Using Gaggle for Collaboration and Communication

Every year, the Instructional Technology department looks at the services and applications we offer for students and teachers to determine if we will continue with what we have or move to a new service or application. This past year was no different. As E-Rate proposals came in, we began to look closely at a new service for student email. To remain in accordance with the Child Internet Protection Act (CIPA), all student email and online navigation must be filtered when using school equipment. We looked at numerous solutions, but continued to return back to Gaggle as the solution we would use beginning in the 2014-2015 school year.


Gaggle's solution not only included student email, but also included an online classroom environment, digital lockers linked with Google Docs, student and teacher blogs, classroom discussion boards, and Gaggle Tube as a venue for students to watch YouTube videos that teachers have assigned for lessons. With the one-to-one project being extended to all 7th-12th graders, the Gaggle solution gives teachers one area where communication, collaboration, and sharing can all take place in a safe and filtered environment.

Gaggle filters uses human monitoring. This means that a person looks at the email, blog post, or discussion post to determine if school administration needs to be notified on flagged posts. Not only are they looking for inappropriate language, but also for posts that are harassing, bullying, or contain thoughts of suicide. In any of these cases, the school administration is contacted immediately, even outside of school hours.

On July 22nd, a group of teachers participated in the first overview of Gaggle. Below, you will see their comments about how Gaggle will enhance their classrooms, how they intend to use Gaggle in their classroom to enhance the learning environment, and how the use of the discussion boards and student blogs can be utilized for students to share what they have learned.

Preparing Students for the Real World - A Summary of Chapter 9 in Eric Sheninger's "Digital Leadership"

As school systems prepare teachers to educate students, the focus of student learning must move from what is scored on a test. Education must prepare students for what they will face beyond the school walls. Schools must begin to make changes so that experiences in real life are reflected inside the school walls.

Twenty-first Century Skills, or Essential Skills as Mr. Sheninger calls them, must be part of every teacher's toolkit for lesson activities to meet the diverse needs of each student. Incorporating activities that allow students to collaborate, communicate, think critically, and use their creativity to present new knowledge will help build these skills so that they can be productive outside of school. In addition, teaching students entrepreneurism through artifacts of learning, as well as global awareness through connections with their own peers around the world enable students to use these same skills in the workforce. And finally, lesson activities must be developed so that technology proficiencies, digital media literacy, and digital responsibility are part of the learning environment. Allowing students to solve real world problems with real work tools is the key to making sure our students our ready to tackle the world in front of them.

With this vision in mind, CISD has devoted itself to becoming a 1:1 school district. This next school year, every 7th-12th grade student will be issued their own netbook/notebook to use in class. Providing students with the technology is a key step that allows teachers to begin to make the changes necessary to fully integrate technology in their classrooms. A change in pedgogy is difficult for many teachers. However, when the teacher begins to move from the giver of all knowledge to the facilitator of student-centered learning, students become more engaged in their own learning and they begin to seek answers to their own questions instead of waiting on the teacher for those answers. When we engage the students in their own learning, their learning is enhanced.

References

Sheninger, E. (2014). Digital Leadership: Changing Paradigms for Changing Times. Corwin Press.

Tech Academy - July 14-17

Over the past 4 days, a group of 18 teachers have worked on implementing 21st Century Skills and Technology TEKS into their existing curriculum. With 21st Century Skills, new technology TEKs, and secondary students in a one-to-one environment, teachers must be prepared to teach differently than they have in the past.

This summer in Tech Academy, we focused on several items:

1. Building a strong PLN (we can never learn enough)
2. Overcoming barriers when infusing technology
3. What is a flipped classroom?
4. Creating an infused lesson using a web app for students to present new knowledge
5. Maintaining a teacher blog
6. Using Google Docs
7. Gaggle.net

It has been another excellent week of training. I learned right along with the teachers as they shared new resources they found each day while spending time developing their PLNs. Teachers created their own videos that could be used in a flipped activity using applications such as Screen-cast-o-matic, Smart Recorder, and Powtoons. In addition, teachers went through the lesson activity themselves and created a student sample of a possible student product. The teachers this week have filled their teacher tool boxes with many useful resources as they transform their classrooms into 21st Century learning environments!

Teachers that attended from July 14-17, please reflect upon the week in a comment below. Also include answers to the following questions for me in your comment:

1. In Tech Academy, we used several web apps such as GoSoapBox.com. Answer Garden, Blogger, Google Docs, etc. Which of these web apps are you most excited about implementing in your classroom?
2. How do you see student using the web app you selected in #1 to enhance your curriculum?
3. What level(s) of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy can be reached using this tool? Why? How?

Wow! Leave Voice Comments for Students on Files in Google Docs

Several weeks ago, I tweeted a link to kaizena.com where a teacher can leave voice comments on documents that students have turned in. This week, I had a teacher from the high school contact me looking for a resource to do this very thing. I decided to look into the Kaizena app that is available for use with Google Docs. I think that this app could be a true time saver for teachers as they are reviewing and providing feedback on student work.

First of all, the app is free and it connects through your Google Drive account. Once you connect the app, you have students share their file with you in Google Drive. By right clicking on their shared file, you can open the file with kaizena.com. You are then able to leave three types of comments. You can record your voice, leave a text comment, or you can provide a link to a resource that the student may need to enhance the content of their work.

Using this app could save so much time when reviewing student work. Additionally, how nice will it be for the student to hear what you have to say! By adding your voice, it is easier for students to interpret what you have suggested. By hearing your comments, the feedback becomes more personal for the student, minimizing confusion while adding emotion for a clear understanding.

Since all of our students will have Google Docs connected through Gaggle.net next year, this will be a very effective tool to use for feedback. Below is a quick tutorial on how to use kaizena.com.

Tech Academy June 16-19

For the fourteenth summer now, I have trained teachers in a summer academy to learn how to infuse technology into their curriculum. In the summer of 2000, the course was called Intel Teach to the Future. This training was provided through a grant that CISD was awarded. In this training, the main purpose was to teach teachers how to use Microsoft Office Word documents, Spreadsheets, Databases, and PowerPoint! The entire week was about how to use these applications and to create lesson plans to take back to use in the classroom. When the grant was over, we continued the training, but changed the name to Tech Academy. Boy have we come a far way! This year as I planned on what we would cover in Tech Academy, I realized how much has changed in how we prepare teachers and how we teach students. With 21st Century Skills, new technology TEKs, and secondary students in a one-to-one environment, teachers must be prepared to teach differently than they have in the past.

This summer in Tech Academy, we will focus on several items:

1. Building a strong PLN (we can never learn enough)
2. Overcoming barriers when infusing technology
3. What is a flipped classroom?
4. Creating an infused lesson using a web app for students to present new knowledge
5. Maintaining a teacher blog
6. Using Google Docs

It has been another excellent week of training. I learned right along with the teachers as they shared new resources they found each day while spending time developing their PLNs. I was also very intrigued with the solutions that the teachers found on how to overcome barriers to infusing technology. The teachers this week have filled their teacher tool boxes with many useful resources as they transform their classrooms into 21st Century learning environments!

Teachers that attended from June 16-19, please reflect upon the week in a comment below. Also include answers to the following questions for me in your comment:

1. In Tech Academy, we used several web apps such as GoSoapBox.com. Answer Garden, Blogger, Google Docs, etc. Which of these web apps are you most excited about implementing in your classroom?
2. How do you see student using the web app you selected in #1 to enhance your curriculum?
3. What level(s) of Bloom's Digital Taxonomy can be reached using this tool? Why? How?

How Do You Infuse Technology? A Quick Look at the SAMR Model

Next year, all secondary students in Castleberry will have daily access to a device to use in class. How these devices are used can have a profound impact on student learning. We have looked at Bloom's Digital Taxonomy to determine the level of thinking that is required to master a particular objective. However, many still see the infusion of technology as a separate entity. So how do we meld curriculum and technology together so that they seamlessly work together?

Dr. Ruben Puentedura, Ph.D. created the SAMR Model that shows the progression of technology infusion. The great thing about this model is that it focuses on student learning, not the tools. As I researched about this model, I found the video embedded below. It is a short video that takes you on a quick tour of the model.

Last Week of School

It is so hard to believe that it is the last week of school! Where has the time gone this year? It seems like just yesterday, I was training new teachers to start the school year! This has been a very busy yet exciting year. We began the year expanding the Connected Learning Program to include all 8th through 12th grade students. Students were introduced to web apps such as Edmodo, Symbaloo, LiveBinders, Fotobabble, Infogr.am, Kidblog, Toonlet, Phrase It, Popplet, Thinglink, Smore, and the list goes on and on.

As we move into the next phase of infusing technology, the focus must now move from using technology as an add-on to curriculum to using technology seamlessly with curriculum. This will be a change of teaching strategy for many teachers. Moving from the comfort of how we have taught in the past to a new classroom environment that incorporates 21st century skills can be scary and uncomfortable for many teachers. Providing our teachers with the support that they need beyond training sessions is crucial for changing classroom environments.

To provide the extra support, we will have an additional Technology Coach next year. Stephanie Martinez has been hired as the Technology Coach for the high school. She will work with the teachers to continue to enhance the one-to-one program already in place. To replace Mrs. Amon at the elementary campuses upon her retirement will be Jessica Batchko. She will work with elementary teachers as they begin to focus on including lessons from their curriculum during their scheduled lab time. I will be the Technology Coach at the middle school. As we continue to expand the one-to-one program, which will include 7th graders next year, this move will allow me to focus on assisting teachers at the middle school as they infuse technology. Our 6th grade classes will also each be equipped with a classroom set of netbooks for the 2014-15 school year making our middle school  a one-to-one campus. Castleberry ISD continues to expand the availability of technology and is dedicated to also providing the support that teachers need to fully utilize these tools to enhance the learning environment for students.