Remodel your classroom with no budget!

Every teacher has a dream vision of the perfect classroom. It has the perfect landscape and ample space for everything we could ever wish to do. It’s full of technology and things we know that are rare in classrooms due to funding. In order to create my picture perfect classroom I use the program SketchUp. SketchUp allows creativity and ingenuity to take over and gives you the tools to create things the way you see them at their best. The program is easy to use and can be downloaded for free at  http://www.sketchup.com/products/sketchup-make.

Rockfish Hoke Elementary School is a Title 1 school so we lack some things some public schools may have. Technology is spread as best as possible. Every room has a SmartBoard and 1-3 iPads. Technology is only as useful as the people using it allow it to be. Anyone can teach a lesson using a SmartBoard. It is how we use the technology to create new and improved ways of learning through social and practical ways of teaching. I firmly believe that my students learn best in small groups of peers when they can bounce ideas of each other and self correct. I also believe that a hands on approach adds to success in a classroom.

I have a constructivist approach to teaching. “The teacher does not simply stand by, however, and watch children explore and discover. Instead, the teacher may often guide students as they approach problems, may encourage them to work in groups to think about issues and questions, and support them with encouragement and advice as they tackle problems, adventures, and challenges that are rooted in real life situations that are both interesting to the students and satisfying in terms of the result of their work (“Social Constructivist Theories”, 2015)”. Allowing students the time and opportunity to collaborate greatly improves their chances of success.

In my SketchUp classroom, I have completely remodeled my room and spared no cost! I took out the outdated desks, useless cabinetry, and just about everything else. I wanted to create a 21st Century classroom with a student centered feel. I added technology that we will soon be receiving and gave each child a Chromebook. I added the Chromebooks because “…Telecommunications tools such as e-mail and the Internet provide a means for dialogue, discussion, and debate — interactivity that leads to the social construction of meaning (“Social Constructivist Theories”, 2015)”. Chromebooks allow students to have access to Google Drives which opens the door to a plethora of learning opportunities.

Below, you can see my remodeled classroom.

1) Picture one is an overhead view of how my classroom will be set up. My desk is in the corner so that I can see every student in front of me. You can also see the SmartBoard located on the front wall. Directly above my desk you will see a table. On that table I have numerous iPads and tablets available for student center work.

2) Picture two is an overhead view of the opposite wall. Here you can see an independent reading station I have created using bean bag chairs and a few bookshelves. I also added the white board in the back.

3) Picture three is a view from desk. I need to be able to see all my students if I am working with a single student. It is also a great way to see all the tech available in the room.

4) Picture four is from the back of the room. We can see the  brand new desks I have placed into the room. Each desk fits two students comfortably. I find that students get bothered by being in groups of 4-5 all year and this will give them relief from that. I also love two students at one table because it allows for peer collaboration. Sometime students learn better from peers who can explain it at their friends level then from a teacher.

5) Picture five is view from the back corner of the room where the independent reading station is. The layout of the classroom is open and allows for the more mobile teachers, like myself, room to maneuver around the room while teaching. Students also have chairs with wheels so that they may turn around if instruction is being used on the whiteboard in the back of the room.

6) Picture six is a view from where my door is. I believe that if your room doesn’t look inviting and fun students will check out and you will lose them. Classrooms are supposed to be fun places. That is why I designed my classroom to have a fun look to it all while keeping it professional as a learning environment.

Total costs:

Chromebooks: $149.99 x 20= $2,998.99
Desk chairs: $77.68 x 20 = $1553.60
Bean Bag chairs: $63.62 x 3= $190.86
SmartBoard: $1749 x 1= $1749
Ipad Mini: $173 x 4= $692

Total: $7,184.45

(All costs were from Amazon.com)

References:

3D for Everyone. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from http://www.sketchup.com/

Social Constructivist Theories. (n.d.). Retrieved April 11, 2015, from http://viking.coe.uh.edu/~ichen/ebook/et-it/social.htm

CEP 811 Lesson Plan Rationale

CEP 811 Lesson Plan

This week in CEP 811, I have created a simple lesson plan that includes my Maker Kit. Students will be reading a passage to meet an ELA standard that consists of comparing and contrasting characters in text. Once they have completed the passage they will make questions using our schools question stems. They will then use a Maker Kit to create a simple circuit that will illuminate an answer choice for a short quiz. Students will grade their own “quiz” and receive immediate feedback. You can see a better rationale for the decisions I made below.

Rationale:

• Why are students reading the passage they are reading?

• Common Core Standards for North Carolina 5.RL.3 Compare and contrast two or more characters or events in  a story.
  • We have taken three quarterly benchmarks. Our scores on this standard for those three benchmarks are:
    • 22.3%
    • 15.7%
    • 23.1%

• Why are students doing this?

• In my classroom, I am a firm believer of reaching as many of Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences in one lesson as possible without overdoing it! According to Howard Gardner (Gardner, 1983), in this lesson we are touching on logical, linguistic, bodily kinesthetic, interpersonal and intrapersonal intelligences. Students are using logic to make switches, moving around to see question stems and reading and writing in order to make questions for themselves and classmates.

• Why give immediate feedback?

• In a study done by Black and William (2007, pp. 1-3), They state, “Providing students with formative feedback helps them adjust and modify their work”. Feedback is crucial to success. It allows my students to see what they did wrong instantly instead of waiting until after I have graded it. It also opens the door to learning opportunities for students.

Citation Page

Black, & William. (2007). Immediate Feedback to Students and Student Learning. 1-6. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.educationpartnerships.org

Chang, N. (2011). Pre-service teachers’ views: How did e-feedback through assessment facilitate their learning? Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(2), 16-33.l

Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. New York: Basic Books

Immediate Feedback

In a study done by Ni Chang (Chang, 2011, pp. 16-33) involving twenty pre service teachers was completed to explore whether or not students supported the way a university course instructor provided feedback and how that feedback facilitated learning. Chang characterized feedback as “…comments and responses that an instructor provides to students’ written assignments or learning activities submitted…”(Chang, 2011, pp. 16-33). The study found that 90% of the surveyed agreed that the feedback was important to learning. Also, “the statistics show that the students preferred the feedback that the instructor returns quickly, but do not appreciate lengthy feedback”(Chang, 2011, pp. 16-33). The coaching during written feedback was detailed, pointing out strengths and weaknesses in relation to a particular requirement. The study consisted of ongoing communication between student and teacher ultimately aiding student achievement. 85% of the students supported that the teacher offered extended instruction outside of the classroom to each student that was individualized and on each student’s’ level. Conclusively, the students supported the feedback and felt that it helped them. Chang illuminates why feedback is so crucial to enhancing student performance with the following quote: “an instructor was able to appropriately identify misunderstandings and offer knowledge so that students were able to enhance their own learning through corrections”(Chang, 2011, pp. 16-33).

 

Giving immediate feedback to students is crucial because students’ need to enhance their own learning. According to Bransford, Brown and Cocking (Bransford, Brown, and Cocking, 1999, p. 18), “A metacognitive approach to instruction can help students learn to take control of their own learning by defining learning goals and monitoring their progress in achieving them”(Bransford et al,1999, p. 18). Metacognition is simply thinking about thinking. The study done by Chang (2011)  was done with university students, however, the result can easily be translated to elementary schools. Students need the feedback to engage in metacognition, subsequently, reinforcing learning.

 

Black and William (Black and William, 2007, pp. 1-3), found that students who are low achievers do particularly well when provided high quality feedback about their work. They state, “Providing students with formative feedback helps them adjust and modify their work”(Black, et al, 2007). The study consisted of providing formative assessments to provide constructive feedback for students. Research from Black and William shows that feedback “…allows a student to practice their knowledge, adjust, and modify and grow from constructive feedback”(Black et al, 2007).

 

According to Bransford, Brown and Cocking (Bransford, Brown and Cocking, 1999, p19), “This means that teachers must draw out and work with the preexisting understandings that their students bring with them.” Feedback is an extremely useful tool on the belt of educators; if used correctly. Feedback needs to be tailored to the individual’s level and learning style. A student should look at feedback and “…adjust, modify and grow from constructive feedback”(Black et al, 2007) or else it is rendered useless. Angela O’Donnell states in chapter three of K.R. Harris’s book that “The tools provide affordances or support for particular kinds of cognitive activity and allow members of the community to act in particular ways that would not be possible without the tools” (Harris, 2012, p. 69).

Richard Culatta, Director for the Office of Technology for the U.S, states that “Technology enables real time feedback and allows us to have maps that show us exactly where a student is going and if they are having trouble it shows them how to get back on track”(Richard Culatta, 2015).  Culatta paints a masterpiece of immediate feedback. He speaks to how learning could be used like a GPS. If we get lost, we simply turn on the GPS. Feedback works just like that GPS during a students road to education. According to Culatta, “…feedback allows us to adjust the pace, gives learners agency, and creates creators”(Richard Culatta, 2015). Feedback played a crucial role in raising pass rates, lowering dropout rates and improving test scores. All of which were done in programs that provided immediate feedback.

 

Maker education is silently creeping into education. Repurposing tools that we use for it’s intended purpose and turning it into something totally different has become something that students can really benefit from. With most Maker Kits, you must learn how to use the kit before experimenting. What better time than to introduce feedback strategies than during a multistep maker education lesson. O’Donnell states that a “tutor provides feedback at each step so that the tutee understands when he or she is correct and is provided with information about why other answers are incorrect”(Harris, 2012, p. 75). Feedback is a crucial aspect of education regardless of what type of lesson being taught.  Ultimately, the question becomes: Is feedback that important? Will it help guide the student further towards success or stray them into the frustrational zone of proximal development?

Citations:

 

Black, & William. (2007). Immediate Feedback to Students and Student Learning. 1-6. Retrieved March 26, 2015, from http://www.educationpartnerships.org

 

Bransford, J.D., Brown, A.L., & Cocking, R.R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience and school. National Academies Press. Retrieved from http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309070368.

 

Chang, N. (2011). Pre-service teachers’ views: How did e-feedback through assessment facilitate their learning? Journal of Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 11(2), 16-33.l

 

O’Donnell, A. (2012). Constructivism. In APA Educational Psychology Handbook: Vol. 1. Theories, Constructs, and Critical Issues. K. R. Harris, S. Graham, and T. Urdan (Editors-in-Chief). Washgington, DC: American Psychological Association. DOI: 10.1037/13273-003.

Watch “Reimagining Learning: Richard Culatta at TEDxBeaconStreet” Video at TEDxTalks. (n.d.). Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Reimagining-Learning-Richard-Cu

Geography meets Science

This week I was experimenting with a kit from Chibitronics called the Circuit Sticker Sketchbook. With this book, I have learned a smidgen of circuitry using copper foil tape and tiny LED lights. Using a 3V battery and some creativity, it is possible to create some very interesting things.

This weekend I have chosen to challenge myself to see how I could integrate this new found knowledge into my teaching. I teach 5th grade ELA and S.S. so you can see how I was at quiet the crossroads. Teaching about circuitry and connections using this kit seems to be a science lesson. However, I took it and finagled it into a geography lesson.

First, I had to learn how to use the kit. Below, you can see the learning process in a slideshow of using the kit.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Once I completed the “How to” phase of the process, I began to allow my inner teacher to take over. I thought to myself, why not turn this into a geography lesson? I could draw a map, and put the circuitry under it and important spots of the map would light up. So that is exactly what I did. However, I used some repurposed tools. I ventured into the dark depths of the mystery closet in my apartment and found the lid to an old box and sketchbook paper. The rest is history!

1- Pick a state or country
2- Print or draw said location and map important locations.
3- Circle the parts you need LED lights to shine behind.
4- Complete circuitry on back of the sketch paper.
5- Tape to box lid
6- Set up battery and let the learning begin!

You can see a brief description of my Geography meets Science exploration below!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lH_I2EdMHvk&feature=youtu.be

Creative Remix using PopcornMaker

During the first week of CEP811, I have learned that few things in this world are original. We copy copies and then copy those copies and ultimately fine tune what we think is great entertainment. My mind was blown watching a few videos from Everything is a Remix realizing that some of my favorite music, movies, and even toys, are simply just recreated masterpieces of something that previously existed.

PopcornMaker is a wonderful site where you can splice videos and images into making a remix video. This week, I really wanted to emphasize something that I try to instill in my students. The message is to never give up and always do your absolute best. If you give your all you will succeed.

In my video, I combined two movies and a few images to tell you my stance on motivating my students. You can enjoy the video here. Hope you like it!!!!

https://glenmiller39.makes.org/popcorn/2tgt

Sources for Blog Post:

1) Lessig, L. (2008). Remix: Making art and commerce thrive in the hybrid economy. New York: Penguin Press.

Sources for video:

1) The Death Crawl scene from Facing the Giants. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-sUKoKQlEC4

2) Rocky Balboa’s inspirational speech to his son. (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z5OookwOoY

3) (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://massiveonlineaction.com/famous-winston-churchill-quotations/&ei=ijsEVdOtLPb-sATLzYGAAg&bvm=bv.88198703,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNGZYvdWTBMADzPFV5HVx7yHk8Kwdw&ust=1426427144264116

3) (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CAcQjRw&url=http://funmozar.com/motivational-quotes-for-students/&ei=CTwEVZSlBMvjsAThzIHoAQ&bvm=bv.88198703,d.cWc&psig=AFQjCNH7JE6opb566ibVky4_RYgFQVtKSA&ust=1426427268349220

4) (n.d.). Retrieved March 14, 2015, from http://www.erica.biz/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/failure-success.jpg

Course Wrap Up

CEP 810 has been an excellent experience. I have really enjoyed the class because of how unique it is. I have taken over 30 online credits and none of them were as memorable as this one. Our professors have found ways to present content in the most entertaining and engaging ways. For instance, we learned an entire week about cooking in a Master’s Program in Educational Technology. The week was tying cooking with horribly inappropriate kitchen utensils to cook the simplest of things. The whole experience led back to a TPACK model of how we must adapt things and modify them to use them how we need to. The whole course was practically this way. When you find a way to teach content that is fun, engaging and intriguing for adults you have quite the talent for teaching. The content of the course flirted on the fence between instructional level and frustrational level for me. Since I am a first year teacher, and I am relatively young still, I struggled with some content and keeping up with my teaching. However, the experience is one I would never change. I had a blast with the unorthodox format and unique assignments. My favorite moments were reading about how technology is taking over education, learning calligraphy using only YouTube and help forums, and making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich using a potato masher.

Teaching for understanding has gone to a whole new level. In college, we learn what seems like thousands of theories and theorists that have unique ideas about learning and understanding. We learned through this course that we need to teach for understanding on a new level. Through this course we discovered many different technologies that will help us complete this task. Some of the technologies I used is WordPress, Wunderlist, Schoology, Google Calendar, and more.

My professional practice has already begun a change. By far, the most important technology I have used so far is Wunderlist. Wunderlist is a to-do list app that allows you to make lists of things you have to do. It has significantly helped me organize my teaching and personal life. I also am challenging myself to hold my students to higher understanding of the content I am teaching. I would love to integrate more technology that I have learned in this course.

A question I have about the course is more about pedagogy than content. I would like to know how my professors find the balance between an assignment that is too far off and one that is too dull and boring. This class had a unique aspect that I would like to add my teaching skills. I would love to figure out more technologies that I could use to better myself and my teaching. After this course, I am left with a lingering question of how to apply each appropriate technology into a classroom with success on a level that students will be able to understand.

Cooking with TPACK

This week was full of surprises…literally. During my assignment this week, Cooking with TPACK, I was given 3 random kitchen tools and picked a random cooking task out of a hat. The purpose of the assignment was to repurpose the tools I was given to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. After watching https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bwXYa91fvQ, a video explaining TPACK, my ultimate goal was to repurpose tools just as teacher repurpose technology. Making a classic PB&J with a potato masher, a plate and a bowl was actually easier than I thought. Obviously, a knife would have been the optimum tool. However, repurposing the potato masher and using the opposite end was quite effective.

According to Dr. Mishra, “There is no such thing as educational technology. There is a variety of different technologies and our job is to repurpose and customize them to fit our needs.” There are numerous types of technologies we use everyday. Rarely are we using them for their intended purpose. According to tpack.org, “Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) is a framework that identifies the knowledge teachers need to teach effectively with technology.” As teachers, we repurpose technology to aid or content and pedagogy just as I repurposed a potato masher into making a scrumptious PB&J sandwich.

References:

Kereluik, K., Mishra, P. & Koehler, M.J. (2011). On learning to subvert signs: Literacy, technology and the TPACK framework. The California Reader, 44(2), 12-18. download .pdf
Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for teacher knowledge. Teachers College Record, 108(6), 1017-1054. Retrieved from http://punya.educ.msu.edu/publications/journal_articles/mishra-koehler-tcr2006.pdf download .pdf

Calligraphy Wrap up

My 5 week journey through calligraphy has been an entertaining, frustrating, overall wonderful experience. Learning a skill from scratch can be difficult. Using help forums such as www.wetcanvas.com and Youtube channels such as Scribble, certainly allows the process to be much easier when learning calligraphy. While learning calligraphy, I found that finding the patience to complete the simplest of tasks was seldom. This video will allow you to see my journey through calligraphy one week at a time. I will show you my learning goals followed by an end product of each goal. I tell you about my final goal and letter sent to my professor.

Calligraphy has been fun and exciting to learn. It put a giant smile on my dad’s face when he received his letter. It was always a dream of his to write in calligraphy so I am happy I could live it out for him. (Hopefully, he will give it a shot!)

Learning a skill is always hard. Learning a skill using ONLY Youtube and help forums certainly narrows the playing field of potential help. At many times I was offered resources from books to tools from outside sources only to have to turn them all down. Calligraphy, unfortunately, is a dying art. Finding a help forum that was consistently engaging in positive constructive conversation was difficult. It was also difficult to hear back from other users as I’m sure there is not much traffic coming their way. I have always been a visual learner, so I learned most of the process through Scribble’s Youtube Channel. You can find that channel here at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvJGU6BCMT1Ei0K8OHsyxgQ.

In the future, I plan to teach my father how to write in Calligraphy. He has always liked the idea but has always lacked the initiative and know-how to begin to learn. I would also like to use this as a way to contact parents for awards ceremonies that we hold every quarter. It is a fun way to interact with parents that is not so boring and low key. Check back for more calligraphy fun!

21st Century Lesson Plan

In order to support the 21st Century learning objectives, I created a lesson that supports the Thomas and Brown culture of learning. Douglas Thomas and John Seely Brown (2011) suggest that learning must endure change. According to Thomas and Brown (2011), “Students must learn to know where to find what they need to know, know how to make things that represent their learning across a range of contexts, and perhaps most importantly, know how to play.” With this lesson, students are given a Prezi on the Legislative Branch. In order to find new information, we will conduct a classroom Congress. In order to enhance play, we will divide the classroom into the House and the Senate. We will all write bills to amend or create classroom policies. Once written, bills will go through the process of trying to become a law. Students in the House will vote, than the Senate, than ultimately, the teacher will pass the bill or veto. This lesson hits the five core competencies of Thomas and Brown. Students will access analyze, create, reflect and act during this lesson (Thomas and Brown 2011). You will find the lesson plan here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/18U7RMju77XRIj6pQHQcT0wXsS7Z2soa4sHjWGYuIyZY/edit?usp=sharing

References:

Thomas, D., & Brown, J. S. (2011). A new culture of learning: Cultivating the imagination for a world of      constant change. Lexington, Ky: CreateSpace?.

GTD (Getting Things Done)

David Allen gave a wonderful TED presentation on GTD. As a teacher, I find that my to do list outweighs the amount of time in a day. I have papers to grade, lessons to write, conferences to set up and what seems like an endlessly long list of more things to do. After experiencing GTD from David Allen, I found that organization and simple strategies are very effective. Layering to do lists by importance and duration it will take to complete those tasks certainly makes it easier to get things done.

In order to organize my daily life, I decided to give Wunderlist a try. Wunderist is a simple way to help get things done. The program allows you to create lists. As a list maker, I find that I too often lose my list or forget to bring it with me. To combat this issue, I simply downloaded the app to my phone and now I have my lists everywhere I go. The app allows me to set times and reminders. It also allows me to check off completed tasks so that I know what I GOT things done.

Here are some pictures from the app in action.