Digital Citizenship Similes: An Unplugged Activity

I like to use lessons from Common Sense Media's library of lessons when I teach internet safety and digital citizenship because I find them to be pretty relevant and engaging for students at the middle school level. One of the lessons I'm using this year is called Digital Life 101. One of the activities I've modified from this lesson for my classroom is the simile activity where students finish the sentence, "My digital media life is like…"

We do this activity using our wipe-off tabletops, which I talked about earlier this year in a blog post. The kids really enjoyed getting to write on the tables which isn't something that you normally get to do in school! I even let students draw little symbols or pictures to go along with their response if they wanted. 

If time allows, I will have students share out their answers with the class and discuss the meaning behind their simile. In this particular case last week, we had run out of class time, so I told students to leave the writing on the table as an exit slip activity for the class. After the students left, I walked around and photographed each students answer. I then turned the responses into a photo collage, which you see below. 

I thought it was kind of fun to share out what the students had to say about a typical middle schooler's digital media life:

1. "...the skin on your elbow. It's funny to yank on, but it hurts after a while."
2. "...fun to play with."
3. "...a unicorn because I don't like to go on it so it vanishes."
4. "...a pet hamster. Sometimes it's fun but sometimes it's boring."
5. "...a unicorn because it doesn't exist."
6. "...like food. Everyone loves it, everyone needs it."
7. "...monkey, it goes all over the place."
8. "...a big, fluffy, teddy bear, happy!"
9. "...a pack of fun."
10. "...a box of chocolate, you never know what you're going to get."
11. "...golem. No one likes it and it's lonely."
12. "...a piece of cheese I love it."
13. "...nothing because I have a flip phone and I don't have anything."
14. "...a fantasy."
15. "...a dinosaur."
16. "...New York, it never sleeps."
17. "...a lion because it's unpredictable."
18. "...rain. Sometimes I use it, sometimes I don't."
19. "...a rainbow b/c it's magical."
20. "...fun, because it's fun on social media."
21. "...another life."

It's nice to have what I call an "unplugged" activity every once in a while. Although we are in computer class, and therefore use our computers a good 90% of the time (if not, more...), it is nice to take breaks and switch it up a little sometimes.

Bonus? If your network/internet/power (!!!) goes out, you can still do this activity!

-Mrs. L.

What, Exactly, Is Technology Integration Anyway?

Occasionally I'm tasked with projects that I put a lot of effort into for only a very small audience. Take grad class, for example. I spend a whole lot of time writing a paper or creating a presentation that gets seen by only a small number of people only one time. 

So I've decided to start sharing my efforts out on the blog to a wider audience. Here's one example: a short 5-minute presentation on technology integration. In this presentation, I aim to answer the following questions: what is technology integration, why is it important, and how can we use technology with students to enhance communication skills? 

Sometimes when I make presentations like these, I feel like I'm "preaching to the choir," but I am always surprised to encounter teachers who aren't automatically super jazzed by tech the way that I am. This presentation is for them. Feel free to use this for your own purposes, as long as you credit back to me, please. 

- Mrs. L.

Hack Your Classroom Space: DIY Whiteboard Tables!

My major summer project this year was painting the classroom tabletops with whiteboard wipe-off paint! I thought that it would be a great addition to the classroom because:

1. It's a novelty - who doesn't like to write on furniture?!
2. It encourages collaboration - my students work in table groups, so they can easily work together to brainstorm or diagram.
3. It provides a different kind of hands-on activity - we use our Chromebooks so much in computer class, it's nice to have an "unplugged" activity once in a while!
4. It addresses multiple intelligence philosophies - visual learners who like to draw or write out notes and ideas by hand get the opportunity to do so. 

I was super lucky to win a grant from our district's education foundation at the end of last year, which will allow for the purchase of "rocker" stools and a set of beanbag chairs for the classroom. I felt like giving the tables a fun face-lift was the perfect complement to the new furniture. Thankfully, I had enough money left over after the furniture purchase that the education foundation was willing to fund the supplies for this project, so long as I was willing to put in the work.

I did a lot of research prior to beginning this project. I used this tutorial for the bulk of my instructions (thanks, Pinterest!). I also read a whole lot of Amazon product reviews to determine the best paint for the job. I learned that it is a good idea to buy your paint in-person (I went to Home Depot) rather than ordering online, as you are able to open the boxes and check the manufacture date... Apparently this paint is good for 2 years from the date of manufacture, and after that, you should not use it. Whether or not this is true, I do not know, but I wasn't going to take a chance!

I bought two of these cans of wipe-off whiteboard paint, and a foam roller/tray set, like this. I also grabbed a couple rolls of blue painter's tape to tape off the edges of the tables. It cost me less than $80 for all of the supplies. Not too bad.

I came in to school the week after students were let out. It took me an entire school day's worth of time to complete this project by myself, but if you had a friend, you could probably knock it out a little faster? In the end, my timing worked out really well because it allowed for adequate dry time between coats, and then the tables had the entire rest of summer to cure before we attempted to write on them!

Here's how the paint works: it comes in two parts, which you mix together before painting on. Once the paint is mixed, you have only an hour or two to apply it before the paint is no longer any good. So there's no saving paint for touch-ups, unfortunately. The plan for now is that I'll probably buy a new can of paint and do a refresher coat at the end of this year to prepare for the next.

I did have the presence of mind to take some photos as I worked, so that you can see the transformation as it happened:

The first thing that I did was give the tabletops a really good clean/wipe down with some disinfecting wipes, and let them dry. Then I began the somewhat time-consuming task of taping off the edges. Depending on what your tables look like, you may or may not choose to do this step. Even though it took me a while, I feel like it was really worth the effort.

The tables in my room have a vinyl/plastic-y rounded edge trim, and I think it would look weird if I painted it. Not to mention, I'm not sure how well the paint would stick. 

I ended up applying 4 coats overall. Coat #1 was not full coverage, so don't panic if you see streaks on your first go-round. I painted all seven tables with coat #1 before moving on to coat #2. By the time I finished table #7, the first table was generally dry enough to start the second coat. 

I also had a box fan running in the room, pointed at the tables as I worked to help speed the drying process between coats.

I ended up using ALL of the first can of paint, and a good majority (but not all) of my second can of paint. I made four rounds/four coats of paint on each table before I called it quits. 

For those interested, my tables are about 30 inches wide, and 60 inches (5 feet) long. 

The foam roller was really important because it helped to create a very smooth, even coat overall, suitable for a writing surface.

Originally, the tabletops were a speckled light gray color. Painting the tops with this glossy wipe-off paint made everything look clean, fresh, and new!

I left my room like this, all summer, so the tabletops could cure properly before we tried writing on them. I did (carefully) peel off the blue tape when I was finished painting at the end of the day. Peeling off paint while paint is still wet seems to be effective for getting cleaner lines. If I peeled it off after the paint was dry, I might end up peeling up some of the tabletop paint along with the tape!

Once our new year began, I was super eager to test out the new tables. While I was setting up the room a few days before school started, I gave my 4-year old son, Iggy, some markers and an eraser to try it out. Success! 

I'm so happy with how these turned out, and I highly recommend "hacking" your own classroom furniture using this method! 

We used our tabletops to do a "complete-the-sentence" activity in 8th grade involving similes. It was easy for students to look across the room and see what their classmates had written, as opposed to being hidden behind a screen. Many students had fun embellishing their responses with drawings and designs:

via Instagram

I did discover some really awesome dry-erasers that work amazingly well with my tabletops. These erasers by 3M have two sides to them: a grippier, scrubby side, and a smooth side. I have found that when using these erasers, students can get a completely clean tabletop at the end of class! Score!

Side note: If you are viewing my blog from within the district, it seems that my former photo hosting site is blocked this school year, so all of my past images are not showing up/have broken/blocked links. Whomp whomp. Sorry about that. I'm working to find a solution to this as soon as possible. 

- Mrs. L.

Let's Talk About Graphic Design

I made this slide show on graphic design concepts for student presentations (a presentation about presentations, mind you!) and I showed it to my 6th grade students today as part of our Google Slides project. I think that this information would be helpful for all students (and teachers, and administrators) in all kinds of subject areas!

So I'm embedding it here for others to see and potentially use. Just credit back to me, please. I assembled it pretty much from past student work - both successful and not-so-successful. And my past visual arts teaching and expertise helped quite a bit, too. :)

- Mrs. L.

My 8th Grader Wrote an E-Book on Amazon!

One of my 8th graders, Emily, has written an e-book and published it for sale on Amazon for Kindle! 

Her parents e-mailed me with some background information on Emily's book:

Emily participated in a Passion Project unit (also commonly referred to as "Genius Hour," "20% Time," or "Innovation Hour") in her 8th grade language arts class. She decided that the topic of her project would be "How to Draw."  Emily spent countless hours researching different drawing techniques and coming up with the plan for her book. Her How to Draw book is a compilation of what she believes are best practices for teaching a beginner how to draw and not be intimidated by art.

Emily has received rave reviews by her teachers and classmates, all encouraging her to publish the book. So, in continuing her research, she explored the legal side and process of publishing, which lead her to self-publish through Amazon.

Below is a link to Amazon where you can see her book. It is currently only available digitally either on a Kindle, or using the free Kindle app for phones, tablets, and computers. Word is that Emily is also planning on eventually publishing a paperback version!

Here is the link to Emily's book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01FOUJVEQ

I am so proud and impressed with Emily's work on this book that I couldn't not share it! What an awesome way to apply school learning to real-life situations and experiences. 

- Mrs. L.

Neko Atsume is my current favorite pointless time waster game.

I'm not necessarily proud of the fact that I have wasted quite a bit of time playing this game, but I am proud of the fact that I haven't spent an actual real dime on it, which is more than I can say for several of the people I know!

Neko Atsume is a game app where you collect cats. Seriously. That's it. You have a virtual yard where you put out food and toys, and cats come and go to your yard to eat and play. When they come by, you can take their picture, and... take their picture. That's pretty much it. So your goal at first is to get photos of all of the cats, including some rare ones who will only come for specific toys or types of food. 

Some of the cats are seriously funny to look at, such as this guy in the front of the cardboard choo-choo (above), the hamburger bed that will occasionally have a cat butt sticking out from it, or the plastic bag that cats like to wear on their head as a hat. 

Cats leave you silver or gold fish when they leave the yard, and you can use those fish as currency to buy other toys and food. Over time, as the cats re-visit you, they will leave you "mementos," such as this baseball from Joe DiMeowgio: 

It's hard to be patient in this game, as it can take days to accumulate enough fish to purchase a fancier, larger toy, a yard expansion, or a remodel. For those of you that cannot wait, you can purchase fish using real dollars through the app. 

My mom, my husband, my 4-year old son, and a whole group of girls on my roller derby team all play this game. I just found out that there are other teachers here at Sandburg who play Neko Atsume, too. Can you guess who they are? 

- Mrs. L.

Valentine's Maker Projects

I came across a couple of really fun-looking STEM/Makerspace-inspired Valentine's Day projects, and I thought I'd share them with you here:

1. Light Up Circuit Valentines:

 

This light up circuit project is very similar to the one I used to teach in 8th grade art last year, but with a Valentine's twist! I think I'm going to make one for Mr. Leban.

2. LittleBits Love-O-Meter:

 

We use LittleBits in 8th grade computer lit class, so this idea is pretty humorous to me. It uses an arduino bit, which we don't have, but it gives me an idea for a future assignment: to challenge students to create tiny "arcade" type inventions using LittleBits. Super fun!

Happy Valentine's Day (soon)!

-Mrs. L.