Teacher Spotlight - Standley Lake High School Summer Reading Program with Tanya Jensen, Digital Teacher Librarian

First year Digital Teacher Librarian, Tanya Jensen, has been collaborating with the Jefferson County Public Library (JCPL) and her English teachers to develop a website that supports summer reading at Standley Lake High School. The website functions like GoodReads, but has been created specifically for students; high schoolers can write reviews and search for titles based on genre and recommendations. In addition, the staff will participate and add their reviews to the website. The school's vision is to grow the site so that it is an easy way for students to locate books of interest, based on peer reviews. Students can also submit suggestions for books they want the library to purchase in the future.

The summer reading program has changed from giving students a list of books they have to choose from, to allowing students the freedom to select any book they want. Students that don’t know which book to choose will now have this peer-generated list of recommended books to guide them. In their English class next fall, with the support of the Digital Teacher Librarian, students will write book summaries and reviews for the website.

The kick off for the summer reading program at SLHS is during during Literacy Week, which falls from April 24th-28th. The JCPL team and Tanya are working together to introduce the students to as many books as possible in a short amount of time through a book speed dating activity. There will be tables based on genre, and the students will peruse the books for five minutes at each table to determine where their interests lie. Students will be provided with bookmarks to jot down interesting books they discovered. If students find a title they want to check out, they will be able to do so through JCPL. On Friday, April 28th, Barnes and Noble will visit the school for a mini book fair, where students will be able to purchase books that match their interests.

The staff is excited about this exciting new website, and they feel this will be a better fit for students to find books that match their interests. The JCPL summer reading program entices teens to read through the summer by awarding an Eliche's 1-day pass to the first 5,000 readers, achieving 8 hours or more. The Jefferson County high school with the most readers will receive an $800 prize.

Link to SLHS Summer Reading Website

Speed Dating with Jefferson County Public Library

TED-Ed Ignites a DTL's Journey to Bring Coding to Girls

It is a definition that tells the story of our teacher spotlight this week. Tobye Ertelt, Digital Teacher Librarian at Oberon Middle School embodies the definition of flexible: "characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements".   It is the combination of adaptation, innovation and flexible exploration that led Tobye to be the spotlight of today’s blog post. Over the past year, Tobye was motivated to explore innovation after meeting retired lawyer Reshma Saujani, who took a chance to pursue a passion and as a result, inspired thousands of young ladies around the world. Additionally, Tobye found herself moved by the story of Logan Smalley, a TED Fellow, who is the brains behind TED-Ed (TED's youth and education initiative). These two inspiring stories incited a passion for exploration and innovation leading to new opportunities for Oberon students today.

In the spring of 2016, after a visit to a TED-Ed conference, Tobye filled out a feedback form and applied to become a TED-Ed Innovator. The questions posed in that feedback form opened a door to share a topic that has been core to Ms. Ertelt's heart,  "What is ethical behavior in the 21st century?" She inherently believes that we, as educators and adults, have done a great disservice to our students separating digital behavior from everyday behavior. And so it is with this essential question that a new door opened for Tobye, leading her to become 1 of 30 educators from 11 different countries selected for the honor of joining the third cohort of TED-Ed Innovative Educators. Our own Tobye Ertelt is one out of an initial group of over 1100 educators who took a chance to challenge each other to collaboratively find solutions to questions and issues facing today's students.

Tobye's TED-Ed adventure has included a wide array of experiences. The process has evolved from the initial stages of video conferencing with an array of outstanding educators to defining, refining, and brainstorming solutions.  This led to the culmination of presenting those completed projects on the TED stage in New York City.  As Tobye expressed, it has been humbling and energizing work. Collaborating with such an extraordinarily diverse group of educators with a passion for innovation has allowed differing perspectives and ideas to grow one another's initial concepts.  This synergistic energy led to the creation of Oberon's  TED-Ed Club for students.  It is a weekly opportunity for students to creatively explore ideas and interests of their own, following that same model of collaborative problem solving that inspired the club's creation.

At the TED-Ed  Conference, Tobye attended a session on coding that captivated her - Girls Who Code. She met with the founder Reshma Saujani and after hearing her passionate story and desire to even the playing field in technology for girls. Tobye was immediately inspired to begin a Girls Who Code club at Oberon.  Knowing her middle school audience, Tobye was well aware that the boys would want to have the same opportunity.  She modified her original pursuit of a Girls Who Code club to create Oberon's own Guys & Girls Coding club (G2 Coding Club). Students meet once a week with Ms. Ertelt & fellow teacher Mr. Waalkes during their lunch period to engage in various levels of coding: creating apps, games, programs, and exploring with robotics.

Leading by example, Ms. Ertelt has not only modeled the struggle and discomfort that comes from challenging oneself and trying new things, she carries that passion forward to inspire students to take on that process themselves.  Tobye shared with the TED-Ed community her reason for teaching, "I was born to be an educator. I love watching people find value and inspiration in learning, and I love being a part of that experience. I think it is very satisfying when you are a part of the productive struggle to create a new learning, experience or product.” Not only is Tobye a positive component of that intellectual struggle for students, but she has fostered supportive pathways for each to engage and grow themselves.

Albert Schweitzer said it best when he said, “Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.”  Great job Tobye, setting that example and providing opportunites for students to engage in the thinking and learning.

Kullerstrand Robotics & Coding Club- Bringing STEM to Life

Teaching with Passion

Kyle Walker, the Digital Teacher Librarian at Kullerstrand Elementary, shares the passion of robotics and coding with his students. This year, with the help of a generous donor, Kyle started the Robotics and Coding club at his school. Every Monday afternoon, students collaborate and work together to engineer a robot that can be coded to perform unique tasks.

Community Connection

Kyle has reached out to various community members to help build career connections between computer science and robotics. The School of Mines Robotics Club made a visit earlier this year and shared their own robotics project and mentored the students. Jason Roadman, an engineer at NREL visited the club and shared some of his own engineering expertise with wind turbines, allowing students to build real world connections.

Competitions

Want to see the Robotic club in action? The club will be competing in a VEX Robotics tournament at Red Hawk Elementary School in Erie on February 11th. For this competition, student groups will design, build, and control a robot for the playing field. The robot will complete various challenges like moving objects over a fence, placing objects in containers, and balancing the robot on a seesaw-like bridge. Students will learn to use professional job skills completing these tasks such as teamwork, communication, and time management.

Interview with Kyle Walker

How did you decide which platform to use?

“I knew the two main platforms were VEX and LEGO Mindstorms, so when I attended ISTE last summer, I spent some time observing both exhibition booths. I also researched online.  The other big factor for me was how convenient it would be for my students to attend local competitions. I found out that there is a strong VEX presence up in the St. Vrain Schools system, and they host competitions within easy driving distance. I contacted them and spent an afternoon with one of their robotics clubs to get ideas on how to start my own. The VEX platform for elementary is called VEX IQ. These are primarily plastic parts and are simpler and less expensive. Once you get into middle school, you move up to the option of using VEX EDR. These are primarily metal robots, which are more elaborate and more expensive”.

How are coding skills used in the design of the robots?

“It’s possible to do entry-level robotics, and even participate in competitions without doing any coding at all. There are three ways to compete, and only one of them requires the programming of an autonomous robot. VEX robots can be programmed using any of the four different software/languages. I went with RobotC because it’s an industry standard, and it’s an excellent transition between graphical coding and text-based coding. In other words, if your kids are already familiar with graphical coding (i.e. Code.org, Scratch, Hopscotch, etc.), RobotC’s graphical version moves just a little bit further toward text-based coding without the students having to actually type anything other than the occasional value. In fact, the text of the code is fully visible right there on the graphical components that they connect together to write their programs. Where does coding come into play with robotics? When you want to make your robot do anything other than the standard drive-it-around-and-move-the-arm business, you’re going to have to program it to do so. If you want it to go faster or slower than the default, you’ll have to program it. If you want it to do anything based on the input of its sensors (light sensors, distance sensors, color sensors, bumper sensors, touch sensors, gyroscope), you’ll have to use code to program it with what the values of those sensors should be and what you want the robot to do in response. For example, you could write code that tells the robot to turn 180 degrees and go in the other direction if it comes within 100 millimeters of an obstacle. I had some girls whose robot arm wasn’t moving fast enough to push down a lever, so they had to learn the code to make the motor that turns that arm faster, in order to give it sufficient velocity. With the coding aspect of robotics, you can go as deep as you are willing to go, but it’s always connected to your design. It’s always fulfilling some aspect of what you need the robot to do”.

What advice would you give to someone starting a club?

“Advice for starting a club: Reach out and find others who are doing so! It’s not necessary to go in completely blind. And look ahead and determine what your long-range goals are. Because you are going to be investing a lot of money in the materials, you don’t want to find yourself down the road with an excited group of students who can’t go to any competitions because the competitions for your chosen platform are all in another state. It would be better for Jeffco to decide on its platform together (VEX! VEX! VEX!) so we can begin to host our own competitions and not have to worry about travel much at all. As far as money is concerned, this will depend a lot on your population. Many parents would be excited about this and your PTA might be a great source. But local tech businesses might be willing to sponsor a school team too, so look outside your building. Put some of the responsibility on the students and have them put together a business plan and do their own fundraiser. Space and organization: My library is a wreck right now. Robotics activities need a work space, and you need a place to store the parts. I bought little plastic bins and organized them that way, but now I need a better place to put all these bins. Teach responsibility and organization: The kids need to take responsibility for a lot of things in a robotics club, so make this one of your main themes. We have adopted “professionalism” as our theme, and I make the kids accountable to being professional in the club and in the classroom. We operate on a “3 strikes you’re out” policy – they have to turn in all their classwork and behave for their teachers. I remind the teachers to use this as leverage in the classroom. So far, it’s paid off”.

Want to start your own Robotics Club and help prepare your students for future careers? Check out Kyle’s website and these additional resources to get started.

Vex Robotics
Vex Crossover Competition

Technology is not a Dessert

Often times in education, technology is viewed as a piece of "curriculum dessert," a tasty tidbit that only gets touched after the content is taught and the students need to demonstrate their learning at the end of a unit. Technology isn't a dessert at Swanson Elementary, it's the fork that helps the students digest their learning. Here, Kendra Geise, Elizabeth Hall, and Crystal Parson (the 3/4 literacy and social studies team) have made daily technology integration part of their classroom culture.

The team credits the school's administration, digital teacher librarian, Shannon Feely, and technology committee for creating a shared belief among the staff that technology has a valuable place in the education of their students. "We don't do tech for tech's sake. That's not okay. It's not about the bells and whistles," Shannon shares. Instead, it's about the shared value of taking risks and failing. "[At Swanson] it’s okay to go ahead without knowing the answers. We don’t know how it’s going to work, but we are going to try it," she says. "Our teachers know good instruction and they know how to get the best from our kids." Shannon has trained the teachers on how to use technology to redefine their instruction. Rather than having students consume content through technology, the students are creating, collaborating, communicating and critically thinking in ways that were once inconceivable without the use of technology. At first, "It was all about the app, and now it's just the way we do things," the team says. "We are being more reflective on our practices. We stopped creating huge projects and are making small changes every day. We are picking 3 or 4 things [students] can use really well for productivity, rather than a whole bunch of new things. The students are becoming more proficient at using them and they really know what the tool can do."

Kendra, Crystal and Elizabeth also believe Google Classroom, a tool that creates a digital workflow for students and teachers, is another factor that has challenged and changed the way they are planning and delivering content to their students. "We are always thinking about where we can add technology...We think about what we are going to share with our kids in [Google] Classroom and what questions we can ask." Google Classroom has allowed the team to to be more effective with its assessment and its differentiation. The teachers make more exit tickets, collect more data, and provide more instant feedback than they had in the past. Google Classroom has had an impact on the team's students, as well. Students are more organized, they know what to get done, and they can see what's missing. There's no longer a question as to whether or not an assignment has been completed, and student's aren't singled out when work is incomplete or needs to be redone.

The path to integrating technology hasn't always been seamless. The team was purposeful in teaching digital citizenship to its students and modeled clear expectations about using the technology for learning. At the core of it all was an honest conversation with their students about respect for people and respect for their educational tools. Kendra, Crystal and Elizabeth trust their students to make responsible choices with their technology; the trust can be easily broken, but it can be earned back. The team has also worked through its fair share of technology glitches. The teachers' advice? "Be okay with those screw-ups when tech goes wrong. Turn it into a teaching moment. The kids are resilient with technology. They can problem solve the things [teachers] are fearful of and can figure it out before we will. They are the greatest teachers. You have to trust yourself that you are just as resilient as they are."

Check out the video to see what Swanson's 4th grade students have to say about technology in their classroom!

What's all this talk about a MakerSpace?

You’ve probably heard the word thrown around in certain circles. People casually dropping the catchy word, MakerSpace, like it’s no big deal. You smile and nod but don’t really know what they’re talking about. It sounds fun and STEM-like but it sounds a little intimidating.

So what IS all this buzz about a MakerSpace?

A MakerSpace is just what it sounds like...a SPACE to MAKE! Makerspaces provide students with the opportunity to create, learn, invent and make, using a variety of different resources. From Legos to robots, straws to 3D printers, the sky's the limit when it comes to innovation. And even with tight budgets - scrappy DTLs and teachers have found great ways to include some incredible resources.

So you might be wondering, “How does that work in a school?”

Great question.

Keri Douglas is the DTL at Deane Elementary School located in Lakewood, CO. She got her MakerSpace up and running in the library this year. She’s a rookie, too, so hopefully her journey can inspire you, as you embark down the MakerSpace road.

What sparked your MakerSpace curiosity?

I took a Maker Culture class through CU Denver a few years ago while completing a Masters. A seed was planted as this was the first time I had heard about MakerSpace. I went to a MakerFaire at Denver Museum of Nature and Science with my sons and was so inspired. The whole idea was overwhelming, so I did not begin to act on it for 2 years.

How does the MakerSpace work at Deane?

We've been a PLC school for years and have had trouble with substitutes. We have used several models and schedules that weren't as effective as we'd hoped. Our leadership team was brainstorming last year, and we came up with using our talents/resources from within. The amazing library para/IT specialist, Amos Baca, and I created a MakerSpace as part of that solution. We are a great team as we see the same vision for students engaged in STEM activities. Students come once a month to the MakerSpace in the library to do STEM activities and MakerSpace challenges while their teachers are in PLCs.

How did you get started?

I have been saving Book Fair money for a few years. I started there. I tried to focus on what resources we already had and started small. We knew we wanted a LEGO wall, so that's where we focused the bulk of our monies. We also had a LEGO drive and collected pieces from our community through Facebook and my neighborhood website. We partnered with the Lakewood Faith Coalition and they have been helping with Legos also.

I got rid of our “lookup station” and it is now a workstation. I purchased stools and got rid of the bulky chairs. I purchased bins for supplies. We purchased inexpensive consumables: duct tape, straws, plastic cups, pipe cleaners, washi tape, origami paper, binder clips, paper roller coaster templates, craft sticks, clothes pins, and books for ideas (LEGO creations, Easy Origami ideas, Duct tape ideas). We also purchased some TinkerToys, Snap Circuits, and Spheros. Every activity has challenge cards so there is a focus and purpose.

For our official KickOff, we had a MakerFaire instead of a Book Fair for two nights during conferences. Families loved it and stayed for hours. They are now coming back to volunteer on their child’s STEM/MakerSpace time.

Teachers can now use the MakerSpace for their science and social studies lessons. I collaborated with a 6th grade teacher who used the MakerSpace for students to create a student-chosen project that represented the theme of an independent book. It was exciting!

What advice do you have for those wanting to dip their toes into the Makerspace world?

Start with what you have and build up. I gathered materials and money for awhile before I actually started to implement. I was able to easily find ideas online, Twitter and on Pinterest. They inspired me for lessons and supplies. I also have a purpose and/or challenge for each activity.

What resources can you share with others?

I could not find task/challenge cards that I liked so I made my own.

I follow on Twitter: @DianaLRendina, @Makerspaces_com, @gravescolleen.

I love Pinterest!

There are many DTLs in Jeffco already immersed in MakerSpaces. This is just one tale of greatness happening out in our schools. So whether you’re already swimming in the deep end of the MakerSpace pool or just dipping your toes in at the shallow end, keep up the great innovation. Our students are learning from you!

How does the MakerSpace work in your school? Comment below! We’d love to hear your ideas!

Google Expeditions: West Woods Students Take Author Roland Smith to Mt. Everest

How do you integrate technology into an author visit? Take the author on a trip to his own setting. Fifth graders at West Woods Elementary not only met author Roland Smith but invited him to climb Mt. Everest with them.  Students in Ms. Bachman's class were reading "Peak", one of Smith's many novels when the author himself came for an assembly to talk about the writing process. Armed with Google Cardboards and the Expeditions app, fifth graders were able to take a tour of Mt. Everest through virtual reality as the author narrated. Students were amazed at the details and facts Mr. Smith shared with them about Mt. Everest as he was looking through the Google Cardboard.  They asked him several follow-up questions about how he acquires so much information and the research that goes into his writing process.

Later in class, students participated in a full expedition to Everest with Digital Teacher Librarian, Kristen McCann.  "Watching students engage in their learning and the connections that students were able to make to the text because of the experience was phenomenal," stated Kristen.

Student conversations and questions overheard:
 --"I don't think Holly will make it to the summit because she has not prepared her body physically or acclimated to the environment."
--"I am wondering if Peak’s experience climbing skyscrapers will be enough to tackle Everest."
--"What do these people do for jobs way up here?"

Patti Katsampes, West Woods principal, was also able to partake in the expedition with students.  She marveled at how the experience brought together best practices in tech integration and instruction while bringing a real-world experience to the classroom, deepening their learning. Screenshots and an interview with Ms. Katsampes is included in the slideshow below.



Expeditions works in conjunction with Google Cardboard and iTouches or smartphones.  One device acts as a guide, while all others have devices to follow in a 360 degrees photosphere. The guide can direct points of interest and followers will see white arrows appear on their screen.  The guide sees smiley faces on their device so they know where their participants are focusing. Expeditions also provides the guide with content right on the screen.
Kristen has words of advice for those ready to embark on an Expedition: "Consider learning objectives and essential questions when planning for an expedition.  What do you want students to walk away with? How will they synthesize what they learned?  I can't wait for our next virtual trip.  Maybe we will explore Mayan or Aztec ruins. To infinity and beyond!"

Learn more from Google's Expeditions website 

How does a Jeffco teacher get started?
Contact your Ed Tech Specialist.

Student Spotlight: Einstein has Nothing on These Geniuses

Genius Hour = Engagement x Learning2

Fourth graders at Van Arsdale participated in Genius Hour, based on Google's 20% time. This is part of a movement to promote self-directed learning, innovation, creativity, and sharing. Students spend time devoted to a topic of their choice. It is more about the process  than the product. Fourth grade teacher, Dawn Wiley worked with her DTL, Michelle McHugh, to tie Genius Hour to CAP.  "Students were the ones recognizing the cross-curricular connections. They were the ones leading the learning,” remarked Dawn. "I was so impressed with them. Genius Hour brings learning full circle.”

• One student began with a strong interest in fashion-- her work morphed into different styles that change throughout the year. She eventually taught us about the analogous colors on the color wheel.

• Another with a passion for gymnastics dug into how the leotard design impacted movement and pursued sewing her own leotard.

Research on how the design of the leotard affects movement

• One student wanted to know how an ipad worked. He used a broken ipad and chronicled taking it apart in photos.

• Another student learned how to build a glider with his dad and actually took a flying lesson.

What would you tell students and teachers who are new to Genius Hour? 

Ainsley: “To come up with your topic think about things you would like to do or think of topics you would like to learn more about or are curious about. For example, if you are really interested in bikes you may want to learn about how bikes work, how to build a bike, or what types of bikes are new, what they used to be like and how they have advanced through the years."




Michelle (DTL): A teacher may feel apprehensive because it is inquiry based, but it is all about thinking and DOK. It also provides amazing opportunities for incorporating digital citizenship, ISTE standards, ELA, and oral expression. Many students choose science or social studies topics. We defined the difference between interests, hobbies, and passions. 

How to get started:

Begin with helping students select a topic and ask a "non-Google-able" question. This is challenging. Dawn and Michelle used the analogy of a watermelon and seeds. The watermelon is the big idea; the seeds are all of the details. Students start with a great big idea (the watermelon) and want to get to the specifics (the seeds).  After students choose their topic, they write three inquiry based questions. Dawn and Michelle used Google Classroom for pre-assessment, progress monitoring, and daily class communication. They suggest using a notecatcher for students to record their information. Finally, students need to have time to reflect on the process and the learning, not just present their information.

CAP Connections

When Dawn and Michelle began to plan Genius Hour, they started with CAP. ISTE technology standards were integrated into the writing curriculum through their collaboration. They focused on bringing it into writing, determining importance, determining reliable resources, and identifying criteria for a reliable resource. They talked about such skills as: "How do you search in Google?  How do you know this is a reliable resource?"

Learning points for next time:

• As a teacher, blog or journal  about your Genius Hour nightly.

• Caution students to focus on the topic, not the presentation tool

• Using Explain Everything on the iPads was a great way to keep the work at school, driven by students, not completed by parents.

Michelle’s advice- Go in with a growth mindset.  You are not the keeper of the knowledge. You are adjusting instruction every day. It is a huge opportunity for you to learn about yourself as a teacher and a learner. Make sure students are blogging or doing some type of exit ticket. They get so excited. You have to help them channel that excitement.

“It really pushed my thinking as a teacher.”- Dawn Wiley

Resources:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/03/09/living/genius-hour-education-schools/
http://www.livebinders.com/play/play?id=829279
www.geniushour.com

Utilizing Technology for Formative Assessment and Differentiation in the Classroom

Alyssa Davidson teaches 9th grade Earth Science at Ralston Valley High School. Instead of relying on a predetermined lesson plan, Davidson uses formative assessment to guide student learning and direct instruction. I recently observed Davidson to see how she integrated technology and formative assessment into her instruction. Upon entering the classroom on Monday morning students were immediately engaged in the learning content. Davidson invited students to take a short four question Socrative quiz to help determine where they were in their learning. Davidson clearly explained to the students that no points were attached to the formative assessment. This made students feel at ease and comfortable to answer the questions to their best ability. The class then discussed the answers to the quiz questions. To stay mobile in the classroom, Davidson controlled what appeared on the class SMARTboard through her iPad. Airserver is an easy, inexpensive tool to enable mobility in the classroom. By using the AirPlay feature on your iPad and Airserver software onto the device that is attached to your projector (laptop or desktop computer with a wireless card installed) you have the ability to mirror content from your iPad onto your projector.

Students then used the data feedback from the quiz to determine the next steps in their learning. Davidson asked students who missed one or more questions or just wanted more instruction on the prior content to join her in one side of the room. Students who answered all of the questions correctly were allowed to move on and begin exploring a new topic. Davidson provided these students with reading materials and Ed Puzzle videos to hold their engagement. Ed Puzzle is a web tool that allows you take any video from YouTube, vimeo, Khan Academy, etc. and adjust it to meet your specific needs. Questions and comments can be added throughout the video.

As students moved on to their individualized content, Davidson started a Pear Deck Activity. Pear Deck is an interactive presentation tool used to actively engage students in social learning. Davidson has been using Pear Deck for a little over a year. She finds it very easy to use because the interface is intuitive and the customization options are limited. This forces students to focus on the content and questions rather than the appearance of the deck. While there is a free version available, Davidson prefers the paid version for her Earth Science classes. The drag-able and drawing questions are critical for diagram interpretation and she has the ability to collect more rigorous data about student understanding than the traditional multiple choice platform. Davidson recently surveyed her students and found that “Pear Deck was the activity in class that best supports student learning and is the most enjoyable. It has also made students more comfortable making mistakes. Since there is an ask again option, they know that if their response is incorrect or needs some editing, they will be able to revise it”.

Davidson’s classroom reflects a learning environment where students are curious, engaged and in control of their own learning. By utilizing tech tools, Davidson is able to provide a unique learning experience.
If you would like to try Pear Deck here are some of Davidson's tips for success:

• Use the free trial wisely, make the most of your 30 days!
• Read the Pear Deck blog, they share some fantastic content
• Show your students how to access the Takeaways at the end of your first presentation. 
• Email Pear Deck if you have questions, it’s a small team and they respond quickly. 

For more information on how to get started using Pear Deck in your classroom, check out the following video.

Need more help? Contact the Ed Tech Team

Teacher Spotlight: Bob Santone, Math Teacher

Bob Santone, Math teacher at Jefferson Jr/Sr High School, uses his interest in educational technology to help his students apply math in real life. He integrates technology into lessons and projects so that students see, hear and do the math.

In class he uses the whiteboard to display his instruction, and a TV with AirPlay to have students display their work without interrupting the flow of the lesson on the board. Other students use both these visual aids to stay on track.

On their iPads, students click on the web links in the Schoology assignment, upload the PDF of the lesson into Notability, open the Desmos graphing calculator - switching from one app to another with a quick double-click of the Home button to apply their learning.

The brief video gives a glimpse of his class in action, showing students app-smashing and Bob's use of Nearpod's drawing function for real-time formative assessment and correcting misconceptions on the spot.

Link to video

Bob can direct the lesson on his iPad from the back of the class using AirServer as he walks around giving students just-in-time help, or he can use the SMARTboard to toggle between his SMART notebook lesson, Schoology, Google Drive, information websites, and his iPad with its myriad of powerful apps.

The students have access to iPads, a few class Chromebooks and graphing calculators, and many use more than one device simultaneously in order to have multiple displays and work more efficiently or collaboratively.

For deeper learning on any of these applications, use the Ed Tech website, or contact us for help. Thank you, Bob, for the inspiration!

Teacher Spotlight: A Morning in the Life of a 1:1 Classroom

It’s just after 8:00 am at Molholm Elementary as I walk into Amy Clink’s 1st/2nd split classroom. There’s the quiet stillness in the room. You know the one. That moment when everything is ready to be learned...just waiting for eager minds to reach out and grab it.

From the moment you walk into her classroom, you know you are not in the average classroom. Amy’s classroom set-up is a bit unconventional. Desks are in the familiar pod groupings but desks are at different heights. Tall desks are for students who want to work standing up and low desks for students who prefer to kneel. There are exercise balls and T-stools (stools for balance) for sitting. It’s clear right away that students are the focus of her teaching style.

(You can read more about her unique set up in the Lakewood Sentinel. )

The students come in with a fresh dusting of snow on their shoes. As they stomp it off,  Ms. Clink gives the directions and within minutes, learning is off and running while students settle in for Dictado.

Ms. Clink reads the Dictado for today and students begin to write. When they are finished. She plays a video of her doing the writing. Dictado requires that teachers model the correct writing of what the teacher has just dictated. Amy records the Dictado using the recorder in SMART Notebook, then plays the video for them. She can stop it and rewind it as needed. But because she’s not chained to the board modeling the writing, she can walk around to monitor her students’ progress. She is interacting with her students, checking their work, rather than standing with her back to the class.

 As the students move on to their Literacy Block time, there is an excitement in the air as they grab their iPads.

Molholm is in its third year of being a 1:1 iPad school. Amy was starting her second full year of teaching and was eager to jump into the work. But she will be the first person to tell you that it’s not all about the iPads. It’s more important to pick the right tool for the work.

As students move on to their Literacy Block, Ms. Clink goes through the directions for every activity. Throughout this time, they have a classroom discussion on which tool or tools would be best for the work. For example, for “Read to Someone”, they would use MyON on the iPad because each person can have their own copy of the book. But for “Read to Self”, they would choose a book from their “Book Bag”.

But the discussion goes beyond just a book vs. iPad. The students also discuss what tool on the iPad they might use. Ms. Clink shows the “Work on Writing” group a “Look It Up Quiz” where students will answer questions about weather. Students share the different apps or websites that will help them look up the right answers to the quiz.

And then, one student mentions that he lost iPad privileges and students discuss his options.

Amy admits that having  clear iPad expectations and sticking to them is key to successful iPad integration. She does random iPad checks with her students. During a free moment, she will pick up an iPad and quickly check the books in MyON and the history in Safari.  Most of the time, students stick to the guidelines, because students don’t want the consequence. But she always has an alternate activity for students that lost their iPad privileges.

Click here for Amy's Top Five Tips on Tech Integration

A small group of students quickly gathers at the table. She has MyON pulled up on her iPad and she shows them a book. Students quietly search for the book and add it to their shelves. She explains that MyON is not just an app for students to use independently. She uses it with small groups because she can guarantee that each student will have a copy of the book - not always true when you’re vying for books in the Book Room.

As the Literacy Block winds down and math ramps up, Ms. Clink takes the time for a Brain Break. She is passionate about Zumba and has passed this on to her students. She keeps a playlist of songs at the ready so her students can easily enjoy a fun break.

After the break, students know it’s time to start math. Teaching math in a 1st/2nd split is no easy feat. But her classroom runs like a well oiled machine and the technology definitely makes it easier.

Amy utilizes files that she has created in SMART Notebook to get the students’ math engines revving.

As they move into the lesson, Ms Clink has students use the app, Number Pieces, to help solve math problems. Remember all those painstaking hours spent passing out manipulatives to students? The passing out of white boards and markers that always ran dry. And then all of those bits and skinnies...Inevitably, they were lost, chewed or even thrown across the room. This app is the answer.

With the app, students have access to all the manipulatives they need with the touch of a finger.

She AirServes Number Pieces on her iPad as she writes an addition problem for her students. They all quickly start to solve in, using a method that works best for them.

Click here for more of Amy's Innovative Ideas

Then, students “pop in” to AirServer to show their work. So all students can see the thinking of many and check their work.

Suddenly, Ms. Clink announces they will continue the learning after lunch, and there is a sigh of sadness.

As they get ready for lunch, I ask Amy about her teaching with technology philosophy.Her response is simple:

I’m a facilitator more than I am a teacher.

It’s their learning.

I give them the tools and knowledge that they need

...and they shape it.

I believe that if you asked her students they would believe that they’re in charge of their learning. And they love to learn.

Teacher Spotlight: 2nd Grade Animal Adaptation eBooks

The second grade classrooms at Swanson Elementary buzz with movement and conversation as excited students proudly display their work to their parents and peers. At first look, it is obvious that this is not the typical classroom. Kids and parents alike don earphones and fixate on the many iPad screens on display throughout the classrooms, depicting videos and eBooks of student work. Conversations ring through the air as parents ask questions and students describe the process of creating their eBooks. This is a 21st Century Classroom. 

2nd Grade Animal Adaptations at Swanson Elementary

Be sure to bypass iBoss to view the YouTube Video

The challenge of incorporating technology into what seems like an impossibly full curriculum often feels like a daunting task. But what Swanson's digital teacher librarian, Shannon Feely, understands is that technology doesn't have to be "just another thing." When done well, technology transforms the required curriculum into engaging learning experiences that are rigorous and cross-curricular.

In October, Shannon began the process of working with second grade teachers Christy Doody and Erin Praznik to determine how technology could be incorporated into the second grade C-CAP unit Cause and Effect: Survival, Organisms, and the Environment. Although some second grade teachers in the district have students create a fictional animal and describe how that animal's fictional adaptations would help it survive, Feely, Doody and Praznik were looking to take this project to a more rigorous level of learning and incorporate a variety of content areas. Their idea: collaborate with art teacher Aimee Pickar, and have students create a fictional animal and model it out of clay; use technology to research the animal's potential environment; draw and build a diorama of the animal's habitat; use the writing process to describe the animal's habitat and adaptations; combine all of the pieces into a ThingLink1; and allow students the opportunity to showcase their work to parents and peers in a grand opening of their "zoo."

To kick off their project-based learning, Doody and Praznik wanted to engage and excite their second graders. What better way to do so than to dress up as zoo keepers and tell their students that the school just purchased their very own zoo? Unfortunately, the zoo was missing one thing... animals! It would be up to the students to create their own animals to fill the zoo. The teachers even invited a real zoo keeper to come to Swanson and speak to the kids about animal adaptations!

Each week, students progressed through the various stages of the project. To the untrained eye, one may see a commotion of movement and noise. But if that person took the time to carefully observe, they would see the depth of what is truly happening: students hard at work, thoughtfully incorporating the 4 C's into each piece of their project.

• Creativity: Students thinking outside of the box to create, draw, and model an original animal with unique adaptations. 
• Critical Thinking: Students determining how their animal's adaptations will allow them to survive in a specific habitat: arctic, ocean, rainforest, and desert. 
• Communication: Students communicating their learning about their animal, its adaptations and its habitat through writing and vocal recordings. 
• Collaboration: Students working with and relying on the wisdom and knowledge of their peers and teachers to have meaningful conversations and make thoughtful decisions throughout the project.

Nearly finished with the project, the team of teachers and students hit a roadblock; ThingLink was not working properly on district devices at the time. Not willing to give up on the hard work the students and teachers had accomplished, Feely needed a new plan to tie the learning all together. She decided students would take their photos, videos and written paragraphs, once intended for ThingLink, and combine them into an eBook using the app Book Writer One.

The eBook required students to compile artifacts they had created and organize them onto 5 pages:

1. A cover with picture of the student's animal and its habitat
2. A paragraph introducing the animal, including a photograph of their clay model in front of its habitat.
3. A description of the animals habitat, including an image of the habitat gathered from the internet. 
4. A paragraph describing the animal's adaptions, including a photograph of the students' labeled drawing. 
5. The student's zoo keeper video, in which the student verbally presented the written report they authored in their writing class. 

In December, the project came to a close when the second grade zoologists clipped on their zoo ID badges, and parents and peers flooded the gates of their zoo's grand opening. Through the work of the students, Feely, Doody, Praznik and Pickar, the community was able to see the value technology holds as a tool to increase learning and engagement across the curriculum.


1ThingLink is a web 2.0 tool and tagging platform that allows the user to layer their images and videos with web links, photo, texts, videos, polls, Google products and other great content.

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Teacher Spotlight: Google Mystery Hangout

Mr. Bahlmann’s 4th grade class at Deane Elementary sits on the edge of their seat while the familiar tune of Google Hangouts rings throughout their classroom.

“Oh no!” says Digital Teacher Librarian Keri Douglas, “It looks like they’re not available.”
Not to fear, a chat box quickly pops up saying, “We need five more minutes to get ready. We transitioned late”. Another teacher somewhere across the country prepares her students to begin. Suddenly, her smiling face appears for the class to see on the projected screen and she announces the beginning of the Google Mystery Hangout.


Google Mystery Hangouts is a critical thinking event in which students from across the country or globe try to determine the location of the other class through asking a series of questions and responding through video chat. Think of the familiar game of 20 questions; now add on: digital tools, geography skills, collaboration, listening and speaking skills, decision making, and data analysis.


The power of Google Mystery Hangouts to incorporate these 21st century learning skills in an authentic way is the driving force behind its popularity. Ryan Livingston, the Digital Teacher Librarian at Patterson International, an IB school, is always looking to make global connections. After joining the Mystery Hangout G+ Community, Ryan found educators in Bogota, Colombia available to connect with his students. Students as young as first grade participated in a Mystery Hangout incorporating their math curriculum. Instead of guessing geographic locations, each class used the hundred chart and wrote series of equations to determine the mystery number. (Photos from this event)

Ryan is most impressed with “what it’s doing for kids... the questioning, inferring, and analyzing what they are hearing and watching. It is the thinking skills that Mystery Hangout promotes.” He already has plans to utilize a Mystery Hangout for the upcoming 4th grade Colorado History unit. He is spreading the word to other DTL’s in the district, including Keri Douglas at Deane. Which brings us back to our 4th grade classroom.


“Are you west of the Prime Meridian?” The first question is posed. Students use their understanding of major grid lines on the globe to narrow down the continent first. The 4th graders at Deane Elementary are prepared as researchers. Each student has their iPad on their desk with Google Maps and Google Earth open in addition to a laminated paper map. Students move between tools, conferring with one another, and posing new questions to ask. The students in the role of recorder skip around the room gathering the next question. Cheers are heard as each answer brings the class closer to discovering where the mystery class is located.

Mr. Wes Jones, student teacher from Colorado Christian University, comments at how the engagement of students is so high! Students are incorporating their learning from the 4th grade Social Studies unit Understanding Region along with ISTE technology standards of communication, collaboration, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. This event was a natural fit for Keri and Derek to co-teach and collaborate to authentically bring technology into their learning.

This Mystery Hangout successfully comes to an end as the Deane Elementary Huskies wave goodbye to the classroom located in Texas. Geographically separated by miles, today the classrooms were only a click away.

If you are interested in connecting with educators across the globe, join the G+ community to learn more!

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