Stefanie Wissmann’s fourth grade students at Cragmont Elementary are now Screencastify pros. I first learned of their experience screencasting when Stefanie shared an example of their fiction reading podcasts with the Cragmont conference email list back in January. Soon thereafter I watched them record their nonfiction research podcasts. Recently the class circled back to screencasting after reading historical fiction novels in book clubs and I returned to see it in action.

This time around, their task was to summarize the book, identify major themes, and provide evidence to support them. Stefanie instructed them to make their latest podcasts conversational. Students were focused on asking each other questions and reflecting on the book.

Book clubs met and prepared a brief script. Some groups sketched out an outline for their podcast including questions to ask one another. Others wrote out more prepared remarks. Students asked each other about the historical setting, the plot, major characters, favorite moments, and so on.

Each group quickly assembled one Google Slide which included the cover and the title of the book to serve as a backdrop for their recording.

Then each book club recorded their presentation twice. They listened to their first attempt, discussed what went well and what they aimed to improve, and then tried a second time. Many of the groups made use of an external microphone for an even higher audio quality (although the built-in Chromebook mics work pretty well).

Two days later, Stefanie shared all of the historical fiction podcasts in a Hyperdoc through Google Classroom and provided students with a note-taking sheet to jot down their reactions. Stephanie carefully modeled each step and allocated 20 minutes for students to listen to podcasts while taking notes. I wandered around the room in awe as I observed students skillfully toggle between the podcasts and their online notetaking sheet. Some students chose to listen and reflect simultaneously. Others paused the podcasts to focus on typing out their thoughts.

Afterward, students shared out their notes about their favorite podcast with their elbow partner. Stefanie challenged them to make note of common themes across the podcasts during that discussion.

This lesson wrapped up with the class generating a list of the common themes they had identified. Sadness. Discrimination. Racism. Troubles/problems like separation. Family/connection. Bravery. Stefanie asked which books had each of the themes. Students figured out these themes were woven into all of the historical fiction novels they read. Then a student pointed out these themes are also present in their current read aloud book, Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. After that, another student noted these themes are present in the graphic novel Smile by Raina Telgemeier and other novels as well.

The class left with a new and profound understanding of universal themes. Stefanie ended the lesson with the sage advice to keep looking for these themes as they continue reading fiction. On my way out the door, Stefanie and I marveled at the rich discussion they had. Stefanie’s creative infusion of technology and carefully crafted lesson provided students with the time and means to gain new insights about literature.

– Mia Gittlen, K-8 Instructional Technology TSA

Look carefully at this photo. While there are many features which may grab your attention, what was most striking to me was that there are two students leading the lesson. Over the past year, I have had the chance to see several groups of 4th and 5th grade students learning coding.  Some have used the Code Studio suite of lessons on Code.org, others have done the Hour of Code games (where, when I last checked, Draymond Green spoke out in support of kids learning to code), and some have learned block programming using Scratch.

Currently, there are just a few elementary classrooms where students are learning to code, but most often I have seen it as something for students to do when they finish their work early.  I love this idea! However, I was especially impressed when I observed Claire Dugan, 4th grade teacher at Cragmont, who not only has committed time to ensure that all students learn to code, but she has supported students to master the material in order to teach it to their classmates.

District-wide, 4th graders recently studied the California Gold Rush.  After a field trip to Sutter’s Fort in Sacramento, Claire’s students gathered and summarized information to write reports on pioneer John Sutter. Claire then had her students share their information through an animated slide show which they created by programming in Scratch. Below is a sample of one of their projects (at the time of my visits, their projects were incomplete, so this is just a snippet):

By teaching students programming, students had far more creative tools to use when designing their projects and it was exciting to watch all students learning these tools. What most impressed me was how she organized the class to have students taking the lead on teaching these tools. Claire was circulating to ensure that every student received the support they needed, however students took turns teaching a new aspect of the computer programming while a second student circulated and helped. Students were riveted by their guest teachers and the class was silent as they explained each new concept.

Most teachers have never learned programming. And yet, many believe that it’s an important skill to teach their students. I love how Claire took on the challenge of learning a programming language, but also opened her classroom up to allowing students to be the teachers as well. By integrating the teaching of programming with her language arts and social studies curriculum, she was able to carve out time for this exciting project.
-Allison Krasnow: Instructional Technology Coordinator

 

Some of the most powerful professional development that has happened in instructional technology over the past few years has been the three times this year that all 4th and 5th grade teachers came together to share ideas and learn from one another. At the most recent session, we organized a gallery walk where teachers chose one piece of student work that showcased a way students were using technology that had been integrated into the core curriculum this year.

Regina Chagolla, 5th grade teacher at Berkeley Arts Magnet, chose to share how she’s using editing features such as underlining and text color in Google Docs to have her students identify important components of their writing.

She first used this technique when students were writing opinion pieces.  After students had written a first draft, she asked them to underline their claim and color code each of their reasons.  The piece of work below is a first draft from an English Language Learner who arrived in the US (and Regina’s class) just a few months ago.

After learning about Regina’s use of editing tools in Google Docs for students to reflect on writing techniques, I wanted to learn more from her.  Recently, I had the opportunity to visit her classroom while she used this method as part of a formative assessment.  Independently, students read a poem, which she had shared via Google Classroom, and their task was to analyze the language used.  This corresponds with the ELA Standard on Craft and Structure:  CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.5.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative language such as metaphors and similes.

None of the work below is perfect.  Since it was from a formative assessment, Regina was able to see what misconceptions students still had and reflect both on her teaching and what next steps she’d take during her poetry unit.
Regina explains each of these work samples:

 

Although she didn’t find all of the repeated phrases and repeated words, she wrote her own poem at the end and highlighted all three poetry power tips. She did recognize similes versus when the poet simply used the word ‘like.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This student also showed each technique in her original poem:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This student also mixed up the repeated phrases with repeated words assuming every use of the word “like” is a simile.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I love how Regina allowed students to use Google Docs for analyzing their writing and not simply as a tool for typing up their writing.  This assignment was such a genuine blend of writing analysis and technology.

-Allison Krasnow, Instructional Technology Coordinator

 

Torina Blackmond, a third grade teacher at John Muir Elementary, chose Google Classroom as the one new tech tool to focus on this year, and without a doubt, she’s fully embraced it. She’s posting her writing assignments in Classroom along with additional resources for students to refer back to in order to review key skills.

Torina approached me about helping students focus on formatting when they revise their work. I suggested leading an activity created by Anna Speiglman (fifth grade teacher at Malcolm X) to explicitly teach formatting tools and then have students practice by writing an acrostic poem using their name. Early that morning before my visit, Torina created a model, found a YouTube video as a resource, and posted an assignment in Classroom. Torina’s tinkering and deep dive into figuring out this technology impressed me. And now she’s adding comments and returning work to her students to revise — all electronically and paperless!

Students enjoyed playing with the font styles and text colors. As a result, their acrostic poems were filled with personality.

Around the same time across town at Thousand Oaks Elementary, Lorna Cross, another third grade teacher, invited me into her class to see students using Chromebooks for their animal reports. She posted the links students needed to conduct their research in Google Classroom. Students created Google Docs to type up each chapter and insert related images. They also included a table of contents, headings, and a glossary.

During my first visit when students were wrapping up their writing, Lorna asked if I could introduce her class to Google Slides. After a quick mini-lesson, her third graders leaped right in. When many students were asking how to put pieces of their animal reports into Slides, Lorna jumped onto the projector to show students step-by-step through her own trial and error until she got it right. It was cool to see how she models learning and exploring the technology in front of her third graders. Her students were eager to explore and make use of technology to showcase what they’ve learned about animals. Indeed, Lorna was able to use Google Apps as a way to establish an encouraging and active cooperative learning environment in her classroom.

– Mia Gittlen, K-8 Instructional Technology TSA

Expert Book Cover Pages
A Collaboration with Nick Williams (3rd Grade Teacher at Cragmont)

On their way out to recess one day mid-morning in early March, several students asked me if I’d be able to print out their expert book cover pages. That was exactly why I was heading into their classroom at Cragmont Elementary. Just days earlier students had created their cover pages in Google Docs and ever since then they couldn’t wait to get their hands on their creations. Nick Williams, their third grade teacher, had had emailed me, “My students are dying to have their printed covers.” It was adorable to see their genuine excitement firsthand as I entered the room simply to help print.

During my quick visit, Nick and I added the extension PDF Mergy in Google Drive so we could merge all the students’ Docs from Nick’s Google Drive Classroom folder into one PDF document and efficiently print all of their finished products in one fell swoop. Voilà. All of his students’ finished work printed out in seconds.

But the story doesn’t end there and actually began a few weeks earlier. Nick invited me to lead a series of technology lessons. We started with digital citizenship, introduced Google Classroom, and then Nick reached out to me with this project in mind–creating cover pages for their expert books. What a striking way to integrate technology into the TCRWP curriculum while explicitly teaching tech skills in a fun and engaging way.

In less than an hour long lesson, students accessed the assignment in Nick’s Google Classroom and created a blank Google Doc. Then students searched for an image related to their topic using Kiddle, a safe search engine for students. We showed students how to use both hands to drag and drop image from browser into Google Doc on their Chromebooks. Under our guidance along with the help of a parent volunteer in the room, students typed in their title and names and played with the formatting tools to resize and format their image and text.

Fast forward to the culmination of this project two days later. Students glowed with pride as they presented their books during a lovely publishing party attended by many of their parents and other invited guests.

It was an opportunity to celebrate their incredible books–each containing a detailed table of contents, multiple chapters, and additional creative touches including an about the author section and of course their cover page. In a short amount of time, this tech activity added a little pizzazz to a major writing project and introduced a few new tech skills.

– Mia Gittlen, K-8 Instructional Technology TSA

Earlier this week, at Malcolm X, I had the pleasure of teaching Brittany Pudlowski’s 3rd graders to self-asses their typing skills. For the past several weeks her students have been using our district-software, Typing Club, to systematically learn typing. I visited her class to help them know what the typing goals are for the end of 3rd grade and give them a way to gauge their progress. You may be wondering, “What is pleasurable about taking a Typing Test?” My hope was to give them a goal to work for while instilling a growth mindset around their current skills. While typing speed is certainly not the main emphasis of of any grade-level’s technology integration, having strong typing skills allows students to more efficiently use and create work on computers with far less frustration.

With students gathered on the rug, I briefly discussed the importance of setting goals for yourself and pushing yourself to try new things. I explained that the end of year goal for 3rd graders in typing is 10 wpm with 90% accuracy and we briefly talked about what words per minute means. However, the true ‘lesson’ of my lesson was showcased after showing this video of Klay Thompson shooting free throws in the 2016 All Star 3-point Competition. A student explained how one scores 3-pointers in basketball for others who weren’t familiar with the game, and then I posed a question for them to consider as they watched: What does Klay do when he misses a shot? A few had predictions which I let them share, but mostly, they were eager to watch thevideo.

After we watched, I explained that he won that year, making him the best 3-point shooter in the world at that time. Students had a lot to say. Their comments were mostly similar, “When he missed he just kept going,” and “He only missed a few, but he never stopped.” However one boy’s comments really stuck with me, “When he missed, he didn’t think about how he had missed. If he had, he would have lost. He won because he never thought about losing.”

He brilliantly summed up exactly why I showed this video before having students take a typing test. Having a growth mindset of achieving words per minute isn’t a whole lot different from baskets per minute. Before sending them back to their seats to login, I reminded them that it’s only March, so they have until June to try to meet the 3rd grade goal. Thanks to Barb Wenger, 1st grade teacher at Jefferson, we have a custom-made typing test for 3rd-5th graders which includes a paragraph about Berkeley.

A hush fell across the room as students began the test, with the clip clip clip of fingers on keys ringing in the air.

As I walked around the room, students occasionally got frustrated at their errors showing up in red. To each, I whispered in their ears, “What would Klay do?” which helped refocus them. I encouraged each student to try the test again in a month, after they had more time to practice. Many had already reached the 3rd grade typing goals and others left confident that they’d get there in the coming months.

– Allison Krasnow, Instructional Technology Coordinator

If we want to do better things for students, we have to become the guinea pigs and immerse ourselves in new learning opportunities to understand how to create the necessary changes. We rarely create something different until we experience something different.”
― George Couros, The Innovator’s Mindset: Empower Learning, Unleash Talent, and Lead a Culture of Creativity

For the past four years I have been both a Teacher on Special Assignment (TSA) for Instructional Technology and now the Instructional Technology Coordinator. Much of my work involves collaborating with teachers and I feel incredibly fortunate that I have been welcomed into so many classrooms. The richness and depth of the quality of student work that teachers are creating constantly amazes me. Having taught for 14 years both in Oakland and Berkeley, I know how rarely we get the opportunity to share the creative work we are doing.

The purpose of this blog is for all BUSD staff, administrators, and families to get a glimpse into the varied ways teachers, librarians and library media techs are integrating technology into their classrooms in order to improve engagement and achievement and to ensure that every child in our schools has equitable access to these new tools. DigiTech, the instructional technology department is comprised of several TSAs (Teacher on Special Assignment) for Instructional Technology in addition to myself and Becca Todd, the District Library Coordinator. We are so lucky to be able to watch these lessons as they unfold and want to share out all the incredible work with instructional technology that we see.

Our one desire is this: PLEASE STEAL these ideas. Read them, reflect on them, let them marinate, contact the teacher if you’d like more information, and then take what you like and make it your own.

Additionally, integrating technology is hard work. There is plenty which can and sometimes does not function properly. As we are all working to help students adopt a growth mindset, using technology in the classroom constantly requires that we have a growth mindset. We’re learning on the fly in most cases and trying to teach with tools that never existed when we were in school. As we embark on this journey to showcase teachers doing fabulous things with technology, we want to stay constantly aware of how much perseverance is involved with putting these lessons together. This video is one of my favorites as a reminder of the role that failure has before ultimately succeeding.

We hope this blog becomes a place you regularly visit, whether you’re BUSD staff, administrator, parent or community member to learn more about how instructional technology is being integrated into our curriculum and reflect on its nuances to make it as powerful a tool as possible for student learning.

– Allison Krasnow, Instructional Technology Coordinator