Feb
18
Little, Big Steps
February 18, 2012 | Aviva Dunsiger | Leave a Comment
Yesterday we had numerous fantastic PD (Professional Development) Day sessions on differentiated instruction. We paired up with another school in our Board that currently has Livescribe Pens for each of the teachers. Our principal and vice principal just purchased Livescribe Pens for all of the primary teachers, as well as pens per grade for the other grades. They’re looking at purchasing more depending on interest and need. Since we all have access to these tools, the administrators thought that it would be a great idea to pair “differentiated instruction” and the “Livescribe Pen,” by offering inservices on how to use this tool well for descriptive feedback (our school’s focus).
The morning started with three of us — two teachers and the vice principal — sharing how we currently use the Livescribe Pen, while also brainstorming other uses with teachers and answering questions as well. Then we listened to a fantastic presentation by Trevor Hammer (@trevorhammer) on how he uses the Livescribe Pen in his Grade 7 and 8 classes for feedback during writing conferences. Trevor gave lots of specific examples, as well as provided a manageable way for teachers to use the Livescribe Pen in their classrooms as an assessment tool.
Since many of the teachers at my school haven’t used the Livescribe Pen yet, I know that these hours of inservices can almost seem overwhelming. It would have been easy to walk away, put the Livescribe Pen in the desk drawer, and never even bother trying to use it. Just as I was wondering how people would react to the ideas shared, I walked by a Grade 2 teacher’s room. Shirley-Anne Stretton was working on the computer when I walked in, and this is what I saw:
Working On A Livescribe Pen Reading Activity
She then started to chat with me. She explained that after our morning inservices, she started to think about her students’ needs, and how the pen could be used well to address these needs and our school focus on descriptive feedback. She thought that as part of independent reading, students could discuss their reading goals, as well as having her share feedback with them on how they’re doing. There’s lots of ways that Shirley-Anne could use this page: from photocopying it right on the Livescribe paper to having it beside the paper as an anchor chart. Depending on individual student needs and abilities, they could just write their goals, write and discuss their goals, or write key words about their goals and then orally explain the rest. This activity is differentiated. It is curriculum-based, and it was set-up with student needs in mind.
Livescribe Reading Activity
What really resonated with me though was what Shirley-Anne said: “This is a starting point.” Shirley-Anne’s a teacher that is not particularly comfortable with the use of technology, but she’s willing to give it a try, and she’s willing to do it for her students. Wow! I hope that everyone is willing to take a little, big step like Shirley-Anne!
How do you make technology manageable for you? How do you help teachers become more comfortable with using new tools to help students learn? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Feb
11
Mixing Media
February 11, 2012 | Aviva Dunsiger | Leave a Comment
Yesterday was our 100th day of school, and students participated in a variety of activity centres, all based on the number “100.” Throughout the day, the students recorded their own learning using different tools (i.e., the flipcam, iPod Touches, digital camera, iPads, and the Livescribe Pens), and I recorded their learning too. This morning, as I was looking through some of the videos from yesterday, I started to see the benefit of mixing media.
Here’s a video that two of my students recorded as they explained how they counted a bin of toys:
Seeing how the children sorted the items in the bin, and seeing the item that had multiple pieces put together, initially made the flipcam a great choice of tool. Then I got involved in the discussion though. As I was talking to the students more about what they did and why they did it, the flipcam was no longer useful. In fact, the camera bounces around so much, that it almost makes you seasick watching the video.
In retrospect, I think that it would have been better to let the students stop their video, and then use the Livescribe Pen to record the audio piece as they continue their discussion. Then the children can move around as much as they want, but the viewers then, are not focused on the movement but focused on the discussion. Mixing media can be a great thing!
What do you think? Have you had an experience like this before, and what did you do? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Feb
4
Helps Me Reflect
February 4, 2012 | Aviva Dunsiger | Leave a Comment
On Tuesday night, our school had a Family Math Night as part of “Math Is Everywhere Week.” Parents and students explore math together through both problem solving activities and games. We had more than 130 people there that night. It was a huge success!
I had the opportunity to work with one of the Grade 3 teachers for a Primary Problem Solving Station. Our math facilitator, Kelly McCrory, shared some fantastic problems with us, and we decided to put out these problems, put out a variety of manipulatives, and let parents and students learn together. As a last minute thought, we put out my class’ two Livescribe Pens as well. The Livescribe Pens are easy to use, so we knew that students could figure them out quickly, and then we’d also have a record of some sample solutions.
I’m so glad that we made the choice to put out the Livescribe Pens. Below is an example of one of the pencasts:
Listening to this pencast helped me reflect. For next year, I think we need to include prompts for parents. Even though Kelly started off the night with a great presentation that discussed these prompts, seeing them once and using them later, are two different things. As I’ve focused more on math this year, I’ve become accustomed to waiting longer for answers, questioning more when students don’t give me the response that I expect, allowing students to make mistakes, think things through, and try again, and worrying more about the understanding of the process and less about the final answer.
This was a different experience for many parents though. They were trying to apply what we had just discussed, and they were attempting to get through numerous problems in a fairly short time too (20 minutes only). Maybe it would have been better to cut up the problems and let parents choose one at a time. Then everything could have slowed down, and people wouldn’t be thinking as much about “what comes next.”
With two teachers in the room, it was great to get an opportunity to walk around, listen to the dialogue between parent and child, and model some different approaches as well, but I know that we didn’t get to everyone. Sometimes it helps to see the process in action too. In only 20 minutes this would have been difficult, but I wonder if it would have helped if we had recorded and played a “math conference/discussion” with a student. How did we approach the problem? What kinds of questions did we ask? When Kelly initially gave us the math problems, she suggested having some students work on some of them in advance, and even having some sample answers there for others to see. I didn’t realize the value in doing this until after that night.
The Livescribe Pen helped me look ahead to next year, and what we can do differently. It helped me realize the tremendous value in all “math talk” between children and their parents, and it helped me think about how to make this talk even more meaningful. What would you suggest? I’d love to hear your ideas!
Aviva
Jan
26
Using Pencasts To Inform Teaching
January 26, 2012 | Aviva Dunsiger, Math | Leave a Comment
In math, we just finished a unit on measurement, and we’re starting one now on two-dimensional shapes. Earlier this week, I posed the following question to my students:
Students worked in partners to solve this problem. Students had the choice of various iPad apps, the Livescribe Pens, or whiteboards to use to show their work.
Listening to this child’s pencast got me thinking about how pencasts can be used to inform teaching:
Here’s what I know now:
1) This child knows the properties of these three shapes.
2) This child realizes the drawbacks of using a circular object to measure something that is rectangular.
3) This child can order the best shapes to use for this activity and explain why she’s made these choices.
4) This child realizes that a rectangle can be turned and used either way. Does this child realize that in order to get an accurate area measurement, she cannot turn the rectangle sometimes and not turn it other times?
Now I know what I need to find out. I can use this information to guide my follow-up questions and activities. For this child, finding out the answer to the question in point #4 is going to be my first priority. I also want her to expand on her thinking about diamonds. If diamonds can be turned and fit accordingly, why are rectangles still the better choice?
Students drive our math instruction, and listening to this child’s explanation, has definitely driven mine. How have you used pencasts to inform your teaching? How do you see yourself using pencasts for this purpose in the future? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Jan
24
Using AUDIO to improve student learning?
January 24, 2012 | Accomodation, audio learning, Pegagogy, Professional learning, teacher learning, Zoe Branigan-Pipe | Leave a Comment
This year, I started working on a Thesis Paper where I’d like the research to culminate into a resource manual for teachers using audio in their instruction. I’ve used (and continue to use) UDL products like the Front Row microphone system or personal electronic devices (computers, handhelds) for podcasts, speech to text functions and audio instruction (including books). These tools have been essential in my own learning as well as instruction to studens. However, the ease of the Livescribe pen extends the audio because it can be accessed directly on the page – and again, creates a universally designed learning tool because of the universality of pen and paper. Does this make sense?
Consider a quick response here in demonstrating how AUDIO is used in your your own learning or in your classroom. Does the pen/paper application provide more opportunity because of the audio?
I’ve attached a couple pencasts of groups of educators discussing and brainstorming the issues. I wanted to both demonstrate the sound quality of using the pen in a large crowded room, as well as a the content itself, which discusses specifically the use of audio.
Jan
20
Students Teaching Students
January 20, 2012 | assessment, Aviva Dunsiger, Science | Leave a Comment
Today, the Grade 2 students had a special Science Experiment Day. All of the Grade 2 students rotated between the four different classrooms where they completed various experiments using liquids and solids. In my classroom, one of the centres was mixing liquids with liquids and discussing and recording the results. On each table, I had tomato juice, milk, water, apple juice, vinegar, oil, and cola. Students were encouraged to mix two liquids, three liquids, and four liquids, and reflect on what happened.
Initially when I set up this centre, I put a little box of sticky notes and pens for students to write their reflections. Then this morning, I decided to add in the Livescribe Pen and Livescribe Sticky Notes too. I didn’t say too much when the students got to this centre. Each group of students had at least one student that knew how to use the Livescribe Pen, so I let the students teach the students. It was great! Within minutes, all of the children knew how to use the Livescribe Sticky Notes, and then they could choose if they wanted to use this tool to share their reflections. Regardless of the tool they used, students were really reflecting on what they were seeing, and why this might be happening. Just listen to the sticky note reflection below:
So yes, it worried me slightly that the Livescribe Pens were in such close proximity to the big container of oil, but I got over my fear, and I’m glad that I did. Giving the option of the regular sticky notes and the Livescribe Sticky Notes, also worked in student choice. This made students even more eager to share their reflections in writing or orally, as they had control over how they shared.
Have you ever done something like this before? What were the results? I’d love to hear your stories!
Aviva
Jan
13
Leading The Way As The Leader Of Leaders
January 13, 2012 | administrator, Aviva Dunsiger | 2 Comments
Yesterday morning, I was talking to our vice principal, Tammy McLaughlin. She was telling me about all of the ways that she’s now using the Livescribe Pen. Our school’s purchased Livescribe Pens, and Tammy bought one of her own. She’s been to conference workshops showing how others using the pen. I’ve sat down and talked with her about some options too. Just yesterday, she explained that she took the Livescribe Pen with her to the Grade 9 option sheet presentation. She was then able to take some notes, but also sit back and listen while knowing that she was still getting the information that she needed.
Wow! The Board talks a lot about an administrators a being the, “leader of leaders.” I love how Tammy’s doing just this! She’s showing how this technology can be used seamlessly in the school and for important purposes too. Showing others that she uses this technology helps others want to use it as well and in meaningful ways also. Thanks Tammy!
How have administrators used the Livescribe Pen in your school setting? How can you see them using it? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Dec
24
Combining Tools
December 24, 2011 | Aviva Dunsiger | Leave a Comment
Thanks to our math facilitator, Kelly McCrory, we had a couple of special holiday math activities to do on the last few days of school. One activity had the students comparing Shrek’s foot and Fiona’s foot from Shrek the Halls. Students were told that Shrek’s foot is 20 paper clips long and Fiona’s foot is 20 cubes long. They were asked who has the longer foot, and how much longer it is. Students could work individually or in small groups to figure out this problem.
I put the Livescribe Pen at this centre, and many students chose to record their thinking on the Livescribe Pen. As I was walking by the centre, I heard this student recording her thinking:
After listening to what she said, I took my video camera and asked her to explain what she did.
Combining the Livescribe Pen with this video recording makes for a more powerful piece of evidence, as not only do I hear what she initially stated, but I can also ask follow-up questions to have her further explain her reasoning. I can now send this Livescribe recording to Evernote and link the video recording in this student’s Evernote notebook too, so that all of this assessment data is easily accessible come report card time. There’s so much value in combining tools to track learning.
How do you combine tools for this purpose? What tools do you combine? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Dec
17
I Did Leave It Up To Them
December 17, 2011 | Aviva Dunsiger | 6 Comments
See The Row Of Sticky Notes On The Table Too
Last week, I blogged about possibly giving the students the Livescribe Pen, and letting them decide how to use it. That’s exactly what I did this week. On Tuesday, I had some special science/literacy centres, and at one of them, the students had to share what they learned about the seasons (Grade 1) and liquids and solids (Grade 2) after doing some research. I gave the students a choice of tools (i.e., iPod Touch, Nintendo DS, iPad, and Livescribe Pen), and they were able to use any of the tools in any way that they wanted, as long as they shared their learning with me. I was particularly interested in how the students used the Livescribe Pen, and if they chose to use the Livescribe Pen too.
I was thrilled with what I saw. Not only did many students choose to use the Livescribe Pen, but many chose to write as well as record with it. This was opposite to what was happening earlier on in the year when students weren’t picking this tool to use, and they were only recording on the tool and not writing with it. So what changed?
I think that there’s two big changes:
1) After Linda Clinton’s (@linda704) comment on my earlier post, I modeled how to use this pen more for writing. I wrote with the pen in front of my students. I talked and wrote at the same time. I showed my students new ways to use this pen, and they applied what they saw in class when completing their own work too.
2) I put out the Livescribe sticky notes. My students love writing on sticky notes. They use the yellow sticky notes in the classroom all the time. While I had the big notebooks out as well for them to use, all of the students that chose the Livescribe Pen as their tool, chose to use the sticky notes. Maybe writing on a smaller paper didn’t make the writing task seem so daunting. Maybe since students automatically write on the yellow sticky notes, they thought to write on these ones as well.
What do you think? How do you get your students to see the potential of the Livescribe Pen as a tool for learning? I would love to hear your thoughts!
Aviva
Dec
10
What If We Left It Up To Them?
December 10, 2011 | Aviva Dunsiger | 2 Comments
Recording Using The Livescribe Pen
Yesterday, I had the privilege of inservicing a wonderful staff in our Board on the use of the Livescribe Pen. All of the teachers in the classroom have their own Livescribe Pen now to use with their students. Their goal is to figure out how to use it and try something with it. At the next staff meeting, the staff members are all going to share what they did and set some new goals too.
That afternoon, I had a conversation with some teachers on staff about the Livescribe Pen. Teachers asked me how it worked. I explained that it can record written notes as well as audio associated with markings on a page. Many teachers were interested in seeing how the Livescribe Pen does this. I was about to reply as I usually do (that I’m happy to show them), but this time, I replied differently:
“If you want, I’m happy to loan you the Livescribe Pens one day. Give them to your students. Tell them that this pen will record what you write with it as well as audio. See if the students can figure out how to make it work. Challenge them to teach you.”
Why the change in my response?
1) On Thursday, I got to accompany my principal, vice principal, and a fellow teacher to RCAC: a fantastic symposium tha discusses the use of technology in education. On the bus ride back home, my principal was telling us about this great afternoon session that she attended. At it, the teachers discussed an Early Years iPod Touch Literacy Project. One example that resonated with her was when a student went up to the teacher to tell her that the book was being read aloud to him in French. How could he change this? The teacher said that she didn’t know and to see if his friends could help. And he asked his friends who did help him out. The teacher gave the students a chance to teach each other and to teach her as well. Maybe this could happen in the case of the Livescribe Pen too.
2) When teachers get tools into their hands and into the classroom, they use them more. We need to have access to tools to use them. If I had explained what to do, the conversation probably would have ended there, but likely nobody would have borrowed the Livescribe Pen to use in the classroom. Now the teacher said that she might. She seemed intrigued by the challenge. I’m hopeful that this might work.
Then I started to bring things back to my own classroom. My students know how to use the Livescribe Pen now. I let them initially explore it with me, and together we figured out what to do. I also had students that had used one before, so I let them teach the other students as well. This was a great leadership opportunity for them. Now though, I use the Livescribe Pen in a more prescribed way. I tend to give the students the activity, and I have them all use the Livescribe Pen in the same way (or at least in a similar one). When I work in choice, it’s usually the choice of a tool (i.e., a Livescribe Pen, a Nintendo DS, or an iPod Touch), but not a choice of how to use the tool.
I was thinking about this on the way home last night, and I’ve decided that I’m going to try to make a change. This week, I have some special literacy and science centres planned for Tuesday. My Grade 1′s will be discussing the seasons, and my Grade 2′s will be doing some introductory activities to liquids and solids. I wanted to use the Livescribe Pen as part of these centres, but how? Now I think that I know. Here will be my challenge:
Use the Livescribe Pen, iPod Touch, or iPad to share what you’ve learned about ___________________. (Students will be doing some research prior to this reflection piece.)
I’m not going to tell them how to use the Livescribe Pen, iPod Touch, or iPad. They can use any apps that they want. They can be as creative as they want. I’m excited to see what they’ll do. At this point in the year, they know many ways to use all of these tools. Which tool will they choose and how will they use it? I’m excited to learn as much from them as I hope that they’ll learn from each other.
Have you ever done an activity like this before? How did it go? I would love to hear about your experiences too!
Aviva
