Category: global

being a teacher, collaboration, global, Passion, student choice, student voice, technology

On February 5th Do the #StudentLife Challenge – Show the World What A Day in the Life of A Student Looks LIke

Pernille Ripp

Have you signed up to be a part of the #studentlife challenge on February 5th?  If not, why not?  This simple global collaboration is all about having students take pictures throughout the day and then share them using the hashtag #studentlife.  So far more than 30 different schools in 6 different countries are taking part.

Details

On February 5th, I invite students across the world to share pictures from their regular day using the hashtag #studentlife.  Students (or teachers if students are too young) can use Twitter, Instagram, or whatever social network site they choose to share these slices of their life.  What I hope for is a wide variety of images with or without commentary that will allow us educators to see what happens in our students’ days, not just what we think happens.  If you feel like it, you can also have students do this before February 5th and compile their answers into something that can be shared.  This is what I will do using our blogs.

How can you participate?

Share this challenge with your students and invite them to join, remind them to use the hashtag #studentlife.

Add your information in the form below  or in a comment so that I can share your students’ slices with the rest of the world.

Tune in on February 5th through Twitter or Instagram to hopefully see what our students’ days look like.

Help me spread the word on this please, I think it could be really powerful for all of us to see what students really go through in a day in our schools.

If you have signed up, please fill out the form with your email address so I can send you the details!

I am a passionate teacher in Oregon, Wisconsin, USA,  who has taught 4th, 5th, and 7th grade.  Proud techy geek, and mass consumer of incredible books. Creator of the Global Read Aloud Project, Co-founder of EdCamp MadWI, and believer in all children. I have no awards or accolades except for the lightbulbs that go off in my students’ heads every day.  First book “Passionate Learners – Giving Our Classrooms Back to Our Students” can be purchased now.   Second book“Empowered Schools, Empowered Students – Creating Connected and Invested Learners” is out now from Corwin Press.  Follow me on Twitter @PernilleRipp.

collaboration, community, global, global read aloud

10 Tips On How to Create a Global Collaborative Project

Pernille Ripp
image from icanread

While the third annual Global Read Aloud is in full swing and more than 28,000 kids participating, I cannot help but be in awe.  After all, as I have said many times, this idea seemed so simple, so minor when first discussed, and now here we are; 6 continents involved in reading the same two books and global connections being formed around the clock.  So how do you get to this point, what is the secret? Well, I’m not sure, but here are some ideas:

  1. Be simple!  No collaborative idea ever took off if it required hours of explanation.  The Global Read Aloud’s strength lies in its simplicity; read a book aloud and connect with others to discuss it. No convoluted rules, no disclaimers.  And the core premise has not changed.
  2. Make sure the idea is easily translatable.  Both in explanation but also in doing.  If it centers around a book make sure others can get it and that it wont cost them too much.  Whatever you are collaborating around has to be easily accesible for educators all over and for varying skill levels.
  3. Don’t make too many rules.  If there are too many rules the project may get stifled.  Relax and let the project develop, guidelines can be developed together and changed as needed.
  4. Invite others to contribute ideas.  Another reason I love the Global Read Aloud is all of the ideas being shared by people who are much smarter and much more creative than me.  This is what has made the project so special to so many people; they are invested in it because they helped create it.
  5. Don’t get stuck in a rut.  After the first year of the Global Read Aloud I pondered whether we should use the same book year after year and then realized that it would be too easy that way.  I love discovering new texts and must admit that I had not read “The One and Only Ivan” before its selection this year, now I count it as one of my favorite books.
  6. Use the tools.  We have an incredible array of technological tools available to us as educators and everybody feels comfortable with different things, so use them all or let people choose.  Schools, in particular, often block certain things but it varies from school to school, so if you let people use many different tools to connect chances are one of those use will be accesible.
  7. Create a community.  We established our Edmodo community in June so people had time to get to know each other and create connections before the October 1st kick off.  This has been valuable to many participating and the readiness level was more prominent this year than in prior years.  So find a venue to create a community outside of the project; Twitter or Edmodo are great places to start.
  8. Be accessible.  I love connecting with people and I love helping out so make sure people can get a hold of you.  I answer emails quickly, as well as tweets, and do my best to leave comments and showcase cool things people are doing.  I am as much of a participant as everyone else.
  9. Trust other people.  Again, another strength of the Global Read Aloud is all of the people involved and everything they bring to the project   So while it may have started as my idea, there are so many others now involved that it has evolved into true collaboration.  Everybody adds ideas and it benefits everyone.  Don’t be the only one making decisions, create a group to help plan and they will also spread the word.
  10. Make it fun!  Even if you are tackling serious subjects have an element of fun.  We tend to get excited over things we can see our students get excited over.  So whether it is the topic, the process, or how you will connect, do something that will bring out the smiles and cheers. 

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global, global read aloud, tools

5 Reasons I Love Using Edmodo in the Classroom

Pernille Ripp
Image representing Edmodo as depicted in Crunc...
Image via CrunchBase

I have long been a fan of Edmodo after it was introduced to me as tool in the Global Read Aloud.  This free social network specifically aimed at students and teachers is a fabulous way to integrate social media into your classroom, as well as setting up ways to collaborate with other classrooms.

While there are many great tutorials on how to use Edmodo such as this one by Jason Bedell, it is really one of those sites that needs very little how-to explanation, which makes it ideal for any techie newbie out there.  So here is my top 5 reasons for using this social network

  • Global collaboration made easy such as for the Global Read Aloud.  We have different groups set up for teachers and small student groups.  We love how easy it is for people to find each other, share resources, and even branch off on their own.  This is our fastest growing site used in the GRA and parents can even be invited in to see everything we do.
  • It is free!  Teachers love free things and particularly ones that are really well made.  Edmodo is easy to use, easy to facilitate, and does not charge us a dime.  
  • It is a great introduction to Facebook.  I know this may sound strange but I love how closely Edmodo resembles Facebook without it being Facebook.  Being a 5th grade teacher where students are legally not allowed to be on Facebook, Edmodo provides them with an opportunity to dabble in social media and getting used to using it well.
  • It is private!  I love the ability to set up different groups and the ability to add students to them.  I also love that this is something only teachers or administrators can do and not just anyone.  I also love how we have control over who joins the group, connects with us, and how we communicate.  You cannot find someone on Edmodo outside of it and yet it provides enough flexibility within its privacy that students can create meaningful collaboration.
  • It provides a direct pipeline to the teacher.  I love that students can use Edmodo for informal as well as formal classroom work.  My students often use it to ask for homework help, clarification, or just to boast of their latest achievement.  They also use it to reach out to me privately with questions or concerns and I love this capability.  Some students simply do not feel comfortable speaking to you about private things out in the open but this way they can contact me directly without anyone knowing.

Of course there are many more reasons, such as how easy it is to share resources, how it allows students to communicate with other classrooms and create polls, how parents can get a window into the classroom, and how I could use it to post and gather homework assignments.  So this top 5 is just that; my top 5.  Why do you love Edmodo?

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being a teacher, conferences, global, global read aloud

The Global Read Aloud – My Session From The Global Education Conference 2011

Pernille Ripp
This week I had the thrill of presenting at The Global Education Conference on my passion; The Global Read Aloud.  This 30 minute or so presentation was recorded, so if you would like to hear it “live” here is the link.

You can also see my slides below, I am not sure they will make much sense though without the audio.  I tend to not do a lot of text.

connections, global, student blogging, Student-centered, technology

Why Students Should Blog – My Top 10

Pernille Ripp
Image: Kristina B

I have written about it before, I will write about it again I am sure, so here is why students should blog:

  1. They have an actual audience to write for.  The writing is no longer just for me but the whole world. When we write science diaries, we have scientists write back to us and push their questioning skills.  When students write about a book they are reading, other students ask them questions and give them more recommendations.  When students go on vacations they write to us to tell us all about it.  You get the idea.
  2. You can track their writing progress.  I have always had them keep track of their writing in their binders but invariable papers got lost.  Here I can see their growth, print it out and hand it to them.  I can have them focus on specific skills, just like regular writing, but they can go in and edit on their own time.  They can see their growth and the electronic version seems to appeal to them more.
  3. It opens a dialogue.  Students have a direct line to their teacher and to anyone else they are connected with.  Blogging helps us write back to each other, but great blogging is like a conversation with questions and critique.  My students are learning how to engage in written dialogue with topics they care about. 
  4. It establishes their internet identity in safe manner.  Students are getting on the internet earlier and earlier so as teachers it is vital we embrace this opportunity to teach them safety.  My students know the safety rules by heart and help each other follow them.  By being on the internet and establishing a presence they are actively practicing staying safe rather than just talking about it.
  5. They teach each other.  Numerous times my students have corrected misconceptions or created new awareness of concepts being taught within our room.  They become teachers rather than just students in our classroom and blogging allows them to continue that outside our classroom walls.
  6. They are global citizens and global collaborators.  We speak of creating global citizens but then forget to actually connect kids with kids.  My students know where places in the world are because they speak to kids from those places.  We have connections around the world that we can use when we study other places and this year my students will even be working on a project together with another classroom.
  7. Transparency.  Too often teachers shut their doors to the world rather than sharing the amazing things we concoct along with or students.  Blogging opens up that door and shows the whole world what is happening.  My students have more than once inspired other teachers to try a project.
  8. They become aware of themselves as writers.  Students start to create their own essence as a writer first playing around with fonts but then creating tag lines for their blogs and deciding how they want to present themselves to the world as writers.  This is powerful at the elementary age.
  9. I can easily check in on their learning.  When my students blog about a concept I can quickly see whether they are understanding the essential concepts or need another learning opportunity.  
  10. You give them a voice.  Students need a way to express themselves to take ownership of their learning, so through our blog students tell the world their thoughts on education, their learning and their needs.  I am a better teacher because of their blogging.

I could keep going but I hope that this inspires you to try it.  Reach out, connect, I will gladly help anyone that wants to try blogging with their students.  My students tell me now that blogging is one of the best things that has ever happened to them.  To see their work and their thoughts visit them here

For more reasons why students should blog, check out this post:
global, projects

My Other Baby – The Global Read Aloud Project

Pernille Ripp
Last year I had an idea, a simple one really; connect classrooms across the globe by sharing a read aloud.  I thought aloud on Twitter, got positive feedback, and “poof” The Global Read Aloud project was born.  Come September when more than 50 classrooms around the world had signed up, I had no clue what to expect, but I was ready with my copy of “The Little Prince” which had been chosen.  And I was not disappointed, for 4 weeks I got to share an incredible book not just with my students but students in other places.  We blogged about it, talked about it, Skyped about it and just overall connected with others.  The coolest thing was definitely when my kids told me how they couldn’t believe other kids were reading the same book as them – mission accomplished.

This year it is back and better than before.  On September 14th I am excited to kick off the 2nd annual Global Read Aloud with more than 100 participating classrooms signed up so far.  This year promises to bring some of the same and something different.  A huge difference is that there will be two books this year; one geared for older students (Tuck Everlasting) and one for younger kids (book yet to be determined).  I have also opened it up to more collaborators and co-authors as well as set up a Google group for us to connect.  It will be more streamlined and easier to participate for everyone and I will have an easier time keeping my cool.  But what stays is the same is the purpose; the connection.  I don’t care how much participants get involved, I just want them to have a venue for reaching out to others to share this experience with.  So please consider joining us as we venture into another try, check it out, spread the word, let me know if you have any questions.  We would love for you to join us as we connect the world through one book.