Project Breakdown You Can Do

Year 2. 

Overhauled master schedule. 

2 new courses for me: one is brand new; co-taught class. The other existed, just now on my plate. 

Still teaching the classes from last year. 

And study halls. 

Total = 12 different groups of students. I got this. I think. 🤣

I'm taking the best of what I did last year and modifying or substituting to make it better. I had my 7th graders last year, so I know what we covered AND I know them. After giving them a day to do some digital organization, something I feel is important to make time for, we moved right into a project. Smart move.

These kids have skills and they aren't afraid of tech. They need very little direct instruction as far as tools go, but I feel they could use practice making choices, explaining their choice, and interpreting what needs to be done. Rather than give them a specific "recipe", I wanted to leave the door open a bit for them. We are now done with project and I'm very happy with how it went! Here's a recap ... you can absolutely replicate this!

I chose two of John Spencer's video writing prompts. I kept in mind the students I had and tried to choose two I thought had wide appeal. I also chose one that needed more creativity when responding, "You Woke Up Inside of a Video Game," and one that was more straight-forward, "What would you put in a time capsule?"

Day 1:

• Short explanation of project ... choose the writing prompt AND choose the tool to create your response. I did not restrict them on tools. They could choose the one they felt was best.
• Watched the prompts together - YouTube gets overwhelmed if they all try at them same time. Allowed for questions.
• In Schoology, I created a folder with completion rules to help sequence student work:
• #1 - I had a 2 questions assessment: Which prompt are you choosing & why? 

• #2 - a discussion question: which tool are you going to use
• Students may start to work on their project

Day 2:

• With the hope that conversing and discussing the prompt in terms of what to DO would help the students drive their own ideas, I wanted them to talk about how they were interpreting the prompt.
• Before getting to work, I had students make groups of 4 with others who are doing the same prompt. Both prompts received the same questions. The paper they filled out asked several questions:
• What are you responsible for "answering" with your response?
• What are the REQUIRED pieces to your response?
• Is there anything you should NOT do as or in your response?
• How might you go BEYOND the requirements?
• After several minutes, I collected their papers and had them make a different group of 4 and repeat this exercise.
• Rest of class was time to work on their projects.

Day 3:

• Started class with the complied answers to the questions from yesterday. I have to say, they were more or less all on the same track with the answers. 
• I also allowed for questions. 
• My favorite was, "Mrs. Kiefer, can you leave this up? I think it's really good for me to look at as I keep working." [You betcha!!!]
• Work time

Day 4:

• Began class with a "Glow & Grow" peer feedback. I took their compiled answers and created a short feedback sheet. Only 3 outcomes to focus on:
• Content - Is student answering prompt appropriately?
• Soft Skills - does their tool fit the project well?
• Media Skills - project is answering the prompt creatively?
• One on side of each criteria, the peer is expected to write a positive. On the other side, a suggestion or idea for improvement.
• We covered boundaries for this and how to "take in" the feedback. It's all meant to be helpful, but changes should only be made if the creator agrees and feels it would be an improvement.
• Today, they were pairing up with another student that did the SAME prompt. Turn in paper.
• Ultimately, they will need to have 3 total peer feedbacks before turning their project in.
• I tracked this as an assignment in Schoology.
• Rest of the class was work time.

*** The feedback portion took a bit longer than I'd thought it would ... NOT a bad thing at all! ***

Day 5:

• In Schoology, I asked students to share the link to their project. This was a big topic we covered last year - ensuring the correct sharing privileges - so I wanted to be sure they all did this early on, so I didn't have to keep asking for it at the end when I went to grade it.
• Full work day.
• Recommended to do at least one more peer feedback. Only rule is it cannot be the same person. 

Day 6:

• "Temperature check" ... are we feeling good and getting close? Up to this point, I'd not mentioned a due date. Students said they were getting close. We decided to aim for tomorrow at the end of class. If they felt they needed more time, I asked them to talk to me.
• I went over how many pieces of feedback were still needed.
• Work day.

Day 7:

• Final work day.
• Turn in when finished in Schoology. Basically they copied and pasted the link again in an assignment with the rubric for me to grade it.

Whew! I have to say, I'm SUPER pleased with how this project went. My students really did seem to dig into it - didn't matter which prompt they chose.  The time capsule one did appear to go a bit quicker, but I pushed those students to really dig in and try to be creative. Off-task behaviors were limited during this project and I was thrilled.

I would really love to bring all of these projects together in one spot. I was thinking a website created by the students? However, I do feel like we need to move on. I don't want to let them get bored. Possibly at the end of the quarter, it can be a self-chosen project that a few of them decide to take on? Who knows? 

What do you think? Areas to improve? Anything to add? I know I probably won't call them "Glow & Grows" again ... they didn't scoff at it, but it felt a bit juvenile. I ended up just referring to them as their "peer feedback". 

I didn't link the Docs here, but I could. Any interest? 

Next up ... credible sources. What are they? Where/how do we find them? How do you know it's credible? Can we crowdsource? I'll share about this, too. I'm super excited about this. We expect our students to do a LOT of research and while I was collaborating with an educator in another district about a class we both teach, I have a very exciting addition to add to this project!

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Professional Learning I've been doing ... and You Can Do, too!

I'm returning to the same role as last year as a middle school technology teacher and I am feeling good about it. My first year in a new district and school was all about figuring things out and taking it all in. Being back in the classroom after 8 years in a TOSA (teacher on special assignment) role showed me I needed to recalibrate a bit. It also reaffirmed my belief in "less is more" for both myself and my students. 

I have been checking off some professional learning this summer that is related to my role and I'm excited to share them with you. I'll also share the links and reasoning for my "why" for each.

First up - I renewed my Google Educator Level 1 certification. (You can find the learning modules on the Google for Education Teacher Center website.) I completed my first Google Educator Level 1 back in the summer of 2015 and it was literally the beginning of the new direction of my teaching career. It's good for 3 years and this is the 3rd time for me. I strongly recommend any teacher who uses Google in their classroom take this professional learning and test for certification. The test costs $10 and is well worth it.

Next, I will be renewing my Google Educator Level 2 certification this week. (You can find it at the Google for Education Teacher Center website.) I completed this one right after I did Level 1 in 2015 and have zero regrets. I was hungry for more and I was excited to continue my Google learning. Completing Level 2 really confirmed I knew what I was doing. The learning modules are 100% free and worth the time investment. The cost for the Level 2 test is $25 and again, I'm happy to pay it for the 3rd time to renew.

A big goal for me this summer has been to put time in learning about AI. I have been taking a pretty slow approach to AI. But I do believe AI is here to stay and I have a responsibility in understanding it and helping to form how it's being used with students. I also want to be sure I understand what everyone is super excited about ... it's not going anywhere. Other than reading a LOT of articles from other educators, I've completed two courses and if you are wanting to learn more, both are great starter places. 

The Generative AI for Educators course is found on the Grow with Google website. It had a nice balance of theory and learning about AI paired with scenarios to practice using AI. It's important to note that while it recommends Google's AI tool, Gemini, you are welcome to use your AI tool of choice. What I really appreciated in this course was all of the resource materials provided. I know I will keep coming back to them over the coming school year. There is no cost to the modules or the final assessment.

The second AI course I completed was Code.org's AI 101 Self-paced Professional Learning for Educators. You can find it Code.org's Professional Learning landing page. This course also provided quite a bit of theory and thinking around AI, which helped me get a better understanding and increased my comfort with AI. I have used Code.org for years with my students and I've recently found their professional learning to be quite helpful, too. There is no cost to this professional learning.

This upcoming year, I will be co-teaching a brand new class with the art teacher in my school. We are hoping to use Adobe with our students, so I decided to do some professional learning. You can find the learning on the Adobe Education Exchange page. I have not used Adobe much and this course was my way of "dipping my toes" in. I will be following this up with my Level 2. I've completed the learning for it and I'm working on finishing up the portfolio before I submit. There is a LOT packed into Adobe! There is no cost to either level of Adobe learning.

Do you love Canva? I do and I was shocked to see they had a teacher certification course this summer. It wasn't on my radar ... and I'm pretty sure the day after I noticed it, I jumped on it. The Canva Teacher Essentials course is found on their Design School page. It is video based, which I love and it just makes me love Canva even more! I also went on to complete the Graphic design essentials course, too! All Canva learning is 100% free.

My final professional learning goal this summer is the Modern Classroom Project. Coming back to the classroom after being out for 8 years was hard. I know I need to put time and energy into this area. Teaching isn't an easy profession, but I've always said the I don't back down from a challenge. I believe school is a place for ALL and I want to be sure I'm doing what I can to ensure the students that walk into my class learn in a way that works for them. You can find the FREE course I will taking on Modern Classroom's website.

I hope I've shared some professional learning that you might be interested in or that might support you in your role. Please reach out if you have any questions or would like more information about any of these learnings.

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***

Phones + School ... What Do We Do?

Heads up ... this blog is somewhat a departure from my usual. I promise it 100% has to do with tech and education. Here's the back story:

I have 3 daughters - ages 18, 14, and 12. They all have phones. I have been reluctant to allow them social media, but my oldest does have Tik Tok, Snapchat, Instagram, and Facebook. My middle daughter has Tik Tok and Pinterest. And my youngest doesn't have any. This year I went back into the classroom, teaching technology to grades 6-7-8, but in a new district. 

I've been doing a lot of learning about how devices are impacting our kids. Books, articles, podcasts, etc. This past week, the topic of phones in schools came up in one of my PLN's. I believe the person who began the conversation was asking about other district policies on phones in schools. I love reading others opinions and learning how other districts - across the country - are handling devices in schools. 

I chimed in with links to some of the resources I've come across regarding this topic. I received several positive responses and thank you's for the information, so I thought I'd share them with you, too. 

Before I share, please know that while I have my own opinions, I'm sharing these resources so you can develop your own. I ask that you do your own learning and share with others and keep learning. This topic will constantly be evolving. You have to do what is best for the kids in your life - whether that's at school or in your own home. 

I will be the first to admit I was in the camp of using devices (iPods/phones) back before we were 1-to-1. Having multiple devices in a classroom opened my eyes to the power technology can have in education. The accessibility and creation that is possible was awesome. But then my district went 1-to-1 with chromebooks. Every student was given a device. And around that time, phones became more and more common, and with younger and younger students, and the problems really began. Phones are not built to be tools of instruction. Have you ever tried to write an essay on your phone? Possible, yes, but not great.

The book, Screen Kids, by Gary Chapman & Arlene Pellicane, is such an incredible read. It is not long but it is packed with research and solid thinking. It truly helped me put some specifics to the thoughts and feelings I'd been having regarding devices. If you are a parent, read this. If you are an educator, read this. If you are a grandparent, check out Grandparenting Screen Kids: How to Help, What to Say, and Where to Begin, by the same authors. This book helped me have better - and MORE - conversations with my own daughters. 

Here are additional resources I've been learning from on this topic that might be of interest to you:

• Does banning phones in school improve students’ mental health? from Angela Watson - this is a link to her blog. In it, it contains a link to this also as a podcast. Angela interviews psychologist Dr. Jean Twenge and get hers profession opinion.

• Cell phone policy leads to school of distinction from the Wektumpka Herald. This story shares how a local high school has changed their policy regarding cell phones and the impact it has had ... and the award they've received as a result. 
  
  
• How Teens and Parents Approach Screen Time from the Pew Research Center. This article digs into the research behind the difference in how parents and teenagers differ in their handlings of screens. Fact shared that caught my eye, "72% of U.S. teens say they often or sometimes feel peaceful when they don’t have their smartphone; 44% say it makes them feel anxious." Wow!
  
  
• How to Talk to Your School District about Removing Smartphones from Protect Young Eyes, a group who focuses on helping "Families, Schools, And Churches Create Safer Digital Environments". This article focuses on the school aspect.


• Constant Companion: A Week in the Life of a Young Person's Smartphone Use from Common Sense Media. Fully disclosure - I've not gotten all the way through this massive resource yet. There is a 64 page report along with several other resources to check out. Common Sense Media is a fantastic resource for so many tech related needs. 
  
  Added May, 2024:
  
  
• Cincinnati Country Day students reflect on year without phones in school - a local news report regarding a K-12 school that banned phones and the impact they are seeing at the end of the school year. It's awesome to hear that students are changing their opinions and seeing the benefits of putting the phones away.
  
  
• The Anxious Generation (book) - this impressively written book contains all the data and fact finding and myth-debunking information you could want about this topic. The author, Jonathan Haidt, does a fabulous job of looking at this topic from many different angles and clearly outlining his own research as well as the research of others. I don't think you will find a more comprehensive book on the effects of phones, social media, and video games on our youth than this book.
  
  Added August, 2024:
  
  
• 3 Schools, 3 Principals, 3 Cell Phone Bans - this article shared via Edutopia shares the story of just what the title says: 3 different schools and their approach to banning phones. 
• Cell Phones in Ohio Schools - the state of Ohio (where I live and work) has even gone the extra step to require schools have policies around cell phones where they are to be as limited as possible. I LOVE IT! Best part ... Ohio also provides some models for what your districts policy could be as well as support for administrators. 

Finally, I always try to remind others when I have conversations, use the tool that is appropriate for the task.  If it's task that is best on paper, use paper. If a computer is what is needed, use it. If it's a face-to-face conversation, do it in person. And if it's phone, use a phone. 

Do you have a resource that is related to this topic? Please share! I'd love to read it. 

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Self-guided Student Projects You Can Do

I recently wrapped up a grading period with my students and I wanted to do something "different". They were all fairly proficient with technology and they had a wide variety of interests. I decided I couldn't find or create anything that would satisfy and challenge them all, so I went in the opposite direction. 

I didn't design a project. I gave them ALL of the power.

If your students are anything like mine, they BEG for control and choice. But, I've noticed they often don't know what to do with it when they have choice. So I decided to provide a framework for the project, but allow the students to fill in all of it.

You should have seen their faces. We had 5 days left in the quarter and I wanted them to spend time brainstorming and "researching" and asking questions, which would really leave about 4 days to actually DO their project.

I shared the "Self-guided Project" template with them in our LMS. We walked through it together. I asked them to list 3-5 topics they are interested in - whether because they already know a lot or because they WANT to learn. Then to think about the tools we've used in class, as well as ones they are already comfortable with (I suggested this might not be the project to "learn" a new tool). Then we talked about the audience. This one was tougher for them. I agreed teachers quite often are their audience, but that wasn't my goal with this project. We talked through why a project made for a kindergartener would probably look different than one done for an adult, a parent perhaps. And then we brainstormed together who some different audiences might be.

Finally, we talked about putting it all together. Since this was their first time with a project as open as this, I provided a list of potential projects they might want to consider, but strongly recommended they think creatively and that they could come up with something of their own design. Ultimately, their projects could be summed up in a sentence using this structure:

"I want to create a ___(fill in project) ___ about ___ (fill in topic) ___ for ___ (fill in audience) ___ using ___ (fill in tool)___."

They were off! It was awesome to see them design their project and move forward with them. Questions came up - help was needed - some projects finished quickly & new projects were designed with the same framework - some projects didn't get finished - but they all enjoyed it. Including me. 

The best part about this framework, it's not grade specific. It's not dependent on certain tools. If your students cannot handle ALL of the choices, you can fill in one or more of the components to guide them and as they gain confidence, you can reuse this with them and they will create something completely different.

I will definitely be using this again!

NOTE - as with most everything I do/create, the 1st rendition is rarely "amazing", so the version I'm sharing with you is somewhat different from what I used with my students. When I do it again, I wanted to be sure I was explicit with the four aspects - topic, tool, project, & audience - and I wanted to also have students create a Doc they could use more than once and not have to start over. 

If you'd like to make your own copy, please check out the "Self-guided Project Template" housed on my companion blog, Templates for Teachers. Feel free to look around at the other templates shared. You can make copies of any/all of them and then modify to best suit you.

If you use this with your students, will you let me know how it goes? I'd love to know.

Enjoy!

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Docs Scavenger Hunt Middle School Students Can Do

My adventures are picking up and I'm ready to share one of my recent ones. My 6th graders have quite a bit of knowledge - I'm quite impressed! As they get older, I know they will depend more and more on Google Docs, so I wanted to be sure they build a solid foundation. I did as I have preached so often ... take what it's already there and modify it! 

Just about a year ago, I published "Docs Scavenger Hunt You Can Do" sharing how I modified from Catlin Tucker. Today I'm sharing how I modified this - again - for my current 6th graders. We moved well beyond basic formatting into some pretty awesome tools and capabilities. Depending on how much background your students have had with Google Docs, you may need to modify this or take portions out. 

You can get your own copy of the scavenger hunt for middle schoolers on my partner blog, Templates for Teachers. (Feel free to look around at the other templates housed there, too!)

*** Every Monday, I share a newsletter with a collection of Tech You Can Do resources. It is delivered right to your inbox. Interested? Sign up here!  ***