Mashup: PBL, Google Drive, Edcanvas and KIdblog

Sweet, sweet vacation! I forgot how rejuvenating April vacation can be. It's been tough here in Massachusetts since last week's bombings and crazy manhunt, but you can really tell that Bostonians are a strong people. Things have really gotten back to normal at lightening speed.
Since I live in MA but teach in NH, the hub and son were on vacation last week. The little midget and I get to hang this week and it really is stress free because a singular trip to Target is like a day trip for a two year old. The worst thing about April vacation, though is when we get back the kiddos go to DC for a week, and then..... Well of you have spent anytime with middle schoolers you know that that just means its the beginning of the end. They check out and yet we have six weeks left.... the tragedy of it all.
On to more educational ramblings..... In the past two weeks I really tried my hand at my first exercise in Project Based learning!!! It wasn't a true PBL because we went immersed in it for a month but to was a great way for me to get my toes wet. In the end the kiddos loooooved it! The whole project was centered around presenting information to a grand jury to push for the indictment of Andrew Jackson on multiple counts of crimes against humanity concerning his relations with Native Americans.

1. I brought the kids to the library so our wonderful media specialist could show them how to use our online databases. Ebsco and Student Resource Center by Gale. I love The Student Resource Center because it offers encyclopedia articles, magazines, primary sources, ages and tons more. All the sources are vetted and authentic and they can be organized by lexile score. I actually use this resource to find high quality articles to meet the CCSS.

2. The kids chose a name for their law firms (their absolutely favorite part) and chose at least two crimes from the list they felt they could start to research (they had already done a brief reading about Andre Jackson and the Native Americans in their Arndrew Jackson: Leveling Up! Activity so they had basic knowledge to kick start them on their research).
3. After two days in the library we moved our research and creation back to the classroom with our mobile laptops and databases. I created an Edcanvas that included the databases, some websites I approved, some great videos on YouTube and a BrainPop. The students could use other resources, but if they used mine, I gave them the proper citation. If they used outside resources (and some wonderful books the media specialist wrangled up for us), they would have to use EasyBib to create a proper citation.

4. Once students gathered some evidence most of them started to create their Google Presentation. They did an amazing job at divvying up the work. Some students would be working on online research while others were working on the presentation. Because of the collaborative nature of Google Apps, kids were able to share the presentation and work on different parts at the same time.


5. When they were done, I was going to have them write an individual paragraph with claim and counterclaim but the project lasted a couple of days longer than I originally planned and we ended up finishing on the day before April Vacation. I really wanted them to spend some time reflecting on the information on an individual basis. I changed the writing prompt into a more casual blog post with some prompt questions and had them do it on their KidBlog.

The project was am amazing success! It was hard for me to adjust to letting the kids learn on their own, instead of just giving them the information, but once I saw how much they were learning, it was very easy to step back. I listened to a podcast recently that said teachers new to stop being "the sage on the stage and be the guide on the side". This project hammered that home for me. My favorite part was listening in on the conversations around the room because they were all about he project.... No socialization!!!! One group had a great conversation that if they tried and failed to charge Jackson with extermination, the evidence they gathered would at least be enough for murder. Brilliant!
After they get back from DC, they are going to get all fancified dressed up and present their findings to the grand jury (our media specialist and an assistant principal) and they get to do their presentations in the library. I'll let you know how this work out.
Have you tried PBL with middle schoolers ? Did it work for you? I would love to hear from others!

If you would like a copy of the project, click here!

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WeSeed to Teach the Stock Market and Kidblog to Process

I might sound a little bright eyed but I had another fabulous week at school with the kiddos. I do think that blogging about my experiences puts me in a different mindset and I look at every unit as an opportunity to spread my wings.
We received new NH State Social Studies Standards about 6 years ago and we finally completed them about three years ago. I threw myself into aligning and reworking and at the end of every year I skipped the same unit: the stock market. We have a singleton set of standards on personal finance and my grade received the standard that has students creating and implementing an investment strategy. Interesting? Yes! Fascinating? Sure! Do I understand the stock market.....heck to the no!
Don't get me wrong.,,, I understand the basics of the stock market but I really like to be an expert when I teach. I made the decision that this would be the year I did the stock market and I even signed up for the national stock market challenge.... and chickened out. Before he became an amazing math teacher, my husband actually worked in finance so I finally went to him with a list of about thirty questions and he remediated me through the process. Now I just had to find the right vehicle for our challenge but I was having no luck.
About three years ago I found this amazing stock market simulation website but my hard drive blew and all my bookmarks were lost. I was strolling in the Edmodo chat rooms, about a wee ago, when I saw someone mention the fabulous website I lost three years ago. Its called WeSeed. This website is amazing!

It is made for anyone who is interested in learning to play the market. It is perfect for teachers because you can have the students join your group and you are able to track them. It also offers lesson plans and printables. Students are able to make a portfolio.

They can also do research on companies, read the most recent news on them and chat with other faux buyers of the stock.

I took the lessons and tweaked them to fit what I needed (Click here for the activities). Students were exposed to activities that immersed them in both the stock market and this particular website. We spent about four days in the computer lab and completed the first third of the packet. We will be going to the computer lab in two weeks to check in and the winner, at the end of June, is going to get a pizza party.
The kids adored this unit. They seriously couldn't get enough of it. Because the website did all the work for me, I could focus on talking to the kids about things like stocks splitting and penny stocks. One of my paraprofessionals (who started her own account:) ) said her favorite part was listening to the conversations. She said she loved hearing them talk about stuff they were learning!

Kidblogs....
In order for them to process and act as guinea pigs for next year's class, my students created Kidblog accounts and wrote their first blog entry on their initial investment experience.

I love Kidblog! It is easy to use and seamless since you can upload from Google Drive. The kids needed limited directions to sign up and were writing their first blog entry within 10 minutes (if they werent spending 20 minutes on finding the right avatar). The kids loved that they could personalize it with backgrounds and avatars, I love that they could personalize it with MINIMAL backgrounds and avatars. What I really love is that at the end of the year, I will have a a writing portfolio that I could easily share with the high school when they are considering placement.
I'm on to Andrew Jackson, but I'm really happy I left my comfort zone and did this unit. It was one of the best ones I did this year.

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