#TIES17 K-2 IDEA Lab

My wonderful colleague Donna and I are proud to be presenting at the TIES conference this year!  Our IDEA (Imagine, Design, Explore, Ask) Lab is in its first full year of implementation, and we are excited to share what we have learned so far.  We are also looking to engage in conversations with others about this work!

Hour of Code 2017

Computer Science Education Week starts on Monday, December 4, and with that comes the Hour of Code! I am excited that our schools will once again be participating in this world wide event.

What is the Hour of Code?

“The 'Hour of Code™' is a nationwide initiative by Computer Science Education Week [csedweek.org] and Code.org [code.org] to introduce millions of students to one hour of computer science and computer programming.” The Hour of Code Challenge started in 2013 and since then millions of people have participated.

Why is Coding Important?

Our world is increasingly influenced by computers and technology.  In almost any career, using technology is an essential skill.  Beyond that, the ability to create something new or improve upon existing technology, is a skill that employers are looking for. Coding skills are valuable in almost any profession, not just in technology fields.  Learning to code is really learning to problem solve.  We all want our students to be problem solvers, so why not give them a little extra practice?

What will Teachers Do?

The most challenging thing for teachers will be to carve time out of their already busy day to include some time for kids to code.  The goal is to have kids spend an hour TOTAL throughout the week, NOT an hour per day!  This works out to about 12 minutes per day, so coding could be morning work or part of morning meeting.  It could also be part of choice time or a center for the week.  Teachers will need to choose which program they want their students to use there are several great options.  There are many great options for every grade level. In the presentation below, I have linked several resources to help guide you through the week.

What will Students Do?

Students will work through the different levels of whatever program you decide to have them use. They will work with each other to problem solve, share their strategies and most importantly they will get the opportunity to learn some coding!

What will your students create using their coding skills?

Activities Feature in Seesaw

Seesaw released a major update a few weeks ago adding "Activities" to their platform. 

Seesaw is always thinking about young students and the ability to differentiate.  The activities feature allows teachers to assign tasks to their whole class, small groups, or individual students.  They have included the option to add icons in the student directions, as well as a tool to record audio directions for students to follow.

Teachers can provide students with an example of the work that is expected and a template to work on.  They can also tag the activity with a certain skill, and place it in a specific folder to help keep things organized.  Finally, there are some activities already built in the Seesaw library which can easily be shared with students or customized.

This new feature can help with workflow for teachers and students, and gives families more information about the context of their student's work.

Interested in learning more about activities? Check out the resources below!

As always feel free to comment or contact me for more information!

Seesaw Updates September 2017

Seesaw made some changes over the summer, and now that we have Seesaw for Schools there are some other things that are slightly different.  The screencast below will walk you through the new features and what you need to know to start the year.

If you want to create folders here are the colors that we have used for the last few years:
Math- Lime Green
Reading-Orange
Science-Brown
Writing-Grey
Fun-Yellow
Spanish-Red
Music-Light Blue
Phy-Ed-Black
Art-Purple
ELL-Aqua

Google Forms for Assessment

There have been some updates to Google Forms to make it easier than ever to use for formative assessment. Teachers can create questions with images in the question or answer, which makes this tool idea for young learners. Using their iPad or Chromebook, students can use forms to answer questions to provide evidence of progress toward learning targets. The teacher can see student responses in real time, and use this data to drive instruction.

Demo Quiz

Hour of Code

"Hour of code in your classroom. The Hour of Code is a global movement by Computer Science Education Week and Code.org reaching tens of millions of students in 180+ countries through a one-hour introduction to computer science and computer programming." -Khan Academy

"Every student should have the opportunity to learn computer science. It helps nurture problem-solving skills, logic and creativity. By starting early, students will have a foundation for success in any 21st-century career path." -Code.org  

Computer Science Education week is December 5-9, and we will be participating in the Hour of Code!

Google Classroom

Google Classroom is a blended learning platform for schools that aims to simplify creating, distributing and grading assignments in a paperless way.  It is a very user friendly platform for both teachers and students of all ages and experiences.  

 

Seesaw: Next Steps

There are lots of new tools available to teachers now that we have Seesaw for Schools (SE only).  We will look at how to push assignments out to students, how to tag work with skills (or standards) and using the private teacher folder.  We will also look at the built in blog, and explore possibilities for using the blog to connect with classrooms around the world.

Seesaw Introduction

Maybe you have heard of Seesaw, but never looked into it, or maybe you’ve set up your class on Seesaw, and you are thinking now what? This session will be dedicated to ideas on how this powerful app can be used in meaningful ways.  There will be time to plan and collaborate, so be thinking about units or learning targets that your students will be working on in the coming weeks.  If you haven’t set up your class, we will get you up and running and discuss how to customize the settings to make this tool work for you and your students.

SMART Notebook Maestro

Using the maestro add-on and the SMART Notebook app, you can control your SMART Notebook documents from your iPad.  Here is how you can get connected.

Digital Citizenship Training

Common Sense Media has a comprehensive curriculum that is designed to empower students to think critically, behave safely, and participate responsibly in our digital world. The goal is to teach one lesson per month.  During this session we will look at the resources available and discuss ways to make digital citizenship part of your classroom culture.

Twitter for Educators

Twitter is one of the world’s most popular social media platforms, but why is that important for educators?  Building a solid network of professionals can be a huge benefit to your teaching practices, and Twitter can also be used by your students to share their learning with an authentic global audience.  This session was devoted to setting up a Twitter account, discussing how to use Twitter for professional development, and sharing ideas about how to use Twitter with your students.  

Creation Apps to Use with Seesaw

Seesaw is great for documenting learning, but how can you use it other than just pictures and videos?  We will look at a handful of apps that allow students to use their creativity to show their learning in different ways.  These apps are all kid and teacher friendly and allow students to easily put their projects into Seesaw.

Xtra Math and Sum Dog

If you are looking for a way have your students practice their math facts online both of these programs have something to offer. Since Fast Math only works in the labs, both of these program are alternatives to help students build a solid foundation in computation skills.


These programs both offer different benefits for student and teachers, so it will be important to consider the pros and cons of each before deciding on what is best for your students. I have only used the free versions of both of these, so please note that the paid versions might be more powerful and meet your needs in different ways.

Epic! Books for Kids

Epic! is an extensive online library of ebooks for students.  It has been described as Netflix for reading.  There are lots of high quality ebooks and audiobooks that students can search for and customize their reading list.  Educators can get a free account to use with students.

Class Dojo

This tool for behavior management can be customized for every classroom.  Teachers can use this to track student behavior, homework completion and encourage teamwork.  Class Dojo is not new, but they have added some new features like Class Story, a simple blog, that might make your classroom management and communication with families easier.

It is important to be thoughtful in how you are using this with students, and communicate your procedures to families.  Please let me know if you have any questions!

Study Island

We are fortunate enough to have access to Study Island which is a way for teachers to customize their students' access to practice and assessments in an online portal.  During our tech camp session we looked at an overview the tools and features in Study Island for differentiation, assessment, and intervention.  Study Island also works with NWEA to give students a learning path of just right content based on their fall MAP score.

Below is the presentation from the training.  If you have questions or come across issues while using this program please let me know!

Digital Assessments Tech Camp

Learn three different websites for creating and using formative assessments. Kahoot!,  Socrative, and Poll Everywhere and easy to use tools that can be used to instantly collect data on student progress toward learning targets.  There will be time for creating your own assessments, so bring with you materials that will help you convert the assessments you already have into an easy to manage format.

Google Classroom Tech Camp

You have your students set up on Google Classroom, and maybe you have posted a few assignments.  This session will be dedicated to learning the ins and outs of how classroom works and getting new ideas on how to use it.  There will be time for creating new assignments and collaborating, so be thinking about units or learning targets that your students will be working on in the coming weeks.

Seesaw Tech Camp

You’ve set up your class on Seesaw, now what? This session will be dedicated to ideas on how this powerful app can be used in meaningful ways.  There will be time to plan and collaborate, so be thinking about units or learning targets that your students will be working on in the coming weeks.

The presentation below contains links and information about this session.