Going Digital with AVID

Part II

Whether you are an AVID elective teacher or not, using AVID teaching strategies in the classroom can have many benefits.  Incorporating digital elements in combination with AVID is a recipe for success and can easily be implemented using one’s curriculum!     

I have been teaching the AVID elective at the middle school level for over five years now and have come to learn that the AVID curriculum contains a plethora of good teaching practices.  Traditionally speaking, some of the more popular strategies found in lessons that focus on the Critical Reading Process, such as using Cornell Notes, Marking the Text and Writing in the Margins were developed with the intention of using paper and pencil.  Now, with digital technology being so abundantly available in schools, it’s time to start integrating the two.      

In my last blog, Going Digital w/AVID Part I, I went over some various ways to annotate online text using Google Docs and Kami’s online PDF editing software.  This particular blog will focus on digitizing an AVID One-Pager.      

AVID One-Pager

w/Google Drawing

A One-Pager seems self-explanatory.  For the most part, it is. Students will use one page of paper to reflect on a given piece of literary work or text.  A One-Pager is a great way to have students complete in lieu of a boring formal assessment or a long, drawn-out writing task.  A One-Pager should include the following:

• Title
• Author
• Images
• Include a meaningful quote
• Related Vocabulary
• Personal statement (i.e. I believe…, or I feel…)  
• Costa’s leveled questions
• Border, which reflects the main idea or theme

Looking at the rubric below may be helpful:  

Like with almost anything in education, things can be adapted.  You know your own students best so feel free to add and/or change anything within the One-Pager that you see fit.  I know that some teachers request that their students use specific colors which represent a deeper meaning behind the text…obviously, students should know about color symbolism in order for this to relate.  Or, you might swap out Costa’s questions for Bloom’s.

The following video showcases a teacher using the paper version but also presents one way of communicating guidelines and instructions to students.  This teacher finishes the lesson by having his students present their work using a Gallery Walk (which can also be achieved using laptops set up on a table).     

One-Pager AVID Strategy  

When thinking of digitizing this assignment I turned to none other than Google Drawing.  It seemed like the best fit as it’s not only free software in which all SUSD students have access to, but it also has the necessary elements needed to accomplish the task at hand.  Students can use word art, add text boxes, insert images and GIFs and use the paint bucket to make a border color POP!

Here is the template that I use with my students.  Make a copy and add it to your Google Drive for future purposes.  AVID One-Pager Link

Once students are able to make a copy of their own (an easy way to accomplish this is to use Google Classroom to distribute copies to each student) then the magic happens.  Students will see that they can do more online than using a piece of paper. No more messy markers or crumbling crayons. Those students who are afraid of being judged by their artwork can now feel comforted that they can insert any image they want using an internet search.  I’ve seen many students use GIFs to enhance their borders or even Bitmoji images to create a personalized statement. Using a digital version of the One-Pager offers more opportunity and creativity for students to achieve opposed to limiting them to a paper version.

Here are some students samples:

Students were given the option to complete a section review for Social Studies or create a digital One-Pager.

This One-Pager was completed by a 7th-grade ELD student following the completion of our class reading an informational article about the effects of lying.  

A Wrinkle in Time was a book that my after-school tutoring group read.  Students had the option of creating a One-Pager instead of writing a chapter review or summary.
The options are endless with AVID One-Pagers in regards to how they can be used.  I hope that my examples and background using them with my own students have convinced you to try them out yourself.   

Using Google Tour Builder in the Classroom

Whenever I have mentioned using Google Tour Builder in the classroom, I almost always get one of three responses; I love that program, what is it, or (after I explain what it is) my kids wouldn’t be able to use it because I am not “tech savvy” enough to teach them. To those of you using and loving the program, I say congratulations! Teachers who have never heard of the program, this is the blog for you! For the naysayers, I say read to the end and click on the links to see what students can create when given the opportunity. I would like to also state for the record, I am by no means the Google Tour Builder Guru, but I do love to learn alongside my students and hope you will too after reading this.

So what is Tour Builder? Tour Builder uses Google Earth technology and allows you to add a sequence of locations on a map that users can click through like they’re going on a tour. You can upload up to 25 photos and YouTube videos to go along with each stop on the tour. You can also add a description and links to additional resources for each location that you add. When users view the Tour, they will click “next” on the tour to be taken to the next point on the map.

How can I use it in my classroom? I’m so glad you asked! Here are five examples of authentic student-created projects.

My Future University

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My dream Vacation

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Italy

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Ieoh Ming Pei Biography

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Students were told to research how to create a tour after a very short lesson from me on the basics. They were given a project  description and rubric and went at it! Tour Builder would be great in social studies classes, ELA classes, science, math…the sky’s the limit!  Don’t worry, the kids will help guide you through it!

Cloud Computing & Collaboration Services

By Austin Cushman

There are many cloud computing and real-time collaboration services to choose from. Here at Stockton Unified, we primarily use G Suite or Office 365. These two are probably the more well known, however, there are a few other options to choose from. Most of my adult students have never used any real-time collaboration services which have become more and more popular in the education and business world. These platforms are a requirement for any competitive company or agency. Companies have seen a 15% – 20% increase in their revenue using one of these services. Companies that use them see an advantage over their competition simply because they can get more done. So, in no particular order, here are some well known and lesser known cloud computing and collaboration services.

Zoho offers a suite of apps to create online documents, spreadsheets, presentations and databases, with great sharing features. You can invite others to view or edit documents and also create groups. Similar to Google Docs, you can publish any doc to your blog or website and make any document public. Zoho creates a URL and RSS feed for every public document that is updated when a change is made. You can also chat live with others making it easy to communicate while editing a document together in real time. Also, you can check older versions of the document.

G Suite has apps for creating documents, spreadsheets and presentations. They also share features allowing you to effectively collaborate in real-time. You can also post the document to a blog or website and have any changes updated. G Suite is also being used more and more in the private sector. Verizon Communications Inc, Nielsen Holdings Plc and Colgate-Palmolive Co. have brought about 250,000 workers to G Suite during the last year and a half, along with many school districts.

                                                                                          Etherpad is an open source online editing program that allows collaboration in real-time of plain text documents. It includes a chat room and shows color coded edits. Users are also able to save older versions of the same document. Etherpad is good for group brainstorming sessions in real-time. It also lets you import and export Word, PDF, Plain Text and web documents. Students at Stanford Law School use it  and programmers like to customize Etherpad to suit their needs.

Office 365 is a subscription based Microsoft Office suite available online. It has cloud-based software for businesses, such as hosted Exchange Server, Skype for Business Server, and SharePoint. Subscribers can collaborate with other users by using their Microsoft Office Online account. “70% of Fortune 500 companies have purchased Office 365 within the last year.” Companies such as Shell Oil, Air France, and Lilly Pharmaceuticals use Office 365. Stockton Unified has Office 365 available to district employees via the “staff” section of the homepage.

ThinkFree is a suite of online apps like Zoho and Google Docs. You can use the web version or install it to work offline. Thinkfree allows you to do everything just like the Microsoft Office suite with great sharing tools. Each document works with Microsoft Office and if the person you’re working with doesn’t have it, they can view documents with the ThinkFree viewer. Also, you get 1 GB of storage online for your documents.

Other Services:

• Samepage
• Igloo
• Podio

So, there are a few. Here at Stockton Unified, we have been trained in and primarily use the G Suite apps and work in the Google Drive environment. Being aware of other services is valuable for our students and staff. We should be knowledgeable in the uses of real-time collaboration suites to prepare our students for careers in the 21st century.

Future Engineers

By Peter Gallegos and Veronica Torres

Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth grade students at Harrison School in Stockton, CA  are off to a running start for their engineering future. Students in Mrs. Merriam’s PLTW Design and Modeling class learn by quickly understanding the importance of an engineering notebook to document and capture their ideas.

Students working early in the design process.

Students are introduced to the design process in order to help solve problems and understand how their ideas can influence the creativity process of their group and others.

Students work in groups and follow the design process from idea to prototype.

One important aspect of this class is students’ discovery of engineering and how the items that are invented within this process can help the populace as a whole. For example, the creation of a prosthetic device and a toy that will help a student with cerebral palsy gives students a greater appreciation of what a special needs student endures on a daily basis.

The academic language that students use during this process would seem unbelievable for students this age.  One can see groups working hard together to solve their design process challenges and coming up with solutions to attain a final product.  This process forces the students to “think outside of the box.” Higher order thinking abounds in this class.

Students use industry standard 3D modeling software, such as Sketchup Pro and Geogebra

Merriam’s students use industry standard 3D modeling software, such as Sketchup Pro and Geogebra, to create a virtual image of their designs and produce a portfolio to showcase their creative solutions.

When students show proficiency in the modeling software, and are able to complete the design process from paper to virtual image, they will have the opportunity to print their final product using the school’s 3D printer.