BYOD and Google Docs

Laura Fitzgerald's Government students used BYOD and Google Docs together! Students were allowed to use their own devices or laptops provided by the school to work in pairs collaboratively to complete a chart listing characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of 3 different reconstruction plans. Students were assigned a column to work on and every 5-10 minutes they rotated to a different column. Students used their notes and other resources to edit what was previously entered then add their own information.

Several students commented on how much they liked working this way and they can't wait to have an opportunity to do it again!

A Testimonial

Image: Blogsofera via commons.wikimedia.org

"There's a fine line between expecting appropriate behavior and forcing students to fit into a self-projected model of learning. With the introduction of BYOD, I would see students with their phones smiling and think: What are they doing?! That's not the research I assigned them. However, I came to find out that they were enjoying looking up information on their phones. They were excited that they could collaborate with their partner via GoogleDocs message system. What? Sure, the topic of conversation would stray, but that's where my vigilance as their teacher and facilitator had to factor in. Don't ever want to go back!"

Mr. Vawter
Griffin GT/ILA

BYOD Making Headlines

See our teachers and students in the news...

Theatre Department

Wow! BYOD has added unlimited possibilities to our Theatre productions! One of the main ways that we are utilizing BYOD is by using backchannels. Backchannels are conversations that are occurring between audience members during a lecture or in our case, a performance! During performances in my classes, students will use Twitter to tweet their critiques of the performance as it is happening.
This allows them to be processing the performance while it is occurring and forces them to be clear and concise (144 character limit). We label each performing group with a non-sense hash tag that is a combination of their names so that they can search the tag when they come off stage and read all comments.
I have also had students use BYOD resources to take pictures of their own faces expressing various emotions to create a sort of "emotion collage".
And finally, I have allowed students to film in-class performances so that they can watch and critique themselves at home. Though we have had to be very strict about only using our own devices to film ourselves to protect student from having their performances placed online by someone else. Classroom management is key to successful BYOD use. FHS Theatre, Lucas Roeschley

BYOD in PreCal!

In Jordan Byrd's PAP PreCal class at Liberty, students were able to use their devices seamlessly while working on a factoring practice activity.  Some of the material in this activity was review and some was new.  Students used their devices to look up formulas for sum of cubes and difference of cubes.  They were also able to use their devices to look up examples on the Internet to help them work through other types of factoring problems.  Students were able to sit in groups of 2 to 4 students so that they could share devices if needed.  This is a quick, easy, and effective way to incorporate BYOD into the math classroom.

Foreign Restaurants

I just finished a lesson with my 8^th grade (1b) class.

I had the students use their devices and look up current restaurants and menus in Spain, Mexico, Argentina and Puerto Rico.  I had them denote dishes that were common in each country and then brainstorm why?  I encouraged them to consult the country’s individual maps and think of geographical differences and influences.  We then brought all of the results together and compared and contrasted the different foods that were found.  The students realized that many of their ideas about foods were stereotypical and often incorrect.

Cristi Sain

Spanish

Griffin MS

BYOD Jam Session

BYOD Jam Session...

Jam Session, Appy Hour, Show & Tell, Pair & Share, or whatever you want to call it...

Objective: Students share with you and their peers their favorite tech tools, website, apps, etc, that help them be more productive with your content. Students discuss how each tool helps them learn more and perform better in your class.

1. Invite your students to share their favorite tools, apps, or websites that help them in your class.
2. Give them a day or so to prepare.
3. Have the students, one at a time, show off their tool and explain how it has or is helping them with your class.
4. Keep a Google doc, today's meet, or some other way to document and share all of the tools shared in class. Make this available to students outside of class.
5. Allow students time to discuss the tools and download any apps that are shared in class.
6. Allow the activity enough freedom to explore different angles and perspectives of your course content, while steering toward tools that are productive, add value, and/or make your class fun.

This is a fantastic way to have your students find and discover great tools for learning about your classroom content.  If done properly, this activity will be engaging, fun, & informative.  You'll be surprised at some of the neat tools your students are using and how many of them you can probably use yourself.

We did this lesson with the 7th grade teachers and let them share any technology they used for work or play & it was a blast!  We'll probably do it again a few more times after the Christmas holiday. Our future jam sessions will will probably have specific themes creativity, communication, productivity, etc.

Art Class Blogs

Students in Crystal Peltzer's ceramics class at Liberty High School created blogs where they post pictures and descriptions of their art pieces.  Students take pictures of their artwork and write their blog posts using their phones, iPods, and laptops.  The blogs will then be the students' portfolios at the end of the year.  If students do not have their own device, cameras and two classroom computers are available.

Theatre Rehearsals

When working on duet acting scenes, students used their phones and voice recording apps to record their partner saying their lines. Then when they went home, they were able to rehearse on their own with all the benefits of meeting with their partner. This was especially helpful when we had a partner go on a weeklong vacation. It helped them stay on track and continue to make progress even though they were in different states!

Jenn Elder

Griffin Middle School

Theatre Arts Director

BYOD Traffic Light

Instead of an on/off switch - the BYOD Traffic Light

I have 2 8th grade science teachers who are using a BYOD “traffic light” instead of the “on/off switch”.
The traffic light is posted in the front of the room.
If it’s set to Red – there is absolutely no devices allowed that day (usually test days) – keep them in your pocket.
If it’s on Yellow – they can bring their devices and if the need arises, they can ask permission to use them (just so that the teacher knows what they are doing on them) or the teacher may ask them to look something up, etc.
If it’s set to Green, then if you got a device – get it out because we will definitely be using them.