Day 146: Leveraging Digital Tools For Deep Learning

Today, 5 teachers from four different schools gathered at Wyevale Central P.S. to share their learning around the Leveraging Digital Tools for Deep Learning NM1 Inquiry.  The sharing of ideas and learning experiences was awesome!  

Here are some examples from a teacher in the group:  

I found that my students needed a space to share all of the digital work that we have been creating using the iPads in Science. We have been using apps such as Pic Collage and Book Creator. I also thought it was important for students to share all of their learning that they have been doing in Science Class with their parents. 

I decided to use the SeeSaw App to do this sharing. I set up a SeeSaw account for my classes (I am a PT teacher). I spent several classes demonstrating to the students how to post their digital work onto SeeSaw after they have completed it. I also printed out an invitation for each child to take home inviting their families to log onto their child's "page". 

The video below is from a student who posted right on SeeSaw. The student took a picture of her work and explained what her picture was about using the microphone part on the SeeSaw App. This project incorporated Science (friction), Media (conventions of Instagram) and Visual Arts (texture). 

The second post (see video below) was created in Book Creator. The students completed the experimental method of their Gravity Experiment. They then posted their completed experiments onto SeeSaw.

The impact of using this App to keep track of their learning was that students are engaged and excited about posting and sharing their work.When students knew that there was an audience for their work the students were keener to work harder on their work. Parents who have signed on are excited to see their child's work. It makes it easier for them to engage in discussions about what their child is learning at school. 

My next steps are to continue using the App for more digital projects. To take it to a deeper level I would like to demonstrate how to use the Success Criteria to give feedback to peers on their work and to do self-assessment. I will also resend the parent invitation to try and get more parents onboard. The last thing is to continue to demonstrate is how to use the app to my fellow co-workers.  (Kimberlee Hall)

Here are some examples from some of the other teachers involved in the inquiry:


-using the SeeSaw app to allow students to record their voices while doing independent reading or while doing "Read to Someone" 

- a Google Form with the group that she had created to track observations of students while doing Running Records

-using Google Maps to locate places in the community, then having students describe the special place and read their "script" in front of  an  image of that place using the Green Screen DoInk app

‐using various resources (print, online) exploring the impact of people on the natural features in the 
community (environmental focus) and sharing learning using the Book Creator app

-creating a Weebly blog to collect student work from various projects on Padlet, Adobe Voice and Pic Collage, related to a class novel study partnership with another class

Day 104: Getting started with MinecraftPE on the iPad

I was chatting with a teacher about Minecraft Pocket Edition on the iPad today. He was wondering about how to get started… I encouraged him to think about the following steps and check out our Minecraft blog: http://scdsbminecraft.blogspot.ca/.

Step 1: See Minecraft as a Learning Tool

Minecraft is highly engaging game for many of our students and it has the potential to add great value to learning. We need to support the students in seeing the opportunities for deep learning and ensure they know it’s not just from playing Minecraft, it’s what happens as a result. When students know their learning purpose and audience, Minecraft become an opportunity to show their creativity and develop problem solving, communication and collaboration skills. 

Step 2: Purchase the MinecraftPE app

Then talk to your principal and explain why/how you want to engage students with Minecraft. The app costs $9.99 per iPad and can be purchased for school iPads through Airwatch by submitting a helpdesk ticket. The ticket must be submitted by the school principal and include a budget code. You can share this document with your administrator: How to request an app in Airwatch and to save you time here is the link to the app from the VPP store that you will need: https://volume.itunes.apple.com/ca/app/minecraft-pocket-edition/id479516143?mt=8&term=minecraftpe&ign-mpt=uo%3D4  

Step 3: Learn How the Game Works

You don’t need to be an expert on how to play the game but having a basic understanding will help you to imagine what is possible. My best advice for learning how to play is to just try the game or even better, play with your students! Have the students show you the basic controls and ask them how they think we could use Minecraft in the classroom for learning. 

Step 4: Academic Purpose - Design your Activity

Many of our students already know how to play Minecraft and the game can engage students in a diverse range of subjects. It’ essential to begin by giving students clear learning goals and an authentic audience. For example, have students challenge another class to solve math problems involving fractions within Minecraft. 

There are many sources of inspiration online. Many resources may be de designed for the computer version of the game but you can still use the ideas.

• Starter lessons from Minecraft Education Edition
• Teaching with MinecraftEdu
• Check out @joakleyiii 's world of mathcraft where everything is a math problem! (watch the YouTube Video)
• See what is happening across SCDSB by following #scdsbMinecraft on Twitter.

Consider using multiplayer and have students collaborate. The game allows up to 5 students in one world. How to Play Multiplayer with MinecraftPE on a SCDSB iPad. 

Embed opportunities for your students to document their learning.

• It is easy to use an iPad camera to film over their shoulder (but sometimes the sound isn’t great so it’s important to select where you film). Here is an example of a student explaining his learning during a tour of his medieval world: Lord Delaire’s Castle.
• Take screenshots (How to take a screenshot on the iPad) and add them to their SCDSB Google Drive, which they can share with you.
• Upload the screenshots into the Explain Everything app and talk about their ideas. Check out this example: Minecraft + Explain Everything.

Finally, remember to keep the activity fun and open. The power of Minecraft for learning is how it connects players socially and inspires creativity!

Day 46- Coding and Simple Circuits Come Alive Through the Arts

Join us throughout the day today at Nottawa Public School as we explore artbots, coding Spheros to complete tasks and collaborative art pieces...and a whole lot of STEAM fun with grades 1 -6!

Block 1 : Artbots- Gr.4/5/6 - 50+students 

With a quick lesson on simple circuits, and a reminder about forces causing movement, these Grade 4,5&6's were ready to rock and roll with their artbot prototypes. Iteration was key and embraced whole-heartedly as they worked through the design cycle / creative process to solve problems and step up to their challenge.

The challenge:

I find it essential to not show a prototype or exemplar of what an artbot could look like. We're not looking for replication, but rather inspiring creativity and innovation by presenting a challenge and the tools required to create it. It never ceases to amaze me how different each and every artbot can be when left to the creative genius of the group. Cue #theartoflettinggo

Some vibrate, some squirm, some spin...but they all dance and make their mark on the world. It is a great reminder for students that we can all be so different, yet accomplish tasks in our own way and leave a positive and unique mark on the world...just like our artbots. Teachable moments make the most of any design challenge as students are directed to think and extend upon their own schema in math, science, technology, engineering and the arts.

What's an artbot without a dance battle? #bettertogether has never been truer!

After prototyping, students were invited to create a collaborative art piece, contemplating the concepts of colour, balance and line while composing the collective piece. A masterpiece was born!

Block 2: Coding Spheros with the 'Tickle' App- Grade 3&4

If you're going to learn to code, let's add some movement! None of these kids had coded before, but before long they were coding like pros and make their Sphero's perform planned tasks! These kids were fully engaged in learning how to use the technology as a tool and not just a toy...although that doesn't mean that a whole lot of fun wasn't to be had as well!

What we did:

Step 1- visual intro to scratch/blockly style coding ( it's just like Lego!)

Step 2- mini lessons on degrees and speed vs. time variables

Step 3- Code the teacher! Be silly and have them recognize how precise commands need to be to execute a simple task, like walking a straight line 90 degrees to your right that is 5 meters long.

Step 4- predict what some sample lines of code will allow their Spheros to do by 'acting it out'. It's a drama technique, a math strategy, a kinesthetic learning technique and yep...a STEAM strategy too.

Can you act out this code? Try it! A lot of body awareness and geometry was happening to determine that this code makes a square.

Step 6: Code your sphero to follow a line or shape in the tile on the floor! How fun! And all in 50mins ;)

Block 3: Jackson Pollock inspired art created by coding Spheros to colour mix- Grade 1/2

This may have been the highlight of my day. I'll be honest with you, I have grandiose ideas at times and tend to trust that something amazing will happen...even and especially if it doesn't all go according to plan. But a plan I had. Where it goes is up to the students... and that is always the best part of the adventure!

Grade 1's, non readers, never coded before, paint, end of the day and robots. What could be more exciting to take a leap of faith into!!!

What we did:

1. Leaving our mark: write your name and draw a picture that represents who you are anywhere on the paper with markers- 5mins.

2. Learn to code- act it out. 

The pinnacle highlight of my day was when a little girl who recognized me from when I had worked with her in summer school this past summer (great difficulty with reading, writing and paper/pencil tasks in general), explained that if we had to code our teacher to walk a square, 'they need to take 4 steps because the other side was 4 steps and all the sides of a square have to be the same number of steps". I almost cried. Amazing right! If we hadn't given that child the opportunity to express their mathematical learning in a different way, we would never have known how much they really knew and understood. Yay for movement integration in all that we do!

3. Use the Tickle app code template and change the variables of time or speed or rotation to change the trajectory of your sphero.

Next...add paint of course!

I must thank my husband for suggesting the garden hose as a sphero fence...brilliant! And a BIG thanks to Chris Gilewicz for picking up a drop sheet and dropping in to play with us at Nottawa this afternoon!

As I sit here wrapping up this blog and tidying up for home this evening, I can hear the kids in YMCA homeport showing their parents the art that they made today just down the hall. I'm pretty sure mini motors and Spheros are on a few Christmas wish lists in Nottawa this year. ;)

Day 41: Coding in Kindergarten

Today a group of kindergarten students at Lions Oval Public School explored with Dash the Robot (who they affectionately named Dunk)!

It didn’t take long before these curious kinders were wondering… How fast does he go? Will he dance? How far will he go?  Using the Go App to drive Dunk, they tested his speed. Then they decided to guess how far Dunk would go by estimating and then counting the number of steps he moved from the iPad.

The laughter could be heard down the hallway as they used the Blockly coding app to teach Dunk how to dance!

If you’re intersted in learning more about coding or how to get started in your classroom, check out our SCDSB coding blog: http://scdsbcode.blogspot.ca/.

Thank you to Elodie, Charmaine and Melisa for welcoming Dunk and I into your classroom!

Follow or connect with their class on Twitter, or read their blog KinderWonders118.blogspot.ca.

Day 30 : Multidirectional Learning

A wise woman once said there is "No day without learning", and today was no exception!  This afternoon we worked with a passionate group of educators who wanted to dig into Blogging!  We realized quickly that we needed to take a few steps back before we could progress. Last year, our system moved forward rapidly with technology enabled learning, yet we are still on a learning curve.  After a summer of digital detox, we need to have patience with refreshing our own skills. We can relate to those students in our class who come back after a summer and may be a little rusty with some of their skills.  Our learning continues to move forward, but sometimes we need to take different directions (or step sideways or backwards) to regain our momentum.

Using the EasyBlogger Jr app

Learning can also shift direction based on the influence of our collaborators.  Today we experienced new learning when one of the participants shared the gadget on Blogger for Google Translate. This enables us to be more inclusive of the increasing multicultural communities in our county, as we communicate on our blogs.

Setting up our first blogs!

The journey will be ongoing as several of the participants in our session are going to continue their learning down different paths. Some will back up and revisit areas they wish to explore further, others might step sideways and explore other platforms or tools to support them, and some might even take a rest from the journey.  We felt honoured to be tour guides "on the side" as we brushed up on our skills and learned on our own pathway. We invite you to join us in our trek toward making our learning visible through blogging.  A "roadmap" for this excursion can be found in this shared Google Folder: bit.ly/EasyBloggerJr

Louise Owen & Marie Swift

Day 10: The Space to Think and Learn

I loved today. I spent time in a Grade One class at Maple Grove, working with the students to learn Explain Everything. I was a little nervous when the classroom teacher asked me to do this. I wasn't sure the best approach. I've watched enough Grade one students roll on the floor, when I was trying to give instructions, to know that a long carpet time showing them how to use the different functions wasn't going to work. We started off by showing the students an Explain Everything video made by a student their own age so that they could understand what the app does. We then handed out iPads to teams of two and let them explore on their own. Within minutes students were importing pictures, recording their voices and drawing with the draw tool, it was exciting to watch their faces light up us they discovered something new! After 10 minutes of play and exploration, we asked the students to teach their classmates one function they learned about. Each group proudly came up and shared their discovery with their classmates, suddenly they were the experts about something, they were empowered and they took that new knowledge back to their work. We asked them to use Explain Everything to express the number seven. It was amazing to

watch the different ways they showed their thinking. Some students took pictures of 7 shells, others drew 7 objects. One group took used the video function to explain why seven was so fabulous. Each group of students got to show their thinking in their own way. I can't wait to see what theses creative thinkers will do next!

Day 9: Fresh Ideas

Have you checked out the new tabs above? Who doesn't love new stuff, right?! 
So,why is the best stuff always so hard to find? Our best new learning should be visible . With that in mind, we are looking for places to store our freshest new learning, outside of the SCDSB Staff > Teaching pages. Teachers Pay Teachers?...forget about it! The BEST stuff is usually FREE. Fresh ideas and resources are meant to be shared, so lets get started. Right here. Right now.
We welcome your ideas about Fresh Stuff and the Virtual Music Room. Are the supports useful? What else would you want to see there? What ideas do you have about getting the word out? Come on. Do your part...because your great ideas were made to be shared.

Jamila Monahan