Forever in the Middle: Collaboration in a Digital Classroom

 

Online learning has definitely increased the level of challenge in education today. Many of the strategies we use in face to face instruction have to be adapted to our new online classroom environments. Here are some ways that my students have been able to continue collaborating while learning from home.

Insert Learning
There are so many digital platforms that provide articles and comprehension questions for these articles within the text. I have always been a big fan of Newsela and Common Lit for this reason and also recently discovered and fell in love with Actively Learn. While there are a plethora of articles available through these sites, I may have something that I would like students to read that is not already available. This is where the Google extension Insert Learning comes in handy. I can take any text from Google Docs and turn it into an interactive response. This is great for really focusing on exactly the questioning or standards I want to address with that piece. Options for your responses are open ended questions, multiple choice response, and even collaboration boards. You can also insert sticky notes and highlight text to really guide student thinking as they work.

                           Discussion feature on Insert Learning.
                    Students can view peer responses in real time.

Jamboard
I started using Jamboard when I saw an idea for taking attendance using Jamboard. I tried it out and loved the ease of it and immediately saw how it could be utilized in the classroom in so many other ways.  Recently, I also used Jamboard to create a brainstorm for class thinking map in preparation for writing. I gave them time to add to the thinking map then changed them to "view only" and then grouped and arranged their ideas onto a completed map that they then used to write from. We added transition words and decided what order to include all our ideas. From there, students were able to demonstrate that they understood how to turn a Thinking Map into writing by writing a short summary of the information on the Thinking Map.  With another class, I separated the students into groups. Each group was to read a section of the article then come up with a maximum two sentence summary of that section. Their summary was then posted onto the class Jamboard. Once all responses were posted, I changed their access to "view only" and they were then able to use this to review before continuing work on the article independently. 

            Cause and Effect Map                        Compare and Contrast Map          
                       

         Jigsaw Article Summary

Padlet
This is an old favorite of mine. Students are able to respond on a message board setup in a variety of ways. They can simply post answers to questions, converse in a message board stream, and even respond to each other's answers. The free account allows up to 10 message boards, which I have always been able to work with. You can delete older boards once they are no longer in use. I use Padlet for ongoing discussion about something we are reading as well as a review of what we have already learned. 

Google Suite
Of course, there are always collaboration options through Google Apps. I have one of my classes starting book clubs next week in small groups of four and we will be collaborating using some of the above options but will regularly communicate using a group response form in Google Sheets and a weekly check in with Google Forms. The benefit of using both is that the students within the group can communicate with each other on the Sheet but they can communicate with only me on the form. This will allow me to see how they are all contributing and to alert me of problems that I hadn't seen within the Doc. Click here for a simple template for Book Club online collaboration.

This year is definitely not what anyone expected, but I know that we are all doing what we can to make the learning meaningful from a distance. Please share some of your amazing ideas below so we can continue to inspire each other!

Keep the magic alive,

Kandyce Valverde

Don't Ditch the Vocab -Going Beyond the Flashcards

Stuff? What is stuff? Things? What are things?  Any child who has been in my classroom has heard me say these words. It’s my way of reminding students that while these words can get our point across -there are far more captivating words we can use. I wanted students' words on a page to sound like notes floating in the air-with just the right amount of precision and depth. In order to do that I knew my delivery of vocabulary had to be on its A game because students don't naturally get excited about vocabulary as much as I do, and I knew I had to change that! These 8 engaging strategies can help achieve this both on a digital platform and can be continued when you return to the classroom. 

IN Class strategies:

Quiz quiz trade:

This kagan strategy can be used across all subject areas. In Eureka math you can put a picture of the strategy on one side and have them determine what it is on the back. I like to embed this strategy by using the Wonders weekly vocabulary words in a sentence that forces students to utilize their context clues skills. Introducing students to vocabulary on the first day of the week not only allows students the opportunity to interact with their peers and be vulnerable if they don’t know the answer and at the same time feel confident once they do. Implementing this strategy for just 5 minutes a day has made a world of difference.

*implementation tip: Have students who have a partner go to the outer circle; students who need a partner go to the middle - I personally love to blend math academic vocabulary in this kagan strategy by using the words area  and perimeter.

Fan & Pick:

This kagan strategy is the perfect blend between accountability and collaboration. Utilize the digital vocabulary cards in the Wonders Digital curriculum titled “Vocabulary Cards “ under the Resources tab. Once printed students can share the roles for each card. The original fan and pick requires the person in the fourth spot to listen but with the idea of my School site TOA- Jenon Johnson -having students paraphrase or add on would require them to hone in on that skill and also add an additional piece of accountability. This is a great way that students can review vocabulary and extend their understanding by following the steps: 1. Fan 2. Pick a card 3. Answer the question 4 Respond to what person 3 stated and then travel back to one to paraphrase what had been said. 

  

Digital strategies:

Google Slides:

Utilizing this G Suite app allows students to deep dive into any vocabulary word. Make those graphic organizers digital and allow students to explore. This activity can be adjusted to be independent and collaborative. Let’s say your graphic organizer include 4 components: 1. Sentence using the word 2. Image 3. Synonym 4. Antonym. By splitting students into groups of 4 it allows them to dissect one vocabulary word together and hold each other accountable, especially if each student is assigned a different color. This activity can be done even with minimal time by having students complete 2 vocabulary words a day and each day students switch roles. This strategy can be applied to root words and math by having students attach examples of different strategies. Once complete students have a mini study guide.

 Peardeck Flash Factory----->Quizlet   OR     Gimkit

Do you have artists in your classroom that are just waiting to show off their skills? Well wait no longer. Similar to google slides this adds a whole new spin of using student work to help others. For each vocabulary word students have to quickly create a drawing and a sentence that digitally end up in your lap to approve/delete to be placed in the vocabulary pool. From there those student created vocabulary cards are transferred to Quizlet or Gimkit and allow students drawings to appear in front of them and they have to connect the sentences or word to the drawing. Students love this because they want to see their pictures or their friends pictures. Perfect for even the younger students to participate in this fun Pictionary meets Vocabulary activity.  

Nearpod:

Using Nearpod allows you to see student work in real time. At times it fills in that missing component of being able to see your students work in the moment by creating a "Matching Pairs" activity that gives students instant feedback or by challenging students to use a "Fill in the Blanks" activity with a Clozed passage that lets them know their score as soon as they submit it. 

 

                                   

Kahoot!

In this fun game format students can race for a chance at Top 3 on the leaderboard. Provide a question, sentence, image or however you would like them to recall the vocabulary word and let them get started on the game format by presenting it -students will see the question on your end and only the option icons on their end. A great trick is to have a split screen showing the question and the icons to them if they have a separate device or add more time to the timer so students can decide their question in advance.

               

Teacher & Student View Side by Side                  Example of Leader board podium

with two windows or use "Duales Chrome 

Extension"

Quizziz!

Your students love memes just as much as you do and it will take flash cards to a whole new level. Allow students to help you create these cards through sentences, images, synonyms- you name it or make it a fun cumulative unit activity. With these digital quizziz students will have a chance to challenge their fellow peers and encounter some funny memes along the way whether or not they get the answer correct. The goal is to get the highest score as they challenge their classmates -students will keep coming back for more until they do if you allow them to do so!                     

 ReadWrite Google 

With this google chrome extension expose students to vocabulary within context- may it be a Wonders assignment, news article or website of choice- students can interact with the text by annotating and expand their vocabulary at the same time. Students can highlight a passage to have it read to them, find out the definition to a word in an instant with the dictionary icon and even click on the image icon to immediately see visual representations of the word. From emerging readers to advanced this tool can be beneficial to everyone. 

                                   

Feel free to use one of these tools or all of them in conjunction to some extent -or switch it up from time to time- the choice is yours! No matter what route you go your students will be developing their vocabulary skills in a new way. 

Lively Teaching, 

Jessica Magana