Learning Spaces that Inspire Students

This summer I had the opportunity to teach a graduate course on technology integration in an
experimental classroom and a collaborative classroom. I have been thinking much about effective design of learning spaces for a while now and using these two designs helped me evaluate how rooms could be arranged to foster collaboration and sharing. The teachers in the course stated that they wished they had this type of learning space in their classrooms so students could sit in a variety of groupings to work on projects, all the while able to see information projected on screens. To meet standards more and more we ask students to collaborate as they ask questions, research, and report learning. Having a space facilitates working together, sometimes sharing devices, can make this process more natural for students.

So what components should be considered when designing a learning space? I propose the following: 1. Movable furniture.  The experimental classroom had movable chairs with rollers to allow students to work in a variety of groupings by simply sliding the chair. The chairs came in a variety of styles from overstuffed, to hard plastic, all with cup holders and side writing tables to slide up when needed. The collaborative classroom provided chairs, tables, whiteboards, and projection screens all on wheels so groupings can be created as needed for each learning activity.
2. Large HD TV screens with Apple TVs on each wall. No matter if students turn their chair to the side to work with a partner, or turn it completely around to work in a small group, every student can see the screen at all times because there is a screen on all four walls. Groups creating projects can project their work on the nearest screen using the Apple TV so everyone in the group can see and contribute to the work as it progresses.
3. Internet access for student devices. Every student brought multiple devices into the class each day. It was important that the room had adequate wireless Internet capability to  provide fast access for all devices. Students used laptops for setting up accounts and writing longer pieces, tablets for taking pictures and making videos, and phones to connect with each other.
4. Writable walls. All walls become writing surfaces. As groups form around the room, students can write ideas on the wall spontaneously during brainstorming, then analyze and organize ideas on their devices to present.

On May 20, 2016 Education Technology presented Introducing the 'Classroom of the Future'. They propose that we should build classrooms to include space for student programming, interactive screen walls, interactive desks connected to the cloud, solar windows to reduce carbon footprint and save money, and open space for students to interact with holograms in virtual reality.

As school begins, how will you arrange your classroom? Consider what learning activities you will involve students in, then create a space to make that happen. Build the thought behind "making" into your learning space to empower students to build and create innovative designs to solve problems. Those first days back in the classroom can be exciting this year! Please share a picture of your learning space that inspires students!

Using Technology to Relate to Youth

I just returned from New Orleans where I attended the National Youth Gathering. 25,000 high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors came together from across the country to learn and grow together. The organizers of this exciting conference knew how to connect with teenagers using a variety of social media sites, apps, screens, websites, and other technologies. Beginning with the opening night program in the Super Dome as captured by colleague Donna Lucas students participated in the music and shared personal responses to the message using Poll Everywhere. They were further challenged to take a survey using their mobile devices, receive a reply that they could take the following day to a booth to receive a button. Universities were thus able to connect with interested youth without having to input handwritten information into an online database, and students could visit and have questions answered when they visited the booth.

When I asked a student the following day if he knew any people in his high school who don't have an iPhone he quickly responded, "No." Everyone he knows has a cell phone that connects to the Internet. Then I asked at what age students get phones and he replied 5th or 6th grade, but his brother got a phone in 4th grade so his mother could connect with him. She just put some restraints on the phone to keep her child safe.

Knowing that each of these high schoolers would come with a mobile device and many social media connections, this conference engaged students throughout. Huge TV screens projected speakers and musicians so all could see clearly, the Offline App connected students to the performed music so each device lit up in a rainbow of colors and light, all 25,000 students could respond individually to questions posed to the whole group using Poll Everywhere and responses were displayed on a huge screen in the venue in real time, Twitter quotes were displayed by presenters as sources to support their ideas, and participants tweeted using the conference hashtag along with daily topics so they could share pictures and ideas beyond their individual groups. Technology connected these students beyond the mass gatherings into their many hotels, interest centers, recreation activities, and mission work throughout New Orleans. Learning about the violence in Baton Rouge through newsfeeds, these amazing students donated 200 units of blood which were sent immediately to assist with the police shooting that happened simultaneously with the conference.

And these students will continue to connect beyond today as they left the conference to go back to their homes across the country, because they are connected with shared experiences. Via social media these students will continue to make a difference in the world as they collaborate virtually, and hopefully reconnect in college and beyond.

What can we in education learn from this experience? I share three thoughts.
1. We can make use of the devices that students already carry to school for learning, getting us to 1:1 more quickly.
2. We can use social media in positive ways to connect students and share ideas with the world.
3. We can empower students to impact society positively by following news events and reacting to help.

What Do You Know about Teaching Gen-Z?

Yesterday I read an article in the Washington Post that really made me think about the students in our schools today. The article is called "Who Are These Kids? Inside the race to decipher today's teens who will transform society as we know it."  The author, Caitlin Gibson, defines the current generation as Gen-Z or iGen and notes that these kids were born between 1998 and today. The oldest of these students are age 18 to 20 and will be voting in their first presidential election this fall. Of course they would be called the iGeneration because they grew up in the "Screen Age" using iPads, iPhones, and other mobile devices.

Please allow me to share some results of this ongoing research to learn more about our youngest generation. By interviewing Gen-Z students researchers found that these kids spend an average of 2 to 5 hours per day in front of screens, with some reporting 9 hours per day accessing media. Some reported getting their first phone in the 5th grade and loving apps. A 10 year old stated that she received 219 text messages in a single day. Gen-Z students describe their school day as using Chromebooks or computers in each class, and if the power goes out they just sit there. Learning for these students is engaging online. What does this expectation say to teachers and teacher education programs about how we need to teach to reach these students?

Gen-Z kids really did learn to use tablets often before they could talk, and their parents frequently shared baby photos on social media as soon as these children were born. Gen-Z kids report communicating today almost entirely through screens using images and video, often self-created, along with words. Multimedia is the language in which they communicate. They are more open on social media than Millennials, and also more realistic when it comes to costs because they lived through the recession.

The article does a nice job of following technology use through the existing generations today: The Greatest Generation listened to the radio, the Boomers watched TV, GenX used computers, Millennials use the Internet, and Gen-Z are mobile screen users and creators. This research is being conducted to inform all areas of society where these newest workers are beginning to graduate high school this year and fill positions. Will Gen-Z expect college online? Will they prefer to work from home? How and what will they purchase? All of these expectation from the Gen-Z kids who are used to constant attention from social media connections will determine the direction society moves. Anyone watching the presidential primary process can see how candidates are attuned to capturing the attention and support of these newest voters.

So how do schools and universities need to prepare these students to be productive citizens and lifelong learners? I suggest that we build upon their strengths and interests utilizing technology as a vehicle for learning. We make students creators and encourage them to share their learning with the world. We help them connect with a variety of people to solve real-world problems and act on their suggestions. We teach remembering that it's all about our students and preparing them for the society and world in which they will need to live and contribute. Provide students choice in technology tools and projects used to learn and demonstrate learning, and be willing to learn from these true digital natives. All the best as you empower Gen-Z to positively impact the world.

Five Things You Can Do This Summer to Integrate Technology in Meaningful Ways This Fall

It's summer! School is out! Teachers have just told their students to keep reading over the summer so they don't lose all the progress they made this year. And practice your math facts so you come back in the fall ready to move on to even more challenging math concepts. Have fun but remember to take time to practice your skills too.

And teachers this is my challenge to you as well, keep playing with technology over the summer so you come back in the fall ready to integrate technology in meaningful ways. Here are five things you can do this summer to be ready to help your students use technology to learn this fall.

1. Visit TechEDGE01 on YouTube to explore some tech tools for Mobile Learning in the Classroom. Select from over 250 short videos arranged by grade level and topic to learn some new tools and how you might integrate them into your teaching this fall. Some topics you will enjoy visiting yourself this summer before taking your students there this fall: summer reading apps, history apps, geography games, poetry apps, and online museums.

2. Subscribe to the FreeTech4Teachers blog by Richard Byrne for updates on what's new in technology. His short blog posts present a new tool and tips on how to use it. One idea I just got from his blog that I will try in the coming days is wideo.co to create videos with interactive embed buttons to take viewers to websites and other locations for more information.

3. Create a blog to organize your teaching content for fall. Take that paper newsletter and turn it into a blog post for parents. Include links to websites and apps you want to recommend. I suggest Blogger.com for an easy blog to create and post. When your students create multimedia projects you can easily link them here to share.

4. Enrich one fall unit with technology. Review the TPACK model and add technology knowledge to your content and pedagogy. What technology could take students' learning to the next level? How could technology help students learn the most current content? (Reproduced by permission of the publisher, © 2012 by tpack.org)

5. Play with tools! Have fun! Explore! The wonder of mobile technology is that it works outside too! Take your device to the beach with you. Take pictures, video, then turn it into a multimedia presentation with the touch of a button. Two of my favorite tools to do this are Puppet EDU and Haiku Deck. Now that you know the procedure you can have students create one when they return about all the exciting things they did over the summer!

One Ream of Paper

I recently talked to a teacher who said their school now provides one ream of paper per teacher each quarter. Wikipedia defines a ream as 500 sheets of writing paper. If the average class size is 25 students, then one ream would allow a teacher to copy 20 one-page assignments each quarter. Currently I see about 4 reams of copied math worksheets arrive each Monday in many classes. But I see this changing as classrooms get 1:1 devices, use Google Classroom, and adopt online textbooks.

Since the first of the year the schools I supervise are now 1:1 Chromebooks for grades three through five. At the beginning of the semester when given the choice by teachers to get a hard-covered reading text or access the online version, I observed most students using the traditional paper text. It was familiar, and although these anthologies are heavy, students know how to find information in them quickly. As the semester progressed more teachers began posting assignments in Google Classroom. Now students have their Chromebooks on their desks with one tab open to Google Classroom. Teachers post a beginning question for students to post their prediction about what will happen in the story. Then they read the predictions of others in their class and respond to them. This whole building background process takes less than five minutes, every student has the chance to answer the question, they collaborate with others online, they are prepared for the lesson, AND they learn how to use an online management system!

By the end of the semester things had changed. Chromebooks were out on desks, one tab was open to Google Classroom, AND another tab was open to the curriculum website. Rather than handing out paper graphic organizers or questions, students access and complete these tools online. Students are using the curriculum website for more than practice activities; 90% of students now given the choice to read from the paper text or digital text select the online version.

Things are changing as traditional paper hits the digital world. And this allows the types of activities students do to change as well. Rather than completing graphic organizers, they can now create their own. Instead of answering worksheet questions students can create multimedia presentations that demonstrate comprehension. Every student can respond through Google Forms where data is collected and used by the teacher to inform instruction. And students can collaborate on projects with accountability as each person's online contribution is stamped with date and time.

So what's next? Perhaps one ream of paper per semester? Many of the teachers I work with are going paperless. We need continued research and instruction on new literacies to help students effectively read and compose online. Donald Leu and colleagues at the New Literacies Research Lab at the University of Connecticut are collecting informative data about how students read and research online and what assessment of online reading comprehension may look like. Articles on new literacies are appearing regularly in literacy journals. I suggest reading Leu's Preparing Students for the 21st Century: How can teachers incorporate new literacies into elementary classrooms. And teachers are learning daily how to best empower students with support in online environments. I am very interested to know what you are finding helpful in your classes.

The One-Hour STEAM Challenge!

This is part 2 sharing my visit to Amazing Grace and Renton Prep Christian Schools in Seattle. These progressive project-based learning schools daily offer students opportunities for critical thinking, problem solving, experimentation, revision, and producing. Today we explore the One-Hour STEAM Challenge, a project where students are challenged to create a boat that floats in one hour using supplied items.

After explaining the project, the teacher promptly set the timer for one hour and projected it on their large TV screen to keep everyone on task. Brainstorming collaboratively, students designed their project by inking with a design pen on their Surface device to plan their engineering feat. Students then selected building supplies from a range of materials: Peeps marshmallow candy, straws, plastic bottles, straws, duct tape, making tape, plastic tape, paper bags, and more. Listening to students discuss their process, they explained why they decided to use each item in their boat.

After a five minute warning to complete the project, students went to get water to fill the plastic tub where the newly-created boats will be tested to see if they float. One at a time students put their boat on the water as the teacher used a hand-held hair dryer to provide the wind that would move these devices. Will it float? The anticipation rises.

Some boats leaned to one side or the other, as students problem-solved what the designing error could be. Others floated well initially, but as their materials got saturated they began to sink further into the water. Some boats were made with plastic bottles and the air inside provided the buoyancy this project required. Students also realized that using the right type of tape could make other materials hold up in water. Expert teacher questioning led students to evaluate their construction and devise a plan for revision where needed. "Why do you think this boat leans to the left? Will it float in the wind even if it is not symmetrical? What makes you think so? Can you make an adjustment in your design that might help your boat float longer?"

I challenge each teacher to find one time space where your students could engage in a one-hour STEAM challenge. Perhaps it provides a break during testing times, or ties into a science topic. Maybe the design phase is completed during computer time or independent stations, then the building takes place during math or science, with the final testing at the end of the day. Whether the hour is in one block or divided into several shorter timeframes, your students can create to solve problems and answer challenges. Let students document their process using video or pictures which they can turn into a multimedia presentation to explain the project to parents and "the world!" And have fun!

Project-Based Learning Schools in Action!

I just returned from an invigorating visit to Amazing Grace and Renton Prep Christian Schools in Seattle. These schools involve students from PreK-10 in asking questions and devising a plan to find a solution through a process of testing and revising. By adding STEAM content (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Math) to traditional topics in learner-centered ways, these schools are lifted up as "bright spots...with promise for the future" in Calfee & Wilson's (2016) ground-breaking book
Assessing the Common Core: What's Gone Wrong--And How To Get Back On Track, a book I highly recommend. In the coming weeks I will address various examples I encountered as students combined the rich content areas of STEAM with innovative project-based learning pedagogy. For more information and examples of STEAM projects click here: Edutopia.org.

I begin with the youngest students and their projects. Preschool students were studying fairy tales and integrating STEAM in ways I have never seen! As they read each fairy tale they analyzed what problem the character was encountering, then brainstormed ways to help. For example, the day I was there they read The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Their teacher masterfully asked questions to help them analyze the situation: Why do the three billy goats need to cross the bridge? Who lived under the bridge? Why does this cause a problem for the three billy goats gruff? How could all the billy goats get across the river safely without anyone getting hurt? After considering these and other questions, the students decided that they could build a boat to hold all three billy goats so they could cross the stream to go up the hillside to eat, without disturbing the evil troll. So they set out to do just that. Working with a partner they gathered the allowed materials including popsicle sticks, duct tape and masking tape to build a boat that could float holding three goat figures, the required criteria. As they built they talked about what shape the boat should be to float, and how strong it needed to be to hold three goat figures. They experimented with tape to make it waterproof and sturdy. Then they put their creation in the water, placed the three animal figures on top, and tested to see if it would float. Students found multiple ways to safely get the Three Billy Goats Gruff over the bridge without disturbing the evil troll. Project-based learning in action!

During their fairy tale unit these preschoolers also assisted Cinderella in getting home from the ball after her coach turned back into a pumpkin. They decided to create a wind-powered car! Not only did these students find a solution to help a character in need, they also explored an environmental issue of global concern in creating alternative power sources to fuel transportation. After reading Rapunzel students tried to build a tower strong enough to support the prince so he could reach Rapunzel. They developed towers of various heights using newspaper & tape, then placed the prince figure on top to check its strength; design and engineering in action!

Each instance of STEAM Project-Based Learning (PBL) contained similar expectations:
(1) Teacher and students explored a fairy tale together.
(2) Teacher led students in discussing the problem.
(3) Students hypothesized solutions.
(4) They were given limited supplies and limited time to find a solution.
(5) Students collaborated to create something to solve the problem.
(6) They tested their creations against the criteria, made adjustments if needed, and retested.
(7) They captured their process using technology.
(8) They proudly shared their creations and clearly explained what they made, why they made it, and what they learned.

Are you teaching a unit where STEAM PBL could be incorporated into student-centered learning? I challenge you to try and let me know what you do! We are creating the innovative problem-solvers our global society needs now and in the future.