Presented by Ben Cogswell, Kindergarten Teacher, Alisal Union School District
CUE Member and Kindergarten teacher and 2019 CUE BOLD teacher of the year Ben Cogswell is going to share his go-to strategies and awesome mindset of blending amazing pedagogy with easy to access edtech in his #KindRockets classroom. Ben was recently quoted in the NY Times and his SeeSaw lessons have over 100k views. Ben's warm style is inspirational for any grade level.
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Transcript
Hello and welcome to Brainstorm 2020 Limitless Learning! I'm looking forward to this awesome conference put on by UnisonEdy, I'm going to introduce myself my name is coach Ben. And today's session I'm doing on blending in a K through two classroom. You can get this, and all my other resources if you go to coachben.org you can see here, my site you can see I have all my presentations here. I got all my remote learning resources here so hopefully this will help you out with the things that you need that's going on right now. Anyways, today we're here to talk about blending in a K through two classroom. And so we're going to jump right in. Of course, my name is coach Ben, this is just a little bit about me I'm currently a kindergarten teacher in Salinas, California at a school called Bardin elementary school, and I am the captain of the Kinder rockets that's I have this wonderful astronaut helmet on. So, I want to start out by saying these are my Kinder rockets well these are my Kinder rockets. Right now, you can see this is a Google meet, and this is a picture of my class right now and it's definitely a little bit of a different time. Now if we go to my normal classroom it's going to look a little something like this. You can see I have kids all over the floor, they're all kind of doing an activity recording on their computer using an application called seesaw. I'm over here they're reading a book you can see here. And so anyways, I am the captain of the Kinder rockets a kindergarten teacher. And so, I have a few things have about three things that they're going to share with you today. But besides being of course a captain I am also a father and so you can see here this is a recent podcast that I did actually with my family. I have four kids at any point during this video please feel free to pause and process you can go back and watch it again. This is a conversation that just doesn't have to be a one way conversation. It can be a two way conversation and one way we can do that is of course by pausing and processing. And so there's, you can tag me in any tweet you may have or Instagram whatever you like at Cogswell underscore band and then we have @Unisondu and#Unisonedu. These are great for the conference. So I want to talk to you about three big ideas for today and I'm going to show you these pictures at first. Alright, so I have two boxing gloves here different colors. I have kind of a cube looking thing with different colors. And I have a mountain top with two different colors and so these are big ideas for today I'm not going to show you, tell you what they are. I'm going to reveal them as we kind of go through. So here's my first big idea. My first big idea of this whole notion about digital versus analog. A lot of times when we are looking at digital and analog we say well you know it's digital or analog it's not one or the other. I'm an email, I'm an email person I like to send letters or, you know, I like to listen to audiobooks I like to listen oh just plain books are better oh you know I like my calendar digital I like my calendar paper, paper, and really, We got to get away from this.com economy because really it's not about this whole idea of digital versus analog, especially in the lower grades. It's this whole idea of using both digital and analog really combining the two because they can strengthen each other, there's a lot of great skills that when we strengthen each other. And so in this section I have some examples. I'm not going to show you all the examples you can kind of go back again these slides are available at coach Ben. org. And each time. So I'm going to start off with this example, by the way, anything you can see you can click on this presentation again, you can get this presentation at Coach ben.org, a lot of the things you can see you can click on like this seesaw activity. So for example I want you to think about what I have here, I have digital, and I have analog Now let's look at the things that we see here Well, it looks like on this side over here I can see some writing I can play with my tablet and my friends too. I can see good finger spaces, I can see mostly correct spelling, with the exception of tablet. I got my picture which matches the writing. All right. Over here I can see again capital letters, I can see sentences I can see periods, I can see punctuation I can see finger spaces. Well, here's my point. Whether we're doing digitally or whether we're doing it analog, these are these are both skills that can support each other when kids are getting being able to get in both I feel like they're really getting a deeper understanding of things like a of the parts of a sentence for example, finger spaces, the finger spacebar in both of these sentences. There's finger spacebar maybe kids don't understand it in one area, but maybe they do and the other area periods. Both of Mad periods right, being able to show what they know, in multiple modes, really strengthens the kids learning right. Again, this is something that we do both digital and we do analog, it's not about doing one or the other. It's about doing both. Again, another example that you see here, digital and analog this isn't it this or that, on the right over here you can see, perhaps, these are 10 frames. This is an activity, and guess what the kids are doing. They're counting to 100, they're counting each of their snacks. They're eating each of their snacks. It's the hundred day of school. Now if we look on the left side, guess what, counting to 100, but something you don't see on the left side over here, is the fact that students are actually recording their thinking and recording they're counting practicing counting with manipulatives practicing counting digitally and recording digital and analog, both of the tasks are equally important. Here's another task that we think traditionally would be a digital task. What is it, it's coding. And so you can see here on the right in the picture you can see there's a shapes mat here. Students are communicating with each other they're having to get this little bot here from this blue triangle maybe to the Red Square, they need to use lots of language, they need a code, they need to problem solve again this is a V bot. When we look at the left. This is an activity called codable, which lets younger kids code and show problem solving coding is great for problem solving. Now, do I just want to use the coding on the computer No, because it's it's it's it's not as going to be as rich for the students. I also really want to think about encode, including the coding with hands, whether it's with Legos, whether it's with these be bots. Again, digital and analog all of these tasks you can see both of them. Digital calendar analog calendar students participating in both of them showing what they know on the carpet, showing what they know in the computer. Again, when they do this they're able to participate as a group, they're able to see me manipulate it and then they're able to actually go in and manipulate it themselves, digital and analog. Right. And so, what might this look like now you can see now, this is a program it's called seesaw and it's great because if you look at this lesson here this seesaw lesson here this is analog instruction i did a mini lesson and I recorded it this was going on a letter hunt. We're actually manipulating the letters, then students are getting to go ahead and manipulate it digitally. And so even now when students are at home, being able to show them digitally and that may be practice analog students that don't have a letter set at home, so that maybe they need to be able to have access like this. You can find the YouTube tutorial here again. This all these links if you go to coach ben.org, and look for this presentation K through two blending this recording will be there. Also, guess what, the, the web, the slides will be there. So again, here you can see on this you really see right here's the instruction it's it's analog we're looking at the letters. Right. We're rearranging the letters here to make sure they're in the right spot on the right side the students did the same thing right analog manipulatives right not because I can't analog because it's not just pencil and paper. Digital being able to do it in this program called seesaw analog digital, right, it's not this or that it's being able to do both, to support each other. Alright so positive process. In this section, the first big idea the first challenge for you was thinking about when you are making your tasks. It is not about digital or analog right. It's not about digital or analog, it's about both, we have to stop this fighting. Okay, so big idea number two. Let's look at this cube. When I think of a cube, what do I think of right when I think of a cube, what do I think of. Now this is kind of overlaps with the last one. The last thing I just talked about digital analog but it takes a little bit different look at it I want you to start thinking about. And this isn't just K through two designing what's called three dimensional tests now what do I mean about that, for example, a lot of times when we see kids using a computer, we see them on the computer, we see them typing there on the screen completely. I want to start getting these some of these tasks off the screen. For example, here's a kid on the computer holding up a book reading the book to the computer. There's some writing, holding up your writing, reading, to the computer again. We do digital and we do analog and we can do them separately but we can also do them together to support each other and it's magical right. The thing that's so magical the most magical thing on every device is your camera, and your microphone, because anything you can do with a camera and a microphone you can make it a three dimensional task you can pull it off the screen and you can have something on the screen, and maybe some manipulatives again. So what does this look like these three dimensional tasks. Well you can see here for the three dimensional tasks. This is an activity. Right. So in these three dimensional tasks, what you're seeing is you're seeing on the left here's this seesaw activity, they make a book that color the book they print they write in the book. And then over here, what are they doing, they're actually recording themselves reading. You can see him touching the words you can see him holding it up you can see concepts of print. This is a three dimensional task because it takes place off the screen, and it takes place on the screen students can listen to themselves reading. Right, they can really be engaged in their book with that hands on that, that a lot of us need also again three dimensional tests, what do you see here, unifix cubes. So what is this girl doing. You can see she has three yellow ones and she has one blue one because she's making the number four. She didn't do all that work on the screen. She did it off the screen with the unifix cubes, she counted. She put them together can she do this task on the screen. Yes, digital and analog is good, but this is even better because it takes both of them, and it puts them together. Not only can she do it she can see her classmates again this is an app called seesaw. Any of these activities you can see here you can click on and you can have access to them, they're all free. Another idea of this three dimensional task, what do I see here. I see a student recording himself, saying the alphabet so what he had to do is take the alphabet. He sort of did it all in the correct order. Then he recorded himself reading and pointing one to one to the alphabet. Digital analog together. The task is off of the screen but we're using the screen. To be able to capture that task students can go back, they can reflect, they can see how they did. I can see how they did and it makes it more than just the audience of one right this whole idea the audience is not just me the teacher with this app seesaw it's theirs, it's me. It's the other students and it's even their parents at home. Right. And so right now. I did a three dimensional task with a seesaw at home when the kids do. They built, they reconstructed the three little pigs, and they retold the three little pigs we had been reading it, and they have toys at home. So I think about what can these kids do at home, to be able to do these things. What do they have Do they have toys Yes Could they build little houses Yes. Do they know the three little pigs Yes Can they record themselves. Yes, a three dimensional task retelling the three little pigs right. And then recording it and capturing here's an example of one of my students that recorded the three little pigs and retold this, how can I, we need to think sometimes How can I move my activity off the screen. Well here's an activity that's on the screen right, the three little pigs it's a retelling and seesaw. The students are actually manipulating the pigs and the wolf you can see here, but we can also do it this way. So I did the tasks again in two ways. I made it an. We did the analog reading, we did a digital retelling. We did an analogue retelling, we did them both. Right. So again, big ideas, pausing for processing. Think about what do you want to reflect on. And by the way, if you're looking for that secret code word. My secret code word is accountability, accountability, right, secret code word for this session, accountability, so our big ideas for today. Number one, it's not about digital versus analog, it's about digital and analog. Number two, three dimensional tasks let's get the tasks off the screen and be able to use those tasks right, the analog and the digital at the same time. And number three, what is it, high expectations, whether we're in the classroom, or we're working with students at home. We need to have high expectations and somebody that teaches about this is my colleague, and you can find her at kind rainbows at kind rainbows on Twitter. She has taught me that we need to believe in the students, right, they can do it. And she always is pushing them ahead as she reminds me to have high expectations, whether it's academically but also using our analog and digital tools, right, so here's some wisdom from Miss g right, number one, believe in your students. Right. You believe in them. If you believe they can do it they can do it. Number two, care about not only your students but involve their families and if you have high expectations for their families. They can reach it to, regardless of population. And number three, of course have high expectations give them a chance, and they can do it. And so here's a little story about how you're having high expectations that comes from recently. This time we're in right. I was like, Oh, you know, I really wanted to connect with my students and one way I did that was a Google meet. But I was like feeling like I don't know if they can do it. We've never done it in class I'm not sure if we can do it but you know who did it. My friend, Miss Gutierrez, she did it. She made a this PowerPoint, you can see here you can click on it you can copy it. Everything's at Coach ben.org. And then I made this video for families to be able to use this tool called seesaw. It's free to connect in Google meet, where Google base district and there's lots of different things you can do. But she believes they could did it she did it, and she encouraged me and you know what they could did it, they did it right. You can have high expectations for your students believe in them. They can do it. So again, pause and process what were those three big ideas that we saw. What are the three big ideas remember tweeted out capture those moments. The great thing is, maybe you're going to look back and see a tweet from a few weeks ago if you're watching this later. And you can really interact with that person or if you have any questions, reach out to me. So our three big ideas today right three big ideas number one. It's not about digital versus analog, it's about using both of them we don't have to fight they're both great tools, number, and even right now, when kids are at home. Right, still get those tools number two, three dimensional tasks using both digital and analog at the same time sometimes they're standalone, and that's good. But how can we also make them together. And number three, make sure you have high expectations for your students high expectations right. Those are the three big takeaways for today. Right. Of course, I wanted to give a little a few shout outs to some give you a few more little things if you're looking to take beyond. If you want to see for example what are my favorite tools right now. How do I run my class remotely or in it. These are my favorite tools I love them, they're all free. They're all about engagement, and they most of them you can do digital and analog seesaw. We have flipgrid quizzes and epic great tools you can click on any of them take it take you there. My favorite people in K through two, some of them on Instagram. Some of our mind Twitter. Build your PLN you're at this conference right now but you're at home, you don't have to be at home alone at this conference, you can get those tweets out right, follow these people find these people be engaged with these people. Here's some. So, there's been a lot of teachers creating some amazing things right now. And so, here's some of my favorite resources again go to coach ben.org find the presentation. Click on it right here, right. There's some bunch of resources here that people have put in, add your own resources for remote learning how have you been creative. Finally, I want to give some shout outs as well to some people that have really been great support some other people you can follow on Twitter, they're doing some great stuff right now, our cell ed tech ed tech spec new impulse and see things, wonderful people. And if you want any of my stuff you here's all the things you can access my stuff you can go to coach ben.org you saw that that's where this presentation is, if you're curious what my kindergarten classroom looks like just go to kind rockets.org and this is my whole kindergarten classroom right here, you can see it online you can see what I'm doing right now. Okay. You can also find me on Twitter to different Mike by classroom account, or my personal account or on Facebook as well. So again, what have you learned. What are your big takeaways from this session, pause and process. Remember at any point you can rewind this and watch it again. So again, our big ideas for today. It's not about analog versus digital it's about using both of them. It's about making tasks that are three dimensional sometimes that we can have analog and digital working together and having high expectations. If you'd like to get a hold of me, these are all the different ways you can get a hold of me. Again, you can go and you can go to this presentation you can give me feedback on this presentation if you would like, click on that link, the slides are at Coach ben.org right the session was K through two blending. It's going to be one of the top ones for now. I really want to give a big thank you to brainstorm 2020 with limitless learning thanks to our sponsors. Remember to enjoy your sessions and do your best. Thanks for watching. Bye bye. Thank you.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
