"Lifelines" You Can Do

I've noticed the many of the students I have right now are hesitant to work independently. I don't mind questions, but it's not so much about not understanding as it seems to be they want hand-holding. I wracked my brain to try something to encourage independence and inspiration hit! 

Big time!

Do you remember the game show, "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?" Do remember the lifelines each contestant was given? Bingo. 

I decided to give my students 4 lifelines the first time I gave them a digital breakout to work on. Most students said they were familiar with digital breakouts, but when we got to work on it, most of them froze on what to do. I'm so glad I decided to use the lifelines!

The four "lifelines" I gave them were:

• ask a classmate
• help from Mrs Kiefer
• Google It
• Google It

I explained to them a digital breakout would take some work. They'd be challenged and may not find the answers right away. But they could use a lifeline to help them if they were really stumped. Ultimately, if they didn't use a lifeline, I'd reward them with a bonus point on their total score. They could earn a total of 4 bonus points. This really motivated them! (I also told them if they didn't write their name on their lifelines they'd lose any chance of the bonus points ... I'm also working to instill responsibility! I'm shocked at how many of them did NOT write their name on theirs!)

I'm not quite sure who had more fun with these lifelines; the kids or me? They would ask me a question and before I'd answer, I'd say to them, "Are you sure you want to use this lifeline?" The vast majority of the time, they hesitated and waved me off. It really encouraged them to think strategically about using each one.  And they were super honest about when they DID use one, even if I wasn't right there to mark it off - they'd do it themselves.

The second time I used them this quarter, I collected them from the students as they left the room. The social studies teacher across the hall from me noticed them and asked about them. I shared the story and he asked if he could borrow the idea - he had noticed the struggle, too, since we share the same kids. I laughed and said, "Of course! But you have to find your own bitmoji!"

I made mine in Canva and I would suggest you look at the assignment you want to use it with and think about what would be an appropriate number and type of lifelines and go from there. I also shrunk them down so they are about the size of a bookmark - 4 to a single sheet of paper - rather than an entire sheet. I ran off a bunch, so I always have a stack ready to go at any time. 

This is such a fun addition to ANY activity. It can be added to ANY lesson - ANY grade - ANY content.

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Google Sheets Teaching You Can Do

Google Sheets is one of my favorite Google applications. (I think I say that about all of them, don't I?) I have chosen to purposefully add Sheets to the curriculum I teach with my 6th graders. This quarter, I felt like I needed to step up the learning portion before I gave my students the Google Sheets Choice Activity to show off their learning. 

I turned to my favorite "tech extraordinaire"  ... Eric Curts! He has so many amazing Google Sheets activities. I had been using one of Google's Applied Digital Skills lessons previously, but I felt like it was a little dry for my 6th graders, so I collected several of Eric's Sheets activities and really looked at what skills I wanted to focus on and then chose Sheets that worked with the selected skills. I put together a teacher version and a student version to make it easier for me to see what skills should be focused on on which sheet.

I present: Google Sheets ... Teacher workbook & Google Sheets ... student practice! It's posted on my connected blog, Templates for Teachers, so you can also browse for other activities for your classroom. I don't dig into complex Sheets formulas - most of it is on the basic level. My students haven't had much experience with Sheets - most couldn't even remember ever using it.

Sheets doesn't have to be an overwhelming tool - it is a powerful tool, that with some learning, can be beneficial to have at your fingertips. The "Directions" tab was a great way to start and probably the tab we spent the most time on. Laying this strong foundation was a great starting point. I'm definitely using it again!

If you use it - will you let me know how it goes? I'd love to hear feedback.

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Unit Planning Overview You Can Do

One of the things I've struggled with the last 18 months is keeping my lessons organized in a simple way. This school year, I feel like I've got a bit of a system worked out that works pretty well. The process to get there has been a bit messy, but I feel good about it now.

Here's my situation:

• I returned to the classroom after 8 years
• I have formal observations from my principal
• I am teaching Digital Art, Coding, Communications, Tech Skills, & Tech Applications
• Digital Art, Coding, & Communications meet twice a week for a semester
• Tech Skills & Applications meets M-F for a quarter
• I have students in grades 6, 7, & 8
• I was given the flexibility to improve the curriculum for all of these courses

I started in the staff handbook, where a narrative of the districts lesson plan expectation was outlined. Last year I worked with a digital platform, but it felt clunky to me. I turned to Google Docs, where I create a template for my lessons. It has worked really well to help me organize my plans and thoughts and activities. I plan by "unit", so each Google Doc covers multiple days. I do not follow this strictly from class to class or even quarter to quarter. I am also a little "old school" in that I print it out to keep on my desk. I will jot notes on it as the unit progresses, then I transfer it into the digital version for future reference.

Interested in seeing this lesson plan template? I've shared it on Templates for Teachers - Lesson Plan Template. 

Since I teach 5 different classes, I needed a way to "track" them all and keep them organized. I also found that I had a few seasonal lessons or even lessons I could use as sub plans if necessary that I wanted to be sure to have easy access to. I realized a Google Sheet was the most practical way to keep my lessons together - yet separate for each class - as well as being able to add in links. (I'm sure a Doc would have worked, too, but I like the functionality of Sheets better for this.)

I made a template tab and then got to work building it out for my Tech Skills class. I had the name of the unit, projected number of days it would cover, the essential question, and the link to the full lesson plan. I realized as I was filling this all in, it would also be helpful to have a column for the programs I'd need to use and what skill I was focusing on. Simple - with some detail - and I've worked to keep it to a "one-pager" when I print. I love it!

Interested in seeing this unit planning template? I've shared it on Templates for Teachers - Curriculum Map.

Some improvements I've made since I first started using this - I separated out the Digital Citizenship lessons I do with each class a few lines down from the last lesson. I like to keep these separate so I can easily find them. I also separated out "other" lessons below the Digital Citizenship lesson. These might be "one-day-ers" or sub plans or even holiday themed lessons. This is especially helpful when I switch quarters and I won't re-use that lesson.  Finally, I added in a link to the detailed lesson plan template in the upper right corner, so when create new lessons, it's easy to find. 

Even though I love tech, I do print these curriculum maps. I carry these in my planner so I can plan when it's convenient for me & I'm not dependent on internet connection. I've also begun writing the dates in the far left margin. 

Is this helpful? I hope so. I always figure I'm not the only one out there that is looking for something. My solution my not be yours ... but maybe my solution will inspire you and give you a place to start. Good luck!

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Google Sheets Your Students Can Do

I believe spreadsheets are a necessary skill for today's world. I can hear the groans. When most teachers hear spreadsheets, I know they groan. They think data and analysis and blech. Don't worry! That's not the point of this spreadsheet activity for your students! (You might have fun working with it, too.)

One of the units I cover with my 6th graders is Google Sheets. Most of them have had very little exposure to Sheets at this point. I totally understand - Sheets isn't the easiest tool, not is it the "prettiest".  Using Google's Applied Digital Skills - Sheets, Part 1,  we do a few days of the basics with Sheets - vocab; inserting & resizing rows & columns; sorting; formatting; and a little bit of data validation. I tell my students up front, that this part isn't flashy, but it's necessary before we see Sheets in a different way.

Once we cover the basics, I give them the Google Sheets Choice Activity. The first tab contains the directions and the descriptions of the 6 activities. I crafted 6 different activities that should appeal to a variety of interests. I assigned point values to each activity and then I challenged the students to complete enough activities to accumulate 25 points. This is meant to require them to do more than one, but also to keep this activity within a 2 class period timeframe. So far, they have loved it! We didn't cover every single thing they might need to do - so there are times where I get to do a little more with various students. 

I've added this activity to my partner blog - Templates for Teachers - to keep all my templates in one spot. If this activity appeals to you, I encourage you to make your own copy and share it with your students. Even better, if you want to make changes to the template by adding activities, changing the requirements, or removing an activity, go right ahead! Make it your own and make it work for your students!

If you use it, I'd love to hear about it! 

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AI You Can Do - but ...

I was lucky enough to attend my first conference in awhile this past week. It was the Schoolwide AI Conference. It was a good one & I'm going to share my thoughts here as a way to help myself process it, but also capture and share them with you. AI is definitely a hot topic these days ... including in education. 

Matt Miller - of Ditch That Textbook - was the keynote and boy did he have a great keynote! Matt had a lot of great ways to use AI as a teacher. He shared some pretty cool tools, including image generators that really made some amazing images. AI can help make several teacher tasks much easier and save us all some time.

But ...

Matt also shared some drawbacks to AI. Since I subscribe to his newsletters, I'd just read the recent news stories he shared. You can read his newsletter about this topic here --> "🗑 AI, students, relationships and manipulation". It's more than eye-opening. 

It's shocking. 

It's wild. 

It's sickening. 

It's troublesome. And it needs to be shared. 

And it needs to be discussed.

I went to the conference in the hopes of learning more about AI. I recognized a lot of names of presenters. I was excited. And I saw some great sessions. Quite a few of the sessions shared how AI can help create lessons, provide prompt suggestions, assist creating rubrics and assessment questions, and help with differentiation. They were good.

My favorite session was with a lawyer who shared about Ohio's AI Toolkit. He also shared the Federal Governments newly released guidance, "Empowering Education Leaders: A Toolkit for Safe, Ethical, and Equitable AI Integration". I know for sure I want to dive deeper into this toolkit.

The final session of the day was pretty enlightening. It was a student panel. There were four high schoolers and one 8th grader. They all shared ways they've used AI. A few use AI more than the others. They don't seem afraid or intimidated by it. They all wish their teachers taught them more how to use AI. The 8th grader said he believes he will definitely be using AI more as he gets older.

Wow.

I have to say, walking away from the conference that day, I was a bit disappointed I didn't see sessions that focused on my biggest concerns: 

• At what AGE is AI developmentally appropriate? 
• At what AGE "should" students begin using AI?
• WHY would a teacher use AI with a young student?
• Do the benefits of using AI outweigh the risks?
• AI has only been around for a couple years (for the general public) ... what are long term ramifications of using AI with students? 

I know these aren't questions that have "easy" answers. They probably don't HAVE answers, truthfully. And I'm sure there are teachers on all sides of these questions. This is the dialogue I want to have. These are the areas I want to learn more about. 

Do you have resources I can read or learn from? Articles? Podcasts? People to follow? I'll take it all. I have a Wakelet for things I've collected - AI in Education. Please share if you have more that I can learn from. Thanks!

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