Professional Goal #1: Increasing the Opportunity for Inquiry

Yes, I know it's November already and my school year did start over two months ago but some where in there I never actually wrote my school year goals on my blog.  So here I am, putting it out there for the world to see. This blog post will focus on my first goal:

Photo Credit: Claudio Gennari ..."Cogli l'attimo ferma il tempo" via Compfight cc

Increased Opportunity for Inquiry, Wonder and  Curiousity Learning

I love how excited children are when they make discoveries in their own environment.  The excitement of looking at a colourful maple leaf that has fallen to the ground or the size of the puddle that miraculously formed in the playground.  There is authentic learning happening  all around us and I want to take better advantage of that as a way to promote/encourage/support life long learning.

Now I certainly wouldn't say that  my classroom has been void of inquiry in the past. I've focused on getting outside more, providing my students with more choice and control over their learning, increasing meaningful opportunities for authentic connections, and integrating technology as a tool to help with  thoughtful, meaningful ways of learning.  Choice is huge in my classroom which allows my students to explore in ways that work best for them.  We also wonder a lot, and do our best to follow through with those wonders. I loved watching our various Wonder Walls explode with curiosity questions last year and the things we did to find some answers to our wonders.   But there is so much more I'd like to be doing with my students.

I'll be the first to admit that I struggle with this, which is why I've made it one of my goals this school year. I find I get bogged down in a timetable that seems to dictate where I need to be and what I need to be doing.  It  leaves me with small chunks of time to start some inquiry just to be rushed off to somewhere else.  I also get bogged down in the fact that it is my responsibility to give my students the skills to read and write.  The number one thing families want for their children in my class is that I  teach them how to read and write.  It's a high expectation but as a grade one teacher it is what I am required to do.  I take it very seriously too.

I also know that inquiry is authentic learning and provides an incredible opportunity for authentic reading, writing, listening, and speaking. I don't need to be sold there. But I also know that my students need explicit lessons on how to read and write too.  So what am I doing to get there?

First off I am doing my best to add and continue the "wonder" nature in my classroom.   I am encouraging my students to ask and wonder about the world that we live in.  In addition, I applied for tools of inquiry through the "My Classroom Needs" program and was successful with my application.  Soon our classroom will be filled with early childhood magnifying glasses, bug boxes, ECE microscopes and so many other cool tools for inquiry.

My class and I are part of a year long inquiry called "Looking Closely" with other classes around North American (and the world?) . I have increased the number of nonfiction books in my classroom and we are slowly working through the Looking Closely series by Frank Serfini. Our discussions have been rich and it has motivated us to look more closely at the things around us.

I am also looking at revamping my timetable yet again.  I am going to change the structure of my Wednesday completely. Yes the day will still begin with Physical Education, and end with time with our Grade 6/7 buddies but the time in between is going to change.  Inquiry will be the focus of the rest of the day. If we start a project in the morning we will have the opportunity to continue it after recess, and again after lunch.  The reading, writing, and math will be embedded into our learning, and not as a subject scheduled through out the day.  I wish learning could be like that every day but I'm not ready to go there yet.  We'll see though. I am very curious to see how this new Wednesday will work out.

To help me get started I've been reading a lot.  Books that I've read or are reading include A Place for Wonder: Reading and Writing Nonfiction in the Primary Grades by Georgia Heard and Jennifer McDonough and  Passion-Driven Classroom: The Framework for Teaching and Learning by Angela Maiers and Amy Sandvoid.  I am in a professional book club with my school district where we are reading  and discussing Comprehension and Collaboration - Inquiry Circles in Action by Stephanie Harvey and Harvey Daniels.  I'm reading many blogs written by classroom teachers who are doing what I'd like to be doing in my classroom.  One such teacher is Angie Harrison and I am constantly learning a ton from her classroom blog.  I'm intrigued but what is happening in  Reggio Inspired classrooms too.

I am also trying my best to get the families of my students involved as well.  I have designed an "Expert Project" to help my students learn more about their passions. It's a home project, with no pressure at all, but it's designed to help foster a love for life long learning with my students.  I'll write more about it as it develops but right now I'm excited to know that I have students working on their passions in their own homes, and getting ready to become experts for our class.

So this is a little bit about where I've started and where I hope to be heading.  I'd love to hear how you're dealing with inquiry in your learning environment.  Feel free to send any blog post links, book recommendations or "people I should follow".  Or share your stories about how you're tackling the demands of a timetable with the desire to inquire more. I'm curious to learn how to do it all!

Making Thinking Visible

Photo Credit: Eileen Delhi via Compfight c 

One of the greatest benefits I've seen with increased access to technology is how well it allows my students to make their thinking visible.  Now I don't want to imply that student thinking can't be made visible with out technology because that simply isn't true. But technology has made it easier for my students to document their learning, and for me to access this documentation. Let me explain how.

My class is made up of diverse learners with unique and individual needs.  I don't think my class is any different then any other class in terms of diversity of learner needs. As much us we are all alike, we are all very different too. I do my best to meet their individual  needs by providing them with choice as often as I can.  I have written about how I do that  here, here, here, and here. But providing so much choice means that I am not collecting the same assignments from each child in my class, nor am I expecting everyone one to show their learning in the same way.  But I still need to see that they are learning, and I still need to be able to share this learning with their parents.  This is where technology really helps to make thinking visible.

Technology is allowing my students to add voice to their work.  My students often take pictures of their pen and paper writing, and then add voice to their work through a variety of different iPad apps.  Here's a sample of one student reading his non digital writing.  This work was shared on this student's blog for both me, his family, and the world to see.

This was made by using the iPad Camera and adding voice with the Draw and Tell App

Other students have gone a step further by sharing their writing, talking about what they are proud of and setting a goal to work on for next time.  This is all done independently but it's so helpful for me to be able to access.

This was made using the iPad camera, and the Tellagami app

In math my students often record themselves talking about what they know.  They then add those recordings to their individual blogs.  Sometimes there are errors in their thinking because they do not understand the concept they are explaining.  This is great formative assessment as it helps me better understand what they are having trouble with.  Typically in discussion with each individual student we decide to keep the work on their blog, but to make the post private so the world doesn't have to hear their errors.  We talk about how important it is to have a  sample of where their thinking is at that moment  time as a reference place to how far they go. Even when the thinking isn't correct it's important to make it visible.

Adding voice to non digital work is an easy way to make thinking visible, and using technology to do it  allows it to be done even when I'm not around to hear it.  

Many of my students also choose to create work with digital tools.  They do this by accessing open ended creative apps so share what they know.  Some of their favourite go to apps include the iPad Camera, Draw and Tell, Educreations,  Pic Collage, and iMovie.  They also share information through two book making apps Book Creator and My Story and the presentation app Haiku Deck.  They have many options to make their thinking possible.  When ever they can they add voice to their digital work.  They use  Draw and Tell, Educreations, Explain Everything, Voice Record Pro, and Croak.it to add voice to work. There are many other fabulous voice recording apps that you may want to explore as well.  Children choose different tools for different reasons. Just like adults they don't all like to use the same tool to document learning.  Access to technology has given them more tools to choose from.   

Here are two different math examples. While both examples are sharing the same mathematical concept, each student has chosen a very different way to make their thinking visible.  You should notice that they have used different digital tools to make this thinking visible.

This was made using the iPad camera and the PicCollage App

This was made independently using the iPad Camera, skitch, Draw and Tell, and iMovie

If you check out my students' individual blogs from this year or last year  you will see they have many different ways to make their thinking visible to the world.   What tools do your students use most often to make their thinking visible?

Co-Creating with a Class in Iowa

A couple of weeks ago, just before the start of the Global Read Aloud, I was approached by my #1stchat twitter friend Leka DeGroot, from Iowa, to work with her class on a collaborative project for the book The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle.  We wanted to co create books as part of the Global Read Aloud.

Leka and I met over a google hang out and worked through all the details. We decided to modify Eric Carle's book from the Very Hungry Caterpillar, to the Very Hungry Student.  Our goal was to have each student in our classes illustrate, add text, and voice record a page for one of six books. Leka and I  put the pages together and create books.  Here's how we made it happen.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class - Saige, Merek, Faith, Jarred

Ms. Lirenman's Class - Carlos, Mya, Yvonne, Brayden

On the first day of the Global Read Aloud our two grade one classes met through a Skype call.  We had some curiousity questions for them and they had some for us. We also had some technical difficulties but we didn't let that stop us.  We also read the original Eric Carle story together over Skype.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class - Isabella, Keegan, Keagan, Merek

Ms. Lirenman's Class - Keegan, Brenda, Jaslehna, Diego

Once the call was over I talked a little more with my class about this collaborative project that we were going to do with Mrs. DeGroot's class.  Each child choose a day of the week and  created a picture of some food that a student might eat.  Eg. On Wednesday a very hungry student ate three apples.  I introduced my students to a new drawing tool - Drawing Pad but also encouraged them to draw in Draw and Tell too. The children could also draw and add their text with non digital tools.  We talked about adding text as well using Explain Everything and then recording their voices in either Draw and Tell or Explain Everything on the iPads.  My students then saved their mini page movies to the iPad camera roll.  I must admit five weeks into grade one there were times when we were in over our heads.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class - Ryker, Benson, Preston, Sam
Ms. Lirenman's Class - Camron, Natasha, Jessica, Amaan

With all the images created, text and voice added, it was time to save the images to dropbox.  At the start of the project Leka and I shared dropbox folders with one another. Since we assigned students from both of our classes to each book we needed to share our images with one another. Uploading images from the iPad Dropbox app is easy to do.  In fact dropbox is excellent for this. With a shared folder I could easily access her students images and she could access mine.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class -  Sicily, Torry, Addison, Blake

Ms. Lirenman's Class - Daniel, Karman, Arun, Karanvir

The books, made in iMovie on the laptop using the page curl transition to make it look like the turning of a page, were then created.  I had to be careful that the entire images were shown (I'm not a fan on the  ken burns affect when creating books in iMovie). A few items that we shared with one another had issues too so it was a bit of time before all the pages were ready to create the books.  Once everything was in order both Leka and I shared our books on YouTube.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class - Kloi, Karter, Abi, Alex

Ms. Lirenman's Class - Jadyn, Simar, Seth, Diego

If you've never co-created with another class it's pretty great to see the smiles on your students faces when they see that their work is part of a bigger book that is shared with the world.  There are so many other ways that books can be co-created and I'm hoping as the school year progresses I'll be able to share more ways with you too. And the best part co-creation can be done with one, or ten classes over a variety of content areas.  I'd love to see what you co-create.

Mrs. DeGroot's Class - JD, Mason, Kaina, Nicky

Ms. Lirenman's Class - Grayson, Joban, Marcus, Adien

Using QR Codes in Grade One

About a year ago, after attending a session put on by Karen Mensing featured by Classroom 2.0 Live I finally saw a meaningful use of QR codes in a primary classroom besides scanning into a math problem, or running around on a scavenger hunt.  I had seen both of those ideas many times but neither added much value to the learning besides a "fun factor".  And no I'm not a "no fun" teacher but if I'm going to use technology with my students I do want it to help us learn in new or better ways.  Anyhow Karen talked about how she used the website (or IOs App) Croak.it to record voice, gain a link, and create  a QR code  to add voice to other wise non digital work. She talked about how her students wrote book reports and created voice recordings of their reports and added those to either the book covers, or the reports themselves.  It added a whole new dimension to the traditional book report. That was something I could see value in doing.

The days following Karen's session my students returned to school with images they had taken as part of our global read aloud project of their "Flat Wilbur" which we were sending off to a school in NYC. Instead of adding written text to the images my students made voice recordings and attached QR codes to the images so the students in NYC could hear my students talk about the images they were sharing.  It was a very successful project and I think well received in New York. You can read more about that project here.

But once I started with QR codes I continued to use them throughout the year.

One of the first ways I used them was to provide my students to a link of shared photos.  When ever we went on a field trip, or documented learning with images (eg places we learn in our school with images taken by the students), I would collect all the images  and put them into a dropbox folder.  I'd then get the link to the folder (done while in dropbox) and create a QR code from that link.  I would then print a few copies and post the around the classroom so my students  had easy access to all the images taken.  My students used those images  on their blogs or in their projects.  Once my kidlets knew how to use a QR code reader on their iPads it was pretty simple for them to access these photos.  But I must confess, like so much of what I do in my classroom this idea was not mine and I give full credit to Karen Fadum a fellow Surrey Teacher for showing me about this use of QR codes.

(Anyone else notice that besides me, I have mentioned two other Karen's in this post already? :-)  But once again I digress. )

I also had the obvious QR code that linked directly to our class blog posted outside our classroom window of course.

We also used QR codes to get to any Padlets (an on line cork board that's great for collecting ideas while brainstorming) we used.  A QR code was created to help the kids to get to these padlets.   It was way easier to create a QR code to a long Padlet address then have my students type in a long string of letters and numbers with a huge likelihood of error and frustration.  QR codes became my best friend when I wanted my students to get to a website fast. The QR code was a miracle direct link.

When we used Today's Meet to discuss items with other classes we again entered our "room" via QR code.  Sometimes I would set up the QR code in advance and have a few copies around the classroom but other times I'd just create it on the fly and project it onto our screen for students to scan from there. My students would literally bring their iPad to the screen and scan the code and away we'd go. My students enjoyed using them too.

I thought about creating QR codes in my classroom library to send my students to the authors' blogs to have them hear the stories be read by the original authors. Unfortunately that fell through as so few authors actually do that on their blog.  I also wanted my students to add more "voice" to their non digital work but I must confess my students tended just to take pictures of their non digital work and then add voice through the iPad before sharing it on their blogs.  But it would have been great to have QR codes attached to their work that was on our walls and bulletin boards.  I never got there though but you can see the idea behind QR codes is endless if you think about them long enough.  They really do bring anything online into your classroom with just a quick scan.

And of course I recently used them to create an interactive "Meet the Teacher" which I wrote about in the previous post. In a nut shell my students created mini videos or voice recordings about different parts of our classroom, we created QR codes to link back to those videos or voice recordings, and during "Meet the Teacher" my students taught their parents how to scan the codes and together they watched the videos.  You can read more about that use of QR codes here.

But how do I create them?

For most things we share/save/create on line there is a link that identifies that work/project/webpage etc.  For example this specific blogpost has a web address at the top of the screen which can easily be shared via QR code.  When you record voice with a website like  Croak.it or Audio boo, or Vocaroo you are provided you a link.  Anything you store in Dropbox or Google Drive has a link associated with it. The possibilities  are endless.

With the link and while on my computer, I head over to Kaywa.  Kaywa is my preferred QR code creator web site but I'm always up to hear of others.  I also must confess when I want my QR codes printed I make them on my laptop vs an iPad because my iPads don't print.  When I create a QR code on my iPad to share on the screen I've been using the free QR Code Maker App.

Anyhow back to how I make them. With the link copied and I'm in Kaywa, I select URL, paste the link, switch the little switch to static, push the "generate button" and voila I have a QR code that when scanned sends me back to my original website. I didn't have to sign up to create an account or give any personal information. That's my kind of service.

If I need to print the QR code I right click (control,c, click) the image, save it to my desktop or add it into a printable document in Pages or Word and presto I have a QR code.  I often play with the size of the code too making the square bigger or smaller as required for the purpose.

The biggest tip I can give you is that when you create and print a QR code try to remember what is the top side of the code so you can put it up in the proper direction.

On our iPads we use the app Qrafter to scan our QR codes but I have seen more child friendly ones. If you know the name of some please add the name in the comment section of this blog post.  While Qrafter is great and we've had no problems with it, I do know there are better (hopefully free) early years learner QR code scanners out there.

I hope this helps you think about ways you could use QR codes in your classroom.  I have barely scratched the surface so I'd be curious to know how you use them.  Please share.

As a side, a fellow ADE Mauri Dufour uses QR codes to flip her K classroom. She makes little videos for each student that provides them with specific, direct 1:1 instructions and feedback.  I also know some teachers who created QR codes to explain learning centres. I have this vision to have my students make little videos explaining how we use the different learning tool bins in our classroom.  For example I'd love for my students to create a little video on how we use our magnetic letters, or our letter beads. Tips and tricks for things like the "messy" letter stamps etc. It's a vision, one of many I have for my room. We'll see if we get there this year. So please, share you ideas in the comments. I'd love to know what other things I could be doing with QR codes. :-)

Meet the Teacher - Interactive Style

A couple of weeks ago we had "Meet the Teacher Night" where students and their parents are invited back into the classroom in the early evening. The students are able to show off their teacher and their classroom.  For me it's an informal meeting of parents, particularly those I don't have the luxury of seeing  face to face at the door. It's also a great way to see how my students interact with their families.  I love seeing this.

This year, in a new school, I decided to try something a little bit different. In my previous school, and perhaps around my district, I'm know as a bit of a techie at the early primary level. :-)  But in this new school I wasn't sure if the parents of the students in my class knew anything about me or my teaching past.  As far as they know I'm the new English grade one teacher (it's a dual track French/English school) and while I don't look young enough to be fresh out of teacher training, you never know what people know or think about you. So I decided to spruce up our open house a little bit.

With the help of my students who were brave enough to be filmed or have their voice recorded, I took  little videos of them talking about different aspects of our classroom that were important to them. I then created mini QR codes and posted them in the spots where the videos were taken.  For my two students who at the time  did  not have permission to have their images on line, they created voice messages using Croak.it and we created QR codes with those.  My students then spent the last part of the afternoon learning how to use a QR code reader. They  were ready to show off to their parents when they returned later in the evening.

Now I know there is a huge Augmented Reality (AR) craze right now, and it would have been pretty cool to have my students use an AR app such as Aurasma to have their videos appear when the app is  lined up to a classroom trigger point, but I don't think that is the best use of that technology. Yes, it's very cool, but how practical is it for those that aren't able to come into the room? In fact as you'll see below you didn't even have to visit me room to enjoy the benefits of the QR codes I created with my students.  But I digress.

Photo Credit: horizontal.integration via Compfight cc

The parents arrived and their children sprung into action.  I wish I was able to take pictures of the smiles on their faces as they showed their parents the important aspects of our classroom. The parents had smiles too as they saw their child, and their child's classmates talk about the different aspects of the room.  It freed me up to have short conversations with all those who were visiting.


The other thing that I did, which took very little effort on my part, and had another big impact on our visitors is that I hooked up my iPad to Apple TV, created a folder with all the photos I had taken since we formed as a class, and created a simple slide show which played the entire time.  While many of the photos are already on our class blog it was great to see so many people interested in watching the slideshow.  Now I have to thank Ms. Walia for the idea and what a great one it was. So simple.

Curious to see some of the videos and voice recordings my students created?  Here are a few. Just scan the QR codes.

How are you getting your students more involved with "Meet the Teacher Night".

Providing My Students with Choice - The Why and How I Get Started

Person Standing at the Top of  a Double Arrow
Photo Credit: ... marta ... maduixaaaa via Compfightcc

 Providing our youngest students with choice is one of the most powerful things we can do for them.  It empowers, engages, and inspires them.  It teaches them how to make decisions, be independent, and solve problems.  When we give them choice in how to learn, show, and share their knowledge we are sending some very clear messages.  We are letting them know that we care about them and that we value their decisions. What better way to help build positive self esteem in our youngest learners?  We are also creating a supportive classroom environment where risk taking is encouraged and celebrated, and mistakes are not frowned upon but a reason to keep trying.   Choice helps develop life long learners.  Students are a lot more curious when they are in control of what or how they learn.  Choice puts the student at the centre of their learning. 

When I started to provide more choice for my students there were several changes I noticed with my young learners.  These include increased engagement, problem solving, ownership of learning, authenticity of learning,  collaboration, cooperation, peer assessment, and pride with accomplishments.  These are all good reasons to give your students more choice.

Traditionally being in control is most natural for teachers.  It is very easy to see why teachers struggle or are fearful with offering their students choice.  As an educator myself, I totally understand that.   For many, letting go of classroom control is a very scary and unimaginable task.  It’s filled with a lot of  “but what if...” .  Although I’ve given up a ton of control in my classroom, I’d be lying if I said the “yah but...” thought hasn’t crossed my mind a few times over the years.  

Some also fear the chaos that may follows when children are given choice. It can be louder and messier than we are comfortable with. If a teacher is able to look past the noise and the messiness and really look and listen to their students, they’ll see the incredible learning that they are doing - not because they have to but because they want to.  

A Young Child Making a Choice
Photo Credit: Jaro Larnos via Compfight cc

But how do I do it?

I’d be lying if I said that on the very first day of school my students have complete choice in everything that they do. That’s nuts, and the reality is, it would probably lead to complete chaos.  On the first day of school I let my students hang their coats on the hook of their choosing and let them choose where to sit.  Those are choices that I can live with on the first day.  That’s key. When you are providing choice at any time during the year figure out what you can live with.

I start really slow with the choices I offer my young learners and model making decisions about each choice I give them. We talk about the options available to them and the pros and cons of each.  For example I may offer them the choice of working on their own or working with a friend (or two). We talk about the benefits of being on your own (quiet, no one to distract you etc...) and the cons (lonely, no one to help  you etc...) vs working with a friend.  I try really hard to let them see the difference in the options and how those differences may work better for one person but not another.  We look at the pros and cons each time I provide my students with a new option and my students get better at making decisions for themselves.   When I see a student having trouble making a choice (and in the beginning this is very likely), I am there to help them with their choices. Eventually they too can make their own choices. 

I do have expectations for appropriate behaviour in my classroom as well. We talk about work conditions and how one person works can affect another person.  My students are made clear that if their method of work is interfering with another child’s ability to work they either need to find a better location to do what they are doing, or choose a different option.  Sometimes it boils down to a discussion between the students to figure that out. Sometimes they both change, other times they both find ways to accept the way their classmate is working.  In any case respectful problem solving skills are taught in advance, and then modeled over and over again as necessary.

Slowly, over time, I provide my students with many different areas of choice.   Sometimes the choice has to do with the tool that they use. For example, in writing, I might let them  choose to write with a pencil, felt pen, crayon, iPad etc...  Or I might let them choose where they are going to do their writing such as on a whiteboard, chalk board, notebook, poster paper, their blog etc.  Or even still I may let them choose which tools they want to use to demonstrate their learning. The key is that my students know what the learning objective is and they are encourage to make the best choice for them to meet that objective.  

At the beginning of the year, as I’m training my students to handle choice, I control most variables.  Sometimes the choice has to do with where they work  such as at a table, at a desk, on the floor, in the hallway, or outside the classroom window.    Sometimes I teach them different options to practice a specific skill, but then I tell them which option to do so there are different groups doing different things at the same time.  This method helps my students understand that there will be times when everyone is doing something different at the same time working on the same skill.  This controlled choice is key to help my students become more independent. It also helps me teach them a variety of options so that when I let them have full choice, they are aware of the many different options they have available to them.

When it comes to providing choice for my students iPads have revolutionized my ability to do this.   An iPad meets my students exactly where they are and provides them with tools necessary to take them forward with their learning.   Here are a couple of examples.  My extremely shy student, whose voice was barely heard in class, was able to record her thinking on the iPad, and then share that thinking with the world on her individual blog. This student, who barely spoke at school, was able to share with the world because of the ease of comfort of an iPad.  Another student, with a severe learning disability, was able to use the speech to text feature  of the iPad to have his spoken word turned into text in a matter of seconds.  This was huge for a student who battled constantly to get his thoughts into written word.    While these are only two examples, there are many others.

When I introduce a new app  I will show my students some of the things that are possible and how they might use it with their learning.  I might assign a task that everyone has to do so that they can learn how the app functions.   I will also make sure that they have time to explore the app.  Free exploration is important.

Sometimes I will also introduce an app using our big buddies to help.  This gives each child a “big kid” to help them learn.  One on one attention makes everyone happy.   Together, after a little guidance from me, they learn the app as a team.  Playing with apps is vital in my classroom. I want my students to explore apps so that when they are looking for an app to demonstrate a specific type of learning, they have a large repertoire to choose from.

I strategically introduce apps to my students as I think they will benefit the required learning outcome but my students also have other times during the day to explore apps on their own.  Once an app is explicitly taught it becomes a tool.   Like all the other tools in our class, my students can draw on these tools to practice and demonstrate their learning.  In addition if their iPad has an app that hasn’t been explicitly taught but they think it can help them demonstrate their learning they are free to use it too. I’m always open for new ways of sharing demonstrating learning and nothing makes me happier than when a student can come up with one on their own.

These various ways of teaching my students how to make choices for themselves are key in helping get my students ready to make their own choices.   Slowly over time, I start to give my students more and more choices with their learning to the point where they have almost complete control of their learning. In my class my students end up picking what to read, what to write, and how to demonstrate their math concepts.  While I provide them with options of ways they could show a math concept, I don’t expect them to show me in one specific way.  My students are taught what the required learning out come is. They are given samples of what not meeting, minimally meeting, fully meeting, and exceeding expectations looks like.   They CHOOSE how to demonstrate their learning.   They continue to amaze me with what they know when they are given the chance to show me in the ways that work best for them.

2013/14 On-Line Permission Form

Throughout the previous school year I felt I did a pretty good job at keeping my students' families in the loop with what we were doing on-line. We did a lot of learning on-line and I feel it was extremely beneficial for the overall grade one program I ran. But it came to my attention how strict BC Privacy laws are and I realized that I failed to inform my families that some of the work we did on-line was stored in places outside of Canada.  It was something I wanted to address in my 2013/14 permission form.  Thankfully my school district as a whole also tackled this use of Social Media in the classroom  and created some excellent resources for us to use, modify, and share.  Recently my Deputy Superintendent, Jordan Tinney, blogged about these resources which he shared here.  

With the information provided by my school district, and my previous permission slip, I have created a new permission slip for the 2013/14 school  year.  I am trying to do a better job at getting informed consent regarding the specific tools we will be using that possibly store data outside of British Columbia, or Canada.  I plan to also inform parents when I discover new tools that I deem appropriate for my young learners to use, although more than likely with just a note in the planner requesting a signature for permission, once I have permission from the initial form.

Things are changing so rapidly that I'm not sure I could actually create a form on the first day of school that will list all the tools we will use throughout the year.  Even with the form I just shared with my families yesterday,  I realize I failed to mention two  on-line tools I like to use with my students.  Before we start using these tools I will be sure to inform my students' families and get their consent. 

You can find a sample of my present on line permission form here.