Online/In-person Collaboration - STEP 2 (Blended Learning Environments)

As I mentioned in my previous posts, my goal for the next several months consists of creating a step-by-step instructional eBook describing my journey to creating a blended learning environment. In my last post, I discussed the numerous ways to develop an online classroom, or Learning Management System, for students using Schoology, Google Classroom, or a website builder like Wordpress. It's important to use these platforms to have students share their collaborative process with one another.

Why collaborate?

In my mind, collaborating within a peer group is the catalyst for deep, critical thinking and problem solving. It's a skill students will use throughout their life. According to Sarah D. Sparks in her article in Education week, "The ability to collaborate with others has become one of the most sought-after skills in both education and the workplace." It's important for students to learn how to effectively collaborate face-to-face, but an online platform provides an opportunity to make their learning visible. Each student has the opportunity to respond and have their voice shared. They can document their discussions online to reference on a later date to write an essay, create a presentation, study for an exam, or just to further their exploration on a topic.

How should students collaborate?

1) Schoology/Google Classroom --  discussion forums

-Schoology has a discussion platform which allows teachers to post a question while students post responses. I typically give students a chance to discuss together (see 10 minute feedback system) and than give a written response to the question online. The students can access this online discussion at any time, which is where the real power lies.

-Google Classroom has an "Ask a Question" feature to incorporate online discussions. Again, I use this primarily as a way for students to make their thinking visible to others and provide a way to document their thinking/brainstorming for later use.

2) 10 minute peer-peer feedback conversations

 I've used the following system to help students give one another feedback on projects, ideas, or assignments and also to teach students how to effectively communicate and collaborate (we often assume students know how to collaborate).  We use this system, designed by AJ Juliani & John Spencer, to give students an opportunity for face-to-face interactions.

10 minute feedback system

Time	Description	Partner A	Partner B
0- 2	Elevator Pitch	Describe your idea, plan, or product	Listen
2 - 4	Clarifying	Answer clarifying question	Ask clarifying  questions
4 - 6	Feedback	Listen to the feedback  without interrupting	Provide specific  critical & affirmative feedback
6 - 8	Paraphrase	Paraphrase what  you heard	Listen and clarify
8 - 10	Next Steps	Create next steps	Help guide next steps

©️Empower, John Spencer & A.J. Juliani

3) Back Channels

Back channels provide students an opportunity to post questions during a presentation, video, or lecture. It works as an interactive "parking lot" for students' ideas, thoughts, and questions without interrupting the presenter. Here are few I've used in the past:

-Back Channel Chat -- a free chat room where anyone can join for free with a code.
-Google Slides Q&A feature -- while students are following your Google Slides presentation, they can ask questions or share ideas
-Google Docs -- I've used a blank Google Docs, shared with all my students, to ask questions or share ideas in the background

InnEdCO 2017 -- Classroom Redesign

For my second session of the day, I attended a Classroom Redesign session with Paige Dersham and Meegan Bennet

Slide Deck:
http://tinyurl.com/yc6ohasu

My notes:

Redesigning My Classroom

Issues:

-tables are tough to move

-electrical cord for projector cart stretches under tables

-teacher desk takes up too much space

-old promethean board doesn’t work & needs to be removed

-no area to write on the walls -- make thinking visible

-not much room to store makerspace materials

-Where to I put the RedCat speaker system?

Old promethean board -- turn it into a mobile green screen?

Learning Landscapes:

Layout of my room:

I have 2 classroom which make up our Library/Computer lab where the students work with laptops. Below are the layout of both spaces.

Room 1: https://goo.gl/8HTxBH

Room 2: https://goo.gl/ic4IoU

1. In red, I labeled the changes I’d like to make to both spaces. The biggest change would be removing my look-up stations & teacher desk.
2. I’d like to add storage along the wall in place of the teacher desk\look-up stations for our makerspaces
3. I’d like to make the extra space a place for students to work in small groups -- I need to come up with norms & expectations around this extra space

Another planning document: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f_07rGe7j-M53_gf_TKVkxisSJ7TGg8k8NGmmj6kmh8/edit

Instructables

Inscrutables is an amazing site geared toward people who love to build things. If you're looking to build robots, remote controls, crafts, or even food, Instructables has step-by-step instuctions (with helpful pictures) to help you create. It's a DIY-ers paradise with contests, groups, and forums to join to make your building experience that much better.

5 Tools for Sharing Ideas

Richard Byrne's blog, Free Technology for Teachers, recently posted about tools used to for sharing ideas online (much like a corkboard).  I've used Padlet to have my students collaborate about assignments and discussions, but he posted about 5 alternatives to Padlet.  These are all great ways to get your staff, students, or community to collaborate and share ideas.