SMUMN - Action Research Abstract - The Impact of Bring Your Own Device on an 8th Grade Social Studies Classroom

Cross-Post for St. Mary's University Master's Program:

What are the impacts of a Bring Your Own Device policy on an 8th grade social studies classroom? As more and more districts look to find ways to increase the use of technology in tight budgetary times they turn to a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD). BYOD allows students to bring in internet-ready devices and cell phones for use on a school-regulated WiFi network for educational use in class. Additionally, many BYOD programs provide supplementary devices for students without devices to use to ensure equity. 

This action research will focus on the the outcomes and impact of a BYOD policy on 8th grade social studies students. Students will be surveyed at least three times throughout the year to gauge their perceptions of the policy, a log of how and when the devices are used will be kept, and unit pre and post-tests will be given in addition to numerous formative assessments. 

New Year, New Curriculum, New Policies...New Adventure!

I'll spare the fairly typical gushy feelings that most (all?) educators get about this time of year...if you're a teacher you understand and don't need me adding my two-cents...that said, I do love this time of year and find the work time and collaboration time that takes place during the lead-up to the school year to be some of the most creative and fruitful. I already have a "want to do" list about a mile long. Some of it will be shelved for next year, but some will take place right away!

New Curriculum
This past year Minnesota officially adopted their new social studies standards. In doing so they banded them to specific grade levels - American Studies to 7th grade and Global studies to 8th. After teaching US History to 8th graders for the past six years I'd be lying if I said that I was not pretty bummed to be giving it up. Part of the reason is do to my love of history and teaching it to students, but another part of it is because I'm still coming around to the idea of teaching geography Global Studies. 

The more I plan with peers and examine the curriculum the more I warm to it...but it's not quite the same level of passion (not yet!). That being said, more than ever I am passionate about teaching. Period. Beyond that, the three other teachers in my department are outstanding educators and the 8th grade staff I work with is second-to-none. Ultimately I had a say in choosing to stay with 8th grade and teach Global Studies instead of US History in 7th, and I know I made the right call. Heck, I even totally remade my class website for the occasion! Although, not sure how much use it'll get as I plan on diving in head-first with Schoology this year (more on that later...)...

Teaching Global Studies will be a new and fresh challenge. More than ever it is important that our students have competency about the world around them, and Global Studies will be the perfect vehicle to help them obtain that knowledge. My fear of teaching it is in part due to my previous experience with Geography classes...I shudder at the thought of 30 students mindlessly coloring maps and memorizing countries and capitals. There's so much more the the class (and the world!) than rote memorization. But, I digress...

New Policies
One of the things that I'm most stoked about for this upcoming school year is to be one of eight teachers in the district piloting a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy! About three years ago after hearing about the potential of such a policy I began pushing for it along with a few others. Three years, one committee, and dozens of meetings later and we've got the green light! We're naming the pilot "Project Phoenix " the phoenix name was a bit off the cuff, but at the same time we like to think of education as a whole as rising from the ashes of an old, out-dated, and ineffective model into something much more individualized and better suited for the challenges of the 21st Century.

As this is a pilot program, the few members of the school board that are very averse to this policy change will want to see and know that it works and that it benefits students. So, in addition to piloting the policy (and earning my Master's) I'll be doing an action research project on the policy in my classroom to try and determine the policy's impact...a key piece of the data will be a student survey (if you're feeling up to it, you can view the draft questions here - I'd love feedback). I'm looking forward to seeing what's to come and the effect on our students.

Anyway...not much insight here, just sharing some thoughts. My hope is to update my blog more regularly throughout the year with reflections on teaching Global Studies, Project Phoenix, and my goals for the year (more on that later)...until then, my mind is reeling with ideas and I can't wait to get started this year!

A Response to A Response to Five Common Criticisms of Flipped Learning

First, apologies for the wordy title. I struggled to come up with anything original that hasn't already been used in a title to a blog post about Flipped Learning. It's flipping hard.* 

I just read "Flipped Learning: A Response to Five Common Criticisms" by Alan November and Brian Mull of November Learning. I didn't set out today to find this article, but it was presented to me for a class I'm taking right now and I wrote a few thoughts on the article.

I’ll begin by stating that after much reading and discussion on the topic of Flipped Learning I am still firmly on the side of the skeptic, especially for classes like language arts and social studies. I don’t share all the same criticisms as those in the article. For example, I agree with the authors that, if done properly, the Flipped Model does not making teachers less important. Some fear that schools will become labs where students watch videos all day and teachers will be obsolete. Nothing will ever replace live, face-to-face instruction from a quality educator in a caring learning environment. No worries about Flipped Learning there. Additionally, I agree that the gap in technology can be overcome if teachers, schools, an communities make it a priority. There will always be exceptions, but I’m not overly concerned about by this criticism.

What really is a sticking point for me boils down to two (OK, three) key issues. First, there is a huge body of research that calls into question the effectiveness of homework, especially in the younger (pre-high school) grades. Call it what you want, but telling a class of students that they need to go home and read X for 15 minutes or watch Y for 10 minutes, and then submit a reflection and questions and areas of confusion before class tomorrow...that’s still homework. Now, you multiply that 20-30 minutes for science homework to include math, art, and history...and, well, that’s a lot of Flipped Learning homework. 

Second, and tangentially related, is the issue of accountability. The authors of the article idealistically claim that all it takes to ensure accountability on the student behalf is that they are required to post reflections and answers to thought-provoking questions. Just like that, apparently, students will answer the questions and reflections because they’re required to and the questions are thought-provoking. I don’t think I need to go into detail to explain why that’s just a little bit of wishful thinking. The suggestions offered do not offer true accountability. They will inform the teacher about who is and who isn’t doing the assigned work, but that’s no guarantee that students will feel the obligation to do the work.

Lastly, teachers need to be very careful that they’re not simply recording and uploading bad teaching and requiring students to endure outside of the 8 hour school day. Yes, the authors point out that it’s not ideal to record long lectures and have students watch them for the next day, yet many teachers seem to still fall down this hole. It is important that the teachers who choose to go the route of the Flipped classroom take seriously the considerations of why they’re doing it, and what they hope to accomplish.

All of that said, I do believe that there can be a place for a Flipped type of model. So much of social studies is the “doing” of History or the “doing” of Geography, which is much more than watching content. However, in math in particular, and to an extent some sciences and the arts, there are opportunities to use the Flipped model. On occasion it could be useful and wise to have students view materials about graphing linear equations, for example, before coming to class so the teacher can work on specifics that students are struggling with. However, some of my previous concerns are still there. Another way I see the use of video being used best is not so much as a Flipped model, but more of a support. 

Teachers can have videos (and other materials) available for students and parents to consult when struggling on their homework, or when reviewing for an exam, or working on a project. They can record videos and materials of their own, or they can (additionally) locate other materials online for students to use. I do believe that using video and the “Flipped” model in this way is ultimately more supportive of student learning. I myself have recorded dozens of these videos for my students to use to review, and the feedback from my students (and if YouTube comments are to be believed from students all over the world) has been generally positive.

So, yes I’m still skeptical. I haven’t completely written off the concept as I see the possibilities and the value. However, I have a ways to go before I’ll be firmly in the “supporter” camp of Flipped Learning.

*Sorry, I couldn't resist.

Screencast Your Sub Plans

I don't need to tell any of you how big of a pain it is to be gone from class for a day (or more) and all the reasons why it's such a pain...but there's one thing you can do that will ease some of that pain and streamline the process of being gone for the day. The process is pretty straightforward - Screencast you your sub plans for the day.

If you're like me your sub plans fall into one of two categories - those that are done half way with some filler activity because it's quicker and easier for you to prepare, or those that you spend copious amounts of time writing out in excruciating detail so that any sub can follow what you expect them to teach. Option one isn't great because of a loss of valuable learning time, and option two isn't great because of the time factor. I present option three - which is really option two, except you record yourself to be viewed by your students, rather than write it out for your sub to deliver.

There are a variety of tools out there that you can use to record a screencast, but my go-to is Screencast-O-Matic as it is free and it runs right in your web browser. I've learned that on a Mac you do need to update Java and use Safari or Firefox - on the Windows side, any browser will do. Also, if you want to add a personal touch you can enable your webcam and have your face visible to your students (Note: The webcam might not be desirable when recording sub plans at 3AM after yakking up your dinner). There are other, paid options, that you can check out...but so far, Screencast-O-Matic has done all that i need it to.

Toss together a couple of quick slides that include whatever you want - specific directions, learning targets/objectives, question prompts, etc...and start recording! The first time through some security popups about Java might arrise, clicking "allow" will get you on your way. I still leave a formal note or two to my sub, but it's basically just telling them to watch the video, and show it to my classes, and maybe a couple other directions and pieces of helpful info. Much, much less than I used to write.

After you've finished you can publish directly to YouTube or you can export it as a video file. With a "Pro" account ($15/year) you also have editing options, the ability to draw/zoom on your screencast, and more upload options (Drive, Dropbox, etc...). However, you can easily accomplish what you want with the free account. Then, just email/leave the sub a link or directions how to  access your video and you're good to go!

Below is an example sub plan I used earlier this year. Because of the style of the lesson for that day the middle part (0:50-7:35) is part lecture, part question and discussion where the sub would pause the video to facilitate a discussion. Feel free to watch the intro for the Calvin and Hobbes reference, and then skip ahead to 7:35...or watch the whole thing...or none of it.

SMUMN - The Impact of Online Discussion in a Middle School Social Studies Classroom

Cross-Post for St. Mary's University Master's Program:

Implementation Plan

Classroom discussion is often important in most classrooms. However, it is one of the key components of any good social studies classroom setting. My students and I spend a lot of time having classroom discussions on a variety of topics. These discussions can be incredibly engaging and fruitful, and they are vital to the class. However, as often pointed out in the research, classroom discussions are often moderated question and answer sessions facilitated by the teacher. As much as I like to think that we have vibrant discussions, I know that I am guilty of leading a “moderated Q&A” more often than I’d care to admit. Most teachers will tell you that they would like their classrooms and instruction to be more student-centered, and I would include myself in that group. When it comes to discussions I would absolutely like to move away from a moderated Q&A toward a much more student-centered discussion. Beyond that, I’d also like to ensure that all of my students are participating in the discussion. Though many students very well might be engaged and listening to the discussion, it is nearly impossible to have all students fully participate in a full-class discussion. With that in mind, I hope to use online asynchronous discussion with my students to not only increase student participation, but to move away from a moderated Q&A discussion to a true discussion.

For this action research my students and I will engage in online discussion using Schoology (www.schoology.com). We have dabbled in using Schoology throughout the year, so my students are already familiar with the platform and how it works. We have also had a couple of online discussions this year, so again students are familiar with what they need to do on Schoology. We will be studying the Reconstruction Era of the United States, which is the time period immediately following the Civil War. Throughout the chapter the essential question we will be exploring is “To what extent did Reconstruction bring African Americans closer to full citizenship?” 

In years past after we have studied each major period of Reconstruction students have plotted on a spectrum (Limited Citizenship to Full Citizenship) where African Americans were, and then wrote a short justification for their assessment. Students then stood on a spectrum in the classroom to reflect their opinions, and we concluded each section with discussion of why students stood where they did. I’ve wanted more out of these particular discussions in a few areas. One, I wanted more original thought and less of students ‘parroting’ their peers, and two I wanted deeper and more advanced explanations. Additionally, these discussions never include everyone.

This year the process will be modified slightly. Students will still plot their feelings on the spectrum in their binders and write a short defense and explanation. However, we will not stand on the physical in-class spectrum until some online discussion has taken place. There will be five different opportunities for students to post online - after each section in the chapter. These online posts will replace the traditional class discussion They will respond to an online discussion prompt within Schoology. They will not be able to read their peers replies until they post their own. This will force them to give their own original thoughts and ensure that all students are involved. And, ideally, because students know that their peers will read and respond to their posts it will lead to higher-level discussion. The sixth and final discussion will not take place online, and we will have this discussion entirely in class. The final discussion comes at the end of the chapter - at the end of Reconstruction.

The question I will be hoping to answer is “What is the impact of using online discussion in a middle school social studies classroom?”

Data Collection Plan

The first method I will use to assess the impact of using Schoology and online discussion in my class will be to make note of the posting frequency. I keep track of what percentage of students post, which should help me to determine the overall participation of students in the discussion. However, I will also determine how many students responded to their peers, and how often they responded. This second metric will be more important as it will hopefully give me a better idea of how much actual discussion is taking place, as opposed to students just posting their thoughts without reading and responding to their peers. 

The second method I will use will personal notes and analysis of the posts. I plan to make notes on the depth and quality of the discussion, as well as other reactions that I have to the discussion taking place. Although I have no notes from previous years, this will help to give me some insight into whether or not the online discussion, on the whole, is better or worse than previous years in terms of the depth of the argument and quality of the discussion put forth by the students.

The third and final method of data collection will be a student survey given at the end of the chapter. Survey questions will ask students to provide insights into the online discussion and how it compares to normal in-class discussion. Questions will be quantitative as well as qualitative. This piece of the puzzle will be incredibly important to the entire process as it gives the direct insights and reflections of my students.

State of the Union 2013 Bingo & Watching Activity

Every winter not only is it a tradition for the President to give his State of the Union address, but it is also a tradition for me and my students to do something with that address...watch it, discuss it, and even play bingo with it! Below is part of what my students and I will be doing this year for the State of the Union. All credit to the inspiration and concept of the first page goes to TCI, who prepared an activity that is very similar. You can veiw theirs, the original, by clicking here. If you haven't checked out TCI, you really ought to. Their curriculum and materials are outstanding! You can follow them on Twitter, or check them out online.

Live Viewing Activity
Here is a link to the activity for my students to complete while viewing this year's State of the Union. In addition to a close watching/reflecting of the address, they also get to have a little fun with State of the Union bingo! Students unable to watch it live will have through the end of the week to access the speech online (watch or read), or they can read newspaper accounts (print and online) to complete the actvity.

Live Viewing Online Discussion
I'm trying something new this year for my students and myself...I've long wished I could be there with them to help process and understand big live events like this. So this year I'll be hosing an online discussion for all my students using Schoology. We've had online discussions before, but never during a live event like this. It is optional, but I'm pretty sure I'll have more than a few take advantage of this. I'll post more of a reflection on how it went later...but in the meantime I'm hoping it'll be an innovative and unique experience for my 8th graders!

What do you do?
It'd be great to hear about how you cover the State of the Union (and other big, primetime events) with your students!

SMUMN - 21st Century Learning

Cross-Post for St. Mary's University Master's Program:

It's a little absurd, isn't it? We're over a tenth of the way into the 21st Century and we're still talking about what a 21st Century education is and should look like. Shouldn't we be there already? Shouldn't these have been conversations taking place decades ago? Shouldn't massive changes have already taken place? Why are we still talking about the whats and the hows of a 21st Century education? The talk needs to stop, the action needs to begin.

We live in a world that is constantly changing and growing, it is becoming more and more complex by the day. The rise of the internet and mobile communication has created many challenges. Tackling these new challenges will require critical thinkers to be able to identify and solve these problems. The students of today need to be equipped with the tools to think critically, to collaborate efficiently, and to understand the world around them. Our students need to master the 21st century knowledge and skills required to thrive as effective citizens.

The 21st century citizen must be proficient in the "Four Cs": Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, and Creativity. Strong critical thinkers will not only be problem solvers, but problem identifiers as well. The master collaborator will have no problems reaching out to those around him or her to accomplish the tasks at hand. Of course, none of this collaboration will be possible without clear communication between all parties. Lastly, creativity means that students will be able to examine the world to find new innovative solutions.

The Four Cs will not be all that is needed, but they will be at the heart of being a 21st Century Citizen. They will also need the support to develop transferable skills that will prepare them for everyday life and future careers that don’t yet exist. These skills include the ability to quickly adapt to new environments, to take risks and rise to challenges, and to learn from failure.

This generation is the first in the history of the world to have nearly instant access to an almost limitless source of information. However, this access is useless unless we have the skills necessary to find what we’re seeking. We live in an age of instant news and information and our students will need the ability to identify the difference between bias and objectivity. The ubiquitous access to technology and mobile devices opens a world of opportunity, and problems. We need to make sure that our students know how to responsibly use this technology for good, and not evil.

What we need are students that are products of a new educational system. Our educational system needs to reflect the expectations and challenges of a 21st century citizen and needs to keep its eyes steadily fixed toward the future, rather than leave its feet firmly planted in the past.

So far I would say that my learning with St. Mary's has begun to reflect the expectations that we have for our students and the 21st century learning environment. We are asked to challenge ourselves and to really use the "Four Cs". However, so far I'm we haven't had to do much in the way of identifying problems and creating solutions. I suppose to an extent we are doing that with our action research. As we go forward it looks like we'll be doing more investigating and collaborating with the world around us.

Personally, I feel as if I know enough to teach and understand the challenges of 21st Century education. What I really feel I am lacking are two key components. One, is that my students and I aren't fully equipped to learn and teach in this new environment. For example, we currently lack even basic things like WiFi in our schools and our students are still prohibited from using their own personal mobile devices in the classroom. I know that both of these limits/policies are changing, but not fast enough for me or my students.

The other big limitation is the current educational system. We are still stuck in an archaic 19th Century (let alone 20th Century!) factory model where your age determines your grade, and you are essentially learning the same core material that generations gone by have learned. Sure, we jazzed it up by putting an iPad in our student's hands and a SmartBoard in every classroom...but really, what has changed? A couple of years back I had the chance to hear Ken Robinson speak at the TIES Conference in Minneapolis...he does a great job explaining this dilemma. If you haven't already, take a moment and watch the video below.

Skyping With an Expert - Kenneth C. Davis

Recently a good friend of mine and coworker, Blair, let me know that author Kenneth C. Davis was offering to use Skype to connect with history classroom across the country. This sounded like a great opportunity to connect some of my students with a true expert. I submitted my name and crossed my fingers, and a couple of days later I received confirmation that my students and I would indeed get the chance to talk with Mr. Davis! Time and space constraints meant that not everyone would get a chance to participate, but that's the way it goes. The opportunity was open to any 8th grader (those on my team and on the other team) that had an interest in attending...predictably, almost all 8th graders showed some interest. In the end the list was narrowed down to about 28 students...below is a quick recap of the experience...

Mr. Davis began with a 10 minute or so overview of what he does (he even showed us his very first book on the Presidents, circa 1963!)...after that, he opened the floor to questions. My students had plenty to ask, so I was a bit bummed that I didn't get to ask him my question. On every history interview I've been in on we have asked the interviewees "Who had a more influtnetial impact on US history, and why - George Washington or Abraham Lincoln?" I suspect Davis would have said Lincoln...anyway, here is what he was asked...

If you could visit any era fromUS history, which would it be?

Was the Louisiana Purhcase Justifiable? (Note: We are studying Manifest Destiny, and our essential question is "How justifiable was Westward Expansion in the 1800s?" Pleased to hear this question asked!)

How long does it take you to write a book?

Was Andrew Jackson a Superman or Scumbag? (Note: The 8th graders tackle this question in a in-depth essay - read about it here - and we do address the "name calling"...)

Why did you become a writer?

Why do we celebrate Independence Day on the 4th of July and not the 2nd, or in August?

How much post-secondary education do you have? (Note: This was a really interesting question/response.)

What is your favorite part of history?

Overall this was an absolutely outstanding opportunity that some of my students and I were able to experience. They students really enjoyed the conversation and were incredibly grateful for the chance to talk with Mr. Davis. Many have asked me (some, repeatedly!) when we'll by Skyping with another expert. If you ever get the chance to have an expert or someone from outside your class to connect with your students, then absolutely take the chance! Even if you have to adjust your or your students schedule and not everyone can participate, still take the opportunity. It was definitely one of the coolest experiences I've had while teaching! Thanks again to Kenneth C. Davis - it was a real treat!

The Writing Process & Video Feedback

This is a bit of a followup to my last post about our cross-curricular writing project about Andrew Jackson with language arts.


As I was going through the process of grading all 100+ essays (20 hours of winter break...well spent...) I recalled a foggy memory of reading about someone who used screencasting tools to provide audio-visual feedback to their students in lieu of the standard written feedback...which for me consists of a lot of chopped off thoughts scrawled on a page, penmanship declining as I slog through the papers. So after grading about 60 essays, off to Twitter I went and was reminded that Greg Kulowiec was the one who wrote the original post, which included a link this blog entry . Anita Swigart also had experience with it as well. Bolstered by their insights I decided to give it a go...if you're curious to know how it went, read on. Otherwise, I'm sure there are better things you could do...

For starters, you need to make sure that your student has completed their writing in Google Docs and shared it with you, and granted you editing privileges. Otherwise, there's no way to screencast the feedback...


For the longest time I have used Screencast-O-Matic for all my screencasting needs. It has been my standby and I have nothing but love for it.  However, I decided to switch it up to Jing this time around (that's what the others had used) to give Jing a try, and because I could quickly and easily upload my feedback to Screencast.com, and then easily paste the link to it right in to the Google Doc (student essay) that I was reading . So, with that all in mind here are the steps that Greg provided:


The Process:
1. Run Jing - a little yellow sun will appear on the top of the screen
2. Choose your workspace to record
3. Begin recording and commenting on the student blog entry.
4. When the recording is done, click "share with screencast"
5. Login to your Screencast account and retrieve the URL for the video.  I also suggest renaming the file with the student name and project.
6. Paste the URL into the comment section below the student blog entry and you are done.  Now the student has authentic communication about their writing.


I slightly modified the process...
1A. I read the student's essay first and made a couple of minor written notations. One, to help them follow along with the audio, and two, to help guide me as I gave the feedback. Less awkward pauses and "uhms...."
1. Run Jing - a little yellow sun will appear on the top of the screen
2. Choose your workspace to record
3. Begin recording and commenting on the student blog entry.
4. When the recording is done, click "share with screencast"
5. Login to your Screencast account and retrieve the URL for the video.  I also suggest renaming the file with the student name and project.
5A. Once the file is uploaded to Screencast.com it automatically "copies" the link to your "clipboard" - no need to retrieve the link.6. Paste the URL on the top (or bottom) of the student's essay...and boom, you're done.


Reflection:
I think I liked it...  My one hesitation is that in the long-run I think it took an extra minute or three per essay, which can really add up with a 100+ essays. That won't always be feasible for me, or for many others out there.  I'm sure if I do it again, which I think I will, I can become more efficient at the process, specifically with my feedback. Most recordings were 4-5 minutes (Jing has a 5 minute limit). I know I can be verbose, so if I could trim the recordings to 1-3 minutes, I'd be golden.  Some students didn't share their essays with me for one reason or another, so I had to switch back to the old school written feedback and I found myself thinking "I wish I could just record what I'm trying to say, rather than write it out by hand..."  I loved that I could provide a bit of a visual for them to look at, but more importantly that I could really explain what I was looking for and where they could improve their work.


When I asked the students about it today, the student response was almost unanimously positive.  In fact, I had two 8th graders email me last night: "Thank you so much for all your help in the making of my paper. I really like how you did the screen cast, that really helped me and got me interested in fixing my paper to try and get a 100%." and   "The new way you corrected my paper I think was very helpful for me and I think you should use it again if we type a paper on docs." I think that sums it up...8th graders aren't known for emailing their teachers to thank them for critiquing their work. Also, those that did not receive the feedback were bummed and as we were in the lab today (and yesterday) those were the students that required more one-on-one work with me. 


Though this example screencast isn't free of "uhms" and pauses, it gives you an idea of the finished product.