Design Experiment 3: Khan Academy

DIY(Do-It-Yourself) Online Learning Resource

For educators desiring to "Flip" their classrooms there are several resources for obtaining a variety of online content that is ready to be delivered. One of the resources is Khan Academy is a non-profit organization which provides online practice and video tutorials in math, science and engineering, arts and humanity, computing, economics and finance, and test preparation.  Khan Academy has a large range of  lessons designed for Kindergarten through college.

Terms of Use:  Khan Academy's number one affordance, in my opinion, is that it is 100% completely free to use.  A user does not have to register for an account, but there are some features that cannot be fully accessed without an account.  A child account is for users 13 or younger with parental approval; and a parent account is for users 18 and older.  Upon registering you are granted use of the resources on the site, but prohibited from downloading, selling or modifying the contents.  Detailed terms can be read at: https://www.khanacademy.org/about/tos.

Khan Academy was first introduced to me through my district during a math training.  At the time, I did not use the resource in class, but rather referred the parents of my students to Khan Academy for assistance with homework.  I later became more acquainted with Khan Academy when my son had difficulty with long division.  Once he watched the video, then complete one of the practice exercises, he was able to finish his assignment on his own with much more confidence and understanding. Now that I am learning more about how to create online learning opportunities for students in class, I see how powerful using Khan Academy can be.

I currently teach 2nd grade math and science, so I began my exploration with Math for K - 8, which included lessons for counting, place value, addition/subtraction, measurement and data and geometry. If you do not have an account, you are prompted to personalize your learning by signing up for one. Registered users have the option to access content through two tabs: "Explore" or "Missions".  The Missions lessons allow the user to track their progress. Science topics included: physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, health and medicine and electrical engineering.  Computer topics included: programming, computer science, Hour of Code, and animation.  A complete list of content lessons can be found at:  https://www.khanacademy.org/.  The "Subject" tab has a pull-down menu with the list of lessons that are hyperlinked to the practice and videos.

The basic format for the content is that once a lesson is selected the user will watch one or two videos, marked by a triangle, to learn/review the concepts.  After the video(s) the user is given one or more practice sessions, marked by a star.  Users have the option to get a hint if they are not able to complete the practice question on their own.  Immediate feedback, another affordance, is provided for each question as the use selects the "Check answer" button.

If you register as a "Teacher", you have the ability to create a class.  The dashboard gives instant feedback on the progress of students.  The data can then be used to group students and work on areas of weakness or enrich for areas of strength.  Students can use the lessons to help them become more accountable for their own learning.

Other affordances of using Khan Academy include the commercial free, user-friendly platform; availability anytime and anywhere there is internet access; available on iPad and Android devices.

Design Experiment 2: Edmodo and Other CMSs

This week's task was to explore various Content Management Systems (CMS) or Learning Management Systems (LMS).  CMS/LMS are software programs used to manage and organize educational content for teachers and students.  Here are some of the attributes of the systems I explored:

1.  Google Classroom- My district have recent become a GAFE, therefore I began with a further exploration of this system.

Accesibility- Available to anyone that has GAFE permissions. Goto: http://classroom.google.com,  If you are not signed into your school account, you will not be logged in.

Affordances- Teacher View

Create a class- the classroom is a space that allows the teacher to make announcements and/ or create assignments for the class. Withing the class you can customize the background using pre-made themes or your own photo.

About page tab- The "About" section within the class can be used to title the class, add a room number, and attach assignment files that will be used by the class continuously (welcome, syllabus...)  Other teachers can be invited to co-teach.

Stream page tab:
Make and announcement- type in message to send to class; included any necessary attachments (document, Google Drive, YouTube, or link); select the class or classes to included; select "Post" to send the announcement; select "Post" to send.

Easily add and manage assignments- add files(document, Google Drive, YouTube, or link); documents can have due dates placed on each assignment; select "Assign" to assign work to students; Assignment tracking shows who has/has not completed the work.

Easy student class access- A code is provided that can be given to students to allow access to the class; only those with the code can access the class.

Students page tab- Teachers can allow/block students from posting, commenting or both; changes can be set for specific students or all students; "Action" button allows teacher to remove, mute or email students.

Home button- Accessible by 3-lined button in upper left; shows all classes, assignments, and quick links

Affordances- Student View

Easy Access-Students enter the class by selecting the appropriate class on the initial screen and entering the class code.

Class Connection-Students can view fellow students on the "Classmates" page
The "Stream" page allows students to create posts/share ideas, if setting allowed by teacher

Easy assignment management and submission-The "About" page is accessible to students to show a list of assignments and announcements; the shared folder accesses the students' Google Drive to the class folder where students will submit their work.
When an assignment is selected, students have the option to add, create, or mark as done.

Teaching/Learning Implications:  Teachers and students are provided with a one-stop shop for announcements, assignments, rubrics and assessments. Communication available for teacher feedback or student comments.  When post and comment options are allowed, students can perform collaborating assignments, in which they discuss and share viewpoints on an assignment topic and respond to fellow classmates.

2.  Schoology-  I have only used this system in brief as a parent.  My son's computer teacher utilized this system for assignments.  In viewing his assignments, the platform was user friendly and assignment submission was easy.

Affordances-  Allows teachers to manage the classroom, attendance, post content, track due dates, host interactive discussions, online assessments, online dropbox for assignment submission, allows for immediate scoring and feedback, connects classrooms for shared learning anywhere
Schoology is very similar to using Facebook in the classroom, with more controls on posting and comments.  Schoology can be set up using the following menus:
Courses- platform for formal instruction and materials
Groups- used for sharing and collaborating with professional learning communities, clubs and other groups you are a part of
Resources- organizes all of your files in a digital platform

Teaching/Learning Implications-  Classes can be created so that students can begin engaging in various academic discussions.  Assignments can be created and posted to students pages.  Students will then respond to the posts and complete the assignment.   The platform provides similar options for teaching and learning as Google Classroom, but the format is more akin to the social media platforms.  Schoology did allow for videos to be uploaded, that students could view then respond based on guiding questions provided by the teacher.

In comparison, I really liked the Google Classroom platform the most.  It seemed to be more user friendly and I preferred the blog-style layout as opposed to the thread layout.  I was able to understand the components and how to add, upload, assign and monitor student work.  Because I have not utilized the Schoology system, I relied heavily on video tutorial of the function and use in the classroom.  I believe Schoology would be better used in Secondary grades.

Design Experiment 1: Google Apps

Going Google About Google Classroom!

     Our district has just become a GAFE district and has begun rolling out summer training opportunities for Google apps. Access has not yet been provided therefore I could not experiment with Google Classroom first hand.  Google Classroom allows teachers to set up virtual classrooms for the assigning, submission and review of assignments.   Once classes have been created teachers can customize the classroom page background.  A personal photo can be uploaded or the themes within Classroom can be used.  In the teacher view, the "About" tab allows you to add a title to the class and display the teacher(s) for the class.  A Google Drive folder is created automatically that can be used to provide materials for the class, such as: syllabus, handouts, and more.  Materials can also be added using the options at the bottom of the page: attachment, download from Google Drive, You Tube video, and/or course link.  A second tab in the classroom is the "Stream" page that can be used for classroom announcements.  You have the option to post to the students in the current class the "Stream" page is in or post for multiple classrooms using a drop-down tab.  When entering assignments, select the due date and the time, if desired. Google Classroom will track the number of completed/uncompleted assignments. On the left-hand side a list of assignments due, and the class code, which students will need to join the class.  In the student view the teacher can choose whether to let students post or comment or both. The "invite" button allows a teacher to invite other students to the class.  The "action" button can be used to delete, mute, or email specific students.  Students will have a list of their classmates via a drop-down menu.  The home page will display all of the classes that have been created with the option to rename or archive the class.  Google Classroom provides an organized and paperless way for students to submit their assignments.  This is also a great tool to use as a digital student portfolio.

Communication Bridge-Google Translate
     Have you ever attempted to communicate with parents who speak a language other than English?  This is the app for you!  Now writing parent letters or communicating homework assignments and details just became easier.

Digital Reading Response Journals
     Google docs can be used for students to write journal responses.  The students' work can be saved in a shared Google document for teacher feedback/comments.

Google Hangouts-Social Connection
     This is a messaging system that can be used on the internet or as an app.  You can search for people to invite to the hangout.  Once the person accepts they are placed in your address list.  Groups can be created.  Photos and You Tube videos can be uploaded.  Various emojies and a drawing tool are also available for written messages.  As I thought about how to use this app for teaching it drew my mind to think-pair-share or peer discussions.  It would allow students to have "accountable chat" over various content to discuss their views or opinions, compare/contrast information, debate and provide supporting evidence, discuss steps to solving a problem, and many other collaboration activities.

     There are several other features of Google that I am continuing to explore.  They all have very practical uses for the classroom and can be adapted for any age group.