5 SeeSaw Stations for Training Teachers

SeeSaw is my favorite elementary app ever (for these 12 reasons). But no matter how much I talk about it, describe it, and recite poetry devoted to it in my trainings (not really...but maybe someday), sometimes a hesitant teacher just needs to experience SeeSaw to get what it's all about.

To help spread the SeeSaw love, here are five training stations primary teachers can rotate through and use SeeSaw like a student. The first four stations are aligned to Texas state standards (TEKS) for K-2nd, and the last station focuses on classroom rules and routines. Enjoy!

Get the Station Directions
Make a copy with Google Docs or download a PDF

Station 1 - Kindergarten Math

Teachers use the photo feature to go on a 3-D shape scavenger hunt looking for cylinders, cones, spheres, and cubes. They then use the voiceover and drawing feature to identify the figure they found.

Station 2 - 1st Grade ELAR/Reading

After reading "Cinderella," teachers identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story using this graphic organizer. Once they've written their response, they'll take turns recording each other retelling the story using SeeSaw's video feature.

Station 3 - 2nd Grade Science

Participants will complete a card sort and put the steps of a chicken's life cycle in the correct order. Then using SeeSaw's drawing tool, they'll create their own representation of a chicken's life cycle, narrating what happens in each step. 

Station 4 - 1st Grade Math

Using Base 10 blocks (printable), teachers model a number between 1 and 120. Then they use the hundreds chart to find patterns of "10 more/10 less." Finally, they record an explanation of the patterns they found on the hundreds chart using SeeSaw's video tool.

Station 5 - Classroom Expectations

Teachers choose a classroom rule, then create a short commercial to explain and demonstrate it to the class. 

Chromebook Tic-Tac-Toe

Chromebooks are functionally like laptops, and yet they're not. So when you're planning a Chromebook training, teachers need some time to explore their differences in order to feel comfortable using them.

In planning our 3-day "Integrate-to-Inspire" Chromebook Institute for this summer, we decided to let teachers collaboratively ferret out the idiosyncrasies of the Chromebook on their own. We also wanted it to be engaging, since this was going to be the first activity on the first day.

And so was born Chromebook Tic-Tac-Toe.

Chromebook Tic-Tac-Toe is played just like regular Tic-Tac-Toe: two players get their Chromebooks and one game board, then they decide who will be X's and who will be O's. To take a space on the board, they have to demonstrate on their Chromebook how to do the task is in that space.

In the example below, X took the top-left square by turning their Chromebook on. Then O got the middle by signing in to their Chromebook. X then took the top-right square by finding how to right-click on a Chromebook, then O captured the middle-right by opening the app launcher.

I love this activity for training because it does a few good things:

1. It's part ice-breaker, part learning, so it gets people talking and working together.
2. It encourages participants to look up what they don't know (I politely refuse to give answers while they're playing and instead ask them how they would find the answer if I wasn't there).
3. They remember what they learned later because they had fun doing it.
4. They start learning to be self-sufficient and solving problems on their own.

You can get a copy of Chromebook Tic-Tac-Toe by following the link below. There are three games, and each one increases slightly in difficulty. Depending on the ability level of your group, it takes from 30-45 minutes to get through all three boards. Have fun!

Chromebook Tic-Tac-Toe

The 10 Characteristics of Effective #Edtech PD

We all know that school districts often purchase technology with no real plan in place for teacher professional development. Those of us in the Edtech community beg for more time to train and support our teachers, but even then those trainings end up taking the form of one-time, sit-and-get workshops with little to no follow-up.

As I conducted research for Master's thesis, I focused on the components of effective edtech professional development. After organizing notes from a multitude of peer-reviewed articles, I synthesized the top 10 characteristics of effective PD based on their mentions in the literature.

I offer them below so we can pursue more impactful forms of professional development for our teachers (and if you're desperately interested in the reference list and full literature review, you can find it here.)

So with no further ado, effective edtech professional development needs to include...

1. Clear, content-specific connections to classroom practice
   The most frequently mentioned characteristic of effective PD is that it has a clear link to a teacher's content area and their classroom practice. To accomplish this, we may need to restructure the way we present PD so that teachers can be clustered together based on content areas. We may also need to consider blending our PD so we present a whole group, face-to-face session on the general functions of a digital tool, then allow teachers to choose an online pathway that walks them through the applications of the tool in their content area. Whatever route we choose, the adult learner is focused on practical application and learns to solve problems, so we need to make sure we provide clear connections to their daily context.


2. Time for collaboration and reflection
   Without reflection, there's a danger that the teacher's PD experience could be misunderstood and misapplied in the classroom. For example, if a teacher walks away with plans for implementing at only the lowest levels of integration, they've missed a chance to increase rigor and engage students. Reflection and collaboration provides time for teachers to develop plans and for us as facilitators to make sure that our intended takeaways are actually taken away...


3. Extended duration
   The duration of effective PD includes both an extended span of time to implement the new learning as well as a high number of contact hours outside of the initial session. One-time workshops are ineffective in changing teacher practice, especially when there is little to no follow up outside of the training. Positioning our training in the context of regularly scheduled Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) or other forms of job-embedded PD allow us to extend the contact time we have with teachers and support them in their new learning.


4. Non-threatening support and follow up
   The teacher's support shouldn't also be the teacher's evaluator. This is where the role of coaches comes  into play. The teacher has to feel that they have a partner in implementation who will respect their need for confidentiality as they incubate new ideas and attempt to execute new plans in their classroom. 


5. An engaging and active format
   Often, if we were the teachers in our own PD, we'd be checking Facebook too. If we're not doing our part to model active learning and engaging instruction, we have no one to blame but ourselves for the slack-jawed faces staring back at us. Teachers need "sandbox time" to experiment and play with new technology, and it should happen during our sessions where we can provide structure, guidance and support.


6. The same technology teachers will use in the classroom
   With our current Chromebook pilot, we made assumptions early on that teachers would understand how to use the devices. Based on that assumption, we moved to quickly into digital tools without making sure teachers could navigate their way around a different interface than what they were use to. Teachers need to experience the actual classroom technology to understand what student's will experience as they use the tools. Additionally, greater learning transfer will happen if what teachers experience in training matches what they will be using in the classroom.


7.  Modeling by colleagues
   I've been out of the classroom 8 months (and here are some lessons I've learned). In the eyes of a teacher, I'm out of touch. Whether that's true or not, perception can quickly become reality. The more we can get classroom teachers presenting the PD and sharing what they do with real live students, the more buy-in we'll have from the teachers we're training. 


8. Institutional support
   How does your campus or district show support for your early adopters? Do they allow them to take risks, make mistakes, and blaze a new trail? Or do they flog them at the first sign of a data dip, blame the devices, and remove the technology from the classroom? For PD to be effective, teachers must feel they have the support of the broader institution to take the often uncertain path of pushing through to new and higher levels of learning.


9. Processes for evaluating teacher learning
   Exit surveys are an awful way to evaluate professional development, but that seems to be our default method to determine if PD has been effective. To truly evaluate and refine our PD, we need to find ways to see if what teachers have learned is reaching the classroom, changing teacher practice, and impacting students. How do we do that? I'm not sure. There are so many variables that go into effective teaching that it becomes difficult to tease out exactly what is making an impact. If anyone is using metrics to measure PD that are working, I'd love to hear about it in the comments section.


10. The feeling that the time invested is outweighed by the benefits gained
    We've all walked out of training sessions that were a complete waste of our lives. So for PD to be effective, the teacher has to feel like the time they just put in will result in positive changes in their classroom. It's incumbent on us as facilitators to make sure that connection is clear, so that when teachers leave our initial face-to-face, they have plans for immediate implementation with their students.

That's what the literature says. What would you add to the list?

Techie Holidays Lunch-and-Learn

One of the issues I'm finding when it comes to training teachers in technology is the priority of other content areas. Having taught a state-tested subject and grade level, I get it: there's an immense amount of pressure to keep the data where it should be and develop teachers in their core area. However, this crowds out the time that's necessary to develop teachers in how they use technology.

One of the solutions I'm exploring is voluntary Lunch-and-Learns. Inspired by this "Innovation in Action" column by Rick Czyz, I'm calling this first run "Techie Holidays," and I'm pleased with it so far. I start by posting invitations on the door of every classroom in the building the day before, followed by an email invite. The day of the Lunch-and-Learn, I set up in the campus conference room (with snacks and gift card giveaways) and teachers come to learn a few new tech tools in about 10 minutes.

The turnout has been strong, with 70%-80% of teachers attending on each campus. I plan to do two more of these this year, as it seems to be a workable solution to getting teachers trained in the midst of all their other campus and classroom requirements.

This form of PD isn't about in-depth conversations over edtech philosophies or the finer points of SAMR, it's about relationship-building and some "quick-win" tech tools. And I've learned quite a bit about what teachers need just by sitting and talking with them over some cookies and cider.

If you're interested in using the "Techie Holidays" resources, the link to my Drive folder with handouts, etc. is below.

"Techie Holidays" Resource Folder

Techie Holidays Training Website

Geek in the House: Two Minute Tech - Watchkin

This year I've been working one-on-one lesson planning, support and reflection with teachers in our 1:1 pilot. Our goal is to increase their capacity and get students creating and publishing using the devices.

However, I also have a secondary goal of  getting all teachers in our district more aware of what they can do with technology. We know that if the teacher isn't comfortable using tech, the research says it's highly unlikely to end up in the hands of students (which is, of course, our ultimate goal).

So I'm creating "Two Minute Tech" videos that teachers can view at their leisure. These screencasts focus on quick and easy "wins" for folks who could use some simple tools for their digital toolbox. 

This week, we'll take a look at Watchkin, the quick and easy way to clean up YouTube so you can use video safely with your students.

Teachers: We Are Not Center of the Universe

As I work on wrapping up my master's degree, I have a class this semester that lasts for three hours, on a weeknight, and it gets out at 10:00 p.m. This is unfortunate.

On the bright side, this course gives me plenty of time to think and reflect (and write this post), because I'm able to sit in the back and only tune in when my professor moves to the next slide in his PowerPoint. Being allowed to sit through this extraordinary learning opportunity (#snark), I find myself thinking back on my time in the classroom. And I'm not all that pleased with what I see.

When I taught, too many days I just stood and delivered (in a non-Jaime Escalante kind of way), thinking that my students were engaged with what I was saying simply because I was saying it. I had an over inflated sense of how important I was in my own classroom.

I thought I was the center of the universe.

In retrospect, I'm lucky my students learned anything at all. They were compliant, fighting through the haze like the one I'm in right now. It's the fogginess that sets in when you know the authority in control of your situation is in love with the sound of their own voice. And once you figure out that the person who's talking isn't stopping, there's not much of a reason to stay mentally present.

Moving backwards on my own personal timeline is impossible, so I can't do anything about the past. But I can take a look at the people I coach now and consider the way I work with them.

Basically, I need to shut up more.

I am the center of my own universe, not anyone else's. Learning, regardless of your age, is only as important to you as it has relevance to your life. And since I can't possibly know what's relevant to every person I'm training, the only way I can find that out is to be quiet and listen, then try to connect.

People have to engage with ideas and figure out what it means in their situation. That's because most of us are only interested in knowledge as it relates to us and our world. The research tells us that adults approach professional development with a problem-solving mentality: if you can't show them how it meets a need, they won't engage with it, and they haven't learned. They've sat.

They've done what I'm doing right now in this class.

So I'm training a group of administrators in the morning, and I hope I can remember this eyes-glazing-over, motivation-sapping feeling I have right now if I start to talk too much. I think it'll keep me in check.

Because if I really want people to learn, I have to teach with the understanding that everyone thinks that the planets orbit around them. The question is simply this: am I willing to give up being the center of my universe to try and understand theirs for a bit? If so, this teaching thing just might work out for me.

The Results of Teacher Choice in #Edtech Trainings

Teachers are professionals. Their professional learning needs to reflect that.

Earlier this summer, as I started to think about what treating teachers as professionals actually looks like, I began toying with the idea of teacher-driven trainings. What if, instead of telling teachers what they were going to learn about, I presented them with a set of digital tools that would work in their content area, and let them choose what they learned? Are teachers capable of making such a decision for themselves?

I decided they were, so I developed a structure that worked quite well for my four 3.5 hour sessions. I certainly don't have everything ironed out yet, but I'm pleased with the initial results. Here's the flow of each session, and at the bottom are links to the sites that I built to keep everything organized and on track.

1. Teachers start by posting to Padlet how they're already using (or not using) technology to teach their content.


2. Briefly (and informally) have a conversation about their posts and the tools they're using, validate the work they're doing with technology, and start making connections between what they already do and some of the tools they would see during the session.


3. Introduce the agenda, and be prepared for people not to believe that they're actually going to get to choose what they learn.


4. Using Nearpod, present brief summaries of the digital tools they can choose from. This also included some poll questions about people's technological comfort level and the occasional quiz question to get the engagement up.


5. Teachers come back to the training site and vote for their top 4 tools. (It was actually funny how long it took some folks to choose...)


6. Start with the tool that got the most votes. Model and walk through its main features (10-15 minutes), clarify any confusion, then give 15-20 minutes of "sandbox time" for teachers to explore, talk, and start brainstorming ideas of how they can use it for instruction.


7. Lather, rinse, repeat with the next two or three tools.


8. Send everyone to a Google Slides presentation and give them 15 minutes to fill out their grade level, content, TEKS (state standard) and a tool they could use to enhance how they teach that concept.


9. Everyone gets 40 seconds to share their idea as their slide is shown on the screen.


10. Fill out a Forms survey for feedback.

That's it. Nothing terribly earth-shattering, just a training based on the fact that since teachers are the gatekeepers of their classroom, they should have a say in what tools they are going to use.

The best part of the whole thing was during sandbox time when I got to walk around and just talk to people. One anatomy and physiology teacher mentioned that they didn't have many online resources, so I was able to introduce her to BioDigital Human. My Friday afternoon group liked Nearpod so much that they asked if I could train them on that before we got into the science tools. Absolutely!

The main issue I'm still facing is how to engage the intentionally disengaged. If you're going to walk across the room to start planning schedules and lessons with your grade level partner (yes, I saw you...), there's really not much I can do to stop you. You're a grown person. Maybe it should be a reflection piece for me that I didn't have something that you felt you could use. I'm still thinking through it.

The only other problem was that our district network went down before my Thursday afternoon session. We stitched together a hodgepodge of smartphone hot spots to get most people online. Ah, Plan B...

But even with the occasional rudeness and network complications, I'm motivated by the feedback* from the exit surveys. It's especially flattering when teachers who don't even teach a content area come back for another session because they felt they learned so much in their first one. To me, that speaks volumes.

I'm just pleased that my teachers didn't let me down when I decided to treat them like the professionals they are and give them a choice in what they learned.

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*If you want to see teachers' feedback, here's the link to their unedited survey responses, even the part about how I need to slow down a bit. They're right, I do. I just get so excited...

Training Websites

Using Technology to Teach Writing

Using Technology to Teach Social Studies

Using Technology to Teach Math

Using Technology to Teach Science