Common Core State Standards, proposed by the National Board of Governors and adopted by 46 states to date, provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn in the critical areas of math, science, language, reading, writing, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

They don’t specifically mention technology as a separate subject, but assume technology will support the teaching of math, science, reading, language, and writing. Last week, I discussed CCSS in general. This week–here are a few of the specific elements that technology can address and examples of projects (not in any particular grade-level order):

Anchor Standards

College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards for Writing–Production and Distribution of Writing–6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others.

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This past month, I have had a rash of requests from school districts to assist them in aligning their technology program with Common Core State standards. This takes me back to the days when everyone wanted to match their lesson plans with ISTE NETS standards. We all had to review our activities, rethink connections and rework details.

Now, for the 46 states that have adopted Common Core State Standards, that’s happening again, with a different tilt.

Let me back up. What are Common Core State Standards? According to the Mission Statement posted on their website:

The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

Their bi-line speaks volumes…

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This is an update to a popular article from last year, to prepare you for the new school year. I think you’ll find it an interesting alternative to traditional teaching strategies:

It’s no secret many parents are frustrated with public schools. Are kids learning to think or just to pass tests? Are they spending classroom time wisely or just doing what’s always been done? Are we developing lifelong learners or simply kids who can’t wait to graduate?

If this describes you, you’re not alone in your concerns, but there’s hope. Consider a pedagogy that transcends rote memorization and the stock drills often found in today’s classrooms, one that expects critical thinking and teaches how to learn anything — not just school subjects. It’s called a “Growth Mindset”. In a 2016 Edsurge article by Rupa Gupta, former Redesign Administrator at Burnett Middle School in San Jose, Calif., she summarized the issue like this:

“In a recent national survey, 97 percent of teachers agreed that all students can and should have a growth mindset, and that same number said fostering a growth mindset is an important part of a teacher’s job. Yet only 50 percent said they have adequate solutions and strategies to shift mindset.”

So nearly everyone agrees this type of cerebral approach is important to real learning but few know how to make it happen.

Fast forward ten years. Here’s an article from Stanford discussing why it works and why you should try it. Their summation :

“Research has shown that when students have a growth mindset, they are more likely to challenge themselves, believe that they can achieve more, and become stronger, more resilient and creative problem solvers. Educators can have an enormous impact on the mindset of their students.”

Let’s review the basics:

What is Growth Mindset?

Let me back up a moment and define “Growth Mindset” more clearly. Most people believe basic human qualities like intelligence and talent are fixed traits: nature supersedes nurture. Kids are born with the characteristics that will mold their future. They are good at math or they aren’t. They can throw a football well or not. As kids grow, they figure out what they can and can’t do and adjust learning and life as needed to these truths. They come to believe that understanding and adapting to this process equates to success.

In a Growth Mindset, people believe ability can be developed through dedication and hard work. The cerebral and physical traits they were born with are just the starting point. Students are responsible for setting the patterns and strategies that allow them to succeed, by evaluating what they can do at any given point and making a plan for learning everything else.

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Today’s tip: 5 Cures for Technophobia

1. Just Use it--Be that teacher in your school who always tries whatever new gimmick the Tech Geeks come up with. Do it in private  before kids enter or faculty drops by. Boot up the computer, test drive the Google Apps trick someone emailed you. It doesn’t matter if it takes you a half hour or half minute to figure out what all those terms mean, or if it doesn’t work the first five times. It doesn’t even matter if it never works–because next time it will. Or the next time. You get better at tech by doing, not by watching others. I promise you, it works.
2. Train Yourself–Spend ten minutes exploring the tool before using it with students. If you don’t have time, try it with the students. Model Common Core and 21st Century learning skills for them, like critical thinking, close reading, and problem solving. Let them see that adults use the same skills students learn.
3. Don’t worry if you make a mistake--Lots of experts do. They are searching for answers, being risk-takers, ignoring the fear of failure. Be that person, too. Try to find answers with the knowledge you have. You’ll either succeed or find what doesn’t work, and in that way inform yourself about the answer. Exactly as we teach kids.
4. Use Keyboard shortcuts–Put a list by the computer. It won’t take students long to remember them because kids love a faster way to an end. They’re quicker and less stressful than finding the button that does… [fill in the blank]. To push Ctrl+Z and have lost typing reappear (after accidentally deleting it) is a WOW. From that point, you’ve got them. Just keep sprinkling around the keyboard shortcuts.
5. Revel in your geekiness--Use your tech. Teach it to others. Listen to conversations about techie topics. Wear a flash drive as jewelry. Straighten your shoulders and punch your chin up when someone calls you a geek. You are proud of it. Don’t be surprised people treat you with awe, like your brain grew two sizes, like Sheldon should be your best friend or a Tardis your home. Just nod and say nothing. You are a geek. You’re enigmatic. You’re confident and sure of yourself.  You answer questions that bamboozle everyone else (at least, you know where to look).

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In fifteen years of teaching K-8, one factor provides a reliable barometer for student success: Parent involvement. In fact, it’s crucial. According to the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education Research Review and Resources, no matter income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school. According to the School Community Journal, “There is a sizable body of research literature supporting the involvement of parents in educational settings and activities”.

The data is so overwhelming, one of our important jobs as teachers must be to facilitate the involvement of parents in their child’s education. There are as many ways to do that as there are parents who need alternatives to the traditional parent-teacher conference and back-to-school night. Here are some of my favorites:

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Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.

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Every month, subscribers to our newsletter get a free/discounted resource to help their tech teaching.

July 2-5th

Buy the K-8 curriculum; get the 59-page Hour of Code bundle for FREE

Perfect if you’re doing Hour of Code to teach coding, programming, and problem solving to your K8 students. Here’s what you do: (more…)

I get a lot of questions from readers about what tech ed resources I use in my classroom. I take time every summer to review them with you. Some are edited and/or written by members of the Ask a Tech Teacher crew. Others, by tech teachers who work with the same publisher I do. All of them, I’ve found, are well-suited to the task of scaling and differentiating tech skills for age groups, scaffolding learning year-to-year, offering inclusive solutions to the issue of tech tools–taking into account the perspectives of stakeholders, with appropriate metrics to ensure learning is organic and granular.

Today: K-12 Technology Curriculum

Overview

The K-12 Technology Curriculum is Common Core and ISTE aligned, and outlines what should be taught when so students have the necessary scaffolding to use tech for grade level state standards and school curriculum. You can purchase just the teacher manuals or student workbooks to serve a 1:1 environment, Google Classroom, and hybrid teaching situations.

Each grade-level PDF or print book (both are available) is between 175 and 252 pages and includes lesson plans, assessments, domain-specific vocabulary, problem-solving tips, Big Idea, Essential Question,  options if primary tech tools not available, posters, reproducibles, samples, tips, enrichments, entry and exit tickets, and teacher preparation. Lessons build on each other kindergarten through 5th grade. Middle School and High School are designed for semester or quarter grading periods typical of those grade levels with topics like programming, robotics, writing an ebook, and community service with tech.

Most (all?) grade levels include keyboarding, digital citizenship, problem solving, digital tools for the classroom, and coding.

The curriculum is used worldwide by public and private schools and homeschoolers. (more…)

Dear Otto is an occasional column where I answer questions from readers about teaching tech. If you have a question, please add a comment below and I’ll answer it here. For your privacy, I use only first names.

Here’s a great question I got from Barbara, a principal at a local school:

Dear Otto,

May I ask your thoughts on giving grades in Computer Class? I can’t find research on this topic.

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Anecdotally, grading tech classes is all over the board–whether teachers grade or not, and if they do–how. The short answer to this question is: It depends upon your expectations. If it’s fully integrated into the classroom, treated more as a tool than a ‘special’ class (some call them ‘exploratories’, akin to PE, Spanish, music), then you probably want to hold it rigorously to the grading scale used in the classroom. The projects created will be evidence of learning, more like summative (or formative) assessments of academic work than tech skills.

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Few people can sit down and start writing. Most of us hem and haw as we mentally walk through how to get from introduction to conclusion. It’s called ‘prewriting’ and students are no different. Where they diverge from you and I is they haven’t tested all the available methods for planning a story, constructing non-fiction, or building the evidence-based argument. It’s up to us–as their teachers–to introduce these alternatives so they can pick one best suited to their learning and communication style.

Disclaimer: These are presented in random order because what works for your students will depend upon the writing method used in your school, whether its the 6+1 Traits, Common Core Writing Standards, or the tried-and-true who-what-when-where-why.

Brainstorm/Mindmap

Brainstorming, also called ‘mindmapping’, is a collaborative visual approach to thinking through and presenting ideas. It enables students to come up with many ideas without worrying about whether it’s realistic. It’s great for collaborative writing, notetaking, or an individual effort.

Here are basics for brainstorming in the classroom:

• There are no wrong answers.
• Get as many ideas as possible.
• Don’t evaluate ideas–just record them.
• Build on the suggestions of others.
• Stress quantity over quality–get as many ideas as possible. Sort them later.

There are many online tools that facilitate this process. If you’re looking for a webtool, try one from this list. (more…)