Canvasing the world with Canva

     I kept telling myself (and others) that my next post would be about mindfulness and how it fits in with students using technology, but truth be told, I've been spending a lot of time working on a website I'm building to help alleviate some of the burden from teachers of teaching their new students the iPad. Earlier in the 2014-2015 school year, I asked some of our faculty how they felt about student use of the iPad and some of the challenges they experienced. Many said the duality of teaching the device and content. So... I got to thinking, what if we front load the basics of the iPad during orientation and then use the iPad-specific orientation for hands-on exploration of common apps like Notability, Haiku Learning, Google Apps, and Apple apps? Well, that's what we're going to try. I'll let you know how it goes.

    But why am I telling you this, you ask? Because in an effort to make my Weebly site look pretty and engaging, I'm creating a lot of graphics/infographics/signage with the program Canva. It's a web-based (and Google/Facebook single sign on capable) program and app that allows the user to create these amazing looking graphics using drag and drop features. One of our Research Librarians introduced it to me awhile ago and honestly, it took me some time to get used to it, but it reminds me of Publisher, only with amazing templates, graphics, and totally customizable right down to the ability to use customizable dimensions. I really like the way you can export/download your creation into a JPEG or PDF file. Canva also saves your work automatically and stores your finished pieces on the site. You can share your projects, making them public or not; there are various options to choose from: Instagram post, FB Headers, Blog Poster, inforgraphic, etc. And best of all? IT'S FREE (some graphics and templates do cost $$, but hey, the majority is free)!

    If you've seen some of the "About Me" pictures on my site, you've seen some of the products you can do! You can upload your own photos, drawings, etc and spruce them up.
   Check out some of the things I've been doing with it here (albeit it can be time consuming and tedious, but you'll get the knack for it in no time!).
Example: 9 Elements of Digital Citizenship graphic (Elements created by Mike Ribble)
Info from: Nine Elements. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.digitalcitizenship.net/Nine_Elements.html

 

Graphics explaining our expectations and responsibilities when it comes to using an iPad at school.

Flyer I made for our Exploration Studio Stewardship, to be displayed on our rotating slide displaying in the Center for Teaching and Learning.

 

The possibilities are endless. Our Ed Tech Specialist created buttons for Next Page on her Haiku class with Canva! I made my mother's day card with it and am planning on making my wedding invitations using it too! 

*Special shout out to Jolina Clement (@jkclement) for an awesome session on using Canva, piktochart, and more! Brand your class, brand yourself.

You and (i)Teach Pt IV (The Group Work & Self Regulated Learning)

Before we headed out to the conference, those of us in the CTL (Center for Teaching and Learning) got together and brainstormed a topic we could address while at the iTeach San Domenico conference. We threw around notetaking on the iPad, identifying which device to use, etc. but ultimately, all those things fall under the umbrella of Self Regulated Learning.

What is it you ask? We were trying to figure it out too! It turns out self-regulated learning is not as widely a researched topic as we had thought it was. Honestly, the passerbyers were impressed with our conversations and surprisingly, even our keynote, Roni Habib, was unaware of the term. We came to define it as the process by which one can regulate their own learning and become effective learners.

Elements of Self-Regulated Learning

Effective learners are self-regulating; analyzing task requirements; setting productive goals; and selecting, adapting, or inventing strategies to achieve their objectives. These learners also monitor progress as they work through the task, managing intrusive emotions and waning motivation as well as adjusting strategies processed to foster success. These are the students who ask questions, take notes, and allocate their time and their resources in ways that help them to be in charge of their own learning (Paris & Paris, 2001).

 For our purposes, the self regulated learner will be able to identify which device is appropriate for a given task, identify which method/practices work best for him/her as a learner (audio, visual, kinethestic, ipad/laptop/paper&pen). As their educators, how do we do this? How do we make students realize that they are responsible for their own learning and it does not "happen" to them. They are an active participant and ultimately, in charge of their learning. Furthermore, how do we inspire initiative and motivation? Are those things we can inspire or teach? Are they inherent? Carol Dweck promotes Growth Mindsets which would tell us that, yes, you can always develop these as long as you try, practice, andd receive the right feedback. 

The group work sessions were amazing and I feel so fortunate to have had the opportunity to brainstorm and work with such an amazing group of people. While we had very productive conversations, we were not able to come up with a clear and concise plan that we would have been able to, realistically, return to our school and hit the ground running . We did, however, develop an action plan that is realistic given what is already locked in for next year. 

Part of the action plan was the decision that we need to guide our students building a tool box to become better learners. The toolbox theoretically contains strategies to cope with failure and strategies for resilience; strategies for agility and perseverance; the ability to be vulnerable with other students (mindfulness and growth mindset); universal truths of learning: strategies for self-assessment (self identify what kind of learner are they, learning habits for specific tasks), time management and organization, goal setting; identifying and discussing processes of thinking; and last but not least, develop and practice the skill of asking questions. And this "toolbox" will, of course, grow and morph over time. 

The first step in creating this toolbox, is creating a pilot for our 7th graders (and their teachers). Get all teachers onboard. Reiterate the idea of mindfulness (a theme from this school year) to help pave the way toward developing these inward facing skills, scaffolding these skills by introducing their development to the 7th graders upon their entry to our school and throughout the grades as they move up. We are going to create a study habits page for students on our LMS, Haiku Learning, for reference. I will be creating study habit tip slides for our CTL display to create an opportunity for accidental and indirect learning. But, more importantly, we are creating a page in Haiku for teachers to help them create spaces and opportunities for students to develop and practice self regulated learning. 

I'll keep you posted on how this process works and the group will be following up to reiterate and revisit the ideas. 

If you are interested in reading more about self regulated learning and self directed learning, please see the links below and feel free to share your resources!!! I'd love to read them!

Resouces:

http://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/teaching-and-learning/secret-self-regulated-learning/

https://teal.ed.gov/tealguide/selfregulated

You and (i)Teach Pt. III (The Sessions)

      For the first time, I didn't follow my natural instinct/unconference rules and let my feet do the talking  while at iTeach. For those not in the know, in unconferences such as the EdCamp network, if you feel a session isn't what you were expecting or doesn't touch on your needs, you just get up and go to the next one. I guess I wanted to give everyone the benefit of doubt and I did take something away from every session.

       The sessions were how they always are... some are okay and some are just fantastic. I attended a few in addition to the group work we embarked on. In "The Great Debate: Digital Reading and Digital Notetaking" with Jennifer Gaspar-Santos, not only did we debunk the mythical "digital native" belief that our students have grown up surrounded by technology, so they must be proficient at it. But Oh! on the contrary!!! Students need to be taught skills and given opportunity to develop them over time; they need to be introduced, taught, and have skills scaffolded when learning a new app or "on boarding". You can't just throw Explain Everything at a 7th grader and expect them to figure it out 100%. I mean, they'll figure some things out, but there is a learning curve. Remember, we're trying to set our kids up for a transformative learning experience after all.
         
      Now, I must admit, I was one of those who up until about a year ago, figured kids could literally pick anything up and figure it out. That was probably because I'm able to do so with ease, but I am not everyone and this was probably my biggest misconception (but at least I can admit when I'm wrong).

      The second session I attended entitled "Outcomes at of a 2:1, three year iPad/Laptop program" was also led by Jennifer Gaspar-Santos from Casteleja School. Again, Gaspar-Santos stressed the importance of onboarding. The idea that you can bring in anything without training or practice or strategies is ridiculous. For example, one of her teachers made an  incredible iBook using iBooks Author. When the students didn't use it, she couldn't understand, until she realized the students needed to learn to read the book- flip through pages, click on audio/video clips, use interactive segments. We tend to just assume... but you know what they say about Assume..... 

    

      Did you realize that our Middle Schooler know what Tinder is? Do you know what Tinder is? In the session entitled "How to Host a Successful Digital Citizenship Week" by Merve Lapus, told us they do and now that I think about it, I know for a fact I've heard my high schoolers mention it, but not my dear sweet Middle Schoolers. Either way, kids are being exposed to so much media 
     
       Some of the suggestions Merve gave, like holding a panel, I've tried and failed (Woo-Hoo*), but at least I tried! I thought about it and would like to do it again, but maybe next year. I didn't know the culture of my school, nor the students, which made it really hard for them to commit. But there are things I can do and I really want to have a successful Digital Citizenship Week this October. To do so, Merve suggested to identify goals for the year and integrate those into lessons (which I'm desperately trying and advertising my expertise a little more now), post readings and blog articles in a space that students will have access (our LMS, Haiku Learning, is the perfect place along with our CTL boards), and finally, partnering with someone who can help and for me, that's our Dean of Experiential Learning. I realized that she is the organizer to end all organizers of student events at my school and her partnership is what I need. 

While I did attend Roni Habib's amazing session Tuesday morning after our keynote with him, I'll touch on it in my Mindfulness post that is in the works. I will share a wonderful tool he introduced us to though- Edpuzzle.com. Create or find a video on Youtube (but don't make it more than 3 minutes, kids won't watch it) and insert open ended questions within the video. Every time it's question time, the video stops and the viewer must answer the question. And best of all? it's FREE!

You and (i)Teach Pt. II (The Keynotes)

        The conference overall was great. Our hosts, San Domenico School and their staff were amazing. I've had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Jason and Callie at previous conferences and they are just simply fantastic. It was great getting to know four other colleagues- two of which I work with regularly (my supervisors), one (a middle school classroom teacher) I work with regularly on planning, and an upper/high school classroom teacher I have had very rare moments of interaction with. My consensus? They are all amazing and brilliant and so utterly talented it's crazy. 

       Monday's keynote speaker to kick things off was Merve Lapus from Common Sense Media. As you are probably aware, I am a fan of the organization primarily because they are doing a great job spreading the word as to what digital citizenship is and lessons on how to integrate it into your curriculum. However, this keynote speech was more about the use of educational technology in an effective manner in classrooms- which obviously, I can get down with. My main take away from Merve's speech was that we have to be cognizant of those who fear they "won't" or "don't" get technology. We must rethink what is possible- engage more alternative assessment, try to be mindful and intentional with your tools while trying to teach above the line because, essentially, "we want to create the most transformative and effective learning environment for the world our kids are in" (Lapus, 2015).  As educators, it is important that we lead by doing. If we ask our students to keep a "can do" attitude, or growth mindset, and reflect on their failures, then it is imperative that we do as well... and dare I say, even in front of them? Or discuss our processes with our students? 

Models of Integrating Technology

The SAMR Model stresses movement up the chart eventually moving from technology just enhancing learning to transforming learning by totally redefining possibilities. Originally developed by Dr. Ruben Puentedura and extended by teachers everywhere. You can find some great SAMR Model App Smashing ideas on Pinterest (follow me!)

The TPACK Model is where technological, content, and pedagogical knowledge intersect with one another. Dr. Matthew Koehler's definition can be found here. 

                          

        

      

    

     Roni Habib was Tuesday's keynote and while his main topic was mindfulness and technology, he hardly did anything related to that! In fact, he had us up on our feet with interactive activities like as passing an imaginary ball to one another, doing so with a unique sound, etc. designed to create an environment where students feel safe, yet vulnerable. We began to act silly and laugh within minutes and immediately, we all saw how this affected the camaraderie of the group. 

        I don't know about you, but 8th-12th graders are not about acting silly anywhere outside their comfort zone, so in essence, it was basically "LET'S CREATE THE COMFORT ZONE HERE!". I can imagine the success of a class if it is introduced especially within the first week of school (or days if you can swing it), you can create an environment that is not only student centric, but a safe place for failure. If you combine this with meditation or breathing exercises (even weekly), I can only imagine how much better classroom management would be... especially after lunch!
       Another focus of Habib's activities was to be PRESENT! You can't check your phone or social media profiles if you are anticipating an imaginary ball that is going to be passed to you at any moment! You'll let your classmates down! My colleagues and I enjoyed Habib's keynote and his session quite immensely. So much so, we'd love to have him speak to our students.