persuasive debate, google drive, collaboration

As a next step in all things persuasive, (persuasive toy commercials in Dec.) my students work on preparing a persuasive debate.  Student partners received a pre-written debate card and possible phrases to support them in their preparation.  Partners were asked to decide who would argue con and pro.  They were also reminded of the persuasive techniques used in their commercials and were given a list of powerful words. Jody was in and introduced students to having multiple writers work on the same document and the chat function while you’re working (using Google Drive).  Students applied this to the debate preparation and the results were amazing.  Although students weren't required to write out their debates (they were allowed to prepare orally), most partner groups chose to use Google Drive.  I sat back and watched (that’s right, I left them alone) and before long students were chatting about ideas for their partner to use, and creating and collaborating to ensure that both partners were ready.  The use of Google Drive fostered collaboration to a new level in my classroom.  One student even remarked on how their partner helped them to focus on sentence structure and punctuation.  It was great!

When it came time to present their debates students were very engaged and excited.  Student presented in front of the class with an Ipad in their hands.  One step closer to a paperless classroom.

Explain Everything and Google Drive

Using Explain Everything and sharing via Google Drive across a number of classes presented a bit if a hiccup.

What I now know: One mini can be logged into google drive as one user and logged into google drive on Explain Everything as a different user.  

Consequence: Students were logging in to Google Drive, exporting their .xpl files but, because Explain Everything had previously been connected to a different Google Drive account (in a different class) the files were going into another students folders.  They were in effect, disappearing.

Solution: When shutting down the minis at the end of a class students need to not only log off/remove their account from Google Drive but also access the account settings and toggle off the Google Drive account within Explain Everything. (See image below.) Students should have to log into Google Drive within Explain Everything the first time they export/share a file...if not, the file could be going into a different account.

Learning Surprises and Staff Collaboration!

So, the other day I had a great time discovering something new, by accident!  I had taken photos of my students on my ipad and my colleague asked if he could have them to use in our school yearbook.  So, I proceeded to click on photos with hopes to email the photos to him.  Having emailed photos many times from devices before, I know that this method (or even sharing photos via google drive) can take some time and be a bit tedious as they are downloaded/uploaded.  However, upon selecting my photos in my photo app, the ipad prompted me to share them using "Airdrop".  I had no idea what this was but I was curious and decided to try something new by following the oh-so-easy prompts on my ipad to turn on "Airdrop" in the Control Center in the settings app, on both my ipad and my colleague's ipad.  Then, with just one tap, (selecting my colleague's ipad number that suddenly appeared under the Airdrop symbol in the photo app), all 10 of my photos instantly appeared on his ipad!  It was so fast and simple!  What another great way to collaborate in the classroom and as staff! :)

The Power of Collaboration!

Upon teaching my class how to create and share documents on Google Drive, using the i-pad minis in class, my students have been thrilled to find that they can create group assignments in real time!  My grade nine French Immersion class is currently working on creating their own movies, in any genre of their choice, in groups, in French.  First, they worked on the script in Google docs.  They were thrilled to be able to work from devices at home (or on the bus or in the car) to write one script, as a group, in real time, seeing changes being made by their peers on the spot.  They have used this form of collaboration inside AND outside the classroom setting and have actually been excited to do homework and collaborate on this project due to the technology involved.  They have furthermore used the i-pads in class to film their movies and will be using the i-movie app to edit and put together the final product.  I am excited to see the end results! :)

Posting Videos in Your Blogger Post

The best way to post videos here in Blogger is to upload your videos to YouTube first.


Click here for instructions on how to create a YouTube account using your TLDSB.net Google account.

Once you have created the account, click here to find out how to upload your video(s) and set the appropriate privacy settings.


Finally, to put your YouTube video in your blog post, you just need to click on the video icon.
Then select My YouTube videos.  Select your video and then it will be in your blog post.

Explain Everything

Many of my students have begun to use Explain Everything as a means of communicating their thinking in mathematics.  It provides kids with the opportunity to record their thinking in a variety of ways (i.e. orally, visually, and in writing).  It also lets students record and then listen back to their own explanation so that they can self-assess to determine if they have clearly articulated their thinking.

Strengths: Students find the app easy to use, they can use the "screen capture" function from other apps (such as "Geoboard" or "Protractor") and embed the pictures into their Explain Everything file, then annotate their work with arrows, captions and other 'bits' of information.  Students can write directly onto the screen or use the keyboard option (this is important when you are working with students who lack fine motor control.  When students can only write directly onto the screen, they end up using up the screen space very quickly, making it difficult to organize their work).  Students can audio record their thinking at the end of the working time or while they work at solving the problem so that I can "listen in" to their thinking at my convenience.  When it comes time to consolidate, there is solid documentation of what has been tried so that others can benefit from the problem-solving that has occurred. 

Limitations: We haven't figured out how to edit the audio so that long pauses and unnecessary dialogue can be deleted.  It would be helpful to have access to a shape creator and other math components on screen so that students could be very accurate without importing from other apps.  

Students are able to share their work with me via Google drive as an MP4 file.  

Persuasive Toy Commercials using IMovie

In December my class worked on creating a toy and a commercial. Our focus was on persuasive techniques found in toy commercials.  I  use this as an introduction to persuasive debate and writing.
Step 1 -We watch several toy commercial (I have them all in one notebook) and discussed and recorded the persuasive techniques used by the advertisers to sell the toys.  We also considered the audience for each toy (parents, moms, age of the targeted child, etc.)  As we looked at each commercial students were asked to record details about each persuasive technique.  Amazingly the students found even more techniques then were listed on the placemat.

Step 2 –Students worked in pairs to preview a commercial.  Their task was to find as many persuasive techniques as they could and present their ideas to the class.  This lead to further discussions on persuasive techniques and audience. (and it was fun!)

Step 3 –Students were put in groups of 3 and 4.  (I assigned the groups because I was observing to focus on collaboration.)  Each group received a paper bag with exactly the same items as all the other groups.  The task was to create a toy.  Students were encouraged to use their imaginations.  They could have toys that did impossible things (fly to Mars and back, make breakfast each day, etc.)

During this process students worked together and planned.  Many groups used the ipads to take pictures of their ideas.  They wanted to make sure they had created the best toy they could before using the glue.

Step 5 –Students used Ipads to create their commercials.  It was great!  Students knew they need to make a commercial that was one minute or less and that they needed to use as many persuasive techniques as possible.  They loved this!! And it was so much fun!!  They even put Bloopers at the end of their commercial video.  Students were able to work, come to me for feedback, and then go right back to work.  I was able to generate comments and marks for media, art, drama, oral communication, and learning skills and I could observe them throughout the process and watch the videos after for a final mark.  Many students had never used IMovie before so my advice was to “play with it” and you’ll figure it out and of course, they did.  It was great to see some students who struggle at many things quickly become experts on the software.  One student in particular finds it difficult to complete any task and does not like to work with others created a great commercial with his partner.  Without the Ipads and IMovie this would not have been possible!!