Classroom Websites Vs. Social Media: The evolution of commucating to the home

In 2002 I convinced my administrative team of the importance of creating classroom websites as a communication tool to home. We bought School Center and for 14 years I worked tirelessly to empower and inspire other teachers to create classroom websites, . I can think of sleepless nights getting photos uploaded to share with parents, adding documents to connect school to home, or pages, that showcased the enrichment opportunities for learners in our room. 

In the spring of 2015 I learned we would be switching to a district wide platform using Sharp School. I was informed that everything we did using School Center would be transferred over, even though I knew deep down nothing would look 100% the way I wanted it to. (See the new site here.) 

Over the course of the migration something shifted in my philosophy. I was waiting for the site to be created using the new platform and in the interim began using Google Photos to share classroom photos (parents love being able to see and download photos to share with family or on their own social media sites) and Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook to connect with families. 

When I got the call that my photos would not transfer over I thought about it for 30 seconds and said delete the pages with the photos. The voice on the other end of the line was mildly surprised by my reaction as I think it was expected I would be frustrated by the fact that things were not migrating perfectly. 

In the time it took for them to migrate the website over I made a new discovery about the POWER of social media in the elementary classroom. I no longer needed to spend countless hours pushing information through a website when I could quickly share a post or a tweet. Parents began following our classroom accounts and loved the real time information being shared as they felt they were part of the experience. 

Students rushed home to see what new photos were posted on Instagram (student names are never used). I gave students hashtags using their agent numbers and first name so they could communicate with authors and experts on Twitter when I did not have the answers.  

We received an invitation to Skype with Kevin Carroll about our Red Rubber Ball In School project due to tweets we sent out about the work we were doing. The Global ReadAloud brought learning alive as we got to Face Times with students in Texas about living with dyslexia, which the protagonist in our story was learning to navigate herself. Parents began communicating through comments and connecting using the various platforms too. 

None of this happened on my classroom website. We have all been empowered and enriched by so many new experiences! So my current classroom website sits collecting dust as I have not touched it since my evolution into the realm of using social media as a tool in the classroom. 

Parents can still go on it and see the information I posted, which is still important. However the use of the website has become different. It is now a tool for yearlong information to sit, and the live learning is shared through social media. 

This experience has not only taught me the importance of teaching, modeling, and guiding digital citizenship skills but also the value of educating parents (and my peers) as well. Social media is here to stay. Students need to learn to use it effectively, safely, and efficiently in order to connect them to their world. In a war between websites and social media, I think social media captured our hearts creating an even tighter classroom bond between me and my agent community and our website serves a completely different purpose than it did in 2002. It is 2018. Things change! 

Follow me on Twitter @rlfreedm

Spoonful of Sugar

Students walk into a classroom, eyes full of wonder. They see computer pods set up and running, enticing their curiosity for how they will be used. Parents have received emails about setting up a Google Drive account for their child. Mobi views, a document camera, and a SMARTboard all sit ready to be powered up for another year of assisting with student learning. Students do not see how hard their teacher worked setting up all the existing technological tools in the classroom.

They do not witness the sweat that pours down as the teacher works tirelessly in a room stifling with heat and humidity in August. They certainly do not see the teacher pull wires out of bags, connect everything, and test it only to realize not everything works as perfectly as it did in June before the year came to a close. Hours could be spent fixing everything so it is ready for that first day when the children come in buzzing with anticipation. That same teacher spent time crafting emails to parents, writing out directions for various tools to be used in the classroom. Time was also spent designing new activities and project based learning opportunities that use technology as a tool to enhance student learning. The teacher also had to create Pearson, IXL, Prodigy, School Center, and BrainPOP accounts for the new students coming in the fall. That same teacher might have paid out of pocket for the new 3D doodler that stands in a makerspace in the classroom that did not exist a year ago.

The student’s experience in the classroom is powerful, but there stands in front of them a man or woman who worked diligently to bring them 21st century learning. There was no magic wand that set everything up, no spoonful of sugar to make it all work seamlessly, and limited assistance in making the learning environment shine and sparkle for that first day. To all those teachers out there who have spent their precious time preparing for a new school year please know every second you put in is worth it! You are making the life of a child better! That is the real spoonful of sugar!

The Center of Gravity

Who should be at the center of gravity in the classroom? The teacher or the student? In the old education models it was the teacher, but in the 21st century classroom the teacher needs to let go of control and put students in control of their own learning. 

Often teachers struggle with how to teach students to research especially in the elementary grades. They end up assigning students a research project on biographies or animals; however, in 2000 I decided my third graders could choose their own research question. I felt they would learn to love research if they chose their own question rather than having it assigned. I would trudge to the public library and get a book for each chosen topic. Times have certainly changed and technology has allowed students to explore their research questions in deeper, more meaningful ways.
 
I read an article by Catlin Tucker, featured Keynote speaker at a MassCUE fall conference, called “More Than A Google Search.” She talks about the importance of teaching her 9th graders research skills. She described many of the things I have taught third, fourth and fifth graders, causing me to reflect on the importance of starting to teach young students search skills at an early age. 

Using BrainPOP as a resource, we watched videos and held class discussions on Internet searching, online safety, online sources, citing sources, digital etiquette, and plagiarism. On the SMARTboard I took the time to show students how to do an online search. We talked about using Boolean operators to limit our searches, power of key words, citing sources, the credibility of the URLs we are viewing (.gov, .org, .edu, .com), and how certain sources like Wikipedia are not trusted sources of information but can be used for fabulous images to support our research.
 
Armed with search skills, the learners set to work on a student designed research project called the Why Files. Catlin says, “The beauty of a student-designed research question is that it will lead to a more meaningful research project because students are able to focus on a topic that interests them. Asking good questions is a hard skill to master. But it is absolutely necessary to lifelong learning.” 

Children need experiences that give them real world exposure. They benefit from inquiry-based learning that requires them to access a variety of skills and strategies, and they need to be in charge of their own learning to develop a love of research.

Students began their work with fierce wonderings. They were asked to think about big questions that they do not know the answers to. We formed PLCs in the classroom based on questions being asked. Students then developed topics based on their initial question, and then formed higher-level questions about their topic. 

Examples of things students wondered about were ‘What happens after a star explodes? What are the differences between white and brown sugar? Why do pigs live in mud? What happens if two different types of blood mix together? Why should we study genetics? What are the threats to the rain forest?' 

In those questions alone I saw future veterinarians, doctors, scientists, engineers, teachers, and astronomers!  Students took notes and developed an expository piece that was turned into a Google site of their collaborative research. They reflected on their work, thinking about content, group skills, and leadership attributes. As Catlin says these “students were no longer consumers of information, but were also generators of information.”

My challenge to elementary teachers is to get students asking questions and answering them. John Dewey described the old education as an approach in which “the center of gravity is outside the child. It is in the teacher, the textbook, anywhere and everywhere you please except the immediate instincts and activities of the child himself.” It is time to place the students in the center of gravity and have their interests and purposes as a point of departure. I can promise you it is a lot more fun orbiting their universe than being at the center.

Full STEAM Ahead: Reflecting in This Year

As we get closer to the end of our journey in fifth grade I began to reflect on our year. I happened to come across the photo above that made me laugh because it is exactly how I feel. Even today, with a few days left I still feel this way. We have to complete our Rube Goldberg Machines and just started our Revolution Musical. Students have worked so hard on their STEAM lessons this year. Their inventions that arrived are so impressive! Some should patent them. It is amazing what their inventive minds created! I cannot wait to share the finished product with you all! The skills students gained during these activities will resonate with them long after they leave me. They worked in collaborative teams, discovered design process thinking, and presented work to an authentic audience. Our students should be so PROUD of their work as these learning experiences will certainly help others! I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for giving me their best self each and ever day. I could not have had all those tabs open without them!

As I get ready to close those tabs we will be packing down our classroom, celebrating our success, and giving our final presentations of the year. Please reflect on the student who walked into our room in September. I promised you all it would be a completely different kid by the time he or she walked out. I hope you all agree that is the case. Our students have grown so much this year and I was thrilled to be part of that!

Greeting Students Builds a Classroom Community: What Does Your Handshake Say About You?

I happened to be watching a news story that eventually went viral. It started with a handshake. Each morning in a kindergarten class in TX there is a class greeter. This student is there to welcome his or her classmates into the room with a handshake, fist bump, high five, and some hugs. This is something so simple yet has a huge impact on the classroom culture. I decided to greet each of my students last Monday morning with a handshake like I did at our open house in August.

I awaited each child, and as they went to enter the room I stuck my hand out and said, “Good morning.” Many were confused by this greeting but happily shook my hand. I had to remind students to look me in the eye, have a firm grip, and respond to my comment. Often times out in the real world the handshake is the first thing we notice about someone. Forbes came out with a great article about 7 things your handshake says about you. I am sure we have all met one of the seven examples, but which one makes a good impression on you? My father always taught me to stand tall, look the person in the eye, and use a firm grip. I am glad he did!

Over the course of the week as I greeted each student I began to notice subtle changes. First, the students were ready to work by 8:30 AM when usually I have to prod kids along to finish morning work. Second, they had more smiles on their faces in the morning. I have also begun to observe more of the perfect handshake in 22 students than a week ago! This morning I happened to be talking to a colleague in the hallway when the students arrived. I turned around to see half my class waiting by the door. Not one student had entered the room. They were waiting to greet me with a handshake.  

The Homework Policy that Sparked a Movement

My district has been sharing school policy updates with us this year and recently the homework policy was revised. I quickly opened up the revised document, excited to read it. I was hoping it met the needs of today’s student and was thrilled to see the focus on family time, explaining students and parents have the right to decide their time after school. I then flipped to the guidelines and immediately realized students and parents needed to see what the expectations were for them.

Emailing the links to the parents was the initial step I took. Then I copied the guidelines for individual students and posted the policy on our SMARTboard. We read through the policy together and broke into small working groups to go over the guidelines. Students were tasked with highlighting things they felt were interesting, items they agreed with, and ideas they disagreed with as they read. These notes would be used during a class discussion and an email we decided to send to our school committee.

Students were empowered to share their thinking with our local officials, who volunteer their time to serve our schools. They examined the middle and elementary school guidelines and had a lot to say about them! During a shared writing experience we crafted the email, making sure all voices were heard (including the parent volunteer in the room).

Dear School Committee,

Today we read the homework policy. Then we looked at the requirements for the homework for middle and elementary school. We got highlighters and highlighted things we found interesting. We read it in small groups. We also compared it to our own experiences.

Middle School Feedback

Assuming summer work is given, students thought it was unfair that you must finish it because some people go on very busy trips and don’t have time to. Another student felt there should be a little school work, but she would rather be able to enjoy the time off. Another student said summer reading should be suggested. If summer reading is given it should be one book you have to read that you answer questions about (no essay). Different people should get different types of books though. A child chimed in that it was unfair that kids should be told what to read because they should be reading for pleasure and not something that is forced. A parent suggested asking kids to read a certain amount of pages. She also suggested students be given the assignment to create anything that shows the theme of the story. You could paint, draw, compose music, write an essay, blog post, etc. Sky's the limit. She said it would be more difficult to grade but then asked what the purpose of summer reading is- is it to make sure the child is reading or to get a grade? A child suggested picking a genre and getting the book approved before leaving for the summer.

It was mentioned that it is fair that students have two days for every day missed to make up work.

A student liked how it was limited to 1.5 hours of homework for all the courses. This gives you enough time to get work done and get to other things.

Another felt it was good that the summer work would have instructions with who to ask for help.

A student did not think it was fair to have 1.5 hours to do homework. He inquired as to what if students needed more time. Ms. Freedman explained that this time was a guideline and that students certainly do not need to finish all their work but try their best within that time frame.

A parent asked a question at this juncture (she was volunteering). She noted homework is up to 15% of a grade. If a child works 1.5 hours and does not finish how will this impact the grade as it is not clear. What is the provision for that in the guidelines?

It is fair that teachers are not required to give homework over family vacation.

Elementary School Feedback

From the parent: As a parent in the introduction it says there is no study that shows there is a benefit to homework in the elementary grade yet she found that in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade that her kids had more homework than in later grades especially with those packets. (They are now talking about rainbow words and ABC order) In addition to that they were also signed 15-20 min of IXL a night.

They liked how homework was not assigned on weekends and vacations and encourage that never to be changed. However they wanted you to know that there are teachers who do that (I am not one of them).

They said the 30 minutes seemed fair for upper elementary.

The parent suggested covering yourself for all grades that you might want to include an exception to the amount of time for special projects as she does not count that as part of the 30 minutes because of the time it takes. It also takes working on weekends. Are teachers no longer going to be giving special projects or do they understand it is part of the time allotted?

Students would like more choice to their work. This is not something for a policy but something maybe teachers should be discussing.

Sincerely,

Ms. Freedman and her secret agents

The letter received a response from a member of the committee that sparked students to act! They wanted to reach out to more people. I asked students what they wanted to do. They discussed as a group and came to the decision to email their thoughts to the principals at the two elementary schools and middle school. They also wanted to share their thinking with our student council, so our class representative wrote a letter to our principal inviting him in for a conversation with her and our other class reps. Lastly, a student suggested doing a Flipgrid to share our thinking globally. They had some strong thoughts on homework and summer reading.

Students need experiences that inspire, enagage, and empower them to share their voices and make change. They benefit from authentic learning opportunities that teach ways to accomplish this. I highly suggest looking at your school policies and sharing ones with students that impact them. I am thrilled my students know to read policies and guidelines. They are aware no one can take their recess away (Health and Wellness policy), how to use technology responsible (Responsible Use Policy), and that they do not need to work more than 30 minutes a night, excluding reading, doing homework per the new guidelines set forth. I decided to blog about it, contributing to their movement! 

Red Rover Red Rover Who Would You Call Over?

While students are inside playing Fortnite or other games they are missing out on the great outdoors. Today I took my class outside and decided to play Red Rover. I lined them up and organized them on the field across from each other. I spoke to one of the teams about what we were doing, and every single one of them had never played Red Rover. I teach 5^th grade. How do you make it to 5^th grade and never play Red Rover?

I remember my recess in elementary school. We played 4-Square, Kickball, and Red Rover. We ran around the playground, and I know someone got married under the slide with a tin foil ring. It was a time of innocence.

After explaining the rules of Red Rover along with a small behavior reminder I had my students play. I saw twenty-two students working as a team on that field today. They cheered for each other, supported one another, and laughed. I saw students strategizing where to go, who to call, and doing their best to hold hands so no one broke through.

They told me this was the best game ever and asked if they could play it at recess. Reflecting back on some of the photos I took I saw pure joy in each of their faces. Kids need time to learn how to play recess games that are constructive. They need moments to be a kid and just have fun. Imagine playing Red Rover at work. Who would you call over? I think we all need some more time outside to play. Let the wind whip through our hair. And allow every day to have some joy in it!