It's not the first day yet! But, planning for a good year!

Like most of you, I am on summer break. In between revising curriculum, conducting teacher training, planning for conferences I present at later this summer, and RELAXING, I am still searching for ideas for next school year. I always want to improve from year to year!

I was thinking today about how important starting off on the right foot is for students. My daughter is a good student, but she takes it very personally if she has a bad "teacher encounter" early on in a class. We had one such example her sophomore year (and, truly, that teacher did not treat her properly, so her reasons were valid). A teacher did not like the fact that she wasn't thrilled about his science class and put her on the spot about it (oh, let me mention, she made an A in the class). He damaged that relationship to the point of no return within the first two months of school saying that if she didn't "act like she liked this class more" then he "won't help her in the future."

WOW.

I try very much to avoid judging students. But, I think it's important for students to judge themselves. They know themselves way better than we do. So, in looking for resources, I found this self-evaluation and goal-setting sheet from MathGiraffe.com (go to their site to download!).

I love the idea of asking students to self-evaluate before they even begin your class. How did they feel about last year? What were they proud of? What do they need to improve on? And, what are their goals for MY CLASS?

Do you ask students to set goals? I often put on a student information form something like "target grade" for my class. I typically put: 

• Straight A (no minus!)
• A range
• B range or higher
• C range
• I just want to pass!

You'd be surprised what students are not "okay" with just something in the A range. They do not want that A- and are discouraged by it. Others are going into your class just expecting to get a C. They don't even aspire to higher than that. And, others simply want to not fail. Some put what THEY want and others put what MOM AND DAD expect. 

KNOWING THIS INFORMATION IS GOLD.

You can connect with your students to help them reach their goals and, for some of them, help them realize that they can set higher goals. I encourage you in the fall to take a little time out and have your students set a goal for your class. Perhaps that goal is related to effort, communicating, remembering to log in before the bell rings, not being late, checking grades daily, being open to helping others... sometimes they have to start small. But, come back to this goal and call them to task. If a student puts that they want to "become better at answering essay questions" and they leave a question blank on a test or they write one sentence as a response, you should bring them up to the desk and have a conversation about how this effort is not helping them meet the goal. Instead of griping them out for leaving a question blank, writing in an angry face with your -5 points, or just writing "poor effort," having that conversation related to their goals that THEY set, can help show more of a relationship and concern and less of a judgment.

Good luck!

Illustrator and Photoshop Mock-ups! Smart!

I've participated and viewed Logo Design Contests online for years (mostly to get project ideas). Some of the entries are so fancy, with billboard and glass windows with the logos on them. I always wondered how they took the time to do that for these contests. And, I know the concept of mock-ups....

But, friends, I didn't know you could just download tons of free mock-ups that you could place your artwork into!

My kids are going to love this in the fall!

Have you ever had your kids design artwork for can? A box? A bottle? It's "fine" when you look at it on the computer, I guess, but using a mock-up will get them much more excited and bring their ideas to life.

Here are a few sites that you can get them from:

• https://www.mockupworld.co/all-mockups/
• https://originalmockups.com/free-mockups
• https://www.graphberry.com/category/mock-ups
• https://graphicburger.com/tag/mock-up/
• http://freemockupzone.com/  <--- that one is my favorite!

Just watch my short video here and you can see how to use them. I'll be using this in a workshop I'm doing next week on Illustrator!

Here's my example with my family cycling logo, put nicely on a cup (and I show you how in the video!):

Curriculum Work... Tylenol Murders!

Well, school has been out for less than a week and, while also prepping for a workshop I am giving next week, I am already working on curriculum for next year. I am picking up Business Law (yay!) next year and wanted to try to find a few podcast episodes to work in to the class.

I was listening on my way to work yesterday on the How Stuff Works podcast and they had an episode on the Tylenol murders. I had been reading about the biggest recalls of all time for the unit on product liability and that sort of thing and thought this was timely. So, here's the episode I listened to:

https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-stuff-you-should-know-26940277/episode/the-tylenol-murders-part-ii-45475709/

I think the students will enjoy it. It's pretty long, so might do a few time cues and have them skip some things so it can fit into one class period and leave time for discussion (this is part 2, I didn't listen to part 1).

My thought is to play it and have a visual "notes sheet" they will work on while they listen to help them listen (more of a scavenger hunt to figure out why the words/dates/etc. are important).

I honestly think this would work in a variety of business classes since it really discusses the public
relations needed to come back from a crisis like this one.

Anyone have any other good podcast episodes kids might enjoy?

Old School Typing Tournament! #busedu

This week in my Computer Applications class, we've had some fun. Last week, I had students take about half the hour to do some typing practice (Typing Academy 2 minute timings). I walked around while students were typing just checking out their typing speeds (which, by the way, my students were pretty impressive! I had 12 out of my 25 who were typing around 50 wpm or more!). If they got a speed they wanted me to see (improved), they could call me over and I recorded it old school on a clipboard.

I had decided to probably take the top 10 or so and create a bracket, but due to time, I just went with top 8. I found an online "bracket" through Challonge and plugged in the names based on their ranks on my walkarounds and put it on my class website and Twitter, so they could all see who was ranked where. They were quite eager for me to update it each day!



The competition rounds were fierce! They had to type at my teacher computer at the front of the room on the big screen (yep, where everyone could watch). PRESSURE. And it really affected speeds. They were feeling it! I always had the  lower seed go first and they got TWO attempts, just to take a little pressure off. Round 1 we did over two class periods and then the other rounds on two different days. Students were also working on their independent review (Mindtap SAM reviews for our final exam, which got boring sometimes, so this was a distraction at times for those who wanted a break!).

I used this website and created a "custom text" timing (sign up with a Google account for free and you can create and save your own) that they typed (this example is round 3, which I actually gave my top two the night before so they could practice on their own), but I started with different text for the other rounds and they didn't get to practice it in advance)-->
         Final Round  https://www.keyhero.com/custom-typing-test/tournament-3/

To determine their actual "score" I took the words per minute times the accuracy rate. If you look at my bracket, it was pretty close a few times and accuracy mattered!

If I were to do it again, I might do two brackets (silver and gold, tiered so slower ones have a chance to win) or a double elimination. I probably should have done a third place match, too. But, this was my first attempt. In my Computer Apps class, students do Typing Club as a side thing and in class several days during the semester, so we are always encouraging them to improve typing speed and accuracy; this was just a fun way to end the course, and it was a bit fun listening to the students root for the underdogs!

Seesaw Amazing Race? We Tried!

I attended a PD session at my school (Jackson R-2!) last week on using Seesaw for an "Amazing Race" activity. I know lots of elementary teachers use Seesaw, but I've not known a high school teacher using it (I wasn't really interested in the student work journals and parent sharing) so this intrigued me. Also, I felt dumb... I hadn't used it and they all knew their way around! I also never use iPads, so I was just confused. But, I completed their example activity and decided to give it a whirl.

I set off to create an activity for my Web Design 2 class. They are a great group of kids (and my small class of 11, so great guinea pigs). I decided to do a blended activity that allowed us to leave my computer lab to complete the race with their Chromebooks.

Process

I set up four groups (just colors) and the kids picked their own groups (of 3 or 2). I set those up as my "students" in the class (I didn't want them to be individuals or use their Google accounts to log in). When they do an activity and upload, it asks them what group to add it to, so that's how that worked using the login code.

I created four stops on our race (activities in Seesaw)--

Stop 1:   You'll need paper and markers. In your group, create the HTML tags for an image named dog.jpg that is centered on the page with an appropriate text alternative. Each tag and/or attribute should be on a separate "block" of paper (tear apart as needed). Don't forget to close your tags!  Take a photo and post it here!  (I set it up in the hallway with strips of paper and a box of markers).

Stop 2:  Find the Bootstrap wall. Take a picture with two group members holding two of the examples. Then, add text to identify what bootstrap feature or component they illustrate before posting.  (I printout out screenshots of bootstrap components and tacked them up on the railing in the hallway near my room)

Stop 3:  In your own words, your group members should use the following terms in a SPOKEN paragraph (either video or audio). Be sure your use of the term clearly shows you know what it means! I am not looking for dictionary definitions, but rather "real people" explanations.

Not worth credit--(isn't descriptive)
"John really liked the webpage that had the jumbotron and favicon because they made the page look cool."

Select at least 5 terms from this list----
Jumbotron, hexadecimal, favicon, thumbnail, CSS, class, HSLA, Javascript, hyperlink

Stop 4:  Listen to your instructor's message to know what to do! (I had an audio message in the app telling them to find something in the lobby by the office, take a picture, and translate the color to a hex code using the app).

Reflection

The students enjoyed the activity. I asked them for feedback about the length of the activity and the setup. They all agreed four activities was good for a high school class and 45 minutes.

The example session I attended didn't really give you all of the "stops" at once and I did with this group because I thought it would keep them all going in different directions and they wouldn't have to wait on me to review their activity before they could move on to the next one. However, the big issue with that was that they didn't know immediately if they were wrong. There isn't a way to "reject" an upload that they submit (just to delete it). I can approve it with a comment saying there's an issue but then they might assume it was okay. So, in the future, I think I will just tell them they have to review their items and my feedback and I will leave a comment on EVERY submission saying approved or denied (with notes for correction).  That might be a little confusing on the end because some may have more submissions than others.... but at least they would have feedback. As it was, when they finished all four, they found me and then I just told them that Stop 2 was denied. It worked okay, but I just need to think through that hurdle.  I think I will have a "final activity" that doesn't have instructions in Seesaw so students can complete the first 3 or 4 in any order and then can only get the final envelope from me IF they have all the others completed correctly. (But, let me tell you, if your tasks are complicated and take awhile to approve, you will drive yourself crazy!).

Another note a student gave was the the video upload took some time and so they had to wait on that to move on. Had I put the "stops" on paper in envelopes rather than in the app, they could have perhaps moved on to the next one. I didn't specific a length on the video, so those took awhile for me to approve (one was 6 minutes long!). So, lesson learned on that.

Overall, I enjoyed this and they did, too. It didn't take a ton of planning. I just need to learn Seesaw better. Our network had moments where I couldn't see their work and such (oh, technology!) but other than that, it was pretty cool!

I'd like to try this with a big class next. My Photoshop class does some photography and I think this would be a fun project to do with that unit while we go roam around taking pics. I also think I can have a "group worksheet" or word play type activity (maybe a scramble with a secret word) that they take a picture of when complete that goes over terminology or something that will keep them thinking as well. But, this is a very interesting way to review content and get kids up and moving!

They Hate Reading... But it's Okay! #busedu

Ever want your classes to read? You assign an article, they sit there and read it, maybe you have them write a short reflection... and you move on. They might have read it. Some read it quickly and others probably never finished. Some understand and others just move on. 

I've even heard teachers say they don't assign textbook reading anymore because they don't read it anyway.

Sound familiar?

I recently read about Reciprocal Teaching (or Reciprocal Reading) in the classroom. I am teaching a Business Communication class and need them to read nonfiction articles in this course and learn how to apply them, but I know that students do little reading these days. And, I also know that they tend to skim over unfamiliar words and zone out when reading (even when reading in groups).

But, I love this idea. And, I borrowed the worksheet from Literacy in Focus. It worked great for my class, too.

Let me be clear:  This didn't require a whole lot of prep (but more than it will in the future because I wanted to communicate expectations) and the students were reading a TWO PAGE ARTICLE. That's it. But, they were really digging into the article. As I told them, to do this correctly, it will take about 30 minutes. And I meant it.

I picked groups today (with the promise they could in the future if they behaved) and they got to move around in the classroom (circles, sit on floor, whatever) so that the group could work together. Each group member got a worksheet to complete (look at my Google Doc for the instructions as I gave it). 

Here's the Google document with the steps for this activity (you'll need the Literacy in Focus worksheet, too) and links to the four articles they analyzed today along with the "vocabulary" words I picked (I printed one article for each group with those words underlined). 

It actually went well. They all participated. Everyone had to lead at some point. Everyone had to speak to their group members at some point. This is a group I struggle with, too. But, I was upfront that at their age, I know they don't read much, I know they skip over unfamiliar words, and that I wanted them to change that. When you aren't taught how to "really read" for comprehension, it's hard. This gave them a process that make it easier to do (and they paid attention and did what they were supposed to for the entire class period).

I plan to do these every few weeks. Take a look and let me know if you've done something like this before in your classroom. 

The Chromebook Curse... #busedu

So, my school district went "one to one" on Chromebooks a couple of years ago. As a teacher in a very nice computer lab, we don't use them in my room, but I think it's a good idea to have in the general classroom. I teach Adobe applications, which don't run on Chromebooks, and a dual credit MS Office class, which must be articulated through the university and must use the full version to meet articulation requirements (so no Google Docs).

But, I am Google Certified and feel like Google Docs is great for students to know.

HOWEVER...

Our Computer Applications team (which feeds into my dual credit class) has had the worst time this year with students not knowing computer basics. Sadly, I have to blame this Chromebook situation. As students must have Computer Applications to take the higher level technology classes, I haven't run into the situation YET (I have Computer Applications next semester, though, so I am prepping myself).

Students are not adept at saving documents, understanding file extensions, basic file management, or even understanding where "Downloads" disappear to when they download something from the internet.

When we meet with our vertical collaboration team, we intend to try to find a method of attack for this issue, but it's been a rocky start to our Computer Applications classes, which use an online textbook/Mindtap and SAM. As students must download starter files, move them to a location other than the Downloads folder, save/rename to upload properly, etc., they are just lost getting through the first unit. And, they aren't struggling with PowerPoint; they are struggling with basic Windows things.

Anyone else noticing this? I guess this is the first year where students in junior high did not learn "the old way" and it's quite apparent. What I assumed were just known concepts are foreign to these students, which would be terrible if they entered business/industry with only knowledge of Google Docs (um... or college!).

Curious to see if any of you are experiencing a similar plight in your classrooms. Head back to my Facebook and let me know!

https://www.facebook.com/tonyabized