SeeSaw: Create, Collaborate, Reflect, Share

Name of app: SeeSaw

Reviewed by: Michael Ponza

Details: The Seesaw Class and Family apps are available on iOS, Android, and Kindle Fire devices. You can also use Seesaw on the web using a computer or Chromebook via a Chrome, Firefox, or Edge browser. 

Cost: (Varies, Free basic version, 120 per year for plus version, 1 year subscription)

Review: See Saw is a digital portfolio for students to showcase their understanding and share their artifacts with the class, family, and community. Students use creative tools to take pictures, draw, record videos and more to capture learning in a portfolio. See Saw is built on the principal of specific praise and direct feedback. It promotes participatory culture and allows learners to collaborate, work independently, and critique themselves and others. When considering Nossel’s Learning Needs, it addresses many of the ideas from the cognitive, social, and affective components. It is modeled after the Instagram/Facebook model of posts, likes, and comments. See Saw can potentially prepare learners for use with future social media. I have personally used See Saw in my classroom for 3 years. I have seen an increase in my students’ motivation for learning. It can be used for personalized instruction, as well as independent projects. It is useful for reflection where learners can evaluate their work. Teachers and parents can also get in on the action and interact with the learner in live time or when they have free time, which means they do not have to be present to collaborate and offer praise/feedback. Cyber bulling is not an issue, as the teacher controls and approve all posts and comments. Privacy is set for only the students, teacher, and connected parents can view. Parents call only view their own child’s work.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Media

https://youtu.be/sALMyybc-98

 

https://youtu.be/_dyQaeLva4Y

Websites

Website: https://web.seesaw.me/

Website for schools: https://web.seesaw.me/seesaw-for-schools

We Video: Everyone Has A Story To Tell

Name of app: WeVideo

Reviewed by: Michael Ponza

Details: Desktop (Chromebook, Mac, Windows) Browsers: Chrome or Firefox, Opera 15 or higher), Mobile (Andriod, iOS (APP)

Cost: (Varies, example: $10 per student, 30 students, 1 year subscription)

Review: WeVideo is a cloud-based collaborative video editing service that helps learners from all over the world simply create, collaborate, and share content. Depending on the purchased plan, the cloud has unlimited storage, can be accessed from anywhere internet connection is available, users have unlimited use of 1 million licensed and royalty-free video clips, images and music tracks, the ability to link videos with peers and instructors for easy collaboration, easily exported and shared via web-link or through google classroom/blogs, emails, etc. WeVideo empowers every learner to discover their voice and make an impact in their world (Personalized Learning). It promotes deeper learning while making it fun and easy for students to express their ideas with creativity and authenticity. It is also very easy for students to collaborate with peers and experts anywhere and anytime.

I have personally used WeVideo with my classroom.  (4th Grade, 24 students, Class set of Chromebooks) I follow this model with the children.

Ask: Learners presented with a task or challenge will ask essential/authentic questions to determine what will drive their learning

Imagine: Learners will brainstorm and envision how they will answer their essential questions and how they will showcase that understanding, which can and may be adapted as the artifact/project is created

Plan: Learners will use research logs, storyboards and graphic organizers to outline, organize, delegate, and set deadlines to keep the on task, efficient and organized. They will evaluate, rationalize, and justify their research

Create: Using WeVideo, learners will create and innovate using the video/audio function software. Learners will aim to display understanding of their intended task

Critique: In person or via google classroom, peer/teacher conferences, or consultations with experts,  learners will receive specific praise and direct feedback regarding their projects. Learners will also self critique looking for improvements to be made

Improve:  Learners will edit, remix, and make improvements to their work based on their findings, advice of their peers, their teachers, or consulted experts

Share:  Learners will export and share via a third party source such as seesaw, class/grade level/district blog, social media outlet etc to teach/inform the community of their findings

Reflect: Learners will reflect on their performance, what they did well, what they think needs improvement as they went through the process, as well as reflect on how their artifact was received and interpreted by the public.

Some examples of products created this year by students:

• Podcasts/Vlogs
• “How To” Guides
• Self Reflection
• Debates
• Shared Inquiry
• Scientific Investigations/Experiments
• Tutorials (ex-Solving fractions)
• Book Talks
• Digital Storytelling
• Research and Content Presentations
• Creative Videos Based on Passions/Interests

WeVideo creates a participatory culture and allows students to focus on the acquisition of knowledge and content not just the content. It allows teachers and learners to personalize the learning experience for the children to make it fun, exciting, and passionate. It has successfully bridged the gap from learning in school to learning at home.

Rating: 5/5

Media

Websites

Website: https://www.wevideo.com/

Website for schools: https://www.wevideo.com/schools

Slack: Where Work Happens

Name of app: Slack

Reviewed by: Michael Ponza

Details: iOS mobile and tablet, Google App Store, Android, web based

Cost: (Varies, Free version, Standard: 6.67 per month, Plus: 12.50 per month)

Review: Slack is a cloud based program designed for seamless learning through collaboration and communication. Slack promotes authentic, timely, and effective communication between a diverse set of users anywhere and anytime. Personally, as a graduate student I have used slack to communicate with my instructors and peers. We have engaged in deep discussion and through shared inquiry come to solutions of problems. We have also shared our experiences and been able to seek advice. This could be used by adults, and in a upper elementary, middle school, high school, college environments. Slack promotes a participatory culture where its members are of different expertise and levels (ie beginner, novice, expert) and can be used for discussions, shared inquiry, reflecting, interpreting, summarizing, sharing, justifying, reasoning, and debating. A great tool for a flipped classroom or to keep learning going outside of the classroom. While Slack’s primary function seems best at fostering healthy and productive discussion, it could also be used for skills such as time management, delegations, and goal setting. As with most social and digital media, one risk is a potential for cyber bulling.

Rating: 5/5

Media

https://youtu.be/9RJZMSsH7-g

Website

Website: https://slack.com/

Website for school: https://get.slack.help/hc/en-us/articles/206646877-Slack-for-Education

Life is not a problem to be solved, but a reality to be experienced. Authenticity, Personalization, Collaboration, Participatory Cultures, New Learning Ecology, Informal Learning. These topics and themes have been discussed in relation to mobile learning and preparing 21st Century Learners. We are preparing children for experiences, not problems. The content is important, but it is now taking a backseat to how it is being acquired, analyzed, evaluated, justified, and shared. If our goal is to create life long learners and proactive members of the community who can collaborate, innovate, and investigate then our method shouldn’t be focused on content, but rather how it is gathered, how it is used, and how it is distributed.

According to the Horizon Report, some exciting new ways children will be interacting with content and each other is through Augmented and Virtual Reality, and sooner than we think.

AR: Augmented Reality: Opportunities and Challenges

Learning is taking place everywhere. Formally in the classroom, and informally outside of it. AR has the potential to be a transformative tool for teachers and learners. Consider the two types of AR, Location aware and vision based. Location based AR has the opportunity to immerse the student into an extremely authentic and personalized learning experience. Take the example given in Augmented Reality Teaching and Learning, by Dunleavy and Dede, “As the 7th grade life science student passes by an oak tree in her school playground, software leveraging GPS plays a video on her smartphone describing the various habitats and animals that are found near the tree (location-aware). At the end of the video, the student is prompted to point her phone’s video camera at a placard at the base of the tree, which triggers a }-dimensional model illustrating the anatomical structure of the oak. (vision-based)” This is extremely authentic and these multiple perspectives are sure to engage the learner. Teachers can be trained to create these and share them with other educators and receive similar lessons in return, (think teacherspayteachers). In the article Looking in, looking out: A discussion of the educational affordances of current mobile augmented reality technologies, the authors talk about an opportunity AR provides learners.

“Can bridge the gap between the theoretical knowledge acquired through analytical activities (such as reading textbooks and listening to lectures) and the practical experience learned from constructive activities.”

This gives us the opportunity to personalize the learning process as well, as learners may take different paths to find the information they are seeking. This technology is not just for classroom and formal learning, but informal learning as well. Learners don’t have to just consume either, they can create their own AR content. Some challenges presented are the lack of familiarity from teachers and learners with the technology, lack of resources (devices, trainings), how expensive the technology is, and the integrating and managing the overall AR experience from the designers’ and teachers’ perspectives.

When reading Looking in, looking out: A discussion of the educational affordances of current mobile augmented reality technologies, I was blown away but what is possible from AR/VR  (QR codes, head mounted displays, personal projectors/projection based AR) and what will probably be present in a majority of schools over the next 3- 5 years.

Teachers: Badges, and Professional Development Training

I also wanted to discuss teachers and how they fit into mobile learning. Not just from an educators standpoint, but as learners themselves. As teachers, our profession is dynamic and constantly evolving. We must evolve with it. There is definitely a majority of teachers who feel overwhelmed and I believe it’s because they are under-trained. The article Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program by Gamrat, Zimmerman, Dudek and Peck discusses digital badging, teacher professional development, and TLJ’s (teacher led journeys).

Take this quote from the article:

“teachers’ attitudes, intents, and confidence are still the most powerful factors that influence technology integration . . . even in the most supportive environments, teacher decision making is still key””

What I do know is teachers are pressed and stretched paper thin when it comes to time, so when they are asked to participate in developments or trainings you will hear a lot of sighs and complaints. They are also presented with chances for this development through mobile learning where they can participate at any time and any place. It’s very ironic to me that as teachers we preach the need to be life long learners to our students, yet when it comes to our profession we think 4 years in college and a PD here and there are enough to keep us on our game. Imagine if Major League Baseball pitchers told their coaches and fans, “I’ve practiced in college for 4 years, I’m good to go for my career now”.  It’s not that we don’t have time for learning, we are constantly learning informally and implicitly about things WE WANT to learn about.Training is more effective when individuals are motivated to learn, share, interact, and collaborate. Learners are motivated in different ways and for different reasons. However, most people find encouragement from recognition of their achievements.

The same goes for students. This article has inspired me to do more research on these micro-credentials and how I can implement it or something similar to increase student motivation and give students a chance to share their skills with the community.

Here is an interesting blog on badging for teachers and learners:

https://www.skyward.com/discover/blog/skyward-blogs/skyward-executive-blog/july-2017/badges-for-future-ready-teachers

Overall, the article confirmed for me what I already believed that when you personalize learning, regardless of the age of the learner you are going to see an increase in motivation, engagement, and learning. When it comes to PD and TLJ’s by allowing the learners (teachers in this case) to set their own goals, build their portfolio, move at their pace and place, and allowing them to make their own decisions allowed them to see the value in the process.

Resources:

• Dunleavy, M., & Dede, C. (2014). Augmented reality teaching and learning. In J. M. Spector et al. (Eds.), Handbook of research on educational communications and technology (pp. 735–745). New York: Springer.
• Gamrat, C., Zimmerman, H. T., Dudek, J., & Peck, K. (2014). Personalized workplace learning: An exploratory study on digital badging within a teacher professional development program. British Journal of Educational Technology, 1136–1148.
• Novak, D., Wang, M., & Callaghan, V. (2012). Looking in, looking out: A discussion of the educational affordances of current mobile augmented reality technologies. In J. Jai (Ed.), Educational stages and interactive learning: From kindergarten to workplace training (pp. 92 –206). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.

I was very engaged with this week’s assigned readings. In a majority of my posts from this class and previous classes I have consistently displayed an overlying theme with how I view myself as an educator, my theories of learning, and learning environment. That theme has been the personalization of learning. Reading the article about viewing learning from a pedagogical perspective was very rewarding for me as it aligned with my perspective. I think great learning takes place when the teacher switches lenses from educator’s perspective and looks through the learner’s perspective. When you focus on how authentic, personal and collaborative a task or assignment can be we start to see innovation and learners that are better prepared for their tomorrow.

Mobile Learning:

Seamless, Authentic, Personalized, and Collaborative

Where we are learning, we won’t need roads. Time and Space. When I think of these concepts I think of Doc, Marty and an ’82 Delorean. It was an enlightening read in Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning about how mobile technology can traverse through these two concepts. Traditional learning had a specific time and a specific place. Set in stone. The place was the classroom. The time was typically 8:30 AM – 3:30 PM. With mobile learning technology time and space are not constraints as the learner has the ability to set their own parameters. A child could be learning about the the water cycle in school, go home and do their own informal learning about the water cycle. It can even be in the car on the way to soccer practice through their smartphone accessing data from their wireless provider. They can then bring this knowledge back into the classroom to share with peers or their teacher to enhance the lesson or supplement it. This would allow the learner to be more engaged, connect better to the content and make the learning more meaningful. As discussed in Viewing mobile learning from a pedagogical perspective, this is authentic learning. Children can also be working collaboratively without the constraints of time or space. They can use shared documents via g suite to make schedules, set tasks, and share information. Through video calls and chat children can be as close to face to face as possibility within their own spaces. It also allows learners who geographically had an unrealistic chance of collaborating the opportunity to learn with each other. Experts, Teachers, and learners all have access to these times and spaces at the learners discretion. Learners are navigating through socially negotiated time. I think of the word flexibility. In a traditional setting it is much more rigid and set, as opposed to informal learning which is much more flexible and adaptive by its nature.

 

I thought it was very interesting to see the sub scales and examples of high, medium and low. As teachers, when we use mobile technology in our designs we need to be reflective and evaluative. We need to ask the tough questions to understand the quality of the learning occurring. For learners and educators, reflection and evaluation are extremely valuable skills to assess ourselves.

How can we implement this learning into our environments? Seamless learning needs a strong focus on pedagogy. It should be personalized, authentic, and collaborative. Educators need professional development and trainings that are on-going. When teachers lesson plan they need to consider learning styles such as implicit, informal and formal, as well as learning spaces and where the learning can occur. Educators should be reflective and evaluative of how they are using technology and mobile learning devices. Educators should consider different lenses and perspectives when designing their lessons and implementing them. Finally, educators need to consider affordances of the technology, such as affordable mobile learning devices, availability, access to wireless internet and data etc.

Looking at table 1, in Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning, there is a lot of affordances to consider. Platform, Mobility, Connectivity, Applications, Battery, Cost, Support, Features, and Memory. As educators we just want what works and don’t really care or understand how it comes about. I just want a tasty soup, I don’t care how it’s made. It’s been interesting to learn about this perspective and how it is very important to the implementation of technology into our classrooms.

 

When I think of how the above figure figures into my classroom learning environment it is tough. I’ve only begun to experiment with technology in mobile forms in classroom. Sure we have used programs and devices daily for typical assignments, but this year was the first year I made it a priority to make my assignments personalized, authentic, and collaborative. I’ve mentioned my podcast and video editing projects numerous times before. I’ll use that example in relation to the figure. The children arrive in the classroom (public space) and in this place they are interacting with fellow community members. They personalize their assignment by creating groups based on their interests. THEY decide what the topic of their podcast will be, the name of their podcast, the content that goes in, theme songs, if it will audio, video, or audio and video. Through mobile devices they can access shared documents and editing software from anywhere they have access to internet or data. It allows them to work from their private spaces and engage with others in the public spaces. They work at their own pace and place. The learner moves from the classroom to their homes and back again. Seamless. They are creating artifacts. They ask questions, find challenges, plan, create, improve, share, and reflect.

Frameworks of Mobile Learning Environments:

Walking into a modern classroom in the year 2019 it is fairly easy to see the difference from years past. Most schools are flooded with technology, from smart boards to chrome books and iPads even smartphones. Once forbidden and banished to the dungeon like backpack underneath empty bags of Doritos and folder less papers. It is not enough to have technology. Like us, technology needs an environment that supports it so it can thrive.

The RASE model, discussed in Framework for designing mobile learning environments, emphasizes Resources, Activities, Supports, and Evaluations. As I previously mentioned, it’s not enough just to have technology (resources), you need to have authentic activities that are collaborative, support systems in place to assist the learner, and an evaluative tool for reflection and assessment. I enjoyed reading about the RASE model as it built itself with pieces from key theories such as problem based learning, situated learning, collaborative knowledge building, and more. Learners are asked to become an active participant, not a passive receiver. Educators are also forced to look at their mobile technology usage they ask or allow of their students and ask themselves key questions: What are we asking the learners to do? Do they have a choice in their activities? Are they collaborating, solving authentic problems? Do the learners have support options? Such as blogs, forums, social networking, texts etc. Do the learners have a way of receiving specific feedback and direct praise? How are they being evaluated? Such as Portfolios, blog posts, reflections, artifacts etc. This model is very useful for educators to consider when constructing their learning environments. Students and teachers have the ability to stay connected constantly and have ubiquitous access to so many resources. It only makes sense that we take advantage of these affordances to prepare our learners accordingly.

I Really Meme It

My Identity

References:

Churchill, D., Fox, B., & King, M. (2016). Framework for designing mobile learning environments. In D. Churchill, J. Lu, T. Chiu, & B. Fox (Eds.), Mobile learning design: Theories and applications (pp. 3–25). Singapore: Springer.

Kearney, M., Schuck, S., Burden, K., & Aubusson, P. (2012). become an active participant, not a passive receiver . Research in Learning Technology, 20(1), 1–17.

Looi, C.-K., Seow, P., Zhang, B., So, H.-J., Chen, W., & Wong, L.-H. (2010). Leveraging mobile technology for sustainable seamless learning: A research agenda. British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(2), 154–169.