Hello, #EdChat#BetterTogetherCA! I'm Bryan Sanders -- high school English teacher at Culver City. I feel Expert in many things #EdTech and am passionately Newbie and Apprentice in other aspects. Always seeking! Thanks for joining the chat! @CATeacherSummit
We will be using the Q&A format. Be sure you use the hashtag #BetterTogetherCA in your responses, so you are part of the group conversation.
@CATeacherSummit
Hi #BetterTogetherCA! Jori here from the Chico/Paradise area in Northern CA. Although there's no way I'd call myself an expert, i've been teaching English for over 20 years, and just recently discovered a new love for it because of many in my Twitter community!
For the next hour, my Tweets will be dedicated to #BetterTogetherCA. We’re talking about Student Voice & Inquiry: Engaging & Amplifying with #EdTech@CATeacherSummit
There are some seriously cool tech tools out there. @Flipgrid is one that the https://t.co/wAG3xZoWDI challenge just reminded me of. Super friendly format for kids to do video responses #BetterTogetherCA
Flipgrid is a blast! Can't go wrong there. I saw some tips to make some recording boxes (studios) to help the sound not leak out so much when multiple #students record at once in the room. #BetterTogetherCA -- I think the trick with @flipgrid is to keep recording past one video
true true -- I have that a lot -- I found that the most successful videos were based on writings and conversations we had in class and at home -- and I loved the videos that didn't just sit still in one spot -- #Creativity! #BetterTogetherCA
A2: I think that a lot of teachers do a 'get to know you' type exercise and it's a great opener that can lead to curricular choices -- my concern is that we are bound so heavily at times by local and state standards that we get shy with following the kids' #BetterTogetherCA
This is so important - I'm always looking for ways to give students more voice in what we're doing. Student blogs have been great for this. My AP Lang students respond to op-ed articles and then read and comment on other students' responses from other classes #BetterTogetherCA
Nice! Do you have any particular goals with digital citizenship or digital literacy? I imagine you do -- any useful apps or curricula you have come back to time and time again? #BetterTogetherCA
Ah, yes - I decided last year after neglecting making connections with my AP kids because of curriculum that the curriculum doesn't happen without the connections. #BetterTogetherCA
Q3: What are some ways of using EdTech to amplify student voice? What are students able to do with EdTech that they cannot do without? #BetterTogetherCA
That's for sure! My ninth grade child just told me that while he thinks #JoanDidion is a good writer, he doesn't really care that much about middle-aged women to give his all into a rhetorical analysis of her essay. !!! #BetterTogetherCA
Q3: What are some ways of using EdTech to amplify student voice? What are students able to do with EdTech that they cannot do without? #BetterTogetherCA
I think that one of the biggest dilemmas of schools and classrooms and teachers and students comes in the form everyone still being responsible INDIVIDUALLY for material that could not only be harvested/created together, but in many cases is ALREADY available #BetterTogetherCA
start simple -- everyone taking notes on something that you lecture -- they could just take your lecture notes on a shared doc and do something ELSE with that information -- why are they taking notes in class on something that you prepared already? #BetterTogetherCA
I've never understood that, either - but then I'm not a lecturer - I learned early on that I just wasn't good at it so had to develop other ways to teach - discussion is my primary mode of discussion #BetterTogetherCA
A3: I use #EdTech to amplify student voice through discussion boards and blogs on a regular basis. I could not do that with paper and pencil. #BetterTogetherCA
A3: @voxer is one tech tool I use for discussion in my classroom. Sometimes students ask questions about the homework - sometimes they carry on a discussion we started in class #BetterTogetherCA
Right -- so, discussion -- reinventing that could also be intriguing -- where does the end point reside for a discussion? Are we looking for a new idea that shows up in the dynamic and magic of co-constructing truth? If so, then what will we do with that idea? #BetterTogetherCA
I think the sheer amount of tech tools available to educators can be overwhelming. That's why I like things like the https://t.co/wAG3xZoWDI challenges. They let me explore and play in small, manageable bites #BetterTogetherCA
Ugh -- I know -- we are SOOOO reliant on #bandwidth -- I have certainly gotten fed up enough to just take pencils and paper and go outside for a week #BetterTogetherCA
Yeah - my school seems to have solved the bandwidth problem for now, but my SmartBoard software closed unexpectedly today - lost about an hour's worth of work :( #BetterTogetherCA
Love this! I would probably advise that teachers choose five to explore in a month and then try to make one stick for a week solid. Then reevaluate. I suppose there are no rules, but I would personally be overwhelmed by one new tool per day. #BetterTogetherCA
My class sizes are 50+. For the most part it works fine, but sometimes kids get stuck with the little spinner just waiting and waiting. #BetterTogetherCA
There's the obvious one - that they'll be off task. But I confront this the same way I do non tech approaches. It's all about teaching and reinforcing norms #BetterTogetherCA
Yeah, the cool thing about the challenges is you can do as few or as many as you want. Last month was about creating connections with students - SO many great ideas #BetterTogetherCA
Do you ever feel like YOU should be doing something other than guiding/coaching? I know that some teachers have that concern when the classroom is #decentered. #BetterTogetherCA
Sometimes I do the assignment with them - depending on the activity. I also have no problem pausing things and having everyone reflect on the effectiveness of what we're doing #BetterTogetherCA
A5: My biggest concern about #EdTech during class time is that #students may not be being stretched to do something unfamiliar. I have an ongoing debate with myself about the purpose of a #classroom and the sacredness of the meeting. #BetterTogetherCA
I like the boldness. I am similar comfortable questioning everything in the middle of things or stopping to help all of us #reflect and figure out what is going on -- and if ANYTHING is actually going on. Sometimes we are spinning wheels. #BetterTogetherCA
A6: Grades are strangely accurate and detrimental all at once (sounds like another chat topic!) so I think that it makes sense with #EdTech in the room we are using minutes differently and confused about meaningful ways to 'capture' them towards a grade. #BetterTogetherCA
Yep, never a waste of time to stop and reflect on the purpose of what you're doing in the classroom and whether you're effectively working toward that purpose - and students should be involved in this conversation - that's an important part of giving them voice #BetterTogetherCA
Q3: What are some ways of using EdTech to amplify student voice? What are students able to do with EdTech that they cannot do without? #BetterTogetherCA
A6: I give students extra time if they need it and they can always do makeups or revise their work. We still have little pockets of the digital divide at home. #BetterTogetherCA
Hmm, which one to pick? Some of my favorite student tech triumphs are when they share books that they love with each other using @Flipgrid#BookLove#BetterTogetherCA
That makes sense. The digital divide is a very real problem -- still! We should put solar panels on the White House and high-speed Internet in every classroom! @SenateGOP@SenateDems#BetterTogetherCA
In reply to
@AndrewNRoxanna, @SenateGOP, @SenateDems
