KQED Do Now and Common Core

This past school year I have been having my students participate in the monthly KQED Do Now Science twitter chats.   Do Now is a weekly online activity where students learn about current events through various media, such as videos, articles, and more.  A question is posed, and students then get a chance to discuss the topic using social media (twitter or responding to the KQED blog).  

This program is a great way for teachers to teach students Common Core skills with relevant and current issues.

The Do Now topics are not just science topics....  in addition to the monthly Science topics,  there are weekly Civics, Government & Politics topics, and Arts/Popular Culture topics twice a month.  

Do Now gives students a chance to engage and respond to current issues, learn science (or art, civics, politics, etc) content, and digital citizenship skills while they explore ways to connect topics in their classes to the present day. 

I have found that having students participate in this program is a great way to:

1. Have students learn about current events
• Each week, KQED picks topics that are in the news.  Students have already heard about many of the topics, but don't know what is going on.
2. Make what we are learning in class relevant to student lives
• Many of the science current events link to things we have or will be studying in class.  So this is a great way for students to see how what we are learning really is important, and they must understand it because they will see it again outside of school.
3. Learn digital citizenship
• Students put some crazy things out on social media.  Their future employers and colleges will see this.  Through this program, I am able to teach my students how to use social media for learning, and help them develop a positive digital footprint.  KQED even has some instructions for teachers and students.
4. Communicate with others
• Students are interacting with their classmates and other students participating in the Do Now conversation on twitter and/or the KQED blog.  They must "listen" to what the others are "saying" (posting), create thoughtful responses, and engage in conversation.  
5. Practice writing arguments (claims, evidence, and justification)
   
• When I have students read and watch the Do Now media, I have them take notes on the topic. They then answer the question by making a claim, supporting it with evidence, and writing out their justification.  They write this out on a argumentation graphic organizer.  (My students have practiced this many times with other science problems. Read my previous blog post for more information and examples.)  Then, they must consolidate their answer into a concise 140 character tweet.  
6. Create and publish content, and share it with a world wide audience
• Many times students can't share their entire argument in 140 characters.  I encourage them to share their entire claim as a image in their tweet.  They also may make memes, short videos, or other content that they share in the Do Now online conversation.  KQED has some great resources to show students how to do this on their webpage.

Past Do Nows have included some of these great topics:

• Malaysian Airlines flight 370
• Minimum Wage
• Selfies
• Nature vs. Nurture
• Genetic Engineering
• Ukrainians Ousting  Democratically Elected Leader

Common Core State Standards
Another great thing about having students participate in KQED's Do Now program is that it addresses a huge amount of the Common Core State Standards.  I looked through the History/Social Studies, Science & Technical Subjects Literacy and Writing standards and found that most of the standards can be addressed by participating. Here are the ones that can be met by the Do Now program:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.1

Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of science and technical texts, attending to the precise details of explanations or descriptions.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.2

Determine the central ideas or conclusions of a text; trace the text's explanation or depiction of a complex process, phenomenon, or concept; provide an accurate summary of the text.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.5
Analyze the structure of the relationships among concepts in a text, including relationships among key terms (e.g., force, friction, reaction force, energy).

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.6
Analyze the author's purpose in providing an explanation, describing a procedure, or discussing an experiment in a text, defining the question the author seeks to address.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.7
Translate quantitative or technical information expressed in words in a text into visual form (e.g., a table or chart) and translate information expressed visually or mathematically (e.g., in an equation) into words.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.8
Assess the extent to which the reasoning and evidence in a text support the author's claim or a recommendation for solving a scientific or technical problem.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RST.9-10.9

Compare and contrast findings presented in a text to those from other sources (including their own experiments), noting when the findings support or contradict previous explanations or accounts.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.A
Introduce precise claim(s), distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and create an organization that establishes clear relationships among the claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.B
Develop claim(s) and counterclaims fairly, supplying data and evidence for each while pointing out the strengths and limitations of both claim(s) and counterclaims in a discipline-appropriate form and in a manner that anticipates the audience's knowledge level and concerns.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.1.E
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from or supports the argument presented.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2.A
Introduce a topic and organize ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.2.D
Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic and convey a style appropriate to the discipline and context as well as to the expertise of likely readers.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.4
Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.6
Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products, taking advantage of technology's capacity to link to other information and to display information flexibly and dynamically.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.7
Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.8
Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the usefulness of each source in answering the research question; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and following a standard format for citation.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.WHST.9-10.9
Draw evidence from informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and research.

How to Use in Your Classroom (Tips)

• Have students sign up for Twitter at home.  When multiple students all sign up at the same time from one campus, Twitter thinks your are not a real person.  Here are my instructions I gave my students to sign up on their own.
• The first time I gave students a Do Now assignment, I gave them an entire 50 minute period to go through the materials on the webpage, take notes, and write out their argument.  The next day, I gave them time to write out their 140 character post(s).  I also had to show them how to tweet and what must go in the tweet (hashtag, @kqededspace, etc.)  Then they spent the rest of the period posting their tweets, responding to tweets, and retweeting.  (The next time around, I was able to spend just one period on the assignment.)
• Students loved seeing all the tweets come in.  On iPads, it is a little harder to keep up with the tweets while following the hashtag.  It doesn't seem to update as often as on a webpage.  So I opened up and ran Visible Tweets which I projected for the class.  They loved having their tweets pop up on the board.
• After doing Do Now a few times, students did not converse with each other as often as I liked.  So I started doing a twitter chat where I posted questions which they had to respond to throughout the period.  That helped them start to communicate and collaborate with each other.  I posted questions as "Q1:  with the question following", and they had to answer "A1:  with their answer".
• My next goal is to pair up with other classes so they can communicate in a chat at the same time (rather than seeing tweets from other students later in the day or the next day).
• Have fun!  The topics may not fit into your curriculum perfectly.  Many times I have not yet covered a the current topic in my content, but I still think it fosters valuable critical thinking, argumentation, and digital literacy skills.

Increase Parent Communication: Giving Parents Website Contact Cards

I want to really work on making my classroom transparent and giving parents the opportunity to access all class materials and easily contact me.  At open house this year I handed out contact cards to parents.  (I designed them using TechSmith's Snagit, which I LOVE! It is a great tool.  Check it out if you haven't used it.  There is a free trial.  I had the cards printed at Vista Print.)  I also gave one to each student on the first day of school!

On my website, parents can find class calendars, the course syllabus, instructions to download the Google class calendar, directions to sign up for Remind101 texts, and links to grades and assignments.  I made cards that look like my webpage, including important contact info, my Google Voice number, and a QR code of my webpage on the back.

Front

Back

Using Google Voice to Communicate with Students and Parents

I have always preferred to communicate with my students and parents through email.  With email, I can reply at any time and from anywhere.  I can be at home or even out and about, sending emails from my phone.  (I know many teachers hate bringing work home with them, but sometimes it is easier to respond to emails on my own time.)  Phone calls are hard to return because parents may be at work and many times don't answer the call.  And I don't want to call from my own cell phone in the evening.  So I end up having to to play phone tag quite a bit.

Even though I tell parents that email is the best way to get ahold of me, and the quickest way to get a response, many parents still prefer to call me.  In the past, many did not have email accounts.  But even now, when I believe almost everyone has email, many parents still prefer to speak to me when they have questions or concerns about their students. Also, it is a bit tedious to check my school voice mail.  I always forgot how to get into it and many times parents speak too fast when leaving their number, and I can't call them back.

Google Voice

I have been hearing on twitter about teachers using Google Voice the last few months, so I decided to do some research.  I read some blog posts by TJ Houston, Bill Price, Lisa Nielsen, and Alice Keeler.  Here is a summary of some ways that Google Voice might be helpful for a teacher.

• Google Voice allows you to create a new/free phone number.
• Parents can call my Google Voice number for free using the widget embedded on my webpage.
• You can connect this Google Voice number to all of your phones - so if some one calls it, all your phones can ring.
• You can set it up to get emails or texts if you get a message, missed call, or voice mail.
• You can turn off the ringing, so the phone goes straight to voicemail at any time, and can schedule times when it will ring or not.
• You can call or text people using your cell phone, but only the Google Voice number shows, not your own personal cell number.
• Any voicemails that come in can be transcribed.  You will have a record of all received calls.  And if the parent speaks quickly, you can see the transcribed message, and don't have to worry about keeping up to write down their phone number.
• You have a call log of all incoming and outgoing calls.  You can add notes to the calls so you have a record of communication with parents/students.
• You can record received calls. 
• You can have students call in as part of an assignment and can then embed the message on a website if wanted.  Here are some ideas of how students can use it:
• Students can text in answers instead of using clickers
• Students can call and leave a message practicing speaking a world language
• Students can ask questions about material in a flipped lesson

How I will use Google Voice

I have my Google Voice setup so calls will only go through to my cell phone (I didn't set it to ring my home phone) before school, during my prep period, and after school for one hour.  Parents can get ahold of me directly during this time.  If they call during class or in the evening, they will leave a voicemail which will be transcribed and sent to my email.  I can then choose to call them back when I am free, while I am at home, or can wait until school the next day.  But the message will be saved and I can forward it to anyone if needed (it's an mp3 file).  

You can also choose to never actually have your phone ring and have no messages or texts go to your phone either.  Instead, you can install the google voice extension to your chrome browser, and you will get notifications of any calls or messages when you open up chrome.  (If you don't want any of the calls to go to your phone, when setting up Google Voice, you will still need to enter in your cell phone number.  Then change the settings by unclicking the boxes to have calls, texts, or messages sent to your phone.)

I will be using Google Voice to make all calls to parents this year because it will keep an electronic log of calls.  It will replace my notebook that I kept (not always up to date) and I can add notes to each entry in the log about the conversation.

I have also embedded the "call me" widget onto my webpage so parents or students can easily call me, for free.   I have listed my Google Voice number on my class syllabi so parents can easily call me, even if they can't access my webpage.  However, if a teacher didn't want to give out the number, they could just use the widget, and parents could contact them w/o knowing the Google Voice number.

I am excited to try this out this school year.  I will update this post after using it with my class.  If you have any suggestions or ideas, please let me know.

Communicate with Students and Parents Using Remind101

Welcome back to a new school year!  As you are thinking about procedures and resources you will use with your students, you might be thinking of ways that you communicate assignment instructions and/or due dates with your students.  

Remind101 is a online tool that allows teachers (and coaches, admin, advisers  etc.) to send text reminders to students.  It is an easy and safe way to communicate with both your students and parents.

Pros: 

• Students/parents NEVER see your cell phone number
• Teachers never see student's numbers
• Students can subscribe to remind101 and receive texts or emails if they don't have a free texting plan
• It is safe for teachers and students - messages go out to the entire class at once - you can't message individuals  
• Soon you will be able to send messages to groups of at least three students - this will be great to communicate assignments with students who missed class
• You can send links to websites, google forms, images, etc.
• You can embed a feed of your reminders into your website
• You can schedule reminders ahead of time from the web or iOS/Android apps
• The Remind101 developers are friendly, happy to help, and are open to ideas and suggestions.  They respond quickly to comments/questions.
• When students or parents complain that they didn't  know when assignments are due, (even though you write it on the board, post a calendar online, and announce it to the class) you can let them know that you send out reminder texts as well.  Most parents will sign up during parent meetings.

Cons:

• Students can't communicate back if they have a question - but they can email you.
• Some teachers believe that it is too much "handholding" for students to receive these reminders - but I feel that the more open I am with students and parents about assignments, the less I have to deal with unhappy students and parents.

Ideas for Use:

• teachers send out homework assignments and due dates to students and parents
• teachers send links to google forms to collect information from students or parents
• coaches send out practice and game announcements
• advisers/teachers send out meeting locations and times during field trips
• admin sending out all clear notices or announcements to staff during fire/evacuation drills
• librarians send out announcements about library due dates or open/closed hours

Here is a video explanation of how Remind101 works:

Remind101 from remind101 on Vimeo.

Recommendations:

• Put a copy of the PDF instructions on how to sign up on your webpage.
• Have students take out their cell phones and sign up in class.
• At Back to School Night, have parents sign up.

Remind 101 is a great and easy tool to open up communication in your classroom.  They also have a YouTube channel with lots of how to videos if you get stuck.

Lesson Planning Using Google Calendar

For years I lesson planned in a educational lesson planner book that I purchased at the local teacher supply store.  I didn't like writing my lessons in columns, so I would add in dates to make it look more like a calendar, reading from left to right.  I don't write huge formal plans, just main ideas, activities, and changes from one year to the next.

I decided to go digital after a few years.  I wanted to be able to access my plans from both home and school, without having to carry the book with me.  So I used a calendar template on word, and added in my plans.  I saved the file in my dropbox, so I can access it from both home and school.  I then made a pdf of the plan to post on my website for students and parents.  But every time I updated it, I had to make a new pdf, and update my webpage.

I had tried to find sites online for lesson planning, where you can link the state standards, add in the documents, files, etc.  There are a few out there, and I tried a bunch.  But none were perfect and did exactly what I wanted, so I just went back to using a word document for my plans. 

This year, I am trying something new.  I am using a google calendar for each of my classes. I have even added in links to the assignments (go to the calendar settings and enable the lab "event attachments".  I can then embed the calendar into my webpage.  Now, every change I make in the calendar will automatically update on the webpage.  Since I made my lesson calendar public, students and parents can add the calendar to their own google calendar, and they can even add it to their own mobile devices.  And it will still auto update with any changes I make.  

I think that using a google calendar will make things so much easier for me, and it will benefit my students and parents by having the most up to date information about my class.

I have included some how to's below.



HOW TO ADD YOUR GOOGLE CALENDAR TO YOUR WEBPAGE:  

1. After creating a separate calendar for your class, click on the arrow on the right side of your calendar name.  
2. Share this Calendar.                                                    
        
3. Check the boxes to make it public.  
4. Click on Calendar Details.                                         
   
5. Fill out any details, customize your calendar, then copy the embed code.  This is the html code that you will use to embed your calendar into your website.  
   
6. This is what my webpage looks like with the calendar embedded.  

HOW STUDENTS AND PARENTS CAN ADD THIS CALENDAR TO THEIR iPHONE:

1. When on the calendar settings page, click on the green ICAL button.  Give this URL to your parents/students.  (Accessing it on my webpage using my phone was a little hard - I couldn't copy the link.  So I used a URL shortener, bit.ly, to create a small URL that can be easily typed in.)   
   
2. On your iPhone, go to Settings > Mail, Contacts, Calendars.
3. Choose "Add and Account", then choose "Other", and then "Add Account"
4. Select "Add Subscribed Calendar"
5. Type in the link from the green iCAL button into the second screen you see below that says “Subscription” next to “Server”.  Click on “Next” and it will check/verify that the link is correct.  
6. Open your calendar app.  It will take a few moments for all the calendar items to sync, but you should soon be able to see the calendar items in your app!  You can change the color of the icons for this calendar so they stand out on your phone.  You can also deselect the calendar if you don't want to see it all the time.   

HOW STUDENTS AND PARENTS CAN ADD THIS CALENDAR TO THEIR GOOGLE ACCOUNT ONLINE:

1. On your computer, click on the + Google Calendar icon on the bottom right of the calendar.
2. Choose "Yes, Add this Calendar".  
3. You now will be able to access this calendar on your computer using google calendar.