What We Can Learn From the Momo Challenge

Whether you were browsing the news, listening to your students chat at lunchtime, or talking to your own kids, you might have hear about something called the "Momo Challenge."

This supposed challenge is where a creepy bird-woman appears in the middle of random kids videos (like Peppa Pig) and urges unsuspecting viewers to commit self-harm and even suicide. The good news about this story is many of the original claims and scares about Momo are completely unfounded. Many claim that this social media tidal wave was fueled by a community of scared and reactionary adults who were quick to judge and post unsubstantiated news.

Many reliable media outlets have started reporting about the Momo Challenge hoax. Here is an article in The New York Times about the whole phenomenon, as well as an opinion piece from NBC News and another one in The Washington Post. Common Sense Media has come out with an article that discusses Momo along with other major "challenges" getting online attention, ranging from the fairly innocuous (Mannequin Challenge) to the alarming (Tide Pod Challenge). This week Vicki Davis dedicated an episode of her 10 Minute Teacher podcast to the topic.

This situation highlights the importance of teaching our students, and ourselves, the habits of responsible digital citizenship. We need to monitor young people's use of digital media, while also modeling good habits and providing a safe space for kids to seek out our help when they need it. A digital world demands that we consume content quickly, and we can get overwhelmed and make rash decisions without thinking critically to what we read, watch, and post online. As adults, it's easy for us to get caught up in "isn't it horrible what kids are doing these days" conversations. We don't realize that's its exactly this kind of talk that sometimes prevents opportunities for authentic conversations with kids and discourages them from reaching out for help when they really need it.

In her podcast, Davis outlines a few simple steps we can teach kids to do when they encounter something uncomfortable or inappropriate online:

1. Stop - take a moment to gather thoughts
2. Screenshot - collect evidence
3. Block - if possible, block a social media follower who is posting inappropriately
4. Tell & Share - tell a trusted adult and share screenshots

The Momo Challenge is a hoax, but that doesn't mean it's not real or relevant for educators and students. At the very least, it serves as a reminder about how important it is to educate them about slowing down, thinking critically, and not being afraid to ask for more information or help.

Assistive Technology Basics

 

 

"Technology is anything that was invented after you were born." - Alan Kay

The term "assistive technology" might sound overwhelming, but chances are that everyone at some point in their lives uses it for a variety of academic and non-academic purposes. The term really just refers to devices that help people with physical, learning, or other disabilities operate more efficiently and effectively in their day-to-day lives.

One particular assistive technology has helped me immensely since I was in the 6th grade: contact lenses. This assistive device not only enabled me to see the directions written on the whiteboard when I was in school, but contacts help me drive safely, play basketball, and spot my kid in a crowd at the airport. Assistive devices in the classroom can be "low-tech" like my contact lenses, pencil grips, or slant boards for students with handwriting difficulties, or "high-tech" devices like speech-to-text tools on phones, tablets, or computers.

Some educators still think that students with learning differences should not use assistive technology in a school setting because it is cheating, or that these students really should be taught the "real way" of doing things without assistance. I'm certainly glad that my teachers didn't make me take out my contacts during tests, or force me to undergo hours of vision therapy interventions to attempt to teach me how to see better. My teachers also did not deny the effectiveness of contact lenses even though the kind I used was invented well after they were born.

Assistive technology can help students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences access information and communicate. Tools like speech-to-text and text-to-speech capabilities have ingrained themselves in our mobile devices and home assistants (familiar with Siri and Alexa?), and technology is allowing people to make their reading and writing environments increasingly customizable (Dark Mode on the new macOS, anyone?). Assistive technologies can also help those with attention difficulties direct their focus, and those with executive functioning difficulties remember, plan, and prioritize tasks.

Here are some more resources to get you more familiar with common assistive technology tools for learning differences and more:

Assistive Technology Basics from Understood.org - this has many great resources!

Apple's Accessibility Features on the Mac

Apple's Accessibility Features on the iPad

Google's Accessibility Tools on Chrome & Android devices

Have an assistive tech tool that you or your students can't live without? Leave a comment!

Two Free Resources That Build Students' Global Awareness

While I'm skeptical of the overuse of technology in classrooms for game and "free time"-related purposes, I also know that on a day-to-day basis, teachers need a bank of self-explanatory and highly engaging resources for students to use when they are finished early or when you're working one-one-one with other students. Here are two tools that fit that need, but also build upon students' global awareness, problem-solving skills, and vocabulary.

1. Freerice

This website has been around for more than 10 years now, so it's nothing new in the EdTech world. It is, however, still a quick and effective way for teachers to pair rote memorization tasks, like memorizing multiplication facts, with a larger humanitarian goal.

Freerice allows players to play multiple-choice quiz games in certain subject matters. For every question that a player answers correctly, 10 grains of rice are donated to populations in need via the United Nations World Food Programme. The questions will start off fairly easy, and progressively get more difficult the more a player chooses correct answers. Quizzes are available in a variety of subjects, including English grammar and vocabulary, multiplication facts, world capitals, and even the periodic table of the elements.

2. Geoguessr

This app and website is a game that plops players down in the middle of nowhere in Google Street View, and based on evidence from the local surroundings, players have to figure out where they are in the world. This game can definitely get students to employ problem-solving and research skills to triangulate their location. They might come up a street sign in a different language, or a phone number of a real estate add, or a significant landmark that they can use to research where they are in the world. Each "game" is five rounds long, and players can set time limits on how long they can spend figuring out their location.

Using any other games/tech tools with a global focus in mind? Comment below (I actually think the comments work now!).

Video Apps/Tools that Support Student Creation

Remember Bloom's taxonomy from your college/ed credential schooling? The original framework consisted of six major categories (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, Analysis, Synthesis, and Evaluation). It is used to organize cognitive skills from the most basic to the most complex. The taxonomy was revised in 2001, and the new authors changed "Synthesis" to "Creation" and placed that category at the top of the hierarchy. This structure basically says that while it's very necessary for students to recall facts (Knowledge), it is important for them to move up the hierarchy and use their knowledge to create new and original works.

Of course, the standard mode of getting students to create is a written report, a 5-paragraph essay, or a poster. One of the most important elements of current technology in schools, or course, is that it gives students access to a wide range of tools with which to create new multimedia works. Why not let them create a video to show their understanding, analysis, and application of a concept instead of an end-of-unit test or report? Requirements and learning objectives can be just as rigorous, if not more so, than the more "traditional" means of assessment.

If you've decided to take the leap and have students create a video in your class, here are a few simple apps and tools that can help get them creating right away:

1. iMovie

This app comes preloaded onto pretty much everything Mac/iOS these days, so many students and teachers are already familiar with using it. You can get fairly sophisticated with it, or keep it simple and create a slick-looking video with younger kids using the "Movie Trailer" option. There are plenty of guides and tutorials out there online for iMovie, from Apple's official support page, to their Starter Guide in iBooks, to this YouTube video tutorial by Justin Brown.

2. The Screen Record feature on the iPad

The screen record feature is a great way for students to make a video on any app and then record their screen and any narration they want to add. For example, a student could create their visuals in an app like Notability or Google Slides, select the Screen Record feature, and then scroll through these visuals while narrating.

How do you screen record?

1. Launch the “Control Center." On iPads running iOS 12 or later, swipe down from the top right corner with one finger.
2. Tap the screen recording icon – two concentric circles.
3. Your iOS device will start screen recording with a 3-seconds countdown.
4. A red bar on attached to the top of your screen signifies that the screen is being recorded.
5. Tap the red bar to stop recording. The recording will be saved in your Camera Roll.

 

3. Adobe Spark Video

Although I sometimes have complaints about Adobe's usability and their account management, there's no denying that Adobe Spark Video is a very powerful tool for student creation. The interface is simpler than iMovie for beginning filmmakers, as students make movies by layering narration over still images and/or video clips. Spark also contains story templates, including "A Hero's Journey" and "Tell What Happened" that support students in telling a complete story. It's very quick & easy to get started and make a good-looking product with this tool. If you are interested in using this with your class, you do need to contact you school's tech department/IT admin to see if you already have an Adobe Admin console (ugh). The app itself is free, but it's a little bit complicated to get the teacher admin/dashboard up and running to use with students.

4. Stop Motion Studio

This free app (iOS & Android devices) provides the basic tools students need to get started making a stop-motion animation. The interface looks a lot like iMovie, and I was able to figure it out and teach myself how to use it within a matter of seconds.

5. ChatterPix Kids

This free app is perfect for getting young ones (PK-2) interested in simple movie-making. Basically, you take a picture of an object, draw a line where you want the "mouth" to be in your picture, and narrate what you want to object to say. When you play the movie, the picture you just took will speak your narration from the mouth you chose! Students can also choose from a selection of decorations and designs to add to their pictures.


Happy creating!

A New Years Challenge

Happy New Year! 'Tis the season of resolutions, and while I'm not a huge fan of resolutions, I do see the value in using the new calendar year as a springboard for fresh starts and new beginnings. As a teacher, I've always felt that "real" new year came in August and September. As I've gotten more experience, I've learned to see the value of reassessing my work in January. It's a time usually midway through the year when routines have been set, the curriculum is rolling, and I feel more comfortable with my students because I know them better than in the fall.

With the coming of 2019, I have a challenge (not necessarily a resolution, if you're not the resolution type), should you choose to accept it. It is:

Try one new thing that will allow students to either...

         ... engage more fully with your academic content

         ... express their ideas in multiple ways, OR

         ... access academic content

One of the key words in this challenge is ONE. It can be small - in fact, it should be small and completely manageable. I am certainly not proposing a complete overhaul of your curricula, or your teaching methods, or your teaching mindset. As Vicki Davis, host of the 10 Minute Teacher Podcast frequently says, "Innovate like a turtle." It's easy to get overwhelmed with all of the great new methods you "should be" using, the research you "should be" reading, the mindsets you "should" adopt, and the professional development opportunities you "should be" taking advantage of.

My hope is that if you focus on changing one small thing in your routine, or an upcoming project or assignment, you'll realize that small changes are easier than you think. Perhaps most of your students won't even notice this change, but think about the impact it would have if one student learned how to express her ideas more clearly, or if one student could comprehend what he read better because of a tool you introduced.

You might have already sniffed it out - this is totally a UDL challenge! There are many resources on the CAST UDL website that are extremely helpful. Want to get some ideas of tech tools that are out there? Check out this post from the Cult of Pedagogy blog by Jennifer Gonzalez.

Have an idea about what would be your one new thing? Leave a comment below (for those of you who have tried to comment previously and were unsuccessful, I think I figured out the glitch - please try again!).

3 Tech Tools to Encourage Writing

Sustaining a regular writing practice can be tricky, so why not let technology help? These three tools help redefine writing so that students can easily create multimedia masterpieces. All three of these tools can be used for a particular project or teacher-directed lesson, or they have great possibilities for more independent writing activities.

1. Younger Grades: MyStory App by Bright Bot, Inc. (free for basic with upgrade option)

MyStory is a great tool for younger students (K-2) to create stories using visuals, text, and audio. Students can create books by freehand drawing, adding icons from the icon bank, and record their voice or sound effects on each page. An adult can choose from multiple sharing options, and if you upgrade, you can export the book to a printable PDF.

2. All Grades: Book Creator iPad App ($4.99)

Book Creator is now a "tried and true" app that has been around for quite some time. Part of its appeal is that its simple interface allows for a wide range of complexity and variation. Students can add a wide variety of content to the pages of their books, including text, photos from their Camera Roll (if using the iPad app), and audio recordings. Students can export their books in ePub files, PDFs, or videos to share online.

3. Upper Elementary & Older: Storybird (free online platform)

Storybird is a website that helps students get visual inspiration for their writing and publish to an online (students in a class can see each other's stories). For free, teachers can quickly create a class management dashboard (no email addresses needed!), assign students writing "Challenges," and see what students are writing. Students can also browse from a bank of thought-provoking illustrations and create poems, picture books, or long-form writing inspired by their chosen artwork. Within the platform, students can earn badges and crowns for their writing achievements.


Have you used any of these tools in your classroom? Have an app or tech tool that helps your students with writing? Feel free to share in the comments section below!

Universal Design for Learning: A Brief Introduction

I stumbled upon Universal Design for Learning when I was researching scholarly articles for my Master's thesis several years ago. Since then, I have seen it become a more widely used term and practice in my school. I have also seen it appear more in the EdTech podcasts I listen to, blogs that I read, and sessions that I attend at education conferences. This fills me with joy! The UDL guidelines, which I admit were a little overwhelming to wrap my head around when I first learned about them, were a useful framework to guide my thinking about how to make my curricula accessible to all of my students.

What is Universal Design for Learning and how did it come about?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way for teachers to think about how they can optimize teaching and learning. It is based on the concept of Universal Design, a design approach that emphasizes the composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people (National Disability Authority). Researchers and clinicians at CAST (The Center for Applied Special Technology) refined the UDL guidelines to what they are today.

UDL is organized in 3 main guidelines: provide multiple means of engagement, provide multiple means of representation, and provide multiple means of action and expression. These guidelines are further broken down into 3 checkpoints that guide teachers in providing options for accessing, building, and internalizing information (see graphic organizer below or click here for a larger version).

 

How can I learn more about UDL?

If you're curious about UDL, there are many resources out there to help you learn more about the guidelines.

• Into podcasts? Check out the Assist Learning podcast from Jennifer Cronk - a teacher and LD learner. In particular, I enjoyed her interview with Dr. Katie Novak, the author of UDL Now!


• Read Dr. Katie Novak's book UDL Now!. You could even start a book study group with some other interested teachers like a few of my colleagues did last spring.


• CAST's website has A TON of free materials, including their UDL Guidelines site, a FAQ page, and a free and accessible version of Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice by Anne Meyer, David Rose, and David Gordon.

How can I start to apply UDL in practical ways in my classroom?

Education theory and research aren't very useful or practical for teachers if they're not applicable on a day-to-day basis. Here are a few resources to help you start applying the guidelines in small, meaningful ways.

• Check out CAST's Free Learning Tools Page. In particular, look at the UDL Exchange, a place where teachers can browse and build lesson plans and resources.


• ISTE's blog post "30+ tools for diverse learners" helps teachers sift through the sea of edtech tools to find the "tried and true" ones.


• This post on Understood.org suggests 5 simple ways for teachers to jump in and start applying UDL in their classes

Are you using UDL or are starting to use UDL to think about your students' learning? Feel free to share your thoughts and comment below!