Digital Citizenship and Blended Learning

I had the privilege of hearing a speaker today that was awesome.  

To see his Ted Talks:  http://bit.do/GCourosTedTalk 

To see some of his articles or information on digital citizenship:  bit.ly/gcourosdf

If you would like me to come talk to your class or a group of students about what it means to be a good digital citizen.   We can have the conversation about what you watch and what you post and what it means in your future.  Just give me a call and we will schedule it!

Technology changes everything.  I am not changing everything by sending this email, the world has already changed and we need to decide how we change to meet the needs of the students.  That is really up to you!

Here are some notes from the presentation:

We need to talk to students about how to use social media.  Who do you accept as friends/followers?  What are your rules?  Not the teacher but actually creating each students list of rules that they will follow.  Will they accept people they don't know?  WIll they accept people who have no pictures or information?  Who will you talk to? message? meet???

I think as adults we are scared when things are posted.  If you graduated prior to texting . . . we had notes.  They said the same things that are posted but now that student didn't share it to everyone.  Was it less harmful?  Students post things and they are over it in about a minute and they move on.  

You want to create your digital footprint.  You want to have social media accounts with your actual name, because that is what will come up when future employers or parents will find when they google you.  

If you made it to this point and have a strong opinion, please send me a message.  I would love to hear from you.  We are giving devices to many students and we need to talk about what this means to our students.

Thank you and have a great weekend!  KB

Other tools:

If you have a long website or a document you want to share.  Use bit.do and it will take your like and shorten it to whatever you would like!

Twitter:  still a great way to do exit tickets with learning.  Use # to group them together.

Here are ideas for Twitter in your classroom:  http://bit.do/twitterinclassroom

Blogs:  This is real student writing.  You can have the students create an about.me account.  I set mine up and will be working on it:  https://about.me/kristiberlin

Here are articles on Blogging in the Classroom:  http://bit.do/bloginclassroom 

Sharing learning:  Notes, ideas, brainstorming.  Use Google Docs and share information.  This is a great way for learn.  Do they have to write it to be engaged?  Can some student sit and listen and take it in and refer back to the notes.  

Creating Quizzes with Docs:  http://bit.do/quizeswithdocs

Do we want students to memorize or do we want them to know how to access information?  If a student could google all of the answers on your test are you teaching them to think or are you having them memorize facts they could google.

PrepScholar's Top 150 ACT Vocabulary Words

PrepScholar's Top 150 ACT Vocabulary Words

Implementation of Technology Standards

The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) has standards and resources for the implementation of technology standards for students, teachers and administrators.  

Go to iste.org for resources, curriculum ideas and more.

The ISTE Standards Implementation Wiki also has grade level resources and implementation ideas.

Refining Questions

In the past the answer was GOOGLE-ABLE.
     Now it is OPEN-ENDED.

In the past the answer was in TEACHER LANGUAGE.
     Now it is ENGAGING FOR THE STUDENT.

In the past the answer was CONTENT SPECIFIC.
     Now it is RELEVANT.

In the past the answer was GENERAL.
     Now it is a CHARGE FOR ACTION.

A Plan for Success: Merging Literacy and Self-Regulation to Increase Achievement

Dr. Richard Cash

We are teaching students how to use tools and technologies for careers and questions that have not been invented yet. . . what does that mean?

Our job is to teach students HOW to think, not WHAT to think!  

Make connections, thinking through issues and solving problems worth solving.

Googling things and creating presentations using PowerPoint/Keynote are not developing problem solving skills.  Can we have students research a problem in our society and look at how the problem affected our culture in the past?  Can they present ideas of how we could have responded differently.  Can they apply different classes to problem solve.

Self Regulated Learning: (3 parts)

Affect

- Feelings

- Focus of Attention

- Motivation

Behavior

- Study Habits

- Listening Skills

- Collaboration

- Communication

- Literacy Skills

Cognition

- Meta-Cognition

- Infra-Cognition

- Metaphysical thinking

Esssential Questions to Stimulate Cognition

Why does conflict exist?

Why can utopia never be achieved?

Why is life so complex?

Why are we our own worst enemy?

Can we be all good/evil?  Explain.

What are the difference between the human soul and the human spirit?

Does truth really exist?  Explain your answer.

Developming Study Behavior

Planning a regular study time

Creating the right environment

Time management of tasks

Orgganization of materials

Learning type awareness

Break-time

Self-regulation responsiveness

Asking for help

Self-assessment

Reflection

Increase AFFECT by Building Self-Beliefs

Self-esteen is gained through doing something of esteem

Know strengths and limitations

Recognize ability to adapt to, shape and/or select environments where abilities will be nurtured or challenged

Model affirmative talk (eliminate shoulda, coulda, woulda)

Identify Succes

Understand that failure is an opportunity

Self Regulation and Balanced Literacy

Instruction in reading, writing, speaking, listening, an language be a shared responsibility wtihing the schools.

Extensive research established the need for college and career ready students to be proficient in reading complex informational text independently in a variety of content areas.

Four Phases of Self-Regulation

1.  Modeling and Observing

2.  Copying and Doing

3.  Practice and Refinement

4.  Independence and Application

Phases of Engaging in a Task - We don't get to #4 often because of time.

1.  How well will I do?  - Empowering Students

2.  What will I do to do well? - Plan

3.  How well am I doing at doing well? - Do

4.  How well did I do at doing well? - Review

Preventative Strategies:

It's out of my control

Essential for survival

I won't do it because . . . 

- There is danger involved

- It is a risk

- I'm afraid

- It takes too much time

- It's not worth it

- It's too hard/challenging/beyond my limits

- I could fail or I've filed before

Promotional Strategies

It's withing my control

Essential for success

I will do it because . . . 

- There is a thrill in trying

- I enjoy the risk

- I'm driven

- It's worth the time

- It's worth achieving to goal

- I like the challenge / to go beyong my limits

- I could succed, even though I may have failed before

Strategies to "I Can": Affect

Recognize ability to adapt to, shape and/or select environments where abilities will be nurtured or challenged.

Provide accurate constructive feedback that focuses learner on strategies for improvment

Praise effort not ability

Teach challenges worth solving

Value and encourage curiosity

Strategies to "I Can":  Skill Development

Assist students in identifying learning strenths and limitations.

Use effective learning practices consistently from grade level to grade level

Use graphic organizers to set structures, gradually reduce need

Learning toward autonomy (centers)

Learning responsibility

SUGGESTIONG FOR TEACHERS

Live the Growth Mindset:

Show your studetns your love for challenges

User your mistakes as a learning tool

Discuss the effort you put in daily

Display your continued learning

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM BUILDS CONFIDENCE

GROWTH MINDSET QUESTIONS?????

Tell me one thing that you were proud of in your learning today?

Tell me something you would change about your learning today?

Tell me one specific goal you will set for yourself tomorrow?

Name one thing you learned or worked hard at today?

Tell me about a mistake you made today that taught you womthing about yourself?

Growth Mindset Complements

I'm proud of how much effort you put forth to achieve what you did.

Even though you may not have achieved your goal, I can tell you tried your hardest.

Wow, you worked hard and that word paid off!

Your perseverance show in your work.

I'm impressed at how patient you are when you are met with a challenge.

Doing Assessment Right

We have beliefs of what education should be, however, does the rubber meet the road?

Upside Down

The 'upside down' assesment practices adn policies we've built in education - those time, processes, and places in which our we place barriers before our primary goals and values:

WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO BE MOTIVATED.  

However, we cannot move at our own pace, we all do the same test, quizzes and projects.  If we finish, we can have more worksheets.

WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO PERSEVERE AND ATTEND TO PRECISION.

We only give partial credit if they need to make changes or need extra time.

WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO TAKE RISKS AND MAKE THE MISTAKES NECESSARY FOR DEEP UNDERSTANDING.

We define academic achievement with a grade and we employ a grading system that is rife with inconsistencies.  

We have individual grading criteria that involves personal preferences (participation, compliance, ability, attitude, effort, etc . . . )

We creat inconsistencies within a specific measure that is interpreted to represent a single truth.

WE WANT OUR LEARNERS TO DEMONSTRATE RESPONSIBILITIES

**Self Reflection:  I was a believer that allowing them to turn in late work made them procrastinators.  I am looking for the balance.  No, we don't want them to procrastinate, but we want them to follow through.

We often do not require them to be responsible.  

We do not offer points for late work which discourages learners from following through or completing a task, like responsible adults would do, even if it is late.  (Don't bother turning in your mortgage payment, because it is already late).

Upside Right"  

Assessment practices must build hope, efficacy, adn achievement for learners and teachers.  In this learning environment, the following tenets ground all assessment policies and practices.

1.  STUDENT INVESTMENT occurs when assessment and self-regulation have a symbolic relationship.

2.  The COMMUNICATION of assessment results must generate productive responses from learners and all of the stake holders who support them.

3.  ASSESSMENT ARCHITECTURE is most effective when it is planned, purposeful, and intentionally sequenced in advance of instruction by all of those responsible for the delivery.

4.  Assessment PURPOSES (formative adn summative) must be interdependent to maximize learning and verify achievement.

5.  INSTRUCTIONAL AGILITY occurs when emerging evidence informs real time modification within the context of the expected learning.

6.  The INTERPRETATION of assessment results must be accurate, accessible, and reliable.

A learning rich culture provides opportunities for risk taking, productive failure, and celebrated successes.

ASSESSMENT

Create a culture conducive to growth midsets.

Engage the learner in the following activites:  Set true goals that can be monitord over time. monitor progress with on going data, celebrate small wins along the way..

Isolate and diagnose errors in a manner that provides the learner with the KSAs to address and close the gap.

Allow for revision and precision.

Score for proficiency at the end of the learning.

A learning rich culture provides opportunities for risk taking, productive failure, and celebrated succes.

Poverty Resources

Connecting People  and Communication Across Barriers

Teaching students in poverty resources.  wwww.combarriers.com

If you judge, you can't connect.

If you can't connect, you can's communicate.

If you can't communicate, you can't educate.

If you cannot educate, you cannot help students and families move forward.

You cannot judge the students or parents that do not get homework done, you have to figure out what to do with the 6 hours you have them in class.

Celebrate the little victories.  Allow students to see progress.  Not just the major milestones.

Talk about the necessity of education after high school.  Talk about colleges in your daily conversations with students.  Do not assume that because their parents did not go to college the children will not attend college.

Name your rooms or areas of the room after colleges.  That way you can say Joe, go to Harrvard and get those books.

Wednesday College Day . . . everyone wears something from a college.  Talk about the college, share information.

This time of year as we are pumping up students to do well on end of the year assessments, the need for this becomes even more clear.  If students believe we believe in them, they can achieve and they will try hard to show us they are worth believing in them.