Whiteboard Desks: The Beginning

When I found out all my students would have iPads, I was ecstatic because I thought I would be able to foster my student's creativity and engage them easily.  Naive, I know.  My freshmen this year have tried me to no end.  They are, for the most part, academically capable.  They are not, however, capable of following basic instructions to complete a multi-part task, or creating a plan of their own to complete a project.  They have actually said, "Miss, iPads make things so hard, can't you just give us a worksheet?"  I could not figure out what else I could do to engage students who have struggled so long many have shut down, or who just came in 7th period after running a mile in PE.

Then I ran across this post by Nicholas Provenzano (aka The Nerdy Teacher) about his use of Ideapaint to create whiteboards out of his student desks.  I had heard about it before, but only from science and math teachers.  Since Nicholas is also a high school English teacher, I was interested to see how he used the strategy with his students. I sold my principal on the idea and got 2 kits ordered, which was enough to cover all my desks.  I spent weeks staring at this:  

I had to wait for spring break because it takes 4 days for the paint to cure.  So I spent Monday of spring break sanding, priming, and painting 36 desks (and my principal's office doors with the leftovers).

This Monday was the test.  I wanted my students to use them on day one, so using the lesson from Nicholas as inspiration, I had my students draw scenes from the novels we are reading. Once they had drawn a scene, they all had to find a new seat and write about the scene they found on their classmates' desk.  My honors class had finished To Kill a Mockingbird just before spring break, so I had them draw a scene they felt was important to the story.  They had to include 3 things in their write-ups:

• A description of the drawing on the desk
• Any information they knew about the scene
• An explanation of the importance of the scene to the novel

I also had my regular classes do this with The Hunger Games the rest of the day.  I was worried about them abusing the privilege or complaining about having to do something creative as they had all year, but I was pleasantly surprised.  My observations from the day: 

• Students loved the idea of writing on their desks
• Not one student complained about having to draw once I explained that it wasn't about artistic ability, but about being able to recognize an important scene and convey it through a picture
• Every single student was engaged the whole time
• Not one student drew anything inappropriate or messed with a classmate's drawing

Students completing write-ups of classmate scenes  in their iPads.

Students taking pictures of their drawings to submit in Canvas (the LMS I use)

On day 2, my freshmen were grumbling that we still hadn't finished The Hunger Games, and they expressed interest in using their desks again somehow, so I decided to have them write questions as we read.  I read a portion of a chapter and stopped at pivotal moments and told them to write a question.  The first day I noticed more engagement, but many struggled with forming questions.  By the end of the chapter, they had three questions written on their desks.  They took a picture of their desk and submitted it in Canvas (the LMS I use).  

This is an example of what I see in Canvas once the students have submitted their image. 

The next day when they came in, I displayed some of their pictures so we could discuss their questions.  This served two purposes: 

1. Basic questions they had about the reading were clarified through class discussion.
2. Students who didn't take it seriously now knew their desks may be displayed for the whole class to see. 

They actually asked if they could write questions while we read again because it helped them pay attention and it made them really think about the reading as we went.  

This is already making a huge difference in my classroom, both for me and my students.  Students who have trouble thinking outside the box feel more free to be creative, students who are naturally creative feel like there's less structure confining them, and I feel pressure to creative more interactive and engaging lessons to utilize this new tool.  

Why do we assume the worst?

Although I usually avoid the teacher's lounge at all costs, I found myself in there today and I had to jump into a conversation I overheard.  Our administration is strongly supporting online testing and we have shown teachers many options for doing so.  We have also shown them how quickly and easily these tests can be graded, but most are still fighting it.  Today a teacher said she was not going to give her final on iPads because it's too easy for the kids to cheat; all they have to do is take a screenshot and send it to everyone.

I had to step in at this point and I was glad another freshman teacher also spoke up.  I have given every test online this year using the Canvas LMS.  The first quiz was a short 10-question multiple choice test because I wasn't sure how my students would respond or how the test would work on the iPad.  I knew that my student's abilities overall went downhill throughout the day.  My first period is my honors class and my last period is extremely challenging with half a dozen resource students and a large number of struggling EL students.  I figured if there was cheating going on throughout the day, the scores would get better as the day progressed.  This did not happen.  I have now given both short quizzes and full exams that included multiple choice, short answer, and essay questions and every time I have felt confident that there was no cheating going on.  The other freshman teacher shared similar experiences.  

After leaving the lounge, I felt myself getting angry that teachers are assuming the worst about their students.  I am also wondering how much these negative assumptions or fears are holding teachers back from implementing the use of iPads in their classes.  What concerns me even more is that the students pick up on our feelings and expectations.  I believe they respond to us.  If we assume they are going to cheat and let them know we don't trust them, they will not respect us and will probably fulfill those negative expectations.  If they feel like we trust them and believe in their abilities, they will (usually) respect that trust and give their all. 

The Best Laid Plans. . .

My freshmen have been working on short stories for a few weeks, reading and analyzing a story and then writing their own fictional narratives.

Today I wanted to go back and review the short story elements and give a short quiz to assess how much my students had really learned the elements after discussing them in context rather than just as vocabulary terms. I created the quiz in Canvas and planned on using Socrative for whole-class review.  I quickly realized Socrative was not going to cooperate for some reason.  The room login page was black and half the students didn't get the response box when I opened a question.  After a couple minutes of trying to figure out the problem, I had to switch gears.

I told them to close Socrative and open Doodle Buddy or any other app that gave them a blank whiteboard to write on.  I then did the same review activity using the iPads like individual whiteboards.  As we reviewed, I overheard a student tell his neighbor, "This is fun. I'm glad she didn't just give up on reviewing when the app didn't work."

I think this part of why iPads are working so well for me and my students.  I am willing to try anything and I have realized that with technology, the best laid plans may not work in the middle of class.  I have to be willing to stop and say, "This is not working, let's try something else."

This doesn't just apply to the use of technology.  Too many teachers stick to their plans no matter what is happening in class.  Half the class can be asleep or completely lost and they just plow ahead because they "have too much material to cover."  I don't even know what that means.  What does "covering material" mean to a student?

Reteaching with Student Screencasts

This idea came from Gini Pierce-Cummings and originated with the math teachers at Desmond Middle School in Madera,CA. She explained it to me at a CoffeeCUE meeting where we discussed lots of edtech goodness. As soon as she explained it I said, "I have to try that. I think I will tomorrow!" As I stated in a previous post, I am guilty of wanting to try everything I hear about. In this case, it was a brilliant idea.

The concept in a nutshell: students create a screen cast of a vocabulary term or concept, email the video link to me, I turn it into a QR code, post it on the wall, students scan the QR code and now have all their classmate's videos on their iPads.

I decided to try it with my honors freshman class to gauge the difficulty. My instruction included:

• telling them to find a partner
• having them choose one of the 8 parts of speech we had been working with
• giving them 3 minutes to play with their screen casting app (at the time we used Screenchomp, but I like Educaeations better)
• giving them 20 minutes to create their screen cast with the understanding that all freshmen would be using their videos to study

The next day I had the QR codes posted and they went around the room scanning them all. There is nothing more rewarding than hearing teenagers say, "Wow, this is cool!", especially in a classroom. . . My non-honors classes scanned them as well and we discussed which videos were most or least helpful in preparation for creating their own for the next unit.

 

The best thing about this idea is that it can be used in ANY subject, which is rare in high school.

 

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What Makes it all Worth It...

When people find out I teach high school, they usually have some sort of negative comment about teenagers, and how they can't imagine how hard my job must be.  I have been lucky that no one has treated me with the disrespect teachers in America are facing at this pivotal moment in (education) history.  I tell these people that yes, teenagers do suck sometimes, but most of the time they are really fun to be around.  Yes, they can be moody and disrespectful, but they can also be really sweet and caring.  Yes, I have had students cuss at me, but I have also had them bring me gifts from school field trips, or bring me ceramic frogs from their annual Christmas trips to Mexico to add to my classroom collection.  For each kid that's driven me crazy over the past 7 years, there are 10 who brought me to tears at graduation.

I work harder than almost anyone I know and leave work every day emotionally, mentally, and physically drained.  If someone asked me why I do it, this would be my reply:

I had a student who had to live alone his senior year because his parents had to work out of town all week.  He came into class worried about how he would eat because he didn't know how to cook anything.  We got online and found easy recipes he could handle.  Another day he came in angry that a teacher had accused him of smoking pot at school and he'd gotten in her face.  I just said, "I know it wasn't you, but you shouldn't have handled it like that.  You're better than that."  He looked me in the eye and said, "Thanks Miss, you're right, I am, but sometimes I need to come back and hear you say it." I bawled at his graduation like he was my own and when he introduced me to his mom, she hugged me crying and said, "Thank you for being his mom when I couldn't be there."  He sends me a texts regularly and I got one last week (two years after he graduated) to tell me he got a promotion at work and he wants to take me to lunch.

THAT'S why I do this. 

The only number that can measure my success as a teacher is the number of students who have touched my life and whose lives I've touched.  No test score can do that.    

  

Reflections on 1:1 Year 1

My biggest obstacle this year was wanting to try everything.  My greatest success this year was wanting to try everything.  Let me explain.  Every time I found a new app or heard a new tip, I wanted to try it out.

The problem this created was that we never really settled into a routine and we spent more time learning the tools than I would have liked.  The content should obviously be a priority, with the tools being a vehicle.  We tried a couple different PDF annotating apps, a couple different apps for discussion forums, we used Edmodo once before I decided I didn't like it, we tried a couple different ways of submitting work, etc.

This desire to try everything worked in my favor for a few reasons:

• My students became very comfortable using their iPads for a variety of assignments and activities. 
• I became very comfortable trying new things without knowing how they would turn out.  
• My students never got bored because they never knew what to expect. We didn't have a specific schedule or specific assignments certain days of the week.
• My coworkers became more open to trying new things when I discussed my experiences with them.
• My administration became more comfortable with my go-with-the-flow style of planning.  I refuse to plan a year (or even a month) in advance until I develop the ability to read my student's minds or see into the future. 

The most important lesson I learned in my first year of 1:1 iPads is that I can't be afraid to try new things.  If I had an idea, but wasn't quite sure how to make it work, I walked into first period (it helped that they were my honors class), and asked for their input.  Many of the apps or strategies we ended up using long-term came from my students.  When we become afraid to try new things for fear of failure or fear of giving up our sense of authority to our students, everyone in the class loses. 

My goal for next year? Make some decisions about what really worked and what didn't.  I have to be willing to leave some really cool ideas and apps behind if they don't work for my students.  

What I'm using so far. . .

There have been hurdles to overcome in the implementation of a 1:1 iPad program, but we have finally found our groove.  All of my students can access their accounts and have basic knowledge of their iPad.  I am so excited about all the possibilities, I feel like I'm throwing something new at them every day, but they are definitely rising to the occasion.  Some in-class uses for the iPad so far:

Google Sites: I created a site (www.alisonlopez.com) with a page for each class.  I had my students set my announcements page to their homescreen (this creates a quick link that looks like an app) and this is the first place they go when they come in the room.  I add a new post daily (almost daily, at least) with the opening activity, in-class work, and homework.

Blogging: All my students have Blogger accounts and know how to create a post, embed images, and publish.  We are also using the Blogsy app: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/blogsy/id428485324?mt=8 to compose posts.  I love this app because it makes embedding videos and images really simple.  You search, drag, and drop.

Collaborize Classroom: This site allows me to create a poll or forum question that students can all vote on and answer.  They can also reply to each other's comments and see the poll results in a pie chart.  One example: After my freshman honors class had read the first chapter in Of Mice and Men I asked them if they thought George and Lennie's dream would ever come true.  They voted "yes" or "no", then explained why in a comment.  If they clicked on results, the site created a pie chart of their answers for all to see.  This simple poll created a very thoughtful discussion.  I also really like this site as an opener because they can do it quickly and independently. You can find more information at www.collaborizeclassroom.com.

Keynote: My students picked up this app really quickly.  It is really easy to navigate and edit.  The only flaw is I wish there was a share feature so they could do group presentations like they can in Google.