Monthly Archives: October 2013

Flipped Classroom

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In a flipped classroom, students have an opportunity to learn a lesson at home and then use school time to practice working on projects or practice working on problems with teacher support.  What students can do on their own, like watching a videoclip can be done at home while problem-solving and discussion can be done in the classroom.  It could be quite useful for more difficult concepts like mathematics, French immersion or just going further than the expectations of the classroom.  Here’s a short description of the concept.

http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/

There are resources in French and English for mathematics and cosmology, in high school.  It can be useful for every students but also for a struggling student or even for highly motivated students.

http://fr.khanacademy.org/

There are other resources that can be used to learn a language using current events.  Starting from grade 5, my students really enjoyed working with current events.  They had the opportunity to watch news on television in French with their parents, to discuss what is happening with their parents.  When they come to class the next day, students had understood the concepts and it was much easier to learn the French vocabulary and being able to think critically about the issues.  Those who had watched by interest had a lot more to discuss in class than the students who did not.  One great resource that support teachers in that direction is SCOOP from Ecole Branchée.  They provide several lessons based on current events, many of those events could be seen on the news.  Theses news can be shared on social networks like Facebook or Twitter.

http://scoop.ecolebranchee.com/fiches/

Simple lessons can also be created quite easily and placed on a teacher’s website.  I just did that with an introduction lesson to using Hopscotch using the ExplainEverything app on the iPad.  Coding is a form or writing.   Students in our school are very motivated to learn coding using Hopscotch or SCRATCH.  A first call for the computer club generated a tremendous interest, many many more students came than I can possibly accomodate in one lunch period.  For those interested,  having access at home to resources is quite motivating.

The SCRATCH website for instance provides a lot of support for students learning to code.  Several of my students went on the SCRATCH website at home out of interest to learn to code.

http://scratch.mit.edu/

With my beginning students, using Hopscotch, I created quickly a video and placed it on my website in order to support my students who want to learn at home and try new things.  This is not homework.  It was created for those students who had the interest and wanted to be more proficient before I introduce the explanations in class.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fcin9qrzmy40dhn/EE_Movie_hopscotch.mp4?n=19963312

The flipped classroom is an interesting concept.  I do not use this approach all the time but I encourage my students to learn at home for some of our projects.

 

Searching critically the Internet

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As Thierry Karsenti was saying, there is more to the Internet than facebook.

 

Our students might be expert on facebook or other specific programs but as educators we need to teach them other skills.  One of these skills is to think critically about what they find on the Internet.  In the following segment, Allan Luke explains what is meant by critical literacy and we need to ask different kinds of questions like: “What this text is trying to do to me?” and “What is missing from this text?”.

http://blip.tv/presenting/dr-allanlukeseg5-3020955

The new digital divide is not who have computers and who does not.  Most of our students own computers or have access to computers.  Some people argue that the new digital divide with our students using technology  is who knows how to think about the Internet searches and who does not.  Being able to understand a website, to assess the information, to see what it is trying to do to me, what is missing from the text, is the new fundamental.  The following website provides some basic search functions that can be taught to our students.

http://www.edudemic.com/search-skills-students-should-know/

I also wrote the following poster on searching the Internet.

https://www.smore.com/app/pages/preview/yxer

The SAMR model is another useful model for integrating technology in our classroom.

http://www.edudemic.com/new-padagogy-wheel-helps-you-integrate-technology-using-samr-model/

It can be easy to be overwhelmed by technology since many times the students know more than the teacher, but we should remember that we know a lot more about pedagogy and education than our students and this is where they need us.

 

Using LEGOs to inspire reading, talking and writing

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In the July-August 2013 magazine Les Débrouillards, we find an interesting article about 8  LEGO projects done by adults.  One is LOGO_rilles, a mega-LEGO project assembled for the Wildlife Conservation Society.  An other is a 5,76m reproduction of the Saturn V rocket.

http://www.lesdebrouillards.qc.ca/

Students read the article in group, using our reading strategies and discussed what they were reading.

After that, using a class set of LEGO bricks, students built a LEGO construction, during a short time.  While building their construction, students were monitored to see if they were chatting in French.  They would receive rewards points on ClassDojo for chatting in French.

Using an iPad, we took pictures of what they created.  They were asked to write a paragraph about what they did to build their construction.  The pictures and paragraphs will be shared on Kidblog where they will then comment on each other’s work.

Coding to draw a tree with Hopscotch

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Hopscotch is a fun app that works on the iPad that allows children to learn the basics of programming. Students should first be given the opportunity to try coding on their own.  Once they are more familiar with Hopscotch, we can work on a first program together.  I explain in the link below, in French, how to code a program where we draw the blue sky, different layers of soil, a tree and the sun.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/fcin9qrzmy40dhn/EE_Movie_hopscotch.mp4?n=19963312

The clip was prepared with ExplainEverything app on the ipad and shared via Dropbox.

 

Coding or programming with SCRATCH, HOPSCOTCH and ARDUINO

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Coding or programming is the new literacy.  Being able to understand how computers work is fundamental to many, if not most, future employment.  The following two posters published on my twitter site under the #edufrancais hashtag explain both applications.

https://www.smore.com/mwwd-scratch

https://www.smore.com/sfhk-hopscotch

A modified version of SCRATCH can be used to program an arduino board that controls a robot.  The little boy explains quite well what he is doing.  Perhaps it can be done in French or English as well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLZHkHKd_Zs

I have learned to use SCRATCH with Arduino.  I now have to start thinking about using this with my students in our computer club.

Some people argue that learning to code is not necessary.  Here’s a link if you are interested in looking at that argument.

http://www.fastcolabs.com/3020126/no-you-dont-need-to-learn-to-code?utm_content=buffer149bb&utm_source=buffer&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Buffer

Many current and future jobs are in the tech area.  You can have a look here where they work and the type of salary they make.

http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2013/10/salaries/

 

e-books

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ibooks

 

e-books can be quite interesting to read.  Some of my students have their own iPods and like to read their electronic books instead of a paper book from the library.

Several stores sell e-books but one of my favorite independent bookstore is the Librairie Monet.  Their selection of books is outstanding.

http://www.librairiemonet.com

For an English collection, the Amazon website is quite useful.

http://www.amazon.ca/

My students have also been interested in reading books written by other students that were published on WattPad

http://www.wattpad.com/

For their writing projects, I have also encouraged my older students to publish stories they wrote in class on the WattPad website/app.  Students were more motivated to write when they knew their work could be published.  It allows the development of a digital footprint at an early age.

 

 

Study of Oilsands in grade 3

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In grade 3, we have been looking at different types of soils that we find around the school and also growing plants in soil-less environments.  We looked at another type of soil that is present in Canada:  oil sands.  Whether we agree or not with the exploitation of the oil sands, students need to be aware of their existence to be able to make a positive contribution later on.   In class, we looked at a type of soil we find in Alberta called Oil Sands.  The sample I used come from the Fort McMurray Discovery Center.

http://history.alberta.ca/oilsands/default.aspx

We used Google Earth to see where were the oil sands. and we looked at a French video from Inside Education for an introduction to the oil sands and the composition of the soil.

http://www.insideeducation.ca/Oil_Sands_Field_Trips

My students had a lot of interesting questions from the size of the trucks used to how we separate the bitumen from the sand.  We will further explore this question using vegetable oil, water, and sand.

I also used a back issue from Les Débrouillards that has beautiful pictures of the trucks.  A more in depth discussion of the issues are quite relevant in grade 5 with the government unit and energy unit.

http://www.lesdebrouillards.qc.ca/

The Inside Education program has several fascinating resources at the primary, middle school and high school level to look at the Oil Sands.

 

Investigating the elements of the periodic table in grade 4

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In grade 4, we teach a unit on rocks and minerals.  In my unit, I extend the study of rocks to the parts making the rocks: the solid elements of the periodic table.  I saw some of my grade 3 students, let alone grade 4 students being fascinated with the pictures and the text they could read from my personal copy of the “Atomes” book that has been lying around on my shelves and my Atomes app on my ipad.  Since I see interest in my students, why not use their interest to do a project that fascinates them and make some connections to the science of chemistry.

http://www.renaud-bray.com/Livres_Produit.aspx?id=1112343&def=Atomes%2cGRAY%2c+THEODORE+W%2cMANN%2c+NICK%2c9782809901580

https://itunes.apple.com/fr/app/atomes-pour-la-france/id372994090?mt=8

The text of the following above book and app is meant for high school but I believe the information of the app is also within the reach of junior and intermediate students.  The following book is much simpler to read.

http://www.livresouverts.qc.ca/index.php?p=il&lo=38774&sec=2

Some librarians have categorized it to be used in high school.  I own the book and I can see that the reading level is very appropriate for junior students.

To introduce the project and create excitement, we can use rusty iron balls that react with aluminium paper in an exothermic reaction.  Just bang the balls together with aluminium paper covering one of the balls and students should see a spark of fire.  With that demonstration, students can see there is more to rocks than an inert piece of nothing.

http://www.funwithchemistry.com/rustyballs.html

Students will be asked to research one solid element, like aluminium, gold or carbon for example and prepare a “magic card” with information they found  about each element.  I was not able to get the computer resources to do the magic card on the computer but we did the work on paper. The students showed great interest and created a card on paper.

One student was so fascinated with the project that she created many cards at home before the other students.

cartes_elements

 

 

 

Observing the sky

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voie lactee

 

http://www.astrolab-parc-national-mont-megantic.org/en/astronomy.mont_megantic_observatory.htm

The above photograph has been taken at the Astrolab at the Mont Mégantic, in Quebec. It was taken using the following camera.

http://www.amazon.ca/Canon-T3i-Digital-18-55mm-5169B004/dp/B004J3V90Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382196437&sr=8-1&keywords=canon+rebel+t3i

 

For someone interested in sky observations, the Astrolab site provides extensive information and events about the night sky in both English and French.

Seeing the sky at night when there is no light pollution is just breath taking and allows everyone to connect with nature.  Students in the Toronto area rarely have, if ever, the opportunity to see a “real” sky.  It affects their entire development.  In the following book, Richard Louv  states that: “Our society is teaching young people to avoid direct experience in nature.”

http://www.amazon.ca/Last-Child-Woods-Children-Nature-Deficit/dp/1565123913/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1382195404&sr=8-7&keywords=nature+deficit+disorder

Perhaps, since students love using technology, we could use mobile devices to get them to go back in nature, to appreciate the world in which we live, either by using a powerful camera or by using an app that can help identify the constellations.

The Star Walk app is a wonderful app observe the sky. It allows you to explore over 200, 000 celestial bodies and provide extensive information about stars and constellations.

https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/star-walk-hd-5-stars-astronomy/id363486802?mt=8

This is a direct fit to the grade 6 and grade 9 science curriculum.  I am sure however students of all ages would find exploring the sky fascinating.

Another key aspect is to find a location far enough from the city where we can observe the sky without light pollution.

There is such a place near Toronto where we can take students to.  Some teachers at my school have been organizing ski trips every year to the Mansfield Outdoor Center for close to 20 years.  Students love this experience, away from home for 3 days, being in nature.

http://www.mansfieldoutdoorcentre.ca/

I have been twice with my students.  While cross-country skiing at the Center in winter is a big part of the experience, there is no reason why students could not also be encouraged to observe the sky at night and taking this experience back to their classroom.  The area has minimal light pollution and is an excellent place to study the sky.

 

Multiplication Bingo to practice numbers

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On special days like today where several of the students are gone for a field trip and I have two mixed classes, it is a perfect day to have fun and practice numbers in French for a period.  We can use something like the following set.

http://www.amazon.ca/Trend-Enterprises-TEPT6135-Multiplication-5in-x5in–/dp/B003H8ZXZE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382056797&sr=8-1&keywords=bingo+multiplication

Grades 3 and 4 students really enjoyed playing multiplication Bingo in French.  It gives an opportunity to practice hearing the numbers in French, reviewing their multiplication tables and having fun in the process.