Choosing the Right AI Tools for Elementary School Students: A Guide for Parents and Educators

In today's digital age, technology plays a significant role in education, and AI tools are becoming increasingly popular in elementary school classrooms. These tools can provide personalized learning experiences, engage students, and offer valuable insights into their progress, but with the plethora of options available, choosing the right AI tools for elementary school students can be a challenging task.

This quick guide is designed to help both parents and educators make informed decisions when selecting AI tools for young learners. There are eight areas to consider. It is important to first understand what each entails, and then decide how to approach it:

1. Data Privacy and Security
2. Age-Appropriate Content
3. Define Learning Goals
4. Personalized Learning
5. Engagement is Key
6. Data-Driven Insights
7. Accessibility
8. Balancing Screen Time

Understanding the Needs of Elementary Students:

Before diving into the wild world of AI-powered education, it's important to understand the unique needs of elementary school students. Children in these formative years require a balanced approach that combines digital resources with traditional learning methods. The AI tools you select should, most importantly, align with the age and developmental stage of the children. Doing the planning work ahead of time would save lots of valuable time later on.

1. Data Privacy and Security (Do not underestimate the importance of this!!!):

• For Educators: Familiarize yourself with the AI tool's data privacy policies and security measures. Ensure that student data is handled in compliance with educational standards. Remember that failing to comply with such policies can be detrimental to your job. I strongly recommend you share any platform you wish to use with your IT department and get approval from them.
• For Parents: Verify that the tool prioritizes data privacy and security, keeping your child's information safe. Read reviews and get recommendations on sites such as CommonSense Media and check for endorsements from educational institutions.

2. Age-Appropriate Content:

• For Educators: Ensure that the AI tool's content aligns with the grade level and curriculum standards you are using. It should seamlessly integrate into classroom instruction. A tool like Minecraft: Education Edition offers an immersive and age-appropriate learning environment for math, social studies, or different creative projects across a variety of grade levels and learning objectives.
• For Parents: Verify that the content is suitable for your child's age and grade. The tool should provide a fun and educational experience. Platforms like Duolingo offer child-friendly language learning activities for different age groups.

3. Define Learning Goals:

• For Educators: Identify specific curriculum objectives and areas where students need additional support. Consider how AI tools can align with classroom learning goals. For instance, in mathematics, a tool like Zearn Math can be tailored to your curriculum needs, helping students grasp foundational math concepts.
• For Parents: Determine your child's learning needs and academic challenges. Choose AI tools that complement classroom instruction and cater to your child's unique strengths and weaknesses. Tools like ABCmouse for early learners and BrainPOP / BrainPop Junior offer engaging content that supports various subjects. TIP: Ask your child's educators/librarians if they are already subscribed to such platforms, so you don't double-pay.

4. Personalized Learning:

• For Educators: Look for AI tools that offer personalized learning experiences. Adaptive platforms like DreamBox Learning can adjust content to suit each student's abilities. Personalized learning pathways can help you to differentiate instruction by challenging each individual learner at their own stage, and can potentially save lots of valuable time planning, guiding, and assessing!
• For Parents: Choose tools that can adapt to your child's learning style and provide content that matches their abilities. Prodigy is an example of a math game that adapts to students' math skills, ensuring an individualized learning experience.

5. Engaging Platforms:

• For Educators: Ensure that the AI tools you choose are engaging and interactive during in-class or remote learning. Gamified content and interactive elements can help maintain interest. Tools like Minecraft: Education Edition create a fun, engaging immersive learning experience.
• For Parents: Look for tools that make learning enjoyable for your child and can keep your child motivated and eager to explore. Look for those with gamified content or interactive features that keep them motivated and eager to learn. Khan Academy (or Khan Academy Kids) offers a fun and interactive way to explore subjects like math and reading. *** The AI-Guide option is currently available only in the US.

6. Data-Driven Insights:

• For Educators: Select AI tools that provide detailed reports on student performance. Use these insights to inform instruction, differentiate learning, and address specific needs. Platforms like IXL Learning offer comprehensive reports and provide valuable data insights for educators.
• For Parents: Consider tools that give you a clear picture of your child's progress and understand where they excel or require additional support. The math site Times Tables Rockstars provides valuable data that can help you assess their math facts understanding and fluency.

7. Accessibility:

• For Educators: Consider the appropriateness of the tool to your learners and ensure it can be seamlessly integrated into lessons. Google Classroom has new AI-powered features and provides accessibility for both educators and students.
• For Parents: Choose AI tools that can be used on both home computers and mobile devices (and make it suitable for both in-school and at-home learning). Most of the tools nowadays are designed to work on various platforms and devices, but it's still a good idea to double-check.

8. Balancing Screen Time:

• For Educators and Parents: It's crucial to strike a balance between screen time and other off-screen activities. Any digital tools should complement traditional teaching methods, not replace them entirely. Encourage learning from nature, physical activity, and face-to-face interactions.
• For Educators: Encourage students to balance AI tool usage with other educational activities and classroom interactions. Stress the importance of moderation and responsible screen time use.
• For Parents: Set reasonable limits on screen time and promote physical activity, reading, and social interactions as essential components of a well-rounded education.

I hope these guidelines will help you make well-informed decisions when choosing AI tools for your students or child. The right digital tools should enhance the learning experience, engage children, and provide valuable insights into their educational journey.

If you have any questions, suggestions, or concerns, please do not hesitate to leave a comment.

In the next blog post, I will share a list of some of my favorite AI-powered educational tools. I hope you find those useful as well.

Reflection: Best Practices in Education: Prologue: Why Bother?

Throughout my 20+ year career as an educator, I have had the privilege of working with inspiring educators and receiving professional development from thought leaders in education, psychology, social and cognitive science, technology, and more. However, I recently began questioning some of the "progressive" or "innovative" practices that I have learned, implemented and even taught others throughout my journey.

My reflections on the relationship between "best practices" and "innovation" were triggered by my experience at a forward-thinking educational institution where teacher freedom in teaching and learning was encouraged. Upon receiving my new class in August, I realized that my students were lacking basic skills, such as literacy, self-management, and understanding of processes, which were assumed in other schools I have worked at.

This made me realize that innovation must be defined, agreed upon, planned, and contained to create an institution that pushes boundaries while ensuring our students have the necessary skills to lead a successful life. Why contain innovation? Because the more we innovate, the less we teach what we know works well. Therefore, finding a balance between "Highly Effective" and "Learning Progressive" is essential to continue finding the best ways to serve our students (I wrote about this balance here)

although I am fascinated with the ways in which AI will affect humanity and the field of education in particular, I am going to work hard to go on a hunt for some educators and cognitive scientists who are making it a point to always look for instructional strategies that have demonstrated significant research-based evidence, examine their work, and reflect on my own practice.

I invite you to join me on this journey, and if you have any thoughts, ideas, comments, or suggestions, please share them with me.

My R&D Journey: Planning the Personalized Learning Experience

In previous blog posts I wrote about the lessons I've learned from my school visits in China (Reflections On “The Best PD Ever!”- Design at ISB and Reflections on "The Best PD Ever!"- ISB's Futures Academy). These experiences marked the beginning of my Research and Development journey. My last blog post, Research and Development: Lessons from a School Visit, outlined the creation of the R&D team, our visits to schools in California, and the important takeaways from those experiences.

In this blog post, I share my perspective and experiences throughout the Research and Development journey- from its inception, through the planning, to pre-implementation phase at the Elementary School level.

The R&D Journey

Our journey began with our new Head of School’s vision for our school- to become a place where students get equipped with the necessary skills to live in and be our best “with Africa and our world”. Based on Dr. Stuart’s own research and experiences, that meant that pedagogically speaking, our school is to possess a balance between “Highly Effective” and “Learning Progressive” (see definitions and more in this blog post). To move in that direction, the R&D team was created, with two tasks:

1. “to design an experience, develop the plan, and train teachers for the implementation of the ICS personalized learning experience for May and June of 2019”; and,
2. “create a cohesive and aligned six-week personalized learning pathway experience for grades 1-11 ICS students”

The ICS R7D Team's "WHY" Statement

Research:

The first part of our journey was composed of researching different schools, educational programs, philosophies and systems, and extracting important elements elements to include in our “recipe”. From going on school visits, to reviewing published literature, from participating in Twitter chats to stalking school websites and teacher blogs, the R&D members tirelessly shared, debated, and arrived at agreements as to what constitutes a balanced school and what we should include in our program (given the constraints of the PYP and IBDP programs).

Plan:

Although initially we thought in terms of “blowing up the system” and re-creating an “ideal school” from scratch, we (at the Elementary School) quickly arrived at the conclusion that in order to create something that will be successfully implemented (in the short term) and will take our division forward (in the long term), we needed to go slowly. To make small changes and at the same time to focus on pedagogy: moving from a more traditional teacher-student relationship and teacher-directed content to more student-driven education- one that promotes student agency and allows for the students to develop the dispositions, knowledge and skills to become Master Learners (in the spirit of “learning how to learn”).

Here is what we, as the ES R&D team members (Eunice Yun and myself), together with our Co-Principals Mrs. Susan Ballantyne and Mr. David Callaway, decided to implement in our ES PLEx:

IBPYP Framework:

As a PYP school, honoring the requirements of the PYP was a non-negotiable. Believing that the existing inquiry-based and thematic framework of the PYP is an effective way to teach and learn, we decided to keep the framework, focus on improving the teaching, and adding important elements we believed were missing from the PYP.
Student Agency:

This was to be the guiding principle we were to maximize during PLEx. Everything we were to design would lead to students determining their desired outcomes (voice), would allow them a variety of pathways (choice), and would eventually lead to students taking responsibility and owning their learning (ownership). The entry point was for students to spend ample time discovering and discussing their interests and passions in a general way, and once teachers break down the Transdisciplinary Theme and the Central Idea, to hone in on those interests, and to embed them into the unit plans.

IBPYP: Agency

Emphasis Shift from Product to Process:

Instead of focusing on the end results, we decided to add value and emphasize the process. This was to manifest in different important ways:

1. Teaching and Learning: We put structures in place (instructional time, modification or requirements, example documentation, and teacher/student training opportunities) to assist and remind teachers of the important of the process. We encouraged teachers to “go slow to go fast”- to spend time on systems, structures, and procedures in order to ensure students are equipped with the understanding and skills to ask meaningful questions, to thoroughly plan their inquiries, to research at their developmental levels, and to do their best to make an impact on their world. At the same time, teachers were to de-emphasize the importance of a “perfect” final product and instead, to encourage students to create prototypes and models to explain their thinking and learning process. 
2. Documentation and Reflection: Students are to use Seesaw as the platform for ongoing documentation and reflection (3 times weekly). We built into the schedule about 40 minutes for daily planning each morning and 20 minutes for reflections each afternoon. 
3. Reporting: We shifted the focus of reporting from the report card to ongoing Seesaw documents. We informed the parents from the get-go that at the end of the unit, students will have a generic report card comment (for unit #6) that refers them back to the ongoing Seesaw documentation and reflection. We hoped that parents would participate in the conversation through commenting on their child’s work in a timely and authentic manner. Since we left the reporting window open until the end of the year, teachers (if so they desire) would be able to add individualized comments on student performance during PLEx.

Learning and Processes:

Although our brains prefer to think of processes in a linear way, learning is nothing but linear. We decided to use our school’s new Learning Process (which our new Research Process also matches), add reversed arrows, and break down each stage into manageable steps. This, we believed, would provide teachers with sufficient structure to anchor the teaching and learning journey as they guide students from the Discovery stage to the final reflection and presentation pieces.

The PLEx Learning Process and Stages

ATLs (Approaches to Learning):

An emphasis on 21 Century Skills was a top candidate for inclusion. We ended up using the ATLs (formerly “Transdisciplinary Skills”) from the IBPYP and adapting/creating existing progressions from Singapore American School and the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016). After a long discussion and rigorous work, we decided to focus on 4 ATLs (Thinking, Research, Self-Management, and Communication skills), which we broke down into 11 sub-skills (the original Enhanced PYP ATLs have 39 sub-skills!) The reasoning behind narrowing down sub-skills was twofold:

• Due to their importance, we wanted the ATLs to serve as a common thread throughout the school (ES, MS, and HS), and since the MS and HS created a more individualized journey, they insisted that Social Skills would be too difficult to assess.
• We wanted students and teachers to dig deep into these important ATLs, as they will be taught explicitly and regularly, and students/teachers would discuss placement on each progression throughout the Personalized Learning Experience (“PLEx”).

Sample ATL Progression: Research

Pathways:

We decided to use pathways as a tool for sorting students, staff, community members, and spaces to optimize learning. However, after agreeing to have four specific pathways for all three divisions, we (in the ES) realized that with the requirements of the PYP (to use the TD Theme and Central Idea), adding another specific way to sort students would create too many restrictions. After sharing and discussing this with teachers, we decided to keep four pathways, but let teaching teams decide what the four would be based on the nature of their student interests, projects, concepts, outcomes, or a combination of them. 

The original Pathways

Learner Readiness:

Noting the benefits of brain and body readiness, we decided to embed 20 minutes in the daily schedule for students to focus on exercise and mindfulness. Our fantastic PE teachers, Heather Kea and Michael Holton, led an engaging and persuasive teacher workshop that included the research behind the benefits of increased heart rate and mindfulness to student learning. Heather and Michael also created a Google Slide full of ideas and options for students and teachers to choose from.

Sample Learning Readiness Activities Slide 

Community involvement:

An important element we identified in both the school visits and our research, we looked for ways to include parents and the greater community in the teaching and learning. As a first step, we decided to use Seesaw as a communication platform between parents and their children. We also created “PLEx Volunteer Forms”, and together with our Office of Communication, shared it with teachers, parents, and the greater community. Our aim was to create a database of parents and the greater community, so that they can participate in PLEx, but also to use it in the long terms for other projects in the future.

Mathematics & Reading:

Finally, for various reasons, we decided to exclude Math from PLEx and to allot one hour daily for math instruction. Honoring the importance and benefits of daily reading, and allowing teachers to (1) connect with their students in topics other than PLEx, and (2) provide mini-lessons and other needed interventions to individual students, we decided to include about 30 minutes of reading to the daily schedule. 

Sample Suggested Daily Schedule

Teacher Training:

An essential element of PLEx was to ensure that all teachers understand the structures and expectations during PLEx. To do that, in the schedule, we had two half days and one full day dedicated to teacher training. On top of that, each division’s R&D members negotiated with our division’s administrators additional training times during our regular Wednesday Professional Learning Community (PLC) time.

To structure these trainings, we made sure to consider:

• Looking at the big picture and overarching structures, such as “What is PLEx?”, the ICS Learning Process, the ATLs, etc.;
• Narrowing into the finer details (i.e., how different stages are broken down);
• Use of technology (Use of Google Classrooms for grades 3-5, use of Seesaw, online databases for research, etc.);
• Progressing in more of a linear way (first “Inquiry, then “Action” and ending with “Reflection”);
• Leading by example- Allowing for teacher agency in every workshop or training, by including a variety of resources, training breakout options, etc.
• Sharing structures, examples and exemplars for teachers and students (we created a Google Site with lots of information- to explain stages, get students inspired, manage structures, example documents to share with students, and much much more!); and,
• Most importantly,
• get ongoing teacher feedback and, when possible, adjust plans and expectations, or focus future trainings on what is really needed;
• ensure teachers have sufficient time to digest the information, ask questions, express their frustrations, and discuss how each element would work in different teams’ context; and, 
• for each team to begin planning what PLEx is going to look like, what resources to use, personalize templates, etc.

A Suggestion for PLEx Schedule

What Was Left Out?

One of the most important guidelines we gave ourselves was to not overwhelm teachers. This year has been, and will continue to be busy, and there are many things happening at the end of the school year (Standardized testing, individual reading and writing assessments, step-up ceremonies, art showcases, heightened emotions due to students or teachers leaving, experience with and level of expertise as inquiry-based teachers, etc.). We were very conscious of which existing structures we keep, and what we add during this last part of the year. Here are a few elements we decided to leave out:

• SEL (Social-Emotional Learning): During our school visits, we were energized by how much attention and emphasis some schools put on social/emotional learning. We looked into bringing in someone from the Nueva school’s SEL Program to share their ideas and plans with us, but unfortunately, we decided to not include SEL as a program for PLEx, and instead work on different related areas through the Learning Readiness program and the ATLs (which, we ended up removing the Social Skills from the list…)
• Design Thinking Process: As a Design teacher, this was a big challenging for me to accept the exclusion of a structured Design Thinking process to complement all the projects and models students will be creating. Even after researching and creating this slideshow, the final verdict was that adding another unfamiliar structure would be asking too much from our teachers. :-(
• Specialist Integration: In a highly functioning PYP school, you will see the Specialists’ unit plans that are naturally integrated into the homeroom units. As our school strives to continue to educate Specialist teachers on the “Why” and “How” of integration, and re-write unit plans in homerooms and for Specialists to become more inter- and multi-disciplinary, we had to accept that we are not there yet. Specialist teachers having to finish their “own curriculum” forced us to think creatively how we could divert their attention from their own plans to what allows students to see the transdisciplinary aspect of the PYP and their PLEx projects. We shared ideas in regards to altering schedules, grouping students in different ways, offering “PLEx route” and “Non-PLEx route”, and more. We’ll just have to wait and see what will happen when we begin this experience, and reflect and plan something better for the future.

At the beginning of May, we are to begin this exciting and scary journey. I have no doubt that there will be a vast array of experiences and beliefs, and we will reflect on each of those as we support teachers and students throughout this marvelous new journey!

If you have any questions or other inquiries, please feel free to share them. I look forward to engaging in the conversations!

Reflections On “The Best PD Ever!” Part 1- Design at ISB

In the course of this school year, I was fortunate to be introduced to the idea of Innovation in education (yes, I’m pretty late to join the wagon…). I initially was not sure what exactly it meant or looked like, but the more I looked into it by reading great literature, participating in Twitter conversations, and discussing with anyone I could find to engage with me about these topics, I realized that without it, schools and teachers are likely to lose their value and not actualize what their initial purpose has been- to prepare their student population to the challenges of the present and future, and to create responsible and contributing citizens, so that hopefully they’ll be able to fix all the problems our generation has left them with.

When the opportunity to explore other interesting teaching roles at the school arose, I was the first to apply for a new ES Design position as well as to a new Research and Development ("R&D") project my school chose to embark on. So, long story short, in the next two years I will be spending my days as a 50% ES Design teacher and 50% member of our new R&D team.

ES Design- Taking our grade 3-5 Visual Arts course one step further, and including more STEM opportunities to address both Visual and Media Arts elements as well as Science (Engineering and Technology) standards, all through integrated project-based learning that emphasizes the iterative design-thinking process. 

R&D Team- Composed of several tiers, with the one at the center including two educators from each division (ES, MS, and HS) and the Head of School, and reporting to our division’s Vice Principals, we were tasked with creating a 5-week personalized learning experience for our students (Kindergarten to grade 11). Everything involved in the reasoning, planning, preparing and executing this goal (all the WHYs and HOWs) is what we will be focusing on in the 2018-2019 academic school year.

When I was asked for what kind of Professional Learning opportunity I would like to do to support my understanding and growth in these distinct areas, and the idea of a school visit was suggested, I was ready to start planning my trip to China to visit some of the most dynamic and innovative schools who have been grappling with the same questions we are starting to for quite a while, and have taken steps to address these needs in creative and unique ways.

The three schools I chose to go and visit were the International School of Beijing (ISB), Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) and farther to the south, Nanjing International School (NIS)

The objectives of my trip were threefold:

1. Learn what established ES Design and personalized learning programs look like 
2. Get ideas for implementation in my school 
3. Connect/ network with like-minded leaders in the industry

Together with two colleagues (teaching HS Social Studies and HS Science), we ventured to Beijing to start our incredibly rewarding learning journey…

In this blog entry series, I will re-capture my learning and reflect on the different programs we observed at each school, and add some of the important takeaways I got from each school and program. Here are the programs I looked at within each school:

ISB (International School of Beijing)

• ES Design Course (K-5) 
• MS Future’s Academy (grades 7-8) 
• HS Future’s Academy (grades 9-10) 

WAB (Western Academy of Beijing)

• Design and the PYP Exhibition 
• FLoW (“Future Learning of WAB”) 

NIS (Nanjing International School)

• ES Design 
• MS Design 
• MS “X-Block” 

*** Disclaimer: These five days of school visits have been extremely busy, interesting and intense few days, and I have no doubt I did not get the full picture of the history, present, and plans for the future of each of the programs I observed and conversed about. If you notice and inaccuracy, I apologize and would appreciate if you could contact me so that I can represent these hard-working educators and their work more accurately.

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Days one and two: ISB- Design

The Design-Thinking Process at ISB:

As soon as you get into ISB it is clear that the school is taking their newly created Design-Thinking process quite seriously. Aside for the fact that posters of the process and other Design-related propaganda are spread around the school’s walls (in both classrooms and hallways), the conversations we had in the past two days included numerous mentions of the Design process and the importance of integrating it into different aspects of the curriculum- both vertically (ES, MS, and HS) and horizontally (across different subjects).

The ISB Design-Thinking process is quite basic. It was put together by a small committee with all three divisions in mind. This way, they believed, each division can, on the one hand, share the general process and vocabulary, and on the other hand, get into as much detail as they needed. I really liked that idea. Julie Lemley, one of the Design facilitators, shared that using this process has marked a powerful shift in their work to embed Design in teaching and learning.

ES Design at ISB:

While Design seems to flourish and is visible all around the Middle and High Schools, the idea of using a process in the Elementary School had only started in April 2017 when ES homeroom teachers were officially included in the final stages of the ideation and implementation of the ISB’s Design-Thinking process. Since then, the ES has adopted the ISB Design-Thinking process, but no requirements accompanied it. A few teachers chose to voluntarily use the ISB Design-Thinking cycle in part of some units of study.

Setting the Stage:

• All ES teachers went through a “What is Design-Thinking?” hands-on training session. 
• Two teachers were hired for full-time “STEAM Integration” positions (the K-2 facilitator moved from a third-grade homeroom, and the 3-5 facilitator was hired as tech-integration coach), while the ES Librarian has taken on EdTech, library, and Design for Pre-Kindergarten students. 
• Beginning next year, the facilitators will be collaborating with homeroom teachers to integrate design-thinking into units rather than teach their own Specialist classes. They believe that Design Thinking (as well as technology) should be embedded in the curriculum, providing students (and teachers) opportunities to explore what it is, what it means, and what it looks like when working on projects. 
• A basic Design Lab was allotted. It will be available to about 36 classes. Currently, teachers are aware of the need to expand and will be using other spaces (such as homerooms) for the theoretical stages and the lab for the “Making” parts. They are also aware that it may send the wrong message to students, as this space is not just a “place to build things”, which is only one part of the design process. 
• Not having requirements allows the design team to focus on quality planning. They feel like they have the freedom to go slowly, plan and put systems in place.

The Curriculum:

• ISB has created their own design standards for MS and HS. They are currently working on specific skills and are simplifying it for ES. 
• Each element of the generic Design Process is divided further and explained in separate documents. 
• Planning to break required skills by grade level: “By the end of… all students know how to use… (box cutters, glue guns, etc.)”

Teaching:

• Students do research in the classroom so that they work on skill-building in the lab.
• Breakdown of lessons: 
• Introduce the Design Challenge 
• Review expectations 
• Give challenge 
• Planning: Students write things down before they start creating 
• Emphasis on understanding the importance of the process 

*** Time for feedback and critique (very important!)

Student Agency:

• A big goal is to build capacity in the students so they are ready for MS Design. “We would like to start pushing up rather than trickling down” (Angela) 
• Some students don’t know what they don’t know. Once they realize, there’s the desire to learn more. 
• Students are happy to solve challenges and demonstrate their understanding and knowledge 
• Agency in terms of “I know what I need and what tool I need to use”- is there. In terms of planning for a specific audience or independently following the Design Process- not yet 
• Students are not used to being asked questions about their work, but they are getting used to being asked lots of questions about each part of their processes and products.

Sharing and Assessments:

• Getting parents to understand how much fun it is to Make
• Involving the parents by holding events and allowing parents participate in design challenges (for example, “Design a lunchbox”). Reflecting with parents about what they did, what they learned (skills as well), how is it useful in life, etc.
• Great buy-in!

Still need to figure out:

• Sometimes feeling like getting forced into projects 
• Difficulties getting teachers to use design-thinking process and to take risks 
• More documentation is needed (for example, for design-challenges) 
• Collaborate with classroom teachers to articulate and include the Design Process in their units

Suggestions for Starting a New ES Design Course:

• Start with less (both materials and space) 
• Do a few things very well 
• Pick one skill you can say “Every kid can”, then move on to another skill, and so on 
• Build a good team around you 
• Conduct a teacher Design-Thinking PD (at the beginning of the year?!) to make sure everyone understands what it is and speak the same language. It

Valuable Resources:

• David Lee (DT in ES) 
• Pinterest 
• Destination Imagination’s Instant Challenges (adapted) 
• Use badges for successfully participating in voluntary classes for teachers/students? 
• Create teacher Expert groups? (with badges)

Takeaways:

• Anchoring Design in the Visual Arts and enriching it with technology and the idea of Play is a unique way to introduce Design 
• Grades 3-5 is an excellent age to start thinking deeply about Design Thinking 
• We need to start talking about Design-Thinking more seriously as an Elementary School 
• I need to collect Design Challenge ideas 
• I need to find and create documents specifically for Design-Thinking 
• Favorite quote: “We would like to start pushing up rather than trickling down” (Angela) 
• I am still not convinced it was a good idea to get rid of the tech coaches and to not use design as another coach (STEAM?) 

Design-thinking at ISB is well underway, and as science, technology, and learning continue to change- so will these programs. I have no doubt it will continue to grow and evolve to create the best learning experiences for the learners it serves.

In the next blog post, I will be sharing what I found in the other innovative programs ISB offers its students in the Middle and High School levels, namely, their Future’s Academy program for grades 7 and 8, as well as the one for grades 9 and 10. Stay tuned!

Passion Projects: Design Your Own Version (Part 1)

Until recent changes in the educational systems, few of students' interests and ideas were taken into account when the curriculum was designed. As a student, were you ever asked what you wanted to learn about? Even an inquiry-based curriculum, such as the IPC (International Primary Curriculum) or the PYP (Primary Years Program), which allow for student input in the curriculum, have failed to let students be the drivers of their educational journey.

Enter "Genius Hour"...

Genius Hour is a concept originally created by Google, Inc. The idea behind Genius Hour was to let Google employees explore their passions for 20% of their workload, as long as it was perceived to benefit the company (Google). Sounds pretty simple, but the results of this experiment turned into a fantastic avenue for Google employees' creativity and ingenuity. Several of today's successful Google products, such as Gmail, Adsense, or Google News, have been the result of Google's Genius Hour efforts.

The success of this idea has been infectious- many companies started their own version of Genius Hour, and recently, the education system has seen risk-taking teachers and administrators trying to implement these ideas into their own teaching load and curriculum. Genius Hour in schools, has been given different names ("20% Time", "Passion Time", "Passion Project", and more) and looked a bit differently, but was based on the same premise, that both the students and the institution benefit from pursuing their unique passions. Students choose something they wish to learn about, embark on a research journey, and end the "project" with a presentation and/or a product.

In this three-part blog series, I share my own journey and outline some ways educators could offer their own version of a personalized learning opportunity for their students. More specifically, in this first post I provide readers with general information about how to begin their journey, and share a presentation to introduce teachers to Genius Hour- including the process, timeline, suggested frameworks, and more. In the second and third posts, I get into the nitty-gritty of each component of the Genius Hour project: finding time in the curriculum, creating a realistic timeline, grouping students, determining acceptable projects, using appropriate research and design frameworks, using a platform to host, guiding and supporting students, using mentors and experts, presenting, and finally, ending this fulfilling journey with presentations and a celebration.

Yes, there is quite a lot to think about when one wishes to embark on such a journey. I am hoping you find this blog post series as a starting point that would help you conceptualize and create whatever works for you and your students.

So… Where do I Begin?

Embarking on a "Passion Project" Journey...

Last year, I decided it was time for me to explore what such project-based learning could do for my students' education. I did a lot of research and found an incredible amount of information about how Google's Genius Hour was reincarnated in different educational settings. I found frameworks, timelines, philosophies, project examples, presentations, and more. It seemed that everything I needed was out there for me to use. But the more I dug in, the more I realized that my idea of Genius Hour was a bit different than each of the documents and experiences I've found. What I needed to do was to pick and choose, to synthesize the information I found valuable, and to come up with a unique product that would fit my needs, my school's philosophy and my students' individual personalities and learning styles.

You will need to do the same. I recommend you read on to get an idea of what you should look out for, get some ideas, and create your own version of Genius Hour.

How to Start:

Follow the numbered points below to learn about Genius Hour/ Passion Project and to slowly set up the supporting structures that will accompany your students' journeys. 

1. Get yourself familiar with what's out there. Spend some time searching the Internet for examples of "Genius Hour", "Passion Projects", and "20-Time" at different schools and in different levels. 
2. Get organized. Create a folder on your computer and a bookmark folder to save and store useful websites and files, so that you can refer back to them throughout your planning and teaching. 
3. Make sure you know what you are doing and why. Create your own "Passion Project Manifesto"- Explain to yourself why you are doing it, what the benefits would be, what essential knowledge and skills your students should gain upon completing the project, etc. Another very important thing to think about is the guidelines for projects (see below). This will be helpful when you are asked to explain what you are doing and why, as well as when you evaluate the work you and your students did at the end. 
4. Start planning. Think about where this experience can take place in your workweek. Create a tentative timeline: Break the process into clear steps, and make a list of helpers and mentors you could rely on to support student learning. 
5. Start creating! Now it's the time to start creating content for your students. This can be a long and tenuous process, so I will be sharing with details how I decided to design my passion project experience. 

Getting Everyone on Board

Creating a personalized learning experience is not an easy task. It requires not only to find the time and plan it well, but also to convince others that instructional time is not being wasted. Once you create your manifesto and outline your plan (with as many details as possible), test the waters with colleagues whom you feel safe with. Remember, being innovative does not mean you have all the right answers- it means you are stepping out of your comfort zone to plan and create experiences students would benefit from! It will not be perfect the first time, but it is completely worth it. If you take this seriously, you will realize that on your own.

I created a sample presentation you could use to get a better understanding of what a Passion Project looks like. You can feel free to adapt it to your own needs and share it with colleagues, parents, administrators, or anyone who wishes to learn more about what it is and how it can be done.

This is the first part of a two-part blog entry about passion projects. You can find the second part here.

I hope you find this blog post useful. I would appreciate any feedback and/or suggestions right here in the comment section or through a tweet to @EduRonen. This is a learning journey, and any input is important. Thank you!

Jazzing Up Our CVs

This morning I decided to have a look at my CV and give it a tune-up. I did not expect to be shocked at how boring it looked. It made me wondering when these CV designs came into place, and when their final hour of death would arrive… So I decided that tonight I’m going to do something about the way I advertise myself.

I debated between creating an interactive image (a FDF, perhaps?!), and working on Photoshop and inserting images and graphs. I started with thinking about what my professional history would look like in numbers and images. 13 years of teaching experience, 3 degrees (AA, BA, and MA), 6 countries I taught in, my personal information, activities I took part in since 1999, and so on. I began working with Google Sheets to create some graphs and charts, started a new Photoshopcanvas, turned to PsPrint to create an interesting-looking business card for my personal information, looked for transparent and free to use images of flags, and imported images of my credentials. That’s about when I realized things are going quite slowly, which made me think about the 21st century and all the available tools we have in place to do things…

A tedious process involving Adobe Photoshop CS6…

The word Infographic suddenly popped into mind. A quick Google Search revealed many different tools to create infographics. Since I already had an account with Canva, and have been quite impressed with their articles about design and simple yet powerful tutorials, I decided to give it a try.

The interface was simple and intuitive, and I very quickly found a template I found appropriate for my educational technology “Infographical CV” (I coined the term!) I replaced the original images and numbers with some of my own and some free-to-use ones off the Web, made sure there’s some variety in the way I represented my professional experience, and voila! A new way to look at, and share my teaching journey with friends, colleagues, and potential employers. Is it perfect? By no means, but it’s a great place to start thinking about the need to break away from the traditional way we’ve been doing things.

The results are below. If you have any comments or suggestions, please share them!

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My infographic CV: