Student Voice: Why Every Student Deserves Digital Access

Today I am turning over the keys to my blog and putting my students in the driver's seat.  As we learn about digital access and what it truly means to be a GLOBAL citizen, I am leaving with you THEIR words about why every student deserves digital access.

It would be AMAZING if you would share this post with your edtech friends and beyond. The students will be watching the blog stats to see what countries are represented in their readership as well as number of page views.  Their words matter!  Comments are welcome below! If you share on Twitter, please use our classroom hashtag #SMSDigLit. Thanks!

These are actual words from my sixth grade students.

"Digital access is the starting point of digital citizenship. We can't even begin to be digital citizens if we don't have access." -Rachel

"Learning about today's technology helps us learn how to problem solve so we can use technology we don't even know about in the future." -Aubrey

"Kids need to know what's going on in the world around them." -Shania

"We should have access so we can do projects that include our own passions and talents." -Halo

"If you don't have access, you may not be able to get help in an emergency." -Jackie

"They should have the right to choose when they are adults if they want technology." -Cameron D.

"You need to be able to communicate with your friends on projects." -Mason

"Learning doesn't have to stop when we have snow days." -Cameron R.

"Digital access means we never have a reason to be bored." -Haylie

"Digital access lets us grow as digital citizens." -Jazzy

"Digital access helps us communicate with friends, family, and other loved ones." -Hunter

"It makes learning a lot more fun and meaningful." -Devin

"Digital access is environmentally friendly." -Logan

"Digital access allows me to communicate directly and privately with my teacher." -Aidan

"I can communicate with people around the world." -Brianna

Thanks for reading!  Why do YOU believe all students deserve digital access?

The Privileged Power of Digital Access (and Why I am Thankful)

I am so fortunate to have the opportunity to travel throughout the state and country sharing my love and passion for technology in the classroom.  Beyond my fortune, I see my travels as an opportunity to remind myself of the incredible, privileged power my students have simply because they have access to top-notch technology.

I work in a district that just rolled out over 3600 devices k-12 over the course of three days with a tech crew of less than ten people dedicated to the task.  THREE DAYS! I know the tremendous amount of work, sleepless nights, frustration, and dedication this crew has to their job because I happen to live with one.  It's not uncommon for me to rouse at 1:00 in the morning to hear him click, click, clicking away on his keyboard solving someone's pressing tech problem.  Why does he and the other tech guys do this? Because they know that what we are doing is important.  They know our carefully crafted lessons depend on technology that works for us and our students.  They are each personally vested in our district because they, too, have children who are benefitting from the technology they work hard to deliver.

This, my friends, is not the norm across the country.  I know. I've heard the stories from countless teachers who have to set up their own devices, pay for their own apps, put in help desk tickets that go weeks untouched because their tech staff punches the clock at 3:00.  Ours don't, and I am thankful for that.  They are the heroes of our school (often unsung) and also the punching bag when things go wrong.  There are a myriad of reasons behind why things are the way things are.  Why certain issues aren't an easy fix and why some are.  They know that a lot of times things are out of their hands as they await answers and fixes from companies across the country. So, again, I am thankful.  And patient even when I don't want to be.

I also know many teachers who attend tech-integration conferences with nothing but a hope and prayer that someday, some blessed day, she or he will see devices in her students' hands.  Teachers who toil at grant writing so they can maybe snag five iPads for their students to create with and explore the world.  I know there are teachers who have all the passionate and desire in the world to provide their students the AMAZING opportunities they read about, hear about, learn about, but simply do not have the access.

Digital access in America should be a right for our students.  Not a privilege.  Yet until we reach that point we all need to take a step back.  Be thankful.  Understand.  Be patient.  Don't forget where you were five years ago. Thank our lucky stars that our students are amongst the most privileged students in the world simply because they have access and a chance.

-Tiffany

Mystery Bag Challenges *Freebie

This year our school implemented a 25 minute "Boost" period intended for enrichment and intervention for our students.  As a digital literacy teacher, I have thought a lot about this extra bit of time and how I want to spend it with my students.  Though I will likely employ a lot of strategies during this time, I know that I always want to keep it creation based!

In order to keep this extra period organized and easy prep, I've created some Mystery Bag challenges that I will use each week with my students.  These challenges are also perfect for fun Fridays, morning work, classroom parties, and more.  I feel they are extremely flexible for grade levels.  Don't have all the supplies on hand? Just use what you have!  I've included the file for these challenges and some photos that make it self-explanatory!

Enjoy!

This photo shows the contents of each bag for the Pom Pom Launcher activity.  If you don't have enough masking tape or scissors to go around, just leave a tub of those on a supply table for students.  I even kept the masking tape roll on my arm and students had to come to me to receive their tape (saves on waste). 

Simple brown bags make this activity inexpensive. I printed and laminated my direction cards and stapled them to the bags.  Want something more durable? Try using laminated gift bags or even cheap Dollar Tree tubs.  I can now fold these flat and store them for next year. 

Groups had to first read directions.  I did not provide them with extra directions! This was difficult for some groups.  Keeping groups small is important for these mini-challenges.  In order to add tech, have one person document the group's work in a simple PicCollage or movie. We kept this challenge simple and to the point.  








I gave them 15 minutes to complete and test their launchers.  Then we went in the hallway and had a small contest to see which group's launcher was most successful!  You can see one group's launcher below.                                                      

Download the file here and 

be sure to share this post with friends!

An Easy Design Build Challenge (STEM minus the Tech) for the Beginning of the Year

When I was looking for easy ways to kick-start my Digital Literacy classroom, it was a no-brainer to consider STEM activities.  There's absolutely no better way to build teamwork, learn new friends, and get the brain rolling than problem-solving your way through a design challenge. There's only one catch...

School started on Wednesday for us, and iPad roll-out isn't scheduled until Friday afternoon.  There goes the T in STEM...

No worries! I actually found that the following activity was a great way to build the foundational skills we need for the school year ahead.  The teachable moments were absolutely priceless! Below I'll detail the three layers of challenges I presented my students and the lessons we learned in between.  This is a simple, cheap (yay!), and fun way to work in a variety of character building discussions and team-building for your classroom at any time of the year!

*I by no means created this activity. I've seen it floating around for a few years, but I thought it might be worthy of a share.  I think it's amazing how activities can look different from year to year depending on your group of students or circumstances.  Teachers should be willing to share freely and tweak activities to fit their classroom needs! Enjoy!

The Red Solo Stacking Challenge

To get started, I divided my classroom into groups of four or five students depending upon class size.  Each group received a stack of ten red "Solo" cups and one rubber band that had four/five (depending upon group size) 12 inch long strings attached it.  I purposely selected groups so students would be working with a friend and classmates they didn't yet know.  I encourage you to decide what arrangement best fits your classroom needs! Students chose to work on our more traditional tabletops, but the floor or any other hard-surface work space would work just fine.

Challenge One

I then directed groups to select three of the cups for this challenge and push the others to the side.  I feel it is very important when doing STEM or design challenges to give as few directions as possible.  I told the students they were to build a two-story tower out of the cups.  There was only one rule in this challenge.  They could not touch the cups with anything but the string or rubber-band.  If students raised their hand to ask more questions, I simply responded, "You have all the instructions you need for this challenge."  I love how much that drives them crazy. :)

During the challenges, I walk around and observe the groups.

Here are important questions I ask myself as I observe:

How are they working as a team?
Who steps out as the leader?
What interesting or out-of-the-box methods are they trying?
Who seems to be struggling with teamwork/participation/technical skills?

I did not set a certain time for the first challenge.  After all teams were successful, or I had given ample time for all groups to at least have the chance, I called time.  Then we all discussed.  I'll include discussion questions and topics later.

Challenge Two
For this challenge, I upped the anti just a bit.  I asked students to add three cups to their total which was now six cups.  Secondly, I told students they must build a three-story tower with their cups.  Finally, I made it even more difficult by taking away the power of verbal communication.  That's right.  Students were not allowed to talk, whisper, grunt, hum, or otherwise make any noise during this challenge.  This was my favorite of the challenges.  Obvious reasons. ;) Kidding...

What I loved about this challenge was watching the students learn from their mistakes in the first challenge.  Many groups who were unsuccessful in the first round, quickly built their tower despite the communication challenges.

Again, after all groups were successful, we stopped and discussed.

Challenge Three
In this final challenge, I increased the difficulty once again.  All ten cups were now in play, and I asked the students to build the tallest tower possible in five minutes.  Adding the time component now made groups focus more sharply.  I did allow talking during this challenge, but minimized it to whispering only.  This was quite interesting in and of itself.

My favorite part of this challenge was watching the joy on their faces when they achieved success.  I would be working with another group and hear a shout of happiness when another group completed their tower.  At the end of five minutes, I was pleased to see most groups were able to successfully build a great tower!

Again, reflection and discussion was key!

Discussion Questions and Topics

There are so many questions that easily come to mind when observing students.

What was easy? What was difficult?  What would make this challenge easier? Who in your group was the leader?  What would you do differently if doing this challenge again?

A few of the items that came up through our reflections and discussions include:

• Teamwork
• The importance of both leaders and followers
• Noise level (What's appropriate for this activity? What's your learning preference?)
• Perserverance
• Learning from Mistakes
• Getting out of our comfort zones
• Redefining success
• Following directions

I'll leave you with a brief video of this activity in action.  Be sure to check the blog often over the next few months.  I have plenty of amazing students to share with you!

-Tiffany

What Olympic Gymnasts Taught Me About Teaching

The first thing you need to know about me is that I am a tomboy by nature.  More comfortable in basketball shorts and a ponytail than heels and a skirt, I have always found much of my identity in being sporty.  It should be no surprise then that I eagerly await Summer Olympic season.  My DVR can prove just how much I love watching world-class athletes battle it out on a global stage!

I have a secret though. One that my 12 year old self would cringe if she heard me admit it aloud...

My favorite event is women's gymnastics. Hands down. Sparkly leotards and all.

These young women who represent the red, white, and blue are among the most amazing, graceful, powerful beings on Earth.  Like all good Americans with a passion for watching the Olympics, I tout myself an expert judge sitting on my couch as I eat my buttered popcorn and drink Diet Coke.  After all, I've been enamored with this event since before the Magnificent Seven wowed the world in the Atlanta games in 1996.  Totally makes me an expert.

So what does that have to do with teaching?

It's no secret that the Olympics often churn out many feel-good, inspiring stories.  You know the ones. Stories of overcoming trials and tribulations.  Stories of teamwork and dedication.  Stories of never-give-up and can-do attitudes.  Stories of overcoming humble beginnings.

These stories provide us with endless examples of character-education within our classroom.  They are timeless and treasured.  Who doesn't love a good Kerri Strung flashback?

But that's not what this year's Olympic games have taught me.  Let's get back to gymnastics.

A couple of days ago I excitedly sat down to watch the team competition begin.  I won't mention the country, but let's just say this country typically performs really well in these particular events. I watched in near unbelief, a world-class athlete stumble, waiver, and even fall multiple times throughout her floor routine.  She was proceeded by a teammate who had another very unfortunate routine.  And another, and another, and another.  I found myself going through a range of emotions including happiness (improving USA's chances), shock, embarrassment, and finally sadness.  Here were these beautiful, talented young ladies who had the incredible honor of representing their country on the international stage, only to stumble and slip lower and lower on the leader boards.  In essence, they had failed to perform to the Olympic-sized standards set before them.  I found myself shaking my head and even texting a friend, "Can you believe that?"

Then I stopped and remembered.  Remembered that these young ladies are the best of the best. Those little jumps that they make look effortless, look more like a donkey dying when I try one. (True story.)

I remembered that somewhere in that country sat gymnasts who only dreamed for the chance to perform on the Olympic stage, but didn't qualify.  Somewhere there were hundreds of little girls who watched that same routine I did, bright-eyed and proud because their favorite national role model just represented the country she loves so much.  Somewhere these young women had mommas and daddies bursting with pride as they watched their child achieve a life-long dream simply by hitting the mats in Rio.  I remembered that they were just young ladies who have a career of perfecting their craft ahead of them. I remembered that most likely, they will learn from these lack-luster performances, train harder, work smarter, and return to Tokyo in 2020 better than ever.

While I was busy judging these incredible athletes, I completely forgot what I preach every single day. That sometimes the success doesn't lie within the gold medal, gold star, or grade on a report card. That often the best lessons aren't in the successes, but in the failures along the way. Or that sometimes, sometimes, success is simply stepping out into the limelight making way for the critics to have their say.  Critics like me who sometimes call the cheap shots from the ease of their comfort zone.

As we watch our students this season, let us watch with something in mind... that our critical eye sometimes misses the amazing backstory and the beauty of rising from the ashes of failure.

You see, when these athletes left the mat, I didn't see tears in their eyes. When I would have probably crumpled and died, I saw poise.  Dignity.  The look of determination.  Why? Waiting for these young ladies were their coaches.  Ready with a hug and a word of praise.  Lifting them up and cheering them on through their failure.  Will there be hard work ahead? You bet! Is it all fun and games? No way!  But failure teaches us something success sometimes misses...grit.

Let's be that coach who is ready to help our students in the worthy pursuit of something far greater than a gold medal.  Living life with passion and purpose to make their mark in their own world and beyond.

-Tiffany

5 Tips to Begin a Successful (Digital) School Year

I don't know about you, but I tend to live in a bubble during the summer.  I like to fill my bubble with the sort of professional development that both challenges me and comforts me in knowing that there are others out there who do think like me! This summer I was so blessed to travel the country and rub elbows with the best of the best in education.  We talked shop over casual dinners, bonded over similar struggles, and challenged each other with new ideas. It was an incredible summer.

In my bubble I feel pumped up and ready for another new year!

Then reality sets in.  I don't know what pops your proverbial bubble, but I would bet that we all have similar lists.  Go ahead and shout it out here.  No really...shout.  It may make you feel better.

Now that we're all over that, let's keep it positive.  I've crafted five tips to keep that summer bubble floating (even if just at a hover sometimes) and get your classroom up and running for a successful (digital) school year!

1. Actually Use the Ideas

Even if your students don't go year-round, my guess is that you do.  Summer is to teaching as the off-season is to an athlete.  It's where we get better, stronger, wiser.  It's likely that somewhere you have a collection of PD ideas you excitedly recorded wherever it is you like to do your note-taking.  When I present, I always make sure to leave my participants with this one thought, "Pick one thing that inspired you this session.  Use it!"  If it happens to be within the school year,  I add that it should be used within two weeks of the session date.  Awesome ideas are no good if you don't actually put them into use!

2. Start Slow and Choose Wisely

Think about the age of your students.  What I do with my sixth graders is vastly different from what I did with my firsties.  For younger students, starting with a simple PicCollage about themselves is a great way to not only learn more about your students, but it also tells you a  great deal about their digital prowess from the get-go.  As they work, walk around and watch which students work deftly with the technology and which students struggle their way through.  This is valuable feedback for you.

Last year, I made an epic mistake with our first project.  What I thought would take two weeks, drug into a four week, headache inducing ordeal.  Know your students first.  Plan accordingly!

3. Let the Focus Begin with Creativity

Again, learn from my mistakes.  Last year as the new Social Studies/Digital Literacy teacher, I walked in thinking I was going to be the Queen of Technology Integration.  It quickly dawned on me (see project failure above) that the trouble didn't always lie with student tech skills.  The problem was the students' hesitation to be creative and get out of their comfort zones.  Before they can do amazing things with their technology, they need to feel safe in your classroom to create, think, and even fail.

This year, I am attacking things differently.  My students will be working through a series of STEMspired challenges that build communication, critical thinking, collaboration, and creativity before the iPad becomes a big player.  By the time we hit our first project two weeks in, my hope is that my students have reconnected with their inner-creative selves.

4. Find a Sounding Board

We all need that person who both "gets" us and challenges us.  Sometimes you may need to reach beyond the walls of your school to find this person.  Twitter is an amazing world filled with people who think like you.  All you need is the right hashtag or chat to get you connected!  Try chats such as the #teacherfriends chat on Tuesdays, #ditchbook chats on Thursdays at 10p EST, or with us on the #INeLearn chat Thursday evenings at 9p EST.  Other hashtags to try are #tlap (Teach Like a Pirate), #edtech, and #ipaded.

Many of my favorite activities have been inspired by students and cultivated by other teachers who have helped me take it from conception to reality.  Do me a favor though.  When someone inspires you or helps you nail down the details of a project, give them a little shout out.  Let them know (and the world) how much you appreciate their help.  End PSA. :)

When your bubble is feeling threatened, run to your person.  Read your favorite professional book or blog.  Watch a TEDed Talk.  Do anything but sulk, brew, and let it build inside of you.  Redirect that frustration and put it into your drive to provide your students with amazing learning experiences!

5. Let it Go

I'm not going to sing for you, but seriously.  Let. It. Go.

Let go the box that you allow to contain you. Let go the frustrations over mandates.

Let go over total control of student learning.  Let go of negative attitudes. Let go of past hurts or failures.  Let go of doors that didn't open.  Let it all go!

 No excuses. You are amazing!  Your students are lucky to have you!

This will be the best year yet!