Review + Movement = Engagement
Math review can be boring. To engage students, I created a review game using a QR code scanner app. I put QR codes on laminated cards and placed the cards around the classroom. Students scanned each code on their iPads and were immediately taken to the review question. After they answered the question and I checked it, they were permitted to move on to another question. This lesson incorporated movement and had all students eager to get to the next question. Much more engaging than the same review done on paper!
—Pamela Warner, 6th grade math teacher, Panama Central School, Panama, New York
Book Talks
As part of a recent lesson on persuasive writing and speaking, each student created a sales pitch for his or her favorite book in the school library. Students rehearsed delivering their sales pitches with expression and gestures. Then they worked in pairs, using an iPad, to videotape their book talks. Next, they used the free Aurasma app to connect their video book talks to the cover images of their books. (The Aurasma app can give any image its own "augmented reality," such as a video, text, or still image, which pops up when the user scans it.) Finally, we placed Aurasma stickers on the book spines. Now, when students go to the library to look for a book, they can scan any book with an Aurasma sticker and watch another student "sell" the book.
—Anne Beninghof, consultant, Tarver Elementary School, Thornton, Colorado
To Learn It, Teach It
My geometry students complete their homework assignments using Notability, an app that enables users to combine handwriting, images, and typing. While they write out all of the steps involved in solving a problem, they record themselves as they explain, in their own words, how to complete that type of problem. I believe the best way of understanding something is to explain it to someone else. By having the recordings on their mobile device, the students can review for an upcoming test wherever they are.
—Arthur Anderson, math teacher, Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, Massachusetts
Writing in Math
Because my school wanted students to write in math class, I assigned my students to choose the method of binomial multiplication they preferred and defend that position in a paper. Students wrote one paragraph at a time, on Edmodo, over the course of a week. Each paragraph was assigned with a guideline about how to write it, and students revised each paragraph for grammar and content and added images to emphasize their point. When they finished the final paragraph, we collected their papers on a Google write page. This "math blog" was a great success!
—David Henson, high school mathematics strategist, Grand Prairie Independent School District, Grand Prairie, Texas
Picture This
In a reading intervention class, the teacher read an excerpt from Treasure Island that described a pirate, and students used iPad minis and the app Doodle Buddy to draw their vision of the pirate. Next, students were each assigned another passage of the book that described either another character or an element of the setting; they were asked to read that passage and draw their image of it. All images were saved to a digital photo album and then compiled into a photostory, with the teacher narrating the book passage that matched each student photo. The class watched their photostory as an introduction to reading the novel. They were excited to help generate new knowledge that contributed to the whole class's learning.
—Michelle Miller and Sheri Ruffle, reading teachers, Fairfax County Public Schools, Chantilly, Virginia
Teacher Conversations About Technology
We are using trudacot (technology-rich unit design and classroom observation template) to facilitate powerful conversations with teachers about how to upgrade their technology-infused lessons. Using trudacot has shifted our conversations from "Are we using technology?" to "Why are we integrating technology? Technology for the purpose of what?" The trudacot template includes specific look-fors that help educators think about what instructional practices they might change. Realigning our conversations using trudacot's purpose-driven protocol questions has allowed our educators to design and redesign their lessons and units in ways that are deeper, richer, and more robust. (More information about trudacot is available at http://dangerouslyirrelevant.org/resources/trudacot.)
—Scott McLeod, director of innovation, Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency, Pocahontas, Iowa
Tweet to Learn
In one of my elective classes, I have moved our class discussions onto Twitter, allowing students to discuss selected articles about transitioning to college using our class hashtag #pfcollege. All students participate, and it's easy for me to keep track of the discussion. The quality of discussion has improved, and the number of participants has increased.
Class discussions aren't the only way to use Twitter in your classroom. Want to teach revision? Have students revise tweets posted by famous people. Or teach students the power of conciseness by having them tweet breaking news in 140 characters or less. Teach responsibility by talking about knowing what you're tweeting about before you put inaccurate information out into the universe.
—Starr Sackstein, high school English teacher, World Journalism Preparatory School, Flushing, New York
Transforming the Daily Broadcast
I sponsor my school's broadcast journalism club. This year, we implemented YouTube live. Instead of using cue cards, we switched to a teleprompter using Google Slides. Instead of using an outdated camcorder, we are now using a high-definition webcam. We can also import special effects, such as lower-third graphics. My students run the daily broadcast and embed it onto our school website for viewing later. All of this cost us nothing extra: Our district supports YouTube live, I had a webcam in my cabinet to use, and two laptops from the school serve as our broadcast studio. Technology has transformed our morning broadcasts, and students are learning public speaking, technical skills, and teamwork.
—Cheryl Martin, English/language arts teacher and technology mentor, West Point Elementary School, Surprise, Arizona
Community Connections
Students used mobile devices to research things to do in Seattle. They used Google Maps to find the location of museums, comedy clubs, bowling alleys, sports venues, skating rinks, and other businesses. Next, using Microsoft Word, students wrote letters to each business asking for a donation to the school auction and informing them that the name of their business would be included in the auction program. Students used Microsoft Publisher to create the auction program pages with the names of the businesses and the donated items. As the donations came in, students set up an Excel spreadsheet listing the names of the businesses, the types of donation, and the value of the items. (They used this list to write thank-you notes after the auction.) The lessons in geography, teamwork, computer programs, and business and marketing were fabulous, but the best part was watching students reaching out to people and businesses and learning about places in their community they had never known about.
—Barbara Swann, teacher/dean, Kennedy High School, Burien, Washington
Notes on My Phone
In the past, I asked my preservice education students to copy notes from the whiteboard. This took too much class time, and some students struggled to get everything down. Now I have them use their smartphones to take photos of the boards. Students not only have a permanent record, but they have it with them all the time. For students with disabilities who have difficulty writing and listening at the same time, and those who tend to lose notes, taking photos of the board provides equal access to class material. Students have said they find it easier to study because they can take out their phone wherever they are and read through some of their notes whenever they have a minute.
—Wanda Routier, assistant professor, Concordia University, Mequon, Wisconsin
The Joy of Talking Online
Class was ending, and 30 7th graders were preparing to move to their next destination. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you," I interrupted, "Be sure to bring your mobile device to class tomorrow. We'll be texting." Shouts of joy and disbelief reached a crescendo. The next day, this group of mostly reluctant learners raced through the door, hurried to their seats, and retrieved smartphones and other devices. The activity was a simple discussion about a nonfiction article we'd read together earlier in the week. Within a few minutes, our class "cell," hosted by the web application Celly, was jumping with text messages, with every student participating enthusiastically.
—Mark Barnes, author/educator, Cleveland, Ohio
Sculptures in Motion
After my art students studied Leonardo da Vinci, they created their own sculptures using wire, tape, plaster, and found objects. This was a great lesson in itself, but I wanted to take it to the next level. I wrote a grant to the Association for Excellence in Education to get iPads for my classroom, and the students worked together to develop stop-motion videos using iStopMotion. They designed a backdrop and used the app to make their sculptures move across the screen. The videos were about 15 seconds long and included background sound. Some groups used music they had found on the Internet, some did voice-overs, and some even created their own music.
—Amanda Koonlaba, visual arts educator, Tupelo Public School District, Tupelo, Mississippi
Connecting to the Answers
In my math class, I have attached QR codes to a worksheet for students to check their solutions. This enabled students to try the problem without seeing the solution, check the answer, and then make revisions if needed. QR codes can also be added to worksheets and notes, linking students to a helpful video. Students benefit from the accessibility.
—Kelli Harris, algebra teacher, Norwalk Community School District, Norwalk, Iowa
Talking Robots
In my art class, 2nd grade students create designs for robots and write about how their creations could help them. This lesson was always a fun way to combine art and writing. Then I found the app Funny Movie Maker, which enables each student to transpose a video of their own mouth onto the drawing and make it talk. The students get to be their own robot! Their ideas improved, and so did our discussions of what machines and robots can do for us and what the future might be. The lesson now incorporates art, writing, and technology!
—Beth Rolfe, art teacher, Dysart Unified School District l, Surprise, Arizona
A Six-Second Assessment
After a social studies unit on domestication, agriculture, and job specialization, students were challenged to demonstrate mastery of the concepts by creating a Vine that demonstrated the impact of each of these historical changes. Vine is an app that records six-second, looping videos that can be shared online, offering a unique way to communicate concepts through cuts, sound, and dialogue. Vine gave students a platform to share their learning with the world, and the six-second format forced students to reflect and think critically about which aspects of the concepts were essential. Students were not only engaged, but also demonstrated higher-order thinking.
—John Mason, teacher of social studies, William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, New Jersey
Flipping Government Class
This year, I have been flipping my advanced placement U.S. Government and Politics class by making YouTube video lectures. This enables students to view the lectures more than once to ensure they understand the material. We now use classroom time for student-created presentations and respectful debate about the real-life situations in U.S. politics. This method challenges students to lead the classroom learning in directions they want it to go through their papers and presentations.
—Dustin Demers, social studies teacher, Bishop Feehan High School, Attleboro, Massachusetts
Reading Performances
I am giving my kindergarten pupils extra reading practice and fluency work by having them take home an early generation iPod we weren't using to record their reading to share with parents and classmates.
—Sue Heller, kindergarten teacher, Princeton Public Schools, Princeton, New Jersey
Collaborative Writing
I arranged students in pairs to write an argumentative essay using Google Docs on their iPads. Working together, they outlined the essay, crafted claims, and developed evidence-based paragraphs. Then they used the Google Docs "Share" feature to share their essay electronically with another student, who used a rubric aligned to Common Core standards to comment on the essay. Students scored the essays accurately using the rubric because of the time they had spent hashing out argumentative writing specifics with their partners as they wrote the essay.
—Erin Gilrein, high school English teacher, Oceanside Unified School District, Oceanside, New York
A Recorded Writing Tutorial
No matter how many lessons lead up to a writing assignment, middle school students always seem to have a lot of questions when it's time to write. When my students wrote their first essays of the year, I experimented with the app Explain Everything, which allows you to upload a PowerPoint presentation with your voice in the background.
I guided my students through the writing process and pushed them to analyze their textual evidence more deeply. It was almost as though I were able to confer with each of my students during the 40-minute period. Students worked at their own pace, pausing and rewinding when necessary. Each student felt supported but also independent, and the resulting essays were of a much higher quality than 7th grade essays of the past.
—Evelyn Pineiro, English teacher, Oceanside School District, Oceanside, New York
Programming: It's a Ball
I used Sphero, a robotic ball that can be programmed with iOS and Android mobile devices, to help students learn computer programming on their own mobile devices. Students created a macro program to move Sphero at a certain speed, for a certain distance, in a specific time. They executed the macro, measured the distance Sphero traveled, recorded the information, adjusted the macro accordingly, and compared the results of each trial. Students were motivated to work with the robot to explore additional commands and features. This lesson sparked students' curiosity about computer programming, and they are now using Sphero in STEM classes and during STEM club.
—Kimberly Mattina, technology integration coach, William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, New Jersey
More Dynamic Essays
After reading The Iliad, students were asked to examine a work of visual art that shared a central idea with this epic poem and to compare how the artist used the resources of art and how the poet used the resources of language to convey the same central idea. Instead of having them write an essay, I decided to have them create a Thinglink, using an app that enables users to annotate images and videos with notes and media links.
Students presented their observations to the class in a dynamic way, sharing their observations, interviewing other members of the class, and including links to related articles and videos. The students were excited about the opportunity, and their presentations reflected a comprehensive understanding of the connections between the texts.
—Donna Caiet, English teacher, Oceanside Public Schools, Oceanside, New York
A Jazz Performance
For a culminating project on our unit on The Blues and Its Influence on Contemporary Sound, students will write and perform an original blues recording including a historical summary of a famous blues legend. Ultimately, the performance will be Skyped throughout the district. Students will use their mobile devices to conduct research, create original sound or use YouTube to accompany their poetry, and write for audience and with purpose. Performances will be digitally recorded using Chromebooks and posted to students' Weebly pages.
—Kathleen Foster, teacher/coach, Jennings School District, St. Louis, Missouri
Engaging Staff
As lead learner (principal), I want to model the same kind of engaged teaching and learning with staff that I once attempted to create in my classroom. I have shifted from typical stand-and-deliver presentations for my staff, and now incorporate a variety of mobile technology tools. Examples include the use of QR codes to access presentations, the use of Socrative, or even Kahoot to help staff members track their own progress. No matter what type of mobile technology I infuse into professional development, the results are always the same—engagement and a climate of ownership, even if my "students" are the staff!
—Stephen Santilli, lead learner (principal), William Davies Middle School, Mays Landing, New Jersey
