Brain Based Teaching - Social Networking Through Teams

I'm part of a librarian book study in which we are reading the book Brain-Based Teaching in the Digital Age by Marilee Sprenger.  The first few chapters discuss the effects of technology on student's brains covering research on the brain itself.  For those that aren't familiar with such research, it is truly fascinating to learn about the effects of technology on the brain itself.  Living in a digital world demands changes in teaching because of the shift in student learning. The second part of the book delves into using this knowledge in the classroom itself.  Though I hope to cover the other chapters at some point, I am presenting in our LMS meeting today about chapter 5 which deals with social networking through teams.  Today's blog topic highlights the information from this chapter.

I think the most thought-provoking idea is the noted concern about teens' lack of communication skills and shorter attention spans that result from their involvement in digital media outlets.  Because of this, students have a need to create relationships with others in real life.  To achieve this, the author suggests that teachers create power teams in their classrooms.  Teams differ from groups in that as a team, the students are "equally committed, are mutually accountable, and have complementary skills" (Sprenger, 58).  When students develop a deeper commitment and want to grow and succeed as a team, they become a power team.  Though there may be concerns about classroom management and students with learning difficulties, the author notes that when done correctly, the teams actually lessen such problems. 

Here are the suggested steps for integrating teaming in the classroom:

1.  Form the Teams - This can be done randomly through playing cards or by birthdates, but one might also consider grouping according to learning styles, interests, skills, or abilities.  Teams should be four to seven members.
2.  Learn About Each Other - Students should focus on deeper information about their team members beyond what they may already know about them.  Questions asked of teammates should allow for expanded answers rather than closed, short answers. 
3.  Choose Team Leaders - Students should volunteer or choose their team leaders and they can change from week to week.  After being asked "Who is willing to make a strong commitment to the team and be its leader?", students must only offer an explanation if they say they are not willing.  Celebrating the chosen leaders with music and recognition helps foster the commitment.
4.  Foster Team Spirit - This is done through activities such as choosing a team name, creating a team cheer, selecting team colors, a mascot, or creating a logo.  Teachers should allow limited time to complete these activities which make them more challenging.
5.  Set Individual Goals - These do not have to necessarily be team oriented, but simply show that goal setting is important.  The following seven steps are suggested for this process:

1. Tell how, what, when, and whom.
2. State the goal in the positive.
3. Be sure you have what you need to meet your goals.
4. Ask, "Do I have control over the situation?"
5. Make the goal the right size.
6. Decide how you will know you've reached the goal.
7. Will your actions match your values?

6. Set Team Goals - This is necessary to show that the team is effective.  This can be over a period of time and should meet the following criteria:

1. They must be stated positively.
2. They must be specific.
3. They must be measurable.
4. They must be agreed upon by the whole team.

7. Post the Goals - Posters include team name and their goals.  Posting creates accountability for the group.
8.  Create Team Scorecards - Create categories of team and teacher expectations and mark scores on a weekly basis to show their progress.  The chart should include percentage amounts of the team's goals created in step 6.
9. Make Public Promises - This is simply a statement that each member the team makes in regard what they will do for their team such as being on time or completing homework.
10.  Make a Composite Scorecard - This could be optional depending on whether it acts as a motivational tool or stirs unnecessary competition.  This is a chart that shows how each team is doing each week based on their scorecards. 

In the end, teaming in the classroom should create powerful collaborative relationships.  It is important to remember that the team must have something to achieve, a space to do their work, and freedom to communicate at their pace.  While it is important to build the face-to-face communication skills, teams can also integrate technology in the process.  Wikis might be used to keep up with research or planning.  Final projects might be technology based.  Teachers must become facilitators of learning rather than simply providing knowledge.  Teaming will help students help themselves and provide the social interaction they need.

Sprenger, M.  (2010). Brain-based teaching in the digital age.  Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Library Websites

I've been itching to put together an amazing library website with all sorts of interesting links and information on it.  I've spent much of the day trolling tons of other library websites and making lists of things I would want to include on mine.  I've printed pictures of different sites and how they're organized, I've bookmarked links of sites that I like, and now it is almost too much information.  I can't decide of if I want to start from scratch and design a site outside of the SAISD web domain.  If I stick with the Joomla web design features, I'm going to be limited as to what I can do with the site.  But then again, if I venture outside of using Joomla, I probably cannot keep it updated as much assuming I would need to design much of it from home.  It is certainly a conundrum.  I will mull it over the next few days and then get started on it.  There is just so much information out there - I have to find a way to organize it where it is easy to locate whatever information someone might want.  One of the keys to a great website design is the ease of finding information.  I also want to incorporate some good design features such as consistency and simplicity.  I don't like those websites that look like they are just thrown together - a mishmash of links with lots of silly animations, flashing messages, and colors out the wazoo. 

I don't know if anyone is reading this blog yet, but I would love to have input as to what features you think a good school library website should have.

Cool Online Teaching Tools

In this month's School Library Journal, there is an article that refers to online tools that can be used for visualization of information.  I checked a few of them out and I think they are worth mentioning.

Google Documents - If you haven't figured this out yet, Google provides an online method of creating word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and database documents.  It also creates forms that can be used for surveys or tests.  For those that don't have the luxury of Microsoft products, but do have internet access, it is a great way to be able to create documents.  They can be saved and emailed.

Flubaroo - Working in conjuction with Google docs, this program makes grading assignments easy.  Basically you create a test (using the Google doc forms) online and email it to your students.  (Or if  you have a webpage, you can create a link to it.)  Students take the test.  You create an answer document and install the flubaroo program and it will automatically grade the tests.  You need to be a little tech saavy to use it, but once you have tests created with answer documents, you can use them year after year.

Google Fusion Tables - This feature can be used to create visualization tools like maps, charts, and graphs by uploading data, but can also be more advanced by allowing multiple users to add information for comparison purposes.  See this example from the Texas Tribune.  This could be easily integrated in math, science, and social studies classes. 

Other graphic options include Hohli and Many Eyes.  My personal favorite visualization tools, however, are creating word clouds.  There are several options available to create word clouds and it just takes some playing with each program to to create what you want.  They are fun to create and it is a great way to visualize information.  The text can be pasted into programs, typed from scratch, or linked to another website by putting in the URL.  Here are the choices for creating word clouds:

Wordle:  Easy to use with no software installation required.  Limited design flexibility.  Cannot create custom shapes.  Do not have to sign up with an account. 

Tagul:  Users are required to set up an account and an email address is necessary.  Software not required for basic creations.  Custom shapes require additional software and you are charged for custom shape creation.

Tagxedo:  Requires software installation to use.  Once installed, it is easy to create custom shapes with no fees.  (I made a t-shirt with the shape of Texas made out of a bunch of different words once.)  Files can be saved as .pdfs.  I prefer this program when it works.  Had issues using it on a Mac computer.  Would be difficult to use in SAISD due to software installation requirements. 

If you get a chance, check some of these out and see if you might integrate them into your instruction.