Monday, March 30, 2015
Podcast: Twitter Chat and PBL
In this episode, we talk about our first ever district Twitter PD edchat, how 20% Time is bleeding over into our regular PBL classes and how crucial the climate of the classroom is for real learning. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes. Follow us on Twitter too! Don is @dayankee and Melissa is @melissahellwig4
An Update from the "Friendly CandEy" Student Blog
Check out this update from the student blog "Friendly CandEy" about an experiment he undertook this past weekend. All learning begins with a few failed attempts.
Friendly CandEy Blog
Friendly CandEy Blog
Friday, March 27, 2015
Once You Start, You Just Can't Stop!
Let us be the first to say, "Our classroom environments are not for everyone, but WE promise the learning is!" We are not the greatest rule or schedule followers (definitely one of our weak areas, no secret to anyone who knows us) but we believe we run a strong student-centered environment where every mostly every kid can find their own place, their own voice and discover who they are as learners. We want to build our students into strong, confident boys and girls. When you walk into our crazy, chaotic classrooms, you will always see kids moving in all kinds of ways, engaging in student-centered and student-driven learning. You will also see students having fun and just being themselves.
When we started 20% Time, it was a tougher transition on me then it was for Don. I had trouble with the freedom and autonomy that the kids needed during this project to be successful, which is crazy since this whole project was my idea! As I started wrapping my head around the project and managing my own feelings of needing to be in charge of every part, it was as if a weight was lifted. I was able to focus in on the students and their learning. I realized that I had been running a teacher-driven classroom where I needed to be the one who knew all the answers, stood in front of the class and always had all eyes on me. I felt so selfish. I can say this is the moment that I knew that we were doing something special with learning and my current idea of education had been changed forever.
Student autonomy has become such an integral part of my classroom in all subjects, not just 20% Time. I love it in my math and science classes too. I don't even think I could have every single person in class create the same product to turn in anymore; it turns my stomach! Everything looking the exact same, with the exact same parameters, etc.? This isn't showing me who my student is or what they can do. I want to allow my students to meet the learning goals in the way they can best express themselves. This can look different for every single student and you know what..........THAT IS OK!
I love watching students work through problem-based learning problems, truly being invested, finding solutions and making real world connections. In math this week, while using scale factors (one of our math targets) students scaled Barbie's measurements to the height of a member in their group. At the end of this exercise, we ask that the students write a professional letter to Mattel stating their findings and their opinions. We are finishing this lesson with some videos about a Barbie who has been scaled to a real-life person, sharing their findings and opinions and having a conversation about self-image. It is an awesome lesson (that I took and adapted from someone else!) and it touches across all aspects. I love watching these types of lessons come to life! After we are finished, I asked which students would like their letters mailed to Mattel and we sent them off! Below are some of our students hard at work getting their Barbies drawn.
When we started 20% Time, it was a tougher transition on me then it was for Don. I had trouble with the freedom and autonomy that the kids needed during this project to be successful, which is crazy since this whole project was my idea! As I started wrapping my head around the project and managing my own feelings of needing to be in charge of every part, it was as if a weight was lifted. I was able to focus in on the students and their learning. I realized that I had been running a teacher-driven classroom where I needed to be the one who knew all the answers, stood in front of the class and always had all eyes on me. I felt so selfish. I can say this is the moment that I knew that we were doing something special with learning and my current idea of education had been changed forever.
Student autonomy has become such an integral part of my classroom in all subjects, not just 20% Time. I love it in my math and science classes too. I don't even think I could have every single person in class create the same product to turn in anymore; it turns my stomach! Everything looking the exact same, with the exact same parameters, etc.? This isn't showing me who my student is or what they can do. I want to allow my students to meet the learning goals in the way they can best express themselves. This can look different for every single student and you know what..........THAT IS OK!
I love watching students work through problem-based learning problems, truly being invested, finding solutions and making real world connections. In math this week, while using scale factors (one of our math targets) students scaled Barbie's measurements to the height of a member in their group. At the end of this exercise, we ask that the students write a professional letter to Mattel stating their findings and their opinions. We are finishing this lesson with some videos about a Barbie who has been scaled to a real-life person, sharing their findings and opinions and having a conversation about self-image. It is an awesome lesson (that I took and adapted from someone else!) and it touches across all aspects. I love watching these types of lessons come to life! After we are finished, I asked which students would like their letters mailed to Mattel and we sent them off! Below are some of our students hard at work getting their Barbies drawn.
I know it looks awfully crazy but I can't imagine ever going back to my old teaching style. Like I said, once you get a taste of what this kind of teaching can bring out in your students, you will never turn back. The excitement it brings to your students, it will also bring to you. So......take a step outside of your comfort zone, even if it is a baby step, and give it a try. What do you have to lose?
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
A Student's Service Project
One of our kiddos, Dominic, is collecting clothes for a homeless shelter as part of his 20% Time project. The clothes drive will be all next week. Here is the flier for the drive. He would love to have your support! Please click the link here (Clothes for the Homeless) to see the details.
Monday, March 23, 2015
Kids Creating Podcasts? Yep!
A few weeks ago, we launched TLR Radio, a student podcast about YA Lit. Each week, we gather five or six students together for about twenty minutes to talk about what they are reading. The conversation is easy and fluid. It is quite engaging. One of the boys who has appeared on the TLR Radio podcast is Jimmy, whose 20% Time project is the NFL Off-Season Guide. Last week, Jimmy decided that he wanted to do a podcast about the NFL off-season transactions. Today, he created his first podcast.
Jimmy and I took about fifteen minutes to go through the process of creating a podcast. We found a recorder that is compatible with Chromebooks, TwistedWave. Jimmy then created a free account on Podbean.com. He also created a cool logo for his podcast on LogoGarden.com.
Creating a logo on LogoGarden.com
After creating the logo, he was ready to record. He opened TwistedWave, went to the hall, found a quiet space, and recorded his thoughts about the NFL off-season thus far.
The TwistedWave interface, ready to record
Jimmy then saved the sound file to his Google Drive in MP3 format. Now he was ready to sign in to his Podbean.com account, upload his podcast file and publish it.
Uploading the sound file to Podbean.com
As soon as he published his podcast on Podbean.com, Jimmy was able to get the embed code, open an HTML gadget on his website, paste in the embed code, and he had a podcast gadget on his website. Now those who go to Jimmy's website (NFL Off-season Guide) can listen to his podcast.
This process is another example of the kind of learning these kids are experiencing. They learn new technology tools everyday and use these tools wisely in order to express their learning.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Podcast: Harmonized Learning 35 - FedEx Day
In this episode, we talk about our first FedEx Day and how things went. We highlight some of the great ideas that came out of the projects during the last 24 hours. Please follow us here or on iTunes. Just search "Harmonized Learning" on iTunes and subscribe. Please follow us on Twitter (@dayankee is Don and @melissahellwig4 is Melissa).
Sunday, March 8, 2015
Our First FedEx Day
This week, we are introducing kids to our first FedEx Day. A FedEx Day is a 24 hour period where kids have to solve a real-life problem and present a viable solution within that 24 hour time frame. Like the FedEx slogan, "When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight," the kids will have one day to problem-solve and present their solutions.
On Wednesday, we will introduce the problem that the kids will tackle. We will outline the assets they have to work with and the barriers they may face. The kids will then have time to group up and begin their work. They will do real-life research, analyze the opportunities they've discovered through their research and put together a plan that will solve the problem.
One of the things that we are looking forward to seeing is the urgency that the kids will demonstrate in order to solve a big problem in a short amount of time. Sometimes kids see their 20% Time project as long-term projects and there are ebbs and flows in their urgency. For our FedEx Day, there will be no time to relax; the time is too short. The day will be a good look into how the kids perform in a real-life situation that they will be facing countless times in their lives.
On Wednesday, we will introduce the problem that the kids will tackle. We will outline the assets they have to work with and the barriers they may face. The kids will then have time to group up and begin their work. They will do real-life research, analyze the opportunities they've discovered through their research and put together a plan that will solve the problem.
One of the things that we are looking forward to seeing is the urgency that the kids will demonstrate in order to solve a big problem in a short amount of time. Sometimes kids see their 20% Time project as long-term projects and there are ebbs and flows in their urgency. For our FedEx Day, there will be no time to relax; the time is too short. The day will be a good look into how the kids perform in a real-life situation that they will be facing countless times in their lives.
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