Digital Portfolios, Regina Berg, Brooks College Prep

This year I’m teaching a class in Spoken Word in addition to my duties in the library.  I am using the curriculum from Young Chicago Authors and techniques from Spoken Word for Educators, a course I am taking at Concordia University.

For my class the students have to both write and perform. We had an Open Mic on Halloween that was so cool! Students performed both individual and group pieces. It was their summative assessment for the quarter.

I created a Gmail account for the class and the students use the Chromebooks on a regular basis to compose work and to save and share their work on Google Drive. The Drive has been an indispensible part of the process for us. It gives us the ability to share and edit collaboratively.

Additionally I wanted a creative way to archive their work and show growth in their writing over time. So we created Weebly websites. Each site should now feature at least 8 poems including: a List poem, a Shout Out or Invocation, a take on “We Real Cool”, a personal statement about Ferguson, a Vignette and their group and duet poems. The List poem describes how the students see themselves. The Shout Out or Invocation is either sincere or sarcastic. The Vignette should to focus on an event and use personification. The group poem is a poem in 3 voices. Each team member contributes a piece on a common topic or theme, then edits them as a group to produce one poem.

The site will be a yearlong project with students adding written work, audio and video as the work progresses. We are spread out around the library so the Chromebooks are an essential part of the class allowing the students to work in small groups or individually. Now that we have the ability to print from the Chromebooks, I can easily add hard copies of their work to my paper portfolios of their work and compare changes and edits in the digital portfolio over time.

You can check out their work at brooksspokenword.weebly.com.

Using Chromebooks in the Library, Janice Wellborn, Hernandez Middle School

I started January knowing that I would be seeing nine different classes of students, some of them once a week and some of them twice a week.  At the end of January we were scheduled for a new rotation of students so I was looking for a project that could engage all of them for a maximum of eight class meetings, and a minimum of four meetings. Clearly I would need to make adjustments so that not all classes were doing the same project.  I decided on a Martin Luther King, Jr. biography in light of MLK’s birthday.  Overall, I think the projects were pretty successful.

Students were told to first do individual research using the desktops and the Chromebooks. They were instructed to find biographical information on MLK.  Their results were submitted to me via Google docs using either of the computer types.

Next, students were told to find another student or two (or opt to work alone) to research specifically what was King’s role in the Civil Rights Movement.   They were to identify speeches, protests, or organizations, that Dr. King had participated in. For this part of the assignment all students were using Chromebooks. Their completed research was added to one of their googledocs.

With the research complete, students were given the option to either make an iMovie incorporating five or more photos from Dr. King’s life, or to make a Google Presentation slide show of his life using the Chromebooks.  The difficulty in this assignment came when I found my class kicked out of our huge library space which is very conducive to making iMovies, and instead we had to put 30 people in a regular classroom trying to make movies at the same time.  The iPads picked up a lot of ambient sounds so that the movies were somewhat diminished. Many students at that point changed their minds from making movies to making slide presentations.

As we were at the end of our semester together, I noticed how much the students had grown in independence using either device.  The Chromebooks are very new to the kids, but they have used them in other assignments so they knew many of the shortcuts and tricks and  did not need much instruction. The students really enjoyed the independence of making products which they created by themselves.  I find as time goes on that my role becomes much more of a language arts teacher as I help them to edit and clarify their work, and they become so much more proficient and confident using the new technologies I have helped them to master. The only advice I would have for someone starting to use Chromebooks is to take the time to figure out a few shortcuts and the different methods of downloading photos, as there are some differences between desktops and the Chromebooks.

Turnitin.com and Google Drive with the Chromebooks, Lindsey Mangurten, Lincoln Park High School

My last blog post was about using the google extension save to google drive with the chromebooks. I was interested in learning about other popular extensions for students with the chromebooks. The first one that sounded intriguing to me was the use of easybib. I generally encourage the students to conduct their research using databases which provide the citation within the article so they wouldn’t need easybib. However, many students still chose the google route and need to use easybib to create their citation. Once I explored easybib it got me thinking about turnitin.com

Last year when we became a Wall-to-Wall IB school our school purchased a turnitin.com account for all students. Turnitin.com is a program that provides an account for each student and allows the teacher to create an assignment. The students have an open window for uploading the assignment onto the website and then the website screens for plagiarism. Since this is how all papers are turned in I wanted to explore if there was a way to use turnitin.com and google docs and there WAS.

At first I was worried the students would have to work in google docs and save to microsoft word in order to upload to turnitin.com. It was just one extra step but always best for things to be fluid when turning in an assignment. Once the students logged onto their turnitin.com acocunt they were prompted with several options on where to find their final paper for submission.

1. From this computer
2. Choose from Dropbox
3. Choose from google drive

Once the students selected choose from google drive one of two things happened

If they were already logged onto the computer it would automatically open up their Google Drive account and allow them to find the document or folder to upload. If the students were logged in as guest they would have to log in to google drive first and then locate the document to upload. Once they selected upload it was as if it was a normal Microsoft word document.

This option on turnitin.com and google docs saves so much printing and useless copies of rough drafts. The teacher now has the paper electronically in two places. The submission through turnitin.com and shared from google drive. The hope is eventually to cut down on printing especially since our chromebooks currently are not set up to printing. Before this option was created students would have to work on the chromebooks and when they were finished needed to print/upload from the desktop. This has been a great feature added onto turnitin.com that works perfect with the chromebooks for our entire student population. We did not run into any trouble having the students upload the assignment (as long as the assignment was there, which could be teacher error)

The Amazing Chromebook! Erin McDonald, Nightingale Elementary School

The Chromebooks have been amazing!  I never thought that I’d like them over the iPads, especially for the primary grades, but they have proven to be perfect for their little hands and by using them, the students have learned so much more about the Internet than I anticipated.  

To be honest, I just had to jump right in.  I would say the first half of many of my lessons looked like complete chaos.  But after one or two sessions with the Chromebooks, they students really improved.  I had to do a lot of traveling from one student to the next and I heavily relied on students helping each other.  So the first and second graders began with “Browsing as Guest” and my third and fourth graders logged in under a shared library gmail account.  

Next step was opening Chrome and learning to type in a web address.  I normally have a link to my library website and provide the students with images and links to click from there.  Using the chromebooks naturally led to lessons on browsers, search bar, correct URL’s.  It was great and the students were completely engaged.  They considered the Chromebooks to be baby laptops and that added to their careful of handling the devices.

My students were quickly using the Chromebooks to access the internet.  From there, we moved to having more than one site open at a time.  They learned to use the tabs at the top to move from one site to another.  They began bookmarking and learning to navigate using the tracking pad.

The difficult lesson…Vivian Kraus, Franklin Fine Arts Academy

The difficult lesson…

I have been writing grants for laptops in the library for years and this one I actually got, I was so happy and am still super pumped to have access to the Chromebooks and iPads in the library.   I have been extremely careful about not allowing teachers and students to take the Chromebooks out of the library and have explained to students how important it is to take care of these technology tools.

Sadly, I made the big mistake of allowing my student teacher to use the Chromebooks for her lesson while I was out sick, seems logical right?  Wrong...  I underestimated the students and upon return the next day, one of the laptops was completely dead and another had cracked power connection.  I am so disappointed in my students, they really dropped the ball on this one.

This is what the screen showed.  Following the above suggestion, my tech coordinator created a recovery from the Chromebook store called the Chromebook Recovery Utility.  The Chromebook Recovery Utility includes detailed steps, you’ll have to download the app and use a 4GB flash drive.  I was excited to have this work, but to no avail.  

Now, I have contacted IT and I am waiting to see what happens with the warranty.  I will let you all know how it turns out.  As for the cracked power connection, IT will not fix this.  This is a physical problem so the warranty does not include this tragic issue.  I have used scotch tape to prevent the crack from expanding, the connection seems to be charging.  I will keep my fingers crossed for both Chromebooks to be functioning again in the future.  

Lessons that I learned.

1. Chromebooks are only to be used when I am in the library.
2. Chromebooks will only be plugged in and out of the charging cart by me.
3. Using a  Chromebook is a privilege and the rights can be taken away with the first sign of misuse.  I created a oral pledge that students will recite before each use.

“I promise to handle with care, use safe bodies and be respectful and present when I am using this Chromebook.”  

I decided to include some of my students to get ideas about how to build more responsibility and accountability. I think it is fascinating what they came up with.  

Ideas from 5th graders to help students understand the care of Chromebooks:

1. Fine students for misuse.
2. Automatic strike and call home for misuse
3. Creating a rhyme, jingle to help students remember to take care when handling the Chromebooks.

Ideas from 7th graders to help students understand the care of Chromebooks:

1. Call parents and inform them of the misuse.
2. Create a reminder poster or rap.
3. Publically humiliate students who misuse Chromebooks. :)
4. Fail Library Class
5. No recess for misuse, may have to work in library

Logging In vs. Browsing as Guest, Connie Amon, Galileo Scholastic Academy

When I first started using the Chromebooks, I required (well, more like demanded!) that students browse as guest. Taking the advice of some of my REVITAL colleagues, who already had Chromebooks, and given the fact that the Chromebooks were going to be used by many students throughout the day, I decided that this was the right way to begin.

“Browse as Guest” is fairly small link embedded in the Chromebook login screen. The tendency of students is to log in when they see the login screen, but, with repeated directives, my students learned to browse (most of them). Now I’ve relaxed the directions, depending on the grade level and the project.

Beyond using the common GAFEs, and some of the add-ons, (which we were already doing on computers and laptops), I’ve been attempting to climb a few inches up the Chromebook learning curve. There are a few advantages of logging in, it seems. Students can save bookmarks. Students can add free apps. Students can use the camera.

Our fifth grade students are beginning a research project on exploration. Working with a partner, they are taking notes in a shared Google document. Each student is locating and reading sources independently and adding notes to the document. By logging in, students can bookmark pages and sites they are using for easy access. They also have access to their Drive and other GAFEs without going through their CPS mail accounts. By logging in, students were able to add Glogster and sign up for an educational account (Glogster is described as a “freemium” app). Their final project will be a glog. And the camera? The camera will be used to capture an interview with their explorer.

Video Editing and Production with Chromebooks, Jean Scheda, Westinghouse College Prep High School

This is a first semester final project for Studio Drawing and Painting classes. Students work in the library for three days, learning how to edit videos with Chromebooks. The online editing tool we use is WeVideo.  Students produce a video to showcase all the artworks completed during 1st semester and demonstrate their understanding of the concepts, skills, techniques, artists and process learned during that project.

I have been collaborating with Ms. Coffee, a Fine Arts teacher, for three years and this is my third year working with her. For the past two years, students created eBooks to showcase their artworks. This year I recommended WeVideo.  I have shared with Ms. Coffee a short sample video created by me and showed Ms. Coffee the basics of editing with WeVideo. We have exchanged numerous emails to plan the details and discussed twice in person about how to carry out this project. I have designed a rubric for the video and Ms. Coffee made some modifications. I have also created a Wiki page for this project, which includes Ms. Coffee’s handouts, the rubric, and some useful resources for WeVideo. Students could visit the Wiki page anytime when they need help with WeVideo.

Before coming to the library, students must have taken pictures of their artworks. In this lesson, students have learned to use different techniques in editing videos. Students will be presenting this video to the class during the final exam.

This is a great learning experience for students. From time to time, students are required to create videos for a variety of projects in different classes; students could apply these video editing skills to any projects to display their learnings in the classroom.