AutoRap

Trying to engage middle school students in studying science that is not relevant to them is hard work.  It is even harder when all they want to do is tap their pencils and sing during class time.  In an attempt to combine their interests, the science content, and literacy skills, I created a lesson/activity for next week that will definitely keep their attention by having them write rap songs.

Since we have been studying the Earth's layers, it was time for students to prove their knowledge in a summative assessment.  They will use their knowledge, notes, and activities to create, write, and perform raps.  They will be required to work in groups of three to write a rap that will last at least one minute and thirty seconds.  In the raps, they will have to include certain vocab words, processes, and sayings in order to be considered successful.  They will have two days to write and tweak the raps.  Once they have their rap written and approved by the teacher, the teacher will show them the app AutoRap.
AutoRap is an app that turns speech into a rap song.  The students will read the rap in a regular voice.  When they are done recording, they press sync.  Then, the app turns the voice into a rap.  The app has background music and beats to go along with the talking.  The app is also great because it repeats words to sound like an authentic rap.
This app is going to be a hit in my classroom because my students love to listen to raps and to write songs. The app helps me to excite them and organize the students' work.

Monkey Math App

  Monkey in the Middle Math app is an app that can be used on individual iPads.  It is a common core based app for students who are ages 10-14 and are in middle school.  The app is a game that allows students to have fun while practicing their math skills.  The math skills that can be worked on in game game are:

• Addition
• Subtraction
• Multiplication 
• Division
• Number properties
• Area and Volume
• Median, mean, mode
• Decimals
• Converting numbers
• Converting unit

The students look at these math facts and use their quick thinking to pop the balloons with the correct number on it.  As they go through the facts, they will get points for the level and be able to move on. Once you pass the level, you can unlock higher levels.  

In my classroom, I use this app as an incentive for one of my students.  One of my students has trouble focusing in class and is always a disruption to the others.  I have been trying to positively inspire him to follow expectations by giving incentives for him to earn.  If he can last all day without losing all of his letter strikes then he gets to use my iPad and play a math game.  

This incentive works for many reasons.  First, it positively encourages him to do the right thing and follow instructions.  Also, it is an incentive that he can work towards and achieve.  It also is on an iPad which is a cool tool for this student because he does not have the technology at home.  He loves the iPad (at the beginning of the year, he asked if he could touch it once so he can say that he has actually touched an iPad before).  This also reinforces basic math facts.  This is a great incentive and app to use in the classroom.

Follet Readers

Follet reader is an online literacy website.  It allows for teachers to select ebooks.  Some of the books are just made for online and some of them are actual books that have been converted to digital form.  In my classroom, I used this site to project the digital book on the board.  I used the arrow keys to go from page to page.  I used it during a science class.  We were learning how to read informational text and extract important information.  On the white board with the text projected up, I showed my students how to mark up a text.  This helped them see how they should mark up their text when they read informational text.  Marking up the text will keep their attention on reading so they do not get side tracked or read without a purpose.

Marks that I modeled:

• underlined phrases
• circled unknown words
• made connection symbols 
• exclimation points
• question marks
• mini sketches
• highlighted
• made mini notes in the margin

I showed students how good readers interact with the text.  This site allowed for me to show the students how to read critically with each person seeing my thinking take flight on the board.
The app allows for teachers and parents to download books on their tablets.  This can be a way to excite students and children to read digitally.

ebooks Using ScribblePress

eBooks are a great asset to any class.  Most of my students have cell phones, computers, or tablets.  It is tough to compete for their attention with all of the great technology that they are use to.  It helps when, as a teacher, I can cater to their interests.  There is no learning without being an engaged student.  With eBooks, students can still get the same content delivered in a creative and more engaging way. Transitions, pictures, sounds, and swipes can be added to online, interactive books to make them more appealing to students.  
ScribblePress is an app that allows people to create, share, and publish stories using iPads.  This app can be used by teachers to create stories to read to a class or for students to create their own stories.  They can type in their stories on several different pages.  They can also put in clip art or upload pictures.  Drawing and free hand sketch is available to you if you choose to use your artistic abilities to create pictures to enhance your project.

I used ScribblePress in my classroom during science class to have a different way to view class notes for one of my students.  She is an ESL student who is still learning the english language.  Written language is hard for her because she came over as a refugee two years ago with zero knowledge of english.  She has picked up the spoken language a lot faster by being exposed to it often.  Using ebooks, I am able to pre-write the notes out for her.  The notes were written at her own level using words she knows and pictures to show the material.  These particular notes were on the structure of the eye.  There were diagrams with labels on it.  The definitions of each structure were shortened to three to four words instead of the whole definition.  This helps her concentrate on what it is actually doing.  It was easy for me to create because I could just write what she needed to know and use pictures rather than having all of the excess information.  
I gave my iPad to her when the class went into teacher directed powerpoint mode.  It looked like she was doing the same activities but taking notes off of the iPad instead of the board like everybody else. This made her feel like a part of the class and equal like everyone else.

Class Dojo- Classroom Management

Being a first year teacher, I have come to realize that management is a vital piece of the classroom.  Without a clear structure and management technique, even the best lessons can turn out to be a nightmare.  The iPad has lent itself to be very helpful to use with classroom management.
Class dojo is a behavior management website.  Teachers sign on and create classes.  They enter in students' first names.  The websites create avatars for them.

During class, the teacher can click on students to give them positive points or negative points.  The website documents and keeps track of students behaviors.  Next to each avatar, is the number of points the student has earned.  Most of the time it has a green number but if the student is getting a lot of negative points, it could have a red negative number.
The teacher can pick the types of behaviors to select for her students.  Some of the ones that I have included are:

• on task
• helping others
• volunteering
• persistence
• working hard

Some of the negative ones are:

• off task
• talking at an inappropriate time
• disrespect
• hands on others
• not being prepared

As class goes on, the teacher can reward points as she sees students doing those behaviors.  This is a great way for teachers to keep track of behaviors.  Class prizes and rewards can be used to motivate students if need be.  In my classroom, if students have at least 75% positive behavior then they get to go outside for a dojo recess reward once a week.  This is motivating the students because they do not get recess in middle school.

The iPad comes into play for this by being a portable way to document behaviors from anywhere.  There is a class dojo app that makes it easy for teachers to add points from anywhere in the classroom.  This gives teachers the chance to monitor behaviors from right next to the student instead of being on the other side of the room.  I have the iPad hooked up to the computer so when the teacher adds a positive point, the whole class hears the ring, when she adds a negative point, the whole class hears the thump.  This reminds students to be do the right thing so they will get positive points added to their avatar.  Being able to walk around and stand next to a student and add points motivates them to continue the desired behavior or stop the undesirable.  It is also helpful to manage behaviors from across the room.  When students hear the sound, they monitor their own behavior to make sure they are doing the right thing.  If the hear a negative sound, all of the students who are doing something that they are not suppose to all look at the teacher.  The teacher will usually be looking at the person that is receiving the negative behavior point.  This will tell them to stop and to get on task.  

Students and parents can track the behavior from home if the have the dojo app or sign on to the website with a parent code that the teacher prints. 

Class dojo and the iPad work together in my classroom to monitor and report behaviors from all over the classroom.  Without the iPad, class dojo would be harder to manage and would be stationary.

Tablet Drawbacks

It is true that the tablets transform the classroom environment.  In some aspects, it is a positive change, and in other aspects, it is a pain!  With this new technology, students are given the freedom, independence, and resources to achieve far more than the could have before.  This is only if the technology cooperates.

There was an initiative to personalize learning for each student.   WIth the amplify tablets, teacher were suppose to implement interactive lessons to all students at their own pace.  Because there were so many technology issues, such as chargers breaking, wifi not working, or apps having errors for no reason, Amplify and Guilford County decided to suspend the PACE initiative and remove the tablets from the classrooms and out of the hands of students.  This decision was made mainly because there were safety concerns with the chargers.
Since the tablets were removed from the classroom, the daily activity and climate has changed in the classroom.  First off, there is no more cluttery mess of chargers and tablets charging in the back of the room!  The students also are less concentrating more on the details of the lesson because they are doing more writing and more moving around.  With the tablets, the students were more concerned with the text not being centered or having lag time while typing.  Now, it is all about the content and they do not have as much authentic hands-on experience with technology, which is unfortunate.
The students were very frustrated with the tablets.  Everyday, there would be at least 4 people with major tablet issues that would cause me to quickly troubleshoot or find another way to do the activity planned.  I was having to write multiple lesson plans for each class period to use a a back-up plan if the tablets were not working.  It frustrated the teachers because we could not rely on the tablets to do what they were intended to do, personalize learning.  The students would try to maneuver them and work the best they could with them, but many times, there would not cooperate.
Many of the students were relieved to get rid of the tablets.  Some of them stopped bringing them home and using them in class because the tablets were more of a hassle than a helpful tool.
The PACE plan has good intentions.  It was a huge project to bring on, especially given that the program was just vaporware last June.  This initiative should have had a trial period where they could have learned some of the problems and worked out the bugs before putting the tablets in the hands of over 15,000 people.  

MyCreate App

Two months into school (so weird to think that much time has gone by!), our classroom is working on taking advantage of every technology opportunity we have.  Some of the troubles we have been facing have to do with out tablets blocking certain content and websites, our tablet having glitches, or wifi problems.  It is not always a good idea to rely on the tablets or the technology.  That is why I usually have too lessons for each day.  

One for if the tablets and wifi are working and an old-school paper and pencil back up plan.  It is a little frustrating but the technology does wonders when it is working.

In math class, we have been working on ratios and unit rates.  Instead of just doing problems out, students have been doing higher level thinking tasks like creating their own word problems and models to represent the equations.  In this particular assignment, students worked in groups to formulate a word problem of their choice and represent the problem with models.  They wrote the problems and the solutions.

 They also had to work together to show the problem being solved.  It could be a model, a picture, or items to show the what is happening in the problem.  The students will then write the problem out and take pictures every so often to act like it is a movie.  They will also have pictures of the models.  With all of these pictures, the word problem would be written out and shown in the model. 

MyCreate is an app that allows for students to create still motion videos.  It is an easy to use program where kids can animate and make come to life pictures, models, stuffed animals, art projects and more! To create the projects, all you do is take a series of photographs.  Between each photograph, somebody will slightly move the object.  When all of the photographs are put together, the object will look like it is moving.  

This app is great for students to take ownership in their learning. If gives them the responsibility of coming up with a project idea, allotting jobs to different students, working cooperatively, and working with technology.  It also gives them a chance to work with the 21st century technology and editing skills.  This app can be used as a project to keep their interest and have them showcase their knowledge. 

Read and Reserch

This week we continued our study on heat transfer using the tablets in the classroom.  We have moved on to natural insulators and how living things adapt because they respond to stimuli.  We started class using the discussion feature on the amplify tablets.  The question that I posted was what features do animals have to help them survive in the wilderness.  There were many great answers posted on the discussion board.  I was looking for students to connect the previous lessons to this topic by naming how natural insulation like blubber, fat, and fur can help animals survive.

Next, I sent out a document as an assignment on their tablets using the amplify software.  The students downloaded the article on polar bear insulation and read it on their tablets.  They could use the highlight, underline, and note taking feature in the kingsoft office app to aide their reading.  After the read, they wrote a paragraph talking about what features a polar bear has to protect it from the harsh conditions of the Arctic.  They did this by editing the article and typing it in at the bottom.  When they were done, they sent the edited article back to me using the same software.  I am able to sign on to my tablet and view all of the students' sent work and assess it from my tablet.

In another lesson, I used the tablets to assess where the students are on each individual standard.  There is an app called Math Map.  It is a series of hexagons where each hexagon has a different standard in it. the standards run from fourth grade all the way up to early high school standards.  They are organized in clusters that show how the correlate and build off of one another.  Students can click on one, learn about it by watching a Khan Academy video, and take a mini assessment on that standard.  The app automatically grades it and assess if the student has mastered, understands, or needs more work with each standard.  It will color the hexagon green, yellow, or red according to how the score.  This is helpful for teachers to see concretely how the students are doing on each individual standard.

GoAnimate

This week, we dove right into using the tablets with web 2.0 assignments. heat transfer.  Conductor and insulators are big topics in this unit.  In order to get the students to showcase their knowledge, most teachers have students explain in writing what each of the vocabulary words are.  With tablets, we can make that activity much more interesting.

 In science, 6th graders are studying
My students used the website GoAnimate to create cartoon situations where one cartoon would have to explain to another what conductors and insulators are and give examples.  Since the students have never used this site before, I set up a tutorial on sophia to walk them through the steps, show them what to do, explain what is expected and give them a rubric on how they will be graded.
On the amplify network, I sent out the link to GoAnimate and to Sophia.  The students clicked the links and worked through the tutorial as they created their account on GoAnimate.  This was a great way for students to be independent and practice following step by step directions.  In groups of two, students worked together to research heat transfer and write a dialogue to showcase their knowledge about the topic.  Most students choose a teacher/student, student/parent, or student/student relationship to have one person explain to the other what the different aspects of heat transfer are and how they work.
This lesson was a huge success!  The students loved to work together in groups and to create their own project.  Most of them have never gotten the chance to create their own web project.  The students actually went home and created their own cartoons in their free time because they had so much fun!
Since this project kept their interest, allowed them to prove their knowledge, and was a good time, we will be doing a lot more fun projects like this!  Click here and here to see some student examples.

Amplify Lessons and Personalized Learning

As a county improvement initiative, most middle schoolers in Guilford County have been issued Asus Android Tablets for use in school work.  Students get to use the tablets in school as well as have them at home for extra practice and homework.  This initiative is meant to personalize learning for all students to ensure that they are individually improving and growing as students.  The amplified software is installed to create virtual classrooms.

Within these classrooms, students have folders for each class they take.  The teacher can send out website and video links, files, documents, and assignments.  The student checks into class in order to see what the class feed says.  Other cool features of Amplify folders are the ability of the teacher to see what apps the students are on, to send out formative assessment check such as spot checks and short answers and have student lead conversations and discussions.
In my classroom, I am using the tablets as formative assessment tools.  I sent out a google drive form to the students and allowed them to take the survey about ratios.  The questions had the students writing ratios, simplifying ratios, explaining the different types of ratios, and creating word problems having to do with ratios.  Once they took the survey, the results were sent start to my account for assessing.
Another way I am using the tablets in my classroom is to have math fact practice.  Within the first few weeks of teaching, I realized that my students are getting and understanding the concepts that I am teaching them.  Yet, they are getting most of the questions incorrect.  This is because they have not mastered math facts like addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division or they make careless errors.  In order to fix this problem, I set them all up on xtramath.org.  This website is a quick and easy way for teachers to monitor and have students practice math computations.  Every morning, as the students walk in, they take out their tablets and sign on to a session of xtramath.
For more information, click on this link to go to the Guilford County Schools newsbreak to view a video (with me in it) explaining how personalize learning will be used in the classroom.