Google Calendar is like Two Beautiful Worlds Colliding

After school activities, family responsibilities, and school assignments are just a few examples students have shared that they have to juggle.

A classroom Google Calendar was created for assignments, events, school spirit days, and other important information. This link was shared on our parent portal. The calendar is updated in real time from any device and is a great way for parents to help support their child. However, isn’t it the child I want to help learn management skills?

I had shared the classroom calendar link with students in an email at the beginning of the year, but then we never discussed it again. Recently, a student happened to ask me if we had any more reading letters due this year because she went two weeks ahead and saw no assignment. She did not know how to move from February to March.

In a teachable moment I shared the parent portal link with students via an email and had them open the site. Then I asked them to click on the classroom calendar link. At the bottom right hand corner of the calendar was a blue plus sign. Like magic, when students clicked the plus sign our classroom calendar opened right on their personal calendar. Lots of OOOOS and AHHHS were heard around the room.

As a class we learned to navigate through the calendar, add an event, and discover some settings. The calendar is something I use every day, but was new to most 5^th grade students. By linking my classroom calendar to their individual calendars I have now put the responsibility back in the student’s hands. Several were already discussing adding birthdays and activities while others wanted to explore what future events we had going on in our classroom.

Lessons learned:

•  It is important to continually discuss things as the year moves forward.
•  Students need to be linked to a classroom calendar to begin to learn or hone time management skills. They also get excited about upcoming events and feel more in the know, which builds confidence.
• We, as educators, are already updating the calendar and adding things to it. It is an efficient and effective communication tool. Make the transition to share it with students and parents! You will not regret it. In 2015 when I began sharing the calendar with parents, one mother said, “It's like two beautiful worlds colliding.” This year I decided to make that world collide for students. And it sure is beautiful! I am just not sure what took me so long to realize that. 

The New Student in our Classroom: Google Home

The Google Home reminds me of a new student in a classroom. Students are not sure where it fits into our classroom culture yet. Some are shy around it and hesitant to ask the Googler of the Day to use it while others find a place for it in their hearts.

After several days of having access to the Google Home I realized a few things.

Students need to think about the words they are using when asking questions. If the question is worded in a way that the Google Home is not ready for, students will get an unexpected answer that the Google Home cannot help them. Sometimes saying it in simple terms gets a better answer. This makes me wonder about the future of AI and how we will interact with robots.

Students are figuring out when is a good time to use the Google Home. Similar to choosing a just right snack time or a good time to go to the bathroom, students are learning when to use Google Home. Students are discovering asking the Google Home a question while others are giving directions might not be the best time. Also if students realized when they have access to the school Chromebooks they do not need to use the Google Home. They have answers at their fingertips. Students also have empathy for those around them when using the Google Home. 

Students are taking responsibility for their actions and building community around the Google Home. Students remind each other how to turn off/on the microphone and unplug the Google Home after each use. One student realized she did not do this and admitted to not following our class Google Home RUP. Therefore she said she would skip being Googler of the Day on her next turn. They are choosing fair consequences!

Students are using the Google Home in various content areas. Students have asked about measurement conversions for a math problem, spelling of words, book reviews, definitions of vocabulary, and examples of concepts. They are curious to know more and see the Google Home as a tool to support learning. I loved learning who the state of matter Bose Einstein was named after and how plasma is formed. Our science book mentions three states of matter, but we know there are more out there. The Google Home extends our learning.

There is an increased use in Google Home even though we do not use it every day. Students used it once the first day and twice the second day. They are now using it up to four times a day on any given day. There are also days we never take it out of its box.

I am curious to see how the Google Home becomes part of our classroom culture as we forge ahead on this journey.

Our Reading Corner Had a Mid-life Crisis

Our reading corner had a mid-life crisis, and students entered this morning to find caution tape blocking the entrance to our beloved space. Yesterday after school students left our cubby area a mess; cardboard boxes to be used for a Spanish project sprawled all over the floor. Since it was not my mess to clean up I left it there. When my custodian texted me to see if I wanted him to throw the cardboard out I simply replied no.

Standing in the Party Store I had an idea that would become a natural consequence. I asked if they had caution tape, and I was directed to the Over the Hill section of the store. There I saw it. Bold, bright yellow tape that read Mid-Life Crisis Zone.

Bursting out laughing, I decided to make my purchase. I am probably close to half way through my teaching career, so it is only fitting that the reading corner I have had since 2000 is now having a mid-life crisis. I came in early and sectioned off our reading corner that also happens to be the entrance to our cubby area. Then I waited for the students to arrive.

The first student that came in walked towards the cubby area and stopped dead in his tracks. A second classmate came in and began asking him how to get in. They both were trying to figure it out when a third classmate suggested they go back to their seats with their backpacks. Neatly placing their bags on the floor students began their morning work.

As the rest of the class trickled in they quickly figured out where to head but were confused about why there was caution style tape in the classroom. One student figured it out! She exclaimed, “Look! We left it a mess yesterday and no one picked it up.” Then the questions began and kept coming throughout the day.

Q. How will we take our lunch count?

A. I will call what is offered for lunch, and you will raise your hand. Our lunch ordering board is in the reading corner, and we cannot access it right now.

Q. Maybe this is for Breakout EDU! Is it?

A. No it is not for an activity.

Q. How do I get a Band-Aid?

A. You will have to walk to the nurse and ask for one since our Band-Aids are currently in a mug in the reading corner.

Q. We need more tissues. Can I get another box from the bathroom?

A. You will have to head to the office to get another box from there.

Q. I need to fill up my water bottle. Where do I go?

A.  I think you should visit the cafeteria and use the water filtration system.

Q. What will we do for read aloud?

A. We will sit at our seats, and unfortunately I cannot read The Perfect Score. Instead we are going to read an amazing picture book by Josh Funk and do a writing activity. Also, since our Chromebooks are in the bathroom that is off the cubby area we cannot do our regularly scheduled reading stations.

Q. I want the second book in this series I am reading. How do I get it?

A. You will have to wait until Monday as that book is in the reading corner. I would be happy to give you other book suggestions based on what we do have access to. She ended up with The Day the Mustache Took Over and realized there are many bookshelves to explore in our library.

Q. What if I need to heat up my snack in the microwave?

A. Unfortunately there is no microwave we have access to at the moment, but there is extra snacks in the nurses’ office.

I never had to explain why our reading corner had a mid life crisis, and the students learned the consequences of it being closed. Though our regular conveniences were interrupted, we found other ways of doing things. This not only teaches flexible thinking and adaptability but also the fact that if you leave a mess it is your job to pick it up - not someone else’s.

Q. What are we going to do at the end of the day? We need the cardboard.

A. At the end of our day we will reflect on the reading corner’s mid-life crisis and work together to clean up the mess.

I sent the photos of the caution taped reading corner to my mother and she responded, “Are you kidding me, who left that mess?” I am sure a lot of you see a mess in your home and ask yourself the same thing. Who left the mess is a great question, as it was certainly not everyone in here. However, everyone in here has left a mess before somewhere. We all learned some valuable lessons about leaving messes during the mid-life crisis of the reading corner.