Yesterday and the day before I went to a great ACAMIS conference full of ideas I want to try out, remember and/or pass on. There are so many ideas though (sooooo many) that now I feel bloated; it’s like I’ve overeaten at a buffet but instead of food, I am stuffed full of ideas. I feel like I need a nap and then a visit to the toilet. After all, just like in the buffet situation, your gut is pretty good at figuring out what to hold on to and what needs to go.
Hopefully we've all been in this position because it’s exciting to have so many new ideas for how to help your students at your fingertips, even if it’s a bit overwhelming too. If not, I'm sorry to hear that and perhaps you should attend the ACAMIS Technology Conference next year.
To help me figure out what to hold on to I've made a list of all the ideas that are swimming around my head at the moment. Please feel free to check out the rather lengthy list below and do pass it on if it’s helpful. Also, feel free to add more via comments or however suits you best. Sharing is caring and helps us all be better educators.
@Kendal_Tweets’ #ACAMIS Technology Conference 2018 notes:
[Keynote ‘The Changing Face of Education – Connecting, Engaging & Empowering Learning’ by @mrkempnz]
- Checkout www.mrkempnz.com & encourage educators to follow @mrkempnz on twitter
- Great video to get you thinking - Digital Transformations https://youtu.be/ystdF6jN7hc by Futurist Gerd Leonhard (VPN needed)
- Try www.menti.com ASAP in class - live class reflections & word clouds etc (no VPN needed)
- Start with the WHY not the technology & only use teach if it will enhance the learning
- Let students make/create/explore/experiment/tinker everywhere! E.g. Hallway & /or playground makerspaces - have them where ever students want them (as much as possible)
- Don't always be the expert - show how to learn from mistakes, that we are all always learning & let the students teach
- Personalise the space/s - OUR classroom, not my classroom
- Agency matters - let the students choose & do. Don't do for them what they can do themselves
- Get certified as an Apple Teacher if you work on a mac
- Get common sense certified - ask @CommonSenseEd more about this
- Check out & try https://empatico.org/ (free forever, no VPN needed) – suggested age is 7 to 11 years, but older age ranges are being developed. Feedback to them - they listen
- We are the last generation to understand life before the internet and smartphones.
[VR workshop by @paoplayz @MagicMrFernweh @ms_wenn from ISNS (Shenzhen) + Lenovo VR gear presentation]
- Look into VR in education e.g. Biology & The body VR, Drama & Mind Show, Design and Art & Tilt brush etc
- For VR think MYP and DP - due to lack of testing with younger kids, expensive gear (variety of brands & set ups to choose from), head gear sizing & safety issues
- VR websites might get blocked as they appear to be gaming websites - Check with your school It people
- VR in edu - why? Make the real world more relatable, take risks in a safe environment, eliminate geographical barriers, bring the world to the students
- VR - 700+ experiences with teacher notes - Google expeditions! "go places a school bus can't" - face icons show where students are looking
- VR content libraries are growing rapidly
[Sphero workshop by @tabalex]
- Https://edu.sphero.com - Check it out for Sphero ideas & resources!
- Apps = Sphero edu & sphero play
- Ideas: Give students time to !play! with the robots & apps + do explicit teaching + Ss share tips with each other
- Sphero modes:
1. Draw mode (basic)
- integrate with maths &/or art eg. Fill it with paint & programme it to draw circles etc.
2. Blocks mode (intermediate)
- programming heading is the most confusing part for learners (works using degrees)
- Students need help setting speed at first
3. Text mode (advanced)
- uses Java coding
[EdTech PODCAST]
- Subscribe to EdTech Podcast - https://podcast.concordiashanghai.org/
- Share the poem from the ACAMIS recording (made Oct 20, 2018) & send topic suggestions & /questions to them @iteachoverseas @dgrice @christocarter
[Demo Slam + other notes]
- Try 'demo slams' style activity with students for skill development/bit-sized sharing
- Look into 'Zero inbox' for email management (& increased well being) - every email gets a response (h/m/l priority) or reaction
- Invest in audio mics to get better sound from your ipad etc videos. As little as 12rmb each and easy to use.
- Try Snapseed app - blur unwanted elements and add text easily. Works in China without a VPN.
- Office 365 'To do' lists can be added to 'My day' so you don't have to see the whole list each day. Also you can schedule them in 'Planner'.
- Flipgrid (website & \or app) - it's free, why wouldn't you try it! In Art use it to get students sharing their skill tips and tricks + asking questions about materials, show time-lapse of their making process + do peer feedback etc
- One tab! - use this website to share multiple tab URLs in one succinct list
- During a PowerPoint and Keynote - pressing 'B' will cause the screen to go black, pressing 'W' will cause the screen to go white (this works with both. I checked it. Handy!)
- Add a custom keynote title to iMovie - add your words and a green background to the slide, animate the text then export it as a movie and use in iMovie
- When asking people (young or old) to try something new write encouraging phrases around the edges of the paper
- Check out classcraft app (@classcraftgame / classcraft.com) to get game-based learning happening in class. @Foster012 uses it for AP Biol & has for 3 years. He starts every lesson with 'random events' which sound super fun & engaging. Who went to his workshop and can share more notes with me?
- Look into First Lego League (FLL) and FLL junior
- Use ‘Guidebook’ app for school events
[‘Go Global’ Workshop by @mrkempnz]
- What are you doing for others? Let students know the question (so they can ponder it) and our own answers to this question
- "the world needs dreamers & doers, especially dreamers who do" said by?
- Play with www.eduamazingrace.com www.penpalschools.com www.virtualclassroom.org www.flatconnections.com/global-projects/
- Microsoft educators website – http://education.microsoft.com/ Areas not to be missed...
1. Virtual field trips
2. Guest speakers – access them AND add your students to the speaker list to give them an authentic audience beyond the school community for G10 PP (personal project) etc.
3. Mystery Skype – perhaps the best way to learn geography in Grades 3-8 + can be adapted for lower grades eg. Mystery colour or number
~ Let students fail forward, they don’t need a ton of instructions said to them in advance with this BUT…
~ Students should come up with the roles each of them will have during the call & stick to that role for the duration of the call (up to 40 minutes) e.g. speakers, google investigators, book investigators, question writers, supervisors, runners, whiteboard writers etc.
~ Discuss etiquette (greetings, farewells etc) prior to the call + choose clear & loud student speakers
~ Set up the laptop in a space visible to all e.g. in front of the whiteboard but facing away from it
~ Divide whiteboard into 2 halves e.g. questions asked & info received
- Try https://flipgrid.com/ – it’s free! Explore & share in their discovery library! There are examples in ‘How do you Flipgrid?’ for all subject areas under the headings – PreK-8, High School, University, Staff +PLC
- USE the Twitter support teams (they're super helpful) by tagging in the teams for @Seesaw, @EmpaticoOrg, @Flipgrid etc.
[25 notes for SEESAW] @Seesaw #seesawchat
*Makes learning visible - I love it as a parent
Here are Seesaw notes from...
@mrkempnz (notes 1-7)
@AmitaTPatel (notes 8-14)
@brianaustralia & Annie (notes 15-25)
- Many schools use it for their portfolios – #SAISrocks T's teach Ss how to tag correctly, students post to Seesaw in Grade 1+ (rarely Ts)
- Students are taught to DIAL - reflection acronym - posters are up all over school. Ss must DIAL in English and are encouraged to then share in their mother tongue too.
- Suggestion: If parents are missing the teacher spiel from blogs in previous years invite them to come & see T's. Do not offer to add the requirement/expectation that teachers regularly add updates to Seesaw, but leave the option open so teachers may share on it.
- Get the principal explaining the ‘why’ to parents eg. For Ss to document & reflect on their learning
- It’s best if the school sets expectations eg. Students post at least 4 times a week, sharing what's happening in specialists at least once a fortnight etc.
- Let parents know where they can go/how they will get static school-given info and whole grade/class static info that is not part of the Ss learning journey (& so not in 'journal' or 'home' on Seesaw families)
- Some schools (eg. @tismacau / tis.edu.mo) are using it as their assessment tool too
- Use getting started guides!
- Ts can become Seesaw Ambassadors
- Book creator & a stack of other apps can share directly to Seesaw!
- Look into the different options you have eg. ACTIVITIES!! You can schedule these too & so plan and enter them ahead of time! & there's an activity library, private notes, blog, journal, folders for different subjects and/or special events eg. SLCs, 3 way conferences etc etc
- Default is best set to ‘approve posts’
- You can set up a folder for approvals & perhaps approve 'all' once trust & responsible use is established - but don't approve other T's stuff!
- Idea - have a Seesaw Centre/Studio in the room (with mics if possible to reduce background noise in videos)
- If you want to use Seesaw for assessment of learning as well as assessment for learning get the School's Seesaw Administrator to enter skills. It's best if these are entered in bulk and align with skills being reported on. After posts are published teachers click on the academic hat icon each post has & tag it with the relevant skills + can rate them eg. Out of 4 stars
- Skills TIP - enter a code first so it's easier to tag skills on mobiles eg. Creating standard 1 = 'Cr1: phrase for the standard goes here'
- Important Note - parents don't see skills
- You can add or remove the star rating in skills - TIS use it to help the Ts see which level the Ss have displayed most recently
- In the class table/graph of skills staff see, you see a number that is the number of skill entries & the colour you see tells you the level of stars the student has achieved lately. Hopefully the colour can change soon to the highest level the student has achieved - The Seesaw team is responsive to suggestions and that’s a recent one.
- Do we need to back up/save/store/archive Seesaw?! (It’s stored on the Seesaw cloud)
- You can download the students Seesaw folio as a pdf if a momento/record is desired.
- Apparently you can transfer a student's Seesaw journal history between schools - hadn't been tested by conference attendees yet
- Suggestion: teacher private folder - have 1 'note' per student in a folder (1 private folder for each class perhaps for specialists) and edit over time as needed eg. Behaviour, absence &/ grading notes for 3 way conferences, chats with support staff etc
- Have a SLC, Portfolio folder etc + tag posts for these
- Inbox is good for pdf/static info PUSH, but it's best if school & T's set up expectations eg. This is not the place to message T's. Messages are best through email which you can search, go back to easily & check more regularly.
