WeDo & WeDo Extension

On Monday, November 17, in our Lego STEM Club, the High Point University seniors went to Liberty Drive Elementary to work with the Thomasville City teachers on WeDo and WeDo Extension. As I have mentioned before, some of the teachers from Thomasville are in a STEM Club through HPU and they receive some training that the other teachers don't. On the previous Saturday, some of the teachers traveled to HPU where they learned about WeDo. As a result, we wanted to extend those teachers' knowledge so we brought WeDo Extension kits as well. The teachers were broken up into groups of K-2 and 3-5, but the K-2 teachers who had already learned WeDo were going to do WeDo Extension.

Gabi, Megan, and I worked with the WeDo Extension kit with three Thomasville teachers. They were 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grade teachers. This process went extremely well because the computers give the teacher step by step directions on how to build the Ferris Wheel. I think that the only problem with this method is that it is hard to distinguish between the different Lego's when you look at the computer screen. If we had brought the books with us, it would have worked better. However, our teacher team worked together really well. They were all actively engaged and collaborating to get the project done.


One of the best things about the WeDo kits is that the they are pretty straight forward and you can quickly teach yourself how to assemble the structures. This is because the computers and books give you excellent step by step directions so that you can be successful.

The fact that this program provides so much structure also creates the biggest challenge, which was the fact that there were too many HPU students there or not nearly enough teachers. We had three HPU students and three Thomasville teachers just at my table. However, the Thomasville teachers didn't need our help, besides an occasional clarification about which Lego piece they were supposed to be using.

I think the next time we should bring activities where the HPU students can take a more active role in teaching the teachers how to use the program. WeDo is the type where you have to figure it out on your own by doing it and you don't really need someone teaching you how to do it. This method of having many HPU students available to help the teachers worked really well with the Hopscotch Program and with Story Starters & Movie Maker. The teachers needed our support with learning how to use the program.

The other challenge is that our teachers didn't really see how they could use this program within their classrooms. They said loved learning how to use it and said it was a lot of fun, but that they don't have access to the Lego kits and that it might be better for a STEM club activity for students after school for those that were interested. This is because they said that it would be too much for their students to do, that some would get too frustrated, and that it was too much to manage the whole class at once.

However, I still think that the WeDo day at Liberty Drive went really well. The teachers were extremely engaged in what they were doing and loved seeing the other programs that the groups made. It is fun to see what you can do with Lego's and technology, and how much I can learn by teaching other adults.

Hopscotch in the Classroom

 

On Monday, October 13th the 5th year STEM students traveled to Liberty Drive Elementary School, to once again meet with the Stem Club teachers from Thomasville City. This week we worked on training the teachers on how to use Hopscotch Programming. It was a brand new tool for them, so we had to start from the very beginning.

I had two other seniors in my team who were training some the 3rd-5th grade teachers. However, we only had one Liberty Drive teacher at our table, so it made for a very interesting experience. We started off by letting our teacher play with the pre-made games that are built into Hopscotch. These games show you the many different ways one can use Hopscotch. At the same time, they serve as a tutorial model, showing the user how to use the very basic programming features that are included on the app. Afterwards, we gave our teacher some challenges to design on Hopscotch and then we started talking about how she could use Hopscotch in her classroom.

One of the things I learned from this experience is that you never know what you are going to get when you go to a professional development session. Megan, Gabi, and I were prepared to be teaching several teachers at once, yet we only had one. The fact that we only had one teacher made the experience very unique in a variety of ways.

First off, I believe that the teacher felt a little uncomfortable at the beginning because she had three women sitting around prepared to teach her. This made the situation a little awkward because there wasn't enough for us, as teachers, to be doing. As a result, we were all sort of "watching her" or trying to offer advice. When she was trying to work with the program, she kept joking that she was nervous because everyone was watching her. While she said it as a joke, I'm sure she really was a little uncomfortable.

The other thing that I learned from only having one student, is that the lesson plan goes by much quicker. We didn't have as many things planned out because we assumed it would take a lot more time to go through our lesson. This is because we thought that teachers might be taking turns and sharing iPads. Also when you only have one student, you can adjust the curriculum directly to that student's needs.

However, there were a few good things that came out of only having one student. Our teacher was able to get a lot of hands-on help because every HPU teacher was available to work directly with her. We each knew something a little bit different about the program, so we could all share our experiences and our advice with her. This meant that she received a well rounded training on Hopscotch.

We were also able to focus directly on the teacher's needs and how she could use this program within her classroom. We talked about shapes and angles but the unfortunate thing is that she and her students do not have access to much technology, including iPads. This means that she really isn't able to implement this kind of technology within her classroom. However, our teacher mentioned that she believes her kids would like working with this app, so in the future she might have the opportunity to use it.

Overall, I think that this week went over well since the HPU students in my group and I, knew exactly what was going to be happening at Liberty Drive. We were more prepared for how our meetings with the Stem Club teachers were going to go, since we had done it once before. I also felt a lot more comfortable since the room wasn't as loud because that tends to stress me out. I think that the teachers and I have both learned more about how to work with Hopscotch Programming and how to use it in the classroom. I am excited to come back after fall break and continue working with the teachers at Liberty Drive Elementary.

Teaching with Legos

On Monday, September 22, 2014, the students from the EDU 4511 technology class went to Liberty Drive Elementary School, where we met with the teachers in the High Point University Stem Club. These are teachers who are currently taking technology classes taught by HPU professors. The senior elementary education students are in the process of teaching additional classes to the Liberty Drive Stem Club teachers.

This week the topic was on Lego Story Starters and Lego Movie Maker. During the previous weekend, the teachers traveled to HPU where they learned about Lego Story Starters. This was especially helpful because we had a lot to cover within the hour that we had the teachers and it was convenient that they already knew about one of the Lego programs and how it works. When we went to the school, Megan, Gabi, and I were able to jump right in to the lesson. We explained what the project was, how it works, showed them a model, and then told them what to do. While the lesson was completed, there certainly were some challenges and successes along the way.

One of the problems we encountered right off the bat, was that there were less teachers than we were expecting. Our group of three HPU students only had two teachers to work with. This made it slightly awkward because we all wanted to talk to the teachers, but it certainly wasn't necessary. At times we were accidently interrupting one another as we all tried to speak.This was a result of not being completely prepared with what we are going to do and say. Since our class doesn't spend much time meeting, we must meet up outside of class time, if extra preparation time is necessary. I learned that we should spend a little more time preparing what we are going to teach, or at least all drive down together that way we can talk about what we are going to do once we have the teachers.

The other issue was that we didn't have very much space to work with. This is certainly something that is bound to happen every once it a while, but it definitely presented some issues. The tables were too small for five people to sit at and to build. Once again, I learned that teachers always have to be flexible because we never know what materials we are going to be supplied with. This is also a great reason why teachers should always have a back-up plan, along with being as prepared as possible for the situation given to you.

The one thing that went really well, is the fact that our teachers got the chance to record their own voices on the videos that they were making. I'm very glad that they got the opportunity to practice working with it this way because I noticed that most groups only used the pre-recorded sounds and didn't try out making their own recordings. By introducing our teachers to as many features that the app offers as is possible, the teachers are more likely to feel comfortable implementing this technology within their own classroom.

Once more, I was also reminded that students will always be able to teach their teachers something new, if you keep your eyes and ears open for it. The Liberty Drive teachers actually showed us how you can set the clip length to be the same length as the voice recording. We didn't know that the app could do that, and it certainly is a useful feature that I'm glad the teachers discovered. By learning how to use this, it will be helpful in reducing the amount of time students spend editing their videos. This feature will also be especially useful for the students who don't have the patience to play around with all the editing features that are included.

Overall, this experience has been very positive. I feel that the teachers and I have both learned more about working with Lego Story Starters and Lego Movie Maker. I think that this is an excellent opportunity for our class, as university students, to share with teachers the knowledge that we have gained. Our knowledge can be passed to students much more quickly, since we are sharing it with teachers who have current students. I am looking forward to learning about Hopscotch Programming in the coming week and once again meeting with the teachers of Liberty Drive Elementary School.   

Technology in the Classroom

 

Two of the technology tools we are working with this semester are Twitter, Evernote, and Skitch. We are learning about how these programs can help enhance the classroom experience. This has been particularly interesting for me because I have never used either of the tools before.

While using Twitter for social media and staying connected with friends has always been a well known use of Twitter, its place in the classroom is quickly coming into view. Teachers are learning more about how to integrate Twitter in their professional learning networks.

A professional learning network, commonly known as a PLN, is an informal learning community of colleagues (Lalonde, 2012). These people connect from all over the world, in the goal of learning from each other and sharing information.

Part of the reason that Twitter has taken off as a PLN is because it has provided teachers with constant access to other professional educators, day or night (Lalonde, 2012). Instead of simply waiting for the weekly grade level meeting, teachers are able to ask for help and continue to receive professional development at the tip of their fingers, whenever they need it.

It takes a bit of time and a plan, in order to gain a PLN of quality educators. It requires the sharing of useful information, along with following the right people (Witby, 2013). Instead of just focusing on who is following you or what you are tweeting, it is more helpful to be a follower of professional educators and retweet the pertinent information that you read. You can quickly determine the quality of a useful follower by reading their previous tweets and following the people that they follow (Witby, 2013).

While it is not necessary to write your own tweets, it is helpful to share the ones that you find useful. By sharing what you find, the information continues to spread, helping more people along the way.

This is the part that interests me as an educator. I have not had a Twitter because I haven't been interested in sharing personal information on another social media website, but I can see how Twitter can operate a little differently. I can monitor what type of information I see and I can gather all kinds of updates and ideas, to stay current in my field without having to write my own tweets.

Once you feel comfortable operating Twitter, you can even incorporate it into your lesson plans. The Internet is filled with ideas on implementing Twitter with your students. A few examples can be found on Teachhub and Edudemic.

Another tool that is spreading into the field of education is Evernote and it's partner Skitch. Evernote is a program that allows users to store information that will sync into your computer, tablet, and phone, whether you are at school or at home. It is being used to store lesson plans, write notes on student work, take pictures, and record video. The version on the Internet even allows you to clip images and webpages that are saved directly into Evernote.

One of the best features with Evernote is that it is a free organizational tool. Students and teachers are both able to create notebooks full of information and share them with each other. There are less papers to keep track of because everything is stored right in Evernote. Web clippings and lectures can also be stored in the same notebooks as PDF documents and typed notes.

The Internet is filled with suggestions about how to integrate Evernote in your classroom. One article by Katie Peila, a third grade teacher in Montana, wrote about an abundance of ways in which she uses Evernote with her class. Her ideas were even broken down into categories including professional work, classroom organization, student work, and checklists (Peila, 2013).

While teachers quickly are learning about Evernote, even students, like a 2nd grader on YouTube, know the benefits. Her teacher recorded a video about how her student uses Evernote for reading fluency. She took pictures from the pages of a book she was reading and then recorded herself reading it aloud. Later on, she watched the video, made comments on her read aloud, and made goals for next time.

One of Evernote's programs that can assist with this process is Skitch. Skitch integrates with Evernote seamlessly through the capturing and editing of pictures. The main benefit of Skitch is that you use it to mark up pictures with writing, arrows and images. These photos can then be stored on Evernote for future use.

Teachers have found many uses for editing pictures within their classroom. These include capturing webpages and telling students how to navigate them, pointing out locations on a map, practicing their rainbow writing, or recording student thinking when you've taken a picture of their work (Mere, 2012).

I have found that Evernote can be a real life saver when organizing and saving information. While I have always been the type to hand write my notes, I am still finding the benefits that come with Evernote and Skitch. No longer am I worrying about my notebooks getting old and the pages ripping out. I don't have to go into Paint, after emailing myself a picture, in order to edit it. I can start using these programs. The more time that I spend having them available as tools, the more I will likely use them on a day to day basis.

While this blog is merely meant to introduce you to some of the educational uses available with Twitter, Evernote, and Skitch, your imagination is the limit on how you want to use these tools. As a backup plan, the Internet abounds with so many more articles, blogs, and YouTube videos about how to use this technology in your classroom. Even Evernote themselves hosted an hour long webinar for teachers on how to use their programs in the classroom. 

Lalonde, C. (2012, SEP). How important is twitter in your personal learning network? . Retrieved from http://elearnmag.acm.org/featured.cfm?aid=2379624

Mere, C. (2012, JUL 20). Using skitch in your classroom. Retrieved from http://reflectandrefine.blogspot.com/2012/07/using-skitch-in-your-classroom.html  

Peila, K. (2013, SEP 12). Using evernote in your classroom . Retrieved from http://www.theorganizedclassroomblog.com/index.php/blog/using-evernote-in-your-classroom

Whitby, T. (2013, JAN 11). Building a professional learning network on twitter. Retrieved from http://smartblogs.com/education/2013/01/11/twitter-strategy-101/