PBL and Eusessments

Last week, I attended professional development on Project-Based Learning, led by Drew Perkins (a former Shelby County teacher!) from the Buck Institute.  If you want proof I was there, here's a short video:

.@watsonedtech Presenting his project to peers for critical feedback. #kyedchat #kypbl pic.twitter.com/bSHC71GE0B

— Drew Perkins (@dperkinsed) June 26, 2015

(Also pictured in the video from our attending Shelby County cohort: Jamie Mezin and Connie Putnam.)

The PD was crucial to help me understand PBL better.  Here are some highlights.

• What is the difference between a traditional unit with a project, and an actual PBL? In short, a traditional unit may have a project as a final activity or assessment, but in PBL, the project is the unit.  For a great resource that breaks down the difference, review this New Tech Network's document.   The difference between problem-based learning and PBL is that the "problem" may not be authentic or relevant, nor is the audience (if one exists beyond the teacher) likely to be public or genuine.
• In the same train of thought, make sure your PBL is a meaningful "main course," not a "dessert." 
• PBL students need to uncover content, instead of the traditional approach of teachers covering content.
• In the end, the PBL should have an authentic "publishing" moment to a genuine outside audience.  
• You can't have PBL without a strong student questioning culture.  Drew discussed the Question Formulation Technique from the Right Question Institute, which is a process that starts with designing a question focus, followed by producing close- and open-ended questions, then prioritizing and planning next steps, and finally reflecting/refining before beginning again. For an overview, this ASCD Educational Leadership article can help. Or check out this tweeted pic:

Learning #PBL from @dperkinsed here in Hardin County BOE! The Question Formulation Technique helps focus on inquiry. pic.twitter.com/jBc3w7b7YU

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) June 24, 2015

• Your "Driving Question" and "Need to Know's" should be on public display for students to interact with every day.  Google Docs might work if actually reviewed often by students; otherwise, a physical reminder (such as on a whiteboard or pad easel) might be better.
• As always, rubrics help focus students on what needs to be mastered.  We were introduced to the "single point rubric" and could definitely see its potential in making feedback more effective. With it, you can ask the students: How are you below the standards ("Concerns")? How are you beyond them ("Advanced")?  (See the Cult of Pedagogy for a wonderful "Breakfast in Bed" rubric example.)
• Consider a 80% individual mastery / 20% group presentation grade split as a way of avoiding a strong collaborative member unfairly propping up the skill/content deficiencies of the others.
• Use calendars, contracts, and management logs to help keep the PBL organized and responsibilities clear.  For forms and other resources, visit BIE.
• PBL should have assessments throughout the process, not just at the end.  Again, the New Tech Network has a great document that helps guide a teacher through this assessment process.

Last but not least, don't be overwhelmed when first implementing PBL in your classroom.  You may start small with a single unit at first.  While you are a PBL novice, consider the complexity of the task and how tightly you will manage it:

When managing #PBL,allow yourself to grow with experience.Don't begin by loosely managing a complex task. @dperkinsed pic.twitter.com/JVhP4WO2Qq

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) June 26, 2015

PBL clearly makes you think of assessments in a different way.  But something Drew said created an "aha" for me. He talked about the difference between distress (feelings perceived as negative that are unhealthy and unproductive) and eustress (feelings perceived as "good stress" caused from a "positive challenge" that spurs a person to grow).  The term eustress led me to consider the very etymology of "assessment", which contains "as-" (a directional tendency; toward) and "-ment" (a product).  Perhaps we as teachers have absorbed the meanings of this prefix and suffix more than we know.  Speaking for myself, there were certainly times as a classroom teacher that I was more worried that my academic unit was "working toward a product" than the value of what that product actually was.  Was it relevant?  Was the assessment shared outside of the classroom, or more importantly, did it lead to action to impact an authentic issue?  Was it simply the culmination of academic drudgery that let all of us know, "Thank goodness, we are finished"?  We should value an assessment that is more than mere compliance for completing an academic unit, and PBL can help us get there. "PBL is about student commitment," Drew reminded us, "not about student compliance."   If a student commits to an assessment, we should honor this by making the assessment have meaning.

With that in mind, I suggest a new word: eusessment.  The word is born of better parts, crucially replacing "as-" with "eu-" (good).   PBL can be full of these "good products," which engage with the outside world.  The best of these will seek to improve the lives of students and others.  As teachers, let us worry less about moving toward a product and more about working on products that are moving.

Digital Learning Coordinator announcement

Hello, my faithful Edtech Elixirs readers!  Hope you are enjoying your summer. Today I have a short entry for an announcement. While I originally planned to wait until next month to share the following information, it recently was published in the news . . . The Sentinel-News, that is.  (Click here for the article.) So, because it's now public record, I can talk about it in my blog.

As of July 1, I will officially be promoted to the new position of Digital Learning Coordinator.  Along with participating in district initiatives and projects, I will manage and train our (now two!) Digital Learning Coaches (the renamed position formerly known as "Technology Integration Coach").   The article incorrectly states that I will be reporting to our new Network Engineer, but I will actually be under John Leeper, the former principal of Collins High School and our new Director of Innovation.

I am honored to be given an increased opportunity to demonstrate leadership in the district, and I'm thrilled to continue working in a school system as dynamic and forward-thinking as Shelby County Public Schools!

End of 2014-2015 School Year

Students are now out of the building, and Shelby County teachers are spending the final week of their school year with some professional development.  (For example, at Wright Elementary, I have helped present on Google Apps for Education and the teachers are now learning about the writing program of Lucy Calkins from instructional coach Donna Siegel.)  With the days counting down, it naturally puts me in a reflective mood as I look back on my journey from last summer to today.

When I was hired as Shelby County's first District Technology Integration Coach, I relished the exciting but daunting challenge of leading our county into a digital conversion of classrooms.  I have been blessed with wonderful teachers and staff who have been kind hosts in my embedded tour around the district, and have been very open to the growth mindset required for my digital learning PD.  (Indeed, some were well on their way to digital supremacy before I got here!)

In the middle of the school year, I reflected on my impact in a quantitative way, and it seems useful to do so again to consider where I am in my journey.

Edtech Elixirs now has well over 10,000 views since its inception in August 2014.  (This includes visits to the main default page as well as clicks on specific entries.)   I had hoped to average a blog entry a week, but with 73 posts prior to this one, I actually have doubled that output. From the blog analytics, the most popular entries for this school year are:

1.  The Power of Positive Social Media #StartsWithUs (10/16/14, 822 views, +1)

2.  Rose/Bud/Thorn and Design Thinking (4/29/15, 452 views, +3)

3.  Lenovo Yoga: fixing your audio for HDMI connection (2/5/15, 417 views, +1)

4.  TUIT: Julia Lyles, James Morgan, Colby Wilmouth, and an entire high school (4/1/15, 242 views, +3)

5.  TUIT: Jennifer Cox, Tracey Huelsman, Jessica Ruddy (MLC HS) (11/10/14, 234 views)

6.  Game-Based Learning and Classcraft (1/12/15, 214 views, +1)

7.  The First Steps of 3D Printing (11/8/14, 186 views, +1)

8.  Garlic Necklace, Not a Silver Bullet (5/14/15, 175 views, +3)

Special mention (entry with most Google +1’s):

Flubaroo, Doctopus and Goobric (5/27/15, 125 views, +7) 

Speaking of Google+ . . . while I had not used that particular social media until this year, my Watsonedtech Google account now has 46 Followers and nearly 13,000 views of my Profile Page.

Our #ShelbyTUITshoutout hashtag has celebrated the accomplishments of 45 individual teachers from 11 different Shelby schools.

To put it mildly, I have been busy with Twitter.  While it took me 26 months to reach 1000 tweets sent, I had cleared 2000 tweets in the subsequent 9 months as of December 2014.  Five months later, I now have over 3,300 tweets. I began in August 2014 with 300 Followers, hit 500 by mid-December, and now have nearly 800.  (Within one year of starting Shelby last summer, I may triple my Followers!)  I have also had the privilege of leading #KyEdChat several times and have benefitted greatly from sharing with and learning from my Twitter PLN.

You have kept my YouTube channel hopping!  I now have almost 6000 views from this year, with two videos as standouts: Adjusting your Lenovo Yoga Microphone (1709 views) and How to use Plickers (Part One) (2364 views).

Last but not least, I have lead a lot of professional development hours on the ground.  In this school year alone, I have presented 75 large group PD's to over 500 Shelby staff members (totaling over 175 hours of instructional time), in addition to presenting at other sites and settings outside of our district.  I have observed, consulted or co-taught in person with nearly 100 Shelby staff members from 11 different schools (not counting the significant email virtual help to others).  Exhausting?  Somewhat.  Rewarding?  Absolutely.  Helpful to Shelby County personnel?  I certainly hope!

And so, as the school year ends, I look to the future.   As our digital conversion of classrooms continue next year in Shelby, we have a lot more work to do, and I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to continue my path alongside such a dedicated and growth-minded group.  I have also PD to present  (IFL in Lexington next week, a KDE Digital Symposium in Bowling Green) as well as PD to attend (looking forward to learning more about PBL from a Buck Institute trainer!) in the weeks to come.   But I also plan to rest and prepare for the challenges of 2015-2016, so forgive me if the blog output slows until August!

In closing: For all of the educators in Shelby County, or Kentucky, or beyond, enjoy your summer.  Thank you for being my readers, learning partners, and friends.

TUIT: Adam Hicks, Katrina Boone, Kari Patrick (Shelby County High School)

Today is the last day of school for students in Shelby County!  As the end of my tenth and final embedded school visit with Simpsonville Elementary comes to completion, I feel the inevitable wrapping up of Edtech Elixirs for 2014-2015 fast approaching.

As my last #ShelbyTUITshoutout for this school year, I want to highlight some previous work by three fine teachers at SCHS: Adam Hicks, Katrina Boone, and Kari Patrick.

(Quick plug: Adam is also our county's Teacher of the Year for 2014-2015!)

By reviewing their innovative work, we can also look ahead to what teaching may be like in our high school classrooms next year, as our 1:1 initiative begins.

Mr. Hicks, Ms. Boone and Ms. Patrick worked collaboratively on a new digital way of teaching, creating and revising writing in a blended learning digital environment. A few months ago, they discussed their "flipped writing" work at the 2015 KCTE/LA annual conference.  (Their presentation materials are on Mr. Hicks's website.)

First, as students begin writing their essays, Mr. Hicks has a series of tips pertinent to certain writing skills always accessible via his website.  (Here's an example on using text evidence.)

Next, after major writing assessments, student exemplars are chosen.  This honors excellent work and offers an authentic publishing opportunity.  However, as Mr. Hicks points out, the samples are not always from the same “good writers”; rather, a diversity of student work is showcased, since exemplars concentrate only on certain standards/skills, which exhibit the various strengths of each member of the classroom. Mr. Hicks considers this the most meaningful part of the flipped writing experience.

Lastly, students use digital remediation in a variety of ways: peer review, reflection, and revision.  The students create Google Blogs and Docs to share their thoughts and give commentary on work. (This is a great example to consider while training for GAFE next week!)

• For Mr. Hicks's student directions on how to create a Remediation Blog, click here.
• For examples of student blogs and Docs, scroll to the bottom of this page.

In addition, Ms. Boone and Ms. Patrick’s Hybrid Research Paper utilized a bank of videos, made by several 10th grade SCHS teachers, that gave pointers on certain writing standards and skills.  Students could access and revisit these videos “anytime, anywhere,” and the feedback from students on its impact has been positive.

These three outstanding teachers -- like so many of our #ShelbyTUITshoutout educators -- truly show the power of the digital conversion of learning, and how blended learning can be transformative for our district. May they be a model for the rest of us for how technology can help us aspire to heights we never thought possible.

Some last words for the hardworking teachers, admin, and staff in Shelby County Schools as they say goodbye to their students today: Cherish and celebrate! You have helped make academic growth, you have forged relationships, you have made a crucial difference in other people's lives. Education is never a final product, but always a process of becoming. Before you look forward to the summer ahead, look back and reflect on all your real accomplishments. I am proud and honored to be among you!

Flubaroo, Doctopus, and Goobric

Today, I thought I would discuss a very obscure, hardly ever used edtech tool:  Google.

Ahhh, I kid of course.  Of all the questions I got asked most often by teachers in our district this year, the top one must have been, "When will we get Google Apps for Education [GAFE, which rhymes with "laugh"] for Shelby County?"   (Unlike the public version of Google Drive, no individual can get GAFE; the district has to decide to activate it. ) So, Shelby County took the plunge mid-April, and we have been quietly having teachers activate their accounts over the last few weeks.   We won't stay quiet for long, though!  We are about to kick off a PD plan based on the "train the trainers" model.   First, a school team was chosen by each principal, consisting of a teacher, the Library Media Specialist, the Instructional Coach, and a district person (for example, I am a part of Wright Elementary's team).  All of these teams came together and were trained on Google in mid-May (thanks Laura Raganas!) and will lead several days of PD in the first week of June, right after our Closing Day.

When discussing GAFE, one of the key questions that come up is, "How is GAFE different than 'regular' Google Drive?"  Let's begin by first addressing the ways they are similar.  Drive in both modes still allows you create, collaborate with, and share files and folders.  They both have the same productivity apps (Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms and others) that allow you to make documents in the cloud in a way that never gets lost and constantly gets saved in the background.  However, there are some differences worth noting.  Here are some, but by no means all:

• GAFE has an unlimited Drive space per user (compared to 15 GB for the public version).
• GAFE operates in a "walled garden."  Besides the typical private/unlisted/public versions of regular Google documents, Sites, Blog, etc., you can also choose that certain things are only visible to users logged into the school domain.
• GAFE users have access to Google Classroom, while public Google users do not.*
• Many of the GAFE users' functions, such as Chrome apps and extensions, can be easily managed and pushed out by an admin console controlling the domain.

All of this info about GAFE is really just to give some context about today's entry.  These tools hold a lot of promise in transforming the way we collaborate and teach in our district.  One intriguing Google tool in particular is Google Forms, which is unlike Docs, Sheets, and Slides in that there is no direct Microsoft program that is its doppleganger.  At its most basic, Forms allows you to compile information from recipients -- this could be as simple as a survey.   Share the link and anyone can click on it to get to the Form and answer the questions. When you create a Form, a corresponding Sheet is made where the submissions are automatically organized and saved.   That said, it's the ability to use Google Forms as an assessment tool with students that I'm particularly excited about.  A survey could just as easily be a quiz and you could use the Sheet to review and grade answers manually.  However, what if you had a way to grade instantly, easily distribute copies of a template, and assess using a rubric that automatically attached itself to the bottom of a student's Doc?   Then you need Flubaroo, Doctopus, and Goobric.  The best part?  All three are free!

Flubaroo is a Google Add-on that is done on the Google Sheet where the submitted answers have gone.  (Find Add-on's like Flubaroo under Sheets top menu Add-ons > Get Add-Ons.  Each Add-on has to be installed with permissions given to run only once; afterwards, your Add-On will be available to run on all future Sheets when needed.)  Note that you as the teacher have to submit a correct set of answers via the Form for this to work, as Flubaroo will use this submission for an answer key.  Watch this video for how Flubaroo can grade your student's answers.  It's very easy and only takes a few times of practice before you will be an expert!

Doctopus is also another Add-on for Sheets.  It allows you to take an existing Google file -- for example, a Google Doc -- and easily send copies of it to a series of students from a previously created roster.  This in essence makes your document into a reproducible template, where the "copy" version will have its own unique file name that the student can edit without messing up your original, then share back to you for assessment.  (Note that Google Classroom does a very similar function.)  This video helps explain how to use Doctopus (thanks Jay Atwood!) as well as some general info on Google Add-ons:

Goobric is a Chrome app instead of a true Add-on.  Once installed on your Chrome browser, you are ready to partner up with Doctopus.  Goobric will take that shared template edited by your student and use a rubric (created by you, or now from a library of pre-made resources) that you can score.  This scored rubric, along with written feedback, will be attached to the bottom of the student's copy (IF it's a Google Doc) which means the student can easily see and review it.  Now you have a way of assessing more than just multiple choice quizzes; grading essays or projects can be done digitally as well.   This last video (again by Jay Atwood) walks through how to use Goobric:

Of course, there are other helpful Add-ons, but hopefully this gives you a sense of how Google Forms can truly change our efficacy and save time.   Good luck playing with these tools!

Do you use Flubaroo, Doctopus or Goobric?  What do you think of them, and how have you used them?  Share your Comments below.

*Although available to all GAFE users, we decided not to include training on Google Classroom next week for two reasons.  First, it allows us to spend more training time on other tools.  Second, we will get training on a true, robust Learning Management System when one is picked by the district and it rolls out in Fall 2015.   Starting next school year, you could decide to use Google Classroom if your students' GAFE accounts are added to the domain.

UPDATE 4/28/20: This entry remains popular (or so the Blogger metrics tell me), but since it was written nearly five years ago, it's probably not a surprise that many things have changed and updated since it was published.  I will share three things.  First: a few years ago, Google opened up Google Classroom to ALL Google accounts, so you no longer have to have an "educational domain" to use it.  Second: Google Forms now integrates a quiz feature inside of the tool that also includes a grading option, which perhaps makes some of the tools above redundant (go under the Settings gear icon to make a Form a quiz and follow these directions).  Third: while some of the add-ons above are still available and remain popular, Google Classroom integrated several of these features into itself. For example, inside of Classroom, you can make a template and "pass out" personalized (named) copies to your students, much like Doctopus could do; however, you can now do it easily and without the time-consuming use of Sheets and add-ons indicated above.

TUIT: Zachary Ramsey, SC Area Technology Center

Zachary Ramsey is an English teacher at Shelby County's Area Technology Center, or ATC.  He has been on my radar for a #ShelbyTUITshoutout for quite some time.

I first was impressed by Mr. Ramsey in the middle of the school year, when he came over from the ATC to attend one of my after-school PD's at East Middle School.  His enthusiasm and willingness to learn was extremely evident.  I next began noticing his online presence.  Zachary has grown his digital PLN on Twitter by regularly engaging in multiple edchats, even making a guest blog appearance about Twitter on Coaching Corner Collaborative (run by Jennifer Cox and Tracy Huelsman).  Mr. Ramsey has also began blogging on his new website (PBL Place) about his classroom's Project Based Learning.

The latest nudge that lead to this entry came from a visit I made to the ATC a few weeks ago:

Had a wonderful time visiting @EducatorRamsey & his students at the @shelbycountysch ATC today! pic.twitter.com/rUg6PJJih5

— Adam Watson (@watsonedtech) May 13, 2015

It was awesome to see students take a classic piece of literature and make it relevant -- in this case, using health sciences as a way of analyzing the charged emotional choices of the characters from Romeo and Juliet.

In addition, one of his students made an aura using Aurasma, an augmented reality (AR) tool that Zachary learned from an AR PD that I had presented in February.  Interested in learning more? Here's a short video that showcases how Aurasma can work in an elementary school setting. (While it's three years old, I like how it demonstrates the use of Aurasma by students.)

Congrats to Mr. Ramsey for his well-deserved and delayed #ShelbyTUITshoutout!

TUIT: Connie Putnam and Dan Edelen (Clear Creek Elementary)

Last Friday, a principal had asked if I could arrange a tour of teachers who were doing some innovative things with technology in the classroom.  As it turned out based on test scheduling and other conflicts, the best place to visit multiple teachers was Clear Creek, so away we went.  One of the teachers we saw was Janice Bullard. I had given Ms. Bullard a #ShelbyTUITshoutout back in October, so the fact that she became CCE's Teacher of the Year for 2014-2015 was not surprising.  However, after this visit, I have to make sure Connie Putnam and Dan Edelen also have their moments in the sun for their own well-deserved shoutout.

First, we saw Janice's fourth grade classroom.  I already knew she integrated tools such as Padlet and Voicethread, but her students impressed us with their ability to do so many different digital learning experiences in the same space.  Some worked individually, some had a partner or worked collaboratively in a small group, but ALL were engaged.  We even saw some use Google Docs, which makes me have hope of how it can be integrated into the learning of younger students.

Next, we visited Ms. Putnam, a second grade teacher.  After the students worked together on a learning objective ("Today we are....so that we can.....I'll know I have it when..."), they quickly moved into learning centers to apply and practice their math knowledge. Some students had iPads, others used pencil and paper.  At the end of the lesson, Ms. Putnam used Plickers as a way to check for understanding as well as pre-assess what students may need her help on Monday.   However, I learned two ways to use Plickers that I didn't know before (and to think I considered myself an expert after this blog entry!); both involved the Smart Board.  The first is that a student who wanted to change their answer could go up and uncheckmark their box, which would enable his/her card to be scanned fresh.   Not only was that a helpful tip I didn't know, but I like how Connie had students take responsibility to make a do-over.  Second, after student answers were recorded and while still in Plicker's "Live View," Ms. Putnam asked for a volunteer to come up to the board and demonstrate their work.  Using the Smart Board pens, he did just that, writing in the empty space between the question and the student names. It was a clever way of integrating the Smart Board into the learning of the whole class.

Last but not least, we visited Dan Edelen, another second grade teacher who just passed his KTIP.  Dan and his students moved seamlessly through several tools: they started with a Kahoot (more about this tool in a previous entry), wrote reflectively in their KidBlog, and finished by sharing their work to Mr. Edelen's MacBook Air (which was hooked up to his Smart Board) via the downloadable program AirServer.  Like a virtual cloud-based AppleTV but without any need for special hardware, AirServer allows students to simultaneously share their screen with a main display computer.  There is a PC and Mac version, and the program has an one-time cost of $7.99 to $11.99.

Mr. Edelen showing his AirServer in action. Note the multiple shared student screens.

As the year draws quickly to a close, I was excited to see so many teachers in one building embracing a digital conversion of learning.  I should add that while all these CCE teachers check out school devices as often as possible, none have a class set full time.   Despite not having a daily 1:1 experience, they are still facilitating fantastic learning with their students.  Kudos to Ms. Putnam and Mr. Edelen (and a nod again for Ms. Bullard) for their #ShelbyTUITshoutout!