So Much Happening in Education!

There are a number of movements in education that strive to help educators create a more student centered learning environment. You might like to consider Global School Play Day, No Worksheet Week, or Global Day of Design in your planning over the next few months.

The third Global School Play Day (GSPD) is scheduled for Wednesday, February 1st. Inspired by Dr. Peter Gray’s TEDx Talk, the founders of GSPD believe, “Unstructured play is a vital part of proper child development!” and advocate that we give the “gift of play” to students one day each year. It’s easy to participate. Just tell your students to bring anything they wish to play with to school on Wednesday, February 1st. The only restriction is they must only bring toys and games that  DO NOT require batteries or electricity. Then, on February 1st, allow your students to spread toys out around the room or take the kids outside and just PLAY!

Also in its third year, No Worksheet Week, scheduled for February 27th to March 3rd, began with a blog post. Believing that students learn more through creating, communicating, critical thinking and collaborating, this movement’s goal is to get students to discover answers and share ideas. A week is a huge commitment. Beginning by trying a day of no worksheets might be easier than you might have imagined. Ideas range from student led edcamp-style discussions, to Mystery Google Hangout, or giving students passion-project/Genius hour time. Still need a nudge? This video shows you why encouraging students’ creative thinking is important.

Global Day of Design, planned for May 2nd, focuses on the design thinking process. The website has Maker Projects and Design Challenges,many from Stanford's D.School, to help you and your students prepare for the day’s special 24 hour challenge. Want to learn more about how the design thinking process works? Watch this video by John Spencer, to see how he thinks about using the design thinking process with students.

Upcoming PD

We are so fortunate to live in an area with so much going on in education. Here are a few upcoming local (many free) events you might like to know about.

Date	Event
Sat., Jan. 21, 2017	Mindfulness and the Power of Play
Sat., Jan 21, 2017	Distinguished Speakers Series - Dave Burgess: Teach Like a Pirate followed by Edcamp Contra Costa
Sat., Jan 21, 2017	Raspberry Pi Basics with TechShop San Jose
Sat., Jan. 28, 2017	Monterey Bay CUE Digital Rodeo
Sat., Feb. 11, 2017	EdCamp Silicon Valley
Sat., Feb 25, 2017	Arduino Part 1
Sat., Feb 25, 2017 (tentative)	CUESF Bridge 2 Tech
Sat., Feb 25, 2017	MDUSD & EastBayCUE STEM & EdTech Symposium
Sat., March 4, 2017 (held at UMS)	SVCUE Teach Through Technology Event
Sat., April 22, 2017 (held at UMS)	EdCamp San Jose
Sat., April 29, 2017	STEAM Fest 2.0

Photos with Chromebooks/EduWin for Elise Plutt, Global School Day of Play

We've all noticed the camera on a Chromebook. Have you wondered what it is good for aside from selfies? Elise Plutt and her third graders are putting it to good use.

Using the camera, Elise's Third Grade students are taking pictures and adding them to reports. While it is a bit cumbersome, it works! Here's how to do it:

First, go to the Apps waffle in the lower left-hand corner of the Chromebook and find the camera icon. If it's not there, you can find the app in the Chrome Web Store and install it. Click on the icon to open the camera.

Once camera is open, you'll notice you can chose to add effects along the bottom of the screen that can be added before it is taken. This is a good opportunity to talk to your students about purpose and audience.












The app also provides a timer and the ability to take 3 shots with each click. 

Once you've decided on those options,  carefully position the item you want to take a picture of in front of the camera. Elise's students were taking photos of the covers of books they'd been reading. 

After the picture is taken, open the Gallery (see above).

 You will find a menu in the lower right hand corner.


By choosing the icon with the down arrow, you will save your image to your Google Drive. Organize your photos by creating a photos folder. Then you can save directly to it. 

After your student has made sure they saved the photo correctly, Elise suggests you teach your students to delete the photo since there is a limited amount of storage on the Chromebook's hard drive.

Now that the photo is stored in Google Drive, it will be available to insert in a Google Doc or Presentation.

When you are ready, choose insert image. Then, choose to Insert Image from Google Drive.

Choose the folder you have stored your photos in, and when the folder opens, choose the image you want to insert. Then press Select.

Once the image is inserted, you'll see that a menu of image editing options opens when you click on the photo.

Elise taught her students to crop the photo to only show the book cover. I've used it on this photo:

With students taking pictures, this could be a good time to talk about digital privacy. You'll want your students to be sensitive to taking pictures of each other and posting them in documents that will be made public

Just think of how many uses you'll be able to find for the camera once you teach your students to use it. Have your students take photos of artwork, science projects, examples of shapes in the environment. Share ways you use the Chromebook camera in your class. Send your ideas to me and I'll post them on the blog.

Google Classroom

A few teachers who have student teachers and are using Google Classroom have asked if there is a way for co-teachers to share a Classroom. Here is a video on a workaround. Other tips Jen Judkins shares in the video are sharing an entire folder, changing point values, and editing documents with tables on iPads.

Global School Day of Play

Have you heard of the Global School Play Day Movement? Inspired by Peter Gray, a noted American psychologist who has studied schools and societies that emphasize learning through play, the Bedley Brothers, educators in southern California, are trying to raise awareness of how important it is for children to have opportunities for free play. They are rallying K-6 teachers from around the United States to join them on Wednesday, February 4th in acknowledging that play is important in a child's development.

Students bring toys from home but NONE OF THE TOYS CAN REQUIRE BATTERIES. Students can bring board games, legos, blocks, dolls, playing cards, sports equipment, jigsaw puzzles. Think "mid-Century" and you'll get the idea. Then, give them the time to explore and play.

We are fortunate in California to have the kind of weather that encourages kids to play outdoors. Maybe join another class and set up some activities - but don't make the day too structured.

Need a little more encouragement? Watch this YouTube video from Peter Gray.

Wishing you and your students a great day of exploration!