2017+Northwest+District+Educators+Conference

ADMINISTRATORS SESSION: FaithEdTech and the Future of Education
Notes on FaithEdTech and the Future of Education:



BEYOND BRICKS AND MORTAR: IMPLEMENTING LEARNING OUTSIDE OF THE CLASSROOM
LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (LMS) THAT ASSIST IN IMPLEMENTING LEARNING OUTSIDE THE CLASSROOM:

Edmodo -- Free LMS with corporate and educational backing. Schoology -- Commercial LMS with free and enterprise versions. Google Classroom -- Basic free LMS that is tied to G Suite for Education (formerly Google Apps) Canvas -- Commercial LMS, highly visual and adaptive, can be connected to other LMS services, such as RenWeb. The best features are more costly.

ADDITIONAL LMS RESOURCES:


 * Edmodo YouTube Channel -- instructional videos for the features and usage of Edmodo.
 * [|Review of Edmodo from PC Magazine]
 * Schoology YouTube Channel -- instructional videos for the features and usage of Schoology.
 * Review of Schoology from PC Magazine
 * PC Magazine reviews of popular LMS services

E-LEARNING DAYS:

E-learning days example:

St. John-Emmanuel Lutheran School, Monroeville, IN

Things to note or consider from this page:


 * Each teacher has their own e-learning page
 * While each teacher was asked to use Weebly to create their site, each page represents the style and interests of the teacher.
 * Review the e-learning day activities on the teacher pages.
 * Suggestions for good e-learning:
 * Include choice
 * Opportunity to pursue interests and passions -- personalize the learning!
 * Build reflection activities
 * Avoid busywork

Session slides:



CHECKPOINTS TO SUCCESS: APPLYING FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS TO THE LEARNING PROCESS
Here is a long list of formative assessment ideas, along with brief descriptions of each idea. Please send additional ideas for this list to dawblack@gmail.com.


 * Use a formative assessment with one, some, or all of the students. Some think that formative assessments need to be used with the entire class. An educator can be far more strategic with them. Some students might need more attention at times. Some class periods may only have time for a couple formative checks. Do not feel that you have to do the same thing every time for all students. This is where you can find ways to honor the individual gifts that they have been given by God.
 * Two impact verses -- Have a student read a section of Scripture. Then have them share with you in some format a verse or two that had the most impact for them. You will learn a lot about your student that way.
 * Exit tickets:
 * Can be paper or electronic
 * Quick quiz. Quizzes could be marked in class as a checkpoint or by the teacher. Often 3-5 quick questions work the best.
 * Questions: What is the most important thing you learned today? What is one question you have about today's lesson? What is one new thought that you had during today's lesson.
 * List of activities completed during class time. Especially useful for projects or classroom work time.
 * Have students create a quick illustration/picture about something that was discussed or studied.
 * Compare and contrast two items using a venn diagram.
 * Have a student write a quick note to a historical or Biblical character.
 * A math problem of the day at the end of the class to check for understanding.
 * Have students build something that shows what they learn
 * Answer a quick opinion question
 * Simple classroom coverage during student work time
 * Students list questions in which they are legitimately curious. Questioning like this takes practice, so make sure to include that in your routine.
 * Online discussion using Edmodo, Google Classroom, or Schoology. Use a question prompt and ask for student responses as well. Practice sound, God-pleasing etiquette when discussing with one another. This is an opportunity to prepare students for the multiple online classes they are likely to take in their lives.
 * Annotation of a section of reading or text.
 * Use a tool like EDpuzzle to have students watch a short video and then answer quick questions or share thoughts through the service.
 * Share a list of ideas and have students rank the ideas in order of importance. Can be oral or written. Have them defend their picks.
 * 3-2-1 -- Have students share three things they learned today, two things they found interesting, and one question they still have.
 * Use PollEverywhere to get some quick feedback to questions through cell phones or other devices.
 * Socrative is another service where students may be polled and asked questions about their learning in a digital environment.
 * Create a team Kahoot challenge using cell phones and other devices.
 * Give students the ability to respond to questions physically, such as with thumbs up, thumbs down, thumbs medium, nods and shakes of the head, etc.
 * Ask students to share one question they answered through research or had answered during the class.
 * Have students use a hand thermometer. Raised high means that they are burning with new learning. Placed in the middle means that are doing well but that they don't have full learning yet. Placed low indicates they need re-teaching or assistance.
 * A fake Twitter post: Have students summarize what they have learned in 140 characters or less.
 * Two Truths and a Lie: Encourage students to share two truths and a lie about what they have learned. Then challenge the class to see if they can identify the lie.
 * Use Padlet to digitally collect thoughts and ideas about academic topics and questions.
 * TodaysMeet is a digital backchannel tool, where thoughts and ideas may be shared and captured for future use.
 * Older students may create self-assessment learning blogs and posts.
 * Have students submit an audio file of what they have learned or questions that they have.
 * Challenge students to make some sort of prediction -- about a science experiment, an election, etc. That prediction should allow you to assess the understanding of a topic.
 * Have students explain to you how they know something is true. Then see if there are any misunderstandings in their explanations. This could lead to a strong formative assessment conversation with your student.
 * Use an essential question as a formative assessment tool and conversation in the class setting or as an individual conversation.
 * Use a small group rotation to assess the understanding of students in different way?
 * Allow students to create fake [|Twitter] tweets of Facebook posts as another person from history.
 * Let older students teach younger students about an idea or concept. You will get a great sense of their knowledge and understanding through this process.
 * Simple conversations among a small group of students on how to accomplish a particular task. Look for realism and new learning in their steps.
 * Create a short video or screencast to describe their learning. Screencast-O-Matic is a great, free tool for creating these short video clips.
 * Allow students to share 2-3 photos with captions that describe what they have learned.
 * Students respond to a learning prompt using sticky notes that are placed on a wall.
 * Create a quick learning survey. Google Forms is a great digital tool to accomplish this.
 * Have students create mind maps of what they have learned. See this link for a list of 11 free tools that may be used for this purpose.
 * DINNER PARTY: When studying a book, reading, or completing a unit, ask students to name two people that they would invited to a dinner part and one question they would ask them. You can even have students predict responses and provide reasons for those responses.
 * Five Whys: Have a student answer a question, and then follow up the initial answer with "Why?". Do this five times to explore a depth of learning.

Other resources:
 * 50+ Tools for Formative Assessments
 * Formative -- a online service where formative assessments may be created and shared in the digital world.

Session slides:




 * SUPPORTING CURIOUS LEARNERS: TECHNOLOGY AND EARLY CHILDHOOD/ELEMENTARY STUDENTS**

Three key strategies for supporting curious learners:

1. Empowering students to ask questions and pursue answers to those questions 2. Collaboration/social learning 3. Authentic audiences

Our Instagram story of the conference -- created by participants in this session.

Class Instagram account samples (Authentic Audiences):


 * PVSGreenThumbs -- 1st grade science account
 * Ms. Howard's Chemistry Class -- high school
 * Ms. Berges and her 5th grade mathematics class

Pallet canvas used during the session -- utilized for practicing questioning

Miscellaneous articles, links, and recommended software/sites lists:


 * 10 Surprising Ways to Use Instagram in the Classroom
 * Preschool Math Apps, Games, and Websites -- chosen by the editors at Common Sense Media
 * 15 Best Apps for Teaching Children How to Read
 * Best Apps for Kids (1st through 8th grade) -- rated by educators and parents
 * PBSKids.org -- educational games and videos
 * 7 Must-Have Student Collaboration Apps, Tools, and Resources
 * 10 EdTech Tools for Encouraging Classroom Collaboration
 * 5 Great Sites for Student Collaboration
 * Instagram -- share photo stories through this popular service
 * 8 Apps for Creative Collaboration in the Classroom
 * Seesaw -- digital portfolio tool for sharing student creations with authentic audiences
 * Apps and Sites for Storytelling

Session slides: