New Thoughts on Assessment

Thought I would share this video...

Gee's arguments are truly profound, but profoundly sensible.  If you have read any of my previous posts, you will understand when I say that we need students to think, create, problem-solve and fail-to-succeed.  These are the basic tenets of gaming environments.


Think about something as simple as Where's My Water?  It might have a simple premise and a cute alligator, but the problem solving involved in moving to the next level is not easy to assess on a standard test.  But it is high-level thinking, nonetheless.


I often use my own kids as examples of technology use in all its forms.  I like to see them struggle, face challenges, figure things out for themselves and succeed.  In the case of games, success means getting to the next level.  Highly intrinsic motivation.  Highly individualized competition.  Built-in assessment.

So my suggestion is this:

Grab technology, find (create) a great game, give some objectives and get out of the way!

AND...educational games are just as addicting and "non-educational" games.

Lights! Camera! Action! Apocalypse Reloaded

Well...OK.  Not apocalypse.  Reloaded definitely.  Part Deux?

My original post focused on stop action movies created with iMotionHD.  I continue to love the usability and features of iMotionHD.

Recently I began compiling a list of movie-making and editing software and apps (free or otherwise) that students can use to "create"--an integral part of the Common Core.

Thought I would share:

• Pixorial--Awesome!
• Stupeflix (fee for the good stuff)
• Dvolver
• Animoto

Apps that are great for movie making:

• iMovie
• Videolicious
• Reel Director

[Great site for royalty-free music]

I am always looking for more...if you have a great online tool, please let me know.

Embrace the Common Core = Give Your Librarian a Hug

As most of us grapple with the Common Core, please keep in mind the following advice:  Give Your Librarian a Hug.  Or at the very least an enthusiastic high-five.

In our small and quiet ways, we, meaning those of us resilient and courageous enough to be called school library media specialists, have worked hard over the years in selecting well-balanced, thoughtful and diverse collections of materials for students to read.  We read reviews, pre-read, converse with reading specialists.  Our goal--student reading.

To be honest, most of us are still book-lovers.

The CCSS could have been written by library media specialists.  Truly, it could have been.  While there is much more to the Core, here are the parts I like the best:

• Balanced information (i.e. non-fiction) and literary (fiction) texts
• Emphasis on actually reading the documents instead of reading textbook summaries
• Increasing complexity of texts and time allowed to read, analyze, and re-read
• Creation of "evidence" from texts
• Writing based upon reading
• Higher levels of vocabulary

Singing Praises for LMS everywhere (and me by default)!

Library media specialists work hard, very hard, to provide high-quality, diverse and challenging materials for students.  Perhaps the most important part of our job is building a great library collection with the funds we have available.  And I can guarantee, that to the last LMS, we make sure every penny counts.

Look in any nice school library collection and you will find:

• Great biographies
• Wonderful science books
• Poetry
• Children's books galore
• Fiction...The newest, the classics, the unusual
• Graphic novels
• Hi/Lo resources

Ranganathan's Laws of Library Science (1931) still apply today...Every reader has his/her book, every book has its reader.  

I would encourage you to invite your library media specialists to Common Core planning meetings.  Invite them to team and grade level meetings.  Ask them for book requests or reviews.  Hit them up to work with your classes.  

Chances they already have what you are looking for.

And especially to give them a hug.

Common Core Resources

• Nice organized resources from the state of Oregon
• Nice list of resources organized by grade and function
• LearnZillion
• Readworks
• A great CCSS Pinterest site

The Professional Essayist (Google Tip)

With a vast majority of schools moving towards Google Docs, particularly with students, the question of "professional" or "scholarly" quality work being produced using a simple Google Doc keeps coming up.  I've had discussions over the past month or so at several school districts about quality (i.e. college level) using Google.

We can certainly agree that:

• a Google document does not have the same feel or adaptability that Word does.  Formatting a scholarly essay has its challenges with the framework of Google tools.  Finding and formatting headers, for instance, is a unique experience (headers are under "insert", btw).
• Docs don't have all the same bells and whistles that Word does.

So why the urgency of switching?

1. The whole attachment/submission issue...no attachment issues, file formats not opening or lost (or blocked) emails to worry about.  
2. Immediate feedback...add comments, corrections and other notes directly on the document and students have immediate response for correction or improvement.
3. Immediate access...access to Google docs is from any wi-fi or cellular device.
4. Plagiarism...at any point in a Google doc, you can highlight text and search for it using Google.  This is one of the most efficient and quick ways to find plagiarized work.
5. Universities, most notably the UW system, has gone or is going Google.

Zoho also makes a great online suite of programs (presentations, docs, spreadsheets, etc...) which are the "middle ground" between word and Google.  Zoho is also online, has similar sharing features and includes more bells and whistles than Google's baseline docs.

[Please note that both Google and Zoho have the ability to "save as" wither a Word document or a PDF so students with no internet access at home have the ability to convert files and still work productively at home.]

Spicing Up Your Social Life (Google Tip)

If you are anything like me, your calendar is booked solid.  Finding white space on my work or personal calendars is like finding a needle in a haystack...or better...like finding the fountain of youth.

If you are anything like me, you also guard this white space like it's gold.

Our calendars really section our lives off into meaningful sections providing guidance, purpose and even a little sanity to what could be an otherwise hectic and chaotic life.  I love my Google Calendar.  It is on my phone, iPad, my wife's phone, my kid's iTouchs, etc...

One really interesting feature of Google calendars is the ability to subscribe to "interesting" calendars.  Currently I subscribe to the Packers and Badgers football schedules.

The real power of this option is the ability to create your own (or district) calendars to share.  For example, a district's entire calendar can be imported and shared via Google calendars.  Subscribers receive updates and alerts to upcoming events in real-time.  Districts can update their calendars, add scores, documents, newsletters and subscribers receive them automatically.

Other possibilities:

• Classroom or Assignment Calendars
• Activity calendars (student council or clubs)
• Athletic events
• More!