The Power of Peer Review

Peer Review, point blank, just works. It’s a double check of things as simple as grammar, sentence structure, feedback on steps, and…you, name-its. In my middle school Computer Science class, we also have peers suggest ways to improve products, improved codes, and, in the end, suggest ways to make ‘it’ better.

I introduce the old concepts of T.A.G., but with a twist. TAG is simply: 

T - Tell your peer what you like. What has your peer done well. This is a time to bring out everything that is looking great in the project. Shower your peer with positive vibes here. 

A - Ask questions. When you look at your peer’s project, what are you curious about? What is tricky or unclear? Ask the question. Get more clarity or ask questions that may make your peer think of other aspects they may not have thought of. And….

G - Give suggestions. What can you suggest that would make the project better, more clear, or add that extra special elements to make the project pop? Brainstorm with your peer.

A cheery reminder before Tag-time to all students is to be kind, be constructive, be a helper. I typically have students submit the feedback they gave and the feedback they got as part of all project deliverables in class. 

It just works!

Reflective Piece - Digital Portfolios

Each project we complete in Tech has an important reflective piece - an additional element that is grade-appropriate! We ask ourselves questions about the project. These reflections are then added to our Digital Portfolios.

Here’s 5th’s! They are encouraged to think about all the steps and take-aways that come with each project. What did they do well? What could have been better? Would they have made the same or similar choices? Was it their best work?

At the end of the school year, the Digital Portfolio becomes a treasure trove of everything they have learned. We share them with each other.

I love phrases like "I remember that!" or "That was a fun project!" But my absolute favorite is when they ask if they can do 'that' project again! Why, yes....let's get to it!

Trends in the Ed Tech World - My Take...

There's a lot of chatter about ideas surrounding the Ed Tech Community regarding trends...where are we going & what catchy idea will be the next big deal. There are a few concepts that I think should be added to the list, or further defined, as I think they play an important role when we think of these trends in Ed Tech and our role of nurturing digitally literate citizens. 

So...here's my take:

Curation & Reflection & Peer Review - This is where Digital Portfolios or ePortfolios comes into play. I have Students create a slide or post about each completed tech project. These posts then become a time for them to reflect about the activity itself and talk about it in length; what was the activity, what did they find to be their strengths & what were some take-aways for areas of improvement.  I also like the notion of Peer Review and have Students couple-up and review each other's portfolios with constructive comments, suggestions, questions and (my personal favorite) connections.  This helps them 'own the project', become better listeners and become constructive evaluators. Nice combination.

Robotics is another amazing area that I really love exploring with Students. Include the "build" component and you've got a winner of an activity.  I posted a few weeks ago about the Meccanoid Robot that I put together.  Building that Robot was one of the more exciting activities I've done in quite awhile.  It gave me a  true 'connection' that I would not have gotten had I just grabbed a robot out of the box and put batteries in it and away we go. I was able to see how things fit and work together. Cool experience!

Maker Movement has become quite something these days. I'd like to see more of a 'reuse' feature in the program rather than the acquisition of new toys. I think sometimes we get carried away with the "latest and greatest", that it loses it's appeal for me. "Making" something from used parts is really a challenge in itself.  One big plus for me, I like seeing the 'thinking-process' in action....very meaningful part of the experience.

VR / AR - yet another huge concept. Very exciting experiences as well as an attractive venue for learning.

And, Digital Citizenship!  I read recently that nearly 300k statuses are updated ever minute on Facebook and over 2.5 million searches are done in Google at that same rate!  That just screams our need to keep the conversation about Digital Citizenship going with Students. Add in an accountability component for their online presence and the care of equipment!  I don't see this element going away anytime soon.

We've got a lot of work to do to create Digitally Literate Students and these trends inspire ways to move them in the right direction!

TAG - Peer Review

I'm super charged about "Peer Reviews"!  The acronym "TAG", (Tell, Ask, Give), gives a good starting point for Students. Tell: tell your peer what you liked about the post, project, etching...be specific and give details.  Ask: ask questions about parts that were of interest to you or that you still have questions about.  And, Give - give moral support, give ideas to help make it better, give feedback, give a hearty hi-5 at a job well done!

Peer Review is now becoming a critical element for how we interact in any setting. I have Students Peer Review their Digital Portfolios, completed tech projects and more.  It challenges the Reviewer to listen, think and critically evaluate what they are seeing.  It also challenges the Peer that is displaying their project to do their best work....after all, they will be evaluated on their final creation.

This is a good idea!

Digital Portfolios - Some New Ideas!

One of the best activities, by far, are Digital Portfolios! This is an ongoing activity; a chance for Students to curate, reflect and thoughtfully self-assess their completed projects throughout the year. Each project that is completed, the Student is encouraged to think about not only what the project entailed, but the take-aways, how well they did, what comes next and more.  I like that they are not only gathering their projects in one nice display, but they are creatively writing about them as well...this is an outstanding practice!  I also add in a sharing component. They will share with a friend for a peer-review time or we use their portfolios to present to the whole class.  You can't get too much practice doing that!

There are so many programs that are perfect for Digital Portfolios. Perhaps my favorite is Microsoft's Sway (https://sway.com/)  Sway is an eye-catching presentation, to be certain.  Here...take a look at the one I use to demonstrate with our 3rd thru 5th Graders at my School: Mrs. Moore's Digital Portfolio  "Cards", which come in the form of Headers, Titles, Pictures, Videos, etc. are easily added and Students will comment using 3 or more 'juicy' sentences describing their post. Changing designs of the templates is very simple, as well as how the cards present on the page.  I tell Students that Sway is like Power Point with an added kick!  They like that analogy!

Seesaw (http://web.seesaw.me/) is another wonderful program. But don't be tricked...it's not just for the youngest of Students.  Our 5th Graders use Seesaw as a Discussion Room to talk about books they're reading, kick around ideas about assignments from class and more...and they use the Blog feature to document their Genius Hour projects.  Amazing, the imaginations!  Classes are set up very easily and Students can join by using a QR Code or a Class Code, or multiple Students can be added to the Class in the set up process. Some features I appreciate are approving posts before they are viewed by the Class and accessing a single Student's page with a simple click!

Both programs are Free and come in not only online versions, but iOS & Android versions!

Sway....the Microsoft Way!

Microsoft's SWAY (http://tinyurl.com/opcw5cj) is looking to be a nice program for creating presentation documents with a unique flare. Just like all other Microsoft products, templates are selected, slides are added, pictures & texts are tinkered and víola, you've got a great end result!  To me, it's like PowerPoint with a very cool boost.

One neat twist: when adding a picture, Sway searches all relevant words typed and displays web pictures and information to choose from...always giving a great Digital Citizenship tip to cite sources.  Love it!

Preview and Share features are so easy!  Sway is available in web-based, tablet and smartphone versions. 

Some ideas:

- Any subject report/activity/presentation 

- This year, 4th & 5th Graders are using it for their DigitalPortfolios 

...using Sway...the Microsoft way!

Digital Portfolios

 

Student Digital Portfolios are definitely the way to go to not only display work, but prompt Students to own their own learning. Completed projects are displayed with journal-like entries describing the project and learning outcomes. It's also a great journey down memory-lane at the end of the year at just how far we've all come this year!

There are so many programs out there that can be used for this, however since our 3rd through 5th Graders received Chromebooks this year and were new to Google Apps, I chose Google Slides to be the program we used. In this presentation document, they added a "slide" for each completed project, along with a title, a picture and they wrote about the project (what it was, what they liked, what they found challenging, their final results and more). Their designs were uniquely theirs and it was fun to see the creativity.  At the end of the year, Students had more than 20 slides they presented in the Lab to other Students and these gems were also on display at our Tech Fair.  Nice work!

For 2nd Graders, I used Board Builder in Discovery Education, with the same concept of adding pictures of completed projects and several comments about the project, then presenting to the Class. This is a fun online poster, easy to assemble and eye appealing when presented.  They need only a username and password to access this program.  Discovery Education is also a great tool for gathering research, links and pictures and similarly displaying this collected material using Board Builder.  I will use this next year for 'Research Season', in the Lab.

Students are always encouraged to be creative and to tinker. Their imaginations are really quite something. 

Elana Moore

For Blogging or "Digital Portfolios" - It's Blogger vs. Penzu vs. KidBlog

Blogging or Digital Portfolios - whichever you call it, is now the way to go for expression, a demonstration of your work and for a great escape from the day-to-day.

As a journal or blog, it lets your fingers sort through it all to make sense of all your imaginings. My first experience with blogging was actually when I was a very young girl; before computers and the notion of a 'blog' was around. We called it a 'diary' or a 'journal' and it included stories of our daily activities, our likes and dislikes and in some cases, very spicy tales of who we liked in school....."he has the most beautiful blue eyes that I have ever seen", I remember writing in my diary of one very cute boy I sat next to in class. To this day, I feel the same way about that kid! I chuckle now!

The notion of a "Digital Portfolio" has become quite popular these days.  This is a 'place' to upload images of your digital work and write about the experience.  A digital resume of sorts.

Blogging and Digital Portfolio programs are plentiful! Meaning, good programs exist and are quite easy to get started and manage. But it's really a personal preference that will have you select one over the other. A more popular program is Blogger (www.blogger.com).   Blogger is an easy selection, especially if your Students have their own Google Apps accounts.  It was my selection for this Blog, as I chose it for that reason as well...it is attached to both my personal and school Google Apps accounts.  I can upload images from my Drive and away I go. It's nice to have a 'one-stop-shopping' concept with email, calendar, created documents and my blog....makes it easy.

But...there are others to consider, especially with younger Students.

Penzu (www.penzu.com), for example,  is really shaping out to work just nicely. I've recently investigated this one more closely. I'm liking how easy it is to set up and get started. Penzu feels like it would be best used with older Elementary Students rather than our younger friends. I also like how easy it was to upload pictures to my entry.  Here's what's keeping me from jumping in with both feet....the pricing.  To go "Pro", which has some very cool features, like the ability to tag parts of your journal, importing and exporting, reminders and more, has pricing that starts at $2.99 per month (as of this post), which is not so bad as long as that amount is not lumped with all the other 'monthly subscriptions' to programs I use most often.  On a limited annual budget, I have to be choosy.  The Free accounts do have just enough features to get going, but I can see that 'going-Pro' would be necessary in the long run. 

Kidblog (www.kidblog.org) is another really great program. This is the one I like for my younger Students.  All the same features, but adding in a Parent access is a nice feature. They can keep up with what their child is posting and give praise for a great 'digital portfolio'.  The Free accounts also have just enough nice features to make it a nice experience.  Going Pro does have it's benefits, but the Basic Level works nicely for our purposes.

For iPads, SeeSaw wins hands-down!  Same features of uploading pictures and adding text.  I've been in touch with the company requesting a web-based version.  We have one-to-one iPads in the younger grades, so using this with 'all' Students isn't practical at this time.  Keeping fingers crossed.

Happy Blogging....Happy Tinkering in your Digital Portfolios!

Elana Moore