Choice

It’s been two weeks since I've returned from the EdTech iPad Summit in Boston.  The two professional days were extremely intense - but in the best possible way.  Weeks later, and I still find myself processing all that I saw and heard.  I’m amazed and in awe of what some teachers are doing in their classrooms. It’s all so exciting and stimulating - it’s hard to even know where to begin.

My biggest takeaway from the conference though can be summed up in one word - Choice. 

The iPad is an amazing tool with so many possibilities - so many choices.  But here’s the thing - the choice isn't all mine.  The kids have choice as well.  I don’t have to decide ahead of time what app the kids will use. They can do that all on their own - and often in a WAY more effective way than I could have imagined.

My goal for the next few weeks is to explore:

• Subtext  - Super excited about using this for small group work in our research unit.
• App Smashing- Okay, I’ll admit, this session was mind-blowing! But I got home and tried to do it and was totally unsuccessful. I love this idea and I think the kids will take this and run with it.
• ThingLink - LOVED this - but need more time to explore and make something.  I’m not sure this is super useful for our kids, because the app isn't as smooth as the online interface.
• Flipped Classroom - I need to get on this.  I love this idea, but once again, need time to make it all work.

My exploration needs to include my students, because let’s face it. They are WAY more adept at picking up how to use the apps on the iPad.  AND - they love being able to help their classmates (and their teacher).  Tech Tuesdays, something I've been doing for several weeks, will feature these apps.  I know the kids will get it sorted out.

Here is example of how choice can work - 

Two girls in my class are reading partners and both have been drafting a literature reflection in Google Drive.  One of them noticed the comment button and figured that since they can share their documents with me, they could also share their documents with each other.  So, as part of the revising process, they started commenting on different sections of each other’s papers.  I just so happened to discover this while I was at the iPad conference. Between sessions I “looked in” on the literature reflections that they were working on in school while I was at the conference.  

Check out this comment:  

I almost cried when I saw it.  When I got back from the conference I asked them if they could share how they were revising each other’s papers.  They were excited and enthused, but alas, time kept getting in the way.  So, then they asked if instead of just presenting in front of the class, they could use Explain Everything to show their process. They thought it would be easy to document their comments on the camera, and then talk through the process on that app.  What? How do they know about App Smashing? They mentioned that I could put it on the class website so their classmates could watch it at home.  What?  How do they know about a flipped classroom??  

Choice.  It works.

Carrie Strine
http://theclassroommuddler.blogspot.com/

Articulation, Documentation, Reflection

Since my last post to this blog (months ago - yikes!), I have spent a good deal of time considering how I approach the creation and cultivation of my own classroom culture.  While some classrooms are plumping up their "academic" approach and priding themselves in their reputations for rigor, I am looking to "take back" kindergarten.  In other words, what makes sense in my kindergarten classroom culture right now?

I asked myself:

 What types of activities, projects, and assignments will really make the difference in the educational experiences of my students?

I started with:

• I still believe that there is a right tool for the job.

• I still think that documentation in the classroom is important and that the iPad is the most accessible and efficient way to do that.

• I still think that (to a certain degree) the apps don't really matter - it's how they're used that does matter.

And then:

This past summer I decided that it was time to re-evaluate how we use many of our classroom materials and how students use those materials to be partners in their own learning.  I considered how I might shepherd the kindergarteners as they go from being partners to being owners of their learning - in kindergarten-age appropriate ways.  (for me, that changes how students approach learning - are they engaged? are they self motivated? will they be able to continue even if and when I am not there?)

What I Read:

I am always moved by the resources shared by Ron Ritchhart and his Culture of Thinking as well as his work on Making Thinking Visible.  I used the Essential Questions by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins to help shape my own practice and reflections.  I also keep in mind a quote from Dr. Seuss, "It is better to know how to learn than to know."


Using these resources as jumping off points, I have refined the use of iPads in my classroom as threefold:

Articulation, Documentation, Reflection

Articulation:

One of my goals as a teacher of 5 and 6 year olds is to encourage them to practice articulating their thinking.  We want varied ways for our varied learners. We want them to feel safe enough and to feel bold enough to find some way to share their ideas, connections, predictions, and opinions.

I might ask: "What apps can you use to help tell the story of your learning on this?"

Documentation:

Even the youngest students can get involved in the collection and curation of their thinking. We aren't looking for photos of beautiful finished work, but the mess and mistakes and challenges that happened along the way.

I often ask: "Can you find a way to share with me the goofs that helped you figure it out?"

Reflection:
We reflect daily on our work in order to practice challenging ourselves and to use what we notice to help us grow.  The students look at their finished work (and their thinking) together and then look for ways to improve upon an idea or for ways to approach a problem from a different angle.  We also practice listening to a friend's thinking and then try to use those ideas to see something from a new perspective.

I love to ask:  "How has your approach to this idea changed / grown / evolved?"

In all of this, there is a long list of apps that I might recommend... but it really doesn't matter as long as you have a handful of open-ended apps that allow students to share their thinking in a variety of ways. They should be apps that you are comfortable with and that make sense for your own classroom culture.

Of course, much of this is messy and the classroom can get wonderfully noisy with the sounds of articulation, documentation, and reflection.  The students are happier, more independent, and are becoming bigger risk takers.

iPrep for iPads: The Game Plan (and Blogging!)

With a great deal of deliberation, 4x has not launched the iPads yet. We will this week – the fourth week of school.  It is the halfway point in the first six weeks – a critical time for routine setting and generally getting to know one’s students.  We waited for a few reasons.  One, a guiding philosophy is that the iPad is a tool and one tool of many that students are equipped with.  It can be perfect or wrong depending on the task, and our students need to now when to use it and when to put it down. Two, we don’t want the iPads (or any particular technology) to be the center of our classroom or our curriculum so we have been doing other stuff with books and color pencils and paper and glue and scissors and poster board.  The pedagogy is leading, and the iPads will literally follow.

When we do launch the iPads on Monday, we are going in with a game plan.  Our tech integration and rollout plan will include “just in time” digital citizenship lessons taught by our Technology and Idea Coordinator, guided discoveries of apps, introductions to supplementary accounts with GoogleDrive and Haiku, email etiquette and protocols, and the piloting of student blogs via KidBlog.

I've selected a few guiding principles or "professional development mantras" to help me stay focused throughout the year, and I look forward to conversing with colleagues about what motivates and guides them.

           We will focus on introducing open ended, creativity apps through meaningful curricular tasks and assignments. When exploring apps, we give minimal instruction.  There is usually a list of things to find or include; part of the learning process is figuring out exactly how to do so.  They teach themselves, each other, and often their teachers! Once the children know enough about these apps, the goal becomes enabling them to choose how to demonstrate what they are learning.  We want them to select the digital or non-digital method/format that is right for them.  We want students to think: 

• How can I best communicate what is in my head? 
• What project can I manage effectively and efficiently?  
• "What can I do well?"  
• "What risk could I take?"

I am most excited about our KidBlog pilot where students will curate their best work and reflect on their learning. Creating digital portfolios is an important next step - the absence of which left last year's program feeling incomplete. We have heard many good things about this platform, and I am hopeful it will help us achieve our goals. We are currently in the process of developing curriculum on publishing and commenting. Some inspiring work comes from:

http://www.notesfrommcteach.com/2010/09/learning-to-blog-using-paper.html

http://educational-blogging.wikispaces.com/

http://studentchallenge.edublogs.org

If you have blogged with students (especially elementary school students) and have some advice, we would love to hear from you!

Striking the Right Balance

Our 4th grade studies ancient Chinese history along with an introduction to Chinese culture and language.  We recently finished a project looking at Ancient Chinese inventions, one of which is a set of tuned bells.  2500 years ago, craftspeople in China were able to create large, beautiful sets of bronze bells that each had not one, but two tones depending on where they were struck.  There was mastery in creating the tool, and also mastery in playing it.

Our year in iPads has been like that.  We have discovered that the iPad is an incredible personal and educational tool, masterfully thought out and created.  In the hands of our children and teachers, powerful experiences are possible - but only when the device is well played.

I recently had a conversation with a concerned 3rd grade parent who had good questions about how we use iPads and valid concerns about how our program will grow in the coming years.  It dawned on me that she didn’t need a demonstration and sales pitch about the iPad itself.  What she needed was reassurance that I, as an educator who would potentially use this technology with her child, knew how to use it well.  Of course creating a host of online addicts who can’t break away from their screens to have a coherent conversation with live people at the dinner table is not on my list of goals for our 1:1 program.  But how do I enthusiastically experiment with technology while demonstrating restraint?  How do I promote our program while supporting the wisdom of moderation and limiting screen time?

It feels good to reassure parents and colleagues that, as experienced educators, we are always starting with “why” when making a decision to use or not use these devices.  We just use them frequently because as it turns out there is a lot of work to be done in 4th grade and an iPad (along with Haiku, Google Drive, and our email system) allows us to do some of that work more easily, more conveniently, and more creatively.   Of course we still draw, paint, practice handwriting, use paper, sharpen pencils, and read books because sometimes those processes are more meaningful and more effective.  As it turns out, when seeking to inspire neither digital addicts nor luddites, what feels really good is balance.  We talk about balance explicitly with our students as part of our digital citizenship curriculum so it makes sense to live it in the classroom.  

Another guiding principle in deciding who, what, where, and when about the iPads is consumption vs. creation.  We try not to consume very much on our devices in class since generally that feels passive, less worthwhile, and more like the gratuitous use people are afraid of.   You might say we don’t really like that tone so we still use paper packets and copied math homework. We could put them online, but that might not be the best use of our students' screen time.  Instead we have learned to lean toward opportunities for students to create, to choose how to express themselves, and to share and document their work.  What results are processes that are unrestrained by medium because we can choose from the best of both online and offline worlds, mixing and matching them to suit student and teacher needs.  

For our next research project on daily life in ancient China we will research using books and take notes on paper.  We will draft pieces in our writer’s notebooks then type, share and edit in google drive.  In addition to performing the resulting historical fiction monologues for each other live, students might choose to record them in iMovie or to create a Telligami video.  At this point in the year, we enjoy considering all of our options and striking a spot that hits just the right note.  

Learning from Setbacks

I just got back from an inspiring  presentation by Carol Dweck, author of Mindset.  In her presentation (and book, which I am thoroughly enjoying reading) Carol talks about two approaches to learning - the fixed mindset and the growth mindset. In a fixed mindset, a person believes that they have a certain amount of intelligence and that's it. In a growth mindset, a person believes that they can always learn, and if they put effort into something they will get results.  Failures do not stop people with a growth mindset.  These setbacks often spur these people on to work harder and make new discoveries.

This got me to thinking about my teaching and learning this year. This has been a huge year of growth for me personally and I have noticed that I am more reflective about my teaching.    One might say I am in a growth mindset now! 

I have been thinking about how we teach and assess children.   If we want our students to learn and grow, then we have to give them ample opportunities to try new things multiple times.  Recently, the Spanish teacher at our school started a project with the students in our class using Book Creator. After the first session with them, she came to tell us the conversations that were happening in her class as the students were creating their books in Spanish.  They weren't afraid to experiment with various things in their books and helped each other throughout the process. As she was talking about the way the children were forging ahead with the project, I couldn't help but think back to the beginning of the year and the first Book Creator books.  The students were afraid to try new things, and wanted  us to talk them through every step.  I remember thinking at this point if it was worth the effort of giving the students this experience.  It took a lot of resolve on my part to find another time for students to experience Book Creator again.  They did, several times, and each time more students felt more comfortable with their results. The ones who were willing to experiment and make discoveries seemed to generate a "can-do" attitude in the classroom.   

Listening to Carol Dweck tonight, I realize again how much impact teachers (and, of course, parents) have on the children in their lives.  If I had let my frustration and discomfort with the project affect the students' access to discoveries, they wouldn't have had the same learning experience in Spanish class.  It reinforced my belief that students need multiple opportunities and ways to show us what they know. Just because they have one setback doesn't mean that they can't learn! Thank you to Carol Dweck for your inspiring words!

A Few Problems, Many Solutions

At this point in the year, the iPads are pretty integrated into our class's curriculum and daily routines.  We have prioritized exploring what we call "creativity apps" as opposed to games and apps with a singular focus.  Meanwhile in math, our class has begun utilizing Exemplars problems and rubrics to further student problem solving, math thinking, and math communication (see Merry Melvin's previous post for more on assessment).  Each problem is rich with multiple questions, levels, and solutions, and our students are finding them appropriately challenging.  We gave them free range to decide how to present their work.

Here are some solutions from the one about predicting the number of Sweethearts in a box:

And the one about planning the sleeping arrangements for class camping trip:

And our most recent problem about carpeting a basement:

Each solution requires a written explanation and a visual representation.  Some students decide to use the iPad to prepare both.  Some students use different apps depending on what they are being asked and some have a favorite they choose consistently.  Some students create their graphs and diagrams using physical materials such as Base Ten blocks or  tiles or puff balls and then document or enhance them by importing a photo.  Some students are comfortable emailing us their work and some students prefer working offline and turning in physical products.  We remain open to all of their preferences and meet them in their comfort zone.

While it was no surprise that many students elected to use their iPads to prepare their final solutions we were fascinated by the range of apps children chose.  Through regular explorations and many months of projects, Drawing Box, AiWriter, Educreations, Explain Everything, Keynote, and Inspiration Maps have become familiar friends. Left to their own devices, students have to decide whether the iPad and our creativity apps are the "right tool for the job" and which tool will serve them best.

Of course we do have some students who insist that the iPad is the best tool for them and it's really not .  But after a few experiences of being distracted and not completing their work on time, they learn that lesson too and change tactics.  At the beginning of the year, we set a few goals for our 4th grade 1-1 iPad program and progress is visible on many fronts.  To me, these are examples of students taking charge of their learning and our classroom becoming a place that fosters and supports creativity, independence, differentiation, and meaningful assessment.

Learning is Creation

Our team has been focusing on using mantras to focus our thinking about iPads and how we are using them in the classroom as we talk about, write about, and share our experience with others.  What's mine right now?

"Learning is Creation" 

In a previous post I wrote about "creativity" being a goal of the fourth grade one-to-one program.  When I heard or saw some iteration of the above statement at the EdTech iPad Summit in Boston, I was taken aback because though I have always firmly believed in "creativity as an essential component of learning", this sounded different.   I enjoy semantic banter from time to time so I turned the phrase over a bit in my head.    It wasn't learning is creative or learning involves creativity.  It was "learning is creation". A big theme of the conference was how the expectations for students and workers and citizens are changing. With knowledge being something of a cheap commodity these days it's much less about what you know and more about what you can do with what you know.  The models of education that are about consumption of information are becoming less useful than situations where students are given opportunities to use what they know to do something innovative.

It reminds me of the contrasts made between passive and active learning. However, it is different because I can imagine situations where students look active and are being creative, but are not necessarily producing or experiencing anything novel, new, or innovative.  An engaging lesson can still place the student in the position of the consumer if they are "doing" the ideas and processes and products of someone else.  Until they are owning one of the three, they might not be creating anything, no matter how creative the result appears.   Throughout the conference and after, I really became fixated on what types of things I had been asking my students to do, why I wanted them to do them, and what they were gaining by doing them. 

Of course a parallel thought was how could the iPad positively impact what was being done in our classroom. I ruminated on what kinds of things were bring created in our classroom and my first thoughts were pretty literal. Art, of course. Writing. And then I talked to people about it and the list grew:  understanding, ideas, opinions, perspectives, processes, problems, solutions...the list goes on. 

I definitely feel that iPads are revolutionizing our class's one to one program.  Moving from netbooks to iPads means that children are engaging with the available technology in much more meaningful ways and those ways really have to do with what the devices allow our children to create. Now I see creation happening when they are use Drawing Box to design maps that show their understanding of landforms and orientation:

Or Inspiration maps to create an organized flow for their research paper:

Or when designing a process to finish a project.  Using Educreations and Explain Everything we've been making screen casting videos in math to demonstrate and record procedures and solutions.  We decided not to show them how to use either program; one of our goals was for them to design a process that allowed them to meet the objectives: make a video that shows how to solve an area and perimeter problem for a chosen rectangular object.  Include a photo, text, and your voice. Good luck!

Here the process of making the video was just as important as the math concepts.   Along the way they demonstrated an ability to measure and multiply, but they also learned to work through frustrations and create solutions to apparent and surprising problems. Following our last screen casting project using Educreations a pair of students wanted to make another screencast. They heard we had a similar program called Screen Chomp.  They asked to make a screencast showing how to use it.   These two children came in at recess to work on their project for over a week.  All of a sudden they were in iMovie filming themselves using the program.  They added credits and music and then created a trailer. We started having "production and promotion" meetings to determine an audience and possible distribution channels.  They showed it to some classmates, who pointed out a few flaws, and decided to organize their feedback using a survey created in Google Forms.  Through their own initiative, they sure have learned and taught themselves a lot.  All that they needed was the space, time, and tools to bring their ideas to life.   They are now teaching themselves Keynote so that they can teach the class how to use it, and several other students have developed projects for iStopMotion videos, book trailers, and movies to promote our upcoming class play.

Learning is creation.

Questions, Questions, Questions

This afternoon we had a fantastic faculty meeting. Several teachers who use iPads in their classrooms (at varying degrees) talked about some part of their teaching and learning journey when using this new device in the classroom.  I loved hearing how others are integrating the iPad into lessons and thinking about the possibilities it creates for all of us.  Some points that really resonated with me were: 

- think about when to use the iPad - be deliberate in your use as you would with any educational tool; 

- the process of creation motivates - student interest makes them invested in their learning; 

- iPads can help customize the learning for each child we teach; 

- creating innovators should be our goal - where kids get the information from now is not as relevant; 

- don't worry about starting small - go at the pace that works for you; and 

- when getting started with the iPad as a classroom tool, you might be at the substitution phase for a while - this is ok!

At the end of the meeting, I was full of questions.  How are we going to move forward with our iPad program in the elementary grades? As a younger grade teacher, are there aspects of use of technology that I should be directly teaching? Is exploration of an app enough? Many children find this device intuitive, but what about the children who need a lesson?  iPads are not the only computers that children will have to use in their life. When are they taught to use a laptop? Will parents be expected to take on more teaching of the rote skills of using a Word program for example? Are there enough similarities among the devices that adults can expect children will be able to use any digital device since this is the world they are growing up in?

I love that our faculty is engaged in these discussions. It is very inspiring to hear my colleagues talk of their successes and failures. It's also nice to know that I am not on this journey of exploration alone!

Advice to Hesitant Teachers: Think of iPads as Super-Powered Crayons

This letter was sent to me by a retired teacher from our school, Virginia Singer. She had a chance to use iPads with her first graders last year, and has been reflecting on the experience as she watches us include iPads increasingly authentically and successfully in our program. I like her analogy of iPads as "super-powered crayons"!

I have been pondering your challenges as you encourage more teachers to try iPads with kids. I wonder if years ago when kids first started bringing crayons to school there wasn't some of the same hesitation to include them in the classroom. There was, and still is, a kind of magic associated with new crayons—the potentials they offer, the very newness of them. It is almost impossible not to open the box immediately and get started. iPads, in a very general way, are much like that box of crayons. For kids they are irresistible in their newness, their potential and their mystery. Probably when crayons first came to school many teachers thought them frivolous, a waste of valuable teaching time and they saw no way for these colorful sticks to promote learning. Nowadays, every child has crayons! Classrooms use those 8, 16, 24 and even 64 different colors in so many deeply educational ways: recalling a field trip, detailing the fall trees on the playground, mixing the colors, noting the nuances in the various shades of blues, greens and oranges. Kids illustrate stories they have heard or read, predicting the outcome, adding a new ending, becoming authors themselves. New characters emerge through drawings. Crayons stimulate kids’ thinking not just in the regular classroom but in special classes, too. Kids use stick figures in P.E. to demonstrate a variety of activities and to illustrate how to resolve conflicts that invariably arise. Crayons allow kids to show how music makes them feel, what an instrument looks like or sounds like—how many keys or strings or pipes. Colorful renditions of nouns or emotions make learning another language easier and certainly more visual. Crayons are scientific, too, producing different results when they melt, freeze, blend or drip or whether they are used vertically or horizontally. Crayons show up throughout the school.  In the nurse’s office they allow kids to depict how an accident happened or hostilities got started. They also provide a way to get through a difficult time—after throwing up or scraping a knee, crayons can help the child feel better—a wonderful tool for soothing physical and emotional trauma. 

            Think of an iPad as a super potent box of crayons--a small container full of potential, innovation, color, sound and magic. An iPad doesn't need a set of instructions or a disclaimer. Just hand one to a child and see what that young student discovers. That iPad can sing, draw, store information, play games, show how to do a card trick or challenge  a student to solve a puzzle. It can literally open doors for children,  and windows as well. It is an encourager and an abettor. It is a camera and an encyclopedia, a dictionary and a series of tasks. Just as the box of crayons  offers ways for a child to investigate, create, experiment, record, delve, doodle, test, affirm, examine, explore, study, probe and discover—so, too, does the iPad, but with far more flexibility and promise—(and a higher price!)  I realize there are many differences between the two, but I think their similarities could be exploited. Neither crayons nor iPads take the place of real experiences with a wonderful teacher. Books, blocks, math games, excursions and collaborative projects are the essence of education. We recognize the limits of crayons –they don’t replace trips, science experiments, singing, jumping, building, gardening, painting or curling up with a good book. Neither do iPads.  If we think of iPads as crayons with super powers we might be more comfortable including them as another classroom tool.

                                                                          Virginia Singer

Comfort Zone

For fifteen years, I was a fourth grade teacher.  I came to understand the mind-set of nine and ten year olds and still appreciate their humor, sensitivity and intelligence.  I appreciated that I could have a meaningful conversation with these children who were quickly becoming young adults.  I enjoyed reading certain books with them and delighted in finding new titles as well.  I could probably teach fourth grade math in my sleep.  It is definitely my comfort zone.  As a teacher, I was confident in what I was doing, I had a fabulous teaching partner and I enjoyed my job.  So what pushed me to switch?

I came to realize last school year that I was too much in my comfort zone.  I needed to challenge myself to do something different, really different, to energize my teaching again.  In a nutshell, that was my reason for a big change to teaching First Grade.

How does this story relate to technology in any way?  Well, I made a huge decision to go outside my comfort zone and teach a new grade.  In doing so, I have found that I am open to trying lots of new things in the classroom now that I made that initial first jump.  I think using new technology in the classroom is very similar.  Once you take the first jump (and to make a difference in your teaching, I feel it HAS to be a jump, not a small step) it gets easier and easier to keep thinking about change and challenging yourself.  

As I was planning our Social Studies curriculum this week, I kept thinking about how the iPad could enhance the students’ learning.  They could teach each other things they are learning about the community, not only through a static research report, but through photos and videos.  Other students in the class might be more attentive to a photo or video presentation, therefore holding on to more that classmates are sharing with them.

We tried this with first looking at our school community this week.  After a brief class discussion of what is important to make a school community run smoothly, the students explored our campus and took pictures of what they thought was important.  It was interesting to see what children chose to photograph – people, buildings, artwork, projects in the hall, signs – most pairs took at least 20-30 photos in a 20 minute exploration of campus.

When they returned to the classroom, the real work began.  We had a brief guided exploration of Explain Everything and they were off!  Partnerships showed in a variety of ways what is important to them with their community.  All the projects are unique and very thoughtful.  Everyone had a voice and was able to express their thoughts and opinions.  We would not have had the same results if we just had a class discussion after a campus tour.  All the children were engaged and excited and learning.  What more could a teacher ask for?

Of course, the iPad will not be present in all of our projects and presentations.  We are still working out details on paper maps, clay figures and other “traditional” first grade work.  However, I am so glad that I decided to step outside my comfort zone and see what happened.  I have had to opportunity to try, fail at some things, and get back up to try again.  By taking that first jump, it’s easy to see how we can leap to the moon.

Space Junk

Teaching, Learning,  iPads and Space Junk
Several educators have asked me:

“Can you help me figure out how iPads can fit into my classroom curriculum?”  

The back of my iPad

I was emailed this question again this week and it made me flip over my own iPad looking for this sticker which I stuck on during the first week of our iPad program...over a year and a
half ago.  I would now replace my thinking about "teaching"
with "learning" since I'm not sure I want to create a classroom environment in which I am teaching to or filling up my students with content (I know that sounds like a vocabulary issue).  I do know that I want to create a classroom environment in
which we all are sharing our ideas, articulating our thinking, creating in unique and individual manners, digging into persistence, demonstrating understanding... generally
growing a culture of learning.


So how do iPads fit into a class curriculum?  No one ever asks how they can fit paper and pencils... or blocks...or a protractor...into their curriculum.  As educators, we try to turn our classrooms into places of learning (places that provoke and promote great thinking, creating, collaborating, problem solving, etc).  We provide the tools, structures, and routines to hopefully allow students and teachers and sometimes even parents to go about that learning.  As a kindergarten teacher, I have many varied tools in my classroom for a variety of learning goals including paper, pencils, and blocks.  I also have iPads.

This is how I now describe the way iPads “fit” into my curriculum:

iPads are not The Sun of our learning galaxy, they are just one of the planets in its orbit.  In other words, I don't put iPads at the center of every activity that I can.  Now that I have iPads available, everything does not revolve around their use. The Sun in this analogy is my classroom culture of learning and there are many planets (tools) in its orbit. In fact, the thing at the center of our classroom "universe" at any given time is the learning goal that I have set.  The tools I choose for the activity would be the planets.  The iPad might be the tool I (or the students) choose or it might not be.  Actually, this is a great place to replace that original question with what I'll call The First Step.  iPads are a great tool for learning - if you're still wondering about that check out Great Teaching is about the Process and The Challenge is On - you just need to take The First Step.  I like to refer to Dr. Ruben Putendura’s SAMR model. (Who doesn’t?).

The First Step is often easiest if you think about Substitution.  In our kindergarten class we used handwriting apps for our substitution step.  If you have older students, online research or writing might be a good choice for The First Step.




Keep all your planets in orbit around the galaxy of learning.  Now that you’ve taken The First Step, you and your students should be more comfortable and confident using this tool and ready to pull it out when and how it makes sense.  Using the SAMR model, you will find that iPads allow students alternate ways to share their thinking, demonstrate understanding, and go out of this world with creativity.

Apps are the space junk.  Ok, so this last part of my space analogy is a little bit out there... The apps really don’t matter!  If the iPads are one of the planets orbiting The Sun (learning), then the apps are all The Space Junk flying around the planets.

For example, there are many art apps that teachers can choose from.  It doesn’t really matter which one I choose as long as it works in my classroom.  We like Brushes and Drawing Box, but another teacher might find they prefer Scribble Press or Draw Free.  It doesn't matter which app works for me as long as I have been intentional in my app selection.  Also, some Space Junk is bigger than others - apps which should be orbiting every classroom (Book Creator, Evernote).  Sometimes Space Junk falls out of orbit and burns up in the atmosphere, meaning that sometimes an app no longer works and you just have to delete it.  In the end, it's really not about the apps at all.

We are not teaching children how to use iPads.  We are  creating a classroom culture of learning. Sometimes iPads are the right tool.  Sometimes they are not the right tool.  Students might start with paper and pencil and move on to iPads.  iPads might be just one part of a larger or longer process.  iPads might be the right tools for some students and not for others.  As with any tool we pull out in our classrooms, we need to think about what makes sense for the children and their learning. 

Documentation!

We're thinking about replacing the word “assessment” with the word “documentation.”  As one of my fellow teachers (thank you Monica!) often says... there can be good assessment and there can be bad assessment.  Assessment (as in testing) is generally one-sided: teachers give assessments to students to test understanding of specific material in order to provide data for our school grading environments.  Let's call this type of classroom culture the Assessment Culture.

Assessment Culture classrooms let students get really good at two things:

1. Figuring out what the teachers want and producing that 

2.  Memorizing algorithms and facts to spit out on tests

It's time for a new classroom culture - we should try to create a classroom that has a culture of thinking, creating, and learning.  A great place to start is by allowing time for reflection on all parts of a student's (and teacher's) learning process.  Let's call this type of classroom culture the Documentation Culture.  Of course, there's still room to collect data for assessment purposes through documentation.

How do we create a classroom culture that includes documentation?  To start, teachers need to have handy a variety of tools, habits, and practices that will allow all members of a classroom community to document.  (And not just documentation of finished work, but documentation of their learning from start to desired learning outcome and all the problem solving, chaos, and mistakes that happen along the way)  Students and Teachers should practice the skills that accompany documentation: observing, recording, interpreting, sharing, building explanations, growing as learners.  Think of it as visible listening.

 iPads are a great tool for documentation and not just because there are so many great apps.  The great thing about iPads is that they provide an instant and easy way to routinely document - using the camera, audio, and video.

Here are some ways to create a classroom culture of documentation.

 

Evernote: start by setting up a folder for each student and keeping your iPad handy.  Use Evernote to photograph, record, or take notes on your students' learning. Take photos in the middle of a lesson or record a collaborative conversation.  Allow students to record their thinking or brainstorming as they approach a project.  Think about how powerful it would be to document the earliest stages of student planning for a project - to have records of how a student might approach a challenge.  Don’t collect pictures of just their finished products.  My kindergarten students share the responsibility of documenting their work for their folders.  They are starting to recognize good thinking and ask to have it documented (and can even do the legwork for me using the camera).

Camera Roll:  The Camera Roll is one of our favorites - the unsung hero! Students take pictures of their work or of their partner’s work.  In my classroom, the students either put their name card or themselves in the photo so that I can identify it later (and perhaps add it to their Evernote folder or ask them to explain their thinking). 

Audio features: We use Book Creator, Notes (iPad 3), video camera, and Evernote so that students can articulate their thinking without the constraints of writing mechanics or reticence over sharing with a peer or the teacher. 

Reflection Journals:  Using Book Creator or Paper 53 set up a weekly time to allow students the opportunity to reflect.  Artistic expression, digital art included, is a form of reasoning called visual thinking.  These journals are a place for that thinking and reflecting to take place. To make these reflection journals something that will really push students’ thinking and advance their understanding, students shouldn't just be asked to reflect and then handed iPads while the teachers wait for the thinking to flow freely.  Teachers need to think carefully about what they want the students to reflect upon.  We reflect on: Stories we either read aloud or share orally, themes or connections we make during storytime, the meaning of a poem the class had shared, a shared experience we have had as a class community. The wonderful thing about doing this on an iPad is that you can fit in the weekly reflection time without having to allow for time consuming set up.

 

Explain Everything:  The (not so) new champ for making thinking and learning visible is Explain Everything.  This app should be on every student iPad.  Ask students to explain a lesson or demonstrate their understanding of a topic or process.  Students can use pictures, drawings, and movement to create films which they can narrate.  They can create a film that retells a class field trip using photos and their own narrative.  A small group of students could use this app to "teach” a math challenge or to make a problem solving video.

There are many other apps and ways that documentation can be accomplished with ipads - this is just a starting point.  teachers need to think about how assessment can and should be a part of your classroom culture of thinking.  Teach your students to recognize what their own thinking looks like.  open them up to understanding/refining their own learning.