Digital Teacher Corps Challenge - Submissions
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- Problem of practice:
Many of my students show deep resistance that comes from a long entrenched, dysfunctional relationship with reading and writing, and sometimes school in general. Due to many reasons that could include poorly managed disabilities, emotional challenges, cultural dissonance, or absences, these students are caught in a cycle of low achievement, anxiety, low self-esteem, and failure. How can I build up their underdeveloped skills while encouraging them to buy into the idea of being a student?
- Solution:
Scaffolding and spiraling with engaging, empowering activities that couch advanced concepts and skills in media and modes that students are confident in. For example, using video to collaborate across disciplines on a theme-based multimedia unit.
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- Problem of practice:
A Lit course of Gr 6 embraces the art of reading & writing, which is print literacy. Literate environments are complex. We needed to give students entry points to create & present their work in an, engaging manner. Students had used computers to refine and edit, it was most often limited to word processing. Problem: Students should not be only consumers of multi-media, they should have opportunities to create meaningful multi-media works that are accessible and deliverable to a larger audience
- Solution:
The solution was animation of students’ original poetry work. Students used Frames 4, & Garageband. They learned about visual media creation from the use of a storyboard to fine tuning the creation of an engaging multi-media piece for distribution.
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- Problem of practice:
The challenge was to get 9th grade students to: think critically about a global problem, take responsibility for their own learning, and collaborate and develop a strategy to share solutions with their peers.
- Solution:
Students self-selected into 3 groups that dealt with components necessary to understand malaria. Students received guidance from the instructor, public health experts, and more importantly learned from their own research.
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- Problem of practice:
Students struggle to connect school with home, and the school website has no one to care for it next year.
- Solution:
I want to team up to create a web site for the school that will be a living space on the web--informative, useful, clear, attractive, and interactive.
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- Problem of practice:
Students needed hands on approach for speech performances. They are required to present their graduation portfolio's prior to graduation. They lacked the skill set to successfully present with the use of the technology.
- Solution:
We use video cameras to record speeches. Students were able to watch videos after presentations. The videos served as a useful tool to assist them in improving their use communications skills which they used in their senior yr. and with smart boards.
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- Problem of practice:
My students were having difficulty following multi-step math skills. Also, they were struggling with thoroughly explaining their math work and thinking behind solving problems. I needed to find a way where they could practice their math skills and explain their procedure and thinking in a clear and precise manner.
- Solution:
I had my students create video math tutorials based on specific math skills. Students had to create a math problem, then write a script on how to solve the problem using a math skill. The students then recorded themselves solving the problem.
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- Problem of practice:
After learning how to use several types of software and web applications for cross-curricular projects, students needed a platform to display their best work besides the traditional manila portfolio folders.
- Solution:
Utilize digital portfolio's tour function and create websites to "show off" best work that students were most proud of from the past school year.
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- Problem of practice:
In a traditional classroom, minilessons are often used to introduce and reinforce skills for students. Students then practice those skills as they complete a content-based lesson. As a teacher in a blended learning classroom, I observed that content, rather than skill development, was the priority in most online curriculum. Students were expected to navigate through content with little digital skill instruction.
- Solution:
One solution to this problem was to create screencasts of minilessons that focused on important skills. These screencasts were inserted into the curriculum to support students attempting a task, giving them the support they need to be successful.
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- Problem of practice:
I focused on the challenge of getting students to really experience history, to think like a historian instead of passively listening to names, dates, events, etc.
- Solution:
My idea for a new solution using technology would be an iPad app that responds to the movement and gestures of the person using it to interact in a 3D world. For instance, using the iPad to view a 360 degree panorama pic of the Sistine Chapel.
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- Problem of practice:
As a teacher in a high needs school, with a large English language Learner population, I constantly strive to develop strategies to motivate as many students as possible to take ownership over their classes, given an array of hurdles faced by our school community and individual student hardships by coming up with creative and approachable ways to study, review and explore class content.
- Solution:
Create mobile cellphone apps, with the help of students, that will give students access to essential study materials that is only a pocket away. Increase student ownership over material and utilize services like translation tools and dictionaries
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- Problem of practice:
My students suffer from poor literacy skills as a large number are ESL students or students who have entered high school reading well below grade-level.
- Solution:
My approach to solving this problem through technology was to create Interactive Publications, a course that is built around a web-based news site. Students run this website and produce its content: audio/video recordings and written work.
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- Problem of practice:
How can social media be used to improve the disaster response experience? In this course, we were interested in how to use a design methodology to help students think creatively about how to use social media to improve the disaster response experience.
- Solution:
In five days, students engaged with each phase of the design process as they understood the context of the challenge, defined a specific problem they wanted to address, brainstormed solutions, prototyped, and presented their work.
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- Problem of practice:
What does it mean to be sixteen in other places around the world? How can students follow and document the life of students globally to capture the unique and universal experience of being a teenager? How can students use technology to capture and document digital narratives that will allow them to develop an understanding of world cultures and civilizations? How can educators use social media to create both a network and community of participants for this project?
- Solution:
Students will Skype with teenagers abroad to make connections between their own cultural experiences and other places around the world. Students will use iMovie to produce a collaborative video documentary that explores the coming of age experience.
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- Problem of practice:
Learning from our own experiences of learning in social networks, how can we find ways to have students do similar connected, networked inquiry projects into questions that they are passionate about? How can we use Youth Voices to connect students with each other and with experts as they explore their own questions using a variety of digital media? How can we help them comment to each other in ways that build their dialogues in authentic and academically challenging ways.
- Solution:
Students are encouraged to explore their own passions, and develop their own areas of interest. This keeps student in the middle of their own inquiries. We also nurture &guide students in how to comment for each other to build authentic conversation.
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- Problem of practice:
Hudson HSLT community members wanted a space to communicate, have learning activities posted, and have their outcomes posted. Many approached Hudson with Learning Management Systems, but did not step back to ask if we are just digitalizing old imposed traditions? Are we reinforcing the notion of learner as passive receiver?
- Solution:
At Hudson, students & teachers created Google Sites, digital portfolios, & Student Activity Guides to personalize learning pathways, for transparency, give students expectations, & purpose for activities. Further, learners need to drive learning.
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- Problem of practice:
Creatively integrating technology into learning experiences to engage and motivate students and how it can be pushed to the next level... With 120 students and 600 plus pages of writing on which to comment over one weekend, how can a mere mortal of an English teacher find a way to give thoughtful, timely, and individualized feedback to her students?
- Solution:
By establishing Digital Office Hours I could chat with students about their work. Since they set the parameters for feedback, they took charge of their own learning. I then became a collaborator and advisor rather than a dictator with a red pen.
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- Problem of practice:
Creatively integrating technology into learning experiences so that students can monitor and track their skill development. Additionally so that students can upload and add work to a digital portfolio that can follow them throughout their educational careers. Finally, so that students can share their work and portfolios with others out in the digital community!
- Solution:
A tracking system/ program allowing teachers to track students' strengths skill development. Students upload work and examples demonstrating skills and monitor their progress. Finally, others access the work to evaluate and collaborate on projects.
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- Problem of practice:
Last year I taught a physics-focused computer science and engineering course for 9th graders at Columbia Secondary School (CSS). My goal was for them to eventually obtain a sufficient understanding of computer programming and electronic design that would allow them to create interactive devices using the Arduino physcial computing platform. This goal boiled down to two major hurtles: getting students to engage with programming, and incorporating regents physics (circuits) content effectively.
- Solution:
We began the year using a logo turtle draw program. Next we programmed 3D characters in Alice to create video games. Python was our bridge to text-based programming. Modeling instruction (circuits) curriculum was the final bridge to Arduino.
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