Each year my class comes up with a unique name. Last year my class was the Global Gorillas. The Gorillas were a tech savvy group. They created wikis and blogs. They started their own digital sports program that was published on iTunes. Their knowledge and use of Web 2.0 tools was outstanding, and they used this knowledge to create weekly literature circle responses. The Gorillas dabbled in podcasting and video production including the use of green screening.
The year before the Global Gorillas my class named themselves the Cyber Chickens. They were also no stranger to technology. They hosted a blog and a podcast about “The Series of Unfortunate Events” books. They created a blog to teach others about cyber bullying and another to help others prepare for the Pennsylvania State Assessment. The most impressive feat of all for the Cyber Chickens was the work they did to force a local company to clean up their hazardous waste mess near our school. They published their work on a Project Trinity wiki and a Project Trinity blog. The Cyber Chickens had a pretty impressive resume.
The Historic Hippos were there the previous year, and they were no slouches in the technology department, either. In their day, they were cutting edge! They were the first class to produce and publish their own podcasts on iTunes. They had their own email accounts on Gaggle and they were the first class to have a wikispace.
A new year has begun, with a new crop of students. They have named themselves the Techno Tigers. The Tigers have big job ahead of them. Will they be up to the challenge? What new ground in technology will this class break? I’m not sure, but I can’t wait to find out!
The following is a post I made to my Authentic Learning Blog about a year ago. At the end of the post, I will explain how a classroom like this is managed. What does a 21st Century Classroom look like? About ten minutes before lunch today, I looked around my classroom. I grabbed a pen and paper and walked around the room recording what students were doing.
Three students sitting at a laptop using Audacity to edit a podcast they made for literature circles.
Two students adding titles and descriptions to Morpheus Fortuna's Flickr page.
A student typing his blog entry on "What is Project S.C.A.T.?" (Stop Contamination at Trinity)
Three students quietly reading newspaper articles to research for Project S.C.A.T.
Two students using laptops to research the history of the Trinity site (taking notes in Microsoft Word.)
Two students looking up Trinity stock prices on Yahoo Finance and recording in a table on a wiki page.
Three students down the hall using an iPod and Tune Talk to record an interview with a teacher whose father died from asbestos exposure.
Two students sorting through printed material and dispersing to students according to topic.
Two students researching the chemicals Trinity dumped on our school's neighboring lot.
Four students using laptops to research and record websites and small blurbs on a wikipage
Two students saving pictures to network folder
I rang the classroom bell to let students know it was time for lunch and I heard a collective groan as students slowly pulled themselves away from their work.
Do you think that's what a 21st Century classroom is supposed to look like?
A year later, my classroom looks much the same, but the tools have expanded exponentially. For example, instead of just creating podcasts, students are using a flip video to create movies. Blabberize, Voki, Voice Thread, GoAnimate, ToonDoo and Glogster are just some of the web 2.0 tools students use to demonstrate knowledge of the content areas.
How is this possible in a fifth grade classroom? What are the management techniques employed? First of all, this doesn't just happen. Students don't arrive on the first day of school knowing how to use the tools and knowing how to work independently and collaboratively. This all takes time and patience. Starting out small in the beginning of the year, teaching mini lessons, and raising expectations as the year progresses are critical.
Behavior management is key. I am lucky in that the school I teach in has quite a few programs in place that produce respectful citizens. A program called Responsive Classroom is employed district wide. By the time students reach fifth grade, they have had five years of morning meetings and are well-versed in what it means to be a community learner.
In addition, our district adopted the Olweus Bullying Prevention program. This is a comprehensive program designed to reduce and prevent bullying problems among school children. DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is another program taught at the fifth grade level that not only teaches students about avoiding the dangers of drugs and alcohol, but also uses play acting to equip students to resist peer pressure.
With the combination of all of these programs coupled with the interest students have in what they are doing, I can honestly say behavior issues are minimal in this 21st Century classroom.
Web 2.0 has changed the way we as educators look at technology integration in our classroom. I used to think I was so tech savvy, because I had a website and my students made Power Point presentations. Web 2.0 tools opened my eyes to a whole new way to use the world wide web to make my students not only more tech savvy, but global collaborators. Below I will tell about two tools that are ever present in my arsenal and one more tool that I haven’t opened up to my students yet, but plan to now that I know the possibilities.
I discovered wikispaces about two years ago at a conference, and since then I can’t believe I ever lived without them. Wikispaces can be used as an easy website interface, as a place to provide links for students, a place to provide information for parents and a place to showcase student work. There is no html code and ftp uploading or any of the other things that make web design so awkward. An example of a wiki acting as a website would be Mrs. Abernethy’s Global Gorilla Wikispace.
Wikis are much more than glorified websites, however. They can be used to collaborate. Students can work together to create a website even if they’re not on the same computer, in the same room, in the same city or in the same country. My first experience with interactive wikispace work was on Project Lemonade, an international collaborative project my students participated in last year. As a part of the project, my students worked together collaboratively to create their own interactive wikispace called Project S.C.A.T. The collaborative nature of wikispaces is what makes them a true web 2.0 tool.
Here is a great video on how and why to use wikis in a classroom. WIKISPACES
Wikispaces provides their own interactive tour on how to get started. Included is an introduction and how-tos on personalizing your wiki, adding files and pictures, and personal settings. Wikis can be as open or as protected as you choose. For use with young students, it’s best to set up the privacy settings for them to be sure they are safe.
BLOGS Blogs can be used in a multitude of ways. They don't always have to be for typical journaling. I create new blogs for topics we are learning about. They make it simple to embed student projects or provide a place for students to interact with each other's projects by leaving comments. This year we have created blogs for our class election, for the Revolutionary War, for Literature Circle projects, for Science, for Pi Day, for PSSA Preparation and more! The students enjoy being able to share their work with family and friends. They really love it when someone leaves a comment on their blog!
When first setting up a blog, it is important to set up the correct comment protection. I choose comment moderation and allow anyone to comment. That way you are not shutting out opportunities to collaborate globally with people who may read your blog. On the other hand, no comments can be viewed on the site unless you approve them first.
Allowing students to blog creates another set of concerns. Gaggle provides very safe blogging that can be opened up to the public or closed off to just the classroom or the school. Regardless of what avenue you take for student blogging, it is the teacher’s responsibility to approve or reject all posts before they are made public.
Here are some tutorials (one for Blogger and one for Word Press.)
DIIGO I have been using Diigo for about a year to accumulate, highlight, and code websites for my own consumption. Only recently have I realized the possibilities for classroom use. Creating a group with my students can change the way we collaborate and share resources on research projects. Jennifer Dorman is an expert at using Diigo in the classroom.
Each year my class comes up with a unique name. Last year my class was the Global Gorillas. The Gorillas were a tech savvy group. They created wikis and blogs. They started their own digital sports program that was published on iTunes. Their knowledge and use of Web 2.0 tools was outstanding, and they used this knowledge to create weekly literature circle responses. The Gorillas dabbled in podcasting and video production including the use of green screening.
