The Potential of Google Plus

The Potential of Google Plus

by Nicholas Gallimore

Google has changed the face of education. I am not merely talking about classrooms, homework, or researching for your child’s science fair project. By Google making information readily available, the human population can self-educate on any topic they wish. Combine that fact with the connectivity of smart phones along with high speed Internet, and a new unintended product emerges, On Demand Learning.

I feel that mankind has already developed the first stages of brain augmentation on a global scale, and much of that can be attributed to the ability to organize a vast sea of information in mere seconds from the palm of your hand. Here is an example of modern self-education. If I want to make a quiche’ from scratch, then I can pick up my phone or tablet pc search for quiche’ recipes, and now I know how to make quiche’ from scratch. Not only that, but I can also see reviews on the best quiche’, video tutorials on cooking techniques, and have the dish prepared before everyone wakes up for breakfast. Before the combination of high speed Internet, smart phones, and search engines, I would have either had to own a cookbook with quiche’ recipes (which have been previously taste tested) or print a recipe from my computer, so I wouldn’t have to keep running back and forth between the monitor and the kitchen.

We have the ability to learn anything we want, video lessons from Harvard, the latest developments in String Theory, or how to get kids to like vegetables. Unfortunately, we are limited by our own self-interests. Instead of learning more about Physics we tend to learn how to get to the next stage of a videogame, or about the mundane life of our favorite celebrity, or how to bake a quiche’. On the transverse for those of you who are into Physics, simply replace celebrity with theorist.

This On Demand Learning will change the educational system, eventually, once all of the tradition of institutionalization has been deemed archaic. In the meantime, my fellow teachers become a revolutionary. Even if you’re the only one in your school, find new and exciting technology and try it out. See if it makes your lesson sink in, or makes your life a little easier. If it doesn’t, then try something else. Find your students’ interests, and give them the tools to develop into life-long learners. But most importantly show them that there is another world outside of their limited self-interests, and that there might be something else that they find appealing. As teachers, we should feel obligated to facilitate On Demand Learning. We should teach our students how to use modern tools to solve modern problems, and just maybe rekindle the connection between education and the “real world”.

I see ways that Google Plus can help teachers facilitate extremely individualized instruction. It can be used along with Google Docs as a classroom management tool that has the potential for realistic instruction that is driven by the student’s self-interests. This paired with teachers facilitating their students’ desire to learn about a variety of new potential interests, which happen to align to state standards, learning goals, and lesson objectives.

Problems with Google Plus in the Normal Classroom Environment

How can this On Demand Learning classroom revolution become realized through the use of Google Plus? Well that’s where a problem arises. Notice I didn’t give this article the title “Google Plus will Change the Way You Teach.” There are still realistic relevant objections to using social media in the classroom. Most they stem from cyber bullying and privacy concerns. Another stumbling block is the fact that not every classroom has one computer for every student, and that not all students have working computers at home. There are also strains on the school network, content filtering, and other concerns that seriously need to be addressed before teachers mandate the use of Google Plus in their classroom. Realistically, Google Plus will probably be blocked by your school’s content filter for some time. I know that many of you are already devising ways to circumvent the network filters (allowing cell phones in the classroom for example). A word of warning though, if one of your students does something off task while using unapproved technology, then you as the teacher will have a lot of explaining to do to your administrators.

Engaging the Learner through Google Plus

Engaging our students has always been the bane of every teacher’s existence. “I have the information that they need to pass; so why don’t they just listen to me and study.” People simply don’t work that way. Yes the information is what we need, but it’s not necessarily what we want. The modern teacher is tasked with making their students want what they also need. However, we are rarely given the proper tools to accomplish this impossible task. For those of you who are not teachers, relate this to trying to get a child to want to eat broccoli. Many of you thought, “Well I just put some cheese on it.” What if there wasn’t any cheese or if they just lick the cheese off of the broccoli? How do you get someone to do something you want them to do, because they want to do it?

Google Plus is designed to tailor your experiences based upon your interests. As teachers, we can address the interests of our students through the creation of dynamic circles and project based, teacher facilitated hangouts. I relate this concept to virtual versions of traditional classroom centers. However, unlike the traditional classroom center, the teacher has the entire Internet at their disposal. This leads me to wonder why school systems will continue to spend so much on textbooks, while they are faced with slashed budgets.

My vision of Google Plus in the classroom sound a little complicated on paper, but I can visualize how it would work. The teacher and students all have Google Plus accounts; the teacher leads the class in setting up circles based upon what topics are to be learned. The students could have generic circles for each subject or more specific circles for group projects, key learning goals, or specific tasks. The teacher would have to be a member of each of these circles to facilitate discussions, offer feedback, share resources, and collect group submissions. Basically, I see Google Plus as making learning a collaborative effort.

Each student is the center of their circles, so their learning experienced can be tailored to their interests through the sharing of ideas. Not only can those ideas be shared, but the teacher has given them a platform and an audience. If they want to share a video that they made about the quadratic formula, then they can post it to those in their Math circle. If they would like to have a hangout session about the global impact of America’s foreign policy, then the students could actually invite others from around the globe to get their perspective. They could utilize Google’s translate feature to speak to other kids in their native language. I know that the translations wouldn’t be perfect, but that could start a whole other project based on the importance of linguistics in a global economy.

I realize that this may seem like a convoluted pipe dream now, but I can see a future where this type of learning is not only feasible, but expected. There are a lot of hurdles to overcome to get there, but I can see the potential of Google Plus when in the able hands of a competent, caring teacher.

Note: If you would like an invite to Google Plus please send me an email and I’ll send an invite to you

superteacherstuff@gmail.com

Poet-Tree Class Writing Project

Poet-Tree Class Writing Project

A few years ago while I was teaching a poetry lesson, I thought of an interesting writing activity. I had my students write poems from different genres on outlines of their hands. I understand that this may not be such an original idea to the seasoned teacher, but at the time I felt that it was quite the epiphany.

My students liked expressing themselves, but they really enjoyed creating the tree. They chose to have the tree climb the ceiling like a grape vine. I would have liked a smaller tree with more leaves. It may have looked better if I added a canopy of green poster paper, and then taped their leaves to that instead of sticking them to the branches. I’m going to try the project again this year. I hope my current students enjoy the project.
I have created some things that you may find useful for your poetry unit, if you would like your students to create a “Poet-Tree” for your classroom.

A Short List of Poetic Terms and Definitions

Hand Shaped Writing Template

Leaf Shaped Writing Template

Our Anime Studio Project

We used Anime Studio to learn the basics of animation. I want my students to be able to recreate a BrainPop film.

We made our robots this week, learned about bone rigging, and created basic movement. This week was focused on learning the software.

I think that my students liked working with Anime Studio 6 Debut, but it was very hard for them to learn the software. I found it really easy to use,

but then again, I'm not a 6th grader. I always want the level of my students work to be amazing. Some of these videos were good.

I posted a few to YouTube. Please vote for the ones that you like the most.

My kids could use some POSITIVE or CONSTRUCTIVE feedback. Thanks.

Latitude and Longitude Song

Lines of Latitude
Sung to the tune of “Wheels on the Bus”
Written by Nicholas Gallimore

The equator is the
Starting Point
Starting Point
Starting Point
The equator is the
Starting Point
For lines of latitude

Latitude lines measure
North and South
North and South
North and South
Latitude lines measure
North and South
All around the world


The Prime Meridian is the
Starting Point
Starting Point
Starting Point
The Prime Meridian is the
Starting Point
For lines of longitude

Longitude lines measure
East and West
East and West
East and West
Longitude Lines measure
East and West
All around the world

The History of Thanksgiving from the History Channel

Creating a Video Game using Promethean's Activ Inspire

I am currently developing a video game using Promethean's ActivInspire software. I'm hoping to get my students involved in creating video games for reading assignments, and I think that this is a good way to begin without a lot of coding.

Activ Inspire is a program for Promethean's interactive whiteboard, and I feel that it can be used for more than just hiding and revealing answers, or quizing students.

Teachers it time to think out side of the curriculum.

Data Driven Instruction and the Dynamic Group Learning Environment: Making Standardized Testing Useful in the Classroom

Data Driven Instruction and the Dynamic Group Learning Environment:
Making Standardized Testing Useful in the Classroom
By Nicholas Gallimore

Twenty or more students enter our classrooms every year, and we have only a few days to establish a baseline. Some of our students are repeating the grade. Some have been socially promoted due to age or previous retentions. Some are working at grade level. Yet others are working on a more advanced level than everyone else in the classroom. It is essential that we address the needs of every student, and that simply cannot be done through a constant whole group instructional approach. Using standardized testing data from previous years, students can be placed into dynamic groups that allow teachers to alternate members depending on the skill being addressed. This will increase student engagement, understanding, and retention rates; while simultaneously reducing misbehavior in the classroom.
Whole group instruction has been used in the American Educational System for years, yet now it seems with increased accountability that the gears of reform are starting to get a little more oil. Whole group instruction is perfect for tasks that require repetition, basic memorization, teacher modeled instructions, or addressing an issue that concerns the entire class. However, whole group instruction falls short in maintaining student engagement over an extended period of time with such a diverse audience. While the teacher is remediating the class on basic skills, the advanced students are bored. While the teacher is trying to introduce new skills, the lower leveled students are confused. Essentially, teaching using a strictly whole group approach results in lessons that are geared toward the lower performing students in the class and often exclude some members of the group.
Ability grouping has been tried in the past by many classroom teachers. This approach allows the teacher to address the diverse needs of their students, while simultaneously increasing lesson engagement. The students are placed in high, medium, or low groups depending on academic ability. The teacher then creates lessons for each performance level. Unfortunately, this often results in the teacher merely assigning worksheets to the groups that were not working with the teacher. Ability grouping allowed some of the students to be engaged some of the time. Most of the time the lower performing students still monopolized instructional time, because they simply needed more time to process new information.
A dynamic group is one that is assembled by the teacher based upon the student’s need in a specific skill area during a specific time. In using this approach, the classroom is divided into several dynamic groups that are simultaneously learning different skills. These skills can be based upon aspects of the same subject or in different subject areas altogether. While one group is working on punctuation, another is focused on grammar, and the other is focused on reading comprehension. These dynamic groups can be initially formed through the use of the data that has been collected throughout our students’ educational career.
Our students are tested to the point of exhaustion. I feel that it is time for the classroom teacher to take the reins of this ever increasing mountain of data, and utilize it to drive a more individualized instruction. I understand that educational think-tanks, the government, and local school boards spend countless hours analyzing data to construct another round of educational programs. However, children are more than test scores, and raw data. Social constructs, up-bringing, attitude, and environment come together to transform the children in our desks into contributing members of society. As classroom teachers, we have the capacity to see past the raw test data into the heart of each student’s potential. Since we understand our students as individuals, we can understand their shortcomings and address each student’s unique educational needs. The question with which most teachers struggle is, “How can one person meet the individual needs of so many students”.
The simple answer is that we can’t realistically fix every deficit or inspire every student. However, we can set in motion the means for every student to become inspired or to identify ways that students can experience achievement. Teachers have many tools at their disposal; one of which is our students. Children learn more through teaching and explaining to their peers than a teacher could ever hope to achieve. Peer teaching and discussion increases the engagement of our students and forces them to problem solve in a natural and authentic setting. However, this tool must be used with extreme caution. In order for peer teaching in dynamic groups to be successful, the teacher must lay the initial instructional foundation and establish a rigid classroom management routine.
The teacher must establish how the groups will transition from one station to the next, the expectations of student behavior while at that station, how the students will flow from group to group during the course of the year, and the role each student takes in their own education. I feel that this approach may help to put the students in charge of their education. Instead of being educated by an outside source, the student can utilize their natural curiosity and build a need to know. In this setting the teacher becomes a facilitator of knowledge rather than a dictator of truth. The archaic student teacher relationship is challenged and student centered learning can occur.
As a facilitator, the classroom teacher must transition between the dynamic student groups and illustrate ways in which students can find needed information. More importantly though, is the facilitator’s role in showing group members ways to digest that information into authentic usable solutions. The ability to memorize facts has not lead to human prowess. It is our ability to problem solve that has built our strength. The importance of memorization is decreasing with the rise of technology. Information can be found on any topic with the use of a keyboard, but it is what we do with that information that is essential to forming solutions for our problems. The role of the classroom teacher is no longer to be the sole provider of information; instead it has become a manager of information. We show our students how to discern which information is legitimate and which is misguided. We guide our students to transform the information and the data into usable solutions. We are charged with the responsibility of nurturing the desire of our digital natives to become responsible, contributing digital citizens.
It is time that we teach by example. We need to take the data that has been giving to us by the think-tanks, our government, and our principals and transform the information into a usable solution. We can group our students based upon their need. This is different from ability grouping, because each group is formed to meet the needs of a student’s deficit. We need to identify the problem before we construct its solution. As the student’s deficit is identified, individual learning goals can be established by the teacher. Once these goals are met and the student’s deficits are reconciled the student can transition to another area of need. In this model groups are formed and dismantled as needs arise and are addressed.
Dynamic groups should be viewed as another tool in your teaching arsenal. It is another way to engage your students. This method may not be feasible in your learning environment, but I feel that it is one way that we as teachers can realistically meet the needs of our students. As students become disengaged, the potential for problem solving decreases; while conversely behavior problems increase.