Technology Integration Project II- LiveBinder

LiveBinder is the invention we have all been waiting for. It takes "the binder concept and [is] continually improving it to be a leader in the next generation of content sharing". Essentially, LiveBinder is taking all of those stacks of papers on your desk and in student's backpacks and compiling them into a digital binder that the user can organize anyway they need. Days of franticly searching your computer can be over! With LifeBinder, you have the capability to connect files stored in clouds, links, and more in one simple and organized location. While this program has been well received and heavily used by people in all different fields, educators and administrators have really taken it and ran with it. While researching standards to use for my literacy infused unit, I found that many school districts had compiled LiveBinders for different grades that provide a copious amount of resources for teachers to use that support their teaching.

I was first drawn to LiveBinder when I noticed my cooperating teacher relied heavily on it. Their's is obviously private and only they have access to it, but I have created a binder similar to what they have. He explained to me that their fifth grade team decided to try it out this year to share materials and professional development resources. He explained to me that they all found it easy to use and convenient to have. In the past they used an online drive where they all submitted information. It got a bit disorganized and hectic because nobody really knew how to work it and anybody who did had a different vision for how it should be organized than the others did. Through LiveBinder, each teacher had their own tab color. If they wanted to add something to the binder, they could upload it and change the tab color so that everybody knew whose resources were whose. During professional learning community (PLC) meetings, they would be able to talk about an online resource they found and it would be connected in their part of the team's LiveBinder. They were able to name each tab in a specific manner and only one object was present under each tab. By doing this, there was no confusion about which resource they should be looking at.

Aside from sharing ideas and new resources with team members, I have heard of teachers using LiveBinder either in place of  or in addition to a classroom website. One of my sister's friends is a middle school Pre-Algebra teacher. She supplements her classroom website with a different LiveBinder for each unit they cover. By doing this, her students have access to a resource that has all of their notes and homework assignments as well as additional resources students can use if they need additional support on a certain topic. This teacher used to utilize the "Flipped Classroom" technique. When she did, her videos were connected to the LiveBinder so the students would always know where the videos were located. They also did not have to completely scroll through weeks worth of posts on a blog or class page to locate what they needed.

Creating a Binder can be bit confusing at first, but once you create your first few tabs, it gets much easier. First, you need to make an account. I am operating off of the free account, which gives you the basic features, such as creating tabs and inserting content like documents, links, images, and videos. On a free account, you are limited to creating five binders. However, if you have 1,000 people view your binder, then you can get five more for free! You have storage of up to 100 MB on each binder and the maximum upload file size is 5 MB. There are three more levels of memberships that cost from $25 per year to $100 per year. These upgraded memberships allow you to create an unlimited number of binders and give you more storage and upload capabilities. These are very reasonable prices for a great service and I can see myself investing in a basic membership so I can utilize this resource in my classroom.

Once you have created an account, you are ready to make your first binder. You can do this by

clicking the "New Binder" button on the home page once you have logged in. After you have done this, you are able to name and describe your binder, tag it with relevant terms to be included in the worldwide pool of binders, and make it either public or private. If you decide to make your binder private, you can set an access key so that only certain people can access your binder. This would be great to use if you were having students create a LiveBinder of their own to organize materials for a project. Now that you have your binder created, you can start adding tabs. This function is located in the top left corner. Once you have a tab created, you can edit it to fit your needs. You can organize the tabs by assigning them different colors, naming them different things, and uploading a variety of materials. The website offers a helpful tutorial that assists you with learning how to create and organize your first binder. It automatically appears when you open your first binder. If it weren't for this brief ten-step walk through, I probably would have lost patience with the program. 

As a future classroom teacher and school leader, I can see myself using LiveBinder frequently. The possibilities are endless. As previously stated, using the virtual binders is a great way to keep PLC information organized and available to those who are involved. It is also a great way to share resources amongst grade team members. If you upgrade to a paid membership, you can implement the "sub-tab" tool, which allows you to create tabs to organize information within the main tabs, like subcategories within categories. By using this option, you could group resources together based on lesson plans and activities rather than having them all under separate tabs within the binder. While researching examples of teachers using LiveBinder, I came across a great resource through PB Works. It is a community of teachers that all contribute to a compilation of binders. They have multiple different virtual shelves that are organized based on grade level and subject. I am student teaching in a fifth grade math class, so to experiment, I clicked on the fifth grade word problems binder. In this LiveBinder, there were an abundance of tabs filled with tips, tricks, lessons, and examples of word problems that can be adapted and used in any classroom.

Another way I can see myself or other teachers using LiveBinder is by having students create digital portfolios of their learning. This is a great resource to be able to pull up during parent teacher conferences to discuss student progress. By having a portfolio full of work in a medium that won't take up an abundance of space, the teacher can reference pieces of a student's work in this format. The portfolio could also be accessed by the parents at home. This would be a good time to utilize the private option, as the only people who have access to a student's portfolio should be the student, the teacher, and the parents or guardians. It would also be a great resource if a student moved and relocated to another school. Their new teacher could see the kind of work they were submitting and figure out what their strengths and weaknesses are by getting to know the students and reviewing their portfolio. It is an excellent tool to show students how much they have grown and learned throughout the year.

LiveBinder can also be used for student projects. For example, if students were asked to create a multi-genre project or a research project with a lot of aspects to it, they could use a LiveBinder to organize their materials. For example, in this binder, the students created a yearbook on characters from ancient mythology. They include pages for characters such as Helios, Odysseus, and Poseidon. Each character has their activities, superlative, favorite song, and favorite book listen on their page. The answers are accurate to the character's depiction in ancient myths. In this example, the student was required to create and plan a trip to India. The student separated the criteria she needed to include into tabs. She included sections for the flight, hotel, and activity costs as well as itineraries for each day she was there.

LiveBinder is one of my new favorite technology discoveries. It is a great way to organize and share information in an easy to navigate and condensed manner. I look forward to using this program in professional learning community, personal, and classroom settings, as it is a tool that is convenient and fitting for all.

Resources:

LiveBinder. Retrieved November 2, 2016, from http://www.livebinders.com/welcome/about

LiveBinder Logo. (2009). Retrieved November 2, 2016, from https://edshelf.com/wp-content/uploads/icon-livebinders.png

Technology for Effective Leadership I- Periscope

Periscope sums up their purpose in one well written sentence from their About Us page. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but live video can take you someplace and show you around.

Periscope was created to connect people worldwide in order to share experiences and learn about different cultures through the eyes of a native. While this is a common use for the app, its users have branched out into other areas, making Periscope a diverse online community. The program was released on March 26, 2015 as an extension of Twitter. Originally, it was launched so that people could broadcast their lives through live video streaming to share with people form all over the globe. It started off as just an app for Apple devices. Periscope became an incredibly rapid growing community with over 10 million accounts created in the first four months and 40 years worth of footage being streamed each day. Due to the popularity of the program, they developed an Android app as well, which was released on May 26, 2015.

I was first drawn to Periscope during the summer of 2015 with some other friends from the School of Education. After visiting and falling in love with the Ron Clark Academy, we discovered that many of the teachers from the academy were very active on social media. Originally, I just stuck to taking all of their wisdom and fun lessons through Instagram and Twitter, but I were intrigued when their captions started telling their followers to "tune in on Periscope" at a certain time to hear more about their lesson.

The first stream that I watched was one done by Hope King, the 5th and 6th grade ELA teacher at RCA. She had crafted a spy themed lesson, complete with over the top classroom decorations and

engaging activities. Once I got over the shock and amazement about her incredible lesson, I could not get over how impactful Periscope was. I am a visual kinesthetic learner to an extreme level, meaning that I need to see something done and then need to try it myself in order to completely understand the material. While I may not have had the opportunity to manipulate the classroom decorations or demonstrate a question about a specific incident, Hope King did a phenomenal job of being very active with what she was explaining to us. During a live stream, you are able to ask questions to the person who is hosting the event. They appear on the screen for everybody watching to see as well. Hope King did her best to thoroughly answer the questions that her hundreds of viewers were asking about her intricate decorations and exciting activities. We was able to explain her answers verbally, as well as physically demonstrating the action or response if that was what the question was asking for. One example I remember very vividly was, "How did you create your laser beams?" Hope King actually partially remade her "laser beams" that she had created from white yarn and backlights to show the viewers exactly how she had done it.

Aside from sharing ideas and new skills, another teacher from RCA, Kim Bearden, uses Periscope for a weekly professional learning community (PLC) meeting with whoever wanted to watch using her book Crash Course. For a few months, Kim Bearden would focus on one chapter of her book and discuss it with her viewers. It was conducted similar to a book club, where everybody is free to share their thoughts and ask questions. It ended up being like one big support group. While I did not have time to tune into these sessions as often as I would have liked, I noticed that it was generally the same group of people tuning in week after week. This being so, they were familiar with each other's situations, needs, and strengths. It was a very comfortable environment and you can't help but feel great and learn something along the way with Kim Bearden at the helm of the ship.

If you are just trying to access a live stream to watch being conducted by somebody you are following on the Periscope app, it appears on your home screen. In order to join the group, you just

tap on the link. Creating a broadcast is quite easy as well. Currently, you can only broadcast from your phone, somewhat limiting your filming abilities. When you open the app, the homepage gives you multiple popular broadcasts to choose from. You can also search on a world map, by user name, and by broadcast title. If you would like to start your own broadcast, you select the camera button on the tool bar located on the bottom of the screen. Once you have selected the broadcast option, you are able to personalize your live stream. You can change the title, enable or disable commenting for the people who follow you, only allow certain users to view your stream, and share the broadcast on Twitter. When being used for educational purposes, it is smart to restrict who can view your live stream. To test it out, I did a quick two minute broadcast. Just in that time, ten random people joined my broadcast to watch my phone aimed at my keyboard. This made me realize how important it is to utilize the private tool. Once you have started your broadcast, you are able to "sketch" on the screen for the viewers to see, hide the chat bubbles, and flip the camera to face towards or away from you. When you start your broadcast, Periscope gives you directions on how to stop the broadcast and access the "advanced controls" such as "sketching" and camera flipping.

As a future classroom teacher and school leader, I can see myself using Periscope frequently. The possibilities are endless. As a lover of all things ELA, it has always been a dream of mine to create a variety of different book clubs that would appeal to a variety of different groups. I personally think that nothing can bring a group of people closer together than a good book. I would love to develop an assortment of different book clubs that would encourage students to read outside of school. This could also be done for a STEM club with experiments and project presentations. Some students may not be able to stay after school or come early due to transportation restriction or parent work schedules. Periscope would be an excellent tool to use. When creating a live stream, you have the ability to create a private streaming. The book club meeting could be streamed and those who are unable to attend could watch from any Apple or Android device, as well as from their website. The students would still be able to contribute to the conversations and ask questions in a private, digital way.

Another way I can see myself or other teachers using Periscope is to deliver additional tutoring on a subject. Let's face it, school can be hard. Sometimes students need some extra support on certain topics and their family cannot afford to hire a tutor and they are unable to get the child to or from school because they rely on bus transportation. Once or twice a week, the teacher could establish a set time to provide a Periscope review session. Almost like digital office hours. If students have questions on the material, they could tune into the private Periscope stream for clarification. This could also be used for test review sessions.

Periscope could also be used to conduct parent-teacher conferences if a parent is unable to meet at the school. The teacher could conduct meetings through the private live stream and the parents could ask questions and seek clarification or elaboration through the question/comment option. Teachers could also hold a weekly/monthly session to provide classroom updates along with the classroom newsletter. When the newsletter goes home, the teacher could include the time and date for the Periscope session, during which the parents could ask questions about classroom happenings. The streams can also be recorded and saved. Many users opt to upload their streams onto YouTube as well as leaving them up on their Periscope profile.

Periscope is probably one of my favorite technology discoveries. It is safe, user-friendly, and easily controlled, which makes it an excellent tool for a teacher to use to expand their teaching beyond the classroom. I look forward to seeing the presence of the education community grow in Periscope as well as using it in my own classroom.

Resources:

Periscope. Retrieved October 5, 2016, from https://www.periscope.tv/about

Periscope (App). Retrieved October 5, 2016, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Periscope_(app)

Periscope Logo. (2015). Retrieved October 5, 2016, from https://www.periscope.tv/press

Spy Headquarters. (2015). Retrieved October 5, 2016, from http://www.elementaryshenanigans.com/2015/06/spy-headquarters-creating-engaging.html

Twitter as A Professional Learning Network

Prior to taking this class on technology and education, Twitter was just another perplexing corner of

the internet that I had absolutely no desire to venture into. I really didn't understand the hype surrounding it and I found the hashtags and character limit extremely confusing. However, like with most social media platforms, it because a lot easier after exploring and using. Twitter is an on the go program that allows users to share their ideas, links, pictures, and videos with all of their followers.

Twitter is an extremely easy and effective way to build a Professional Learning Network, also known as a PLN. A PLN is "an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve". Twitter is the perfect place for connections to be made, articles to be shared, and information to be learned. Many well respected publications, companies, and subject experts have Twitters that they use to share articles or information that they have published or researched, making it an excellent source for a 21st century learner who has an interest in the world around them.

What is Twitter and how do you use it  you may ask? It is easy enough to understand, but it takes some getting used

to, especially if you are like me and think in paragraph form rather than 140-character blurbs called a "Tweet". Prior to this class, I hadn't dared venture into the "Twitter-verse" so I had to learn the basics as well as how to incorporate it as an educational tool. According to the website, Twitter is an information network made up of 140-character messages called Tweets. It's an easy way to discover the latest news related to subjects you care about. To start, you simply go to the Twitter website and create an account. Twitter is accessible on almost any device: computer, iPhone, iPad and most other types of tablets. When you create your account, you also need to come up with a username, then add a profile picture, and find people to follow! Twitter provides you with a variety of suggestions of people who you should follow to get you started.

The aforementioned "tweets" can consist of a maximum of 140 characters. They can include anything

from words to links to websites, pictures, and videos. They can also be linked to popular "feeds" achieved through adding a specific "hashtag." Hashtags are phrases that are preceded by the pound symbol, #. Trending topics on Twitter are linked together by a hashtag that users incorporate into their tweets so that other people with similar interests can discover them. In addition to hashtags, users can retweet another user's tweets. By doing this, you can share somebody else's "tweet" with all of your followers. You can also favorite a tweet that you enjoy, or reply to tweets with answers or your opinions on a topic. Twitter is a good resource to use in the classroom because it has many different uses. According to NEA, "by following other educators’ tweets, teachers can keep up with the latest trends, news, and happenings in education, as well as communicate with fellow educators".

Twitter can be extremely useful for teachers, but one of the greatest aspects of it definitely has to be the hashtag. They can help teachers connect through similar interest and impactful articles or ideas that are shared with a specific hashtag attached. Some of the more popular education hashtags are #getyourteachon, #iteach, #edtech, #elemchat, #stemed,  #putkidsfirst, and my personal favorite #teacherprobs. Teachers use these hashtags to share ideas, articles, and suggestions. They also are able to meet other teachers from all over to share in the positive and negative aspects of teaching with somebody who understands and can relate. Twitter is a quick and easy way to connect and share resources, which is why it is a rapidly growing resource for those who are wishing to grow a PLN.

Personally, I don't think Twitter will completely change my life and provide me with an endless

supply of knowledge and resources. However, it is very convenient because I can keep up with teachers that I have either seen in action at The Ron Clark Academy or have read their books that I admire. They share special lessons that they taught in their classes that day, which I store away in the back of my mind. My eyes were opened during this project because originally, I viewed Twitter as strictly a social tool. After I delved deeper into the Education realm, I was surprised to discover that Twitter is so much more than than that.  I started following a few educators like, Hope King, Ron Clark, and Kim Bearden. I also started following a variety of different education pages including, Education Post, Edudemic, EdWeek, and Huffpost Education. Through these Twitter accounts I learned a lot of cool classroom management strategies and lesson plan ideas.

Edudemic is a great resource for those of us who struggle a little bit more with incorporating technology into the classrooms. Their goal is to teach educators who may be a little more apprehensive about technology easy, foolproof ways to incorporate it into their classrooms. I have really enjoyed reading their suggestions because I could myself implementing them in my future classroom.

Huffpost Education is run by the Huffington Post. Their Twitter feed has articles about the hottest news in the world of education. For those who like to stay in the loop with education in politics, this Twitter account is a must for your following list.

Hope King's account is by far my favorite account to follow. She is a 5th and 6th grade English/Science teacher at The Ron Clark Academy in Atlanta, Georgia. She is known for her impressive classroom transformations and over the top creative lesson plans. I always have so much fun scrolling down her feed because her ideas are absolutely spectacular. She has taught basically every grade from 1st-6th so she also has a lot of advice for educators and frequently offers advice and answers questions.

If I'm being completely honest, I haven't really utilized Twitter account for the actual Twitter website that much. I have, however, taken full advantage of one of the applications through Twitter called Crash Course. She shares advice and stories to other teachers in a book club like setting. This sparked my interest in using Periscope in my future classroom. I have always been interested in having optional bookclubs with my students to spark their interests in reading. If students aren't able to stay late or come to school early for meetings, then they would be able to tune into Periscope for a teacher led bookclub. Periscope give you the option of making your broadcasts private, only allowing viewers with passwords to get into the "scope". Once they are connected, they are able to comment for everybody to read.
Periscope. Periscope is a live-broadcasting tool that allows users to either broadcast themselves through the camera on their smartphone or watch other users' broadcasts from around the world. My personal favorite one to watch is the ones done by various Ron Clark Academy teachers. Kim Bearden does weekly book talks about her newest book

I have started following a few other teachers and education accounts on Twitter who regularly post articles that allow me to stay up to date in the world of education. It seems that the current trend in classrooms across the world is converting to a "paperless community". Many articles I have read online that I came across on Twitter share many ways that can help you with this change if you so wish to implement it into your classroom. They encourage the use of technology over paper in order to promote a more ecologically friendly school.

I have really enjoyed the articles that WeAreTeachers posts. They are full of very insightful tips that you wouldn't normally think of. From classroom management to grading strategies, it has been very interesting reading up on some untraditional methods that educators from around the world have been testing out in their classrooms and the effects they have had on their community of learners.

I have enjoyed using Twitter to further my knowledge of the field of education. While I understand how some educators are able to implement it into their classrooms, I think it is almost a better tool for educators to use to connect with one another so they can share tips and tricks as well as interesting articles.

Twitter isn't just the next social media craze. It provides a way to connect with friends, but it also connects you with other teachers, professionals, and organizations. You can also share your ideas and opinions with the world. While I'm not sure whether or not I will use Twitter after this project, I definitely happy I was exposed to it so that I will have it as an option for my future education needs.

References
All Things PLC. (2006). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from http://www.allthingsplc.info/about

Can Tweeting Help Your Teaching? (n.d.). Retrieved December 11, 2015, from http://www.nea.org/home/32641.htm

Responsible Use of Social Media in Education

In recent years the use of social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, has increased drastically. In attempt to get students more engaged in the classroom and lessons, teachers have recently begun using these websites as another teaching tool. While this has proven to be an effective strategy, it also allows students and teachers to interact on a more informal and personal level.

At Highland Park Independent School District in Dallas, Texas, a set of criterion regarding the use of technology and social media rule over the classroom. While teachers are not allowed to text message students or use the technology at their disposal for personal use of social media, they are allowed to create accounts on websites such as Facebook and Twitter to interact with students for educational purposes. During my time in HPISD, I had various teachers who took advantage of this option and created class Facebook groups. There they could make announcements and we could ask each other questions about assignments in an informal setting.

While this was excellent in a high school classroom, it would not be possible to create a Facebook page for elementary age children due to the fact that one must be at least thirteen years old to create an account. However, Twitter apparently does not have an age limit. Tech savvy elementary school teachers have begun to take advantage of this. Kristen Wideen, a 2/3 grade teacher, has been teaching her students how to use social media effectively and responsibly as well as connecting them with students around the world. Wideen and her class have been swapping stories and data with other classrooms in Iowa and Singapore. The young kids also blog, tweet, and use tablets which can be seen in greater depth in the video.

With technology becoming such an essential staple in our everyday life, I personally believe exposing elementary grade children to a variety of different social media websites will be extremely beneficial to their careers and lives. By teaching them early, they will know the proper online etiquette and what to post and what not to post online. Recently there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of companies that screen the profiles of prospective employees for professionalism. By establishing a good understanding of the importance of being cautious about what to post on the Internet, we a preparing the kids for success in our technology savvy society.

Resources

Highland Park ISD Employee Agreement for Responsible Use of Technology Resources (2013). Retrieved from http://www.hpisd.org/Portals/0/docs/technology/Responsible_Use_Policy.pdf

Holland, Beth. (2013) Teaching Toddlers to Tweet? Introducing Social Media to Elementary Students. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/introducing-social-media-lower-elementary-beth-holland.

[Image of social media ages]. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.examiner.com/article/social-media-s-footprint-elementary-classrooms-an-educator-s-perspective

Kristen Wideen (2013, January 14). Mrs. Wideen, 2013 ADE Apple Distinguished Educator application Video. Retrieved January 28, 2014. from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC8Rk0uJlSE