Thing #20: Blended or Flipped Classrooms

I’m very new to this idea of a blended or flipped classroom. I’ve heard about both for many years, but never really took the time to investigate what they meant or how I could implement them in my classroom.

Recently, I discovered a tool called Loom. I’ve used Loom a number of times and have found it to be incredibly useful for my teaching and my students. Some of the features that I especially like about Loom is that you can just record a video, just record audio, screen share with audio, or screen share with audio and video. Personally, I do not like looking at myself on camera, so I rarely use the video feature, but have uploaded a picture of myself so that viewers can see who I am. However, I find that the video or photo icon is a bit large and can block some of the information on the screen.

Loom and similar programs have multiple uses in today’s classroom. I’ve used it to create a short message for my students when I was going to be out of the building (either for an inservice or because I was ill). I’ve used it to reteach a confusing concept to students, and then posted the video on my website or sent the link via email. I’ve used it to create an audio newsletter for families. I’ve also used it to upload lessons or reviews, especially when many students were absent. The possibilities are virtually limitless!

I also like that you are able to edit the video once you have finished recording. Another use of this tool is having students use it to ask you questions or even upload assignments/responses when appropriate. I attempted to create a recap of my lesson on The Civil Rights Movement. It was very easy to do, but I found it extremely difficult to remain within the time constraints. I did go over by about 15 seconds, but it was almost only my conclusion of saying see you next week, so I decided not to re-record my summary.

Screen Shot 2019-03-05 at 22.29.03.png — Click here to check out my Loom recording

I’ve also uploaded to recording to my class website, which you can view by clicking here.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: In providing students with the opportunity to review class content outside of the classroom, we are promoting deeper thinking and understanding. Tools like Loom give students the ability to create their own recordings as they see fit, thus encouraging individuality and creativity.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: I remember when I was a student and felt so behind and lost after missing one day of class. With digital recordings like this, we practically eliminate this possibility. In meeting students where they are, we are able to provide the best education possible to all students.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: In using these tools to help students learn, we are enabling them to use these tools themselves.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: In demonstrating how to behave in an online environment, we are helping students become responsible, virtual citizens.
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: We could easily review expectations and homework with a tool like Loom. We could also record individualized feedback to share with students, as well as celebrate accomplishments with families.
Assigning Homework and Practice: An audio and/or video recording is an excellent way to ensure that everything is clear and eliminates the possibility of ‘I forgot to write it down.’

Thing #18: Dig the Data

I hate spreadsheets. Ever since I was in middle school, I could not stand creating spreadsheets. It’s not that I couldn’t do it, but that I found the task daunting and frustrating. I used to use Microsoft Excel, but found it to be very confusing, even overwhelming. However, with Google Sheets, creating and manipulating spreadsheets does not seems nearly as awful as I remember.

I found the overall design and layout of Google Sheets to be extremely clean and clear. I was able to easily find what I needed in order to sort the document in a number of ways.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.06.39 — Here’s the original spreadsheet, sorted by School Year.

Practice Your Skills: Manipulate Data, Part 1

I absolutely love every Google product that I have used so far, and Google Sheets is no different. For me, Google Sheets is much more intuitive than Microsoft Excel. Immediately, I felt more comfortable and at ease using Google Sheets than with my previous experiences using other programs.

As I was making changes to the spreadsheet, I felt confident and comfortable with my skills and ability to do so. Below are some examples of the different ways that I sorted the data.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.07.03.png — I loved the overall appearance of Google Sheets and the fact that options opened in new windows.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.07.17.png — Now the data is sorted by the number of students who Met or Exceeded expectations.

Practice Your Skills: Formatting and Applying Formulas, Part 2

In the past, I’ve succeeded in figuring out how to use formulas in spreadsheets. Honestly, I think it was pure luck most of the time. After watching the tutorial video and practicing the skill myself, I feel much more confident formatting and applying formulas in spreadsheets. I think part of my problem was that I was never given a formal explanation or hands-on opportunity to apply formulas. Thinking about myself as a learner, this makes sense, as I know that I am a very kinesthetic learner.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 13.35.18.png — Here’s the same spreadsheet, but with some formulas applied. I liked that I could see the formula that I used in the bar at the top of the screen.

Practice Your Skills: Graphs and Charts, Part 3

After all of my positive experiences with Google platforms, I was bound to find one that I did not like. Let me express my complete frustration with trying to insert a chart into Google Sheets. My Google Sheets looked nothing like the one being used in the tutorial. Perhaps it has been updated, I’m not sure, but I hated this activity. While I was able to create a chart using data from the spreadsheet, I never figured out how to add titles to the x-axis/y-axis.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.07.24.png — Here’s my chart. I think I still need more time and practice for this skill.

Applying the Skills I Learned

I compiled the data from a Google Form that I used to assess student understanding of some of the key concepts that we have learned so far. Here’s my original spreadsheet:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.44.41.png — This is my original spreadsheet, sorted by Name.

Then, I tried to sort the data based on number of Questions Answered Correctly:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.46.46.png

Then, I applied some formulas to find the averages for number of questions answered, number of questions answered correctly, and number of questions answered incorrectly.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.49.32.png

Finally, I created a chart showing the results of the Grammar Review:

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 14.50.56.png

Future Applications

Based on what I have learned (and done) in this Thing, I believe that using spreadsheets and charts would be an excellent way of representing student growth and learning. I think that gathering data regularly is an important part of teaching, but then doing something with that data is something I think often gets overlooked. Using tools like Google Forms and Google Sheets makes it really easy to create data for any kind of information that you can imagine. When I’m back in a position where I will be able to do this with my students, I plan on using this data to celebrate our learning together, as well as to identify more challenging areas.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback: This is an extremely easy way to check student understanding and learning, as well as to provide almost immediate feedback.
Reinforcing Effort/Providing Recognition: Being able to sort data in a number of ways allows us to find different types of successes to celebrate.
Assigning Homework/Providing Feedback: Creating a quick Google Form is a great way to provide students with some extra practice (as well as to check their understanding).
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Utilizing the digital resources currently available to us is an excellent way of providing students with authentic learning opportunities.

Thing #17: Evaluation and Assessment

While there are many things that I love about being a teacher, the importance of evaluating and assessing student learning has become something I dread. While I understand assessment is necessary, I believe that it has been taken to an extreme. When I reflect upon my experience teaching in both America and France, I notice stark differences. The first thing that really jumped out at me was the frequency with which testing occurs in France–not even once per year! And not until middle school! It is also the final year of school that matters the most in France, as you are taking you content area exams for your baccalaureate (bac), which is extremely important in France.

It’s true that I believe we over test our students in America. However, I feel that assessments do not happen frequently enough in France. In my opinion, finding a good balance between the frequency in America and in France would be ideal. Keeping all of this in mind, I’ve tried to keep an open mind about the role and value of assessment in schools.

FERPA/HIPAA

While I am familiar with bother FERPA and HIPAA, neither of these things exist in France. However, I do remember the strict laws and guidelines I was expected to follow when I worked in Michigan. Having been removed from teaching in America for nearly five years, it was an interesting experience for me to test my memory regarding student and family rights.

It was really interesting and insightful to complete the pre and post assessment quizzes about FERPA and HIPAA. There were a number of things that I found surprising.

When a student transfers to a new school, the former school is required to send the student’s education records to the new school. To me, this seems completely logical. However, I learned that this is not the case. It is the school’s responsibility to request the student’s education record.
Schools are required by FERPA to maintain a student’s transcript for 5 years. I remember when I was a student being convinced that my permanent record was going to follow me around and haunt me for literally the rest of my life. Now, I know that this is not at all the case. In fact, there is no minimum amount of time to keep student records.
Schools must individually notify parents of their FERPA rights by mail. Again, this one seemed pretty straightforward and logical to me. All parents should be notified of their FERPA rights, and to me, the most logical means of doing so is by mail. However, this is not the case. The school may notify families by a variety of different means.

Types of Data and T3PD

There are four different types of data that can be collected in education:

Demographic
Achievement
Process
Perception

Unfortunately, at this time, I am not teaching in what would be considered a traditional classroom, and I am not teaching a standard curriculum. I only work with very small groups of students (maximum 5), once per week for two hours. Because of this unique situation, I have been given very strict guidelines and expectations regarding what I am and am not able to do in terms of deviating from the curriculum or given guidelines/expectations.

As an American trained educator, I definitely see, value, and understand the importance of gathering data and using to to guide and inform instruction. After viewing and reflecting upon the list of tools for classroom data collection, I can imagine how I would implement these tools and use them to inform my instruction.

Demographic Data

In my current capacity, this is something which is never discussed or considered.

Achievement Data

While I often use summative assessments to gauge student learning and guide my teaching, the only form of achievement data the my establishment cares about is student success rate on the official Cambridge English Exam. When I’ve tried to share my summative assessment results, no one seems interested.

Process Data

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 12.03.39.png Again, I have used many tools in the past to assess student progress. My former school district invested in Clickers, which were nice, but never seemed to be available when I needed them. With advancements in technology, the need for specific tools no longer exists. Today, websites like Plickers exists to make gathering data even easier. We are able to quickly assess student understanding and identify any ideas that need to be retaught.

Perception Data

In the past, I have used surveys and polls to gather this type of data. My former school district loved using SurveyMonkey. While I appreciated many features on this tool, I did not think that it was the best to use with students. For example, at the end of the survey when you received an image with a message, that often generated what the distracting reaction from students.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 12.03.58.png I have many teacher friends who love using Google Forms with their students. I think that Google is going to be the direction that many schools take, as more and more schools are using Google products in their schools. Again, I would love to use this type of tool with my students, but we simply do not have the resources (time or technological) to do so.

Plan for Implementation

As I mentioned, I will not be able to implement any of these into my current position. However, I can imagine the positive results that I would find if I were able to do so. Implementing something like Plickers is an excellent way to keep students engaged and to verify student understanding. It also enables me to identify struggling learners so that I can reach out to them as necessary.

I also love the idea of using Google Forms with my students in order to gather more specific information about students learning and topics for future lessons. I think this is also something that would be extremely interesting and engaging for my students.

At this time in France, I am unaware of any online tests (or even computer based tests) that students take. France remains very traditional in their delivery of content to students. Things that I once took for granted (for example, visiting a store’s website), have become significant challenges. France has been slow to embrace technology, but I am hopeful that in the next couple of years, there will be considerable growth and acceptance regarding the importance of technology in our lives.

Example of Tool for Gathering Perception Data

Using Google Forms, I created a survey that I would like to administer that the beginning of the year, in order to learn a little bit about the learning history of my students, as well as to gather data to guide my instruction. More often than not, I assume that students have been taught (and understood) a concept in a previous course, only to discover that was a misconception. I am finding that, at least with English learning, students are given the most basic and incomplete explanations, and often taught the same content year after year, regardless of previous experience.

In taking the time to gather this data early on, I believe that I will be better equipped to truly help my students learn and grow and speakers of English. Here’s a link to the survey that I am going to begin using (hopefully) starting next year.

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 12.12.06.png

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Using various technology based tools to gather data on student learning is a great way to get all students invested in the content.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences: In giving students the opportunity to provide data electronically, we are better preparing them to enter the real world. It seems like every website that you visit asks you to complete a survey or provide feedback before closing the browser, so providing students with authentic opportunities to learn how to do this is an excellent way of preparing citizens for the future.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: As the world changes, technology changes. Our world continues to become more advanced, so it only makes sense that our teaching must evolve with it. Staying current and using varied resources is important in providing students with authentic learning opportunities.
Setting Objectives/Providing Feedback: Using digital tools to gather information about perceptions and progress would be invaluable. I think it is important that teachers receive feedback from students, just as it is important for students to receive feedback from teachers. This feedback is how we grow. Using technology makes it much easier to gather and assess data.

Thing #15: Digital Classroom Management

When I was a teacher back in Michigan, I used and loved using Class Dojo. I found it to be extremely effective and didn’t feel like I was simply adding another thing to do to my list. I also noticed that my students seemed more motivated and open to receiving feedback via Class Dojo than in more traditional fashions. Here’s an example of what my Class Dojo currently looks like:

Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 15.18.33.png

I love how easy it is to give students feedback and to personalize the types of feedback you can give:

Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 15.18.47.png

1:1 or Devices in the Classroom

Unfortunately, in my current school environment, all electronics have been banned for use by students (including computers during class time). Therefore, I am definitely not going to be able to utilize devices in the classroom, even though I know and understand how beneficial it would be for all of my students. In talking with friends who have implemented BYOD or have the resources to have 1:1 in the classroom, they’ve shared mostly positive experiences. I am hopeful that one day, I will be able to do the same with my students in France.

I know that most of my students are very technologically advanced and with the language learning resources available, we would be able to make more progress using devices. I will continue to try and persuade current leadership to change their stance.

Positive Behavior and Communication Tools

Screen Shot 2019-03-02 at 15.26.05.png My students are very driven by competitions, so I think that introducing the Positive Behavior tools on Class Dojo will have a very positive impact on student motivation and learning. As I am primarily teaching adult learners, I will not be communicating with parents. Rather, I will be using the communication tools, such as Remind, to communicate important information and reminders to my students. I like that it is still a very professional, but almost casual way, of communicating.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards:

Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: I love how easy it is to share feedback with both students and parents using Class Dojo. It is a clear and easy means of communication.
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: I love how easy it is to communicate with students using things like Remind. Sending reminders to students ensures that everyone knows exactly what they are expected to do, as well as the deadline for that task.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Again, both Class Dojo and Remind are excellent tools for incorporating technology into classroom practices.

Thing #14: Powerful Presentations

I remember when I was a student and had to spend hundreds of dollars each year to keep my resources up-to-date. Luckily, students no longer have to do that, as we have so many digital resources at our disposal. What I like about many of the options I just explored was how easy the were to use and how they could be used virtually anywhere. Some of the most common free resources to create powerful presentations are:

Of course, I am now a huge fan of Google Slides. This is not the first Google tool that I am just now discovering, but I absolutely love it. It is so easy and clear to use. Something that I absolutely loved about Google Slides was being able to embed YouTube videos directly into the presentation. This eliminates the possibility of inappropriate ads being displayed and just gives the video an overall cleaner presentation.

For my first time using Google Slides I chose to modify an old PowerPoint Presentation that I had made for my unit on the Civil Rights Movement. In my opinion, the overall appearance of the presentation was so much better in Google Slides. Check it out for yourself by clicking here.

Reflection

I loved my experience with Google Slides and look forward to using it in the future to both update and create new lessons. Thinking about how I am going to use this lesson with my students, I always spend a few weeks each year discussing the Civil Rights Movement with my students, being sure to add as much information as I can about the role of Detroit, both then and now. This presentation really brings this topic to life, especially when talking about Motown. I think that it is imperative that all students have access to appropriate digital media resources to really be able to understand what they are learning.

If I think about the SAMR levels that we talked about in previous Things, I think that this lesson is a great example of how a lesson can Augment student learning. Talking about music is one thing. Being able to experience it — see, feel, hear — is another. Most students think that they have never heard Motown music before, but once we start listening, they realize that they do know many of the songs! I think that the activities that would follow as a result of this lesson would allow learning to be redefined. Asking students to think about the role of civil rights in their country. Does discrimination still exist today? If so, is it the same or has it changed? Being able to use digital resources enables students to take their learning to the next level.

Thing #9: Be Legal and Fair

Coming from a country where copyrights seem to truly be the rule of the land, I was quite shocked by the lack of copyrights in France. It seems like everywhere I turn, I am seeing something (most commonly American images or slogans) being used without acknowledge the source of the information. A few years back, the Simpsons were all the rage in France. I lost count of how many times I saw clearly copyrighted images being used illegally. When I asked my French friends about this, they had no idea why I was making a big deal out of it. That’s just how it has always been in France. Anyone can use anything as they see fit. When I first heard this, I thought I had to be hearing about a generational difference. However, the more time that I spend teaching in France, the more I discover that this has nothing to do with generational differences and more to do with cultural differences.

I still remember vividly my first time encountering plagiarized work from a student in France. The student had made absolutely no effort to hide the fact that he had copied and pasted something he had found on the internet. His responses were typed using a number of different fonts and sizes. Some of the text was bulleted, other parts were not. When I confronted the student about it, he did not deny it, but also did not understand that he had done something wrong. Apparently I was the first teacher who had ever explained what plagiarizing was and that it was illegal (he was 18 years old and in his last year of high school).

After this experience, I spent a lot of time talking with my students about plagiarizing and why it was wrong. Apparently this is a topic that simply is not discussed in French schools. As someone who not only attended, but then taught in, American schools, I was utterly flabbergasted by this response. I remember discussing how to give credit to the original author and appropriate/inappropriate ways of using the work of others. After talking with other teachers, what students told me was confirmed: plagiarizing is not a big deal in France. When I told students that in my class I would not accept work that was not their own and if they tried to give me something that they did not write on their own, they would not be given credit for the assignment.

Tools to Check for Plagiarism

Given that plagiarism is not hidden in France, I can verify quite easily if students have done their own work or are using the work of someone else. Additionally, when I begin posing questions about the assignment to students, specifically about vocabulary that was used, it becomes clear if the student is the real author of the work.

When I was a teacher in the United States it was much more important for me to have a number of tools at my disposal in order to verify student work and check for plagiarism. While there are a number of tools available on the internet, my go-to tool has always been Grammarly.com. What I like about this website is how simple and its usability. However, it is not always the most accurate. Paperrater and PlagTracker are websites that I use to verify what I have found on Grammarly.

While I find these tools to be helpful, I do not think that they should be the be all, end all of verifying student work. In my experience, it is best to have a non-threatening conversation with students when you think they might have plagiarized. A lot of times, students might not have been aware that they had done something wrong, and taking the time to address this issue with them will be much more beneficial in the long run.

ISTE Standards:

Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: This thing is very much connected with the previous thing, Digital Citizenship. By helping students to understand legal and illegal ways of using the work of other people, you are better setting them up for success in the future.

Things #8: Digital Citizenship

Our world is constantly changing, and that means that our expectations and responsibilities are changing with it. From the time that I began using technology to today, there have been huge changes and advancements. I remember when I first began teaching I participated in a training on digital responsibility. It was extremely interesting, and I learned a lot about my role as an educator. However, since relocating to France, I have come to the realization that expectations are not at all the same as what I learned in the United States. Digital citizenship is something that is not discussed at all. Anywhere.

Thinking about my students and the world in which we live, I believe that all 9 themes of Digital Citizenship are worthwhile and ought to be discussed with them. Unfortunately, this is simply not done in French schools, and I know that it is especially not my role as I am expected to follow a very rigid curriculum using only one specific program. However, when I have conversations with my students either before or after class, I don’t see why I could not introduce these themes to them.

For a variety of reasons, I have chosen to focus on Digital Etiquette. I think that this is the first topic that needs to be introduced to my students, then we can build on it by adding the other themes. As with most things in life, good manners are essential in today’s digital age. We must be aware of appropriate and inappropriate ways of interacting with others. For this reason, I am in the process of adding a page about Digital Citizenship to my classroom website. While this is still a work in progress, it does contain great information and resources about one of the nine elements we must consider when talking about digital citizenship. I hope that you find these resources to be helpful!

ISTE Standards Connections:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Discussing Digital Citizenship is important because it allows students to discover both appropriate and inappropriate ways of interacting digitally. Without formal discussions, we often assume that students already know and understand something, without ever verifying.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: This is extremely important as our world becomes more and more technologically advanced and connected. By providing students with authentic and appropriate examples, we are encouraging them to emulate what they are learning.
Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility: Above all the other standards, this is the standard that is most directly addressed when talking about the 9 themes of digital citizenship. This is the entire foundation of Thing #8.

Thing #7: Productivity

Technology is amazing! I’m always fascinated when I learn about new ways that we can use technology in the classroom. While technology has proven time and again that it is a useful tool in the classroom, there are still some difficulties and frustration which arise as a result.

Shared Calendar

With everyone being so digitally connected it seems like a simple datebook is simply, well, outdated. Don’t get me wrong, I use both an electronic and a paper planner, but when trying to communicate with a large number of people, I definitely see the appeal in using digital calendars. I’ve already mentioned that I love all things Google, and it’s no different with Google Calendars. What I love about Google Calendars is that I can create different calendars for different purposes (professional, personal, birthdays, holidays, trainings, etc.). The color coding makes it very easy to read and interpret the information being displayed on the calendar, and you can choose to view as many or as few calendars at a time as you want.

Additionally, your Google calendar is easily synced with all of your devices. It’s also super easy to share the calendars with other people. What I really like about Google Calendars is how intuitive it is to make changes. Because of this, it’s not a hassle to update them regularly. With that being said, I think an electronic calendar such as this is a great way to communicate information with both students and families. If there’s a last minute change, no problem. Everyone is alerted quickly and easily. I also really like the reminders that you can set for upcoming events.

Here’s an example of what a Google Calendar might look like for one month.

Screen Shot 2019-02-24 at 12.41.45.png

Shortening URLs

Screen Shot 2019-02-24 at 11.33.59.png As wonderful as the internet is, correctly copying it from the board to the search bar can prove to be problematic, regardless of age. There are many great tools that we can use to make this task easier for our students. Tinyurl.com and Bitly are two great examples of how to create shortened web addresses.

To give you an idea, I used tinyurl.com to create a shortened address for my students.

The original address was: https://www.internationalstudent.com/study_usa/way-of-life/american-culture/

The tinyurl became: https://tinyurl.com/y37dmmm8 Screen Shot 2019-02-24 at 11.35.38.png

Converting Files

Screen Shot 2019-02-24 at 11.51.06.png One of my biggest pet peeves is that all file types cannot be opened using the same program. How incredibly frustrating it is to create a document and then try to open it using a different computer, only to realize the file type is not supported! As a Mac user, this is something that happens all too frequently to me. Luckily, there are a number of resources now available to quickly and easily convert file types. One great program is Zamzar. You simply upload the current file, select the file type you want to create, click ‘convert’ and boom! Your new file is there for immediate download.

Imagine this: you created a file using Pages but need to modify it on a Windows based computer. Normally, this task would be impossible, but with programs like Zazmar, the task becomes super easy.

Honestly, I was quite surprised by how quick and easy to use Zamzar was. This is definitely going to be one of my go-to websites from now on. I can also see how this website could be very useful for students who are in a similar situation — not having the appropriate program on their home computer to open a file is no longer a problem.

ISTE and CITW 9 Standards Addressed:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: All of the resources discussed in this post truly make learning easier for all students. When technology is able to be simplified, especially for young learners, it is a good thing.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Teaching students about time management, organizing appointments or meetings, and modifying documents as necessary are all essential skills.
Model Digital Age Work and Learning: Each of these resources will prepare students for the future, as well as any other technological advancements that may occur.
Assigning Homework and Practice: I love the idea of using a shared calendar to communicate homework and assessments with families. While students still have a paper planner, it is not always the case that all necessary information is written down.

Thing #5: Collaboration

I’ve never really been a traditional classroom teacher. My only experience as such was during my year as a student-teacher-intern. My passion was never to teach students the traditional subjects, but rather to enrich their education with languages. Being an auxiliary (or ‘specials teacher’) is an entirely new experience. You realize how much you do not matter. You realize that you are always an afterthought (and sometimes not even that). You feel isolated and alone. No one quite knows what to do with you or how to help you. This is especially true when you are the only person in your department, and it is your sole responsibility to make decisions, as well as create the curriculum.

While this might make being an auxiliary teacher sound awful, it was a truly rewarding and enjoyable experience that I would not trade for anything. However, all teachers, but especially auxiliary teachers, have to become resourceful when it comes to finding a team and creating a support system in the school. I was very fortunate because I quickly became very good friends with a handful of teachers in each of my buildings.

Even in my current role, I feel very isolated, but am still thankful for the connections I have with so many former colleagues and teacher friends. I can’t imagine living and working overseas without being able to use technology to keep in touch with them. During my first year in France, my students were digital penpals with students in my best friend’s class. Being able to use Google docs to exchange letters and create authentic learning situations and interactions was essential. Being able to see first hand the collaboration that was taking place between students on two different continents, who did not speak the same native language was truly fascinating.

I’ve also used Google docs to collaborate with former colleagues and to improve my teaching. We’ve often used various platforms to talk and exchange ideas–Google Hangout, Skype, FaceTime, etc..With technology, the possibilities are virtually limitless.

Quotes-about-Education-4

Creating a Collaborative Lesson

It used to be that distance was a restrictive factor in communication. Today, that is no longer the case. With technology, you are able to easily communicate with people around the world. As I am still working without a department or cohort, I still rely on friends and colleagues in the United States to help with with lesson planning and brainstorming. Now, there is a six hour time difference, which can complicate things from time to time (especially with video conferencing). However, with collaborative documents (such as Google docs) sharing ideas has become much easier.

I recently contacted three of my friends who are also teachers to get some feedback regarding an upcoming lesson I am preparing. I typed the lesson in a Google doc and then shared it with them, and gave them editing rights. This is a quick and easy way for everyone to not only share ideas, but to interact with each other. I also created a Padlet where we could share other resources we found that might be useful. With both of these examples, we are able to have asynchronous collaboration that is beneficial for everyone.

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Collaborative Lesson Reflection

I love exchanging ideas with other teachers! When I first started my career I was very hesitant to accept any sort of feedback (positive or negative). Luckily, that is no longer the case. What I really like about my self-created cohort is its diversity. I love getting perspectives from a wide-range of levels and backgrounds, as well as learning about resources other teachers use that I may be unfamiliar with.

What I appreciated most about this collaboration was how easy it was to organize and the thoughtfulness of the feedback I received. I loved the idea of adding a kinesthetic element to the lesson. I also had no clue about Coogle, but it seems like a great resource to use since all of my students already have Gmail/Google accounts. Prior to this collaboration, I was unfamiliar with the idea of using inquiry based hooks, but thanks to the example that was given, I believe that this activity would be extremely beneficial and enable me to do some slight differentiation with my students.

We also used Padlet to exchange ideas. I like this resource, but if I were to do it again, I would have chosen a different format. I didn’t like that I wasn’t able to directly reply to posts from other people.

Even though we’re over 3,000 miles apart, technology made this collaboration super easy and super meaningful. I think that this is an activity that all teachers should try to complete at least once per year in order to push themselves beyond their comfort zone.

ISTE Standards Connections:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Using tools that allow collaboration, such as Google Drive, Padlet, etc. not only encourages collaboration, but truly facilitates it in a way that is engaging and enriching.
Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments: Preparing students for the future means giving them the opportunity to use programs that are currently being used in the workplace. Authentic learning experiences are key to student success.

Thing #2: Face of Your Classroom

Screen Shot 2019-03-03 at 17.34.23.png — Link to my Website

When I was a teacher in Michigan I had a class website that was invaluable to my school community. As I was a traveling teacher, without a classroom to call her own, the website provided me with a space to call my own. It also allowed me to communicate with students, families, and other staff clearly and regularly.

Since my transition to teaching in France, I have noticed many stark differences between how technology is used in America and in France. France has been slow to jump on the technology bandwagon, and it is still a very, very slow rate of progress. It is my hope to be able to use a class website with my students, however, I am not sure that this is something that will be approved by the small, private company where I work. I have started my website, with an optimistic outlook that I will one day be able to share it with my students.

I feel like the movement toward incorporating technology into every level of learning has been a long time coming. I remember using blended classrooms when I was a student, and eventually only web-based learning platforms. While these tools are important, it is equally important to remember that all learners are not the same. While technology is a great supplement to traditional classroom instruction, I think that we must be careful not to use it as a replacement, but rather as a complement.

CITW Connections:

Assigning Homework and Practice: Using a variety of technological platforms (blogs, websites, etc.) teachers are easily able to communicate with students and families any homework, as well as resources for additional practice or explanations.
Cooperative Learning: Depending on the selected platform, students could be able to interact with each other through discussions and comments. Teachers could also post discussion questions for students/families to ponder.
Setting Objectives and Providing Feedback: As a way of documenting learning goals and progress, teachers could dedicate a part of their platform to documenting this progression for families. Additionally, this could be a space for teachers to respond to comments and promote deeper thinking.