There has been quite a bit of buzz about the updates coming out this fall for Google Classroom. I took some time today to check in with a couple of articles and news items to see just what to expect. What I saw has me pretty excited to start working with the new Google Classroom.
The first thing to discuss is the addition of a "Classwork" section to the front page. Instead of everything coming to the student through the stream, there is now a separate section where assignments can be found. I find this really helpful as I've had to help some students find assignments in the past. In addition to a separate section, the instructor can separate the classwork by segmenting it. This means you can group assignments by unit, time frame, etc.
One other feature that looks very useful is the ability to filter your work so you can see what is done and what is not done. Students can check their missing assignments or see if they forgot to submit something very easily.
The Classwork section will also mean the stream is being modified as well. It is now the place to post classroom discussions, reminders, etc. I think this is a much better set up as the communication type posts seemed to get buried in the Stream area as assignments were posted. I think this will help keep the online learning community in your classroom better informed.
There was also some discussion of some streamlining to the grading process. The one that caught my attention the most was being able to move from file to file in a much simpler way. It has always been a pain to open the files for grading one at a time. There was also mention of a comment bank, but I don't generally use canned comments with my students.
There have always been little annoyances when using Google Classroom in the past, but as this was really the only option out there for me I made do with it and got used to its shortcomings and quirks. This new update really irons out a lot of the issues I've run into in the past and I think it will improve the usability of the program immensely.
It does look like the new features will only be available with newly created classes for now, so if you plan on using the upgraded Google Classroom keep that in mind!
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
The Future of Schools
It seems like change is a constant in the field of education with new ideas and ways of learning constantly being brought forward or recycled in the classroom. The leap forward in technology (both hardware and software) has also created a number of changes in the classroom for instructors and learners. It often makes me wonder what the future of schooling will look like. There are a number of ideas that have been presented.
In this September 2017 article by CNN entitled Are these the schools of the future, there are a few ideas and concepts that are put forward. One of these is the portfolio school which focuses on project-based learning and integrating technology into the mix of guided choice and personalized education. The use of an interdisciplinary model is a key component to their model and the idea of balance in life (school/home, work/play) is also a piece of the puzzle.
Future Schools Imagined Using the Essential Fluency of Learning is an October 2017 article by Lee Watanabe-Crockett does an excellent job of describing some of the changes we are seeing in education. One key idea that really resonated with me is "The best piece of classroom technology available is, and always will be, a teacher." The idea is that technology should augment education and the interpersonal relationship is still key to learning. Other key concepts presented include; self-motivation, problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, digital media, and information fluency. The focus of these schools is to create a citizen who can become a part of their community and be productive in a future workplace.
My favorite idea was the open school concept that I first learned about in an article I read a few years back. Unfortunately, I do not remember the article name or publisher, but if my memory serves me correctly the trial school was in New York state. In this conceptual school, the doors open at 6:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM with students expected to attend 6.5 hours of school each day. The school uses an automated check-in and check-out system and the daily schedule is flexible and based on student choice or interest. This means that the student decides when they would like to do math or history or language arts. They still need to "attend" each class on a daily basis but there isn't a daily schedule set by the school itself.
This model is heavily dependent upon technology, as the student must keep track of their short term and long term learning goals through a management software. The open class concept means that the instructor has posted the content and learning expectations with the student expected to engage with the learning - it reminds me of the constructivist theory in this aspect. The student is required to give summative evidence of learning, but they have a considerable amount of choice on how they want to accomplish this. The physical space is also an open concept with traditional settings (tables, chairs, workspaces) and non-traditional settings (couches, bean bags, etc.) available to students. The instructors work in shifts to provide support to students who need help and the school focuses on having teachers who are highly qualified in specific content areas there at all times. Each teacher also has a cohort of students that they are responsible for monitoring with weekly advisory times where the student and teacher meet one on one for some discussion time. This model is really focused towards middle school or high school learners as there is a considerable amount of personal responsibility involved.
If you have time, PBS produced an interesting Nova show about the future of schools that gives some ideas for anyone involved in education to ponder. It runs a little under two hours but is very informative. The video can be viewed here.
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| Vintage Classroom Structure - Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons |
In this September 2017 article by CNN entitled Are these the schools of the future, there are a few ideas and concepts that are put forward. One of these is the portfolio school which focuses on project-based learning and integrating technology into the mix of guided choice and personalized education. The use of an interdisciplinary model is a key component to their model and the idea of balance in life (school/home, work/play) is also a piece of the puzzle.
Future Schools Imagined Using the Essential Fluency of Learning is an October 2017 article by Lee Watanabe-Crockett does an excellent job of describing some of the changes we are seeing in education. One key idea that really resonated with me is "The best piece of classroom technology available is, and always will be, a teacher." The idea is that technology should augment education and the interpersonal relationship is still key to learning. Other key concepts presented include; self-motivation, problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, digital media, and information fluency. The focus of these schools is to create a citizen who can become a part of their community and be productive in a future workplace.
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| Concept Classroom |
My favorite idea was the open school concept that I first learned about in an article I read a few years back. Unfortunately, I do not remember the article name or publisher, but if my memory serves me correctly the trial school was in New York state. In this conceptual school, the doors open at 6:00 AM and close at 6:00 PM with students expected to attend 6.5 hours of school each day. The school uses an automated check-in and check-out system and the daily schedule is flexible and based on student choice or interest. This means that the student decides when they would like to do math or history or language arts. They still need to "attend" each class on a daily basis but there isn't a daily schedule set by the school itself.
This model is heavily dependent upon technology, as the student must keep track of their short term and long term learning goals through a management software. The open class concept means that the instructor has posted the content and learning expectations with the student expected to engage with the learning - it reminds me of the constructivist theory in this aspect. The student is required to give summative evidence of learning, but they have a considerable amount of choice on how they want to accomplish this. The physical space is also an open concept with traditional settings (tables, chairs, workspaces) and non-traditional settings (couches, bean bags, etc.) available to students. The instructors work in shifts to provide support to students who need help and the school focuses on having teachers who are highly qualified in specific content areas there at all times. Each teacher also has a cohort of students that they are responsible for monitoring with weekly advisory times where the student and teacher meet one on one for some discussion time. This model is really focused towards middle school or high school learners as there is a considerable amount of personal responsibility involved.
If you have time, PBS produced an interesting Nova show about the future of schools that gives some ideas for anyone involved in education to ponder. It runs a little under two hours but is very informative. The video can be viewed here.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Curriculum Adoption Survey
This past year, my district was tasked with choosing a new curriculum to adopt for English Language Arts across all grade levels. This was a pretty daunting task and a number of committees were put together to come to a consensus. One consensus that soon became clear was that each level (elementary, middle school, and high school) needed or wanted something different. As a result, it was left up to each of those levels to decide what was best for their particular group of students.
Even at the middle school level, we could not agree between the three grade levels. In addition, there wasn't really a consensus between the needs of teachers within specific grade levels. In the end, there were a lot of compromises, but there were still a number of teachers who were disappointed with the final decision.
There ended up being three major groups that formed within my grade level for adoption and each had a different idea of what they needed/wanted for their classroom. Here are the three groups:
Technology Focused - Purchase of Kindle readers for each classroom along with a yearly budget for purchasing text (books, articles, etc.). Classroom/District licenses for a number of online tools for productivity (Grammarly, Kami, Turn It In, etc.). Classroom budgets for additional technology or software to be used at that teacher's discretion.
Traditional Text Focus - Each classroom receives a new set of traditional hardback books that include a variety of texts aligned to grade level. In addition, the teacher receives an instructional guide that helps create lessons based on the texts included. This adoption also included the use of disposable student workbooks that are one use only - each year the classroom receives a new set of workbooks from the publisher. In addition, a district license for Turn It In would be purchased.
Mixed Focus Technology/Text - This group was pushing for the use of online tools that were brought up by the technology-focused group, but not the purchase of Kindle readers. Instead, they wanted to purchase a simpler text from a different publisher that just included stories linked to content and a simpler teacher guide. This option also allowed for some discretional classroom funds that were earmarked for specific needs to the classroom and a variety of ideas were discussed about what that could be.
I have a large Houghton Mifflin bag sitting next to my desk that contains the decision made by the grade level. I received it in June and have honestly not touched it since it was handed to me by my district's curriculum administrator. I was a little disappointed to say the least that the decision went this way and a little surprised that certain colleagues of mine agreed to this choice as well. My district is relatively forward thinking, but there are a number of vocal veteran teachers that seemed to really hinder this process. I think in many cases they were a little afraid of the technology and what they would do without a physical book for text sources. Most of what we work on in my classroom is technology focused, so integrating the text might be a challenge for me. I'll eventually start thumbing through the book and see what is there, but I'm not really in a hurry to do so.
If you were in this situation of adopting curriculum, which group do you think you might be in? Let me know your choice and reasoning in the comments below!
Even at the middle school level, we could not agree between the three grade levels. In addition, there wasn't really a consensus between the needs of teachers within specific grade levels. In the end, there were a lot of compromises, but there were still a number of teachers who were disappointed with the final decision.
There ended up being three major groups that formed within my grade level for adoption and each had a different idea of what they needed/wanted for their classroom. Here are the three groups:
Technology Focused - Purchase of Kindle readers for each classroom along with a yearly budget for purchasing text (books, articles, etc.). Classroom/District licenses for a number of online tools for productivity (Grammarly, Kami, Turn It In, etc.). Classroom budgets for additional technology or software to be used at that teacher's discretion.
Traditional Text Focus - Each classroom receives a new set of traditional hardback books that include a variety of texts aligned to grade level. In addition, the teacher receives an instructional guide that helps create lessons based on the texts included. This adoption also included the use of disposable student workbooks that are one use only - each year the classroom receives a new set of workbooks from the publisher. In addition, a district license for Turn It In would be purchased.
Mixed Focus Technology/Text - This group was pushing for the use of online tools that were brought up by the technology-focused group, but not the purchase of Kindle readers. Instead, they wanted to purchase a simpler text from a different publisher that just included stories linked to content and a simpler teacher guide. This option also allowed for some discretional classroom funds that were earmarked for specific needs to the classroom and a variety of ideas were discussed about what that could be.
I have a large Houghton Mifflin bag sitting next to my desk that contains the decision made by the grade level. I received it in June and have honestly not touched it since it was handed to me by my district's curriculum administrator. I was a little disappointed to say the least that the decision went this way and a little surprised that certain colleagues of mine agreed to this choice as well. My district is relatively forward thinking, but there are a number of vocal veteran teachers that seemed to really hinder this process. I think in many cases they were a little afraid of the technology and what they would do without a physical book for text sources. Most of what we work on in my classroom is technology focused, so integrating the text might be a challenge for me. I'll eventually start thumbing through the book and see what is there, but I'm not really in a hurry to do so.
If you were in this situation of adopting curriculum, which group do you think you might be in? Let me know your choice and reasoning in the comments below!
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
Sounds of Summer Part II
I posted a few songs that were previous Songs of Summer at my house and thought I would add a couple getting heavy play time at my house this year!
Live version Eric Hutchinson's All Over Now.
A classic remake of a Paul Simon song by a band called Perpetual Groove.
No official video on this one, so it's just the official audio track.
Hope you enjoy these!
Live version Eric Hutchinson's All Over Now.
A classic remake of a Paul Simon song by a band called Perpetual Groove.
No official video on this one, so it's just the official audio track.
Hope you enjoy these!
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