A Wow Way to Support Student Learning

Those of you who follow me through other social media know that my students participated in the Global Read Aloud where 24,000 students worldwide read, discussed, analyzed, and published work based on one book. This year the book selected was The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate. To say that my students enjoyed it was an understatement. Not only did they enjoy getting to know these well-written, deeply engaging characters, they also had an outstanding piece of literature to analyze through the lens of a writer.

This book was based on the real life of a gorilla named Ivan. One of the experiences that we (me and the other teachers in our school engaged in the GRA) wanted to provide for our students was being able to visit the Atlanta Zoo, the (eventual) home of Ivan. None of our students had been to the Atlanta Zoo (which is really worth a trip) and many had never been to Atlanta which is only 2 hours away from where we live in Alabama. We knew that this would be an amazing learning experience for our students.

Initially, we planned on taking several digital cameras for the students to take photos of our trip. However, one of my students suggested that we turn those photos into "movie to share with all of the other kids who can't go to see Ivan's home." Pretty brilliant, huh? They all agreed. That's where some real creativity took hold. With that in mind, students brought their own devices on the trip, took photos and shot video of their experiences.

Once we returned, I introduced them to TripWow, a free and very user-friendly tool by Trip Advisor that takes photos and turns them into a travel documentary. My students took all of the photos, debated about which photos best taught their audience, combined them together, added captions, and published it for all of the others students.

The discussions about what they had learned were so rich, they found they couldn't say everything that they wanted in the brief captions on TripWow. That's right, they felt the need to write more...to share their learning with others. So they turned to our class blog. Once they started collaboratively working on a class post to publish to accompany the TripWow,  they discovered that the learning that they wanted to share with their global peers was too long for a class post. There were also more photos and videos that they wanted to include. So they turned to their own blogs.

They have spent the majority of this week writing, editing, collaborating, and publishing because they felt the need to give back and share with their GRA learning community. As I reflect back on this week, it really does make me say, "Wow!" Look at how they took a simple experience and turned it into something amazing that could teach so many others. They truly understand the importance and power of harnessing digital tools and social media to empower not just their learning, but the learning of thousands of others.

Without further ado, here's their TripWow...

The Atlanta Zoo Slideshow: Mrs.’s trip to Atlanta was created with TripAdvisor TripWow!

An App Stop on Their Learning Journey

As those of you who follow me on Twitter or Facebook know, my students have been actively engaged in participating in the Global Read Aloud. My students have been so engaged in diving into The One and Only Ivan, that they actively pursue finding time in our very rigid schedule to read and discuss it. You have to remember that my students have spent their entire education on a prescriptive curriculum and have not ever had the opportunity to explore an amazing piece of literature (before they come to me). What I love is how a story can really change and move who you are as a person. It makes you re-evaluate your place in the world. It can be transforming.

What makes this experience even more valuable to my learners is that we are connecting with other students worldwide through Skype, Twitter, and blogging in order to discuss and share this book. There is also a wiki where students can publish any work in which they engage that relates to the book; my students were anxious to contribute to this community of publishers.

We are working on analyzing characters in our reading and our writing. Thanks to Lara Deloza at the International Reading Association, I was introduced to a free app called Trading Cards.  This clever little app (also will be available on Android) allows the user to dig deeply in examining all aspects of a character. When my students began a debate about which character was the most important to the story, I felt like I needed to give them an opportunity to share their thoughts and ideas with a wider audience. Since one of my students had helped me test out the trading card app, she suggested that they create character trading cards.

My learners divided into small groups to write about their character. As I travelled around the classroom listening to their conversations, their depth and understanding was amazing. They were inferring characteristics based on how other characters reacted to their character. They were making connections with other books they had read, movies or television shows they had viewed, and their own lives. The idea that they were going to be publishing and sharing their ideas with other students gave my learners an authentic reason to really analyze their writing.

After they had written their summaries and created an illustration of their character based on the description in the book, we conferred. I had them explain and justify the choices that they had made in their writing before they set off to publish their trading card. One group of students even expressed that they felt like these characters had become their friends. (Isn't it amazing the depth of understanding and connections that students will make when they get to read and enjoy really engaging literature?)

Once they began publishing, they discovered that they had to really limit the number of words that would fit into each category. At first this lent itself to some frustration because they really wanted to include all of their writing. Then one of my clever students reminded them that they could always publish their trading cards and their entire characterizations on our class blog. The rest of my learners agreed that this was an excellent solution.

I love this time of year. After months of guiding them, everything has started to click with my students. They have the confidence to state their ideas, justify them, suggest ways to improve upon them and find solutions for one another's challenges. They have learned the power of being in a student-directed classroom. Not once during their discussion did they focus on the technology...they focused on the learning. Our week was filled with a new energy that had not been there until now. They now KNOW that they are the ones designing their learning. Watching them take that step into becoming independent learners has been the best experience...one I never grow tired of witnessing.  I know that there is no stopping them now...and that app was the vehicle that got them to this place on their learning journey. I can't wait to see where they take us next.

Looking to Connect Your Students? First Steps in Social Media

There is much debate about the use of social media in the classroom. Those of you who follow my Twitter/Facebook/blogging/speaking know that I am pro social media. Our job is to prepare our students for today's world. Our classroom is the opportunity to teach students the importance of making safe choices while they are engaged in social media...and let's face it, even our youngest students are already there. We can guide them in how to safely harness the power of social media in order to support their learning.

As I mentioned in my post, Our First Day(s) of School, we begin these discussions from the start of school. I want for them to develop these skills before we begin connecting with other students. Many may wonder how to take their first steps. When I started, I really had to search to find other classes with whom we could communicate, create, and collaborate. But the good news is there is a prefect project where you can make connections and have much support as you venture into this avenue. This project is the Global Read Aloud.

The Global Read Aloud is the brainchild of fifth grade Wisconsin teacher, Pernille Ripp, who had a vision of connecting students from all over the world through the reading of one book. Teachers are invited to participate, add their ideas and then a mutual, collaborative project is formed. This year the books selected are The One and Only Ivan by Katherine Applegate and Charlotte's Web by E. B. White.  You can select which book best meets the needs of your learners.

So what does social media in the classroom have to do with reading a book?  Simple, teachers register to connect with other teachers. You can connect through Skype, Twitter, Edmodo, Google Hangout, or KidBlog. If there is another way you would like to connect, simply put it on the form and see if anyone is interested in connecting in that way. The great thing about this project is that it is participant driven. The teachers who are here are here because they are passionate about connecting students through the reading of literature. If you have been wanting to try a new tool in your classroom, this is the perfect opportunity to do that because you have a very supportive network of teachers willing to help you. If you are unable or uncomfortable in participating using social media, there is also the Global Read Aloud wiki complete with the reading schedule, a map of participants, and a place for students to publish their writing and projects for other students to enjoy. This is a project that you can  mold into whatever the needs are for your students.

We know the power of reading; it takes the readers on new adventures, challenges their thinking, and inspires them to action. Thanks to Pernille and all of the teachers who’ve connected through the Global Read Aloud, we can bring the world into our classrooms, giving our students an authentic and exciting way to discuss literature and have their voices heard globally. 

If you haven't connected with the Global Read Aloud, you still have time. It begins October 1st. Won't you join us? Your students will become so passionate about reading, connecting, and collaborating, they will be begging to continue the learning long after the project ends.

Our First Day(s) of School

Several people have asked me what I do with my students for the first few days of school. So, I thought I would take some time and share what we did to get this year off to a great start.

• We read The Dot by Peter H. Reynolds. This book always sets a great tone for the beginning of the school year. It has great life lessons about never giving up, always trying your best, overcoming misconceptions, and inspiring the uniqueness in others. After we read the book and had some amazing discussion, the students always ask if they can design their own unique dots to display. I love the creativity in each of these and how something so simple can have such a strong meaning for each learner.

• On the first day, I always take time to introduce myself. They notice that I have several photos in my classroom and I tell them that we need to put pieces of them in our classroom too. You'd be amazed at how excited they are about being included in our learning environment in such a  simple way. Each student creates his/her own self-portraits which we display on the wall that you see when you first enter the classroom. The stay up the entire school year reminding them that this is their classroom.
• So often I hear from parents something along the lines of..."He just hates math. I always hated math so we struggle through it each year." As a child who hated reading, I understand the dread and apprehension, but I don't want them to write off an entire subject because of previous experiences. To get a true feeling for where each student is in math and their perceptions of it, good or bad, I have my students write a Mathography...the story of their life with math. They write about how they feel about it, their experiences and how they see math in their lives. It is always an eye-opening experience for all of use. Usually, through their own reflections, they draw the conclusion of how important math is in our daily lives. It opens up the channel for some great class discussions.
• Spaghetti and Marshmallows...that's right. Since our class is so student-directed and they need to learn the crucial skills of communication, collaboration, problem-solving, and critical thinking, I give each team of four students 20 pieces of raw spaghetti, 1 yard of tape, 1 yard of string, and 1 marshmallow. Their goal is to build the highest tower that can hold the jumbo marshmallow at the top. Some teams need encouragement as they start to struggle and many want to give up, but by asking guiding questions, they get inspiration and set off on another idea. (Check out the photo album of this year's challenge.)

• Since we use many web tools, digital resources, and social media, it is imperative that my students develop good online habits. We use a resource called NetCetera to spark much conversation about cybersafety, netiquette, and cyberbullying. (I discuss this in further detail in my book.) On the first day, my students are introduced to Twitter and our class Twitter feed, @RamsaysClass. We talk about all of these good habits within the context of tweeting and the students set the guidelines. At the end of each day, each group writes one tweet on a sentence strip that we hang up in the hallway. This is a way that I can guide them into creating meaningful, powerful tweets for our class. Within three days, my students were ready to start conversing with the Twitterverse and all of the other students with whom we are connected.

• Beginning to tweet led into our lessons on beginning to blog. Karen McMillan has created series of lessons that teach students how to blog by starting them off on paper. Before we begin blogging (on paper first then digitally), I lead a discussion with my students about what expectations they have for their blogs. These lessons are a huge hit with my students. It gives them experience in writing high quality posts and comments before actually setting off to write their digital blogs on KidBlog. (Check out the post that I wrote about their first blogging experience.)

• Another activity in which my students engage is that they "build their wildselves." We want all of students to be safe when using digital tools, but we also want them to have some identity. BuiLD YouR WiLD SeLF is a site hosted by the New York Zoos and Aquarium. Students (and their teachers...because we all want one of these) visit the site and they create avatars that begin with kids and then you can add different animals parts like peacock feathers and octopus tentacles to the character. This is a great way for students to create an identity that's safe. My students use their wildselves in all of the different tools where an avatar can be used.

So that answers the question that so many people have been asking. To be honest, I don't think it's so  much about what you do as it's how you do the activities and lessons that you plan. For me, it's important that they start learning how to think, dig deeper, stretch their wings, be kind to one another, communicate well with others, and take responsibility for their own learning. The biggest shift for them is that they are put in charge of their learning...which is totally foreign to them when they enter my class. I hope that all of you have had as wonderful of a beginning of the school year as we have. I look forward to all of us learning together this school year...and beyond.

Questions and Answers

As I was presenting my sessions at SDE's National Conference on Differentiated Instruction, several questions arose that I feel like deserve more attention. One thing that I always try to remember is that my perspective is different than many other teachers. Many teachers that attend my presentations and workshops are great teachers, but some haven't made the shift from teacher-driven to student-directed learning. Others want to make that shift, but they don't know how to go about making that a reality; they aren't able to "see" what it looks like in a real honest to goodness classroom.

I know, from my own experience, that it can be a scary proposition to let go of that [illusion of] control; when we are in front of the classroom, we feel like master and commander of our classroom.But the question that I challenge everyone who spends a majority of their time in front of their students disseminating information is: How do you know what each student is grasping while you are leading the instruction?

Does a traditional test measure everything that a learner can learn in a certain subject? Does a right answer necessarily indicate understanding any more than a incorrect answer indicates a lack if understanding? It is crucial for us to each consider the answers to these questions about our own practice. Without taking the time to evaluate and reflect on our own practice, we become irrelevant for our students. We must do what is best for them and their needs and not what is best [or easiest] for us.

Here are some of the queries that were posed to me this week as teachers were trying to "see" how they could make student-directed learning work for them:


1. Are these collaborative projects graded? Yes, a majority of these projects are graded. In my classroom, when we engage in a writing/publishing project, my students brainstorm their ideas of what the final outcome will be. As they begin to formulate an idea, a discussion ensues about what should be included. They decide the purpose, the audience, the tone, the type of writing that will best support the project, the content should be included. As they are discussing this, I'm asking them probing questions, having them justify their choices. They need to understand that the decisions they make should be substantive. 

Learning is the ultimate goal. In these discussions, the learners are designing a basic rubric that will guide them and ultimately assess them. They designed it, not me. What do you notice is missing? There is not one mention of the tool that the students will use for their final product. Learners need to understand that the ultimate goal is learning. Technology is just the tool to get them to their ultimate goal. 


2. If students aren't assigned a specific tool to use, how do they know what tool will support their project? Most of my students come to me with very limited experience using digital tools. Their previous school experience is mostly "drill and kill" games. So, this is how I do it. The first week of school we do not have any of our "extras" classes. That gives me additional time in the school day to do some additional activities. 


One activity in which my students engage is an online scavenger hunt. They work in partners and search all of our class' digital resources and tools that they will find useful throughout the year. In additional to our class website, wikis, and blog, they also search the projects that previous students have published. They are searching for specific information while experiencing a host of different digital options. This gives them a general idea of the types of things that are possible. Do they necessarily know the names of all the tools? No, but they begin to get an idea of what is possible when it comes to publishing. 


3. How do you find the time to teach the different tech tools that your students are going to use to publish their work? Since the lack of time is usually our biggest challenge, my students have found several ways to squeeze in more learning time. Many of my students arrive via bus an hour before school begins. When I arrive at school, I invite my students to come to our classroom to work. During this time, I can pull a small group and show them the basics of how a tool works. This is usually a 10 minute or less lesson to several students who a now the class experts. 


Many of my students are so excited to begin publishing their work, they don't want to wait until the next morning so they begin exploring a tool on their own. They explore, troubleshoot and depend on their peers if they get stuck. They enjoy becoming independent and working together to problem solve. They depend upon one another. In reality,very little class time is actually spent on the tech tool side of the projects. The focus is always on the learning. 

Thanks to all of you for your participation, comments, questions, and challenges this week. I appreciate all if the hardworking that you put into becoming the best teacher that you can be for your students. If you have any more questions, you know how to reach me. I'm only a blog, tweet, Facebook post, or email away.