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". 

** Update ➤ I added the Docs I created for this project into ONE cohesive Doc. It includes the questions students had to answer as a group who had chosen the same prompt in the hopes of ensuring they were interpreting the "ask" properly AND the activity I had them work through to create the rubric for their prompt. I did also include the rubric we designed for each of the 3 writing prompts as examples. Please do not feel tied to them - my students helped design them - yours might interpret things differently. The "work" in this is that THEY are identifying the requirements. 

You can find the Docs on my sister blog - Templates for Teachers. John Spencer Writing Prompts activity  

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!

*** Want to hear more from me? 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!  ***

New Year's Goals I Can Do & You Can, too!

I had this whole blog written and then I realized I had it backwards. I do not make New Year's resolutions. I have made daily resolutions for the past 2 years. I have attempted to focus on 3-5 personal and 5 school related goals each day. I include big goals and little tasks. I include boring and routine items as well as exciting and thrilling. 

And then I read John Spencer's blog post, Using the SLIME Method for Setting New Year’s Resolutions, and I knew exactly what I had been missing (ok, I actually listened to his podcast, also linked in the article above). 

I LOVE John's proposal to do AND let go ... to keep doing AND get better ... and to have fun. And to wrap it up with the acronym "SLIME"? So fun! And be sure to read all the way through John's post. Near the bottom, he covers the difference between process & product goals. This is critical because I believe they go together. I realize that by having my daily goals/tasks, I am itemizing my process goals in order to achieve my product goals. After listening to John, I realize how important these daily goals/tasks are to me in order to achieve my larger product goals. Yes! 

Here are my 2022 SLIME goals/resolutions - I firmly believe that writing them down and sharing them makes me more accountable. 

Start: use Smore to share out resources in a more "collection" manner

Let go: of the stress & guilt I put on myself

Improve: my time spent with my family - both immediate & extended

Maintain: the new strength training consistency

Experiment: work on a top secret project (or two!)

Can you do this with students? Sure! They may not fully understand it without your guidance but John's graphics and built in suggestions can help. This could also make a great mid-year reflection and writing or video or creative assignment. 

Are you looking for other activities to do with your students at the beginning of this new year? I've started building "The New Year" Wakelet Collection.  If you have something I could add, I'd love to know about it! Please post it below or tag me on social media. We are better together!

Reminders for Me

This one is for me, but I'm sharing because maybe you need it, too. 

I was listening to a podcast from John Spencer "Why Balance Is Critical for Creative Work" as I packed my lunch and ate breakfast earlier this week. He said several things that spoke to me. But the one that really stuck out is this:

"There’s a difference between being busy and being productive."

I feel like I was so busy in October and the beginning of November. I know I let numerous things drop. But I can't say confidently that I was productive. Sure, on a few things I was, but not overall.

I need to stop for a moment & remind myself: 

• it's ok to take a break & just hang out
• it's ok to skip a week (or 2!) in writing
• it's ok to shift the focus to another area

And the big one -

• it's ok to say no.

You see, I got hit with a nasty head cold/sinus infection that required two trips to the doctor. Several nights of sleeping upright and coughing until I was beyond exhausted. The amount of cough drops I consumed can't really be healthy ... and just as I finished my antibiotic, I stepped on a tour bus headed to Philadelphia & Washington, DC with 230 teachers, parents, and 8th graders.

This trip was one for the record books - it was our largest trip ever (yea!), but also our most challenging trip. 99% of the issues were beyond our control ... after all, what bus company tells you less than 24 hours into your trip they are taking your FIVE buses away??? Only to replace them and have 2 of those buses break down on separate days requiring MORE replacement buses?!? I mean seriously ... ?!?

But we made it. We tackled every obstacle thrown at us. Maybe not always perfectly, but we did it. And a BIG shout out to my fellow coordinator, Alyssa. She handled the many obstacles so well! She's the reason we even have the trip. Our tour guides & tour company were amazing, as always, and we couldn't have asked for a better group of teacher chaperones who help anchor our trip year after year. The parents we take are stellar! They leave no doubt in my mind that we do the right thing by taking them with us. Oh ... and our kids are pretty awesome, too! 😊

Now that this year's trip is done (a huge job!), I need to adjust my focus on priorities, not just shiny objects in my path. I will need to stop and realign my productivity. I don't want people to see me and say, "Wow. She's so busy ..." Instead, I want people to see quality in my work. I want people to know that when I am working with them, I am giving them my best. 


In the same podcast mentioned above, John also says,

"being productive is fueled by purpose."

This week is Thanksgiving ... what a perfect time of year to RE-focus on my purpose. I think I'll take time this holiday to do this. How about you? Please feel free to reach out. 

*** 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!  ***

#IMMOOC4 Week 5: Moving Forward, Keeping the Past in Mind

Empower #EmpowerBook

Suggested Reading: Chapter 10-12 

What changes can I make in my own practice to move forward?

Teaching is a profession that requires improvement, regeneration, and reflection. I don't see a good teacher becoming great unless these elements are present. I'll be honest, there was a point in my career that I wanted out. Teaching felt stale ... boring ... prescribed ... everything lived and died by the state tests. 

I needed a change. 

I wanted a change. And change arrived in the shape of a grant allowing us to go 1:1 with Chromebooks in grades 5-12. I won't lie - there were ups and downs. Nothing was perfect. Nothing is perfect. BUT ... I FINALLY felt that I had come into my own with these devices. They allowed every single one of my students to begin to craft their own educational adventures. I was able to curate, collect, share, differentiate, and empower each student in a manner that was meaningful to them. The first major "Aha!" ➤ Any student who needed to - or wanted to - could listen to their text. The days of forgetting (or losing work) was gone. Students could watch supporting videos to help them understand content. We could research using recent work. Students taught me how things worked. We explored. We could design.

I built off what I already knew and had collected. I collaborated with other teachers. I was asked to present at a local gathering of fellow educators as well as in my own district. The fear nearly stopped me. But I'm so glad I didn't. When the opportunity arose, I accepted a split role of Tech Integration for the first half of the day, while remaining in the classroom in the afternoon. 

I fell in love.

I share all this because sometimes changes happen TO you and sometimes changes happen because you MAKE them or INVITE them to happen. I have made 2 significant changes in my career ... one when I moved from 5th grade to 7th & 8th. And the other was moving into the Tech Integration role full time. With both changes, the past came right along with me. Fear accompanied both. Neither move was entirely smooth. Each year has helped me develop into who I am today. 

#IMMOOC4 Week 3: Innovating Inside the Box

Empower #EmpowerBook

Suggested Reading: Chapter 4-6

John & AJ distinguish Fail-URE as permanent while Fail-ING as a process is temporary. Describe how you see these terms play out in your classroom.

My "classroom" is two elementary buildings (preK -4). I am a Tech Integration Specialist (TIS). I was a classroom teacher for 14 years and both fail-ure and fail-ing were a part of my teaching then AND now. Can't get around that. But I embrace BOTH as a means to be the person I am today.

Actually ... FailURE, to me is an end. FailING is part of the process. I've come to realize that fail-ING only means a temporary stumble. 

It's how you pick yourself up and keep going! 

There have been so many times I've wanted to quit. Lessons have gone wrong, students have been difficult, testing has been the focus, budgets have been tight, admins have been difficult, and so on. 

It's how you pick yourself up and keep going! 

#IMMOOC Week 2: Critical Conditions to Support Learning & Innovation

Empower (John Spencer & AJ Juliani) #EmpowerBook
Suggested Reading: Chapters 1-3

Oh where does the time go in a week! Gotta 💖 early Saturday morning with a quiet house, pup snuggled next to me on the couch, and reflecting on all things education. Deep breath ... here we go! (Gotta man a Girl Scout Cookie Booth in a bit!)

“Student choice is the heartbeat of ownership and empowerment.” Respond to that statement and describe how you are honoring that statement.

Now, more than even, we need to work with students on make choices. As with everything in education, we need to remember our "WHY" - it's the students! When I join a teacher in a lesson, I see students differently than the classroom teacher. I have that luxury. With that in mind, I see students struggling to actually MAKE choices. In the Week 1 podcast of the YouTube discussion, I was reminded that WE have conditioned the kids to rely on us to tell them what to do. WE need to help them learn how to make choices --- the only way to do that is to GIVE them choices. 

Probably the most powerful example I can offer is from working with 4th graders right before Christmas break. For fun, I showed them Eric Curts blog post 12 Days of Techmas. I gave them the opportunity to pick any of the 6 Googley Winter Activities.  They literally sat there and stared at me. I prompted them, "Which one are you going to do?" One girl piped up & said, "The one you tell us to." I smiled and said, "No. YOU get to pick. Which one looks like fun? Scroll through ... read a little bit and decide on one you'd like to try. And guess what? If you don't like it, try a different one. There's NO right answer." 

Deep breath. Jump in. And once they realized I was being serious, they jumped in. And had fun! And can I tell you ... I worked with a small group of these same kids just this week (more than 2 months later) and one student showed me how he was STILL loving the Pixel Art Ornament activity so much that he was continuing to create new drawings. The teacher of another class I had shown these activities to asked me to help her created a Google Sheet so her students could create a book cover in this fashion. So I created "Pixelated Book Covers" for her. [See my blog post about it ... HERE] 

Now, let's be honest. These kinds of activities may not appear to be super "academic", but think about it for a minute. They were:

#IMMOOC4 Week 1: Innovation in Education

I'm veering off my usual blog style today ... I joined round #4 of the #IMMOOC book study. Interested? You can still join! (website) [I am a little late with week 1's blog post ... better late than never!]

Here goes!

EMPOWER (by: John Spencer & AJ Juliani)
Week 1: AJ & John ask us to consider what students are “DOING” during our 400 daily available minutes. Why do we need to begin by considering the expenditure of time?

Time is and always has been very precious and it's the one thing that we will never get more of, no matter what we do. As a teacher, we need to remember that our students are only with us for a set amount of time and then they move on so we HAVE TO MAKE IT COUNT. I taught 7th & 8th grade Social Studies and I only had each class for 42 minutes. Bells rang to start and stop class and I HAD to make those 42 minutes mean something to my students. I also was very aware that my students had 6, maybe 7 other classes, extra-curriculars, and home responsibilities. The "competition" with time inspired me ... it pushed me to become more efficient, but also trimmed the "fat".

My little pie wedge of time was extremely precious to me. I wanted my students to know that I wanted the best for them, so I gave them the best of me.

AJ & John ask us to invest a large part of our day “to inspire creativity and innovation.” Describe one thing you are doing to make this a daily priority.

I am not in the classroom anymore - I am fortunate enough to be a Technology 
Integration Specialist in the same district I taught in for 14 years.

I 💖 my job.
I 💖 the people I work with.
I 💖 the way I am challenged.
I 💖 the opportunities I have every day at work.