Blended Learning in Action

My students have been using the Chromebooks this week to engage in an on-line learning lessons/activities about Time. At this point during the unit the students are learning about telling time. They have already explored the passage of time and units of time. They have been introduced to analogue and digital clocks and how to identify minutes and hours. This is their first on-line learning activity for the blended learning we are doing in this Measurement unit.

The activity I am showcasing below shows students the corresponding digital time on an analogue clock for time to the hour, half-hour, and quarter-hour. Students had to match the digital times to their corresponding analogue clocks.

This first shot is of the first slide of the learning activity:

Here they are learning about telling time to the half-hour:

Telling time to the quarter-hour:

Here they get the chance to apply their knowledge/understanding and practice matching digital to analog times:

The students are responding well to the blended learning so far. They enjoy working on the Chromebooks and appreciate the opportunity to 1) learn using the online lessons and 2) practice what they are learning using the technology. The students are doing a great job in this blended learning cycle. I'm finding it a challenge to get around the room and talk to all the students while they are engaged in their practice activities. I want to make sure that I know how they are doing so I can speed things up, slow things down, and adjust for their needs. Their excitement and engagement is incredible and they can't seem to get enough of the tech integration and online learning activities. Nevertheless, I still provide them with other opportunities to show their learning such as using paper & pencil to write and draw, the use manipulatives, and by conferencing with me. It is important that I continue to provide them with what they need to be successful but I also believe in producing well-balanced students who can show their learning in a variety of ways if asked to do so. 

It is important that I continue to transform myself and my teaching so that I am reaching every student. The Chromebooks are tools, blended learning is another way to reach students. My experience has shown me that the use of technology is motivating and engaging and that students tend to be more invested in their learning and achieve greater academic success. I recently had a conversation with a close friend and mentor who expressed some concern about the use of technology in my classroom and how it might negatively impact my students next year when they don't have such technology to assist/support their learning. Concerns around writing, for example, were raised. How would students learn to write a friendly letter with a paper and pencil if they are not provided with that opportunity? How will students lean math concepts and solve problems if they are not introduced to manipulatives that can assist them? These are great questions and they are valid. 

My students use paper and pencils each day. They use manipulatives to learn and solve problems too! The technology and all the "goodies" that go with it are also used. I'd like to think that my students have a variety of options to learn, create, collaborate, problem solve, and communicate. Blended learning is happening in my classroom because I am fortunate enough to have the technology and support to offer it up to my students. It is NOT the only way, it is one piece of the teaching/learning puzzle in my classroom.

In language literacy my students are currently engaged in learning how to write friendly letters. I won't get into too much detail around what we are doing because I would like to dedicate a blog post to it later, but I can tell you that we are BLENDING our learning using paper and pencil as well as Google Drive (via the Chromebooks) to write and send friendly letters. The students are learning the basics of this type of writing and are improving their technological literacy at the same time.  

I would love to hear your thoughts about blended learning - please feel free to leave a comment below, reach me by email, twitter and/or connect with me on Google +.

Teaching and Learning using the Chromebook (TLLP 13-14)

It has been a little over a month since I introduced the Chromebook to my students. During this time they have been provided with opportunities to explore the device and learn their logins and passwords. It has been, and continues to be, a multi step process with sprinkles of frustration and success. The frustrations have come from the different passwords they need to input to use the device and issues around establishing a wifi connection. The successes involve students feeling a sense of accomplishment (by continuously trying and not giving up) and system level assistance in making our learning experience a smoother one.

My project partner, +Ferdinand Krauss, has been assisting me in the classroom and working with our IT department to figure things out. He and IT recently made the decision to enable the Chromebooks to gain access to the wifi without login/password authentication. This decision proved to be a beneficial one for my students and myself as it saved us a lot of time and frustration when we used to the devices to do some Math. I found a great Math site the other day and thought this would be a great time to lead my students to some interactive online activities. 

We are working on Number Sense and Numeration right now, specifically number relationships. We had just finished talking about ordering numbers and number lines/hundred chart. I found a neat activity called "Order Numbers 1-100" . As soon as I saw this game I thought it would be a great way to engage them in trying something relatively fun and provide me with a quick assessment of who may be struggling with number order. The students had the opportunity to use the device to get on to the Internet and have some fun applying their understanding.

The students had to pop the balloons from the smaller number to the largest number: 

Here is the shot of the first level:

A screen shot of the positive reinforcement when they complete a level:

The activity starts off simple (3 balloons) and becomes more complicated as the student moves up the levels (level 5 = 6 balloons):

Many of the students had success with this activity. The activity was colourful and fun - they wanted to play! I observed the students working well together and they helped each other out. The students that flew through this were given a challenge to find another activity or two that would connect to what we are learning about right now. The students that needed some support worked with me and a few other students. 

Their time with the Chromebook wasn't all about Math. The majority of our time was spent learning some of the basics of technological literacy. The students were taught and worked on the following:

1) signing-in on the device,

2) becoming familiar with the address bar by typing in the address that I had projected for them on the whiteboard,

3) bookmarking the site,

--> working on the interactive game<--

4) closing the browser,

5) signing-out of the device

AND then their partner had to do the same things listed above in order to have this website book marked under their user account. 

Lots of awesome teaching and learning took place during this time. The students felt really good about their work using the Chromebooks and look forward to their next opportunity to use the device and the Internet to benefit their learning and demonstration of learning. 

If you have any questions/comments about this post, please feel free to leave a comment below or send me an email at rtwcdsb@gmail.com

Introducing the Chromebook (TLLP 13/14)

Picture source http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2419670,00.asp

I recently acquired the Chromebooks that my students will be using for their blended learning. From the moment I took possession of the devices, I have been thinking about the most effective way of introducing the Chromebooks to them. Having only known my students for 7 days I feel like I have a decent grasp of what I need to do in order to effectively reach them around the what the Chromebook is and how it works.

As a whole group, I took one of the devices out of the box and gave them a look at it. They immediately made comments about its size (how small it is) and wondered about its weight. I informed them that they would each have the opportunity to power one up and work with it in a small group setting. Since they are learning about the guided reading groups that we will be having in my class I decided to roll it into our guided reading time so that I could have a small group to work with as they practice being independently engaged in learning while I guide a small group in reading. 

During our guided reading time today, I started introducing the Chromebook. The four students I worked with seemed very interested and engaged while the rest of the class tried to focus on their given task (who could blame them?). I made sure to keep things as simple as possible - I didn't want to assume that they knew anything about the device. Needless to say, they were quick to pop it open and find the power button. Once the device powered up, the students faced their first difficulty. The devices automatically prompt the user to log into their Google account with no option to log in as a guest. Having talked to +Ferdinand Krauss, my project partner, he informed me that my students would have a Google log in at a later date in order to employ the benefits of our Google Apps for Education (GAFE) account. Since we were not able to log in as a guest, I taught the students how to access the wireless network using their Internet login and password which they need to access the desktop computers at school. At this point, a couple of the students could then log on  the device as a guest but the other two could still not. With the confusion that ensued we are not certain how they ended up having the option of logging on as a guest user.

Once the students were logged in as guests and logged on to the wireless network, I taught them how to launch Chrome (the browser). Once they were on the "net" I asked them where they wanted to go in order to practice using the volume control and the track pad (on board mouse pad) - they chose to practice at Cool Math Games . They practiced using the track pad - moving up and down the page and the use of the right and left click buttons. After a short time I taught them to close their window and power down the Chromebook. 

Picture source http://www.theregister.co.uk/2013/02/19/feature_chromebooks_head_to_head/

I asked them what their first impressions were and they said that they thought it was "cool". When I asked them to elaborate they said that they liked how small the device is and that they are excited to use it for their learning. 

I'm looking forward to working with my next small group tomorrow and I am really excited that we have started integrating the device in our classroom community. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to leave a comment below or you can email me at rtwcdsb@gmail.com        

Chromebook in the Hands of Grade 2 Students

I recently acquired an Acer Chromebook to test out its capabilities for student and teacher use. I blogged about my initial response to the device here, where I discussed the Chromebook's ease of use and the possibilities it holds for blended learning with my students. Shortly after blogging, I handed the device over to the students to see what they would do with it and find out what they think.

We were working on adding and subtracting with and without regrouping and the students had just been introduced to base ten blocks.

The students were presented with the task of adding and subtracting two digit numbers using base ten blocks. A few of my students found this task to be relatively easy so they were tasked with the responsibility of helping me discover on-line sites/activities that would allow us to blend their learning.

We found a great site that had two activities that we thought would be great for remediation and enrichment. Base Ten Fun and Base Ten Bingo  were deemed appropriate and were presented to the students. Using the Bright Links projector via the class desktop I introduced the two activities to the students and explained that they would all get a chance to use a 'computer' to try them out. As we progressed though our learning cycle the students got to use the various computers in our classroom (Chromebook, Laptop, Desktop) to try out the two activities.

The students knew that we wouldn't have the Chromebook for a long time so they all wanted to use it. I placed few limitations on its use - I wanted it to be treated with respect and survive its stay in our classroom. Every student had the opportunity to use the device and as they were using it I observed them and questioned them with respect to their mathematical learning and about the device.

The students loved how portable it was. Some of them sat at their desks and other laid down on the carpet. They liked that it wasn't plugged in and that they could walk around the room with it to show their friends what they were doing. They were happy to be "free" to move about the room. THEY commented that they don't like calling people over to the desktop or the laptop to look at their work, they prefer to simply go to the person they want to talk to - this includes me! Side note: there is nothing better than having many students want my attention at the same time to COMMUNICATE their THINKING.

Even though they are very careful and respectful with the computers, they commented that the laptop is too big and although they could walk around with it, I would probably not allow it. They are correct, the laptop is pretty hefty compared to the Chromebook and the iPads and iPod Touches that they use in class.

One of the students asked why we couldn't use the iPads to do this work. This question came from one of the students that was limited in mobility due to the use of the desktop computer. She wanted to find a comfy spot in the room to explore and enjoy. I explained that the iPads are not "Flash" compatible. The students wanted a demonstration so I showed them using our document camera. Due to the incompatibility with Flash based software I rarely, if ever, get the students to connect to the Internet when using the iPads and iPods. I logged on to the Internet with an iPad and showed them that we could not use the tablets to use the activities we found on the site.**

Here is what my students said about the Chromebook:

• the screen is big enough to see what is going on
• they like moving around with it, just like using the iPads/iPods
• not trapped in an app, can move all over the Internet to get to different places
• they can use sites that they use on the computer
• they can use sites that they already know about (tvokids.com, starfall.com)
• turns on quick
• can move around the room easily
• don't have to keep it plugged in
• it is small and light

The Chromebook proved beneficial to my students while it was in our classroom. The key benefit is that it allows my students to use Flash based software that seems to be everywhere we want to be. For the purposes of our project, compatibility with Flash based software to start us off is key. My students did not have a chance to use any of the Ministry's online learning resources while we had the Chromebook in our possession (which are all Flash based by the way) but I did and everything worked fin. It is integral that we have a device that is compatible with the software used to create the learning resources that my students will be using. Moreover, the Chromebook is the perfect device for what +Ferdinand Krauss will be doing next school year with teachers. Ferdinand has blogged about his plan to leverage the Chromebook mainly with educators while my prime focus will be on blended learning with the students.

So far so good. My students only had one issue with the Chromebook - that they won't be in my class next year when I have once device for every two students!

______________________________
**I must admit that I have relied heavily on the use of apps with the tablets so I took it upon myself to research web browsers that I could download onto the iPads so that my students could use Flash based software. I downloaded the "Photon" Browser onto one of the iPads and then proceeded to the two online activities listed above. Sadly, we were still not able to load Flash based activities. We got a message that said something about installing the most recent Flash software. Although I am not easily dissuaded most of the time, I threw in the towel on this ongoing issue due to the fact that we have discovered a relatively affordable device that can do what we want and a lot more.

Chrome is as good as Gold!

+Ferdinand Krauss and I are on an exciting journey, one that we believe will lead students to success by employing 21st Century strategies and a blended learning model. Although our journey has just begun, we have already had to make some changes to our project.

One of the changes involves the device that we will leverage to benefit the learning of primary students and the professional development of teachers interested in using blended learning in their classroom. After extensive research and experimentation we realized that the Acer Chromebook would be the best suited device to support us in our above mentioned goals. 

We want our primary students and teachers to be able to view/experience on-line interactive sites, particularly Flash-based learning activities created by the Ministry of Education without having to change/configure any settings. We want their experience to be as seamless as possible with their focus squarely on the learning/teaching and not the technology. 

Enter the Chromebook: not complicated to learn, no expensive software to buy, and it starts in seconds. As I use a Chromebook to write this blog post I can attest to the simplicity of the device. The fact that it starts up in seconds and requires almost no set-up or maintenance is a dream. As a classroom teacher much of my  attention is placed on instructional time and I can see how this device will not take away valuable time from my teaching or student learning. 

The Chromebook is often referred to in a negative light because it is seen as, simply, a web browsing device. It is for this very reason that for +Ferdinand Krauss and I, Chrome is as good as gold! Blended learning is all about combining face-to-face classroom methods combined with "online" content and instruction. We want our students and teachers to engage with a device that will facilitate excellent and fast web browsing. The faster the better!! The web browser (Chrome) is a modern one that includes tools that allow standardized and easy deployment and management that are welcome in educational settings. 

Moreover, the Chromebook houses the best that Google has to offer. With respect to teacher professional development, Google Drive (a file storage and synchronization service provided by Google which enables user cloud storage, file sharing and collaborative editing) and Hangout (places used to facilitate group video chat) are just two examples of apps that facilitate collaboration and are easily accessible on the device. Combined with the speed of the device these two apps function very well and add to the positive experience. 

I look forward to blogging more about the the other capabilities of this device for the purposes of our project. Stay tuned to read more about our exciting journey!! 

Success for all Students: 21st Century Teaching/Learning using Chromebooks & A Blended Learning Model (TLLP 13/14)

Over the past few years my school board has invested in technological advancements/ideas in order to improve student engagement, achievement, and encourage the acquirement of 21st Century skills. Every classroom in our system is equipped with a Brightlink projector/interactive whiteboard. This combination allows for access and use of digital resources (e.g. You Tube, interactive websites) for teacher and student benefit. Also, teachers have been provided with training and access to software that allows for the creation of interactive lessons to be used via the projectors in the classrooms. On top of the investment in the classroom, all of our schools have wireless Internet hot spots that allow staff, students, and visitors to bring their own device for appropriate use in our buildings. 

With such great developments in our system, Ferdinand Krauss and I created a proposal for the Ministry of Education's Teacher Learning and Leadership Program (TLLP) which is an annual project-based professional learning opportunity for experienced classroom teachers. The TLLP "...funds proposals from classroom teachers who seek a peer leadership role in curriculum, instructional practice or supporting other teachers. The three goals of the program are to create and support opportunities for teacher professional learning, foster teacher leadership and facilitate the sharing of exemplary practices with others for the broader benefit of Ontario's students" (http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/teacher/tllp.html). Ferdinand and I are pleased with the Ministry's decision to fund our project for the 2013-2014 school year.

Image courtesy of Michael Redfearn

Our project title is "Success for all Students: 21st Century Teaching/Learning using Chromebooks & A Blended Learning Model". Our plan involves the use of the collaborative inquiry framework to design blended learning projects that target a specific area of achievement and engagement for primary and junior students. A review of current instructional practice will help us to identify an innovative approach to achieving the stated learning goals. The Blended Learning activities will incorporate resources from the Ontario Educational Resource Bank, and tools from the provincial Learning Management System in order to differentiate instruction and provide enrichment and remediation for student learning. The use of Chromebooks will allow students to actively participate in Blended Learning on a regular basis and help them to become more proficient at using Web 2.0 tools for collaboration and communication. Professional development will occur with the use of the Blended Learning model and the Chromebooks so that educators interested in adopting this approach can use their own experiences to inform their practice.

Participating in the design, implementation and evaluation of a Blended Learning project will allow us to determine the specific instructional practices and strategies that are required to improve learning for primary and junior students. For example, what activities and formats do the students find most engaging and which ones are most successful at enhancing their learning? We will also be able to determine how to use the tools and resources to become more effective at differentiating instruction for a variety of learning styles and aptitudes in order to meet the needs of our students. Gaining experience using the tools in the LMS will help us to better design learning pathways for remediation and enrichment in a Blended Learning model. The knowledge we gain will be shared with other educators that would like to adopt this model as a result of our Board’s recent decision to support Bring your Own Device.

We believe that our project will contribute to increasing student learning and development by differentiating instruction in order to meet each student's needs. Helping all students succeed in their learning is an enormous challenge that requires an innovative approach such as the one we have proposed. The use of technology as a learning tool is an engaging one that allows for differentiation of content of instruction, processes & techniques to help make sense of content, and what students produce to demonstrate their learning. Differentiation is further supported with the use of Blooms Digital Taxonomy which is appropriate when using web 2.0 tools in combination with mobile devices. Moreover, the use of the blended learning model & tablets would also help facilitate student learning/development of critical thinking skills known as 21st century fluencies, making learning relevant to life in our digital age.

Image courtesy of Michael Redfearn

We are both very excited to have this learning and leadership opportunity. We look forward to engaging our students in such an innovative way while meeting their needs. Your feedback is welcome, please consider leaving a comment here or via email at rtwcdsb@gmail.com