If you as a teacher are worried that the comments will be missed, it is possible to email the student with the comment. Here is how it is done.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
Google Docs - Comments
A very powerful system of commenting will always help students learn. It can be in the style of a formative assessment or used as a help system with students struggling to understand a skill such as writing. Google Drive has a fill commenting system and this short video will help you use them.
If you as a teacher are worried that the comments will be missed, it is possible to email the student with the comment. Here is how it is done.
If you as a teacher are worried that the comments will be missed, it is possible to email the student with the comment. Here is how it is done.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
Google Documents Part 2
There are some amazing tools associated with documents in Google Drive. The first one we will look at is translating a document to another language.
Now look at using the Research Tool. This is a powerful tool that has many uses. Watch the video to see some of the uses.
Now look at using the Research Tool. This is a powerful tool that has many uses. Watch the video to see some of the uses.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Google Documents Part 1
Today we are going to start to look at Documents in Google Drive. This is the word processor part of Google Drive and I think you will find it very easy to use. It is very similar to many of the word processors we use everyday here at school with some neat improvements.
Next let's look at inserting and manipulating images.
Next let's look at inserting and manipulating images.
There is a built-in system for Math Equations/Formulas. It is fairly easy to use. Watch this short video to learn how it works.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Organising Your Google Drive
Much like a computer, your google drive can be organized with folders. Here is a short video to help you with this.
Remember, part of the power in Google Drive is the sharing function. Google makes the sharing personalized to your tastes.
There are issues with using folders inside of folders, commonly referred to as Sub-Folders. They do work as they are suppose to, but may show up twice in a users interface. Google seems to be aware of this and will patch it at some point in time. Remember, over all, if you are sharing something, there should be a need for the share.
Remember, part of the power in Google Drive is the sharing function. Google makes the sharing personalized to your tastes.
There are issues with using folders inside of folders, commonly referred to as Sub-Folders. They do work as they are suppose to, but may show up twice in a users interface. Google seems to be aware of this and will patch it at some point in time. Remember, over all, if you are sharing something, there should be a need for the share.
Sunday, September 29, 2013
Changed the name.....lets get going
I have just changed the name from 1:1 Notes to ISB Google. I did this for several reasons.
1. I am concerned that there are many students graduating from ISB without really knowing the power behind the google set of Apps. This could mean that as they move on to university, they are behind their peers.
2. There is so much integration in Google that will help students in both high school and university make their lives less complicated.
3. 1:1 Notes is over - now that we are into our third year, we are past the 1:1 and into making the program much more robust.
4. Good teaching needs help in how to best use these Google tools to make a program really flourish.
This does come with a price. In China it is not possible to get many of the Google websites outside of institutions who have access (such as schools) and people who have a VPN at home. Most of the Google apps are blocked by the great firewall of China. I think we can work around this and still make Google a big part of our program. Recently there was a newspaper article indicating a removal of the Great Chinese Firewall from the new economic zone in Shanghai. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come in the future.
SO LETS GET GOING......
First off you are going to need a Google account to access everything. This can be done with any existing email account. I would not suggest you use the school's email account however since when you leave it is deleted. If you already use Gmail then use your gmail account so that everything is linked together. You can signin or signup here. Once in you will see your Google Drive. Here is a short video tour of Google Drive.
Some things you need to know about Google Drive;
1. Total free storage = 50GB (however, Google Drive format documents do not count in the total)
2. You can upload PDF, Word, Spreadsheets, JPG and drawing files to Google Drive. These count in the 50 GB total.
3. Youtube uploads seem to be unlimited but each channel can only have about 1000 videos.
4. Your Google Drive account will also work for all other Google Apps even though you may have to log in and set up some of the other Apps.
1. I am concerned that there are many students graduating from ISB without really knowing the power behind the google set of Apps. This could mean that as they move on to university, they are behind their peers.
2. There is so much integration in Google that will help students in both high school and university make their lives less complicated.
3. 1:1 Notes is over - now that we are into our third year, we are past the 1:1 and into making the program much more robust.
4. Good teaching needs help in how to best use these Google tools to make a program really flourish.
This does come with a price. In China it is not possible to get many of the Google websites outside of institutions who have access (such as schools) and people who have a VPN at home. Most of the Google apps are blocked by the great firewall of China. I think we can work around this and still make Google a big part of our program. Recently there was a newspaper article indicating a removal of the Great Chinese Firewall from the new economic zone in Shanghai. Perhaps this is a sign of things to come in the future.
SO LETS GET GOING......
First off you are going to need a Google account to access everything. This can be done with any existing email account. I would not suggest you use the school's email account however since when you leave it is deleted. If you already use Gmail then use your gmail account so that everything is linked together. You can signin or signup here. Once in you will see your Google Drive. Here is a short video tour of Google Drive.
Some things you need to know about Google Drive;
1. Total free storage = 50GB (however, Google Drive format documents do not count in the total)
2. You can upload PDF, Word, Spreadsheets, JPG and drawing files to Google Drive. These count in the 50 GB total.
3. Youtube uploads seem to be unlimited but each channel can only have about 1000 videos.
4. Your Google Drive account will also work for all other Google Apps even though you may have to log in and set up some of the other Apps.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Using Technology to Add Value to Assessment in the HS
I was part of a meeting the other day in which we all looked at an Elementary School unit still in the planning process. What was amazing to me was a chart that had been set up to look at how assessments should look using the six facets of understanding (Explain, Interpret, Apply, Perspective, Empathy, Self-Knowledge). It was a quick view of assessments for units throughout the Elementary school.
What I have attempted to do here is to do the same thing but through the lens of how to add technology to an assessment to add technological value to the assessment. I other words, given a subject in the High School, what kind of assessment could be used with technology where the technology would be assessed along with the subject matter.
Since assessment is the second phase of UbD planning, it makes sense to have something like this for teachers to help them in their decision making process. Here is what I came up with;
Biology:
Explain: (1) Develop a website that guides students through the dissection of a frog.
(2) Create a stop frame animation that explains cell division.
Interpret: (1) Use a wiki to analyze and compare the ways in which animals protect themselves in harsh environments.
Apply: (1) Create a wordless PowerPoint that shows the importance of the Sun for the growth of plants.
(2) Make a Flash animation about the circulatory system in the Human body.
(3) Using the information from Health class, create a website that looks at what changes can be expected on the Human Body as it ages.
Perspective: (1) Create a blog that argues the importance of the ozone layer.
(2) Propose the existence of new life form from the Amazon jungle on a Wiki.
Empathy: (1) Make a short movie about the day in the life of a professional Biologist.
(2) Create an animation about the life cycle of a butterfly from the perspective of the butterfly.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Make an ePub document that outlines what part of environmental conservation you are willing to advocate for.
Math:
Explain: (1) Create an animation that explains how arcs and curves are formed from sections of cones.
(2) Explain in a movie how to prove by mathematical induction that 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + ... + 2n-1 = 2n - 1
Interpret: (1) Interpret the curve of a graph and relate it to a real world situation through a Keynote presentation.
(2) Create a movie that looks at an analysis of the Vitruvian Man by Da Vinci.
Apply: (1) Using the app TRACKER, determine the best arc to guarantee a three point free throw in basketball standing at the closest line possible for a three point throw.
Perspective: (1) Use a blog to debate the mathematics of the Rubik's Cube. Include other geometrical shapes.
(2) Create an animation that looks at the
Empathy: (1) Look at the population growth and economic growth of the country of Tchad and discuss the future implications (mathematically).
Self-Knowledge: (1) Using PowerPoint, point out some current careers that use the concepts of Algebra, Geometry and Calculus and how they are used within the career.
Social Studies:
Explain: (1) Using Facebook, create a page for a famous American like Benjamin Franklin. Have your friends add to his wall with items that would be of interest regarding his life and comings and goings.
(2) Explain how to draw and label a basic economic graph. Use Keynote to present this and make sure it is animated with the
Interpret: (1) What was life like for the pioneers of the American Revolution? Use a blog to keep track of a month of life for someone in this position. Gather information from books, articles and journals of these people.
(2) Using life during the great plague, write a journal about the fears and tribulations of a young person during this time. Convert your dovument into a ePub file so it is available to readers of the class on their iPads.
(3) Create a Prezi movie the looks at the expansion and colonization of Africa.
Apply: (1) Create a wordless PowerPoint, with an original score, about life as a Jewish family during the time of Nazi Germany.
(2) Create a movie that can be looped showing artifacts that relate to the life of a British Soldier in America circa: 1750-1776.
Perspective: (1) Create a podcast the might reenact a discussion in Independence Hall Philadelphia as the US Declaration of Independence was being drafted.
(2) Film a debate between Israeli and Irani Prime Ministers on the state of peace in the Middle East.
(3) Open an online discussion between Napoleon and King George III regarding the expansionist ideas of the French through Europe.
Empathy: (1) Create a Wiki of a series of letters to the Editor of a German Newspaper during World War 1 regarding the upcoming Christmas season holiday from fighting.
(2) Make a podcast of a eulogy for George Washington's death in 1799 as a member of his cabinet.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Create a blog on what you think about your experiences during SARS or some other major epidemic of the last decade. If you have none, then put yourself into one of these.
(2) How have you adapted to Chinese customs and norms. Create a Flash animation that explains the Chinese custom and how you have adapted to it.
English:
Explain: (1) Crete a Prezi that explains how verbs and nouns are used in a sentence.
(2) Explain in a Keynote Presentation how William Shakespeare used comedy in his plays.
(3) Create a Podcast that explains how modern advertising is used to sell products to specific groups of people ie. Teens or Young Adults.
Intepret: (1) Video a short presentation on what life was like during the time of Victor Hugo.
(2) Use PowerPoint to point out how life for Pip (Great Expectations) was no better than anyone else during this time.
(3) Create a mind map that takes a stroll through Africa at the time of Casablanca. Include the geopolitacl forces of the time as well as the political.
Apply: (1) Create a PowerPoint that compares the home of a Nazi soldier and a German Doctor during the time of Ann Frank.
(2) Have Sandy and Holden apply for a university. Include a University Essay from both, high school records and letters of recommendation. Put all of these into an artifact display using Keynote.
Perspective: (1) Recreate a speech as a podcast when Nelson Mandela was running for office.
(2) Interview Laura from the Glass Menagerie about her life and fascination with people that have freckles. Record as a guest on a talk show.
Empathy: (1) Create a moving and emotional soliloquy for Julius Ceasar and perform it in front of the Roman Colesum. Use Green Screen movie creation for this.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Interview a contemporary writer (poet, essayist or book writer) and write an essay that compares what their life is like compared to a similar writer of the past.
What I have attempted to do here is to do the same thing but through the lens of how to add technology to an assessment to add technological value to the assessment. I other words, given a subject in the High School, what kind of assessment could be used with technology where the technology would be assessed along with the subject matter.
Since assessment is the second phase of UbD planning, it makes sense to have something like this for teachers to help them in their decision making process. Here is what I came up with;
Biology:
Explain: (1) Develop a website that guides students through the dissection of a frog.
(2) Create a stop frame animation that explains cell division.
Interpret: (1) Use a wiki to analyze and compare the ways in which animals protect themselves in harsh environments.
Apply: (1) Create a wordless PowerPoint that shows the importance of the Sun for the growth of plants.
(2) Make a Flash animation about the circulatory system in the Human body.
(3) Using the information from Health class, create a website that looks at what changes can be expected on the Human Body as it ages.
Perspective: (1) Create a blog that argues the importance of the ozone layer.
(2) Propose the existence of new life form from the Amazon jungle on a Wiki.
Empathy: (1) Make a short movie about the day in the life of a professional Biologist.
(2) Create an animation about the life cycle of a butterfly from the perspective of the butterfly.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Make an ePub document that outlines what part of environmental conservation you are willing to advocate for.
Math:
Explain: (1) Create an animation that explains how arcs and curves are formed from sections of cones.
(2) Explain in a movie how to prove by mathematical induction that 1 + 2 + 4 + 8 + ... + 2n-1 = 2n - 1
Interpret: (1) Interpret the curve of a graph and relate it to a real world situation through a Keynote presentation.
(2) Create a movie that looks at an analysis of the Vitruvian Man by Da Vinci.
Apply: (1) Using the app TRACKER, determine the best arc to guarantee a three point free throw in basketball standing at the closest line possible for a three point throw.
Perspective: (1) Use a blog to debate the mathematics of the Rubik's Cube. Include other geometrical shapes.
(2) Create an animation that looks at the
Empathy: (1) Look at the population growth and economic growth of the country of Tchad and discuss the future implications (mathematically).
Self-Knowledge: (1) Using PowerPoint, point out some current careers that use the concepts of Algebra, Geometry and Calculus and how they are used within the career.
Social Studies:
Explain: (1) Using Facebook, create a page for a famous American like Benjamin Franklin. Have your friends add to his wall with items that would be of interest regarding his life and comings and goings.
(2) Explain how to draw and label a basic economic graph. Use Keynote to present this and make sure it is animated with the
Interpret: (1) What was life like for the pioneers of the American Revolution? Use a blog to keep track of a month of life for someone in this position. Gather information from books, articles and journals of these people.
(2) Using life during the great plague, write a journal about the fears and tribulations of a young person during this time. Convert your dovument into a ePub file so it is available to readers of the class on their iPads.
(3) Create a Prezi movie the looks at the expansion and colonization of Africa.
Apply: (1) Create a wordless PowerPoint, with an original score, about life as a Jewish family during the time of Nazi Germany.
(2) Create a movie that can be looped showing artifacts that relate to the life of a British Soldier in America circa: 1750-1776.
Perspective: (1) Create a podcast the might reenact a discussion in Independence Hall Philadelphia as the US Declaration of Independence was being drafted.
(2) Film a debate between Israeli and Irani Prime Ministers on the state of peace in the Middle East.
(3) Open an online discussion between Napoleon and King George III regarding the expansionist ideas of the French through Europe.
Empathy: (1) Create a Wiki of a series of letters to the Editor of a German Newspaper during World War 1 regarding the upcoming Christmas season holiday from fighting.
(2) Make a podcast of a eulogy for George Washington's death in 1799 as a member of his cabinet.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Create a blog on what you think about your experiences during SARS or some other major epidemic of the last decade. If you have none, then put yourself into one of these.
(2) How have you adapted to Chinese customs and norms. Create a Flash animation that explains the Chinese custom and how you have adapted to it.
English:
Explain: (1) Crete a Prezi that explains how verbs and nouns are used in a sentence.
(2) Explain in a Keynote Presentation how William Shakespeare used comedy in his plays.
(3) Create a Podcast that explains how modern advertising is used to sell products to specific groups of people ie. Teens or Young Adults.
Intepret: (1) Video a short presentation on what life was like during the time of Victor Hugo.
(2) Use PowerPoint to point out how life for Pip (Great Expectations) was no better than anyone else during this time.
(3) Create a mind map that takes a stroll through Africa at the time of Casablanca. Include the geopolitacl forces of the time as well as the political.
Apply: (1) Create a PowerPoint that compares the home of a Nazi soldier and a German Doctor during the time of Ann Frank.
(2) Have Sandy and Holden apply for a university. Include a University Essay from both, high school records and letters of recommendation. Put all of these into an artifact display using Keynote.
Perspective: (1) Recreate a speech as a podcast when Nelson Mandela was running for office.
(2) Interview Laura from the Glass Menagerie about her life and fascination with people that have freckles. Record as a guest on a talk show.
Empathy: (1) Create a moving and emotional soliloquy for Julius Ceasar and perform it in front of the Roman Colesum. Use Green Screen movie creation for this.
Self-Knowledge: (1) Interview a contemporary writer (poet, essayist or book writer) and write an essay that compares what their life is like compared to a similar writer of the past.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
What Does Critcal Thinking Look Like
I want to start off with a couple of assumptions about this.
1. Critical thinking is not a global skill that works across all areas of the curriculum. To properly think critically, there has to be a base of subject matter or content that students have. This may be school based as it is possible that as we age and take in more content, we become better versed in a multitude of disciplines.
2. Critical thinking is an essential part of learning and needs to be modeled and taught over the school years. Teachers who are not good critical thinkers themselves will have a hard time teaching this to students since they cannot model it to students.
3. All areas of the curriculum should have critical thinking in them. The skill is essential in today's business, medical, social and personal worlds. It is a skill that no one can afford to be without if they are going to be good citizens.
4. There is no training program that allows students to be come better critical thinkers. That is to say, you cannot purchase a critical thinking program for your curriculum. It is great to see this as a goal of some of the new curriculums, but none of them give you point by point instructions for this to happen in their field.
So just what does critical thinking look like? I do not know!!!!! But I do have some ideas to share with teaches to help them in implementing this in their classrooms. I know that the range of success will be expansive, but this is OK. Over time I think that this range will become less prevalent.
Critical thinking in the class should take on the role of verifying the accuracy of information. I remember a website developed about 10 years ago on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (link). In the original research, only 1 in 10 students saw this for what it was - a spoof website. What about the other nine? They looked at the professional look of the website, how information was presented, the links it had, support and contact and then made a decision based on this information. Two things could of happened: a) no one had shown these 9 students how to critically look at information on a website or b) these students were not equipped with enough information about marine invertebrates to properly make an analysis. This points out how important it is to model what is being viewed online by students.
Another role of CT in the classroom is evaluating what is being read. To blindly read paragraphs and paragraphs of a novel has no learning attached to it. By the time most students get to high school, they pretty much have the skill of reading firmly planted (I am aware there are exceptions to this rule). What they lack is both reading for understanding and reading with a critical eye. Authors spend a great deal of time developing plots and characters in the books they write. In some cases these are intertwined so tightly that it is impossible to understand what message the author is trying to get across without evaluating both. While it is pretty advanced, Alexander Solzhenitsyn comes to mind - I am sure there are more HS oriented books.
One area that has had critical thinking in its curriculum for a number of years now is Science. Experiments never provide the same data. No matter how closely we control the variables and make sure there are exact measurements taken, error seems to always creep in. Students have to analyze this data, compare the results, research the historical outcomes and then reflect on what happened in their experiment. This analysis is critical for students to really understand what they are doing and what they could have done to make the experiment more accurate.
Asking questions is a big part of CT. Asking the right questions is even bigger. This is a skill that we learn over time, mostly by listening to others asking questions or answering the ones we ask. If we do not get the answer we through would manifest itself, then we need to change the question. Sometimes it is possible that there was a misunderstanding. In these cases, students need to be given time to reflect on the question they asked and reword it. What kind of questions are the right questions to ask; ones that do not have a simple answer. Generally, if a student can answer a questions within the first 15 seconds after asking, then either they have not thought about it deeply enough or the question was too simple. Asking what students think, to reflect on or how deeply they considered something are good ways to make sure that answers are not just being rattled off. Remember that after asking a question, teachers need to give 14-17 seconds for students to think, even if someone already indicates they have an answer.
Here are some examples of how I have seem this used in classes or how I have used CT learning in my classes.
First off is the class meeting. Usually done at the very start of the class for about 10 minutes, students gather in a circle (ideally) and talk about happenings, misunderstandings, assistance needed, new learnings etc. It is not important that all participate all the time, but all should be actively participating through the classes as this is run.
One thing I like is a learning blog/journal. I usually make students complete this once per week. At first it is usually quite simple, maybe even teacher directed. Over time the students get more reflective and CT will show through in how deep their understanding is. These can be time consuming as they require teacher feedback each week. It is through this that the students can begin to see what they should be writing about and how deep they should be going.
Another way to get this going is to have students answer the Essential Questions of the unit. Not only will this show good critical thinking, but it will provide feedback for the unit for planning purposes next year.
This is not a comprehensive look at Critical Thinking, but it does give good reasons why it needs to be taught and be a part of all classrooms.
1. Critical thinking is not a global skill that works across all areas of the curriculum. To properly think critically, there has to be a base of subject matter or content that students have. This may be school based as it is possible that as we age and take in more content, we become better versed in a multitude of disciplines.
2. Critical thinking is an essential part of learning and needs to be modeled and taught over the school years. Teachers who are not good critical thinkers themselves will have a hard time teaching this to students since they cannot model it to students.
3. All areas of the curriculum should have critical thinking in them. The skill is essential in today's business, medical, social and personal worlds. It is a skill that no one can afford to be without if they are going to be good citizens.
4. There is no training program that allows students to be come better critical thinkers. That is to say, you cannot purchase a critical thinking program for your curriculum. It is great to see this as a goal of some of the new curriculums, but none of them give you point by point instructions for this to happen in their field.
So just what does critical thinking look like? I do not know!!!!! But I do have some ideas to share with teaches to help them in implementing this in their classrooms. I know that the range of success will be expansive, but this is OK. Over time I think that this range will become less prevalent.
Critical thinking in the class should take on the role of verifying the accuracy of information. I remember a website developed about 10 years ago on the Pacific Northwest Tree Octopus (link). In the original research, only 1 in 10 students saw this for what it was - a spoof website. What about the other nine? They looked at the professional look of the website, how information was presented, the links it had, support and contact and then made a decision based on this information. Two things could of happened: a) no one had shown these 9 students how to critically look at information on a website or b) these students were not equipped with enough information about marine invertebrates to properly make an analysis. This points out how important it is to model what is being viewed online by students.
Another role of CT in the classroom is evaluating what is being read. To blindly read paragraphs and paragraphs of a novel has no learning attached to it. By the time most students get to high school, they pretty much have the skill of reading firmly planted (I am aware there are exceptions to this rule). What they lack is both reading for understanding and reading with a critical eye. Authors spend a great deal of time developing plots and characters in the books they write. In some cases these are intertwined so tightly that it is impossible to understand what message the author is trying to get across without evaluating both. While it is pretty advanced, Alexander Solzhenitsyn comes to mind - I am sure there are more HS oriented books.
One area that has had critical thinking in its curriculum for a number of years now is Science. Experiments never provide the same data. No matter how closely we control the variables and make sure there are exact measurements taken, error seems to always creep in. Students have to analyze this data, compare the results, research the historical outcomes and then reflect on what happened in their experiment. This analysis is critical for students to really understand what they are doing and what they could have done to make the experiment more accurate.
Asking questions is a big part of CT. Asking the right questions is even bigger. This is a skill that we learn over time, mostly by listening to others asking questions or answering the ones we ask. If we do not get the answer we through would manifest itself, then we need to change the question. Sometimes it is possible that there was a misunderstanding. In these cases, students need to be given time to reflect on the question they asked and reword it. What kind of questions are the right questions to ask; ones that do not have a simple answer. Generally, if a student can answer a questions within the first 15 seconds after asking, then either they have not thought about it deeply enough or the question was too simple. Asking what students think, to reflect on or how deeply they considered something are good ways to make sure that answers are not just being rattled off. Remember that after asking a question, teachers need to give 14-17 seconds for students to think, even if someone already indicates they have an answer.
Here are some examples of how I have seem this used in classes or how I have used CT learning in my classes.
First off is the class meeting. Usually done at the very start of the class for about 10 minutes, students gather in a circle (ideally) and talk about happenings, misunderstandings, assistance needed, new learnings etc. It is not important that all participate all the time, but all should be actively participating through the classes as this is run.
One thing I like is a learning blog/journal. I usually make students complete this once per week. At first it is usually quite simple, maybe even teacher directed. Over time the students get more reflective and CT will show through in how deep their understanding is. These can be time consuming as they require teacher feedback each week. It is through this that the students can begin to see what they should be writing about and how deep they should be going.
Another way to get this going is to have students answer the Essential Questions of the unit. Not only will this show good critical thinking, but it will provide feedback for the unit for planning purposes next year.
This is not a comprehensive look at Critical Thinking, but it does give good reasons why it needs to be taught and be a part of all classrooms.
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