to assess their comprehension of the significance of the speech and the historical documents they examined, I prefer to have my students express their understanding by creating an authentic product. Because I’m constantly trying to cultivate my students’ creativity and critical thinking skills by emulating the “real world” as much as possible, I also emphasize the importance of artistic design when creating a project. I find that this last step is often overlooked in our instruction. However, in life, how an idea is presented is just as important as the idea itself, and I want my students to realize this.

Let’s Get Them Creating

My students used Padlet and Google Drawings for this particular lesson, but there are also a plethora of other digital tools that students can use to foster their creativity. Below is a list of digital creation tools that are great for the classroom. It is no means an exhaustive list, but many students find them fun and easy-to-use.

1. Thinglink makes images and videos interactive
2. Canva is easy to use design software with templates for infographics, posters, and more
3. Storybird is a beautiful app that inspires writing with art
4. Powtoon makes creating animated presentations full of awesome
5. Zoodle Comics a comic strip app for the iPad
6. Sock Puppets if you love sock puppets…
7. Video editing tools (i.e. YouTube Editor, WeVideo)
8. Screencasting tools (i.e. Snagit, Screencast-O-Matic, Screencastify, Movenote, Explain Everything)

Which digital tools do your students like to use to show what they know? Please share in the comments below.

Originally published on KQED's "In the Classroom" blog. Reproduced courtesy of KQED.

10 Ways to Use Google Hangouts to Transform Learning

My class "hanging out" with Education Secretary Duncan on Google Hangouts

In our world today, we can stay connected in unprecedented ways. Why just call or text when you can “see” someone who is hundreds or thousands of miles away? Even President Obama used Google Hangouts in 2013 during his fireside chat with the country. If you haven’t used Hangouts before, it’s time to examine the possibilities.

In education, using Hangouts is a great way to connect and collaborate with other educators without giving out your phone number. It’s a powerful tool for making connections, working collaboratively, and introducing the world to your students. Many educators have embraced Hangouts to enrich both their students’ learning experiences and their own professional development. Below are some ways educators are using Hangouts to step up the learning.

Make Student Connections

You can connect students with their peers from around the country, or even from abroad if time zone differences permit. Below are some ideas on how teachers are using this fabulous video calling tool in their classrooms.

1. Book Talks: Classes that are reading the same book or similar genres can discuss novels together and make book recommendations to one another.
2. Mystery Hangouts: In this activity, two classrooms video chat with each other but do not reveal their individual locations. Before meeting online, both classes research facts about their own state and create clues about their location. Then, each class takes turns asking “Yes” or “No” type questions in a race to solve the mystery. More details on how to get started could be found on my blog here. To find classes to connect with yours, visit the Mystery Location Calls Google+ Community or reach out to members of the Connected Classrooms Workshop Google+ Community.
3. Presentations: Give students an authentic audience. They can present their projects to other classes or adults. Recruit parents, community members, or career professionals to provide a captive audience for your students.
4. Project Collaboration: Classes that are studying similar themes or topics can collaborate on a project together in a way never possible before.

Bring in the Experts...For Free!

1. Guest Speakers: Inviting a speaker into the classroom has never been easier...or cheaper. Video calling enables anyone from around the world to “visit” a school. Also, as an added plus, Google Hangouts has the ability to handle up to ten people in a video call at once and up to fifteen using a Google Apps account. This means that there’s never a dull moment or radio silence during the call. Last year, my classes were able to participate in two amazing Hangouts on Air. We got to speak with Nobel Peace Laureate Leymah Gbowee and Education Secretary Duncan.
2. Virtual Field Trips: With video calling technology becoming more popular, many companies are now offering virtual field trips via Hangouts on Air, which is a public Google Hangout that broadcasts a live recording of the event. After the video call ends, it is archived on the host’s YouTube channel for anyone to view again later. Here are a few companies that are offering or (have recently offered) virtual field trips that could bring that out of classroom experience to your students: Learn Around the World, Exploring by the Seat of Your Pants, and SeaTrek.TV. Occasionally, announcements of virtual field trips from various members of the Connected Classrooms Workshop Google+ Community will be posted.

Learn and Collaborate from Anywhere

1. Virtual Classes: One year, we had one student at my middle school who progressed so quickly through his math studies that he was ready for Algebra II. Unfortunately, we didn’t offer this course on our campus, but we did at another school in our district. Thanks to Google Hangouts, this student didn’t have to transfer schools and, instead, he attended math class virtually and received all his instruction online.
2. Office Hours: Sometimes students need more one-on-one attention or perhaps they were absent and need to catch up on what they missed. Teachers can schedule Hangouts to hold virtual office hours to provide the assistance students need.
3. Professional Collaborations: With everyone just a video call away, educators can work on projects and share ideas with anyone around the world. Many educators have forged powerful connections (called PLNs) via social media platforms like Twitter and Google+, and they’re using Google Hangouts to learn together or to plan professional development events for educators like Edcamps and PLAYDATEs.
4. New Twist to Webinars: More and more, companies are turning to Hangouts on Air to host their webinars. It gives educators a choice: watch the webinar live and participate in a “Question & Answer” session with the presenter or watch it later at one’s convenience. A great example of this is the webinar series from Imagine Easy Solutions.

The possibilities of using Hangouts in education are endless. How will you transform your learning and the learning of your students?

Abbreviated version of this post was originally published on WeAreTeachers.

Reaching New Heights in Learning

How do you deal with that anticlimactic lull that you inevitably feel after spending three fantastic days at the Annual CUE Conference in Palm Springs? The answer is simple. You stay for the CUE West Coast Summit Featuring Google for Education (GIEWC), of course!  

Circle of Friends #selfiewithselak

The GIEWC Summit, which took place on March 22-23, was a high-energy, fun-filled conference hosted by CUE, and it was one of those must-attend events of the year. CUE, co-producer of the Google Teacher Academy, sure knows how to satisfy your desire to become a Google Apps ninja in the classroom.

On Saturday, the GIEWC Summit kicked off with a keynote from the amazing Vint Cerf, one of the founders of the Internet. Cerf is the reason why we use the phrase “surf the Internet” when going online because “Cerf” is pronounced “surf.” Vint Cerf showed us a map of the Internet, and it was so intricate that it left me in awe of how much we take for granted.

(L to R) Beth Fisher, Kara
Lawler, and Kimberly dos Santos

After the keynote was the shred sessions, where all the speakers gave a 90-second pitch of their presentations so that attendees could more accurately plan out their schedule the next day. All presenters enthusiastically showed off their talents and kept the audience engaged with their various styles. One particularly humorous moment occurred when Scott Moss asked, “Do you like to party?  If so, then you might not make it to my hangover session tomorrow,” as he jokingly referred to his 7:45am session on Sunday.

The next day, all sessions were in full swing as attendees filled the rooms, fully ready to embrace more new knowledge. You really have to applaud these educators who were so willing to give up their Sunday to soak in more professional development. These are the real rock stars in the education world!

Following the entertaining shred sessions, CUE really brought out the white-gloved service as we all meandered over to the East Lawn for some appetizers. It was a wonderful way to unwind and socialize with other attendees after spending three mind-blowing days at the CUE conference.

The sessions at GIEWC Summit were all taught by Google Certified Teachers and/or Google Apps Certified Trainers. The sessions offered ranged from Kate Petty’s fantastic smorgasbord of Project-Based Learning ideas to Diane Main’s “Drawing: No Longer Drive’s Ugly Stepchild.” Some super cool hacks were also shared, like when Danny Silva showed how to create a QR code for a Google calendar event that will automatically add that event to your own personal Google Calendar. Everyone oohed and aahed over Brandon Wislocki’s trick of adding hotspots in Google Drawing.  If you wanted to learn about Google scripts, then JR Ginex-Orinion had you covered, and if you want to fully utilize YouTube’s many functions then Lisa Highfill showed you how to do it right. I presented on “The Google-Powered Classroom,” showing how I use Google Apps to meet the literacy and technology standards required by the Common Core.

I heard many compliments from the attendees on the concurrent sessions I missed that I truthfully wished I could’ve gone to every one. Where’s Hermione Granger’s Time-Turner when you need one? Even as a Google Certified Teacher, I don’t presume to know every hack, and I’m always pushing the boundaries of my own knowledge. To me, it isn’t just about the technology tools, but how different educators apply them in a classroom setting.

After a full day of intense learning, we all gathered for Demo Slams from the presenters. Bill Selak showed the audience how to find and curate artwork, historical events, landmarks and digital exhibits with the Google Cultural Institute. Sean O’Neil demonstrated how to use the Color Picker Eyedropper Chrome extension and in his words “… how it makes us designers instead of just ‘posters’.”

Then the conference ended on a high note as Jaime Casap, Google’s Global Education Evangelist, shared his wisdom in the Closing Keynote. He challenged us with the question, “When did collaboration become cheating?  Working together is important.” Casap also stated, “Technology is not the silver bullet.  It’s there to support and enable students.” Before he left the stage, he graciously took questions from the audience. Mike Lawrence, in true geeky-style, threw out a Catchbox, a wireless microphone enclosed in a soft cube, to audience members so that they could participate effortlessly.

The GIEWC Summit definitely left you with many brain-overload moments that all educators should experience. Not only was it very fulfilling in a geeky sort of way, it was also way too much fun, as evidenced by the candid photos that surfaced from this event. Conferences should never be dull. If the GIEWC Summit returns next year, I’ll be there. Will you?

This post originally appeared in the CUE Blog on April 20, 2014.

My Google-Powered Classroom

Students in my class working on their Chromebooks
Copyright 2013 Alice Chen

This year we deployed Google Apps for Education for all staff and students in my district, and I was given the opportunity to pilot 1:1 Chromebooks in my classroom.  To say that I am ecstatic is to put it mildly.

Why? Because Google Apps and Chromebooks are truly a winning combination.  First of all, Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is entirely free for schools and districts.  Secondly, Chromebooks are inexpensive and with the Management Console, very easy to manage.  Paired together, it is a good solution for schools on a tight budget.  For me, it gave me the means to put a device into the hands of all my students and the ability to bring my classroom into the 21st Century.

Yes, I understand that Chromebooks are largely Internet-dependent and are not laptop equivalents.  At the same time, everything I need my students to create in an English language arts classroom could be accomplished with web applications - and the 10 seconds it takes to boot up these devices are probably less time than how long it usually takes for students to unpack their backpacks and take out their learning materials.

We've only been using Chromebooks for a couple of months, but here are some ways in which Google Apps have made my classroom more efficient, collaborative, and rigorously demanding.

My students use Google Docs to...

• Work on a project together - Its real-time, group collaboration capability is fantastic.  Students love seeing their contributions fly across the page alongside their peers.
• Brainstorm and organize ideas together - Students use one document to build on each other's ideas and knowledge.
• Peer edit each other's work - Students invite their peers into their documents, and these extra pairs of eyes are extremely helpful in pinpointing simple grammatical and mechanical errors.
• Collaboratively annotate a text together - Students read short texts in groups and insert comments as they read, asking each other for clarification and posting analytical questions to scaffold each other's understanding.
• Motivate each other - All my students' work are "public" within my classroom.  By expanding beyond a one-teacher readership, my students have learned to step up their game.  I regularly ask for peer nominations on assignments, and students love to be nominated and recognized in this way.

My students are using Google Slides and Google Drawings to...

• Create multimedia presentations
• Design their own computer graphics for projects
• Publish digital books
• Generate mind maps and organize information
• Create flow charts and understand organizational structure

My students are building Google Sites to...

• Showcase their work and share it with their friends and families
• Write to an authentic audience
• Embed multimedia on webpages
• Learn digital citizenship and create a web persona

With Google Apps, my students are far more prolific than those from previous years.  It is very motivating for students to produce work for a larger audience.  The collaborative nature of Google Apps is what sets this suite of web tools apart from the competition.  It's only been a couple of months, but my students and I are having a great time.   And this is just the beginning.

Don't Just Flip with Videos. Flip the Learning

One of the hottest trends in education these days is the flipped classroom model. Teachers would assign instructional videos for students to watch for homework, which allows the teacher more time to work on other learning activities in the classroom the next day.  Some teachers also assign questions for students to answer to prove that the student has indeed watched the video.

Is this enough?  Is this innovation?

This is still a teacher-centered classroom, where the questions are driven by the teacher.  This is not new pedagogy.  It's simply moving the geographical location of the lesson from the classroom to the home with the help of technology.

Even Jon Bergmann, one of the first pioneers of the flipped classroom model, will argue in "The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality" that this method isn't just about watching the video.  He explained that it's "an environment where students take responsibility for their own learning" and that it's a "blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning."

So how can you flip the learning to the student?

Instead of the teacher providing the questions as accompaniment to the video, teach your students how to ask critical thinking questions that will drive the learning into their own hands.  Assign the video, but also embed it on a platform that will allow students to actively discuss the material they watched with each other.

If students are passively watching the video and simply answering questions that only the teacher will read, they are missing out on an opportunity to explore, question, and challenge their knowledge.  They are missing out on an opportunity to learn from each other.

There are many web tools and learning management systems that do a great job of hosting your flipped learning materials.  My platform of choice is Schoology.  To read more about why, view my post "Why I Chose Schoology Over All the Rest."

So the next time you assign a video for homework, consider creating an environment where all students can actively engage in the learning.

This post is also published on GoAnimate's Educator Experiences blog.

Is Technology Just a Tool?

Recently, I had a conversation with someone about using technology in the classroom. Though it was acknowledged that students should learn with technology, the conclusion drawn was this. Technology is just a tool.

I think this could be true, depending on what type of teacher one is describing. Teaching with technology just to be cool, modern, or hip is not good pedagogy. However, to downgrade technology to being just a tool misses the point as well.

Could I perform my job without technology? I'm not the type of teacher who teaches straight out of a book. Whenever I come across something that I think I can use in the classroom, I'm always adapting it, revising it, and trying to improve it. It's hopeless. I can't stop tinkering.

I prefer to create my own teaching materials. Even now, after teaching for over 18 years, I still constantly revise my own teaching documents and presentation files -- sometimes from one class to the next because I want to give my students the best work I can produce. So could I effectively do this part of my job without technology?  No.

What about research and learning? Without the Internet, I couldn't look for new literature, author biography, current events, or digital media with which to supplement my lessons.  For example, one year, I decided to augment my "Flowers for Algernon" unit with medical articles about disabilities to help my students appreciate the challenges of living with a disability. Prior to the invention of the Internet, I would have never thought about doing this because I didn't have the resources.

So how do my students benefit from a technology-rich curriculum?

Having access to technology has enabled my students to write for a global audience. As a result of blogging, my students are far more prolific than those from my previous years, and they also have the added advantage of being able to connect with other students around the world through Quadblogging.  This has shown them that the world is bigger than they realized, giving them glimpses of other cultures to which they previously wouldn't have been exposed.

Having access to technology has enabled my students to participate in the Mystery State Project and to have had the opportunity to Skype with a State Senator. We're finally able to bring the world into our classroom.

Having access to technology has enabled my students to create more digital media projects like video animations, live action movies, still photography, comic strips, and podcasts to name a few. These projects taught them how to be creative and collaborative. They learned the importance of revising their work and the necessity of observing copyright laws when choosing their media. They were also more engaged during the learning process.

Could my students learn without technology? Yes. But did technology elevate my students' learning to new heights? Without a doubt.

Like it or not, technology is immersed in our lives - in our homes, at our jobs, and out in the world.

Would you run a company without technology? Then why would you run a school without it?

Why I Chose Schoology Over All the Rest

With so many Learning Management Systems (LMS) to choose from, which one should you adopt in your classroom?

Without a doubt, Blackboard has the largest market share in the field of LMS's, and I believe it's because they were one of the first companies to offer a product many colleges and school districts needed.  However, being the biggest company out there doesn't equate it to being the best.  I've tried Blackboard and found it frustrating.  Their layout is clumsy and their features are illogically named.  One of my colleagues told me that they actually sell a Blackboard for Dummies.  Surely an LMS shouldn't be that complicated.

Many dissatisfied users of Blackboard have turned to alternatives such as Moodle, Haiku LMS, Canvas by Instructure, Edmodo, and Schoology.  Not having truly tried Moodle beyond a superficial dabbing, I can't render an opinion.  However, I have used the latter four extensively with my many classes.

Haiku and Edmodo are great products.  These sites are aesthetically pleasing to the eye and are easy to navigate.   I know many who love these products, and I do, too.  I thought my search was over.  I could easily have chosen either of them for my classes.

Until I found Schoology.

Schoology has a Facebook-like feel to it, with its news feed (called Updates) and the ability to upload your picture or avatar.  Students and teachers can post to the Updates page and "like" or add comments.  Since most of my students are 13 or older, this similarity to Facebook is a big plus.  No need to purchase a Schoology for Dummies with this product.  I'm sure such a book would never exist.

What makes Schoology a clear winner is that it works well multiple platforms - whether you're using a web browser, smartphone, tablet, or even the Kindle Fire.  I can't think of many products that offer this last option.

So what about Canvas?  Canvas also has a clean interface and is definitely superior to Blackboard in its ease of use.  As a matter of fact, Canvas was created by two computer science graduate students who were inspired by the comment, "Think of the worse software you use and you probably have a business idea."  They realized that it was Blackboard, and thus, Canvas was born.

I really liked Canvas, too.  Navigating through their website is easy, and they have an awesome iPad app called SpeedGrader that allowed me to give audio and video feedback for student assignments while reclining on my couch.  However, it was originally created for colleges and graduate schools, and it looked serious and plain, not quite as appealing for the younger students.   (Nevertheless, it looks like Blackboard has some competition here because in December of 2010, the Utah Education Network of 17 colleges chose Canvas to replace Blackboard, and they've continue to convert many other universities since then.)

In the end, I found Edmodo to be most similar to Schoology, but I discovered that Schoology has richer features and does everything I want.

In my English language arts class, discussions are vital to my needs.  The only place to host discussion on Edmodo is on its "wall," which over time becomes buried.  I appreciate the fact that Schoology has its own discussion section, and I can create different topics for my students to discuss.  These discussion threads are always stored separately, and I can go back at any time to check them or view a student's response.  Plus, Schoology offers analytics so all  I have to do is click one button and instantly I can see how many times a student participated.

Additionally, I can embed videos, insert a link, or host my Google Slides in these discussion threads.  This is great for flipped learning because students can react to these teaching resources in the comments below.  Lastly, I am given the option to score their responses if I wish to grade them on their contributions.

Schoology also has some nice features like creating students groups.  If your class sits in teams like mine, this comes in handy if you want to issue group assignments.  A quick click to assign work to a pre-determined group, and you're go to go.  You can also assign work to individual students.  Another nice feature is the ability to align your lesson to the Common Core or to your specific state's standards.  This is helpful if your site administrator wants to see how your lesson meets these standards.

Being an English language arts teacher, I tend to assign written responses and essay exams, but I think many teachers who teach other content areas would appreciate the rich features offered by Schoology when it came to quizzes.  Here's a brief overview of what options you have as a teacher.

• Create timed tests.  You can time the entire test or time each question.  This deters cheating since students won't have enough time to look up the answers on the Internet.  
• Randomize the questions and the answers.  Students who sit next each other will have different questions even if they're on the same number.  On top of that, even if they're on the same question, the multiple choice answers can be randomized.
• Create math tests with formulas in the test question and test answer.
• If students are taking the test on the iPad and they exit the Schoology app, the test will end and be scored at that point.  This also prevents students from going on the Internet to look up the answers.  (Of course, if you allow students to retake the test multiple times, then they can try again so keep this in mind.)
• There are many types of test questions available: True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-Blank, Reorder, Matching, Short Answer/Essay.
• The quizzes can be self-grading.
• There's an option to allow students to retake the quiz multiple times (as a teacher you determine the number of tries you will accept).
• You have the ability to score answers on the best score out of X number of tries or on the last score.
• You can configure it so that only one test question is viewable at a time.
• You can determine when the quizzes will be available 

Here's a screenshot of one of my classes in Schoology.  I love how organized it looks.

I've been converted.  And I'll never look back.

Here are a couple more resources to check out.

• "Sorry Edmodo...Switching to Schoology" from my friend Jennie Magiera
• "Learning with Schoology in the Kindergarten Classroom."

How about you?  Which LMS do you like and why?

For the Love of Blogging

Written by a shy student who never raised her hand
in class.  Only I knew how brilliant she was...
until she started blogging.

In the fall of 2011, I introduced my students to blogging for the first time.  It has enabled my writers to discover their voice and uncover a true love of writing. One student wrote, “You gave us wings and taught us to fly, letting us find out for ourselves that the sky really is the limit.”

A blog may be a reflection at the end of a unit of study, a theme piece that introduces an upcoming lesson, or a poetry vlog that feature their own poems in a movie slideshow with music. In addition, many students are motivated to write topics dear to their heart like the one titled “Computers, Konglish, and My American Dream,” in which the writer recounts a story of when she taught her immigrant grandmother how to use the Internet. During her piece, she comes to an epiphany about her heritage and her relationship with her grandmother. Another student wrote a review on the show “My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic” and comes to the conclusion that the show “is a refreshing new take on the original concept.”

Our blog readers hailed from many parts of the world. My students regularly look forward to reading comments left for them by our visitors, and they swell with pride at all the praise they have received. As for me, I am as excited as my students. I am awed by how reflective, mature, and intellectual their posts have become.

I believe one of the most important outcomes from blogging is that my students have found a creative outlet where they could express themselves, challenge their writing skills, and build their self-esteem. It is my hope that they will continue to blog even after they leave my classroom.

I use Kidblog.org as our blogging platform because it is very safe and secure for students. It gives teachers as much administrative control as they wish. Teachers can decide if their students' posts and/or comments need to be approval before they are published. Alternatively, teachers can configure all posts and comments to publish without being moderated. This is a feature that many parents appreciate since some are concerned about their child's privacy and safety. Setting up a class is also a breeze. Students can easily enroll by using a code or teachers can create student accounts themselves.

My students blog regularly throughout the year. Their blogs feature a variety of topics, some of which are assigned by me and some of which are chosen by the student. Students submit their blogs for credit via a Google Form. I find this to be the easiest and most efficient way to read their work. The key is for students to copy and paste their exact post into a Google Form. (See image on the right.) They submit five posts at a time. This way, I can read all of the posts in one place, on a Google Spreadsheet. (If you're feeling geeky, you can use data validation to require a minimum word count on blog posts, too.)

To drive readership to your students' blogs, consider joining Quadblogging.com, soliciting other teachers with the Twitter hashtag #comments4kids, #kidblog, or reaching out to your PLN on social media.

If you are interested in forming a blogging partnership with me, please contact me.

How iPads Transformed My Classroom in 20 Days

Last fall, my school deployed a cart of iPads to be shared amongst 51 teachers and approximately 1500 students.  I’ve always loved teaching with technology and have always dreamed of going 1:1 with my students.  So though I long to sign up for the cart every day, I usually wait until the last minute to give others a chance before claiming it for myself.  

Our iPads are not fully loaded with apps, and since our school hasn't set up an Apple Volume Purchase Program account yet, I make do with what few free apps we have.

So far, I've been able to clock 20 days of iPad use in my English Language Arts class.  How have I been using them?  These are the apps and activities I've used with my students.

1.  Students used a sticky note or mind mapping app for character analysis.  Students could choose from ABC Lite, PoppletLite, iBrainstorm, iCardSort Lite (there used to be a free version), Stickyboard, Idea Sketch, Mindjet, and SyncSpace.

2.  Students used GoSoapbox.com to ask questions and to vote for the most thought-provoking ones.  They can also answer each other’s questions.  Additionally, GoSoapbox.com was used to brainstorm different thesis statements for their upcoming essay.  GoSoapBox events were set up for each thesis, and students had to join an event to submit their supporting evidence.  Lastly, they critiqued each other’s contributions and had an opportunity to defend their choices if their quotes were deemed irrelevant.

3.  Students used Edmodo to join or start a literary discussion on our current text.  Soon, they were initiating discussions on their own at home without waiting for me to assign a topic.  (Update:  In the fall of 2012, I switched to Schoology and never looked back.  Read my blog on my experience with various learning management systems, and why I chose Schoology over all the rest.)

4.  My students used Kidblog to write app reviews, reflect on their readings, and explore intellectual topics.  A number of them ended up writing more than double the amount of blogs assigned.  These became my distinguished bloggers, and I had the class vote for the coveted title of “Blogger of the Month.”  I plan on awarding this title once a month.

5.  Students also used Nebulous Notes Lite to write responses to the literature we were reading.  The integration with Dropbox was an added plus since students could just upload their files to Dropbox.  Because I set up a shared folder on the iPad, everything they put in that folder would just instantly show up on my laptop or iPad.

6.  Students also used Dropbox on the iPad to follow my presentation slides, access handouts I created, and read speeches and poetry.  If my district’s network didn’t have such a rigid firewall, I could’ve also used Idea Flight or Join Me for this purpose, but alas, I couldn’t.  (Update, the Nearpod app is a great way for students to follow along a presentation. You can also add quizzes, polls, and drawings to elicit active participation.)

7.  I used GoogleForms to ask questions for anything I wanted to know, such as their daily technology use, their choice for “Blogger of the Month, how they felt about using iPads in the classroom, etc.  I called it the “Student Pulse.”  It’s a great way to know what they think about anything relevant to their learning.

8.  My students used Socrative to take quizzes, polls, or answer questions.  The “Exit Ticket” feature is great, and you can get a spreadsheet of their responses emailed to you.  Plus, you can randomize the questions on a quiz!

These are just a handful of activities I’ve had the opportunity to try with my students.  Like I said, without the AVPP account set up, our app collection is a bit sparse right now.  However, I feel that my students have accomplished a lot in just 20 days.

Imagine what they can do if we could use iPads every day.

Right now it’s just a dream of mine.  But I hope to make that into a reality soon.

Update:  As of the 2012-2013 school year, I began teaching in a 1:1 iPad classroom.  Dreams do come true in schools after all.