Writing Practice: Revision Gameboard

We all know writing in the classroom is essential to building communication skills in students. But teaching students to revise their work is critical to that development and effectively understanding content.

We may be strong at teaching the thesis, or the introductory paragraph, or how to use and explain evidence in the body of an essay. Where most of us need work is with helping our students revise their work in an effort to make it (almost) perfect. The problem with revision and revising tactics (aside from the time it takes) is that students need guidance and structure in order to effectively address the issues within their essay. You can't tell a developing student to merely "look it over and make some edits."

Lisa Guardino, EdTech TOSA in El Dorado County created the below file to make it easier for students to cover the vast ground of effectively revising an essay.

We are revising arguments gameboard style! https://t.co/gk2TxLdXBh pic.twitter.com/GbBHmyzjth

— Lisa Guardino (@LisaGuardino) April 20, 2017

She's created a Google Doc "gameboard" in which students one by one complete "squares" on their board as they complete the tasks embedded within. Each square focuses on a different aspect (grammar, strong thesis statement, focusing on the audience, etc.) suggesting various tools for students to use in revising their work. You can alter the tools they use as you see fit. As each student completes the various tasks they fill the cell of the table in with a color. If done correctly, the student has fully revised their paper in a meaningful way focusing on different aspects of the writing and editing process. The more we can embed these skills in our students' practice, the stronger writers they will become.

Guardino's work is embedded below for you to view, and I've provided a link to your own copy. With your own copy you can make as many alterations as you see fit! When ready to roll these out to your students, have them make a copy of the document themselves so it becomes theirs.

With this tool, the revising part of the writing process will seem less daunting, the students get to visually identify areas of their essay they need to revise, and they can work at their own pace and pick areas to revise before others. In short, they will be given a path to success and be responsible for how effectively they use their voice.

Link to the file below

Video Use in the Classroom: EdPuzzle & Playposit

Video in the classroom is nothing new. Videos are engaging and spark interest and learning in our students and have a distinct advantage of not being our voice (😝)! The way in which video is delivered however has changed. Gone are the days in which the only was was to wheel in the big TV strapped to the media cart to a place where most can see. Popping in the VCR (remember those?? Whoever has one still....you're amazing!) that documentary you recorded 7 summers ago. Not anymore. Technology has progressed where we can deliver self-paced, engaging video-based curriculum that allows us to assess our students' understanding in real time.

Two resources I love to talk about to achieve these ends are EdPuzzle and Playposit. Both are constructed similarly, have benefits over the other, and are excellent tools to utilize in the 21st century classroom. If you use video in the classroom (whether for classwork or homework) it's not enough to say "watch this video and take notes" - students need direction in order to get the most out of your curated resource.

Check out more after the jump!

The Pedagogy of Blended Learning: Change is a Comin'

Pedagogy first. Technology second.

You are the expert in your subject matter. Times are changing. Learners are changing. If you're teaching something kids can google, your time and their time is wasted.

We need to be building their skills sets. Preparing them for a world where basic info is in their pockets. What to do with that info however is critical. How to use that info to derive an understanding of the world around them is essential.

The sit-and-take method is a dying model. As is the one-size-fits all method of teaching. Think about one of your classes. You have groups of students that have varying needs. I'm not just talking about those with 504s and IEPs. Reading comprehension issues, learning disabilities, apathy, advanced learners, students with social-emotional needs to name just a few. The list is long and lengthy. The challenges immense. With each set of group needs, there are different strategies that need to be employed. Lesson design needs to accommodate and provide students with the tools to be successful. The learning environment (physical and intellectual) you create needs to be one where all students can learn, develop their skill set, achieve, and be successful.

District Shift in Blended Learning: The Case for Full Schoology Implementation from a Skeptic

Being out of the classroom this past year has been an interesting venture. I've worked with so many dedicated, thirsty educators looking to improve their craft and in turn their students' experiences. I'm always asked if I miss teaching. I always correct them, quick to say I'm still teaching. My classroom has changed however. And I miss the traditional classroom experience. Immensely. I look at, dissect, play with, and analyse all sorts of different EdTech tools all the time. I send out tips and updates twice a week to you on things I would love to use in the classroom!! Actively Learn? Man I would love to use that!! Digital BreakoutEDU? I would use that all the time! Google Sites? All my students would have their own! But these things flow with my style in the classroom and I feel comfortable using them....which with anything takes time. But this is an era of booming educational technology that I would take advantage of for classroom efficiency, student agency, student engagement, and to help give our students an authentic voice. We all have one bit of technology at our fingertips that is grossly underused in our district that can help in these areas. It's high time we commit to it.

The purpose of this post is to persuade, not to teach. I believe all teachers should have a Schoology presence in their classroom curriculum starting next year. This may be scary for some. Those that know me well, know I was a Schoology resister. I believe it would benefit our student population, our interactions with parents, and help get students "College and Career Ready." Future posts on Schoology will be more geared towards teaching.

Student Engagement
Our students need to be engaged in their learning. This takes on many forms in the context of a given year, unit, or even lesson. There isn't one way to truly engage all learners. The only way we can drive towards near full engagement is through innovative and inspired lesson design. It's you as an expert in your subject and craft developing lessons that challenge and push your students' understanding of the material. Shifting towards a Schoology delivery system will not instantly make your lessons more engaging but it will get you creating and sharing new ideas on how to innovate your curriculum. Once comfortable in a Blended Learning environment, the educator, ever the big picture thinker, starts to see possibilities of innovation. They start to ask "what can I do with this?" That is when students become engaged. When we as educators continually keep things fresh. When we inspire our students to be innovative thinkers through our own.

Interactions with Parents
Study after study shows a growing need for parents to be connected to the classroom to encourage student success. Schoology automates this process as they have access to student performance, they're able to see what goes on a daily basis, and individual or group communication becomes a snap. Because parents "sign in" as a parent to your class their information is there and at the ready for you to easily connect with them. A number of parents have told me they like how easy it is for them to know what is happening in the classroom and that it cuts down on the "How's my kid doing?" emails and phone calls. We have a problem with "system overload" for parents. Teachers have various  avenues of reporting information to parents (websites, eSchools, Schoology, other apps and services, etc ). All are excellent means of communication but for a parent, sometimes even for the tech savviest of them all, this proves both a challenge and a frustration to get a clear picture of how their student is doing. Through uniformity of processes, we can solve this problem if we commit to using Schoology as our chief source of communication with parents through curriculum delivery, parent communication, and timely grade updates.

College and Career Ready
College and Career readiness is not just about content preparation and academic skill development. We've been told for years that we are preparing students for jobs that don't exist yet. I'd say we're doing quite well considering that's like trying to unlock a door in a room full of doors in darkness. However, that's not an apt metaphor. We do know that the world economy is trending towards greater automation and using systems (no matter the career) to manipulate or use data to solve problems. In order to prepare our students we must model this through the delivery of curriculum via a system that allows them to organize and track data, to manage their workflow, and to learn how to solve problems efficiently and collaboratively. This was one of the reasons for the 1:1 initiative - for students to become familiar and proficient in a 21st century environment. I'm not sure the worksheet system is one that prepares our students for future careers. Using an LMS in the classroom will get them familiar with systems they will find themselves learning in as they extend their formal education and when they enter into their chosen careers. The LMS you have at your disposal is Schoology. And it's a pretty good one.

Is Schoology perfect? No way. Teachers have legitimate problems with the system with respect to its integration with 3rd party services (namely eSchools and TurnItIn). Some teachers haven't had enough experience in the environment to understand how it can benefit them and their students - I was certainly that teacher when we purchased the product years ago. I also know that a number of teachers need a lot of tech training in general to feel comfortable to take the leap. I sympathize with those concerns. I also believe that those fears and concerns could dissipate through time with a full commitment to make it work better for teachers, better for students, and better for parents. Take time looking into Schoology this summer (only a few months away) if not sooner and think about what is possible. I'm here to assist those that want to make that shift. I'm hoping everyone will if you haven't already.

Writing Assessment Idea: The Single-Standard Rubric

Assessing writing is always a challenge for any teacher. The age-old hurdle of time keeps teachers from creating an assignment that needs to be assessed and feedback provided in a timely fashion. Problem is we can't let time bar us from developing those literacy skills with our students. Rubrics also pose significant challenges as there is a debate about whether they encourage our student's best work or formulaic writing. Wherever you fall on that debate, providing guidance for student writing is extremely important. There are some writing assignments that work without guidance. But with formal writing, students need a guide of sorts. You'd be crazy not to give that guidance....like dress up as a clown for fun crazy!! ***My apologies to all clowns who may be reading this. Please don't hurt me

With that in mind, below is a simple template you can use and alter in anyway you choose. The Single Standard Rubric is open enough to push the high and low achievers. It provides guidance without the cookie-cutter feel of a traditional rubric. It gives you the flexibility to assess and provide feedback in case the writing doesn't fit neatly in a box. The rubric was one I adapted from English Teacher Aric Foster in Michigan. Please feel free to adapt this one to suit your needs.



Snag your copy here if you'd like one

This rubric can be added to or subtracted from based on your needs and based on the assignment. Again, the idea isn't about using this rubric for each writing assignment. Rather, it is a call for holding all students to the same standards, not allowing them to decide which numbers they want to strive for, giving the educator flexibility in assessing their work, while also providing students a chance for students to find their voice.

You could also digitize it. Why not provide feedback from one single Google Form that you can type directly into? The data is housed on a spreadsheet and you can share that sheet with your students. Or set up a mail merge to send a student an individual report on their feedback. Below is an example of this. If you'd like to snag a copy of it, it is found here.