Cell phones are not allowed in school! We see it over and over and over and... Yes, our students are still using their cell phones in school whether we are looking at not. Kids wear their hooded sweatshirts to hide phones in their pockets. They hide their phones under their books, in their purses, and even their book bags. Some schools are even raising the white flag and saying that they are allowed.
Leave it to our students to be creative and find a loophole! Many people worry about how our country will regain its status as one of the most powerful countries in the world. Well, maybe if our kids grow up to be as creative as they are when solving problems about using their....cell phones....maybe we'll be ok!
The fact is that our students are still using their cell phones without using cell phones! They are texting via websites like:
When you give instructions, what is the first thing that you do? You explain everything, provide examples, ask if there are any questions...and....then you realize that there were 3 kids who weren't there that day. The next day one of your three students is still missing. You realize that 8 of your students have no idea how to complete a certain portion of the assignment and your other 20 students have a pretty good grasp on the material. The story goes on and on. The scenarios are endless.
I thought about this the other day. How can I provide directions that reach all students and not leave a few out in the dark? How can I provide the supports I need from the beginning and not make adjustments when they arise (regardless of the scenario or situation)? This is the Universal Design for Learning approach to giving directions, taking ALL learners into consideration from the start when designing a lesson.
I decided to take a different approach to giving out directions and combined LiveBinders and Screencast-o-Matic to accomplish the task. This may sound very difficult, but this is what I did.
I created a LiveBinder with 2 tabs. In one tab, I provided a PDF copy of my directions.
In my second tab, I used Screencast-o-Matic to provide short video clips / tutorials of information my students needed to know for the assignment.
This was a great way to provide supports for the students that needed it and allowing the students who had a good grasp on material, the ability to work ahead. My role has shifted from sounding like a broken record (isn't it sad that our kids have no idea what this expression means?) to providing them with the content that they need. I am able to teach instead of repeat! In a sense, we are creating interactive directions!
What is springtime like for you? Many of us use it as an opportunity to "spring clean" and get organized. It's a time to get our lives together and our cabinets organized. What about your schedule and task list? It's during this time of year that schools are winding down and teachers are starting to think ahead for next year. Why not keep a list of your plans / tasks on your iPhone, Droid, iPad, or laptop?
Wunderlist is a great site out of Berlin, which allows you to do exactly that. If you sign up for an account, you can sync you "to-do" list between your phone, computer and iPad. I really like that you can divide your list into categories. For instance, I like to come up with a list to do "Today," "This Week," and "This Month."
Wunderlist gives you an opportunity to "filter" your lists or see them all together. Like many task list sites out there, it allows you to even "star" important tasks and see tasks that you have completed.
Universal Design for Learning is a learning concept that is based on scientifically-based research, stating that students need to learn materials by stimulating different brain networks with different means of perception, action, and engagement. When we represent materials in different ways, our student's brains make a "connection" with material. This is why visual learners find it so effective to watch video clips. They may connect with a video example during or after instruction to make connections with material.
However, in this same classroom, this may not do anything for the "hands-on" learner. So how do we design a curriculum or lesson that stimulates both? We take these learning differences into consideration from the beginning.
One way to enhance the way that we represent a concept is through simulations or interactive activities. Many of us are not privileged enough to have a full computer lab, however, the following website may be useful with just a laptop and a projector (check out my No Smart Board? No Problem! website for more ideas). The idea is to stimulate different parts of the brain so that our students make a connection with material.
A great tool for this could be Interactives, a website that is devoted to provide educators and students with "strategies, content, and activities that can enhance and improve students' skills in a variety of curriculum areas." I loved checking out the 3D Geometry section, where you could interact with 3D shapes on a website and learn Geometry at the same time! There is even an Amusement Park Physics game for students to practice what they learned in class, in a unique way. I call this the "back door" approach, having students learn in a not-so-obvious way. This site provides a variety of activities that could provide different ways of representing material, which in turn, would stimulate the learning process.
"I'm tired of creating user names and passwords. I just want something to create a quick poll and be done with it!" said one of my overwhelmed with technology colleagues. "I just want to get quick feedback without a lot of hoops to go through."
I have to admit, I am the same way. I don't want to add anymore user names and passwords to my digital footprint, when it comes to creating a poll. I want to get feedback from my students in order to create a flexible curriculum, which impacts all learning styles.
In order to help this colleague of mine, I decided to do a good search on "Polling Sites." I was bombarded with Survey Monkey and Google Forms, which are both great tools, but require a username and password.
I came across a great site called Poll Code, which allows you to create free polls online. No username or password is needed. It is simple and easy to customize. Just type in your question and responses. Customize the appearance with a few clicks and it will generate an html code or weblink that you can share via email or on your website. Not tech saavy? It even allows you to automatically make a "quick post" to your blog, Facebook page, Twitter, and tons more!
Once the poll is created, participants can vote 1 time per day, week, month, or year (depending on how you set it up). If participants try to vote from their computer, it will not let them (because of your computers unique IP address). It also allows participants to see results after they have voted!
Need help using this technology? Check out the Learn-Lead-Grow website. or my What to Do in Just a Few video below:
Social Bookmarking sites like Delicious and Diigo have changed the way that we are able to share information. The emergence of Pinterest has changed things even more! What is Social Bookmarking? It's a way to share web links over the Internet through the use of websites. You no longer have to worry about bookmarking your favorite links to your computer. Wherever you are, you can access all of your links by simply visiting your Social Bookmarking website. Yet many teachers and schools are skeptical about using Social Bookmarking because some say its too difficult. Others say there is no place for it in the classroom. Others say that they don't want another username and password. Others say that they don't have the time.
Stich.It
I want to share with you a quick and easy way to share web links by stitching together websites through Stich.It (yes I spelled it right!). This site allows you to pair up related web sites, photos, videos, etc. and then it generates a unique URL, so that you can share your links for the rest of the world!
How would I use this for my situation?
I can see this being used as a way to "stich" a chapter together by sharing links, pictures, and video clips all related to the topic of your choice. Another thing that I like about this site, is the fact that it is a very visual way of interacting with bookmarks. Most sites just contain thumbnails and descriptions of the text. Stich.It allows you to view a full-screen picture of your link. It is also very easy to interact with. The hyperlink is your picture.
If you are using UDL in your classrooms, it is very "UDL-friendly" because it provides another way of representing material for your hands-on and visual learners. Because of its easy to use platform and interface, students of all abilities are able to navigate through it very easily.
Many people have asked me, how can you use Google Presentations in the classroom. I use them very often. In fact, I often have my students collaborate on Google Presentations as another alternative to notes. Students are assigned a slide to prepare and then they must present the material later on.
I always get the question: what if the students make a mistake? Or they don't have enough information? The beauty of a Google Presentation is that it is an example of cloud computing...meaning...many students can work on it at the same time and it is saved on a server somewhere in the world. So if I make changes, everyone will have the same changes. Google presentations are great study tools as well! Now you don't have to have your students copy down notes from another classmate. They just have to have a link instead. Check out this latest installment of "What to Do in Just a Few" to see how to set this up. If you are interested in learning more about using different types of technology, visit my Learn - Lead - Grow website at http://learn-lead-grow.weebly.com/
Leave it to our students to be creative and find a loophole! Many people worry about how our country will regain its status as one of the most powerful countries in the world. Well, maybe if our kids grow up to be as creative as they are when solving problems about using their....cell phones....maybe we'll be ok! 
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