5 Ways I'm Using Apps in the Classroom

As I'm wrapping up week #2 teaching language arts in a 4/5 1:1 iPad environment, I thought I would try a "5 ways..." type of post. One of my many goals this year is to be a better sharer, so I am pushing myself to blog each week and to try different styles of writing. Let me know what you think, please!

1. Apps for Student Blogging

We have experimented, thus far, with three apps for student blogging: Wordpress, Chrome and Safari. All of them have great features, as well as limitations. One thing we've learned the hard way is not to use the camera from within the blog post. It is best to take the photos from outside of the blogging app and then import from camera roll. 

I'm amazed at how quickly the students are beginning to fluently use multiple apps to achieve a task. When 5th graders, for instance, wanted to add "Choose Kind" badgesas sidebar widgets, they quickly discovered that it made sense to use the Wordpress app to upload the image, but it required switching to one of the browser apps to add the code to a text widget. 

Note: Our student bloggers would love to connect with other student bloggers, and we would welcome readers and comments. 

2. Apps for Classroom Management

After carefully reviewing the features of Class Dojo, I decided against using it for behavior management. Many teachers are thrilled with it, though, so it might be worth a try. So what apps am I using? I am enjoying plugging my iPad into speakers (necessary to hear the sound) and using the free app, Tibetan Bowls, as a lovely chime to get students' attention.  I've also been experimenting with using mellow music via Pandora, as thinking music while students are writing. Sometimes the music adds a nice element of calm to the room, although some students find it distracting. 

3. The camera!

The camera is a no-brainer.  Of course, we  use the camera constantly to document and capture. But here is a fun Pinterest-inspired way I've used the camera to practice our "Give Appreciations" norm and to create something for students who are celebrating birthdays. I simply email the photo to the student (and his or her parent) to save and enjoy.

4. Words With Friends

I put Words With Friends on our app list, thinking that we would use it as part of Daily 5 word work. I haven't even started introducing Daily 5 yet, but students have discovered and are loving WWF. In fact, it's become a class wide obsession. 

I quickly made three rules: no using the chat feature during school, no logging in with Facebook (as 4th and 5th graders should not have Facebook anyway) and no choosing "random opponent." I love that they are so focused on playing around with the ways letters combine to form words. Fun stuff.

5. Apps for Creative Assessment

What are students actually learning? How well do they understand the concepts? Assessment will be one of the most central ways I envision using iPad apps this year. When students create, I get excellent feedback on how well they actually understood a concept. This week, as part of our school's implementation of the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, we learned Habit 1: Be Proactive. After our readings and discussions, I wanted to understand how well students had integrated this concept into their own schemata. 4th graders used Pixie and 5th graders used Comic Maker to demonstrate their understanding of the concept of being proactive. 

Essential Question: "What is Language Arts?"

In building the foundation for a year of learning in the language arts classroom I feel it is important to connect students to the big picture.
What is language arts?
In school, language arts often comes in pieces and parts: spelling, grammar, and vocabulary, reading fluency and comprehension, memorizing poetry, AR levels and tests.
I am a big picture learner.
I believe in connecting, as much as possible, the pieces and parts to the authentic purpose. I believe that even young students can connect with big ideas.

So I asked my students, "What is language arts?"
A 5th grader responded:

"Language Arts has a bunch of divided into different activities like, reading, writing, and vocabulary.  Writing improves your spelling and punctuation.  Reading improves your grammar.  Vocabulary improves the way you speak.  The type of tests you do are AR, Spelling, and Vocabulary." (emphasis mine)

This answer shows some insight, but it's totally backwards. Does an athlete play soccer to become better at passing the ball? I worry that it is the teaching of skills without connecting them to authentic literacy is what leads to these disjointed ideas. 

Wordle of student responses

We discussed the connections between reading, writing, communicating and thinking. Then students worked together to brainstorm lists of verbs and nouns that pertained to language arts. 

Finally, with the help of our wonderful art teacher, Shana Gutterman, each student chose one special word to decorate. We are going to create a colorful word wall in the classroom which will hopefully serve as an ongoing reminder to all of us of the beauty, purpose and artistry of language arts.

I Said No to Homework...

I've been following the homework debate for years. As an educator, I've read Alfie Kohn's The Homework Myth: Why Our Kids Get Too Much of a Bad Thing (here is a summary of his ideas) as well as numerous articles, blog posts and online discussions of research, theory and practice regarding homework. (For some bloggers whose writing reflects my own thoughts well, check out Dr. Justin Tarte and Pernille Ripp.) I was an avid follower of the now-defunct site Stop Homework and learned a lot from following discussions there.

As a mom of two school-aged children I've tried to present a positive attitude about homework to my kids while letting it be "their thing." 

Image Credit

When I thought about returning to classroom teaching I knew that I could not, in good conscience, assign homework. 

I felt conflicted, not with the rightness of the decision, but with how to best express it to parents.  I wrote several drafts of my "homework policy," referring to research and seeking feedback from those I trusted.

I felt nervous to be starting my brand new role by pushing back against a dominant and deeply ingrained culture where homework = rigor and responsibility. 

School started, and I had no choice but to post my homework policy on the classroom blog. I referred to it as "do it yourself homework" and wrote the following:

Language Arts Homework

This year, we will implement the Daily 5, as our structure for the language arts classroom. The five daily activities for building strong basic literacy skills:

• Read to Self
• Read to Someone
• Listen to Reading
• Work on Writing
• Word Work

Any of these activities are excellent practice for home, as well as school, and students are strongly encouraged to read and write regularly at home.Our language arts classroom this year will be holistic and personalized. Each student has different needs, interests and aptitudes. Each family also has different needs and rhythms.

Parent involvement in the development of literacy is invaluable. This can take many forms- from reading stories aloud to playing word games and puzzles to conversations about what each family member is reading. Students can work on blog posts at home, as well as taking time to read and comment on classmates’ blogs. After school might also be a good time to practice cursive writing or keyboarding skills.

Regular daily/weekly homework will not be assigned or collected. There will be times when, in order to meet class requirements or finish projects, students will have to continue working at home. In these instances, I will be happy to notify parents via email.

My fear, it seems, was largely unfounded. From the feedback I've received so far, our "do it yourself homework" is working out just fine. Maybe better than fine. I've actually been hugged in the hallways by more than one grateful parent! Students are excitedly talking about the books they're reading at home and several of them have become addicted to Words With Friends. 

And as an overwhelmed "new" classroom teacher, collecting and keeping up with everyone's homework is one thing I won't miss at all!

Building a Community of Readers, Writers & Thinkers

My mission as a 4th/5th grade language arts teacher this year is:

• to motivate students to do and be their best
• to build a safe, accepting and inclusive classroom community
• to inspire each student’s love of reading, writing and words in a creative, student-centered learning environment
• to be a role-model for lifelong-learning and an ethic of excellence 

Right now, after 13 years out of the classroom and a mind jammed with 13 years worth of ideas, that is proving to be a tall order. But every journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. 

My first step toward building the community of readers, writers, thinkers and creators that I envision starts with building community.

So I have spent the first week of school trying to do just that. We have begun each day with a community circle where we share, listen to one another and review our classroom norms. The norms are the foundation, and they must be reviewed, modeled, lived and breathed.
An important part of our community is going to be having students do meaningful work in terms of documenting, creating and sharing our learning, our ideas and our 1:1 iPad pilot with the world.

The first "job" I introduced was "documentarian." The plan is for everyone to do the job the first time, and eventually, once all the roles are introduced and practiced, there will be some kind of rotation so that everyone gets a chance to try their hand at different ways of participating in and contributing to the community.

We used the Pic Collage app this week as our tool for documenting, and I gave the students free reign. I love their creative interpretations and the feedback it provided for me.

My "Classroom Theme" is Learning!

Earlier I shared my thoughts about conscious classroom design and the kind of learning environment I hoped to create in my classroom. Guided by our school's learning target, I have started off the school year with bare walls, no desks, as many books as I could gather, and different areas for different activities. The walls will be used to document collective knowledge and processes as well as to showcase student creations. 

Except for a few small challenges with space (I regularly move the tables back and forth away from the rug where we gather for community circle and direct instruction) and storage, I am pretty pleased with the results. 

Our Choice of Words

This is my review of the book Choice Words by Peter Johnston. Each teacher at our school was given a choice of books for summer reading as part of our ongoing professional development. I chose to read this book, as I had heard a lot about it and am always (obsessively?) interested in the development of literacy in all its dimensions.

Although Choice Words, by Peter Johnston, is ostensibly about basic (reading and writing) literacy, its message, about the language teachers use and how it shapes what students learn, is relevant for all teachers. We all use language as a primary shaper of classroom activities, environments and direct instruction. Some of the implications are subtle, but powerful.

For example, he talks about teachers' use of  the word "good" to describe readers and writers. This is something I've regularly done, trying to clarify for students what "good" readers and writers do as a means of giving direction (i.e.: these are the things we should all be doing when reading or writing). According to Johnston, use of the word "good" implies that some of the students in the class are those "good readers and writers," and, therefore, others in the class are not. He asks us to think about the subtle shift in intent that occurs by simply removing the word "good."
Here's an example. I like this poster that outlines the work of writing.

But after reading Choice Words, I would probably, if I were to use such a poster in my classroom, cover the word "good." We are all writers. These are the steps of writing. Do you see the difference? 

Ultimately, it comes down to a lot of thought about "who we are and what we are doing" because those thoughts that ground us and impact the way we teach and the language we use. We can't plan every linguistic interaction in advance, so we must have a pervasive sense of the work we're doing with students and the kinds of communities we hope to create. 

I thought the book was a worthwhile read. It validated my overall approach and  goals. If you are interested, but don't want to read the whole book, I would recommend reading the appendices at the end. In those, Johnston shares interviews with students from different classrooms talking about themselves and others as readers and writers. It is so telling to hear what they absorb  from subtle classroom messages, and it will really make you think (I think it could easily be applied to other subjects as well). 

We're Going 1:1 with iPads- Here's Our App List

We (a team of teachers and coaches) have spent many hours meeting virtually and in-person to prepare for our 1:1 iPad pilot program for 4th and 5th grade. As I work at a private school, parents are required to purchase textbooks each year. We have requested that the iPad and apps be purchased by parents to replace most of the textbooks, which we will no longer be using.

I will be teaching language arts, but our students our fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from a team of specialized teachers. (As a teacher, I also feel fortunate to have the opportunity to focus on language arts which is my great love.)

I have set for myself many goals, but the most important one (at least for purposes of this blog) is this: I will regularly share my process. Each week I commit to sharing something- a lesson, a reflection...something I've seen, heard, thought, created, messed-up or otherwise learned in the classroom. The commitment to regular blogging is something I have always found challenging, and as such, I have neglected this important step in the "learn, reflect, share" process.

If I do share something helpful, something that inspires or resonates, something that requires clarification, etc. I would love to know that. I'm trying to get better at writing, creating and connecting.

So, without any further babble...I share with you our app list.

App List for 1:1 iPad Classroom by Andrea Hernandez

Writing Quality & Practice

"Practice makes perfect."
When I was a child and was told this, I never thought to question if "perfect" was, in fact, a reasonable goal. As an adult, I am certain that the idea of perfection is an obstacle to growth, learning and getting things done.

I'm thinking specifically about the teaching of writing. What are the right ratios of practice, guidance, and breaking the whole into parts?  If you've ever played a sport or an instrument, you know the importance of practice. Without regular practice, you are unlikely to improve. However, if all you do is practice, you may very well be practicing and learning in a way that is inefficient or incorrect. Regular guidance is just as important as regular practice.

Image Credit

One of my strongest beliefs as a teacher is that students need to write. Often. Students need to write for real communication, not only to satisfy teacher's goals, but to express, develop and understand their own ideas. With blogs giving us the ability to instantly publish, many teachers (and parents) fear letting their students (and themselves) look bad by publishing work that isn't "perfect."

I go back and forth. I have no problem letting kids write the way they write, up to a point. However, a person's writing should not stay the same over time. There should be growth, in both content and form.  And this is where teaching plays its role. This is also a great reason to have students blog.

I like Seth Godin's advice to "Write poorly. In Public. Every day."
Godin compares writing to talking and says that we are good at talking precisely because we do it freely and often. We never get "talker's block."
But are we really so good at talking? 
There are plenty of lazy talkers-- people with poor grammar and boring usage. Plenty of words that don't add anything to anything, that might be better left unspoken. Talk, unless recorded, is cheap. The words, once spoken float away with the breeze. Talk is easy, precisely because of its ephemeral nature. Writing has permanence. Writing is craft. It is meant to be edited, changed, suffered over and only then, read by another.

I edit my blog posts constantly. Almost every time I re-read one of my own posts, I notice something that seems awkward or a missing punctuation. Perhaps this is one of the reasons I don't post frequently. I worry over the words I use, the message I'm trying to convey.

I notice, too, that (as I learned on Sesame Street when I was little) everyone makes mistakes. Oh yes they do. It doesn't matter how educated the writer nor how many editors have proofed the article. Mistakes happen- in writing, in talking, in everything.

Here's my point- we learn by doing. We will make mistakes. Learning happens when we start making new (better?) mistakes. Students learn to write by writing. Writing matters. Please, let kids write and publish!

Conscious Classroom Design

I'm Going to Have a Classroom!
I have so many posts in draft; most might never be published...but, who knows?  I started writing this one last summer. I had the idea to create a classroom design challenge, based on thinking about the kinds of spaces that might be optimal for learning. Now, I have a more urgent reason to revisit these thoughts, as...(drumroll please) I am, after many, many years of being a non-classroom educator, going to be teaching 4th/5th grade language arts (and piloting 1:1 iPads with my students)!

Just before this opportunity presented itself, discussions about classroom design had been coming up in my coaching meetings with 4th/5th grade math/social studies teacher, Shelly Zavon. I encouraged her to begin the year with a blank slate, a room that would be co-created with students.

"White Wall" http://www.flickr.com/photos/93702978@N00/313983053

What's the Theme?
So....now is my chance to put my own ideas into action! It was funny and surprising to me that, once the students learned that I would be their teacher, many of them asked me about the "theme" of the room. I had no idea this was of such interest to them! I got some strange looks when I explained that the theme would be "learning" (as opposed to bears or turtles or outer space...), and that we would be creating the classroom space together. [This is another example to me of my differentness as a teacher. Judging by Pinterest, Teachers Pay Teachers, and the abundance of whimsical teacher blogs, I am led to believe that most elementary school teachers are super-duper organized, colorful and cutesy. I am none of these things.]

My Vision 
I envision sort of a Starbucks feel (without the coffee)-- comfortable, with long tables and soft, cozy chairs. I'd love to find a couch. I have requested to have the desks removed and replaced with tables. I like plants; they add life and color to a space. The room is fairly small, so I am hoping to get rid of any furniture that is unnecessary or extra. A language arts classroom should be filled with books. As for the walls, they will be almost completely blank (with a few exceptions- more on this later) until the students begin to create (at which time they will be covered with words, thoughts, ideas and documentation of learning that is happening within them). I've begun collecting visual ideas on a "classroom design" Pinterest board.

All the Cool Kids Are Doing It
Top Private Schools Adopt a Homeschool Model lists ways in which the innovative Avenues School  more closely resembles an informal home school environment than the traditional classroom with rows of desks and a teacher at the front of the room. The Avenues School seems pretty awesome.

Despite the fact that I am not a cutesy teacher, I am a very visual person and a huge believer in the importance of design. When I created my first teaching portfolio, over 20 years ago, I wrote:

"One of the most important tasks of the teacher is to set up a physical environment which is comfortable and which encourages students to interact with each other and with their surroundings. "

I still believe this as wholeheartedly as when I first wrote it.

The Challenge
Below is the post I started writing last summer. I thought it would be good to engage in some thoughtful reflection about designing spaces for learning. 

As you are dismantling your classrooms and packing away materials in preparation for summer break, I invite you to begin envisioning how you will set-up your classroom for next school year. Now is the time to get rid of outdated materials and resources rather than putting them into storage.

Here is the challenge. Feel free to pick and choose from the ideas below.
1. Write, revise or refer to your philosophy about learning.
2. How do the design choices you make support your beliefs about how students learn?
3. Take lots of photos of your classroom and post them- before, during and after.
4. Try to look at your classroom through the eyes of a child. What does the child see? Is it inviting? Over-stimulating? Comfortable?
5. Now look through the eyes of a parent. When a parent looks into your room for the first time, are they excited for their child? Is the room well-organized? Alive? Does it look like a place for exciting learning?
6. Look at the walls and use this rubric (from our school's learning target) to self-assess and set goals.

 

[Note: I really like this focus on classroom walls. It's easy to see where you are and easy to move forward. It's a concrete, external change that can also change the way that students are co-creators in the learning environment. So many teachers use pre-made posters with information about math or language arts, but do students actually use the information? Do they know in what situation it might be useful? Are they more likely to access the chart that they, themselves, helped to create? 

Image: Angela Stockman

For a great example of the highest level of classroom wall-use, read Angela Stockman's post about her daughter's 5th grade teacher with descriptions of how that teacher used her walls to create, document and extend learning. 

7. Visit other classrooms in your school or check out other classrooms virtually (try flickr or Pinterest). Take photos or otherwise make note of good ideas for classroom spaces.


What else? What are your ideas for adding to the list of challenge activities?

--You might also be interested in Christopher Brantner's post "18 Tips to Give Your Classroom the Coffee Shop Feel."

If You Give a Kid an (iPad) camera...

One of my favorite activities to do with young kids is the digital camera scavenger hunt.

• It is fun.
• It is creative. 
• It is outdoors.

In the past, I have had to scrounge up enough cameras for each group to have one camera. Now that we have 20 iPads to share, I was able to give each child their own iPad. Awesome.

In the past, we put together slideshows of the photos. It was somewhat labor-intensive and usually took a second session (session 1: take pictures, session 2: make slideshows). Not a huge deal, but I had to be involved with the students to help them put together the slideshows. I had to have the account for the slideshow creator. I had to download all the photos and push them out to the kids' computers. There was prep involved.
Not with the iPad.

scavenger hunt list- tweak according to your curriculum

• One hour with first grade. 
• Review the handling of the device.
• Read the scavenger hunt page in the classroom. Answer any questions. 
• Go outside and have fun taking pictures. 
• Return to classroom, and each student made a pic collage with their favorite photos.