A journey Begins Students were filled with rays of joy as they picked up their personalized devices from the library at Little Elementary.
The 2018-2019 school year began a little differently for some teachers in the Pomona Articulation area. Elementary teachers in first and fifth grade partnered with the district to implement a 1:1 Chromebook program in their classrooms. Preparing for a new school year comes with some butterflies and many to-do lists. Additionally, our partner teachers embraced a growth mindset to use technology to transform the task with their students in their very own 1:1 classrooms. Teachers from Little, Parr, Warder and Weber Elementary are on a journey to provide learning experiences that prepare students to thrive in a digitally connected world. We are excited to capture their story and share it with others.
Starting with the "Why", not the device
Our beliefs drive our practice. Before unpacking devices, we need to unpack our school's underlying beliefs about teaching and learning with technology. Writing a school belief statement can help staff articulate the impact of going 1:1.
A common element of writing a belief statement is collaboration. Having multiple voices in the process can help build efficacy and ownership. Resources which helped the Pomona area schools develop their "why" included:
Building a Roadmap
Communication & Partnerships
In order to open communication channels with families, each school sent home an informational letter and invitation to a family night. The open house was created in collaboration by the Digital Teacher Librarians at the four schools to be proactive to community needs. The event was held before devices were handed-out to students. A common Google Form was created to capture questions and concerns. The feedback helped create Frequently Asked Questions which was posted for families after the event. A goal of the evening was to strengthen the partnerships between families and schools.
Expectations and Digital citizenship
Preparing students to make smart choices online is a priority when going 1:1. Direct instruction and on-going conversations about these 6 topics are available for K-12 students in the Common Sense Media curriculum.
Pedagogy: Professional Learning Plan
"The Learning Labs effectively introduce new tools for teaching. [The facilitator] is intentional about supporting us in this learning by modeling how technology can be intentionally integrated to transform our classrooms rather than just as a shiny, new gadget. I always come away from our Learning Labs with tons of new ideas - maybe not things I will implement the next day just for the sake of it, but ideas that have changed entire units of instruction to be more meaningful and that ask students to think and work in new ways." 5th grade teacher
Transforming the Task
A teacher completes a Sort, Group, Label activity to explain his thinking of transforming the learning with technology in his classroom.
The Journey Continues...
Each school continues to engage in continuous learning and reflections about their 1:1 implementation and growth. We are thankful for the school partnerships and for their willingness to share their story with others!
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JAMBOARD FOR WEB: NEW FEATURES Google has added several new features to Jamboard which makes it easier to create and collaborate on jams on the web. Some of the new features include:
New: View your own Tours on Expeditions Google's Tour Creator allows anyone to be able to create their own virtual reality (VR) tours. Students can use images from a 360 degree camera, or they can curate images from Google Street View to create their own virtual field trips. In Tour Creator, you can enhance the 360 images by adding in details, audio files, information, highlights and points of interest, just like you see in a Google Expedition. Last week, Google announced the new ability to view Tour Creator projects through Expeditions on iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch). So now, not only can you make a field trip, you can go on your field trip in 3D! Once a student creates a tour, they will need to publicly publish their tour to Poly, Google's library for 3D assets. This will allow you to view or guide student tours in Expeditions. If you would like to view your tours in 3D, please be sure to check out one of Jeffo Ed Tech's Google Expedition kits. Tour Creator FAQ First Day with... Did you know Google offers lots of professional development courses for free through their Teacher Center? One of their PD series is called "First day of..." These PD sessions offer just the basics for getting up and going with a few of the G Suite for Education apps. This is a great place to start if you, or an educator you know, needs some beginner resources! Be sure to also check out the Teacher's Lounge section to see tips and tricks from other educators. More tutorials on the other G Suite for Education apps are coming soon! Going Chromebook? With more and more Chromebooks entering the district, there is an increasing need to understand the power of the Chromebook and how it has the potential to change the landscape of teaching and learning. This self-paced PD unit on Chromebooks, created by Google, walks you through the following concepts:
 Brent Olyowski had a vision for Transforming the Task in Physics. So he submitted his idea for an Innovation Fund and was awarded funds to purchase 2D and 3D printers. Brent's idea is the epitome of Transforming the Task. In Brent's own words, "In an effort to make physics fun and engaging, we want our students to design, build, then use those creations to perform physics experiments using 2D laser cutters and 3D printers." Matt Cormier, Evergreen area principal, notes, "This will help prepare students for emerging careers that are going to be part of their future. The possibilities that are created seem limitless. Evergreen's teachers are so strong and Mr. O does amazing work and he is also planning to partner with some superstars in his building. He will have the support of an excellent digital teacher librarian and tech staff. This is a great team to make the investment powerful, however, everyone will be in awe of what the students create." Making the innovation Come to Life in the Classroom Brent was happy to share his plans to implement his 3D printers in the classroom. Here are some highlights from his Innovation Acceleration Fund application:
"First semester is about Newtonian Physics and we try to relate it to driving since almost all of our physics students are beginning drivers. The vision is the students design cars to perform simple experiments with. We would start with basics like velocity, acceleration, stopping distance, and inertia; and then get more complex with momentum, impulse, friction, collisions, energy transfer, and circuits. We can even convert the cars to solar cars near the end of the school year. The idea would be to modify their creations to make it more complex as we get into the more complex ideas. The evolution would go from cars they send down a ramp all the way to cars with solar powered with sensors on them. " From Teacher tool to a universal OPPORTUNITY
What is Whiteboarding? How to decide what tool to use to whiteboard? Whiteboarding allows for the creation and spreading of ideas for a variety of learners. It can be a blank canvas with a variety of pens, shapes, texts, and backgrounds allowing for open ended creation and sketchnoting. It can be a place where student teams collaborate on tasks and learning or a slide deck designed by a teacher for students to demonstrate a skills. The options are endless. Student Implications
Teacher ImplicationsToday a variety of web based tools are also available for teachers. Web based tools have the advantage of not being tied to a particular device. Most are free and can be use on PCs, Chromebooks or iPads. Some examples are Google Jamboard and Kami.
Finally, many classrooms still have an interactive display of some kind. It might be a Smartboard, Epson Interactive Projector, or a Mimio Panel. Each panel has a coordinating installed software (some have costs) that allow for the creation of files that can be used for whole group direct instruction or small group practice that can be saved and reused. Whiteboarding today is a space for learners and educators to process and demonstrate learning. The possibilities are endless! As spaces are redesigned or upgraded in schools, explore what might be the best projection display using this self guided projection solution tool. Also reach out to your Ed Tech Specialist and ITSS to help think through future plans.
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