Classroom Digital Spaces: Creating Authentic Learning Experiences

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Jennifer Schlie-Reed

Digital Learning Coach, School District of New Berlin

• Google Certified Innovator & Trainer
• ISTE Emerging Leader (2014)
• PBS Lead Digital Innovator (2015)
• Seesaw Ambassador

Resources

Classroom Digital Spaces:

WHY?

• Empower students to work together
• Share learning to a wider audience
• Create opportunities to give and receive feedback
• Support the teaching & learning of skills/content
• Promotes the 4Cs

Classroom Digital Spaces: WHY?

• Creates Opportunities for Innovative Learning
• Encourages Individual & Collective Voices
• Promotes Curation of Artifacts of Learning
• Teaches Digital Learning Best Practices

WI Information & Technology Standards

Connecting pedagogy, technology, and space, teachers can create spaces that promote social learning and maximum engagement.

~Jennifer Williams,

Edutopia

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Designing Classroom Digital Spaces

• Involve students in the process

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• Every space is a space for learning

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• Connect physical with digital learning spaces

Key Elements for Classroom Digital Spaces

Key Elements for Classroom

Digital Spaces

• Student Choice & Voice
• Opportunities for Feedback & Reflection
• Encourages Innovation, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
• Opportunities for Self-Assessment
• Expands the Learning Environment

Student Voice

• Provide Opportunities to Share Ideas and New Learning
• Show what they know in their unique way

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• Give learners the option to use their voices in a way that works best for them

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Student Choice

• Give Learners Choice in
• How they learn content
• How they show what they know and have learned
• Topics that they learn based on interest

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• Provide a guide for learning possibilities and let students decide

Digital Learning in Action

What do you see, think, wonder?

Where do you notice student voice/choice?

Add your thoughts to the session Padlet!!

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Opportunities for Feedback & Reflection

• Provide students opportunities to write or record reflections on what is being learned and progress in meeting a learning goal
• Create an environment where students can give and receive feedback to monitor progress

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Designing Feedback for Growth

Connecting Specific Strategies to Digital Learning

Stages for Designing Learning Experiences

Communicate Success Criteria

Present Learning Intentions

Engage in Checking for Understanding

Provide Targeted Feedback

Describes how students will be expected to demonstrate their learning, based on the intention

What is it the students should be learning

Feedback to the Learner

• Teacher Feedback leads to improving student metacognitive skills and self-regulatory skills
• Messages that students receive externally become messages they give themselves
• We want students to engage in self talk to bounce back when things get challenging

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Connection: What does feedback look and sound like in your classrooms?

Feedback Strategies can Vary in:

Timing

In these ways:

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• When given

• How often

Provide immediate feedback for knowledge of facts (right/wrong)

Delay feedback slightly for comprehensive reviews of student thinking & processing

Never delay feedback beyond when it would make a difference to students

Provide feedback as often as is practical, for all major assignments

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Recommendations for Effective Feedback:

Recommendations for Effective Feedback:

In these ways:

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• How many points made

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• How much about each point

Prioritize- pick the most important points.

Choose points that relate to major learning goals

Consider the student’s developmental level

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Amount

Mode

In these ways:

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• Oral

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• Written

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• Visual / Demonstration

Select the best mode for the message. Would a comment in passing suffice? Is a conference needed?

Interactive feedback is best when possible

Given written feedback on work on on assignment cover sheets

Use demonstration if “how to do something” is an issue or if the student needs an example

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Recommendations for Effective Feedback:

Audience

In these ways:

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• Individual

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• Group/Class

Individual feedback says “teacher values my learning”

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Feedback to a whole group or class works if most the class missed the same concept- this leads to reteaching.

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Recommendations for Effective Feedback:

Video Blogs (Vlogs)

Learners, Thinkers, Communicators . . .

Video Blog (Vlog)

Video Reflections Identify:

• Capture Student Thinking:
• What students have learned
• Questions students have
• How students are building knowledge around a topic
• Helps plan further instruction
• Analyze where understanding breaks down

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Reflection/Recording Booth Options

• Capture Evidence
• Summarize and Synthesize Information
• Video Book Reviews
• Solve a Problem
• Demonstrate a Process

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• Model The Process

Reflecting: Talking About Your Learning

• React to/discuss a read-aloud or other text
• Discuss Observations and Compare Findings
• Analyze a Piece of Writing
• Debate a Current Events Issue
• Ask Questions
• Share New Learning

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Reflecting: Talking About Your Learning

“They were cute! Didn't always get everything right, but then I could give them feedback on their misconceptions. I think I got more from them this way than I would have had I asked for their responses in writing!”

~ Carrie Boduch, 2nd Grade Teacher

Encourage Innovation, Critical Thinking, & Problem Solving

• Create opportunities for students to ask questions
• Provide students with difficult challenges and let them find innovative solutions
• Provide students access to tools and resources needed to show their learning to others

“Study hard what interests you the most in the most undisciplined, irreverent, and original manner possible”

~Richard Feynman

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Develop Curiosity

• Curiosity leads to engagement
• Students NEED:
• Appropriate Challenges
• Control of Pace and Path
• In-subject Activities that are Relevant

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• What are students already wondering about?

Curiosity & Student Choice

• Choice in task Motivates and Engages learners
• Develop Skills to Approach Problems
• Think in New Ways
• Inquiry Based on Student Interest

What do these images make you curious about?

New York Times: What’s Going on in This Picture

• Students can use to generate wonderings
• Use as a weekly activity
• Share images on wonder walls or in discussion board to expand ideas and focus research

Curiosity Leads to Wonder:

Wondering Activities

• What I See, What I Think, What I Wonder
• What I know, What I want to Know, How can I get the information
• Guide Wondering with Enduring Understanding
• Identify Learning Goals and Standards

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Curiosity Leads to Inquiry: Types of Inquiry

• Structured
• Teacher Control
• Same Essential Question
• Controlled
• Teacher Provides Several Essential Questions
• Common Performance Task
• Guided
• Teacher Provides One Essential Question
• Student Selection of Resources & Performance Task
• Free
• Student Chooses Topic, No Prescribed Outcome

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Inquiry Webs: Formulating Topics

Click Here for Example

Making: Supporting Innovation, Critical Thinking, & Problem Solving

• Engaging Learners in the Process of Design Thinking/Making
• Solving a Real-World Problem
• Empathy Driven Solutions
• Engage in a Process to Achieve Success

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Throughout the process of “making” learners access tools and techniques that allow them to design, prototype, evaluate, and reflect

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Real-World Problem Example: Using Making to Find a Solution

Ignite Thinking

Disruptive Thinking

Supporting Ideation

Prompt:

Utilizing your two cards, create a new product or solution to a problem of your choice

Google Expeditions:

Spark Wonder & Curiosity

Opportunities for Self-Assessment

• Provide students the opportunity to assess themselves
• Take ownership of their learning
• Additional time for reflection
• Helps students understand strengths & areas for growth
• Portfolios: Allow learners to share knowledge & document/understand the learning process

Digital Portfolios:

Wikis, Google Sites & Seesaw

Screencasting: Assess & Reflect on Learning

• Extension for Chrome

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• Video screen capture software used to make screencasts

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• Allows students to demonstrate their learning

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Screencastify

Screencasting to Summarize Thinking

Screencasting Rubric

CLICK HERE FOR RUBRIC

Expand the Learning Environment

• Bring others into the learning environment
• Experts
• Parents
• Community Members
• Collaborate with other classrooms & grade levels
• Allows students to apply their learning & create new knowledge

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Google Hangouts

Reading Partnership

Writing Partnership

Digital Learning Tools to Support Your Classroom Digital Spaces

Padlet

Padlet Account Options

Padlet

• Collaborate
• Share Ideas with Different Media
• Provide Feedback
• Templates Support Student Learning Needs

Padlet

• Easy to use with student-friendly interface
• Encourages collaboration and communication
• Insert a variety of media with your written post
• Images, Videos, or Drawings
• Multiple people can post to the same Padlet simultaneously for shared workflow
• Brainstorming, digital portfolio, assignments, reflection, exchange of ideas
• Export in a variety of formats

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Click For Example

3rd Grade Science: Generating Questions, Identifying Curiosities

7/8 Compacted Math: Digital Lessons on Percents & Proportions

4th Grade Class Book Lists

6th Grade Character Traits Word Wall with Paint Strips

2nd Grade Nonfiction Text Feature Hunt

Flipgrid

FlipGrid Updates!!

• MixTapes: A place to highlight videos from your topics
• Add videos & share
• Disco Library: Share & find topic templates
• Various audiences & subjects
• #GridPals: Connect with other FlipGrid educators & classrooms
• Feature can be “Hidden” or “Active”

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FlipGrid

Set Up Directions

Promoting Student Voice & Growing Ideas!!

Flipgrid in the Classroom

ThingLink

ThingLink

• An interactive platform that allows you to make static images engaging through the addition of embedded links
• Enhance images & videos by tagging them with additional notes, photos, audio, video and other multimedia content
• Can then be shared via a URL

ThingLink

• Students can collaborate if the settings are set to allow anyone to edit
• Engaging way to demonstrate content knowledge

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ThingLink & Google Docs

• Google Docs are live and interactive
• Add a published Google Doc to your ThingLink to receive instant feedback from peers about the information presented on the image.

ThingLink as a Teacher Resource

• Use ThingLink to provide explanatory information to students using graphic organizers and illustrations.
• Helpful with complex material
• Have students study the graphic before they come to class
• Include a Google Doc on the image so that students can ask questions as they explore the material.

ThingLink: Demonstration of Content Knowledge

• Use an image relating to their topic as the background
• Attach a Google Doc with their research paper, related videos from YouTube, and a variety of other resources to make their presentations come to life.

Let’s Try It!!

• Explore Padlet, Flipgrid or Thinglink
• Pick which Digital Space can support your students in an upcoming lesson/unit
• Create a new Padlet , ThingLink or topic on your GRID
• Share your new digital space idea on the session Padlet!!

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Things to consider:

• Content area, essential question, learning focus
• What supplemental materials might you need?
• Who could you collaborate with?
• How will students give & receive feedback and have opportunities to reflect?

Digital Spaces:

Portfolios, Collaboration,

Community

Seesaw

Seesaw

• Students Demonstrate Understanding
• Document Learning
• Use photos, drawings, videos, text with voice overs
• Encourages Deeper Learning & Reflection
• Authentic Audience with Feedback
• Seesaw Blogs

Sharing Student Work

Folders to Organize Artifacts

Activity Tab: Create Lessons to Share with Students

Seesaw Posting Options

• Modeling
• Classroom Experts
• Teacher/Mentor Samples

Settings

Classroom Community & Teacher Feedback Class

High School & Elementary Collaboration

Literacy Feedback

Using iPads and app Seesaw

Example: Carrie Boduch: Feedback in 2nd Grade

CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

Assessing Feedback Received

CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

Self-Assessment

CLICK HERE FOR EXAMPLE

Self-Assessment

1st Grader Retelling Example in Seesaw

Teachers Participate in Classes as “Students”

Teachers Participate in Classes as “Students”

Teacher Artifact in Seesaw Example

Google Sites

Google Sites Features

• Edit in real time (just like Docs!)
• Easily move and resize objects -- drag & drop!
• Embed anything from Google Drive or another Google App
• “Renders” for mobile devices and gives you a preview

Getting Started, Take a Tour!!

The Tools

• Insert text, images, or embed items from Drive
• Drag and drop to organize the layout of your page

Preview and Publish Your Site!!

Google Classroom

Google Classroom

• Free web service for schools
• Teachers set up class, invite students & co-teachers
• Class Stream: Share information
• Announcements
• Assignments
• Questions
• Works well with Google Docs, Forms, Calendar, Gmail and Drive

Google Classroom: Updates!

• Classwork Page: Organize your curriculum assignments into units or modules, and reorder work
• New grading tool:
• Has a built-in comment bank where you can save commonly used feedback.
• Switch between student submissions when grading.
• Copy and reuse classwork:
• Copy all topics and assignments from one class to another All work is copied as drafts so you can make modifications

Google Classroom: Updates!

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• Settings:
• Edit the class description
• Change the class code
• Decide if your students can post in the class stream.
• View and manage co-teachers, students, and guardians all on the People page
• Add resource materials

Coming Soon…..

Soon we'll add the following feature:

Create quizzes in locked mode—You can use a locked mode to keep students focused when taking Google Forms quizzes on managed Chromebooks. And you'll be able to create Google Forms quizzes from Classroom, making the assignment process easier and faster.

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RECAP: Key Elements for Classroom

Digital Spaces

• Student Choice & Voice
• Opportunities for Feedback & Reflection
• Encourages Innovation, Critical Thinking & Problem Solving
• Opportunities for Self-Assessment
• Expands the Learning Environment

Time To Explore & Plan!!

• Explore Seesaw, Google Sites, or Google Classroom (or other tools or LMS) and plan implementation
• Set up a digital learning environment for your students or colleagues
• Plan a lesson, activity or project using Key Elements of Classroom Digital Spaces

THANKS!

Any questions?

Contact Me:

@SchlieReed

jkschlie@gmail.com

CREDITS

Special thanks to all the people who made and released these awesome resources for free:

• Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
• Photographs by Unsplash