Student Login Strategies, Tips, and Tricks

When deciding what to use as student logins school districts, teachers, and admin face a dilemma of what to use.  Do you create new accounts for each program or tool that are simple so that younger students will not have a hard time logging in, then you have to worry about what to do with these accounts as students get older and they need to use a more complex login.  Do you use the same type of accounts that students will be using later on in their school career, which are more complex and harder for students to learn.

Teachers don't get much say when your district controls the logins of certain district used programs, but teachers do use other programs and have to decide if they want to use the district standard so that students don't have to remember so many usernames and passwords.  This is a tough decision, but some solutions and tricks can be done to help.  These are not all my ideas, but are strategies that I have seen around my district.

Option 1:  You choose to have one complex login for most programs.

Tips to help students and teachers in the classroom:

1. Allow Time the first time you log in.  I like to talk through the logins and patterns that are used in their accounts.  Is there a pattern you can point out how many numbers or letters in the log ins.  Does everyone have the same ending @____.org(.com).  Do passwords have the same number of characters.
2. Have a Plan.  Can you have races to see who can login the fastest.  Can you set a goal time to have the whole class logged in by, or can you set in place helpers that can help slower students.
3. Remember Students can and will be able to log in quickly.  If you use this same generic login for some game related or program, students really enjoy using, they will learn it.  Especially if they have free time at the end of the day and you tell students they can login and use this program but you cannot help them.  They will learn it.  

Option 2:  You have multiple logins for students.

Tips to help organize the processes:

1. Have something to organize student logins.  One example is to get paint sample strips from the hardware store and write different logins for each program on a different paint color.
2. Be clear which login that you will be using for a given activity.
3. Create log ins for each program that are similar for all students so you can reference patterns and other qualities of the login during the login process. 

  Tech Tip / Tech Tool

Classrooms with 1 iPad could be using the iPad to collect example pictures or videos of students doing procedures correctly.  This creates a collection of examples for teachers to use to redirect students when they are not doing something correctly.  Also one other tip would be collecting reading samples of students using the iPad.  Video students reading a passage upload it to Google Drive, or a Google Site so students can compare their growth throughout the year.

Blogging Adventure at Webb City High School

The 2014-2015 school year is upon us, this year is our second year of our "Blended Learning" initiative.  Our teachers are discovering the power of using devices in the classroom and one of the topics we are hitting this year will be blogging.  As we look at blogging with student and staff, I will be trying to do a blog post once a month.  This will be about our journey and hopefully will be a place for teachers to come and get tips from the research I am doing and tools that I am discovering.

Starting your blog:

Suggestions

1. Choose a topic / objective for your blog.  This blog is a resource blog and is a place to read about new tools that are out there.  Yours could be a classroom blog of objectives or discussion topics for journals or just stories of from your classroom.
2. Create your Blog.  I would suggest using blogger for students and yourself.  Simply go to blogger.com, and if you are logged in with your @wcr7.org account, you will be prompted with a few setup questions and you are good to go.
3. Start Creating.  Don't be afraid to post.  You can do a simple introduction post to start.  Remember, you are in control of what is on your page and can be an influence to others.  Everyone has a starting place.  My blog was an afterthought last year and will become more of a focus this year for me.
4. Set Dates on Calendar to Blog.  I will be putting an event on my calendar to help me remember to write a blog post.  If you are using your blog in class you will have no problem posting.
5. Follow other Blogs.  I have started following other blogs.  Twitter was one of my main resources of information and I'm finding that there are some great blogs out there to help me be creative on my blog.    

Here are some Blogs and resources that I have found that help me on creating and editing my blog.

http://teacherbloggingbasics.blogspot.com/

http://www.pinterest.com/missmartin123/teacher-blog-tips-tutorials/

Transitioning from "Sage on the Stage" to "Guide on the Side" part 2 (Teacher Role)

As I continue my first year of technology coaching I see teachers wanting to drift away from being the source of information.  When teachers enter into a 1 to 1 environment I see this more and more.  After sitting down and discussing with teachers what techniques they have used to get students to become owners of their own learning I have found a few that are pretty common.

Questioning:  Teachers have now started to respond to questions with more questions:  "Where could you find that?",  "What would you search to find that answer?", or "What tool could you use to find that answer?"

I like this method.  Teachers feel like they are deflecting questions, but they are starting the thinking process.  Basic questions sometimes lead to the best research from a student.

Modeling:  Teacher model searching for the answers in front of the class.  They will do a google search or model the new tool they want students to use.

Teachers feel like they loose time here, but they are teaching a skill or process that is very much needed.  We are all guilty of assuming that students know what tools or resrouces are out they but they don't.  We have to show.

Encouraging Curiosity:  During classroom discussion the teachers let the students guide the discussion.

I have seen classroom lecture turn into a show-in-tell time.  "Look I''ve found this.", "How do I do this?", "What about this one."  These are all comments that tie those students into the learning.  When then are able to choose the content so to say, they are the winners.

As I look back on these techniques, I realize that these are teaching techniques that have been used for a long time.  The only thing that has changed is that the tool or resources are right in front of the students.  I remember being in classrooms and using these techniques to encourage students to be curious.

The only thing that I still hear from teachers is that students give up easily.  This is the ultimate cop out.  Students will have to work hard or maybe harder that they would normally, but this isn't a bad thing.  As a teacher, I would say that you just have to create an environment that encourages all of these things.  

Transitioning from "Sage on the Stage" to "Guide on the Side" part 1 (Videos)

As the transition of education goes back to mastery learning or objective based learning.  I see the need for videos as an aid for teachers.  We have all heard of Khan Academy or maybe Sophia.org and other sites that have large amounts of videos that teachers can use as a resource to reteach or even teach topics.  This has become a major part of the transition of the role of a teacher I believe.  Here are Webb City we have teachers wanting to use videos to aid in instruction, which is a must.  A teacher then gives the students the chance to be a guide to learning instead of the so called "sage on the stage".

The question I have what about the teacher that wants to flip and create their own video.  I have been creating videos for our students to the new features of google and their chromebooks.  I use Camtasia which does cost a little money, but it is easy to use and create.  I am a tech savvy person so this causes no problem for me to create and post my videos, but what about the non-tech savvy person?

I would suggest that we transition to finding videos first.  Use outside resources to aid in your classroom.  Hopefully your school has the filter opened to these resources even YouTube so you can use these resources.

Here are a few of the links that I have mentioned and would look at using:

www.sophia.org

www.khanacademy.org

Camtasia

www.screencast-o-matic.com

If you have a resource or comment I would love to continue my learning on this topic also.

A New Beginning

As the transition of education takes a turn to technology I'm going to add my thoughts and options on how we can use technology in the classroom.  My name is Nathan Dingman, I am a former math teacher and basketball coach that has converted into a technology coach.  I am currently employed at Webb City R-7 School District.  We are currently in our first year of 1 to 1 initiative with chromebooks in our high school of 1200 students.  We also have deployed about 900 other devices in our K-8 classrooms.  I believe it is my job to be support for our teachers as we embark on this endeavor of technology in our classrooms.

As I look at our choices and how things have gone in our first quarter of devices in the classroom I see some common themes that have occurred.  I thought that the students would be more tech savvy, also I have found that some of the teachers that are embracing the technology are teachers I would of never thought would of before we had the devices.  We are using GAFE (Google Apps For Education) and are finding a whole new world of collaboration and creation.  Teachers love the fact that they can have students find and create products right in the classroom.  The day of having to reserve the computer lab is gone.

As I start this blog I will be adding my thoughts and hopefully resources on many educational topics pertaining to technology in the classroom.  I hope you enjoy my blog and that I can hopefully inspire a change in your classroom, school or even district.