Monday, June 22, 2015

Digital Campfire Celebration - Successful Sharing Out!


In January of 2015, CCSD embarked on its first Digital Learning Cohort in an effort to guide teachers along their journey of the 1:1 classroom.  The cohort included 167 teachers from 46 schools broken into 12 cohorts.  On May 21, 2015, after only 5 months of exploring the 1:1 classroom, digital learning cohort teachers came together en masse to foster learning and growth among themselves.  Celebrating successes and gleaning tips and tricks from one another, the group enjoyed a well-earned day of fellowship and fun focused on improving and mastering the use of 1:1 devices in the classroom.  The day included a morning of “unconferencing” followed by lunch and teacher showcases where 10 teachers presented, sharing their experiences and escapades from the previous 5 months.  

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The Un-conference

The word “un-conference” was new to most of us, but it is a word few of us will forget.  Rooms were labeled by topic and session, and teachers chose the rooms that interested them most.  Rooms were organized to facilitate small group, round-table discussions.  At first teachers were hesitant, not having any direction besides “Feel free to discuss the topic,” but once they started, the communication and collaboration filled the room with a chaotic but constructive clamor.  

Topics included exploring and sharing apps; SAMR and its role in lesson planning; 21st century skills and the 4Cs: creativity, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking; classroom management and SOPs; digital workflow solutions; student ownership of learning; and rubrics to guide learning and assessment. Teachers shared, asked and answered questions, brainstormed, problem-solved, scribbled notes, shared links, and swapped names for future contact.  Enlivened by the camaraderie and opportunity to give to and receive from colleagues, teachers left excited for the coming school year.

Apps that received multiple shout outs include Google Classroom, Edmodo, Moby Max, Book Creator, A Web Whiteboard App, Kahoot!, Socrative, Nearpod, Storyboard That, Chatterpix, and Google Docs.  Conspicuously absent were the drill-and-kill apps that many teachers initially seek out in a condition that has come to be known in some circles as “App Happy.”  While skill apps definitely have their place at the foundational level, creation apps won over most teachers as they stretched students to the upper levels of critical thinking: application, evaluation, creation.
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Teacher Showcase

After lunch the Campfire wrapped up with teacher presentations spanning elementary, middle and high school levels, iPads and chromebooks.  Shout outs to the 8 presenters: Julie Bullard, Ft. Johnson; Megan Orchard, Ft. Johnson Middle; Tammi Wilson, Military Magnet Academy; Shalea Griggs, James Island Middle; EC Setser, Laurel Hill Primary; Tammy Curtis, Ladson Elementary; Virginia Broadway, West Ashley High School; Ashley Barnes, Oakland Elementary; Jason Brisini, Wando High School; Christina Allegretto, Wando High School.

Sharing their flaws and foibles first, teachers laughed over their missteps and misconceptions  such as thinking there would be an app for the parts of the content the teacher and students didn’t find “particularly sexy.”  The wisdom that emerged is that “no app can teach better than the teacher”, and creation apps such as Pages, Keynote, Google Docs, Google Slides, Storyboard That and Nearpod are the apps to focus on because they enable the students to use their knowledge to create.

The teachers quickly moved on to the triumphs and accomplishments of their students.  4Cs -- creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking -- were front and center in most presentations.  Student work samples amazed the audience, and the energy and optimism were infectious.  A low-achieving second grader found a way to share her learning and move closer to working on grade level. Hesitant writers were writing with enthusiasm.  High schoolers were awake, attentive, and communicative - no small feat in the classroom!  This sharing of accomplishments sowed seeds of hope in the hearts of all the teachers struggling to bring students up to and beyond grade level.

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Next Steps
Surveying customers is invaluable for planning, growth, and success.  After surveying the DLC participants, the following factors emerged as most helpful:
  • 98% - monthly cohort meetings to debrief and plan for next steps
  • 96% - cohort meeting topics to focus on in the classroom
  • 95% - connecting with other teachers through the monthly meetings
  • 100% - digital resources shared during meetings and through technology coaches
  • 99% - dedicated Technology Instructional Coach for job-embedded professional development
Connecting with other teachers and having support are invaluable for educators.  As we move on to Phase 2 of the DLC, we look forward to supporting our DLC teachers as they become Digital Leader Teachers.  

Thank you to all who participated and continue to give us their trust along this journey to success for all students.  Have a safe and restful summer.  We’ll see you in August!

Friday, May 15, 2015

SAMR Speed Dating

Teachers in Cohort #8 (West Ashley Elementary DLC Schools) shared modified 1:1 lesson plans with each other in a speed dating format. They had two minutes to tell a partner the highlights in their lesson. After several rotations, they selected a partner they wanted to "date". The "date" conversations involved examining the level of SAMR, identifying learning opportunities for students to engage in one or more of the "4 Cs" (creation, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking), and the apps used in these lessons. The dates were very successful and all of the teachers learned from each other. They shared meaningful tips and suggestions with each other for 1:1 learning with iPads.  

   




Student Centered Learning with Audio Engineering - by Lacy Bryant

Roger Taylor, statistics and calculus teacher at Charleston County School of the Arts, has a unique perspective on using technology to teach the 4C’s (Communication, Collaboration, Creativity, and Critical Thinking) and the highest levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.


Like many of us, Roger spent a few years in a completely different field before becoming a teacher. In his previous life, he was both an audio engineer and security specialist for a large company. When Roger joined the School of the Arts as a math teacher, he brought his passion and expertise with him.


Together with his students, Roger has built an audio engineering program where students use the technology that they have available to create, produce, and publish high quality original music on a limited budget. One of the driving ideas of his class is that he wants musicians to see that they can create professional music using their own knowledge, experience, and equipment without paying outrageous prices for professional studio time. This is extremely applicable to SOA students because many of them attend to develop their various art abilities. Roger saw a need to help students go beyond just learning the skills, by finding an avenue to help them create, collaborate, and share their talents with the world.


Today, when I visited the audio engineering class, I got to speak with several students and see some examples of his student’s final projects…. and I was amazed! For the final project, students were tasked to create a band, write and produce an original piece of music, and publish it via Youtube. (...remember Bieber fever?) Each little sound, no matter how small, had to be recorded and documented as evidence of originality and application of various audio engineering techniques that they had learned over the year. The Pecan Sandies, one of the bands in Roger's class, finished their project today and I have linked it below for you to check out! If you are interested in more information about the audio engineering program at SOA, subscribe to the Charleston County School of the Arts Audio Engineering Youtube Channel or send a message to Roger Taylor via the SOA/CCSD webpage.


    The Pecan Sandies
    "Take Me to School, I Don't Wanna Go to the Duck Pond 2015"


Disclaimer: I apologize to Mr. Taylor and to his students for my lack of expertise in audio engineering. I recognize the amazing things that you have accomplished this year and I regret that I do not have the vocabulary to elaborate on your professionalism and accomplishments in this area. I encourage you to continue to do amazing things and share it with the world!


Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Are you ready for the #CCSDDigitalCampfire?



CCSD Digital Campfire                      
DLC Showcase & Share Event   
May 21st                       


Participating DLC teachers will come together to celebrate, showcase and share their experiences with 21st century learning and 1:1 implementation.

This day-long event will follow an “unconference” format in the morning, in which teachers will share with and learn from each other.

In the afternoon, selected teacher leaders will showcase digital learning experiences from their classrooms for our district guests.

We look forward to celebrating all of our Digital Learning Cohort teachers at this event! #CCSDDigitalCampfire

Friday, May 8, 2015

March Madness End of Year Review

  

Final exams  and End of Course, EOC, exams are upon us.  How to review a full year's content with students while making it interesting and relevant is a real challenge.  Review packets and Jeopardy reviews are still popular, but how does a student own this learning, and how does a teacher know whether all students are participating and how each is functioning?  Two great interactive review sites are StudyStack.com and Quizlet.com

Background Info
At the West Ashley Advanced Studies Magnet in Charleston County School District, Chad Rentz and his 7th grade team partners -- Cassandra Lock, Jayuntay Williams, and Jamie Schmidt -- solved this problem using iPads and StudyStack.com, an interactive quizzing system.  The full team of students, around 100, converged on the cafeteria for a March Madness-style competition.  Using the website freebracketgenerator.com, Rentz created a bracket for 4-man teams to compete against one another  using an online quizzing system, StudyStack.com.  He created a review stack for 7th grade South Carolina standards, and the students applied their knowledge of the terms and definitions using the timed matching activity.  After the science round, the social studies round by Ms. Lock ensued.

Meaningful Exercises
Keeping the survivors on task was easy; it was the eliminated players who presented the greatest challenge.  To keep everyone focused on the review, eliminated players gathered in one area and were given a chance to win consolation prizes by continuing to review using standards-based questions through StudyStack again.  This time, the exercises were not timed, and students had to type in the correct answers to questions.  See directions sheet below.

The silence and focus throughout the cafeteria was shocking.  These were students who would not have filled out a review packet had it been given to them, and yet they were all focused on standards-based questions.  On the SAMR scale for technology use, this would have come it at a base level of substitution or maybe augmentation for the ease of workflow, but there was something else going on here.  The competitive quality of the exercise hooked these eighth graders and raised their level of interest.  Because they bought into it, they were willing to interact with the content in a way that had not occurred up to this point this year.
 


Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance
Can other teachers have a successful event like this one?  Of course they can.  This event was brainstormed, planned, and completed in a week's time.  These teachers knew their kids; they knew what to expect if left to their own devices, no pun intended.  As a result, a few extra adults were called in for back up support; consolation exercises were planned which allowed students to review the information and complete the exercises as many times as they chose to master the content.  If you are looking for some creative and fun ways to use your technology to help engage students, I recommend studystack.com and quizlet.com with team competitions as well as other creative applications.  
 

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Chromebooks and Sheep Brain Dissection!




Kellie Carpen’s 7th graders had the most authentic (and grotesque for some!) activity today… dissecting a sheep’s brain! As part of Project Lead The Way, students acted as medical detectives to investigate the different parts of the the brain! It was amazing to learn that the anatomy of a sheep’s brain is so close to that of a human brain! Groups had a designated "Chromebook Operator" to document their findings using the camera app, Google Docs, and Google Sheets.

When students were asked about the different parts, this is what they said:
What is the function of the Brain Stem?
Gavin: responsible for Involuntary actions
Ricky: responsible for breathing, heart rate, and removing waste, and digestion
Describe the Cerebrum:
Mary Grace: it has different lobes
Joshua: in charge of more complex thinking, problem solving, and mathematics

What are your thoughts about this activity overall?
Mary Grace: It’s gross but kind of awesome - actually, mostly awesome!
Jordan: A lot of fun and it gives me a good visual!
Gavin: It’s like being an actual surgeon
Kelley: Gross!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Sketchpad 3.5


"Show What You Know" with Storyboard That!

Students in Rebecca Strong’s 6th grade science class at Cario Middle School are used to using creative ways to review the science standards at the end of a unit. She has had them make a visual display called “Show What You Know,” where the students must demonstrate their knowledge on specific topics using diagrams, pictures, and written explanations. While these paper-and-pencil posters have their place in her toolbox, she was anxious to try something new. Her students used “Storyboard That” to create 6-
frame comic strips in which they incorporated the animal unit standards into creative review projects. The students LOVED the creativity that the Chromebooks/Storyboard That afforded them. Ms. Strong loved the enthusiasm that her students had for finding creative ways to demonstrate their learning. 


Cario Students Are Head Over Heels For Chromebooks!

The 6th grades students in our pod fell head over heels in love with the chromebooks.  They would gladly have had their hands on those keys every day.  They were like sponges and soaked up information on apps and other tools quickly.  As a teacher, I found that classroom management was a breeze-especially  once they learned how to manipulate new apps and tools.  This was an amazing experience and I loved it!!  

Our students worked on a research project on South Carolina animals.  This project has been done for years and entails ELA collaborating with Science, intermingling both standards into one project.  We changed up the process a little and also, the end product but were able to not only cover Science and ELA standards, but all of the ISTE standards as well.

-Ms. Hurt, Sixth Grade Science Teacher


Saturday, April 18, 2015

Preparing for EOCs - by Lacy Bryant

How can teachers and students use technology to prepare for End of Course exams? Ms. Anderson, Algebra teacher at Garrett Academy, has one solution to the problem.

Teaching high level math courses using technology can be very challenging. Many of the apps, programs, extensions, and websites that she and I have looked in to do not allow students to practice higher level math skills. Trying to translate this (e^25/f^10)^(2/5) into a math problem that actually looks and reads as math problems is very difficult. (Math teachers are probably the only people who can really appreciate the difficulty of the above stated problem. If you are a non-math teacher like myself, you just have to trust me on this one.)


Ms. Anderson has put a lot of thought into solving this problem. She has set up her Google Classroom to use a combination of technology (helpful videos, sharing presentations that she has made, sending and gathering students work) and traditional paper/pencil lessons. Students are now able to work more independently learning the necessary math skills while also receiving valuable 1:1 attention from her when it is needed. Students today were learning about and practicing "Solving Radical Equations Algebraically."


Great job Ms. Anderson and great job to Ms. Anderson's students who are working so diligently to master difficult mathematical concepts! You rock!! I look forward to teaching you and your students how to make your own math videos (that are far better, funnier and smarter than the videos you watched today)!

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

Collaboration with Google Drive on the West African Kingdoms

Ms. Duhan's students worked with a partner to complete a graphic organizer comparing the West African Kingdoms on a Google Document. They used multiple sources in both print and digital to fill in the individual boxes for each West African Kingdom. They learned how to share a document and work simultaneously on their individual Chromebooks. They also practiced using Google tools like research  and image search. These 6th graders enjoyed working with a partner to complete the same task but also being able to work independently on their own Chromebook.  They had the option to sit next to their partner or work with them from a distance. Here is an example of one group's completed project. ​​​

Tuesday, April 14, 2015

QR Code Scavenger Hunt=Vocabulary Fun!

Mrs. Sally Rhodes' first grade class at Oakland Elementary School were all smiles this morning as they heard their assignment for practicing their "ar" words.  Words like "bark" and "dark" became more exciting as they learned that they would be using QR codes to practice them.  Mrs. Rhodes created 12 QR codes that had sentences with blanks.  Students worked in pairs and traveled around the room scanning the codes, getting the sentences and determining which word fit in the blank.  Not only was this activity fun (even prompting one student to ask if this was recess), it allowed for collaboration and critical thinking.  Students were handing out high fives to their partners as they completed a sentence and worked well to discuss why the correct word fit and the others did not.  The level of engagement and communication that I saw was proof that using QR codes are an easy way to increase engagement and rigor in any classroom.

Cost of Living, What's the Ecosystem Worth?

Mrs. Brooks' science classes kicked off their ecosystems unit with this driving question: "Does the soil around Cario Middle have healthy enough soil to grow a crop of corn?" Students were asked to collect soil from various areas around Cario Middle and analyze the ph levels in the soil using Vernier probes. 
After learning about the impact of development (and there is quite a lot of it going on in Mount Pleasant), and understanding ph levels (5-7 is a healthy ph level), students had this to say about the ecosystem where they live:
George: "I want to try to protect it (ecosystem)."
Avery: "I think there will be more extinct species because people are unaware and some people (developers) just don't care."
Sienne: "Doing this project shows me how bad the condition of our ecosystem is in."
Caroline: "This unit has taught me how important (the condition of) soil is to our animals as well as people."
Will: "It helps us learn more about how to protect the ecosystem not just wanting to protect it"
Students are beginning to build their own 3 chamber ecosystems this week (complete with live animals!), and will continue on to Pitt Street Bridge to build their very own oyster farm! Mrs. Brooks definitely puts the WOW factor into learning! Thank you Mrs. Brooks for all that you do!
-Rebecca Roemer







Friday, April 10, 2015

School of the Arts Receives Complimentary Apple Watches! - By Lacy Bryant

The week after Spring Break is always a hard one. Although the year is coming to a close, teachers still have a lot of work to do. There are papers to grade, parents to meet with, end of course exams to prepare for, and a million other loose ends to tie up. Teachers at School of the Arts are up to the challenge and are notorious for keeping a positive attitude. Because of their sincere dedication and hard work, Apple has generously donated several brand new Apple Watches to select faculty members. Ben Moore told me, "It was really hard to sleep with my watch on, but the alarm clock was loud enough to wake me up."

Congratulations to the School of the Arts staff for this amazing accomplishment! 


"Everybody says it is just like the nano, but we think it is much easier to see." - Sarah Fitzgerald

















Officer Thornburg - "The selfie possibilities are endless!"













Thursday, April 9, 2015

Ms. Ancrum's Class Makes Book Trailers - by Lacy Bryant

Ms. Ancrum teaches 6th, 7th, and 8th grade ELA at Military Magnet Academy in North Charleston. Her students independently selected novels and are now creating iMovie (Book) Trailers intended to persuade other students to read their books. In order to create a 2 minute book trailer, students had to use critical thinking skills to select themes, pictures, and words that accurately reflected the mood, characters, and plot of the books that they chose. I enjoyed teaching student show to create videos, how to find high quality pictures, and challenging students to make their trailers better and better.

Malik and Ca'Vashia collaborating on their projects!


This was a great activity and Ms. Ancrum can use these trailers with her students next year! Imagine how engaging it would be for students to see trailers that other students created before they select the book they want to use. In addition, challenging students to create better trailers with more detail would be a great way to promote 21st Century Skills (critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration). Great job Ms. Ancrum and Ms. Ancrum's students!

Wednesday, April 8, 2015

Laurel Hill Primary School Teachers

Teachers at Laurel Hill Primary School have been engaging the students to the next level using iPads for their everyday activities and for special projects.  Alethea Setser rallied the chef in the cafeteria to help the students record their results for a taste test for new healthy foods to be introduced.  Sarah Frey has been implementing iPad use in her students' Reading Workshop and Seely Dillard has been using the letters app for word work in her 1st grade classroom.  Alethea Sester has reported that her students gobble up their snack very quickly so they can get back to work on their iPads! Allison Killian has been having the students make itrailers for the LHPS Media Center!



Thursday, March 26, 2015

8th Grade Teacher Reflects on Cyberbullying Lesson With Her Students

By Maggie Kilgore


Setting the Stage

Despite the fact that this lesson was identified as being targeted towards 9-12 graders, the topics discussed in "Turn Down the Dial on Cyberbullying and Online Cruelty" are highly relevant to our middle school population. In the lesson, students learn about how cyberbullying and online cruelty can either escalate or de-escalate quickly, identify factors that contribute to a situation’s escalating or de-escalating, and discuss ways that they can contribute to the escalating or de-escalating of cyberbullying and online cruelty.

Conversation and Debate

The videos in the lesson provoked meaningful and intense conversation and debate regarding the "definition of an offender", the options for de-escalating a situation, and the impacts cyberbullying and online cruelty can have on the target.  In the video, “Ricardo's Story”, Ricardo discusses how he and his friends post criticizing comments on both friends’ and foes’ social media sites. I found it interesting that a few of my students didn't consider the comments cyberbullying when they were made towards a friend. There was great debate over this that led to students to identify the intention, tone, and context of the criticism.  For example, one student stated that when the comments are made to a friend, they are meant in a joking manner.  We then discussed how a person can tell if a comment is a joke and how typing a thought versus speaking a thought can impair the true meaning of the message due to the lack of tone and emotion when commenting digitally.  Of course, now there are emojis for that! (I think Ricardo's video was filmed pre-emojis.)

Bystander or Upstander?
We talked about a bystander’s options for de-escalating cyberbullying and online cruelty.  Of course one can always ignore, block, flag, or tell an adult about an offender.  However, many students also suggested that bystanders "defend the victim" and stand up to the offender as a means to de-escalate.  I found one student’s comments regarding this very honest and brave.  She said that more often than not, when a person stands up for or defends a victim, they then become the target of the cyberbullying and online cruelty.  This is sadly true, especially in middle school, when students are still learning how to be secure enough with themselves to stand out in a crowd.  Students recognized that the positive impact of being an upstander for a target should outweigh the opinions of a few of their "cruel and immature" peers.


The most fascinating discussion we had was in regards to the impacts that cyberbullying and online cruelty can have on the target. ALL of my students KNEW the impacts.  However, as I pointed out to them, when our team was recently presented with a case of severe online cruelty, only one person out of the hundreds who viewed, posted, reposted, and/or commented stood up to the offender.  In fact, many of the very students sitting in my class contributed to the online cruelty and its ability to quickly spread, rather than helping to de-escalate.  I shared with them that the main offender, not a student at our school, when asked by the one upstander, not in this class, to please stop replied, "I will not stop until she kills herself."  We talked about
1)why none of them was an upstander,
2)how their views on their involvement changed over time,
3)how they may have contributed to the stress felt by the target, and
4)what they could/should have done differently. 
I was impressed with how many of my students participated and contributed to this conversation.

I shared with my students that I was impressed with the way that they all participated in such a positive way to our digital citizenship lesson.  I appreciated their openness and honesty and the respect they showed each other when sharing differing views.

Student Reflection

We closed our lesson with a reflection on two things:
1.  In regards to our own incident of cyberbullying and online cruelty, what did you learn about yourself, your contribution to the escalating and
2. Now that we have had this lesson and discussion, what do you hope to do differently if you are ever faced with a situation of cyberbullying and online cruelty? (Specifically as you enter high school and the adult world)


I truly feel that this lesson, combined with our open and honest discussion and debate, changed some of my students in a positive way. I think being able to refer to a recent situation that the majority of them had involvement in or at least were aware of helped them to really relate to the topic - because they personally know the characters (target, offender, bystanders, and upstanders).




Common Core:


grades 9-10: RL.1, RL.2, RL.4, RL.7, RL.8, RL.10, RI.1, RI.2, RI.4, W.2a-f, W.4-6, W.7-10, SL.1a-d, SL.2, SL.3, SL.5, L.4a, L.6


grades 11-12: RL.1, RL.2, RL.4, RL.7, RL.8, RL.10, RI.1, RI.2, RI.4, W.2a-f, W.4-6, W.7-10, SL.1a-d, SL.2, L.3, SL.5, L.4a, L.6

NETS•S: 1a, 1d, 2a, 2d, 3b, 3d, 4a, 4b, 4d, 5a, 5b"

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

Reinforcing Shape Characteristics With Keynote

By Summer Pettigrew, Tech IC

Things are taking shape in Mrs. Emma Armstrong's first grade class and the iPads are being used as a true learning tool.  Today, students were reviewing the characteristics of two dimensional shapes.  To help reinforce these characteristics, Mrs. Armstrong walked students through a few examples of how to create Keynote slides that show a picture of the shape and a brief description.  Students were thinking critically as they chose which slide would best support the information they wanted to relay and also deciding which classroom object best represents their shape to use as a picture.  It was quite impressive to see these young scholars create a useful study tool to help "shape" their understanding of the characteristics they learned about.


Liberty Hill students are Learning about Plate Tectonics

By Lacy Bryant, Tech IC

Ms. McGing's middle school students are learning about the extinction of trilobites and exploring continental drift with plate tectonics. Daytrell earned several OMG points today for knowing about the inventor of the theory of continental drift and being awesome (polite and respectful) in class today. I asked Daytrell about using the Chromebooks in class and he said that he likes using them in class and that he is "very good with technology." I am sure that if Daytrell likes using computers and continues working with them, one day he could have a lucrative career in the tech field!


Daytrell using his Chromebook

School of the Arts is rolling out iPads!

By Lacy Bryant, Tech IC


Sarah Fitzgerald, the multi-talented teacher from Charleston County School of the Arts, rolled out iPads with her Film Design class. Students were given the task of "Exploring with the iPads" to find out the capabilities of iMovie and iMovie trailers. Students learn about camera angles and other film techniques in this class and their skills are evident in their practice videos. Some of her students are also responsible for presenting the SOA News Show (LIVE!) on Fridays. These students will use the iPads to collect content for the news show so it is important that they know how to use iMovie and are familiar with what iMovie can do! Great job SOA students and Ms. Fitzgerald!