Episode 52: Top Ten Tech Tools for Student Collaboration with Michael McLaughlin and Leeann Blais
The transcript for this episode is below the Top Ten List.
How to contact Michael and Leeann:
Egypt project mentioned in this episode.
TOP TEN TECH TOOLS FOR STUDENT COLLABORATION (with links)
10 - Kidblog (now called Fanschool)
7 - Quizlet (Michael emphasized Quizlet Live Team Edition)
6 - QR codes
5 - Google Sites
4 - Flipgrid
3- Google Docs
2 - Factile
1 - Padlet
Transcript:
Melissa Milner 0:09
Hi, this is Melissa Milner. Welcome to The Teacher As... podcast. The goal of this weekly podcast is to help you explore your passions and learn from others in education and beyond to better your teacher. The Teacher As... podcast will highlight innovative practices and uncommon parallels in education. In this episode, I have Leeann Blais and Michael McLaughlin, and they are coming up with one essential list of tech tools for student collaboration. Leeann and Michael, welcome to The Teacher As... top 10.
Michael McLaughlin 0:43
Hi, Melissa
Leeann Blais 0:44
Good morning.
Melissa Milner 0:45
Hello. Alright, who wants to introduce themselves first?
Michael McLaughlin 0:49
Oh, we'll let Leeann introduce herself first.
Leeann Blais 0:51
Oh, why thank you, sir. I am Leeann Blais. I am a sixth and seventh grade English teacher here at Austin Preparatory School in Reading. I have been here for this will be my 16th year. And I'm super excited to be here this morning. Thank you so much for having me.
Melissa Milner 1:11
We're very happy to have you. And Michael was like, I got someone. I got someone to do the top 10 list with. Michael. introduce yourself.
Michael McLaughlin 1:20
Of course. Hi, everybody. My name is Michael McLaughlin. And I'm the head of middle school here at Austin Prep. And as Leeann said, we're located in Reading, Massachusetts, and very excited to be here with you this morning. Talking about some top 10 tips for student collaboration.
Melissa Milner 1:40
Yes. Are they tech tips or any kind of tips,
Michael McLaughlin 1:44
We decided to focus on technology.
Melissa Milner 1:48
Excellent. So let's talk about how this works. And then we'll just jump in because it's easier just to play it. So there's Player A and Player B. So that's the first thing we need to figure out is who is going to be Player A and who is going to be Player B. So Player A gets pick 10, 8, 7, 6, 4 and 3, and you don't have to memorize this, I'll tell you when it's your pick. So that's six picks, they get two more picks than Player B, and they only get one veto, and I'll talk about vetoes afterwards. And then Player B only gets four picks 9, 5, 2 and 1 but as you hear Player B gets the top two picks, including pick number one, and Player B gets two vetoes which could be really damaging for Player A. That's like where the fun comes in. So vetoes. Why would you veto just to know whether you want player Player B so you can veto if the other person picks something and you're like that doesn't even belong on the list. I want it off. Or you might veto because so Leeann, let's say Michael plays something at pick 8, but you want it you have that as your pick one or two. So you might veto it so that you or he can play it later in the list when you get closer to 1 and 2. Those are basically the two veto situations usually. And what happens though that's really important is if Leeann if you veto Michael's pick at number 8, he has to then come up with a new pick. You don't get to say what the new pick is.
Leeann Blais 3:38
Ewww...
Melissa Milner 3:38
Yeah, that's a really fun part to this. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to throw a coin. And do we want to go with Michael who's a returning guest or do we want to go with Leeann cuz she's a new guest who gets to pick heads or tails?
Michael McLaughlin 3:56
Oh, I think, Leeann because you're the newest guest I think you can certainly pick heads or tails.
Leeann Blais 4:04
Okay.
Melissa Milner 4:05
All right. So Leanne, when you pick heads or tails, whatever it is, if you win, you just get to choose whether you're A or B, that's what this throw of the coin is deciding.
Leeann Blais 4:17
Okay.
Melissa Milner 4:17
All right. All right. So you want heads or tails?
Leeann Blais 4:20
Heads.
Melissa Milner 4:21
Alright, here we go. Oh, it's tails! Oh, all right. Do you want Player A which is two more picks and one veto. You get more picks but you don't get that one and to pick or do you want Player B where you get only four picks but you have two vetoes and you get the number one and two pick.
Michael McLaughlin 4:45
I think I'm going to go with being Player A and we'll let Leeann be player B. B for Blaze.
Leeann Blais 4:55
Whoo.
Melissa Milner 4:56
Clever clever. That means that Michael is Player A. So Michael is 10, 8, 7, 6, 4 and 3. Okay, so any more questions before we jump in?
Leeann Blais 5:17
Do we just state what our pick is? Or do we tell a little bit about it or?
Melissa Milner 5:22
So great question. So Michael is going first he will say his pick, he will say why he picked it. And then Leann, you get to say, not just oh IV to that or veto that or not. But what do you think of that tool? You get to say your piece, I might even throw in my opinion, if I know it, if I know what the tool tech tool is. And then you say whether you're gonna veto it or not.
Leeann Blais 5:49
Okay. Sounds good.
Melissa Milner 5:51
I just want to tell Player A, which is Michael, you only have one veto. So you want to use it wisely. Whereas Player B, Leaann, you have two vetoes. Let's go with pick 10, Michael?
Michael McLaughlin 6:07
Sure. So I think for pick 10, in this top 10 list, we're going to go with Kidblog. So Kidblog, is a platform. Actually, Leanne introduced me to it a couple years back, and I've used in a couple of the art and design electives that I've taught here at Austin. And it's a platform that allows for students to publish their writing, they can also embed some audio and visual or video projects on the... on the site. And then as with other kinds of blogs, it provides the opportunity for other students in the class, not only to view that student work, but also to make comments on it. And so I think having that authentic audience for students, and then allowing for students to engage with each other's work, not just view it, but also, you know, make the comments about it really promotes collaboration and conversation in the classroom.
Melissa Milner 7:17
Wow, that's wonderful. Leeann, what do you think?
Leeann Blais 7:20
You know, I've thought long and hard about this one. And I considered putting it on my list. I like Kidblog, for all the reasons that Michael stated that it's, it's a great platform for multimedia moments when the kids can really present their thoughts and their ideas and be creative with it. As a teacher, I find it a little bit difficult to go through them quickly. If I need to kind of skim through kids' work or I want to see where they're at. But I think it's a great way for them to interact with each other. So for that reason, I think I am going to forego my veto and allow it to stand at number 10.
Melissa Milner 8:04
All right, very, very interesting. I am not familiar with Kidblog. It's just a little cumbersome. Leeann, to navigate?
Leeann Blais 8:13
On the teacher's dashboard. It can be a little bit hard to flip through, say if you if you have the kids post multiple entries, it can be a little bit awkward to flip through them quickly for each individual person. It's not too bad. But you know, there are others that are a little bit quicker, but don't have the snap and pizzazz that Kidblog has either so I still do think that Kidblog's a good choice.
Melissa Milner 8:42
All right, excellent. Number 10 is in the books. Whoo, good start. All right, number nine, Leeann.
Leeann Blais 8:51
Okay, so number nine, I'm going to have to go with something that I'm sure we're all familiar with from COVID teaching. And that's going to be Zoom breakout rooms. When you're using Zoom, it's so important to give the kids time to talk amongst themselves in small groups to be able to see each other communicate with each other. And when we were hybrid teaching very, very early on, I found that they really missed each other and wanted to spend that time talking and sharing their ideas. So the use of those breakout rooms, honestly added a whole new depth to their work and let them have that connection with each other that they were missing.
Melissa Milner 9:35
I'm just going to throw in an amen on that. Okay, Michael. Michael, what do you think?
Michael McLaughlin 9:40
Yes, I certainly I think Zoom breakout rooms definitely deserves to be in this top 10 I think when that feature was rolled out over the course of the last, you know, year and a half and as teachers embedded that into their teaching methods, it became a real effective way for students to as Leeann said, have that interaction with each other, which was so important. It allowed for that small group collaboration to happen. Um, I also really liked within the breakout room the ability to broadcast a message to all of the students and remind them about how much time was left, or or even just to prompt the entire group with a question or, or an insight or hint. And I liked the ability for groups to summon me or the teacher.
Melissa Milner 10:36
Yes.
Leeann Blais 10:37
Absolutely.
Michael McLaughlin 10:38
I totally believe it needs to be on the top 10. I would like to see it a little bit higher. But as I only have the one veto, I am going to reserve that, you know, just to have in play a little later on and just see what else is on Leeann's list.
Leeann Blais 10:56
Excellent.
Melissa Milner 10:56
I was thinking maybe higher too but long term? How much we know when we're back in person? How much will we use it?
Leeann Blais 11:04
And that's kind of why it was a little lower on my room. I'm hoping that we won't have to use it very, very often. But it was really, really beneficial. So yeah, deserved dimension.
Melissa Milner 11:16
Absolutely. Great. Great. All right, so Wow. All right. I'm waiting for the cat. That's not a (cat growling sound) not here yet. All right, number eight. Michael, just so you guys know, Michael has eight, seven and six.
Michael McLaughlin 11:32
Oh, okay. So okay, you in a row here. Okay. So for number eight, I am going to go with Seesaw. So I think, you know, similar to Kidblog. Now, there's the opportunity, once again, for students to create content, and post it and share it and interact with each other's content. You know, it's very similar to, to another application that I have higher up on the list, but I won't share that one quite yet. But I really liked that it provided, you know, that a digital portfolio for students once again, you know, an authentic audience, something that they could see what their classmates were creating and posting that I felt like, you know, it allowed teachers to provide a prompt that students could respond to and that, you know, I thought that the interface worked well, for a variety of age groups. But it tended, in, you know, to sort of veer towards the younger students, as I saw applied, and I think there are some other applications that, you know, have maybe a little bit more maneuverability, some additional features. I think that could be a bit higher up but Seesaw was, was definitely an application that that seems to work well in this last year, and that I think would will be one that will stick around. And that could be useful for for different groups of educators.
Melissa Milner 13:12
All right. I think we had Seesaw for K-2. So your your feeling of it being for younger ages is definitely valid. Leeann, what do you think?
Leeann Blais 13:22
This is a hard one for me, because I am not as familiar with seesaw. We have and we have a lot of our faculty who like it. So um, oh, gracious. So what do I want to do with this one? Oh, you know what, I'm going to be a little a little fun and whip out my first veto because I wanna see what else is in that bag?
Melissa Milner 13:45
Allright.
Leeann Blais 13:46
So I mean, it sounds great. But yes, I think I'm going to go with that. Let's play my first veto.
Melissa Milner 13:54
All right, the veto has been thrown down. So that means, Michael, that you now need to pick a new number eight.
Michael McLaughlin 14:03
Okay, I am prepared with one.
Melissa Milner 14:06
Woohoo
Michael McLaughlin 14:07
Yes. Okay. So my new number eight, which I guess was my old number seven, I'm gonna shift some things around here. So I have a variety of apps that I use to create student groups. And so one of the ones that I really like is called the Random Team Generator. And the way you know, I feel like when students are asked in class to work in in small groups on a particular project, you know, there are certainly some times where it is appropriate for students to create their own groups of three or four. But, you know, I have found that, you know, usually by the first couple of weeks of school, they start settling into the same groups, because those are students they're familiar with, or you know, they want to work with their friends. And so I think an app like Random Team Generator keeps things interesting and really continues to mix up the class and so that students are working with and are collaborating with other classmates. And so this app allows you to, you know, at the outset of the year, enter your entire roster. And then when it's time for group work, you're able to, you know, tell the app that I want four groups of four, and it will mix the students up into the, to the four groups, and then, you know, it sort of takes the teacher out of the the, the, you know, mix of, Oh, I wanted to be with, you know, this friend or that friend, well, this is what the app said, and maybe the app will say something different next time. You know, that app has other applications to where you could just select one student, and instead of the popsicle sticks, you could use this same app to go through and randomize students that you're calling on for a problem or to contribute to class. So for my new number eight, I'm gonna go with the Random Team Generator,
Melissa Milner 16:09
Can I ask a quick question? Do you just do that on your phone and then tell them or do you display it and they watch it randomly picking? Like, how do you actually do that?
Michael McLaughlin 16:20
Yeah, great question. So for the... when it's sort of using the popsicle stick method, I'll use that on my iPad for when it's time to broadcast. You know, the teams especially know my class of 16, I'm going to airplay the Random Team Generator, so that the students can see okay, the app is selecting the teams and then it you know, they they're able to find their name on the list and know which classmates they're they're working with and know that behind the scenes, I'm not actually picking the team.
Melissa Milner 16:57
Okay, cool. Thank you for that clarification.
Michael McLaughlin 16:59
I know, there are some apps out there that I've seen different coaches use like for scrimmaging purposes, where you can sort of assign sort of different, like strength levels to to like the players so that if you were doing say, a five on five basketball scrimmage, that the the teams are equally distributed. But I think in something like student collaboration, every student brings so many different gifts to the process. And so using something like Random Team Generator, I think, is sufficient enough. And it allows some of those gifts that, you know, even we, as teachers don't realize some of our students have to just emerge naturally in these different group settings.
Melissa Milner 17:43
Absolutely. Leeann, what do you think about Random Team Generator?
Leeann Blais 17:47
You know, I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with my use of my veto. I have to say that, for all my Seesaw lovers out there, let me say I'm so sorry, if you love Seesaw, and I know that there's a place for it. But there's something to really be said about mixing things up in your classroom. So often, the kids do want to stick with their friends. I mean, let's face it, we do as adults as well, you know, we gravitate towards the people we know really well. But I find that so often, when I'm collaborating with someone who I've never worked with before, you know, I'm drawing on so many different ideas, so many different points of view, and really come up with a better product nine times out of 10. So I have to say, I really love this one. And a lot of times here at Austin, we talk a lot about teaching to the whole student and helping them develop in ways that that are far beyond just the curriculum. And one of those ways is to learn how to work collaboratively with people who you don't talk to, as often as you do your best best buddies. So that's part of you know, developing socially. So I think that that's, that app deserves a couple thumbs up.
Melissa Milner 19:02
Excellent, excellent. I'm just I'm so pleased so far. We have at number 10 Kidblog, at number nine Zoom breakout rooms, and at number 8 Random Team Generator. So we have a really nice start here. I just want again to just go over this. So I know Michael, you said you're shifting things already. You have pick seven, pick six, and then you have pick four and pick three. So start thinking about you know what you want to do here cuz we're up to pick seven, Michael. Go for it.
Michael McLaughlin 19:36
Okay, so for my pick seven, I'm going to go with the app Quizlet. The middle school students here Austin love working with Quizlet in thinking about classes like their Latin class and, and I know English with different vocabulary. The students I see them creating flashcards to use in class. And then sharing those flashcards, when it's not a homework assignment, but sharing those study tools and resources with another student. So that's, you know, a form of collaboration. But what I really love about Quizlet and what really energizes the classes that I've taught, over time is playing the game Quizlet live, where the students are sort of randomly assigned an animal and, and then they're having to compete against their classmates to answer the various questions correctly and, and quickly. That Quizlet live has a collaborative review game, where instead of one student having all four choices on their screen to pick from, instead, they are able to do Quizlet teams, where they're worked into teams of four. And you know, choice A, B, C, and D are found on the four devices of the of the four students on the team. And so the students have to really work together and look and see what is on each other's device as they're going through the game. So it really promotes conversation among the students through the game. And you know, it can be used, I'll make an argument here, it can be used in collaboration with number eight on our list with the Random Team Generator, I suppose if the if you're assigning the team, but Quizlet actually even makes it easier. It can also assign out the teams for you. And so it's like number eight rolled into this number seven, I'm gonna go with Quizlet. And in particular, Quizlet live team edition as number seven, because now we can talk about students connecting and collaborating together in review, not just in the creation of, you know, a project.
Melissa Milner 21:59
Wow, I knew about Quizlet, I did not even know about that feature. That's amazing. Leann,
Leeann Blais 22:05
Again, I'm like, this is where I realized that I'm starting to panic about how many slots are left open. Because there are so many good apps and good tech tips to talk about, I'm gonna have to let this one stand too, though, because we use Quizlet pretty widely, and the kids really enjoy it. There are a lot of gaming sites. This one in particular is really fun, because I think that a lot of the kids are really used to using it, they find it pretty self explanatory. It's pretty easy to use. And another thing that I've seen my kids do with it is a little healthy competition amongst themselves. When they are practicing at home on a certain unit or a certain set of cards. They there's a game that they can play where they match the term or the idea with the definition or explanation. And they have to do it as quickly as they can. And they love to compete and compare their scores and see who can who can go through them quickly. And it's really fun for them. I hear them getting very boisterously excited.
Melissa Milner 23:23
And that's that's huge. If they are like, Hey, we need to study because it's a game.
Leeann Blais 23:27
Exactly. So I think I'm going to let Quizlet stand at number seven for that reason. It does generate excitement.
Melissa Milner 23:35
It's so funny. I'm like anticipating whether my top pick is even going to show up here. This is so cool. Okay, so we have one more from Michael, at number six. And then we get to hear from Leanne. So Michael, you're number six pick.
Michael McLaughlin 23:51
Okay, my number six pick. And I suspect that just like some of the other ones, it might be on Leanne's list as well, hopefully, it happens to be right in the middle of her list, too, is the use of QR codes. So you know, certainly, if you've been out to eat at a restaurant recently, you've become super familiar with scanning the QR code to pull up the menu. We've been using... I've seen it actually in Leanne's classroom for for several years, you know, in education for for some time, where students are able to scan the QR code and it might take them to a different resource, or it there's actually a QR code outside of my office here in the middle school where students are able to scan and it will take them to a Google form of a particular piece of information that I'm I'm seeking to get. But in the classroom, when students have created projects like in our sixth grade Egyptian Museum where all of the sixth grade students are making a variety of projects in several different disciplines. And then putting them together in an exhibition where their family and friends are invited to come and check out the work. You know, there's a QR code that can be scanned that takes, you know, visitors to the video that the sixth grader has created for this project. I know that when Leanne has had her amazing young adult lit library setup, she's found a cool way to incorporate QR codes there. So I'll turn things over to Leeann to maybe mentioned how she's used it there, because maybe I can talk her into leaving the QR code as place number six.
Melissa Milner 25:45
Before we go to Leeann, so far in your description, Michael, you haven't shown that it's collaborative. So can you prove before we hear from Leeann, that it's a tool for collaboration?
Leeann Blais 25:58
150 times? Yes. If he can't, I can.
Michael McLaughlin 26:05
Yeah, I'll give it a go here. I think it allows, once again, for students to be able to see and access one another's work, you know, in thinking back to, when I began teaching, I remember having students go on wonder walks, were at the, you know, either midway through a project or or maybe at the end, where they would have time to view one another's project. And, you know, make some sort of a comment on it, you know, ask a question, provide a piece of affirmation for this student, and to be able to, to really, you know, see the end result. And I think that with the QR code here in in 2021, it allows once again, for students to be able to access one another's completed work, and to be able to share and celebrate in in the work that their peers have created, but then perhaps also to be inspired with a new idea. And then just I think, with the maneuverability of it that say with, you know, those Egyptian Museum videos, for example, all of those QR code links could be printed onto one page. And then the students are able to take home a page with all of their classmates QR codes on it, and can watch the video and then be prepared to come in the next day and, you know, offer some critique that the student can then incorporate in, in sort of like a draft form before turning it in for the final project.
Melissa Milner 27:40
Awesome.
Michael McLaughlin 27:41
So I think, especially as we're working to have our students be more tech savvy and interact with digital content, I think QR codes allow for for that to happen in a pretty student friendly way.
Melissa Milner 27:56
Very well done. Alright, Leeann, thoughts about QR codes.
Leeann Blais 28:02
These little bits of information in their, funny little squiggles are like so invaluable. And honestly, you're only limited by your imagination with these, because of the fact that like, I've used them in many ways that Michael's already described with our Egyptian Museum, we do book commercials, and the kids decorate something from Egypt. And they put the QR code on there. And it leads you to their book commercials that they can share with themselves, with the amongst each other and with their families. We've used them. Now this isn't super collaborative, but as ways to check out library book, we have used them. This is one way with that library, though. And this is my big passion is it's a great way to inspire each other, and help each other really connect with books that resonate with them. There are so many ways you could use this with your library. You could have kids do like a little video, talking about the book, whether they recommend it and more importantly, who they recommend it to, then you put that little QR code inside the cover. And anyone picking up that book could scan it and see what their friend thinks of that book. An idea that I'm developing for this year is sort of on that idea of book trading cards, if you will. So what I'd really love to do is to have them talk about like read a book, talk about it, then make their QR code and then have a little index card. Either draw if they're so artistically motivated, an image of the cover of the book on the front of the card, a little the author's name, the title, and then have that QR code on the back. And either they can trade them or if they have a friend that's oh wait Don't know what to read, they can what that trading card out and say, Here, try this one. You know, there's so many things you can do with it. And it's it's just limitless really.
Melissa Milner 30:09
Wow. Should it be further up on the list? Are we fine with it being here?
Leeann Blais 30:16
You know, as long as it's on the list, I'm happy. I love the QR code. And I'm gonna leave it at six because I have some really exciting things to talk about. So, and I bet you Michael does too.
Melissa Milner 30:28
Yeah. And Leah, I mean, you have you have number five. And then you have one and two. So yeah,
Leeann Blais 30:35
Awesome.
Melissa Milner 30:35
Yeah. All right. So QR codes at number six. Excellent. So moving on to number five Leeann.
Leeann Blais 30:42
Oh, this is really fun. Let's see, which am I going to pick? Oh, gracious, I think I'm going to pick a really fun platform called Padlet. This is a platform where kids can post images, they can post text, they could post little videos. And it's almost like, it can be viewed in many different ways. What how I've used it is, again, with being an English teacher, my passion is really inspiring kids to read and to be involved in so many ways with their books, to inspire their friends to read. So how I've used Padlet is I've asked kids to tap into their love for social media in a safe and fun way, by using Padlet instead of something like Instagram. And how they do that is I've asked them to take pictures or get candids of themselves reading in the community? Or where is the most interesting place you've enjoyed a book? And get that up on Padlet and share their reading no matter where they are. Did you take your book on vacation? Are you sitting under a palm tree? Get that up on our Padlet. Really share your love for reading and get out there and become a book influencer?
Melissa Milner 32:12
Yeah,
Leeann Blais 32:13
That's so it's a lot of fun. You could do so many things with it. That's just one tiny little example. Anything from like exit tickets little "What's your thoughts on this" to something like, you know, the book influencer idea, it's, again, limitless.
Melissa Milner 32:30
Very cool. Michael, thoughts on Padlet at number five.
Michael McLaughlin 32:35
I love Padlet. I've used it with my advisory at Austin as a way for students here over the summer, to be able to get to meet each other share a little bit about what they've been up to on summer vacation, which has been helpful for me to get to know the students but then more importantly, for the students to form relationships with each other and know that they have a group of friends that they're going to be walking into advisory with in just a few short weeks. But I am going to actually exercise my one veto now.
Melissa Milner 33:14
Oh!
Michael McLaughlin 33:15
Yeah.
Melissa Milner 33:16
Tell us why. Tell us why.
Leeann Blais 33:18
No! Not for my Padlet.
Michael McLaughlin 33:19
This one of his one of my faves. And I feel like it deserves a spot higher up than number five. So I know that I am taking a gamble here to to either, you know, have to play it myself in the three or four spot or hope that it compels Leeann to to play it in one of the top two.
Melissa Milner 33:23
Oh, wow.
Michael McLaughlin 33:29
I have found that one to just be so interactive. And you know, Leeann gave some great examples with book influencer. But I also saw that there were opportunities for students to upload short video clips. I also, you know, liked the ability of how the teachers were able to review postings and, you know, approve different comments or, or set up, you know, different controls within it in a way that made a lot of sense. Once you know, students were aware of where the guard rails were, and being able to scaffold that in a way that certainly some of the other apps allow but I found Padlet allowed for that scaffolding in a way that made a lot of sense. So I am going to use the veto.
Melissa Milner 34:41
All right. All right.
Michael McLaughlin 34:44
We'll see where it ends up.
Melissa Milner 34:45
Okay, Leeann, we need a new number five.
Leeann Blais 34:49
Okay, then my new number five will have to be Google Sites. We're all familiar with the Google Suite, I'm sure. In particular, I will wanted to bring forward Google Sites because I feel like everybody is familiar with Google Docs and Google Sheets and Google Slides, of course. But Google Sites is a super powerful tool for students, particularly in this whole realm of student collaboration, because of the fact that they can work together to make something really, really special to show off what they can do. I know we've mentioned the Egyptian Museum earlier in this podcast, and the Egyptian Museum is a capstone for our sixth graders. And something that we look forward to every every year. COVID really made us worry about what was going to happen to the Egyptian Museum, it was not something that we wanted to let go of, we wanted to invite the parents to see our work. We wanted the kids to have that moment when they work together as a whole grade really, and produce something really, really big and beautiful. So Google Sites allowed us to do that. And as a result, I'll be forever grateful. It is a tool where kids can make their own webpages. So what our kids did with it is all of their work in their English class, in their history class, they did separate projects and it all came together on one beautiful Google site for everybody to see. Not just the parents, not just their peers, but the whole community. It was featured in in a lot of the middle school media. So it was it was really really special.
Melissa Milner 36:42
Whose phone is that?
Leeann Blais 36:46
Well, not mine. It's in the office.
Melissa Milner 36:50
Okay.
Leeann Blais 36:51
There's some there's some background activity, but you have my full attention, Melissa, I promise.
Melissa Milner 36:56
Oh absolutely. I just, I'm like... I hate when the phone rings. It's like what? Not yours. I mean, when mine does. So before, before Michael gives his two cents. I want to remind the listeners and Michael, that Michael, you don't have any more vetoes. So this stays, and that my colleague introduced me to Google Sites because we were doing we were doing a student podcast. And so she started a Google site where they she had the kids in her classroom work on it. And I'm hoping to get more information about how to do that. But once we had edit, once I had edited the episodes, the podcasts, I was able to embed the code. And so our embedded player is on the website. It's a Google free site. Google Sites. Wow.
Leeann Blais 37:43
Yeah, super powerful. Right? Yeah. It's just awesome.
Melissa Milner 37:47
Michael, thoughts about Google Sites.
Michael McLaughlin 37:50
Oh, I'm huge fan of Google Sites. And that was, as Leeann indicated, they're a really neat way for students to be able to share their work with with an audience that we couldn't have reached in the sort of in person exhibit. Yet it was again, an opportunity for them to have an authentic audience where they could share their work. And as we are working to prepare students to engage with the 21st century, this is a platform that students need to be exposed to and have experience and comfortability with. And then again, by being able to see each other's work. It's like that wonder walk that I had referenced with regards to like the the QR codes earlier, that students are able to be inspired by other students' ideas. And then, you know, hopefully, it leads to them asking questions of each other. Well, how did you do that? And then it becomes students, you know, teaching other students, but I think Google Sites is just such a great platform for students to be able to share their portfolio of work and for multiple students from multiple classes to be able to put all that work up there. It's pretty impressive.
Melissa Milner 39:16
Wow. Okay. So just to review we have at 10 Kidblog. Uh, yeah, at 10 Kidblog, nine Zoom breakout rooms, eight, there was a veto, and we ended up with Random Team Generator, seven Quizlet, six QR codes. Five, there was a veto, and we ended up with Google Sites. And so now we have pick four and three from Michael and pick two and one from Leeann. And Leeann has won one veto left.
Leeann Blais 39:53
Yes, ma'am.
Michael McLaughlin 39:55
Well, I'm hoping that in in Leeann's top two that one of them will end up being Padlet, which I had vetoed out of number five, because I think if that doesn't make the list, I will be crushed. So I'm gonna take a gamble here on my four and three pick, I have a couple of other apps. And that's how strongly a I believe, and I'm risking Padlet being in the in the top two, but I guess we'll see. My number four is going to be very similar to Seesaw which got vetoed earlier in the podcast. And instead it will be Flipgrid. So Flipgrid, very similar to Seesaw. But what I liked about Flipgrid, as I did with Seesaw, it provides students the opportunity to respond to a prompt, and to use a video in which to do so. As the teacher you are able to set some parameters around that video with regards to a minimum length, but also a maximum length on the video. It allows for students to respond back to each other's videos, so it continues that conversation that hopefully it started in the classroom. And that can continue with another assignment and in a way that resonates with with a lot of students with regards to interacting with technology, but doing so in a very responsible way. But I feel like Flipgrid and why have it higher up in the list is that there are a number of Flipgrid classrooms, not only in in the area, but throughout the world. And that this allows for educators to be able to collaborate with educators from, you know, other regions, other countries, and to share those diverse perspectives within the classroom. And that now students, you know, as they are getting into a debate about a topic or as they're exploring something, they now can share resources, share perspectives and viewpoints with students from around the world. And can have a an understanding of, of a topic in in a much more dynamic way. And so as we look to form students who have global competency, they're able to engage with peers, with students from around the world. And so it's like Flipgrid is great in the classroom, but then there's almost like Flipgrid 2.0, that there's room for growth as a teacher and as your class that once you've sort of mastered using Flipgrid in one way, you can then take it and flip it if you will, yeah. You know, more dynamic way of collaborating with, with students across the planet.
Melissa Milner 42:57
This was my number one, Michael!
Michael McLaughlin 43:00
Okay.
Leeann Blais 43:02
Really? Okay.
Melissa Milner 43:02
Yeah, along with Google Slides as far as collaborating on research projects and things, okay, sorry. All right. So Leeann Flipgrid at number four,
Leeann Blais 43:12
I'm gonna give Flipgrid a thumbs up.
Michael McLaughlin 43:14
All right!
Leeann Blais 43:15
I'm gonna keep it here at number four. And I will say that I'm a little bit of a Flipgrid newbie. So I was happy it made the list, but it was a little lower on my list, but I can acknowledge the value of Flipgrid. Absolutely. There's just things that I use a little more often, but I'm actually really starting to engage with Flipgrid much, much more. And one of the things that I really liked playing with was, so often you can have kids working on peer editing. And that's all well and good. And they can make comments on each other's paper, that's awesome and helpful. One of the things that I find really important is for the opportunity to for kids to be superstars. So one of the things that I want to do this year with Flipgrid, is to have them write their comments and their suggestions on each other's paper or on each other's Google Docs as usual, but I want them to pick one thing that they feel their peer did really, really well in a paper and highlight that on Flipgrid for their friends to come across as a fun surprise, or to inspire their other peers with, "Hey, this is a really great writing tip." And so and so did a great job using this and this is and read the little passage to the group on Flipgrid. So, you know, it'll give everybody an opportunity to be a superstar in the moment.
Melissa Milner 44:48
What a sweet idea. I love that.
Leeann Blais 44:51
Thank you.
Melissa Milner 44:53
Yeah, so yeah, we used Flipgrid so much and Flipgrid is really awesome. Some, for kids, I mean, at third and fourth grade level, but probably all levels to explain a math problem. They come on, and they say how they solved it. And otherwise, Oh, I didn't think of solving it that way. And all the reaction videos to how the person solved it, and just, there's so much you can do with Flipgrid. And what was fun was when kids were doing, you know, two or three kids at a time doing a project together, and then they do the Flipgrid together, and it was super cute. I love Flipgrid. Alright, Flipgrid number four. And my goal, this is your last pick, pick three.
Michael McLaughlin 45:37
Okay, so I guess taking a little bit of a gamble here with with Padlet, and not putting it in the three spot. So I I'm going with Google Docs. I know that you had mentioned Google Slides. I think in looking at sort of the Google Suite, in general, the I guess the one of those top 10 tips and tricks for collaboration would be really making use of the, the sharing feature and the comment feature within the Google Suite. So you know, certainly making sure that partic... you know, the particular student group has the correct sharing permissions on the document, whether it be to just view, you know, somebody else's work, to comment on somebody else's work. And so therefore, the the amount of potential damage or deletion that can happen is, is minimized, although that can usually be recovered just by going
Yeah, revision history. Love it.
Yeah. Um, or, you know, being able to do full editing, which is great. If, you know, for students who are truly collaborating in which they're producing one piece of work as opposed to, you know, doing the editing piece. So I think, the the Google Suite, and making sure that sharing permissions and commenting permissions are in there correctly. I like that it allows for students to be able to work asynchronously, you know, in thinking about middle school students and the number of activities that they're involved in beyond the time that they're in class. You know, they're different sports and arts practices or service work that they may be involved in, they may not be able to hop on the same Zoom call in the afternoon to, to hammer out a project, but they can with the Google Doc, you know, make a comment and use the, the the Assign feature to make sure that the other student on their team is able to take a look at a paragraph or, or make a revision on a slide, and then that student can select, you know, completed once that has been addressed. So I feel like, you know, the Google Docs, and in particular, those couple of features within this Suite, certainly deserve to be in the top 10 and really promote collaboration for students.
Melissa Milner 48:22
Alright, Leeann, you have one veto left, what do you think about Google Docs?
Leeann Blais 48:27
I'm gonna allow it to stand. Honestly, I know that I have a veto, but I have to, I have to keep it here. Because there are just so many, I think that there's room for kind of basic stuff on this list to stuff that a lot of people will be familiar with in Google Docs. It's a winner for sure. With all of those options that Michael discussed, you know, the assigning the Hey, so and so take a look at this specific spot," and you can assign those comments. The kids can, you know, share their work with each other, even when they're at home is so valuable, particularly when they're working with groups or they need to ask one another a question and I've been at home flipping through things and have popped on a page as kids are working on them and they'll see me pop in there on the upper corner and say and they'll randomly write Mrs. Blais I have a quick question. So even in real time I've answered questions at home as I was just checking on work for things to be able to happen in real time that's that's really something.
Melissa Milner 49:41
Absolutely. All right. So just so we have the the view here of what's happening. If you come on again, Leeann, you get to use that you get to have that veto. Haha.
Leeann Blais 49:54
Oh, okay. Put that in my back pocket.
Melissa Milner 49:57
Exactly. So Leeann has number two and number one and Michael has no vetoes. So whatever Leeann picks and Leeann, do not let him Padlet pressure you.
Leeann Blais 50:07
I am not at all Padlet pressured. So, I'm going to jump straight out of the box. And this is so hard. Because I have two that I really want in this in the same spot right now. Ah, oh, this is really hard. I want to maybe we have to at the end, we can measure mentioned a runner up. Because this is really hard. Okay, I'm gonna go with one that people may or may not know, just to make it a little bit interesting for folks who have, you know, beared with us through maybe things that are a little more common, like Google Docs and Zoom, I'm going to go with Factile. Factile is a really fun game that again, gets kids super excited. We've actually had neighbors asked us to lower the volume because we were having way too much fun one day. So it's playfactile.com. And what it is, is, it's a Jeopardy type game board, where you can have, you can either build it out yourself as the teacher, or where I had a lot of success with it was having the kids build it out to make the most challenging game that they can. So we'll have the kids write the questions and work in small groups to see what they can load the board with to stump the other teams or to really dive deep into some great information. Then you go ahead, and if you engage with these same teams, you play the game as Jeopardy, and it even has like Double Jeopardy and the Daily Double and everything. It's really really, really fun. So they get talking and they'll support each other as teammates and cheer each other on to win. So it's really really fun.
Melissa Milner 52:17
Wow, I've never heard of it. It sounds like a more sophisticated baamboozle.com type of thing.
Leeann Blais 52:25
Yeah, you know, I'm not familiar with Bamboozle, but if it's if it's a Jeopardy like game, then yes, indeed,
Melissa Milner 52:32
Yes and no.
Leeann Blais 52:34
And it's a beautiful board, they can pick their own characters. It's really, really fun.
Melissa Milner 52:40
Cool. All right. Michael, do you know about Factile? What do you think about it?
Michael McLaughlin 52:44
Well, I cannot wait to see this in action in just a couple of weeks when students return to campus. And I think that, you know, as Leeann described it, I think that it will be really fun and interactive. For students. I haven't seen it in, in play before, but really looking forward to it. And, you know, I think it's another great example of sort of gamification done in a really wonderful way in which, you know, the students are really excited and engaged and, and they're learning through play, which for for kids, is a wonderful way to learn. And then once they have that material mastered the things that they can do with it are pretty incredible. And the way that Leeann described in her students being able to create their own board, much like they could create their own Quizlet pack from other you know, somewhere else in our top 10 list.
Melissa Milner 53:45
Right!
Michael McLaughlin 53:45
I think is is pretty, pretty cool.
Melissa Milner 53:48
All right. I'm very excited to hear your number one, Leeann.
Leeann Blais 53:53
My number one is going to make Michael happy. It is definitely going to be Padlet. Because Padlet is one of my favorite tools. I loved our book influencer project, I thought it was so much fun. And I really feel like it can only go, you know, it can only go further this year. Now that we're not as constrained, I see us being able to do so many things with Padlet. So I need it on the list.
Melissa Milner 54:24
All right.
Leeann Blais 54:24
And I think it deserves the one spot for sure.
Melissa Milner 54:28
Yes. And you both spoke so eloquently about, you know, different uses for it. And I don't know if either of you wanted to add anything to that before we do honorable mentions.
Michael McLaughlin 54:40
I think the one thing I would add is that once the board has been finished or even as it's in process, that the ability to kind of turn off the comment feature and then be able to share that board out with different audiences.
Leeann Blais 54:55
Yeah.
Michael McLaughlin 54:56
You know, really extends the conversation. You know, especially thinking about parents and being able to share, you know what the class as a whole have been up to, with parents and give them, you know, insight into the world of the classroom, where their students are spending so much time can be really powerful. I think it can also be used as a way to facilitate conversation among parents to be able to swap stories and collaborate as well.
Leeann Blais 55:30
Mm hmm.
Melissa Milner 55:30
Great idea. Yeah. Leeann, I had a quick for people who are listening that are not familiar with Padlet. You can put text, can you do pictures, images, video?
Leeann Blais 55:43
Oh, my gosh, absolutely. I was actually kind of hoping to throw this out there. It can be really gorgeous for displaying art as well. Because we had our folks do some, a couple years back, I did a project with some blackout poetry that involved art. And some of those pieces were so so so beautiful. I wish I had known about Padlet then, because last year, my sixth graders did some really cool artistic work with grammar, where they had to, I know find parts of speech and color certain areas. So they ended up doing this, this beautiful piece of artwork while working with grammar. And we posted those on Padlet. And then had some random volunteers do like a little blind, art contest, judging sort of thing. So it literally can be used for anything. And it looks absolutely gorgeous. When you have all those beautiful art pieces on one page.
Melissa Milner 56:51
Yeah, what a great idea. Wow, that's amazing. Because we, our school, our kids had like an art committee this year with the art teacher. I'm just thinking that would have been another great, great way to share art with the parents at home and with people who were remote.
Leeann Blais 57:07
Yeah.
Melissa Milner 57:08
Wow. I love that idea. Okay, so let's wrap up with honorable mentions things that were on your list that didn't get played. Michael, let's start with you.
Michael McLaughlin 57:20
Actually, I think especially because, you know, I had a veto, and then something had to be put in there. The the different ones that I really wanted to have on on this list, all all made it in some capacity. So I'm really happy with our list.
Melissa Milner 57:40
Oh, all right. Okay, Leeann, how about you?
Leeann Blais 57:43
Um, I just have one little thing that I wanted to throw out there, because it's, it's something that everybody uses. So I think that, you know, it's real value might be overlooked sometimes. We're a one to one community here at Austin Prep. Every kid has a piece of technology that they can use to work from. So they have iPads here in the middle school. So one of the things that I absolutely have found doesn't get the recognition, recognition it deserves is the iPad camera. It is super, super necessary for almost all of these apps that we've talked about today. And we've done some really amazing projects, like book bento box, where kids chose objects. Have you heard about...have you heard of these?
Melissa Milner 58:32
I just, I love bento boxes. That's crazy.
Leeann Blais 58:37
Oh my gosh, well, the kids choose objects that represent pieces of book and they they arrange them on a background aesthetically. And then, and they place the book in the center and take a beautiful picture of it. And one of my most fun projects this year was just turning the kids loose, letting them go outside to find appropriate backgrounds for their boxes, letting them work in different parts of the school to make these really gorgeous pieces of art. And they did it as a group project. So it was honestly it was really really, really awesome.
Melissa Milner 59:12
Yeah, that's a good point. Something as simple as that, you know, your iPhone camera or the iPad camera. It can be such a powerful collaboration tool. I yeah, that's a really good point. Leeann. Honorable mention. All right, so this was amazing. How can people reach you if they want to hear more about your work, Leeann?
Leeann Blais 59:36
Well, I'm happy to chat with anyone at any time. Feel free to email me at lblais@austinprep.org.
Melissa Milner 59:46
And that's b l a i s
Leeann Blais 59:49
It is. Thank you. b l a i s. So yeah, if anyone has any questions about any of these things, or if they want to see a sample rubric or anything I'm, so happy to share any of that stuff.
Melissa Milner 1:00:02
Excellent. And I am going to share you guys sent me the link, I'm going to share that Egyptian project on the episode page on my website, because that's so amazing. And Michael, how can people reach you even though I think we already have contact information for when you were in your own interview, but share it again?
Michael McLaughlin 1:00:20
Oh, sure. So in addition to my email, which is mmclaughlin@austin prep.org. We also have the Austin Prep Middle School Twitter handle @ap_middleschool. And so in terms of check me out different things happening in the middle school in different ways in which Leeann and the rest of the middle school team are incorporating technology and in finding different ways for students to collaborate on various projects, that can be a great place to check out and perhaps get an idea or perhaps share an idea as well.
Melissa Milner 1:00:57
Awesome. This is amazing. Thank you so much. And I'm hoping to have you guys on again with a different topic, honestly, because this was really, really engaging.
Leeann Blais 1:01:08
Oh, thank you. Well, I had a blast.
Melissa Milner 1:01:11
Yay. And thanks. Thanks, Michael for coming on again.
Michael McLaughlin 1:01:15
Oh, happy to.
Melissa Milner 1:01:17
If you enjoyed this episode and have not done so already. Please hit the subscribe button for The Teacher As... podcast so you can get future episodes. I would love for you to leave a review and a rating as well, if you have time. For my blog, transcripts of this episode, and links to any resources mentioned, visit my website at www.theteacheras.com. You can reach me on Twitter and Instagram @melissabmilner. And I hope you check out The Teacher As... Facebook page for episode updates. I am sending a special thanks to Linda and Lester Fleishman, my mom and dad, for being so supportive. They are the voices you hear in the Zooming In soundbite and my dad composed and performed the background music you are listening to right now. My intro music was Upbeat Party by Scott Holmes. So what are you zooming in on? I would love to hear from you. My hope is that we all share what we are doing in the classroom in order to teach, remind, affirm and inspire each other. Thanks for listening. And that's a wrap.