New Vodcast Series for Educator Reflection During NTI

First, we must honor the date of this entry!  Not only is today Star Wars Day, but it is the start of Teacher Appreciation Week.  Has there ever been a school year where all teachers have not easily earned the rank of Jedi Knight?  I can't imagine one.  Thanks to all of the compassionate teachers out there who strive to innovate in these challenging non-traditional instructional (NTI) times...and that includes a nod toward the parents and guardians who are co-teaching these lessons at home.

It was an awareness of our Shelby educators who are innovating during NTI that inspired Lora Shields, our district Staff Developer.   Knowing that some hard-won professional learning was happening out there, she proposed a vodcast that could both capture this moment in time as well as share the learning with others.   As we teamed together to make this happen, we shaped the focus of the vodcast series to be guided by two questions:  what new tool or strategy are you currently learning to use during NTI, and in what ways will that transform your teaching when you return to the brick and mortar of your school buildings in the future?

Thus, the vodcast series "Shelby Speaks: Looking Forward" was launched, sharing our facilitated interviews with the creative educators of our district.  As of today, over half of our recorded episodes have been published (see the playlist on SCPS's YouTube channel), and we have already earned acclaim from other education leaders and even local television news:

Love these! “There’s a difference between a project and PBL...” Well-done, @shelbycountysch team! @loratshields @watsonedtech @DugleSusan @rltmartin @JamesNeihof https://t.co/QeXN3zsBfb

— Jonathan Vander Els (@jvanderels) April 26, 2020

Loving these Shelby Speaks series led by @watsonedtech ... this one is on how PBL & exhibitions are still happening for 8th grade, just digital now! Nice work Casey, LaPorsha, & Sarah!! Awesome creativity and innovation with digital tools. Well done. #KyEdNext https://t.co/AWgmjvCLqx

— Dr. Justin Bathon (@justinbathon) April 28, 2020

Teachers @shelbycountysch share how online learning lessons will transform their classrooms: https://t.co/iKki6dsMKf | @SaraSideryWDRB pic.twitter.com/pEwGw1ne0H

— WDRB News (@WDRBNews) April 24, 2020

In particular, I'd like to highlight three episodes that address a few of my favorite educational topics: project based learning and libraries.

In Episode 3, Martha Layne Collins art teacher Lukas Allison talks about how important cross-content PBL and design thinking is to his lesson planning (9:43):

In Episode 5, West Middle School teachers Casey Robinson, Sarah Buchanan, and LaPorsha Jackson talk about the process of moving PBL exhibitions to an online space (12:26):

Lastly, in Episode 10, Julie Webb (Shelby County High School) and Emily Northcutt (Marnel C. Moorman, our K-8 school) discuss how librarians and libraries play an essential role in NTI (18:20):

Thanks to all of the educators worldwide who are attempting the Herculean task of continuing student learning at home, even when our students face substantial inequities of Internet access, food insecurities, and understandable anxieties about our unprecedented present.

Share Fair 2020 Tickets Now Available!

Our sixth annual Share Fair (#SCsharefair) will be on Thursday, February 20, 2020!  This FREE professional development, open to educators outside of Shelby County, will have sessions on edtech as well as competency-based education successes and strategies.

Last year, I launched a new website for Share Fair that is chock full of resources.   The site has pages for Frequently Asked Questions (recommended for first-timers in order to understand the conference structure), Multimedia (pictures and video from previous Share Fairs), and an Archive for press clippings and past presenters/sessions.  In order to register for your free tickets, check out the site's Event page. 

We have some "firsts" to celebrate!

• Gi Boylan is our building tech at Heritage Elementary who will be discussing robots and coding.  While this is the second time we've had a building tech present at Share Fair, this is the first time a tech is leading a session alone!
• We have not just one, but TWO sessions with students presenting!  Rachel Kinsey and her Marnel C. Moorman K-8 students will talk about how they are using single-point rubrics to self-assess their competencies.  Kelly Hudson will be facilitating some East Middle students, discussing how Empower and their advisory schedule structure is helping them become self-advocates for their learning. 
• And speaking of Empower . . . we have a Physical Education teacher presenting for the first time!  Billy Smith from West Middle will discuss how he's using Empower to provide feedback to students on their mastery of P.E. and health standards.

Our sessions span multiple contents and include presenters from elementary, middle and high school. For a complete list of sessions and presenters, go to the Share Fair site's Event page or click here.

Mark your calendars, get your tickets, and see you in there in February!

Middle School Chromebooks, and the Surprise of Schoology

As our area is enfolded into the first major snow event of winter 2016 and we have officially crossed into the second half of the school year, it's giving me a chance to take a breath and reflect on where our district is headed.

When the timetable was moved up on our initiative and we decided to get Chromebooks into the hands of our middle schoolers now instead of in August, there was definite joy in the air!  Last week, our deployment went even more smoothly than our high school deployment a few months prior.  Although we did it in two nights instead of three, there were few hiccups and we have grown into an efficient edtech delivery system.  (One of several lessons learned from the high school deployment: have an info sheet with a bar code prepped for every student to make checkout happen at laser zapping speed.)

It's true that I spent time last year prepping teachers for the 1:1 initiative, and our Digital Learning Team has worked with the middle school staffs in the weeks leading up to the deployment....but still, I was concerned.  Would the sped up deployment schedule rattle and dampen the middle school teachers' enthusiasm and tech integration?  In short, were they ready?

The short answer is: yes, they are ready...very much so!

The long answer is, teachers all over are jumping in with both feet.  Naturally, Google Apps are a popular tool and a powerful partner with Chromebooks.  But a pleasant surprise was how many teachers are already wading into Schoology -- learning as they go, learning from their students, and learning from each other.  At both East and West Middle Schools, educators are putting their feet on the accelerator and not looking back, whether it's in setting their norms, organizing their class, or applying physics knowledge with online simulations.  And this was barely 24 hours after deployment!

Setting class norms around Chromebooks! #studentled #WMS pic.twitter.com/Dz3ccxWArf

— Lindsay Ricke (@LindsayRicke) January 14, 2016

In @MChesterfield2's class, Ss doing PhET simulations and Schoology submissions on their Chromebooks! pic.twitter.com/TjvFONRI2x

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) January 14, 2016

But Schoology extends beyond 6-12.  Our K-5 educators are also embracing it, even when they struggle with less than ideal 1:1 device penetration or tech consistency.  Third Grade teacher Nick Cottrell shares his story in the video below.  I love how his student surprised him with a feature he hadn't used himself yet!

Technology integration and digital classroom conversion is not for the timid.  Failing is likely, fumbling is typical.  But failing forward among the safety net of other enthusiastic practitioners of the teacher arts is the key.  I am so glad to be inspired by my colleagues and am invigorated to keep up with them.

TUIT: Kate Herrick and Lillie Hall, WMS

I arrived at Wright Elementary on Monday and have been settling into my new embedded home for the next three weeks: the library.   That means it's time for a new Instagram photo!

My MacBook Air hanging out with its much bigger edtech cousin, Wright Elementary's new library SMART board!

A photo posted by Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) on Feb 11, 2015 at 9:55am PST

Meanwhile, as I just begin my whole-school PD and plan for some classroom observations with the Jets, I wanted to give one more West Middle School #ShelbyTUITshoutout.  As I mentioned in previous entries, WMS had an unusual amount of teachers that paired together to tackle an edtech tool....which leads us to English teachers Kate Herrick and Lillie Hall.  Ms. Herrick is a first year teacher, working with veteran educator Ms. Hall.  They have partnered together to integrate Edmodo into their classrooms.

For those that don't know, Edmodo is a Learning Management System (LMS).   Student sign up is simple, and teachers can easily reset passwords of enrolled students.  In Edmodo, a teacher can make and assign a quiz, create assignments and have students submit work, have discussions via forum posts, send alerts of upcoming deadlines and important news, and maintain a calendar of events.   Last but not least, a teacher can upload files in a library so digital media can be shared.

But there are other uses for Edmodo.  As Ms. Herrick explains, "In my instruction, I plan to use Edmodo both inside and outside of class to allow students to respond to written prompts or to watch short clips, view images, or read short texts to develop background knowledge for class the following day." In other words, Edmodo will help create a blended and flipped classroom experience.

The site also continues to improve.  There is now an Edmodo "app store" (some free, some for a fee) that allows another level of interaction with and between students.  Recently, Edmodo added a built-in assessment tool called Snapshot that can automatically generate Core Content-related questions and give teachers valuable data on their students' proficiency.

An overall class example of Snapshot results.

Still, some parents may balk at Edmodo because of its perceived social media appearance, especially for younger students.  Ms. Herrick addressed these concerns in a letter to parents, which read in part:

Edmodo can be accessed through downloading the app or simply by visiting Edmodo.com. Edmodo looks like Facebook, making it familiar and exciting for students, but it is not a social media site. Some of the features include:

1.  Students can direct message me, the teacher, at any time with questions or for homework help; however, students cannot message each other. This is a great way to open up communication between me and students without offering a “social media” type communication between students.

2.   Edmodo allows for online discussion, giving students an authentic audience for their writing and an opportunity to engage in written communication with each other.  As a class, we have established norms for what our “cyber behavior” should look like. If students cannot follow the norms, they will lose privileges of Edmodo and will be faced with appropriate consequences, just like with any other unacceptable behavior in the classroom.

3.      My favorite feature of Edmodo is that it allows guardians access to see what both I and the student post on the site. For privacy reasons, guardians can see only what their individual students respond. I will soon be reaching out to guardians with directions on how to access Edmodo with a “parent code.”

I agree with Kate on #3: when I used Edmodo the last few years I was a high school English teacher, this was also one of my favorite features. Each student that enrolls in a class gets a corresponding parent code (accessible by the teacher), so a parent can register and see his/her child's Edmodo classes on their own.  I posted what we did in class every day, not only so absent students could figure out what they missed on their own, but so parents of struggling students could see what we were up to in order to support their child.

There are certainly other LMS's that are more powerful; to give but two examples, Blackboard and Canvas by Instructure are used in higher education yet are increasingly seen in K-12.  Few are as user-friendly as Edmodo, however, and by partnering with other webtools like Edpuzzle, make Edmodo even more compelling.

As our 1:1 student device initiative begins next school year, we will be able to utilize tools like Edmodo even more in an "always online" environment.  Kudos to Kate Herrick and Lillie Hall for starting to experiment with that environment now.  Congrats for your #ShelbyTUITshoutout!

TUIT: Matt Denton and Emmanual Stone, WMS

I've had a great run at West Middle School.  Starting this week, I'm holding over at Southside Elementary for a few weeks before beginning my three embedded weeks at Wright Elementary.

As I mentioned in the last post, several of the WMS Warriors partnered together before tackling a specific edtech tool.   Our next #ShelbyTUITshoutout goes to a pair of social studies teachers who began incorporating QR Codes in their classrooms: Emmanual "Manny" Stone and Matt Denton.

What are QR Codes, you ask?  QR is short for "Quick Response."  Use a QR Reader app on your smartphone or tablet (there are tons out there, many of which are free) and by scanning the code, information is decoded.  It could just be text (if so, you don't need a wifi or data connection to see it!), or contact information you could save to your device, or a URL address that you can quickly visit.   QR codes can be printed out on a worksheet or on a wall, could be embedded in a website, or just projected on the screen in your room.

What are some advantages of QR Codes?

• It's quick.  Students don't have to type in long URL addresses, just scan and go.
• Differentiation is easy and anonymous. For example, you could find three videos that teach the same concept but in differing levels of complexity.  Everyone has to watch a video and do work afterward, but WHICH video they watch can be easily assigned by three different QR codes.
• Become paperless.  In theory, you could project a code on the screen and students get your "handout" without ever passing out a single piece of paper.
• Increased engagement.  Whether it's QR scavenger hunts or creating mystery rewards or assignments, students won't know what they have until they "play."

A Google Slides presentation I created on QR Codes is available here.  If you are interested in an online list of resources, scan the QR code pictured below.

One of my favorite websites for QR codes is The QR Code Generator.  Not only can you easily make both dynamic and static QR codes, but you can even turn your webcam into a reader by using the site's "Scan" tab...without installing any programs!

Manny and Matt were intrigued by QR codes after one of my PDs, and within a few days were trying them out in their classroom in the middle of a Greek myth unit.  I was observing his classroom when Mr. Stone tried it out; Manny projected a QR code on the screen, and students eagerly scanned it to see a site of unusual natural phenomenon.  Matt handed out small slips of paper that had three different QR codes linked to websites: a picture for a writing prompt, a shortcut to Kahoot, and tips for writing a myth.


Congratulations to Mr. Denton and Mr. Stone for their #ShelbyTUITshoutout!

TUIT: Brandon Gabbard and Ben Carter, WMS

As I near the end of my last full week at West Middle, I'm excited to see so many teachers trying out my edtech tool suggestions.  Interestingly here at WMS, several teachers have taken a partnership attitude toward first attempts.  This is actually a brilliant idea that I will suggest at future embedded visits: by finding a partner to take the leap with you (whether in your department or grade level or even across town), you can learn together and not feel alone.

On that note, I have a few WMS Warrior pairs to give a #ShelbyTUITshoutout.   Our first shoutout goes to social studies teachers Ben Carter and Brandon Gabbard, and their use of Nearpod!

For those unfamiliar with Nearpod, it's a great bridge between what you already have and taking your edtech integration to the next level.  If you have already made a fantastic PowerPoint for content delivery, you can import it into Nearpod and be 90% finished.

Nearpod is basically an interactive presentation, or as some call it, "PowerPoint on steroids."  You create slides of content inside the site, or import PowerPoints, PDFs, and JPEGs to make as slides.  (Quick tip: I recommend "writing" the bulk of your presentation in PowerPoint, then import into Nearpod; the editing, writing, and template choices  inside of NearPod is rudimentary and not as robust.   Also, you can't easily edit slides once imported, so be sure your PowerPoint is a final draft.)   Next, add any interactives. In the free version, your interactives include quizzes, polls, open response questions, and even a drawing function.   Save and publish your pod when finished.  When it has finished processing, you can run a Nearpod by making it a "Live Session." Students can either go to the Nearpod website with the  browser of any device (or download and use their free app) and join the session with the PIN number that you give the students; Nearpod generates a new PIN every time you fire up a session.   As you push out the interactives, you can see their answers in real time, and even share an individual response (without their name displayed!) to the whole class.  At the end of the session, you can run a report showing all the individual student submissions for each interactive.

One of the great things about Nearpod is that you don't even need a projector, since all the content is pushed to the screen of the student devices.  A teacher can start a live session from their mobile device (say, their iPad or laptop).  While walking the classroom floor, she can "steer" and push the interactives and slides at will, looking at her live dashboard as students answer and interact.

Note that for the free account, you can only run "live" sessions.  For the Gold level (approximately $120 a year), you can run a session as homework and use Nearpod as another way of flipping your classroom.  (Gold level also gets you more space for more Nearpods, as well as additional interactive options.)

Another thing about Nearpod is the ability to get already made Pods from their "store" (some free, some for a charge) or from other users.  The steps on how to share Pods with colleagues are unfortunately not as intuitive as it could be, so I'm providing the instructions below.
_____________________________________________

To share presentations between users you must:

• Go to your Home Screen (“What would you like to do?”) and go to the Create tab.  (I know, this seems counterintuitive, but trust me.)
• Select the presentation you want to share.  There should be options at the top of the page.  Find “More” (with the three dots and the down arrow) on the far right, then choose “Share."

• An email dialogue will pop up with a default message.  Put the email address of the person you want to share the link with.  (It may help if you use the same email address that they use to log into Nearpod.)

• Once the user receives this message, they can click on the link (which will ask them to log into Nearpod) so they can import the Pod into their own library.  Once they have it, it is their copy to use and edit. You can send to multiple people at the same time.

Note:  if you are in “My Library” and choose a Nearpod, the “Share” button doesn’t work in the way detailed above; it only gives you an embed code. The embed code is for a website and not for a live session or homework. 

Purchased presentations cannot be shared.
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When Mr. Gabbard and Mr. Carter heard about Nearpod, they began collaborating on one the next day.  As social studies teachers, they of course already had PowerPoints of content, so it was just a matter of importing one into a Nearpod and adding interactives.   Were the kids engaged? See this example from Mr. Gabbard's class:

http://t.co/yRdldwhjBU captured the attention of all learners in Mr. Gabbard'a Geography class! @watsonedtech pic.twitter.com/S08Lgt0ZlK
— WMS-Warrior Nation (@ShelbyWMS) January 20, 2015

Congratulations to Mr. Carter and Mr. Gabbard for their #ShelbyTUITshoutout!

Do you use Nearpod in your content and grade level?  What do you think?  Reply in Comments below.

Hello 2015, Hello West

Welcome back to school and a new year!  I'm settling into my newest embedded location, West Middle School.

"Macbooks roasting on an open fire...Jack Frost nipping at your nose." Here in the West Middle School library, my home for three weeks.

A photo posted by Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) on Jan 1, 2015 at 5:15am PST

This is shaping up to be a busy week of meetings and planning, so I say with guilt that I probably won't have another blog entry until next week.   But I do have a few irons in the fire for blog topics, and as I begin popping into classrooms here at West, I'm sure I will have some innovation to shout out.   Until then, enjoy your first full week back and keep warm!

From East to West, and a Mid-Year Journey Checkup

It does not seem possible that I've reached the middle of my first school year with Shelby, but here we are.  On my first day back from winter break, I will officially leave East Middle to start my embedded visit at West Middle.  To Mrs. Martin and the rest of the staff and teachers of East Middle, thank you for your hospitality and your willingness to attend so many PD sessions.  As for West, I'm already intrigued to see your library's Genius Bar in person!

The Genius Bar is open!

A photo posted by The WMS Library (@thewmslibrary) on Dec 12, 2014 at 5:31am PST

As part of my mid-year reflection of considering my impact since starting at Shelby, I've examined some numbers and I'm surprised and invigorated.  Numbers alone can't tell an entire story, of course -- the personal emails I've received and the hearty in-person handshakes and head nods of thanks and shares of your personal stories of edtech success go a long way, too.  However, since I sorta-kinda gave myself a goal of reaching 2500 views on my blog by the end of the year, I thought now would be a good opportunity to look at several metrics.  At the genuine risk and probable likelihood of achieving a #humblebrag, here we go!

• As of today, I have cleared over 4000 total views to Edtech Elixers.  It took me from August to  October to hit my first 1000, but since then I have averaged over 1500 a month. Considering only about 700 of those views came from my mom, I'll consider that a success!  I hope at least a few dozen of you have stuck around as regular readers.
• As I approach my 3 year Twitterversary, I realize I am definitely more active on Twitter.  As of several days ago, I passed the 2000 tweet milestone.  (To put that in perspective, it took me 26 months to reach 1000 tweets.  My next 1000 took nine months.)
• On August 9 of this year, I got my 300th Follower on Twitter.  Since then, I've acquired many more at a rapid rate (in no small part thanks to Shelby educators!) and got Follower 500 on December 13.  My first 300 Followers took 2 1/2 years, but I'm well on track to doubling that amount in six months.
• I've just begun utilizing Google Plus, and my numbers there (11 followers) reveal I have a long way to go to rival my other social media areas.  However, I'm already grateful for learning from Google Circle communities such as GEG Kentucky, and thanks to Renee Boss, I recently had my first Google Hangout video chat.  (Quick plug for Renee: check out The Fund Kentucky, the subject of our Hangout.  It has interesting outreach opportunities for both individual teachers and districts -- including grants!)

There is a lot of work ahead in 2015.  Besides completing my embedded tour with Shelby schools, we must plan for the beginning of our student 1:1 initiative rollout.  I also have some professional development opportunities on the horizon, including a few presentations I will lead at KySTE in March.  And of course, I hope that Edtech Elixirs continues to be a valuable and entertaining source of information.   I am definitely in a mindset of growth as I will do my best to absorb all outside wisdom, advice, and knowledge to enrich myself and others.

But that is all to come.  As the last hours of 2014 tick down, I wish you and yours a happy and safe New Year 2015!