A Learning Activity for Editing

Reference my previous blog Google Apps for Education to better understand how we're using Google Doc presentations.

We made our presentation "fat" when each student added to it the sentence they'd constructed about serial commas.
 Posted was Maya Angelou's and my example:

His room smelled of cooked grease, Lysol, and age. 

--Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)

Hector's room smelled of gym socks, Ranch Doritos, and lies. 

--Mrs. Johnson (2011)

I then asked them to follow this model, which was written on the presentation:

 (Place) smells like ______, ______, and _____." 
Please make the smells distinctly different. Cite as shown (Your name, 2011)

A handful of students got it perfectly--they noticed the difference in the examples and the model, changed "smelled" to "smells," used a place, and wrote a list of distinct smells. Another handful didn't focus on the model but got the place and distinct smells. And there were some that didn't use a place but a thing that was not a place, or they didn't use distinctively different aromas. 

I pulled the presentation up and we critiqued each one in a very nice, constructive way, verbally high-fiving those that got it perfectly. I wasn't trying to trick them; I wanted them to learn to focus on what was asked of them. Was this an eye-opener? Of course. 

But here's the kicker and I didn't expect this: by the third or fourth slightly incorrect sentence, students immediately volunteered what was wrong with the sentence they'd written as soon as it was read aloud, without my calling on them. They wanted to address it first, they wanted to show they understood what had happened. Now, you may think this was a cruel way to introduce them to writing for an audience. But they were all engaged, and not one student was distracted from the activity. We applauded the sentences that followed the model and enjoyed the huge variety of literal and figurative smells. I then asked them to make changes to these same sentences they had posted on their individual web pages to receive full credit.

The ensuing discussion got lively as some that followed the model claimed their due, while some woefully admitted they had rushed through the assignment. It looked like a very simple writing task, but they'd gotten it a bit wrong. I reminded them that this happens to everyone, but that they had to sharpen their focus when writing for an audience. I explained that as self-editors we have to be the first to notice our flaws, we have to continuously work on our writing skills and reflect on them after completion. 

I can remember writing essays for undergraduate courses on the old onion-skin paper that some professors insisted upon. Inevitably, three-fourths towards the bottom of a typed page, I would make a typo, and have to yank it out and start over. Students today do not have to do this, and they should be happy that technology has evolved as it has. But that doesn't mean they can't continue to reflect on their writing, nor does it mean they should read through their finished product once and be done with it. Blogging allows us to save, make changes, preview, and come back again later to write or change some more. Should we have higher expectations for students because of technology? I think we should. There are so many tools built in that help: spell-check, grammar assistance, thesaurus, dictionary, and so on. We can ask them to be thorough. We don't have to be ruthless, but we must ask them to examine once, reflect, and examine again until they develop the intrinsic motivation to write well for an audience or just for themselves. Digital tools offer them the ability to examine deeply, alter their work when needed, and make the best of their efforts in a painless fashion.

And now I welcome your thoughts on this activity. Was it too cruel? Was it definitive college/career preparation? What do you think?

Google Apps for Education

Ready for tremendous success for both students and teacher? Where should I start?

I'll start with me, as it has changed the way I approach my language course for 6th-8th grade.  Using three different resources--Everyday Editing and Mechanically Inclined by Jeff Anderson and The Grammar Plan Book by Constance Weaver--I plan to attack the grammar within writing, mainly directed at student blogging. Using Google in our domain lets me send students presentations of topics. This week it's the study and practice of serial commas. I made a presentation doc and shared it with the students so they could add their practice sentences and cited example sentences from literature. Now they can add to the presentation when it's convenient, it can be pulled up for discussion, and we can learn from each other. I like this, as it makes the students collaborators to the curriculum. I can also send them extra practice documents (old-fashioned worksheets in digital form) via email if they need supplemental practice.

For the students, Google Apps is a fantastic opportunity to use digital tools for communication. Writing blogs and emails helps them focus on writing standards. They've been developing webpages with Sites and writing blogs. Next, I'll ask them to comment on classmates' publications, which will hopefully reinforce what we've discussed for writing: encourage conversation (comments) from readers.

Today I received an email from a middle school student, requesting that I open up the restrictions on our email domain for a brief time so she could email photos from her phone to insert on her Google Site. Students motivated to work on a Saturday evening? I'm all for that! And note: she's already got her own digital tool to use. Google Apps costs nothing yet adds so much to the learning process.

Another exciting feature of Sites is the ease of use. Students can insert links, images and videos with hardly any help. Once they discover the simplicity, they madly support their topics with interesting outside sources. The impact they can add is tremendous. I'm letting them explore topics they enjoy--personalized learning opportunities create lifelong learners and if that's what they become, I've done my job.

Next up will be the collaborative elements of Google. Teams will be formed for project-based learning. When our global contests research begins, they'll be prepared for teamwork. Google Docs gives them forms/surveys for collecting data on the fly, and they can then graph the results.

Are you considering Google Apps for Education at your school? Don't wait any longer--the engagement factor and simplicity makes the learning curve seem negligible. It can act as an ongoing e-portfolio, so unlike papers thrust forgotten into folders or worse yet, into the trash can. Invest the time for the digital literacy your students need.

Integrating QR Codes

At our previous monthly staff meeting, the principal asked us to brainstorm three topics, and one of those was ideas for school improvement. Our early childhood director noted that her church used sticker codes for young child pickup by parent. The child was "stickered" upon arrival to church and the parent given a matching sticker, placed in the appropriate class for the church service, and then picked up as the sticker was matched by the parent. She wondered if we could also do this at our school. As an early childhood worker, she doesn't know all of the students that come to our after-school care, and this sometimes concerns her as to what allergies the child might have or if all adults picking up the child were approved ones. She definitely has a wonderful idea that we can implement using current technology at no cost.


QR (quick response) codes use smart phone technology. Here's a Common Craft video explaining them. Lee Kolbert shares this and other ideas on her blog about QR codes in education. I've brainstormed how I'm going to use them in the classroom which I'll share in a later writing.


For application to the early childhood director's concerns, QR codes will allow teachers on-the-fly access to pertinent student information. And while it sounds all Big Brother, the goal is to protect the student by giving teachers in charge of unfamiliar students access to important data. If we have a student with life-threatening allergy to a food or insect, the adult in charge that day can find out instantly with a phone snap to the child's code. 


I tried out some resources to creating a code for a student. qrstuff.com provides elements in a wide range of formats. We can implement QR's by making a table of student codes on either a web page or a printout sheet in a folder. The after-school care provider can then access the code of any child she is unfamiliar with for instant information. As our school grows, this gives us an additional safety feature to protect children from unwarranted pickups and access to emergency contacts without stringing through time-negating activities. All that is needed is a smart phone with a QR code reader application and codes made from free resources. 


Mary Beth Hertz at Edutopia has some more ideas about how QR codes can be used in the classroom. Read more here.


How will you use QR codes? How will my students use them? I'm picturing all kinds of ways we can implement these in education, but it necessitates smart phones in the classroom, which is another idea whose time has come.


The QR at the top of this post is a link to my blog. Try it out for yourself!