ISTE Standards for Educators

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FULL DISCLOSURE:

I enabled a new plugin and wanted to try it out. That is the actual purpose of this blog post. It’s called Live Shortcodes and has probably been in my dashboard for a while; I just didn’t notice. Last week I saw that ISTE published this really cool accordion style interactive page describing the new ISTE Standards for Educators. I was trying to figure out how to embed this in my blog post and stumbled upon several new plugins that I hadn’t yet activated. Needless to say, my morning has been filled with pure joy and giddiness. It’s not as cool as ITSE’s, but I’m pretty happy. Click on each standard to reveal the indicators.

Educators continually improve their practice by learning from and with others and exploring proven and promising practices that leverage technology to improve student learning. Educators:

1a Set professional learning goals to explore and apply pedagogical approaches made possible by technology and reflect on their effectiveness.

1b Pursue professional interests by creating and actively participating in local and global learning networks.

1c Stay current with research that supports improved student learning outcomes, including findings from the learning sciences.

Educators seek out opportunities for leadership to support student empowerment and success and to improve teaching and learning. Educators:

2a Shape, advance and accelerate a shared vision for empowered learning with technology by engaging with education stakeholders.

2b Advocate for equitable access to educational technology, digital content and learning opportunities to meet the diverse needs of all students.

2c Model for colleagues the identification, exploration, evaluation, curation and adoption of new digital resources and tools for learning.

Educators inspire students to positively contribute to and responsibly participate in the digital world. Educators:

3a Create experiences for learners to make positive, socially responsible contributions and exhibit empathetic behavior online that build relationships and community.

3b Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency.

3c Mentor students in safe, legal and ethical practices with digital tools and the protection of intellectual rights and property. 3d Model and promote management of personal data and digital identity and protect student data privacy.

Educators dedicate time to collaborate with both colleagues and students to improve practice, discover and share resources and ideas, and solve problems. Educators:

4a Dedicate planning time to collaborate with colleagues to create authentic learning experiences that leverage technology.

4b Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues.

4c Use collaborative tools to expand students' authentic, real-world learning experiences by engaging virtually with experts, teams and students, locally and globally.

4d Demonstrate cultural competency when communicating with students, parents and colleagues and interact with them as co-collaborators in student learning.

Educators design authentic, learner-driven activities and environments that recognize and accommodate learner variability. Educators:

5a Use technology to create, adapt and personalize learning experiences that foster independent learning and accommodate learner differences and needs.
 
5b Design authentic learning activities that align with content area standards and use digital tools and resources to maximize active, deep learning.
 
5c Explore and apply instructional design principles to create innovative digital learning environments that engage and support learning.

Educators facilitate learning with technology to support student achievement of the ISTE Standards for Students. Educators:

6a Foster a culture where students take ownership of their learning goals and outcomes in both independent and group settings.

6b Manage the use of technology and student learning strategies in digital platforms, virtual environments, hands-on makerspaces or in the field.
 
6c Create learning opportunities that challenge students to use a design process and computational thinking to innovate and solve problems.
 
6d Model and nurture creativity and creative expression to communicate ideas, knowledge or connections.

Educators understand and use data to drive their instruction and support students in achieving their learning goals. Educators:

7a Provide alternative ways for students to demonstrate competency and reflect on their learning using technology.
 
7b Use technology to design and implement a variety of formative and summative assessments that accommodate learner needs, provide timely feedback to students and inform instruction.
 
7c Use assessment data to guide progress and communicate with students, parents and education stakeholders to build student self-direction.

 

 

About the Standards

A roadmap for transforming education, the ISTE Standards help innovative educators like you re-engineer and reimagine their classrooms and schools for digital age learning. They are a guide for amplifying and empowering learning, no matter where you are on the journey to the effective and meaningful integration of ed tech. Source

Cool, huh?

App Flows Aren’t Just for iPads Anymore

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Graphite App Flows (Now called Lesson Flows from Common Sense Media) were something I discovered a couple of years ago. A Lesson Flow is a lesson planning framework that helps you integrate digital tools with pedagogical insight. They helped teachers in my district move away from unstructured “skill and drill” use of the iPad to a purposeful lesson that made students accountable for their time spent on the device. 

Since then, app developers have realized that districts purchase multiple types devices, not just iPads. Many popular productivity iPad apps now have an online alternative. This allows for more flexibility when teachers are planning and checking out iPad, Chromebook, laptop carts or scheduling time in the computer labs. Here is a list of some of my favorite apps that now have a web based counterpart.

G-Suite                              Thinking Blocks         
Thinglink Haiku Deck
SeeSaw Virtual Manipulatives
Book Creator Learnzillion
Google Earth Math Learning Center
Google Maps BrainPop
Canva Educreations
Nearpod Padlet
Edublogs Popplet
Google Classroom Snapguide
Quizlet Animoto
YouTube

In my district, elementary teachers usually have about 3-4 iPads per classroom. That’s all fine and dandy if your lesson is designed to be in a workstation or center. It’s also difficult to manage multiple users logging into different accounts on 1 device. That may be a simple task for secondary, but try that with a kindergartener. Turning your App Flow into a Web/App Flow may be your solution. It’s the same lesson using the same resources, but now you have a choice of which device you would like your students to use. I just finished this one to support 4th grade Equivalent Fractions. Here is the link if you would like to use or modify it to fit your needs: https://goo.gl/t5devp

 

Be More Dog

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For the past 5 summers I’ve been the tech troubleshooter for my district’s summer school campuses. This year I decided to take a break from everything, including blogging, Twitter and Facebook. I picked up several books (real honest to goodness books made from paper) that I had been meaning to read for a while and got busy. The first was The Innovator’s Mindset by George Couros. I didn’t even get past chapter 1 without reactivating my Twitter account to reengage in my PLN. It was that inspiring. Then on page 6, George recommends viewing a commercial from O2 titled “Be More Dog”. Let me save you the trouble of looking it up. 

This video resonated with me in so many ways. It made me think about the reaction of other cats had they been in this video as well. What would they have been thinking, saying, or doing in response to this one particular cat who wants to “be more dog”? Then I thought about the metaphor it represents. When you have one teacher on a campus that is looking at educating students from an entirely different perspective, how do the other teachers on that campus react? Do they embrace this change of mindset and try to emulate the behavior, or do they snub their noses at the thought and “remain a cat”? (Don’t get me wrong, I love cats)

This is where I find the whole educational system so frustrating. On page 5, George writes,

“Compliance does not foster innovation. In fact, demanding conformity does quite the opposite.” ~ The Innovator’s Mindset, George Couros

This quote, I think, was aimed toward students. However, I’m looking at it from the perspective of the district/teacher relationship. I see districts demanding conformity from educators and almost punishing those that strive to grow and try new tools, strategies, or techniques that don’t come from central office. Now, I must confess that I have not finished the book because I felt so compelled to get back on the Internet to begin this discussion. I’m sure he goes into great detail about how to accomplish this paradigm shift, but I still want to ask these questions: How does a school or district move towards an innovator’s mindset when faced with opposition? What has worked for you in your school or district? I would love to get honest feedback in the comments section because I honestly don’t know the answer.  

Thank you, George. You got me blogging again.

Thinglink Teacher Summer Challenge

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Thinglink just announced they will once again facilitate a self-paced online summer teacher challenge. Every year that I participate, I learn new and innovative ways to utilize one of my favorite tools. This summer will focus on the use of their premium 360/VR feature. This is the perfect opportunity to try out this amazing platform for only $25.00 (normally $125.00). Below is an example of an interactive 360 image focusing on Science vocabulary.

Check out this post on their blog for more information about upgrading your account and signing up for the challenge. Hover over the tags in the image below to access task cards for each challenge.

Using HyperDoc Format for Unit Reviews

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It’s that time of year again in Texas (Insert sigh). Reviewing for the STAAR exam does not need to be a painful process. Instead of the traditional STAAR formatted worksheet, try a HyperDoc full of engaging multimedia content. I’ve created a template, examples, and even a list of multimedia resources to help make the creation process less time consuming. 

For the past 6 weeks, I have been tutoring a group of 5th grade math students. They handed me a binder that is literally 3 1/4 inches thick. Yes, I measured. The tree hugger in me had a little tiny stroke. That’s what inspired me to turn this binder full of worksheets into engaging HyperDocs using a template created by Nadine Gilkison (@nadinegilkison). The content in these HyperDocs is not my intellectual property. It belongs to my district, so the privacy settings require end users to be logged into their district NEISD Google account.

I created another Science Review HyperDoc that supports all of the 5th grade Life Sciences TEKS. This one is open to the public, so please feel free to make a copy and modify to fit your needs. It is filled with multimedia content to support over 8 TEKS. It also includes a reflection component (Google Drawing) where students answer essential questions.

I really liked the flow of the format and the fact that teachers can choose which sections students need to focus on based on assessment results and benchmark data. It’s also great for differentiation. You may have some students that need to focus on Interactions in Ecosystems, while others need to focus on Life Cycles. HyperDocs, by nature, are designed to be self-paced to accommodate the different needs of individual learners. 

If you are interested in creating a HyperDoc Unit Review for your class, you can use this template to help get you started. I’ve also curated some of my favorite resources that can be embedded within the activity.

 

Take a Tour of the New Teleport 360° App

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If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know I obsess over certain tools I love. Thinglink is probably number 1 on my list and it just got even better! Last year, I participated in the Thinglink Summer VR Challenge and was introduced to their new 360° tag editor for making 360° images and VR content interactive. This particular feature of the platform is only available if you have a Premium Educator account. When I provide professional development opportunities for my teachers, I usually do not recommend purchasing individual subscriptions because I know that the money comes out of their pockets. This is one exception.

Thinglink is not just a tool. It is a supportive community designed to provide teachers with rich, interactive experiences that engage learners and immerses them into worlds they may not possibly be able to experience otherwise. When I see teachers and students using Thinglink to annotate content that demonstrates understanding of concepts, they are giddy. Seriously. Giddy. One of my favorite bloggers, Richard Wells (@EduWells), recently published a post about the impact of virtual reality in the classroom and how it can encourage empathy.

Below are the Thinglink current pricing options.

 

I recommend starting with the free 14 day trial so you can see for yourself how easy it is to navigate the interface. If the out of pocket cost is not an option, try approaching your campus administration or PTA/PTO for funding. Many campuses have even used allocated grade level or department funds.

One thing I struggled with as a new user of this feature was learning about 360° images, specifically where to get them and how to make your own. I’ve tried several apps and continue to go back to the same one: Google Street View on my iPhone. Here are the simple directions:

Create photos with an iPhone (Won’t work with an iPad because it won’t save to camera roll)

  1. Open the Street View app .
  2. Tap Create +.
  3. In the bottom right, tap Camera Take photo.
  4. Take a series of photos.
  5. At the bottom, tap Done Done.
  6. Your 360 photo is stitched together and saved in the “Private” tab on your phone. The photo is also saved on your phone (unless you turned this setting off).
  7. Publish your 360 photo on Google Street View (you can blur faces or identifying information if needed)

Upload Image to Teleport 360° app on your iPad

  1. Open Google Street View on your iPad.
  2. Navigate to your public image and save to your camera roll.
  3. Open Teleport 360 and tap on Upload Media
  4. Tap Photo Library and tap on your 360 image
  5. Tap edit and start tagging using text, images, audio, video, embed html, or transitions

 Here’s a quick video to show how easy it is to use:

 

If you would like to take your class on an immersive learning adventure to a specific destination, check out the photo pool from the Flickr 360 Equirectangular Group. Many photographers have given permission for their images to be used. Kathy Schrock’s Guide to Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) also has a wealth of information and resources on the subject of virtual reality. Also, within the app itself is a growing collection of their own 360° image library.

Check out the Spotlight Speakers 17 Channel created by Susan Oxnevad (@soxnevad) to see examples of how educators are using this tool to support instruction.

Happy Tagging!

 

 

Featured Lessons Now on Rock the Lab

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There is a new “Featured Lesson” section on Rock the Lab home page that will change every month. I’ll provide 2 different lessons that have a monthly or seasonal theme. This month we celebrate Black History with different types of multimedia content appropriate for all levels. K-2 students can explore videos, text with audio, and books from Capstone to learn about various African-American Leaders. 3-5 students will engage in the HyperDoc Learning Cycle process by researching 3 different African-American heroes of their choice. I would love to feature lessons created by other NEISD educators, so please email me (lmoore4@neisd.net) if you would like to submit a lesson.

Technology Task Challenges for Teachers

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Last week I attended TCEA 2017 in Austin and am currently working on a blog post to share my reflections. In the meantime, I stumbled upon this amazing resource created by Ron Burke (@MistaB10). His Twitter pic alone is worthy of its own blog post. Ron curated a plethora of technology challenges that allow teachers to explore new tools, choose tasks that are of interest, and provides examples of authentic integration. Where has this dude been all my life? Seriously. Check out his other interactive images here.

MLK HyperDocs

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The HyperDoc community has been very busy lately creating wonderful resources for teaching about Martin Luther King. I thought I would gather a few together in case you’d like to slip in an extra lesson this week or next. Enjoy!

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Creating Drop-Down Menus in Google Sheets

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Did you know you can create a drop down menu in Google Sheets? This is a handy feature if you are wanting students to choose from a list of questions to answer. The cell directly under your dropdown menu can be used for the students to type their answers.

  1. Click on the cell where the questions will be added.
  2. In the main menu, click on Data and then Validation
  3. Next to criteria, choose list of items. Type your questions in the box, separated by commas. 
  4. Check the box next to show dropdown list in cell and add directions in the description box if desired.
  5. Click on save.

I created a couple of examples demonstrating how to use this feature. Hopefully this will inspire some ideas to help get you started.

Reflecting on 2016

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As the end of the year quickly approaches, I often reflect on what I have accomplished and what I would like to set as my goals for the new calendar year. This year, you may have noticed I did not publish as many posts as I normally do. This is largely due to the fact that I have been working on 2 other websites. I’m happy to say they are both complete and now it’s just a matter of updating them with fresh content to replace older apps and software. I decided to showcase some of the new lessons and ideas that are now posted on these sites.

Rock the Lab

Rock the Lab is a website I maintain for student use. All of the lessons support Texas TEKS and follow the NEISD Scope and Sequence. It took me a year to build, but I finally have all 4 nine weeks complete. Most of the activities utilize free tools, but some require a subscription or license to paid content/software such as Kidspiration or Discovery Education. Every school year I pick out a new tool or website over which to obsess, and this year it was HyperDocs! I’ve tried to incorporate as many as I could in each 9 weeks and the feedback from students and teachers has been very positive. Check out some of my favorite lessons below:

Schoogle Your Content with HyperDocs

As I stated above, my obsession this year has been HyperDocs. I learned about them last year through Matt Miller’s blog post and never looked back. I love them so much that I decided to abandon my fear of public speaking and present on the subject at TCEA in February. I created a site to share what I learned this summer during the HyperDoc Bootcamp, and to house my growing collection of examples created by myself and the HyperDoc community.

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Click on the arrows at the bottom of the home page to navigate through the content. Start at the beginning if you are new to HyperDocs or skip straight to the examples if you’re ready to implement. I hope you will be able to attend my session on Wednesday, Feb. 8 from 5:00-6:00.

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Thinglink 360/VR 

Dare I say, Thinglink is still my number 1 go to tool for student created projects. This year they introduced a new feature that supports 360 images. I was fortunate enough to be able to create content for their new iPad app. Students can explore 360 images and interact with multimedia content to learn about different places or concepts. 2 of my lessons are now featured within the app: Earth’s Forces and Remember the Alamo!

Creative Writing Challenges

This year I’ve chosen creative writing as an instructional focus. Here are some HyperDocs that have a seasonal or monthly theme. 

PD in Your PJs

Can’t come to a training? No worries! Below are links to resources that provide you with anytime, anywhere, self-paced learning.

Goals for 2017

What does 2017 look like? At the rate things are changing, I have no idea yet. When you’re in this profession, tools are being developed at the drop of a hat. One thing I have learned is good teaching will never change. I think that’s why I fell so hard for HyperDocs. It’s not about the platform or the device. It’s about sound instruction that allows the student to engage with the content. Therefore, my goal for 2017 is simple…best practices.

Hour of Code Resources 2016

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NEISD students and teachers will be participating in this year’s Hour of Code during the week of December 5-9. Hour of Code was designed to demystify “code” and show that anyone can understand the basics without having any prior knowledge or experience. The hope is that more students, especially girls, will enter the field of Computer Science. Computer programming focuses on computational thinking, problem-solving, and literacy skills across multiple curriculum areas.

All NEISD campuses have a variety of devices from which to choose. Plan ahead and reserve a computer lab, cart, or make sure you have the age appropriate iPad apps downloaded on your device. If you choose not to use technology, there are unplugged activities such as the Binary Bracelet lesson that teaches students the binary format.

If you are not sure where to begin, I’ve created a page on Rock the Lab that will guide you through a grade-level appropriate lesson. Begin at the top with the video and then have students click on their grade level underneath. Happy Coding!

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2016 Election Resources on Rock the Lab

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It’s only a couple of weeks away until the U.S. Presidential elections. I’ve added an Elections Resourcesbook-cover-high-res-248x300 page on my other website for students, Rock the Lab. Here you will find hyperdocs, videos, interactive vocabulary and maps, and many other resources that will engage your students in the election process. If you’re looking for an amazing picture book to read to your students, check out Passing the Bone: America’s Next POTUS written by Heather Patterson. She has provided lots of teaching ideas to go along with the story, which can be found on her website. 
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