Tuesday 27 September 2016

Another year of learning

The 194 Days of learning blog is back for another year of making our thinking and learning visible. This year, the blog is open to anyone in the SCDSB community wishing to talk about their learning. 
Watch this space, follow #SCDSB and @SCDSB_LandT on Twitter or better yet, subscribe to this blog so you don't miss a post.

Thursday 30 June 2016

Day 194: A thank you and a reminder

Post 194 is a thank you and a reminder.

The thank you -
Thank you to all of you out there in SCDSB who tried something new this year.  By "all of you" I mean all of you - from the classroom to the boardroom - students, parents, educators, administrators, community members, support staff, facilities, human resources, operations, budget, purchasing, communications, information technology services, health and safety, corporate risk, student services, senior admin and trustees - to all of you who took a risk, questioned the status quo and tried something new to make things better for students and for each other. Thanks!

The reminder -
This is a learning organization. It has to be. Every member of the SCDSB community has a role to play in supporting learning. Sometimes, the further away we get from the student desk, the easier it is to forget our ultimate purpose. We all have roles, responsibilities and guidelines, but we can't mistake them for our purpose. These roles, responsibilities and guidelines are all means to an end, all in service of learning and well-being for all. 

Have a great summer. 

#bettertogether



Take some time to look back on all the learning documented and celebrated here on SCDSB's 194 Days of Learning Blog. Special thanks to everyone who contributed this year!

Contributors

Friday 10 June 2016

Day 179: Designing and Building VR Headsets - The Epic Fail with Outstanding Possibilities



One day at the beginning of French class a student who is often quiet had a virtual reality (VR) headset with him. Of course, he put it away and hid it as class got started. There was a buzz in the room, as other students showed interest and we decided to run with it. With the entire class prompting and asking questions this student started to lead the discussion. He proposed that we could all make our own headsets and use them to travel around the world.

After two periods of problem solving and construction, we ended up with some devices that worked. Kind of. While the devices we made don't work perfectly, the skills developed by students through the process included critical thinking, communication and collaboration. One of my observations was how "out of their element" many of these students in Academic French were while constructing the devices. Leaders transpired through the process who were not always our traditional class leaders. The activity empowered students to work together and value each others unique strengths.



https://twitter.com/OSSLanguages/status/740907728151928832/video/1
With the initial excitement of testing the devices done, our next steps are to use a combination of purchased and created VR headsets to tour French landmarks such as le Louvre, the Eiffel Tower and Versailles. After completing their virtual tours, students will communicate their learning, observations and opinions to classmates in structured conversations within small groups. I will circulate using a Google Form to document my observations of student learning.

As an extension, students will spend some time exploring the tours available and bring one of interest in to class for discussion.

Alicia Murphy, Orillia Secondary School - amurphy@scdsb.on.ca


Links:




Monday 6 June 2016

Day 175 Toy Dissection Workshop- An E-Workshop Presented by ScienceNorth

A month ago a student came to the library here at Portageview Public School, looking for information about a specific rock as she was gathering research for an inquiry in grade four on Rocks and Minerals.    
Together we composed a tweet and sent an email to Science North/ Dynamic Earth in Sudbury.  

A quick reply was received.  The response from Science North led me to wonder if they would be interested in connecting with the students at Portage View to discuss and answer additional questions about rocks and minerals. Through email, they explained that they didn’t yet have an e-workshop for rocks and minerals but that they did have one for Gears and Pulleys. A phone call was set up between the two grade four teachers at our school and Melanie Smith a scientist from Science North to discuss this opportunity.  

Through this communication, we learned that the Gears and Pulleys workshop not only was available but was also free at this time as it was being subsidized.  We were very excited to hear about this program and set in motion the steps necessary to take part in this program.  A date was arranged, materials were sent and arrived from Science North and a check to ensure that the online conferencing we would use for our meeting (Zoom) would work.  We were now ready to go!

In April, the grade four students arrived in the library with their ipads ready to take part in this online workshop.  Scientist Melanie from Science North facilitated the program from her office in Sudbury.  
The grade four students used ipads throughout the workshop to document their learning and then used Book Creator to create a finished product to share their learning.  We have been asked to share some of these with Science North.  

Below is a video of one of the recounts created by a group of students:




This experience was an excellent opportunity for the students at Portage View to participate in hands-on learning, connect with a real scientist and ask questions to an expert in the field!

submitted by Jacquie Raycraft, Teacher Librarian

Friday 27 May 2016

Day 169 - The Little Inquiry That Could!

Next week is June first. I can't believe it, but it is that time of year. June is a time for endings and beginnings, grief and excitement. For me, it is a time of reflection. A time to look back at the work we have done and the impact it has had. 

This year, nothing has given me more gratification than the transforming learning spaces inquiry. It has been a privilege to work with incredible educators who have pushed themselves out of their comfort zones to meet the learning needs of their students. This was a true inquiry, we didn't really know how it was going to go. We certainly had no idea the spread it would have. We started with a small group of teachers and it organically grew to touch schools in all areas of our Board. It has become a constant conversation and starting point for many other inquiries. Educators are seeing the connections between transforming their spaces and it's connection to STEAM, Inquiry and play based learning. When space is transformed so is the learning. We have heard from students and staff that changing the space has created an environment that has allowed students to make decisions. They need to think about the working space that works best for them. 

Moving to community space rather than individually held real estate has fostered collaboration, a sense of team and empathy.
Mrs. Sweeney's Door!
We are also seeing that having a variety of spaces is having an impact on movement. Students are moving and being active in their learning significantly more than they were with traditional desks and chairs. We know this is important, "Amazingly, the part of the brain that processes movement is the same part of the brain that processes learning" (Jensen, 2005) For more information on the movement/brain connection, check out this link; Teaching with the Brain in Mind, Eric Jensen. We are seeing students who are now motivated to come to school and engage in learning in ways they never have before. 

We have learned a great deal about the importance of physical space on student learning over the last few months but this is just the beginning. We are encouraged by what we are hearing from the participants of this inquiry. We have also been inspired by spaces in Private Industry. Tyger Shark digital media welcomed us into their thoughtfully considered space in downtown Barrie. They have designed their space to foster creativity and collaboration. Between their space and their message of, "we need people who are hungry to constantly learn" we felt inspired and affirmed in our work. 

This work is challenging and there are often more questions than answers but when I walk into a transformed space and feel the learning, I know it is worth it. 

This year, I feel like June is only a launching pad for the incredible learning and work to come. The little inquiry that could is no longer little and it will only continue to gain momentum. I couldn't be more proud to part of this team that is changing learning environments for the better.


Wednesday 25 May 2016

Day 167: One book that connected the county

For 7 weeks this Spring, over 90 Grade 5-8 classes from across Simcoe County read the same book during our first ever SCDSB Read Aloud.  The inspiring novel that was chosen for this exciting event was Walking Home by Eric Walters.  



The story is about a thirteen-year-old boy and his younger sister who, as a result of political unrest, go on a journey of over a hundred miles across Kenya to find their relatives.  The children encounter many challenges along the way.  A companion website brings the novel to life, through photos, videos and maps.

This project came about after a small group of teachers and teacher librarians were inspired by the Global Read Aloud and wanted to do something  similar here in Simcoe County.  After choosing the book, it was decided that all Grades 5-8 classes would be invited to participate. Melanee Vandermolen's Grade 5 students at West Bayfield Elementary School created promotional posters as part of their Media Literacy program, which were copied and sent to all schools to promote the project.

From the beginning, the organizers felt strongly that they wanted to be inclusive of all Grade 5-8 teachers and students, regardless of  their comfort with technology.  The priority of this read aloud was to put the focus on the book itself, rather than the technology tools used for exploring and connecting.  Just over 90 teachers responded  to the email invitation by signing up on a Google Form.  From there, the organizers used that list of contacts to keep the project moving forward.  Teachers were asked if they wanted to connect their classes with another one and share ideas about the book.

The culminating activity was a very special video conference on Google Hangouts on Air.  In preparation, the teachers were asked to work with their students to come up with rich questions and share them with the organizing committee.  A few classes were chosen to go "live" with Mr. Walters and ask the questions submitted on behalf of the contributing classes.

Photo by S.English - used with permission

If you missed the conversation with Eric Walters and would like to watch a recording of it, click below to access the video on YouTube:



Be sure to follow us on Twitter to watch for updates for next year.  The organizers welcome others who wish to join in so that the SCDSB Read Aloud can be expanded to include more grade levels. Be sure to complete our feedback survey if you participated in the Read Aloud in any way this year.  We want to hear your voices before making decisions about next year's project.

A big thank you to all the classes who participated, especially to those teachers and students who shared ideas with others.  

Students!  Teachers!  Teacher Librarians!  Please leave us a comment.  What did you like most about the SCDSB Read Aloud?


Here are a few stats:











Wednesday 18 May 2016

Day 164: Learn with us! Live video event from NPDL Deep Learning Lab

There are 14 schools in SCDSB participating in New Pedagogies for Deep Learning (NPDL) initiatives. These schools are pushing the envelope with innovative ideas. On Thursday May 19th school teams are getting together to share successes and lessons learned throughout the year. Teams will include students, parents, teachers and administrators.

This hangout will be a station in a carousel of sharing at our Deep Learning Lab. Please excuse any 'dead air' moments as we transition between different teams. If you have any questions for the schools sharing, please feel free to tweet them with the tags #SCDSB #NPDL. We'll do our best to get the questions to schools as they are sharing.

You can watch the live event right here at 10:45 - 11:30 am on May 19th, 2016.

Tuesday 17 May 2016

Day 163: What Does Belonging Look Like?

Tonight, we held a celebration and screening of films created by students for our SCDSB Student Film Festival. The theme this year was "What Does Belonging Look Like?".  Getting the chance to hear students explain the messages in their videos and what they learned in the process was very powerful. Some of these explanations included;
  • that he hid a message in the credits about gender neutrality 
  • her powerful metaphor for equity
  • how in creating the video she felt that students in her school really reflected and therefore felt as though they belonged even more than before 
  • how he was now belonging in his new school after creating the video about his friends before leaving his previous school 
  • how he shared the message supporting others in making new friends with humour 
  • how they connected with students across the world 
While we celebrated by watching the products, the real work was in the process for this Film Festival. Students all worked through a feedback cycle where they provided feedback on all the other films before the final submission date. Many students worked this feedback into their edits expertly. 

We have the very basics for next years Digital Media Festival planned. Please join us. 

If you would like to learn from the many powerful messages shared by students, please watch our videos below! Thanks to Taking It Global for supporting our Film Festival. 


Wednesday 11 May 2016

Day 162: Using Plasticine To Make A Digital Book Come Alive

This collaboration project began at the Reading For the Love of It conference when we attended a session by Barbara Reid. She inspired  us by her techniques and her plasticine artwork.  Using real examples, she talked about projects she had done with students.  Her clear step by step instructions and student examples, made us feel  that it was something we could definitely do with our students.

We do character ed assemblies at East Oro P.S.  and we were emphasizing "Honesty" as March's character trait.  We chose Franklin Fibs because we thought the kids would really enjoy making the animals out of plasticine.  We needed a book of a good length, easy for them to read and follow  the story.  

Here's the finished copy of our digital book, Franklin Fibs!


To begin, our Grade 2 students started practising to use the techniques with plasticine that were modelled on YouTube and in a variety of Barbara Reid books.  Students were exploring colour mixing, using tools and various techniques by creating an outdoor picture that could show anything they wanted.  

In our Grade 2 class, we co-created success criteria for expressive oral language that should be used when presenting a poem or other oral reading.

Then we read the Franklin story and talked about the message.  They were each given a page of text that they needed to sketch with paper, pencil and pencil crayons.  We discussed the need to simplify the picture, knowing that the next step would involve plasticine.  This part surprised us, as students were able to focus on the  important  aspects of their picture.  Then they had to use their sketch, placed beside a cardboard base to begin creating their plasticine image.  This stage took 4-5 sessions to build the background, add the details and  textures to come up with their finished product.  Then the students practiced reading aloud their text to match their image according to the success criteria.  We photographed each picture using the camera on an iPad.

Watch our "How-to" video made in iMovie

In the app, Adobe Voice (available on  the Airwatch catalogue for teachers who sign up for a free account) we added the photos from the camera roll, then had each student record their section of the story.  Later, we were able to tap and drag the photo/recordings into the proper sequence.  We then added the music from the choices available in the app.  An important tip is to turn the volume down to make sure student voice can be heard clearly over the music.

Lora Langner and Jenn Fyfe








Tuesday 26 April 2016

Day 151 - Sharing the Learning: Leveraging Digital

This afternoon, we were lucky enough to participate in a sharing session of teachers from the West. They came together to reflect on their inquiry that revolved around using the iPads for taking learning deeper.

Here are just some of the examples that were shared.  Daryl Pike's Grade 8 students at Birchview Dunes explored the impact of humans on the earth. Students did research and storyboarding in their Geography class and then did the video production with Daryl (their Media teacher).  The project evolved to include a focus on digital citizenship.




Rebecca Barr's grade 5 & 6 class at Admiral did a unit on fractured fairy tales.  The challenge was to modify or combine fairly tales and then share them in a digital format with their reading buddies. Students wrote a plan with paper and pencil, a draft in a Google Docs on the Chromebooks, then they used the Book Creator app (combined with Chatterpix and iMovie).

Laura Kennedy and Jody Bumstead shared some work that their students did in the Learning Centre. They were doing procedural writing so they created their work in the Book Creator app.  Students used speech to text and text to speech features in the iPad to support them with the writing process.

Margaret Johnson from Nottawa talked about how she is supporting her students to be more independent and self-assess their writing.  She has them use the accessibility features built into the iPad so they can correct spelling and punctuation, and use Voice Typing in Google Docs.  The change in routines has resulted in improved writing.

The common outcome for all of the students, as observed by the teachers involved, was greater engagement in the learning.  Everyone agreed that the quality of work was enhanced due to the combination of the technology and  the fact that the work was shared with an authentic audience.

Deb Shackell & Marie Swift

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Day 146: Leveraging Digital Tools For Deep Learning

Today, 5 teachers from four different schools gathered at Wyevale Central P.S. to share their learning around the Leveraging Digital Tools for Deep Learning NM1 Inquiry.  The sharing of ideas and learning experiences was awesome!  

Here are some examples from a teacher in the group:  


I found that my students needed a space to share all of the digital work that we have been creating using the iPads in Science. We have been using apps such as Pic Collage and Book Creator. I also thought it was important for students to share all of their learning that they have been doing in Science Class with their parents. 

I decided to use the SeeSaw App to do this sharing. I set up a SeeSaw account for my classes (I am a PT teacher). I spent several classes demonstrating to the students how to post their digital work onto SeeSaw after they have completed it. I also printed out an invitation for each child to take home inviting their families to log onto their child's "page". 

The video below is from a student who posted right on SeeSaw. The student took a picture of her work and explained what her picture was about using the microphone part on the SeeSaw App. This project incorporated Science (friction), Media (conventions of Instagram) and Visual Arts (texture). 




The second post (see video below) was created in Book Creator. The students completed the experimental method of their Gravity Experiment. They then posted their completed experiments onto SeeSaw.



The impact of using this App to keep track of their learning was that students are engaged and excited about posting and sharing their work.When students knew that there was an audience for their work the students were keener to work harder on their work. Parents who have signed on are excited to see their child's work. It makes it easier for them to engage in discussions about what their child is learning at school. 

My next steps are to continue using the App for more digital projects. To take it to a deeper level I would like to demonstrate how to use the Success Criteria to give feedback to peers on their work and to do self-assessment. I will also resend the parent invitation to try and get more parents onboard. The last thing is to continue to demonstrate is how to use the app to my fellow co-workers.  (Kimberlee Hall)


Here are some examples from some of the other teachers involved in the inquiry:


-using the SeeSaw app to allow students to record their voices while doing independent reading or while doing "Read to Someone" 

- a Google Form with the group that she had created to track observations of students while doing Running Records

-using Google Maps to locate places in the community, then having students describe the special place and read their "script" in front of  an  image of that place using the Green Screen DoInk app

‐using various resources (print, online) exploring the impact of people on the natural features in the 
community (environmental focus) and sharing learning using the Book Creator app

-creating a Weebly blog to collect student work from various projects on Padlet, Adobe Voice and Pic Collage, related to a class novel study partnership with another class

Thursday 3 March 2016

Day 121: Learning to Sew Electronic Circuits, or a Lesson in STEAM and Stick-to-it·ive·ness

This morning was a great day of learning at Barrie Central Collegiate.  Students had an opportunity to try hacking some of their personal belongings with  electronic circuits.  This included shirts, socks, touques or just pieces of fabric.

Only a handful of students had any experience with hand stitching and even fewer had spent much time building electric circuits. Needless to say progress was slow and frustrations ran high. However, as the period progressed we began witnessing more and more "aha" moments. Students who could barely thread a needle were starting to brighten up their items with colourful LEDs.

Before the class was over, most had a working LED circuit and quite a few where already planning on adding more complexity to their original design.



Wednesday 17 February 2016

Day 106: Power of Teacher Collaboration - #CraftReconciliation


This week has been a week of eye-opening, mind-exploding learning about the power of teacher collaboration.

SCDSB is working with a variety of other school boards including Wikwemikong High School,
Mnjikaning Kendaaswin Elementary School, Orangeville Secondary School and Mine Centre Elementary School to participate in Wab Kinew's #CraftReconciliation challenge. Wab Kinew made the following challenge to Canadian educators. 

We decided that while Minecraft was a great hook for student engagement, we wanted to make sure the learning was really deep and student-led around the theme of reconciliation. This has led to a group of 28+ classes working together to support each other in completing this challenge. Classes will be getting together synchronously (in smaller groups) throughout the project via Google Hangouts. They will be sharing and collaborating in an online discussion forum (our Provincial virtual learning environment or vLE). Teachers from this interdisciplinary group have all contributed to creating an amazing set of learning activities including; 
  • a virtual "handshake" where students share a short media piece about themselves
  • an interactive map where we will embed information and media about all the communities participating
  • background information building learning activities including articles to read, interactive digital vocabulary building activities, literacy activities, cultural activities, etc. 
  • collaborative annotation activities
  • lip dub activity where all classes will lip synch to the same song and we will create a video mash up
  • a Good Reads group for students reading novels on the theme of reconciliation or starting over
This week has been a week of teacher planning. Our first student Google Hangout with students is next week. Yesterday teachers from SCDSB, Orangeville and Rama First Nation worked together face-to-face to plan. We spent part of the day in a Google Hangout with the participating teachers from Wikwemikong First Nation who were also meeting and planning face-to-face on Manitoulin Island. Then today, I had the opportunity to meet and plan with an amazing teacher from Mine Centre Ontario who will be working with us. I can't wait to learn more about the communities that feed into Mine Centre Elementary School. 

Every single teacher has brought a different set of strengths to the table. Each one has shared ideas and improved upon the project. Some teachers have strengths in technology. Some have strengths in teaching and learning about Indigenous cultures or Canadian History. Some have mad language (Ojibwe) skills. Some have strength in encouraging really deep learning and thinking in students around the themes of power and reconciliation. Some teachers are connection makers. Some are artists. Each teacher has contributed to the learning of the others in the project. Today I read my first bilingual introduction post in our forum written in both Ojibwe and English. 

This project has taken on a mind of its own. What started as a way to simply help students and teachers participate in Wab Kinew's challenge has become a much larger, much richer student collaboration and teacher-directed professional development opportunity. I have already learned so much from my colleagues across the province and we haven't even had our first real official student collaboration yet! 

Please follow our project at http://craftreconciliation.blogspot.ca/ . We will also be tweeting and sharing with the hashtag #CraftReconciliation . If you have resources and links to share to help teachers and students learn about reconciliation please use the hashtag #learntr .






Tuesday 16 February 2016

Day 105: What is Screencast-o-matic?


Have you noticed the Screencast-o-matic icon on the desktop of school computers?

Screencast-o-matic is a tool for creating a screencast or video of your computer screen while you narrate. This is a great tool for students to record their thinking. For example, students could use the Mathies Notepad tool to complete a math problem and record their voice explaining their thinking.

Here is a document explaining How to Use Screencast-o-matic.

An example Screencast:


Friday 12 February 2016

Day 104: Getting started with MinecraftPE on the iPad

I was chatting with a teacher about Minecraft Pocket Edition on the iPad today. He was wondering about how to get started… I encouraged him to think about the following steps and check out our Minecraft blog: http://scdsbminecraft.blogspot.ca/.

Step 1: See Minecraft as a Learning Tool
Minecraft is highly engaging game for many of our students and it has the potential to add great value to learning. We need to support the students in seeing the opportunities for deep learning and ensure they know it’s not just from playing Minecraft, it’s what happens as a result. When students know their learning purpose and audience, Minecraft become an opportunity to show their creativity and develop problem solving, communication and collaboration skills. 

Step 2: Purchase the MinecraftPE app
Then talk to your principal and explain why/how you want to engage students with Minecraft. The app costs $9.99 per iPad and can be purchased for school iPads through Airwatch by submitting a helpdesk ticket. The ticket must be submitted by the school principal and include a budget code. You can share this document with your administrator: How to request an app in Airwatch and to save you time here is the link to the app from the VPP store that you will need: https://volume.itunes.apple.com/ca/app/minecraft-pocket-edition/id479516143?mt=8&term=minecraftpe&ign-mpt=uo%3D4  

Step 3: Learn How the Game Works
You don’t need to be an expert on how to play the game but having a basic understanding will help you to imagine what is possible. My best advice for learning how to play is to just try the game or even better, play with your students! Have the students show you the basic controls and ask them how they think we could use Minecraft in the classroom for learning. 

Step 4: Academic Purpose - Design your Activity
Many of our students already know how to play Minecraft and the game can engage students in a diverse range of subjects. It’ essential to begin by giving students clear learning goals and an authentic audience. For example, have students challenge another class to solve math problems involving fractions within Minecraft. 

There are many sources of inspiration online. Many resources may be de designed for the computer version of the game but you can still use the ideas.

Consider using multiplayer and have students collaborate. The game allows up to 5 students in one world. How to Play Multiplayer with MinecraftPE on a SCDSB iPad

Embed opportunities for your students to document their learning.
  • It is easy to use an iPad camera to film over their shoulder (but sometimes the sound isn’t great so it’s important to select where you film). Here is an example of a student explaining his learning during a tour of his medieval world: Lord Delaire’s Castle.
  • Take screenshots (How to take a screenshot on the iPad) and add them to their SCDSB Google Drive, which they can share with you.
  • Upload the screenshots into the Explain Everything app and talk about their ideas. Check out this example: Minecraft + Explain Everything.

Finally, remember to keep the activity fun and open. The power of Minecraft for learning is how it connects players socially and inspires creativity!

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Day 102: CODE Robotics Inquiry Launch at Prodomax


Scratch Dance Pad
The CODE Robotics Project is an opportunity for elementary students, from 13 participating schools, to engage in learning through robotics, leading to opportunities for the development of interactive, collaborative, entrepreneurial and problem solving skills.

To launch our inquiry we brought together a group of educators and co-op students, from the participating schools, for a day of hands on learning around robotics, STEAM and coding at Prodomax in Barrie. The teachers and co-op students were challenged through a series of gamified exploration spaces including: a WeDo coding table, EV3 coding space, robot maze with Dash and Dot, a Sphero Pollock Art activity, a virtual reality table (with Google Cardboard), Bayblade building battle with WeDo, a Scratch Dance Pad and a building station. After completing a challenge at one of the hands on learning stations, educators could award themselves a badge and check out their progress on the summary board.


Prodomax by @HT_Library08

We also had an opportunity to go on a tour of Prodomax and see real world examples of robotics in action. We would like to thank Prodomax for welcoming us today into their environment, which inspired our learning and gave it context. A special thank you to Jane McPherson, Bill Richardson and Marc Lemieux for sharing their knowledge with us, helping the day run smoothly and for the engaging tours!




In the afternoon we learned more about the EV3 robots through an interactive series of activities led by Ramy, Chris and Paul from Logics Academy. We were challenged to problem solve and think critically while exploring and creating with the EV3. With great support, we soon felt confident that we could take our robotic skills to the next level and creating our own programs!

See a Storify summary of the Tweets from our day of learning: CODE Robotics Inquiry Launch Tweets.

For SCDSB educators, check out our CODE Robotics Learning Story.

Follow #SCDSBbot on Twitter and our website http://scdsbbot.blogspot.ca/ to learn more.

Tyler Cave, Amy Szerminska, Chris Gilewicz, Marci Duncan and Pat Miller