The Importance of Having Choices

I have been striving to give students as many choices about their work as I can. Even though it can increase the work I have to do, there are big benefits.

When students in my lab have choices, I hear:
"I love this one!"
"Can I use..."
"Will you show me how to...?"
"I was thinking..."
"Would this be good?"
"Can I work on this tomorrow?"
"I am trying to..."

Some examples of choices I give students:

• Selection from a menu of word or number games such as Curious George or Everyday Math Games
• The order in which they will do sections of a project in Glogster or Google Sites
• Animals to research and create habitat maps
• The historical figure they will create an interview with using Scratch
• Deciding which tool to use for a project, such as Comic Life or Garage Band
• Tell A Story or Make A Movie in Kerpoof
• Selecting a tool for drawing between Tux Paint or Seashore
• The country they will research and tour in Google Earth
• Resources to explore to get information

During most of my 22 years as a classroom teacher, I used the Responsive Classroom approach. One of the key components is Academic Choice, in which students select how they will demonstrate their learning and understanding. According to Paula Denton, author of Learning Through Academic Choice, it teaches the intellectual skills necessary for independent learning and fosters the need to feel competent.

With the widespread availability of so many options though technology, I really believe that we need to minimize the cookie cutter approach to student work.

New Year...New Moodle Course

As a sixth grade teacher, I used Moodle for student responses to literature and as a forum for book talks. Now that I am a technology specialist, I am using it to organize and curate some of my lessons for 5th and 6th graders. Moodle is a Learning Management System or Virtual Learning Environment. Instructors can create course content which is accessed by students who have enrolled.

I am currently teaching sixth graders how to create presentations using Scratch. My instruction is a combination of mini-lessons, demonstrations and Moodle lessons. Moodle has several benefits over the other methods. Students are able to work at their own pace. Since the lessons are available online, it is really easy to accommodate all learners, even those who are tardy or absent.

Content can take many forms. I can upload screencasts for direct instruction. Students are able to view and listen to a screencast, pausing to follow the steps with their projects. I can give detailed information that students can refer to whenever needed. I can also provide files and links. 

Another benefit is the ability to view student work at any time. This helps me give more helpful feedback.

There are many options for types of assignments. I tend to use my course primarily to get information to my students, but I do occasionally require some text input as a way to scaffold their design work in their  Scratch projects. For example, I ask them to find specific information about a country and report it to me before they include it in their presentation. Using the online text assignment is an efficient way to do this.

I am currently using the course with my second rotation of sixth graders. I have made some changes to the course based on observations from the first group. Overall, I am very satisfied with how it is helping my students be more supported with resources in order to work more independently.

Screencasting with screenr

I have been experimenting with creating screencasts for my students to use.  I have used screenr, which is free, to model a series of steps for my 4th graders who are creating Scratch projects.  They can watch and listen, pausing when needed to follow the instructions.  I have also used it with 5th grade students who have had to do their work in a different room.  The following screenshots are from my screencast showing them how to edit photos with Seashore.

As you record, you can choose what part of your screen to show.  So far I have stayed with full screen so that I can concentrate on my actions and words.

These are the directions:

The screencast can be a maximum of 5 minutes in length.  When finished, you can select how to share.

I copy and paste the url onto my Symbaloo webmix so that students have easy access.

When my students click on the tile, they see this window:

Quoting my students, using screenr is "easy peasy!"  My next step is to try screencasting with Snagit, which has more features.  (Post to follow!)

Integrating Scratch!

Scratch is a programming language developed at MIT for young people to use to create interactive stories, animation and more.  It is free to download.  I recently discovered it through district colleagues in my PLN.  I have introduced it to my students in grades 3-6.

I developed a unit for my third graders that integrates Minnesota history and geography with the technology components of Scratch, Photo Booth, various websites and videos, and ActivInspire Flipcharts using a Promethean (interactive) Board.  Each third grader created an animated tour of Minnesota.  I created lessons about historically significant locations in Minnesota such as Pipestone National Monument, the headwaters of the Mississippi River and the Iron Range.  Each lesson utilized our interactive whiteboard.  Students manipulated diagrams, analyzed text and viewed photographs, videos and maps.  Here are some examples of my flipcharts.

 

The Scratch workspace looks like this:

Users write programs for their moving objects, called sprites, on a stage that can have any kind of background.  The program comes with a wide variety of sprites, such as animals, letters and people; there are various categories of available backgrounds.  My students created their own.  They imported screenshots and photographs.  They also used photo editing tools to create text sprites and their face using Photo Booth effects.

After I modeled the processes of writing programs by dragging in command bars, students wrote their programs.  They moved their "face sprites" around the state.  At each location, they gave information through the use of speech bubbles.

This is one of the programs written.  Locations are given using coordinates on a grid.

As new places were studied, students created new sprites and edited the stage background.

This two-week project was very engaging.  Students were enthusiastic and eager to keep adding information to their tours.  Some students had visited the sites, so there were opportunities for them to share experiences.  Math was incorporated informally as we estimated driving times.  Students talked about making plans to travel to the places we learned about.

I definitely plan on using Scratch next year as I refine my plans.  I am currently planning a similar project for fourth-graders in which we will study the early history of the United States.  Their tours will show the expansion of the country.

Scratch is easy to learn how to use.  The website, scratch.mit.edu, gives examples, guides and tutorials.  Users can also upload their creations to the gallery.