Backwards Learning?

Four years ago when I was beginning my first classroom teaching position, I was introduced to Understanding by Design by Grant Wiggins and Jay McTighe. The concept was completely new to me, and not something covered in my teaching courses (completed 8 years before this job), but pretty quickly began to make a lot of sense to me. Planning starting with standards, creating assessments, creating learning activities focused on those assessments, and always providing clear, specific learning targets has been one of the pillars of our instruction at this startup school, so I've been doing my best to keep this practice in the forefront while planning learning in my classroom.

Recently, I've been playing around with the idea of applying this format to the way students learn in my classroom. Getting students to manage and direct their own learning has been something I've always wanted to do, but I've been struggling with getting it to work in practice, especially with how to manage and assess student progress in a more open-ended environment. When I introduce this kind of activity to my students, they often joke that "Mr. Jon never teaches us anything". I would (and do) argue that it's much more difficult to plan activities where students have to form their own understanding than it is to just tell them how to do it. I also think (oh hell - I know) that classes where students explore are more engaging for them and for me, both in planning and delivery.

At the end of every year since I've started, I say to myself, "Ok Jon, you made some good progress this year. You've got some great resources put together; you designed some great activities, and some that need some work, but you know what that work is. All you've got to do so you're not working an extra 12 hours every weekend is stick with what you've done before! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, don't change everything you do AGAIN! PLEASE!!!" But I haven't been able to make myself listen to myself yet.

So, here's what I'm thinking:

Start with the "test"

Start the unit with maybe a little intro about the standards, and some overall learning targets. Then provide the students with the "test" - a series of assessment questions that are basically the unit test I would normally give at the end of the unit. A student's job over the course of the unit is to 

• Figure out how to do the problems - What skills and understandings will they need to solve these problems? What resources will they use to learn those skills and gain those understandings?
• Explain (written, oral, presentation) the concepts they learned - What academic language do they need to put what they're doing into words?
• Produce their own (hopefully better) problems

Learning Activities (optional?)

For the "meat" of the unit, I'm thinking I just stick with what has gone before. Provide some structured learning activities that will help students build the skills and knowledge necessary to address the "test" problems. The idea is that knowing the kind of problems they're working towards, students will be able to make connections between the things they're doing in the activities and the overall objectives of the unit.

I'm playing around with the idea of making these activities optional. If a student wants to follow her own path (and has a good idea of how to do this), or wants to work on his final product (more about that later) after showing me he already knows how to do the problems, I think I'm fine with that. I need to think about how to manage this part a little bit more. I also don't want students to miss out on activities that work on collaboration and communication skills, so there will probably be a mix of optional activities and required activities.

The Product

Here, I'd like to start with a rubric. Our school uses a 1-4 standards-based grading scale.

1. Students showing an emerging level of understanding have difficulty approaching the task productively. They struggle to find and use effective strategies and resources.
2. Students showing an approaching level of understanding can usually answer the assessment problems, and similar problems, correctly with some guidance. They are in the process of finding effective strategies and resources to build their skills and knowledge. They are in the process of expressing their understanding using appropriate academic language and mathematical terminology.
3. Students showing a proficient level of understanding can consistently answer the assessment problems, and similar problems, correctly with occasional, limited guidance. They have found some effective strategies and resources and used them to build their skills and knowledge. They can consistently express their understanding using appropriate academic language and mathematical terminology, and use appropriate mathematical and technology tools to communicate their understanding. They are working on producing their own problems to address the targeted skills and knowledge.
4. Students showing an exemplary level of understanding can consistently answer the assessment problems, and similar problems, correctly and independently. They have found effective strategies and resources and used them efficiently to build their skills and knowledge. They can consistently express their understanding using appropriate academic language and mathematical terminology, and use appropriate mathematical and technology tools in creative, innovative ways to communicate their understanding. They can produce their own problems that address the targeted skills and knowledge.

So, what I'd like to see from students, at the very basic level, is the assessment problems solved correctly showing work. Further, students should be able to explain in appropriate language the reasoning shown in their work; this is especially important for my mostly ELL students. Top level students should be able to find some creative way to present their understanding to me, and perhaps to the rest of the class. A bonus would be for students to produce their own problems that would address the targeted standards; I've found that when students can pull this off, it gives them a really deep understanding of how math problems work, and helps them respond to them in the future.

Prove it!

There's no way around it: students, especially students on their way to the IB diploma program, have to be able to show their understanding in a formal testing environment. I'll wrap up the unit with a formal test, potentially including student-produced problems. Here, I'm playing around with the idea of letting students take the test when they're ready (or at least early if they're ready). After they've shown an ability to respond to unfamiliar questions, they can either move on or work on enrichment activities. This part really worries me: having a class (or five) full of students working on different things sounds like too much for me to manage right now.

Feedback please!

If anyone's reading this, I'd really appreciate some feedback. I have the feeling that someone out there has tried this kind of thing before; there might even be a name for it that I don't know. Anyone working on this kind of idea now? Is it stupid, unlikely to work, pedagogically inappropriate or wrong? Challenge me, question me, give me advice, point me at resources, etc. 

Thanks for reading.

Calgeomabra 2.0: This time it's personal

So I started this blog back in 2011 as an assignment for some courses I was taking in educational technology at MSU, and this is the first time I've touched it since my last post in 2012. All posts previous to this one were assignments.

I was a math tutor and technology director for a small tutoring company in the states, trying unsuccessfully to get into international teaching, and considering different career paths. Out of the blue, I stumbled into a last-minute position teaching math in a start-up school in China, and I've been here ever since.

The last 3+ years have been incredibly challenging, engaging, frustrating, eye-opening. I was teaching in a classroom for the first time since my student teaching 8 years before; I was the only math teacher for grades 6 and up; I was teaching in a brand new school with no defined curriculum; I was teaching mostly English language learners; I was learning about standards-based assessment, grading, and reporting (which I'd never even heard about before); I was learning about the IB program for the first time.

Needless to say, the last few years have been pretty busy, but here's a little bit about where I am now:

• I'm teaching math to students in grades 7-11: Math 7, Integrated Math 1-3, IB HL/SL year 1. This year, I'm back to teaching in sequence; in the previous two years, one of the classes has been covered by the other math teacher. I like this, because I've been building our curriculum since we started, and it finally feels like it's coming together. 
• I'm kind of steeped in the CCSSM from the experience of putting together this curriculum. I use resources from Engage New York, the Mathematics Vision Project, Illustrative Mathematics, New Jersey Center for Teaching and Learning, Dan Meyer and crew, etc.
• The vast majority of my professional development time and energy over the last few years has been in the area of EAL instruction, and this summer I completed coursework for a certificate in EAL instruction in the mainstream classroom. For math instruction, this means I spend a great deal of effort teaching math as a language and the language of math.
• I've also been spending a great deal of time preparing to teach IB mathematics. I'm currently teaching my first cohort in their first year; my class is standard and higher level math combined.
• Technology is extremely important to my instruction. Our school has a 1-1 laptop program, and I've been working on utilizing this resource effectively since the beginning. 

It's actually the last point that inspired me to start this blog up again. A couple of months ago I learned about Desmos classroom at a weekend workshop. This led me to start playing around with the idea of a paperless classroom, which I just hadn't been able to pull off yet. In the course of this exploration, I stumbled across GeoGebra groups, and felt like I'd found the answer.

For the past month, I've been teaching a majority of my classes through GGB groups, with consistent use of Desmos classroom activities, and it's really changed how I feel about designing learning activities and teaching in general. I'll get into more of that later; for now, I just wanted to get this post out to separate what comes after it from what comes before, and to give anyone who reads future posts a little context. I'm expecting future posts to focus on this journey into paperless instruction, but who knows? Something in me just feels like recording and sharing right now.

Thanks for reading, and stay tuned!

Wicked Problem Project: Final

This is a presentation detailing the planning, implementation, and lessons learned during the Wicked Problem Project.

The Educational Opportunity

An important educational need in my setting is making sure that my colleagues understand how to use our technology resources effectively.  Most of the teachers in the learning center where I work are part time workers with other jobs and responsibilities.  Some are only in the office for 6-8 hours a week, and everyone works a different schedule.  For this reason, it has always been difficult for me, as the technology director, to find convenient times for training.  In the past, I have attempted to address this problem by writing out detailed instructions including images and distributing these instructions in print form.  I have always felt that this format is limiting; like our students, our teachers and administrators all have very different ways of learning, many of which are not best served by printed instructions.  Therefore, I have found that my current methods still often require me to do hands-on, individual training and troubleshooting.  I have been searching for a more convenient and effective method of delivering instructions to the entire office, so that all of our teachers can use the resources we have to enhance their teaching.  I am also looking for a way to open up a dialog about the use of technology in our workplace so that I can address the most significant needs in this area.

The Plan

Through my Edutech coursework, I have learned a few things that will help solve this problem. I will use surveys to gauge the needs of my co workers and their reactions to the material I produce.  I will use these responses to guide my efforts.
I will use screencasts and other instructional videos instead of printed instructions to teach my colleagues how to use our technology effectively.  I think screencasts will address those of our staff who are finding learning technology difficult, especially those who have a more visual style of learning.  I will create a variety of short instructional videos using screencast technology.
The second prong of my plan will be to incorporate these videos into a staff-only section in our company website.  I think it’s important that these resources be available and easily accessible wherever and whenever staff has time to use them.  A staff-only section of our website will also be a good place for storing other training materials and resources for new tutors.  I will create a new page on our company website as a central location for staff instructions.
This plan will cost nothing but my time, and II believe it will be the most effective solution to the problem.

Logistics

This solution will require the creation of a number of instructional videos using screencast technology.  I plan on using screencast-o-matic.com because it is easy and web-based, and I have some experience using it.  Where available and applicable, I will use existing videos and resources available online.
I will create an employee page on the company website to display these and other resources.  This will be done using DotNetNuke web authoring software.
Throughout the whole process I will rely on surveys, using Google Forms, to keep the lines of communication flowing and to direct my efforts where they are needed most.

Research

I logged on to EbscoHost and did some browsing through their database of journals and periodicals. Here are some quotes from some of the resources I came across:

" ...screen-casts are a great format for online tutorials that students can refer to for remediation or enrichment."

-Preparing to Teach Digitally. By: Ferriter, William M., Educational Leadership, 00131784, May2010, Vol. 67, Issue 8

Regarding making "one-shot" screencasts to answer specific questions:

• Explain what you are about to do.
• Have one goal, and answer one question. Don't clutter the screencast with unnecessary information.
• Pace yourself; don't go racing through. If possible, let the patron control the pace.
• If using audio, speak and move the mouse slowly to allow the patron to follow along.
• Summarize the reason for the screencast near the end.
• Have a starting point. This is usually the front page of the library's website, but it could be anything as long as the patron knows how to get to it.
• If the patron seems interested, teach her or him how to use the tool. Wouldn't this be a great way to get help requests?
• Don't worry about making it perfect. These are meant to be quick and dirty, so mistakes are fine.

Screencasting for an Audience of One. By: Jacobsen, Mikael, Library Journal, 03630277, 1/1/2011, Vol. 136, Issue 1

I found this second article pretty interesting, even though it was written for librarians.   The basic point was that the author found making quick screencasts to respond to specific questions from patrons and colleagues to be a useful resource, and not as time consuming as one might think.  This speaks to the way I plan on using screencasts in this project.  While I don't plan on answering every tech questing I get with a screencast, I think many of them, especially repeated ones, present an interesting opportunity for screencast use.

Plan for Implementation and Gauging Progress

I plan on recording and distributing a number of videos starting immediately.  We just got new printers for six of our staff, and I recorded an instructional screencast and distributed the link through email.  Responses have been positive so far, and I have not had nearly as many problems that require my attention as usual.  I will make another screencast detailing the use of our company webmail system.  This is in response to requests received through a survey. I will create a webpage on our company site as a place to share these screencasts and other helpful material. I will use surveys and emails throughout the process to keep in touch with my colleagues and address their needs.
In the longer term, I would also like to make a few videos sharing what I have learned in my Edutech courses, and other tricks I have learned along the way in order to help my colleagues maximize their technology use in their teaching.
I will gauge my success through the responses to surveys sent out using Google Forms.  This will give me easily-quantifiable data to guide the progress of this project.

TPACK

The technologies I chose were screecasts, web pages, and surveys.  My pedagogy was demonstration and creating a dialog to address the real needs of the learners.  The content knowledge is technical proficiency in the use of the resources of our learning center.  I chose screencasts to address the need for visual, step by step instructions that would walk users through the processes of using software and hardware.  My attempts at addressing these needs through written instruction in the past had not been successful, at least not in a way that was satisfying to me.  The teachers in our center come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and possess a wide range of technical competence.  I felt that this solution not only presented the instruction in the best way, but also gave teachers the opportunity to opt out if they felt they had a good grasp on the technology being addressed.  The use of surveys will allow teachers to express concerns and request instruction.  Opening these lines of communication will also allow me to do a better job as a technology director.

Notes on Implementation

I started using screencast-o-matic to produce a couple of instructional videos, and adding a page to our company website for my colleagues to use as a one stop shop for technology questions and answers.  I started out by sending out a survey to five of my colleagues who recently got new printers.  I had earlier created a screencast providing instructions on using the printer and all of its functions.  In the survey, I asked them if they preferred video instruction to written instruction, and whether the video was easy to access or not.  The responses were all positive, so I felt good moving forward to a wider implementation.  I sent out another survey to all of our employees, asking them what they felt comfortable with, what they didn’t feel comfortable with, and asking for suggestions for what they might want some instruction on.  The survey was a very useful tool, because it let me know exactly what people needed.  I was pleasantly surprised by the number of responses I got, but some tutors did not respond. Later, I sent out a simple survey just asking people to send in their names.  This allowed me to see who was not responding, and talk directly to them to make sure they understood that they have company email addresses and how to access them.  
Since a couple of responses mentioned that they were interested in learning a little more about our company email, I decided to make that my first instructional video for the whole office.  I produced a screencast detailing how we assign usernames and original passwords as well as a few customization options for the webmail interface.  
After I got that done, I got to work on the website.  Our website was created using the DotNetNuke content management system, and I’ve been getting up to speed on how to use it for the past couple of months.  I had to ask for some help from our technology consulting firm, but finally figured out how to assign new security roles for our tutors so that they could log in and view the new page, since I didn’t want to make it visible to the public.  I then embedded the email video into the site, along with an earlier video on printers.  I also added a section for useful educational links.  Finally, I sent out an email to all of the employees, letting them know how to access the new page, and asking for suggestions for links.  
Later, I sent out another survey to find out how people liked the email video, and whether or not they have any further questions.  Again, the responses I got were positive, but it still looks like there are a few tutors who aren’t in the loop, and that is something I will need to continue addressing.  However, I have a feeling that this is going to be a good resource that we’ll use for years to come.

Results

The results of the multiple surveys were both eye-opening and encouraging.  For example, I never would have picked email instructions as the first video, since I’ve used webmail since I was an undergrad and am very comfortable navigating the systems.  Addressing an expressed need was rewarding and made my coworkers feel like their concerns were being addressed.  I was pleased to find that most people feel very comfortable using Google Docs, which I implemented and trained everyone in a few years ago and which has become an integral part of our day to day operations.  I was also pleased to see that most people found technology to be a very important component of their teaching at our center.  From the response survey to the email video, all the feedback was positive, and this made me feel great about moving forward.

Next Steps

To keep this process moving forward, my first priority is to make sure that all of our teachers ARE using email.  I’ve kept all of the surveys anonymous so that everyone would feel comfortable being completely honest in their responses, but this means that I don’t know who responded and who didn’t.  I do know that I only got responses from ⅔ of the people I sent the survey out to, so I have some work to do getting everyone on the same page.  I recently sent out a simple survey just asking for people to respond with their name so that I can see who is and isn’t using the email system, and provide instructions to those that aren’t.  It is totally possible that we have some employees who don’t even know they have an email address.
After addressing this concern, I will do some work beefing up the webpage.  I’d like to add some links to educational resources that teachers can use in their tutoring, make some links to outside resources for technical instruction for things like microsoft office products and google docs, and add a section for frequently asked questions.  
Finally, I need to keep the lines of communication open and flowing.  The feeling I’m getting from everyone in the office is that they have been waiting for me to step it up and start doing things like this.  This is probably the most valuable lesson I’ve learned from this experience, and it has made a profound impact on the way I do this part of my job.  I am energized and motivated by all of the positive feedback, and ready to do more and do better in the future.

Group Leadership Project

The Tool 

Our group used Camtasia Studio to produce our professional development tutorial. We decided on this tool out of a shared interest in screencasting and, on most parts, a shared desire to try out a new piece of software. Furthermore, it seemed the obvious choice, since Camtasia was the subject of the tutorial and we could all share our learning experiences while producing the video.
Camtasia turned out to be an excellent choice, as far as I am concerned. I started this project with a little experience using some free screencasting software and I was blown away by the differences I discovered in a more professional project. The increased amount of add-ins, like callouts, transitions, and highlighting, the ability to cut and splice existing videos, and the ability to craft audio tracks separately all impressed me. While Camtasia is a little expensive for me to purchase on my own, I plan on speaking with my employer about buying a copy for use in the office.

Lessons Learned 

I learned a great deal in a short time with this project. The biggest, or steepest, learning curve was definitely the software. While Camtasia is set up in a very user-friendly way, I was a bit overwhelmed by all of the options. There are a few that I did not have the opportunity to explore, because the task seemed a bit daunting and I could not see a natural way to use them. I would like to spend a little more time exploring the use of webcams in screencasts (if/when I can find a good reason to do so) and the use of hotspots to make the videos interactive.
As a group, we learned how to use Google Hangouts as a way to collaborate online. We were able to talk face-to-face with a minimum of technical difficulties, which made collaboration much easier. Compared to past group projects,
I took on a much stronger role as a leader in the planning phases and encouraging the group to make solid, actionable decisions on a timely basis. We did have some difficulties with one of our group members dragging his feet, and being out of touch for longer than was comfortable for the rest of us. These breakdowns in communication continued until the last minute (I finally got the link to the final draft at 8pm on the day it was due).  Additionally, this final draft did not include a conclusion, which this member had been assigned (and had agreed) to do.  I think the parts of the project that made it into the final draft work very well, it just would have been nice to have a conclusion to wrap things up.

Changes? 

The main thing I would change about this process, although it was a bit out of my hands, is the communication issue mentioned above. It's very difficult to work on something as a group when one member is difficult to reach and doesn't deliver.  I would have liked to have more face-to-face time with the group in order to produce a more streamlined, together project. In my section of the video, I feel like I did not do the greatest job of writing a script that matched up with the timing on the screen, and the reader was a little rushed in sections. I feel like issues like this would have been easier to work out with more time working together as a group. That said, I do think we produced a solid video by having a good plan of action that everyone contributed to.

Final Product

Here's the video our group produced.

Professional Learning Plan

For my professional learning plan, I made an animation using goanimate.com.  This process, while frustrating at times, was a whole lot of fun overall.  This is definitely something I'm going to mess around with in the future, and I recommend it to anyone out there who wants to throw together a fun little cartoon.  Here it is:


plp by lindjonath on GoAnimate

Make a video easily. Powered by GoAnimate Video Maker.

PART D - Findings and Implications

This week, I was not able to put as much work into the WPP project as I had planned.  I did take some advice from my research, and used a screencast to answer a specific question from one of my co-workers.  She had been scanning multiple page documents using her printer, but when she saved them, she was making a separate file for each page.  I was able to solve this problem for her very efficiently by making a quick screencast and walking through the steps. This whole process only took me a little while longer than writing out the steps, and the real advantage was that I was able to do the screencast using her computer. Often, I have had trouble with my instructions, even ones that include screenshots and other images, because not everyone's computer desktop looks like mine.  Also, even though we may be using the same programs to complete tasks, sometimes I forget when I've changed my settings already, so what is going on in my process might not be the same as someone else.  I got to work a few minutes early, logged on to her computer, and recorded the screen as I walked through the process.  Altogether, it took me maybe 15 minutes, and later that same day she was performing the task correctly.  We didn't have to schedule time to sit down, I didn't have to re-explain anything that wasn't clear in writing, and everyone was pleased with the results.

The verbal feedback I've been getting around the office is very encouraging.  I think people have probably been waiting for me to do something like this for awhile, and they are thankful that I'm finally getting around to it.  I also dug into some of the features of the Google form I initially sent out, and got a really nice readout summarizing the results of the original survey.  This will serve to provide me with direction for the rest of the project.

I did notice that there were quite a few employees that did not respond to the survey.  I think there are probably at least a few who don't even use the company email addresses.  Since the survey was anonymous, I'm not sure who's who, so I plan on sending out a one-question survey asking people to write in their names in order to figure out who I need to remind.  It is totally possible that there are a few that don't even know they have email addresses,  Ninety percent of our employees are part-time, some working for us as little as six hours a week, so who can blame them.

So, next steps are

1. Make sure that everyone is on board and knows what resources are out there (survey)
2. Add some links to outside resources (specifically, there were a good number of responders who wanted to learn more about Microsoft Word)
3. Add content to the web page
4. Reaction survey for the email screencast

Mobile Technology

Classroom 2.0

Here's the comment I posted on Classroom 2.0.  It was in reply to a discussion about getting around cell phone rules in the classroom.  I understand why schools ban cell phones, but I don't agree with the practice.  It seems backwards to me to try to stop these things.

Poll everywhere

This was actually a really cool experience.  It was neat to see the votes come in live.  I also learned a little about writing a poll: don't give too many options, especially if your audience is limited.

Experience

Different tools

While I liked the experience with polling, I can't see a really great way to apply it to my situation of one on one teaching.  It was a struggle to get the 10 responses I got in the poll.
I looked into flash drives as well, but I kind of think they're obsolete these days.  They're easy to lose, and they're static.  Why carry around something when you can store your files in the cloud and access them on any number of devices?
I also have trouble seeing a good way of using straight audio tools like podcasts and mp3 files for mathematics instruction.  It's very difficult to do anything useful in math without some kind of visual.
Ipods, Ipads, e-readers, smartphones, etc. are all great tools, but I don't really look at them as anything more than access to the internet, and I probably wouldn't consider producing any material specific to a device.  It's all about software and access for me.

My thoughts on integration

I just started a new project with one of my students.  He is really interested in economics, and since he's a freshman, he can't take the school's economics class yet.  We did some research, and found a free microeconomics course that he could work through on his own online.  The course comes from Saylor.org, and seems to be put together pretty well.  He's going to try to do most of it on his phone, using voice apps to write papers, text-to-voice apps to read him the material, and the web to watch the videos.  I'm excited to see how this works for him, and I hope to encourage more of my students to find self-directed ways to study things that they're interested in.
For me, and for my environment, this is what mobile devices are all about: finding ways to meet the needs of diverse students.  Mobile devices are all about opening up the world of information to anyone with a device and a connection anytime and anywhere.  I will continue to help my students figure out how to do what they want to do and do better what they need to do using mobile technology.

Challenges, inspirations, predictions

I think mobile devices are going to keep getting more and more ingrained in our everyday lives.  In a few years, it is going to seem ridiculous that schools tried to keep them out of the classroom.  Actually, it's probably going to seem ridiculous that we all carried around these bricks to keep connected (Google Glass, anyone?).  Again, it's not the device that's important to me, it's the access to information.  The main challenge, I think, will be keeping the infrastructure robust enough to deal with the ever growing amount of information that is flying around out there.