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Spring Bingo Challenge: Highlighting the Heroes

The amount of technology available to teachers can feel overwhelming. It seems like a new tool is released each week, making it hard for anyone -- let alone the busy teacher -- to keep up. But when it boils down, we know that technology itself isn’t necessarily innovative or meaningful on its own. Rather, we need teachers who intentionally implement that technology in their lessons and classrooms for the most impactful learning to happen. It's also true that teachers need time with tech tools to explore and implement, to try and try again.

In an effort to help teachers sift through the barrage of technology tools and templates available to them, NISD's Instructional Technology team hosts an annual Spring Bingo Challenge (happening in 2021 from April 1-30). Throughout this time teachers, K-12 and throughout the district are challenged with a fun way to explore instructional technology tools (new and old) at their own pace and when it makes sense for them.

A major benefit to this challenge happening during the Spring semester is that school is still in session. Meaning, instead of bookmarking a bunch of exciting ideas during a Summer PD that we someday hope to use (we’ve all been this person), educators are able to implement their ideas with students in the moment, as they learn, and when they have the support of their team and instructional technologist should they need it. After all, there is research enough to support the fact that effective job-embedded professional development can have a positive impact on teacher practice. However, between breaks, benchmarks, standardized tests, and end-of-year celebrations it shouldn't come as a surprise that the Spring semester is also a wildly busy time of year for teachers.

And yet...

At the time of writing this, we are already halfway through this year's challenge and well into the Spring semester. Teachers are asked, as a part of the challenge, to share their learning on Twitter using the hashtag #NISDITBingo.

Teachers have too much on their plates.

They are teaching in a pandemic.

They are tripping over their to-do lists.

And yet, that hashtag is filled with teacher heroes.

#NISDITBingo is filled with dedicated educators who are committed to prioritizing their professional growth for the sake of their students. It's filled with those who are courageous enough to try something new, and who are determined enough to try it now -- today -- when it will impact these learners. That hashtag is filled with teachers who are learning by doing and who are sharing their successes.

The thing is -- change is hard. Pushing yourself to learn something new, especially while those around you talk about things coming to an end, is hard. So, yes. These teachers are heroes who deserve to be celebrated.

Highlighting the Heroes

Below are only a few "hero highlights" from the Spring Bingo Challenge. See all of the shared successes at #NISDITBingo.

Engaging Hooks with "Mystery Reveals" 

As educators, we know the importance of grasping our learners early on in a lesson or unit. Creating a little mystery around a topic is a great way to get hook students and get them excited about their learning. When teaching her students how to compare fractions, Mrs. Kemper used a “Mystery Reveal” activity in Seesaw where students used a magnifying glass to reveal the fractions as they learn and work to solve the problems.

Thanks #nisditbingo! I would have never known that you can use this cute magnifying tool in seesaw! My kiddos loved comparing fractions with it 🔍 @Kel_Sanders @BeckElem pic.twitter.com/7TsBqhbCho

— Gabby Kemper (@MrsKemper3rd) April 7, 2021

If you don’t use Seesaw, don’t sweat it! Mrs. Herrera used a similar Jamboard template to engage her students in problem-solving and to review the math concepts they were working on.

Found this neat scratch off @JamboardEDU template through our #NISDITBingo today! Set it up for some division review! @Brit_Horn_IT pic.twitter.com/iKEfsU8fCG

— Alexandra Herrera (@Herrera_Class) April 6, 2021

Problem-Solving and Communication: Flipgrid

Mrs. Robbins creatively combined a Google document and QR codes with Flipgrid, a platform for video responses complete with a whiteboard. She cleverly created a problem-solving “flip escape”. For this task, students had to solve each math problem, scan the cooresponding QR code, and then entering a code word so they could share how they solved each problem in Flipgrid before they could unlock the next one.

Not only did she design an engaging, gamified learning experience for her students, but by integrating Flipgrid at each step, students were empowered with a voice and recognized for their success in learning, where they could both showcase and share their learning to an authentic audience of their classmates. Even better, because of her intentional planning students could collaboratively learn from one another along the way. 

@Flipgrid is so great for learning from others. We loved doing this “flip escape” with proportions. Students had to solve, scan the code, and type the right answer in order to unlock the next problem and explain how they solved it. #NISDITBingo @ReneEgle @JNeiswender_TMS pic.twitter.com/Kx66hobStF

— Hillary Robbins (@1HillaryRobbins) April 6, 2021

In Mrs. Waddell's class, students were given the chance to lead a discussion through Doceri, an app for mobile educators. Not only did Mrs. Waddell's intentional use of this tool foster classroom communication and individual reflection, but it gave students a chance to practice leadership while learning.

Student led discussion on Doceri during Math today!! The kids think it is sooo cool when they get to use my iPad!!! #nisditbingo @Brit_Horn_IT pic.twitter.com/7fBzOx98RE

— Amanda Waddell (@AmandaW72515014) April 19, 2021

Assessment: Jamboard

Mrs. Mogg wisely tweaked a pre-made KWL template from Canva to use as the background in an interactive Google Jamboard. By moving the KWL graphic from a static Canva to the interactive Jamboard, she elevated the task. Students were engaged on a platform that let them collaboratively share their thinking. 

I edited an Online Whiteboard Template on @canva to use as a background on @JamboardM. Students then filled out the KWL chart full of sticky notes about Insects. @BeckElem @NISDScience @Kel_Sanders #NISDItBingo pic.twitter.com/rrT5ROgZN7

— Paige Mogg (@MrsMoggsClass) April 20, 2021

Feedback: Bitmoji, Canva, Seesaw, & Autocrat

Feedback is a critical part of learning and should be timely, relevant, and specific. In a creative twist, Mrs. Weiss designed her own “digital stickers” in Canva using her Bitmoji. She then used her digital stickers to provide her learners with visual feedback in Seesaw. Similarly, Mrs. Washam took that idea a step further, using the audio tool to provide her students with verbal feedback that accompanied the sticker.  

SeeSaw makes it easy to give feedback to each of your students by recording yourself on each of their slides. You can insert stickers as well! #NISDITBingo @Brit_Horn_IT pic.twitter.com/s4fLCZcLLr

— Mrs.Weiss (@mrs_weiss3) April 14, 2021

 

I LOVE @CanvaEdu, but had no idea it was so easy to make cute stickers! I just added this to a student’s @Seesaw activity to recognize their hard work! @Kel_Sanders #NISDITBingo Thanks @candytechideas for sharing great ideas! pic.twitter.com/h26dHm2oQn

— Jenn Washam (@Jenn_Washam) April 19, 2021

Critical feedback is important to learning, but positive feedback can go a long way in building relationships with students and parents. Using a Google Sheets Add-on called Autocrat, Mrs. Moggs was able to quickly and efficiently send home personalized, positive notes for each of her students. This is such a powerful way to easily celebrate students and communicate with parents while saving on time.

Using Autocrat in @googlesheets to send home a positive note for every student. It is delivered through their parents email as a pdf. It is an easy way to send a personalized notes home quickly! #NISDITBingo @BeckElem @Kel_Sanders pic.twitter.com/mHO5E2QNUL

— Paige Mogg (@MrsMoggsClass) April 14, 2021

Review: Flippity!

Mrs. Janese created an interactive game to help her students review their sight words using one of the templates provided on Flippity, which offers a variety of templates to easily turn a Google Spreadsheet into engaging activities. Then, she was able to easily and seamlessly link to the game through a Seesaw Activity so that her little learners could easily navigate to and participate in their learning task. 

I’m like 🤩 and 😻 with ⁦@flippitynet⁩ and app smashed with ⁦@Seesaw⁩ using tiered sight words for different reading groups ⁦@Kel_Sanders⁩ ⁦@LakeviewBobcats⁩ #nisditbingo 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Z8I5VMhLxd

— Laura Janese (@lkjanese) April 8, 2021

 

Interested in exploring more? Want to put these ideas to use in your own classroom? 

Northwest ISD’s BINGO Challenge is running from April 1-30, 2021. Anyone can play and participants can start learning at any time during the challenge. Get your own BINGO board here! 

Ozobots for the WIN!

Over the last year, Beck Elementary has been building its inventory to kick off and launch a campus STEAM Lab. As an extension of the classroom, this lab allows students and teachers to make cross curriculum connections and extend their thinking in the areas of science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. The most popular additions to the lab have been the LittleBits, Keva Planks, and Ozobots.

The Ozobots, specifically, have been kid tested and teacher approved as a way to promote critical thinking and problem solving. These codable robots can inspire students to design a path using color coded markers that demonstrate, imitate, represent, or even illustrate a particular concept. The sky's the limit with these tiny bots. Teachers have collaborated with the campus Library Media Specialist, Jenny Martin, and one of the campus GATES teachers, Shelly Moses, to design rich learning opportunities focused on content across grade levels.

Bulleted below are just some of the innovative ways the Ozobots have been integrated into classrooms over the last year:

• Science:
• demonstrating the sun and moon’s orbit around Earth; which then led to students exploring solar and lunar eclipses
• illustrating the phases of the moon
• representing the life cycle of a plant; from seed to flower
• modeling various types of weather
• Math:
• practicing the use of a number line for addition and subtraction
• identifying various ordered pairs on a coordinate grid; creating a path that would connect those points
• explaining the function of the hands on a clock as the minute hand moves around a path
• Language Arts:
• creating story mountains to show conflict in stories
• analyzing character traits and emotions on a story mountain
• sequencing a retell of a story; beginning, middle, and end
• Social Studies:
• detailing significant events in a person's life (biography) on a timeline

For more lesson inspiration check out the Ozobot lesson library portal and follow the Beck Elementary STEAM Lab on Twitter. Happy coding!

Philanthropy Partners: A Collaboration Between Elementary Schools

The spring semester brings about a lot of change. One of the biggest changes is the anticipation for current fifth graders, as they begin to think about and prepare for middle school. The transition into middle school can be challenging. To help ease that transition, the GATES teachers at Lakeview Elementary (Mrs. Andrews & Mrs. Blake) and Beck Elementary (Mrs. Moses & Mrs. Pickett) teamed up for a dual campus philanthropy project. 

By definition, a philanthropy project promotes the welfare of others, expressed especially by the donation of money and goods. Students were tasked with choosing a nonprofit organization within the community that aligned with their own unique passions and interests. For Ella, having a voice and choice was very important. “I like that we got to pick our own interests and that we didn’t have to do one thing and one thing only.” A variety of organizations were researched, with the primary focus being children, women, senior citizens, the homeless, veterans, animals (domestic and wild), literacy, environmental issues, and sports. Once students had a general idea on the type of organization they wanted to pursue, they completed a Google Form which helped teachers group them with peers. 

The groups were made up of students from both campuses. This meant some of their group members would not be available for face to face collaboration on a daily basis because they were at another school. Nakkitha was especially excited about the cross-campus collaboration. “I loved how we got to collaborate with people outside of our school because we got to meet new people and make new friends”. As group members dove into more specific research on their common interests, they utilized Flipgrid and Google Slides to communicate. These platforms allowed group members to continue the “conversation” even after their scheduled GATES time was over. Check out this Mixtape to hear a sampling of the group interactions. A walking field trip from Lakeview to Beck was also planned into their work time to allow groups face to face interaction.

Click the image above to view Shark Tank presentation

Groups were tasked with creating a digital presentation and pitch to be presented Shark Tank style. Their presentation would introduce the organization, explain why that organization was selected, and share how the community could get involved. They would also have an opportunity to present their marketing plan, which would include plans for advertising their project at both campuses. Groups created mockup flyers, commercials, scripts for announcements, dress up day calendars, bulletin board plans, and social media posts for the panel of “sharks” to consider. 

Click image to view the student created commercial

Both campuses came together for pitch day. Groups were able to share their presentation with the panel and their peers. The shark vote, coupled with the student vote, determined which project would be selected and rolled out at both campuses. The group representing the organization Sixty and Better was selected. At that point, the marketing plan from the student presentation began coming to life at Beck and Lakeview through campus-wide dress up days and a donation drive. Students in the GATES classes were each assigned a role in ensuring the logistics for the project were handled appropriately on their campus. Shashwat was one of the project managers. “I was in charge of keeping everything organized and well managed. This has taught me how to be a good leader and that as a good leader, patience is important”. It did not take long for all students involved to get plugged in. They were eager to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Check out what some of these students at Lakeview had to say. They made their podcast debut with an episode dedicated to the work being done for Sixty and Better.

Service learning projects are powerful learning experiences for all students. As Social Emotional Learning becomes a bigger focus throughout the district, these types of projects help students become responsible decision makers. They build social awareness, self-awareness, and relationship skills. They foster one’s personal well-being and the importance of self-management. They impact the whole child. For more information on other service learning projects happening at Beck Elementary, take a listen to the latest episode of the Bulldog Bulletin.

Final numbers from the campus donations will be posted to the blog upon the project’s completion. Please check back soon!

Pixel Art is "Completely Awesome"

Pixel Art has quickly grown in popularity, again. There are apps and websites galore when you do a search in an app store or online. Mrs. Pickett at Beck Elementary knew pixelation would be something fun for her GATES students to explore, while equipping them with valuable knowledge of Google Sheets. She was also excited about the opportunity it would create for curriculum enrichment and the extensions in the classroom were plentiful. Before trying their hand at pixel art, students first began to learn about its history. Of course, the biggest buy in for many of her students was learning that the ever so popular classics, Super Mario Bros and Zelda, utilized pixelation. To quote William, a student in her class, "it is completely awesome!"

As an introductory activity, Mrs. Pickett shared a template with students in Google Classroom. This template was created in Google Sheets and exposed students to conditional formatting. Their excitement was instant as they discovered that the empty template would soon contain a piece of their own creative art. Using these templated Google Sheets, it quickly became something that could serve as extension to the learning happening in math. Thinking about recent learning regarding fractions and decimals, students could be prompted to create a picture that was ⅓ green or .1 white. The possibilities were endless. This kind of higher level thinking merged their mathematical learning with creativity and problem solving. 

Their exploration and creativity continued, as a design challenge was issued. After listening to the book, The Big Orange Splot, students had the opportunity to discuss perspective and how it’s different for everyone. Their challenge was to design a house that was completely unique. Students were asked to consider what it would look like and to have it be a reflection of their own personality and dreams. Step one was to draft their pixel house on graph paper. This allowed students the opportunity to think through their color choices and refine their pixel design skills before moving it to Google Sheets.

Having experienced the formatted Google Sheet template Mrs. Pickett provided at the beginning of their study, students had knowledge of the process. It was then time for them to learn how to format a sheet that would support their house design. Students were encouraged to watch this tutorial video to gain knowledge on the process of conditional formatting. It was important that their template and color pallet matched the design they drafted. Of course, lots of problem solving and creativity took place as students worked on making it just right. Designs with curved lines were a welcomed challenge.

For many, this process became something they enjoyed doing. It was not uncommon to find students fully engaged in the conditional formatting and pixel art process during any free time they had. Rainy days, which meant indoor recess, were welcomed because they could pull out their Chromebook and continue working on their design. Drew said he enjoyed learning about pixel art because, “there was no limit to my imagination."

Mallory found the tasks to be fun and inspiring. She is hopeful they will have more time to explore and create again soon. And she’s not alone. Several students extended their newfound knowledge of conditional formatting and decided to create their own server of games. William, one student who contributed to the game, said the most challenging part was, “the color formatting, because if we got a single thing wrong it would fail."Learning to work collaboratively and problem solve through the tough times made this a task they will never forget.

One of the coolest parts of this process for Mrs. Pickett was the level of engagement and problem solving her students experienced. She saw value in learning about Google Sheets and knows this early exposure will certainly pay off in the real world for her students

 

Dear Future 4th Graders...

Fourth grade students in Ms. Doroodchi’s math class at Beck Elementary were recently given the challenge of creating instructional videos for their peers and future fourth graders. With their recent studies on division and understanding remainders, the problem solving block transformed into a time of creating and explaining their thinking. To say they were excited about the task would be an understatement. 

Initially, students worked in groups and were tasked with writing and solving original word problems that would require the use of their division skills. The group captain was responsible for composing the word problem, while other group members solved the problem and analyzed the remainder.

In preparation for making the instructional video, students were introduced to Aww App. The digital whiteboard allowed students the opportunity to practice solving problems on their Chromebook. The first day students spent time simply exploring Aww App and the available tools. The initial problems solved were generated by the teacher and students used applicable tools to solve the problem and justify their thinking. Aww App provides students with the ability to add text, images, and their own annotations with drawing and shape tools. Students utilized different tools throughout their exploration depending on need.

Screencastify was used to create the final recording of their instructional video. Used in conjunction with Aww App, students were able to share their word problem and show the steps necessary for solving the problem all while explaining and justifying themselves verbally along the way. Sophia was especially excited about the project saying, “I love how easy it is to record and share. Instead of sharing your work in front of the class with your math journal, you have your work ready to be shown on the big screen”. 

This project provided students with the opportunity to demonstrate several ISTE Standards for Students. The empowered learner “leverages technology to take an active role in choosing, achieving and demonstrating competency in their learning goals”. Additionally, the creative and global communicator strands were addressed as students published content for an intended audience and collaborated within groups in their classroom.

Constructing Concrete Connections

Vanderbilt University professor H. Richard Milner IV wrote that, “…building relationships with students is about meeting students where they are, attempting to understand them, and developing connections with them.” Most educators know that connecting with students and building positive relationships are key strategies to developing student success and those relationships serve as a foundation for what is done each and every day in the classroom. Making those connections can sometimes be a challenge, especially when a student is more introverted or maybe lacks confidence in his or her own voice. These connections also rarely happen without a teacher’s willingness to be vulnerable and share authentic pieces of themselves with students which, in turn, help to build foundations of openness and trust that are essential in student motivation and growth.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

Technology can be useful in transforming the ways we go about meeting the needs of our students while also providing a voice for those students who feel uncomfortable or who might not normally contribute in larger class settings. Effectively utilizing the right tool or resource can make a real difference in providing authentic, safe, and supportive connections, and ultimately learning experiences, that yield success for all students.

Katy Watson, a French teacher at V.R. Eaton High School explained that, “French I is the first time many students encounter a foreign language class in their entire academic career” and “it’s often a period of adjustment.” Mademoiselle Watson’s awareness of her students’ need for connecting and establishing a comfortable foundation for learning led her to utilize her YouTube channel to produce a video welcoming her students to the course and sharing basic expectations with both students and parents, prior to the first day of school. Mademoiselle Watson took time to introduce herself to students and their families while showing them her passion for both education and the French language. When asked about her goal for this video, she said, “I wanted to take some time to introduce parents and students to my program and to [help them] get an idea of what they can expect from my class. I’m hoping that parents will feel more empowered to speak to their students about my class…” and “to reach out to me if they need something, because they’ve put a face with a name and they feel more comfortable.” Her willingness to take that extra step to initiate personal contact with students and parents before anyone even set foot into the classroom is something that has had an impact on both students and families. Students came to class on the first day and felt encouraged to mention the video and make connections right away. Several students mentioned appreciating the effort and having a greater feeling of comfort and openness at the beginning of the course. Parents expressed a sincere appreciation for a chance to hear about the course and the instructor’s expectations and to have a positive communication from the teacher right at the start of the year.

Samuel Beck Elementary’s Ethan Dee is another example of an NISD educator who regularly uses technology in his classroom and, this year, he specifically used it to create authentic connections right at the start. Mr. Dee began by assigning a “Welcome Back Scavenger Hunt” where students were to visit a variety of websites gathering information about Mr. Dee and sharing information about themselves with him and the rest of the class. Mr. Dee utilized everything from a Smore newsletter, to Moodle, to Padlet, to the comments section of his school website, and even Animoto, where he created a video about himself. This scavenger hunt not only gave students a chance to get to know their teacher, but it also allowed them to begin interacting with each other in a positive way and previewing the types of tools they would use to learn and collaborate throughout the year. When speaking about the scavenger hunt assignment, Diane Tsapos, a fifth grade parent said, "...as a parent, I enjoyed sharing this." Aaron Reisman, one of Mr. Dee’s fifth grade students, shared that he is usually a bit quiet and nervous at the start of school and that he has felt more comfortable this year. He especially liked to see his classmate’s selfies posted on the scavenger hunt Padlet wall and thought that the part of Mr. Dee’s video, where he was dancing, was funny. Aaron expressed that he was definitely looking forward to spending the year in Mr. Dee’s class because he was already having fun exploring these tools and getting to know everyone better.

When we evaluate student academic experiences, we find out very quickly that although a lot of content is sometimes forgotten, the connections we make help us to solidify foundations of trust, social responsibility, and confidence, which then allows students to walk away with skills and experiences that are positively remembered and applied for the rest of their lives.

Student ISTE Standards:

1) Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. 

• 1.1: Apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products, or processes
• 1.2: Create original works as a means of personal or group expression

2) Communication and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute tot he learning of others.

• 2.1: Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media

A Digitized Novel Study

Third graders at Beck Elementary recently completed their reading of The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo. Throughout the reading of this novel, students were tasked with maintaining a digital notebook that would document their discussions, experiences, and learning. 

Students responded to the text in a variety of ways. Getting to know the key characters in the book provided students with the opportunity to analyze character traits that could be supported with text evidence. Beckett, in Mrs. Bell’s class, said, “using different apps, like the whiteboard app, helped us have evidence for our thoughts and allows us show response in pictures and drawing.” Digital tools, such as, the Aww App and Tagul were introduced to students as a way for them to share their thinking about the novel’s characters. 

Mrs. Phillips’ student, Wyatt, felt challenged throughout his work on his digital notebook and his Recap responses. “The most challenging part of our digital novel study was the questions were really tricky and you had to really think and deeply analyze the novel to understand it.” Responding to their reading verbally, using Recap, encouraged students to think deeply about their responses. It was especially empowering for their voices to be heard by their peers as they shared their recorded responses.

An extension menu was also provided to students to access throughout the study. This menu provided students with choice as they responded to their reading in a variety of ways. Support for completing the tasks on the extension menu was provided by the teachers via Screencastify. Instructional videos created by the teacher allowed students to work independently, at their own pace. The extension menu exposed students to new tech tools and provided differentiated learning experiences to students based on their strengths and needs.

On any given day, throughout the novel study, students within their classrooms could be found working on projects of their choice in response to their reading using Buncee, Google Docs, Google Slides and a variety of other digital tools. With choices on the extension menu such as: creating a personal intriguing word wall from each chapter, keeping a summary journal from their reading, publishing a “must read” newspaper article and designing a digital poster to represent a character, it was no surprise that student engagement was through the roof. 

As their reading of the novel came to a close, students had choice again in their final product. Options included creating a book trailer, writing a reader’s theater script or creating an interview with the main character, Edward. These risk-free tasks provided students with a platform to create and collaborate on their learning from the novel study. Some of these tools used to complete these projects were Animoto, DoInk and Canva. Students added their final product as a slide to their digital journal. 

Loseli, also in Mrs. Bell’s classroom, found this project to be good preparation for future learning. “The digital notebook enhanced my learning by introducing me to new websites that can help me with more of my extension projects or more of my learning throughout the year.”

Additional student notebooks can be viewed HERE.

World of Research

Second grade students at Beck elementary recently explored the world! This cross curricular unit allowed students to learn about other cultures, as well as expository writing and communicating their ideas. Mrs. Moses and Mrs. Jeffcoat opened student's eyes to global communication by contacting families around the world and having them post videos about their Christmas traditions on a padlet wall. The project consisted of four parts: Learning about other cultures, writing an expository essay over research, creating a poster of facts to present to the class, and making a video using Shadow puppets to highlighted a chosen country. 

When asked what they learned about other cultures, Morgan commented, "I learned that in Italy they

eat eel for Christmas and they call cake figgy pudding, it looks really good!" Colbie and Reed added, "I wish that we opened Christmas crackers like they do in England."  

One of Mrs. Moses' students (Ben) lived in Italy for three years. Ben and his family made a video about Italian Christmas traditions and put it in the padlet wall to share with the class. They used Shadow Puppets for this video. Ben comments, "I choose Shadow Puppets because my sister used Shadow Puppets for a 5th grade report and I liked it."

While this project was fun, it was also challenging at times. "The hardest part was presenting the information and working with our table," said Sam. "We had to try to spell everything correct and everyone wanted to draw at one time without talking about their idea first," expressed Reed. They added, "We did rock paper scissors to decide who got to write first." Colbie and Morgan pointed out, "It was kind of hard working in a team. We were both managers for our team, so we had to give everyone something important to do." The essay was also challenging. Reed commented, "The first draft was challenging because we had to have a hook and write about all of the things that we learned."

All of the students enjoyed using Shadow Puppets to make their video. "I like picking out the photos for the shadow puppet video and working with the special effects," said Sam. "We used smiley faces, snowflakes, stars, and other emojis to make the video more fun for others."

Morgan and Colbie summed it up well, "We loved this project because we got to learn facts about what other cultures do." They both agreed that next year's class should do this project. "I think they’ll have fun," said Morgan. "They will have to learn to be friends with others. I think every class should do it."

Come check these projects out at Techno Expo 2016. You can also view these student's videos in the padlet, or by clicking on the links below:

Created with Padlet

Morgan's Video Exploring Italy

Colbie's Video Exploring England

Sam's Video - Exploring Mexico

Reed's Video - Exploring 

Ben's famliy video about Italian traditions