Category: LiteracyGrant - EdTechDidi

Celebrating Wonder and Italy

2/8/2018

Time for a celebrazione! These girls showcased what they had learned about Italy over the past few months as we've explored the idea of wonder and curiosity.

They donned their Wonder crown and cuffs...

...and took turns sharing from their Wonder journals. This group shared about transportation in Italy, specifically about gondolas in Venice. Did you know there used to be about 10,000 gondolas and now there are only 400 (all used for tourists)? They learned that Venice is built on water with no cars allowed and that public water busses are called vaporettos. Even our youngest girl colored pictures and filled her notebook with red, green, and white.

This group learned all about the Leaning Tower of Pisa, that it took over 300 years to build and they have tried all sorts of things over the years to slow it's leaning. We "looked" up inside it and all around the grounds using Google StreetView through our cardboard viewer and they thought it's pretty cool that you actually feel crooked when you're inside it. They also learned it's actually a bell tower on a large church complex, which many people don't realize.

I'm really proud of them for sticking to a task, even though it's been really spread out and has taken longer than I envisioned. While not perfect pedagogically, they still learned more than they knew before and we had fun in the process.

Several guests joined us, including a teacher I invited who facilitates student curiosity projects. and many of the older girls came in to listen. After watching a clip about gelato and learning why it's not the same as ice cream (less air, less fat, creamier, lower temperatures, different processing), we enjoyed homemade mango gelato and focaccia bread. Delizioso!

Caio for now!

Year of Wonder

9/14/2017

After an absolutely perfect summer break, I'm back in Mumbai and happy to see the girls today. They've grown!

I've stewed long and hard about how to best help them this coming year during our time together. I've reflected on various activities we've tried, what's worked, what hasn't, what they've enjoyed balanced with what they need, what is most helpful but also fun...it's not an easy process. What would you do if you were given these girls for a few hours a month?

They may have limited physical surroundings, but they are incredibly bright and strong and keep me on my toes. They get bored easily, want all the bells and whistles of anything we do online, and it's challenging to motivate them and keep them engaged. Generally they don't like to do anything hard or anything that isn't fun. What child does?

Yet, I have a responsibility to try to help them increase their literacy. Specifically, my goals with them are:

Girls will improve English language skills
Girls will learn digital literacy skills
Girls will strengthen their innovative spirits

No small task...

So, given what I know of them and what we've experienced together so far, I've decided on a theme this year I want to try:

Wonder.

That's our word. It's our year of Wonder. I want them to foster their innate curiosity about the world. To ask questions. To find answers. To reach and explore. To travel virtually. To discover. Ultimately...to think. To learn how technology helps us think and solve problems and find answers and demonstrate what we've learned.

This is the mystery box. They asked me lots of questions to guess what was inside. While they hoped it was chocolate, it wasn't. They shook it. They asked questions like, "Is it a ball?" Nope. After a few guesses they were done and wanted to open it. I pushed them to ask me different types of questions that I could answer yes or no. They began to narrow it down. It was an animal. Not a real animal but a toy animal. A big animal. A brownish animal. It lives in India. Not a cow. Our youngest girl guessed it: an elephant! She was so proud and got to open it.

After talking about our upcoming plan for the next little while, including types of questions and question words, we decorated question marks.

It was an analog activity no one was very excited about, but I wanted to lay the foundation and we'll use these in future projects.

So, exciting things are in store! Wonder what? Wait and see.

Spring and Earth Day Poetry

3/23/2017

This week marked the beginning of Spring, and even though it's warm all year 'round in Mumbai I still wanted to celebrate.

We brainstormed quite a bit to get started, which is always a bit frustrating for these girls. They like to dive right in to using the computers. We came up with some words that have to do with springtime and beauty and taking care of our earth. I had them think of a beautiful place they have visited and we came up with a list.

They also used a springtime and Earth Day word list I linked to from our Symbaloo webmix if they needed extra help or ideas.

First, we tackled acrostic poems. They didn't seem to have done these before and it was new for them. We chose our topic word and brainstormed words to go with it. Using ReadWriteThink's tool, one girl made her own about earth and the others collaborated together and typed the same poem on their own computers about Spring.

I told them that my kids love to give acrostic poems to others as gifts. If they ever want to give someone a birthday present and don't have any money, they can always write an acrostic poem using that person's name and write words about them. They seemed to like that idea.

Electricity must be saved, Animals should be respected, Recycle and reduce the trash, Thank for every living and non living thing.

Next we attempted Haiku's. These were harder and a good challenge. They had learned the concept but hadn't really been able to practice. ReadWriteThink's haiku tool makes it really easy and there was a lot of clapping out syllables until they got it just right.

We finished by working in Storybird on Spring and Earth Day books to be completed next time.

EAL Practice and Support

11/17/2016

Today with the girls I focused on English language support. I knew they wouldn't jump up and down for joy – and they didn't – but they solidified some skills and had enough fun to press through.

I intended to use Duolingo, an engaging language support platform, and I created logins for each student, set them up as a class, and assigned certain tasks for them to complete. I figured it would either be too easy or hard but that we'd eventually find what was about right. Instead, due to complications I couldn't overcome in the moment (the text was in Hindi as they practiced their English, so I couldn't help them know where to click and navigate through lessons. Also, not all of them are fluent in Hindi and typing in Hindi text on the keyboard wasn't possible.) So, that was a bit of a bust. Hopefully next time I'll succeed at configuring it better or find a different tool.

We switched over to BrainPopESL. They each took a placement test and it walked them through appropriate lessons and videos accordingly. Even the older girls seemed engaged and in various vocabulary and grammar activities.

So, they made it through. With a few minutes left we practiced some typing and the older girls are all 20WPM or higher. I challenged them to try it without looking so much at their hands, but they are in a good spot.

Next up: hands-on, offline!

Keyboarding and Coding

10/27/2016

While we're no family Von Trapp, my kids do play musical instruments. We have a few pianists, a trumpet player, a flutist, and a violin player. Playing a musical instrument isn't easy, and in the beginning it isn't very fun. Practice can be tedious and frustrating. However, I've enjoyed watching them progress over the years to the point that they really enjoy playing and they see how far they've come.

Similarly, learning to type is like that. It's such a necessary skill in today's world and one that is often picked up rather than strategically taught. Yet, with a little practice as often as possible, students build fluency and improve. I learned to type in 8th grade during a keyboarding course and to this day I am an excellent typist without looking at my fingers. I try to help students of all ages improve their typing skills because it will serve them well.

Today was my first time on the computers with the girls and I was pleasantly surprised with how well it went. I know they get regular computer instruction from a different volunteer and they had workbooks they showed me from school with basic computer terminology and parts. We reviewed some of that (by pointing to various parts of the computer and named each) and they are quite adept. They easily drag and drop, open a website, search, navigate around, and perform basic troubleshooting. Even our youngest first grader did great. The internet worked fast enough and overall today’s effort was a success.

Now that I have a better handle on where they’re at, I am excited about the possibilities of moving forward from here and building on what they already know. They, like most kids I’ve worked with, naturally gravitate to mindless games or searching for random images and the like. I’d like to motivate them to use the computers for learning and expanding and enriching.

We started with a review of basic terminology and a quiz. With the older girls, vocabulary included:

World Wide Web
Email
Internet
Search Engine
URL

With the younger girls we reviewed in their notebooks the parts of a computer.

Then I gave a pep talk on keyboarding and encouraged them to practice even a few minutes whenever they can.

I let them practice using DanceMat typing (interactive and fun but can't save progress) and typing.com (less colorful but students can log into a teacher-created account and keep track of progress). I stepped back and watched how they'd do and I think they surprised even themselves. I gently guided proper fingering and placement but they were self-motivated and pressed through several examples. A couple of the younger girls got a little frustrated towards the end but gave it a solid effort. I'd like to see them all practice once and while on their own.

We then did some Hour of Code activities from code.org. We reviewed some offline coding activities from before and they tried their hand to program an Angry Birds maze or make Elsa ice skate around the rink. At times it was frustrating but they stuck with it and were authentically proud of themselves when they'd complete a portion of the code and it worked.

I'm really looking forward to what's ahead with these amazing, bright, and motivated girls!

Balloon Rockets

9/22/2016

Today as part of my STEAM effort with the girls' home we designed and launched balloon rockets. It was a 'BLAST'!

With the older group, I reinforced through drawing and discussion force, motion, thrust, and friction. We reviewed the scientific method and filled out a worksheet that encouraged asking questions and making predictions about what they thought would happen.

Using this framework as a guide, we wondered aloud:

Will changing the shape of the balloon make the rocket travel faster?
Will adding more air affect how far the rocket travels?
What will happen if we raise the incline of the string?

We practiced calculating velocity based on how far the rocket traveled and how long it took.

I especially liked when we added cargo on top (a rupee coin inside half a ping pong ball) and predicted at what point along the way it would fall out. It actually made it all the way to the end of the line.

In the end we found that the more air in the balloon, the faster it goes. It also matters if the straw is straight and if it's going with or against the breeze coming through the window.

And everyone enjoyed the leftover balloons...

STEAM manipulatives

9/14/2016

Today is a major holiday in India, Ganesh Chaturthi, where millions take Ganesha to the beach to be immersed. There's a lot of music, dancing, drums, processions, and celebrations. The girls had the day off school so I had a few join in that I don't normally get to work with.

Pouring monsoon rain, a holiday, and a bunch of eager girls meant: manipulatives.

I plan to incorporate a STEAM-related activity each month, and fortunately so many fun things fall under the STEAM umbrella: including manipulatives.

The older girls have been studying force, motion, and velocity and need a bit of hands on reinforcement. We started with a warm-up on the iPads using the Meet Science app. They watched some instructional force and motion videos and demos of related experiments, and then they played a couple of catchy games that reinforced the concepts. These girls are super bright and are doing high school level physics. While this app is geared for younger kids, it worked fine as a lead-in activity or extra practice to reinforce the concepts.

iPads are awesome but the ideal plan is 1:1 instead of sharing. I'm going to do better cycling girls through and giving them the space to explore on their own for maximum benefit.

Next, I followed this framework for working with Keva planks. I first discovered these blocks at the USA Science and Engineering Festival while in Washington, D.C. several years ago. I was immediately impressed with how simple they were and yet required critical thinking skills to produce complex outcomes. Most importantly, they are fun and kids of various ages love how open-ended and versatile they are. Today we stayed pretty basic.

I gave them 10 planks and challenged them to build as high as they could. Then they did the same with 20 planks. They rotated spots and added another person's structure. I gave them 4 small cubes and asked them to build a structure starting with only the 4 cubes on the bottom. I asked them to design a ramp that would carry a ball down and we filmed it in slow motion and talked about the force of hitting the dominoes at the bottom.

I found it fascinating how individual each girl's approach was. Some instinctively dove in and seemed to know just what they wanted to build and how to make it come together. Others struggled and kept looking at the instruction booklet for some ideas. Some got restless after a few attempts and some could have built for hours.

I asked them questions as we went along about how a ball might fall through their structure, what would happen, how high would it bounce, or similar attempts to get them predicting. Nothing was too formal but I think they had fun and saw a bit of force in action.

Next up, the younger and middle crew. For them, I set up several different stations and we rotated through. Again, it was fun to see different approaches, creative thinking, and problem-solving skills. Some organized by color. Some prefers to work with a partner and others alone. They enjoyed showing off their creations and trying some new tools.

Plus Plus (she made the Indian flag)

These girls are sharp, creative, and open to new experiences. I look forward to what we'll try next.

Literacy Grant Begins with Coding

9/8/2016

Literacy is far more than the ability to read and write. It's also understanding, communicating, and thinking.

I was awarded a literacy grant from Phi Kappa Phi to do some STEAM outreach with a group of girls here in Mumbai.

These girls come from underprivileged backgrounds and a variety of circumstances. There is a small army of volunteers and others who look after their daily care and welfare. Some help tutor academics and English language, others participate in cultural celebrations and wellness efforts. I am honored to join those who reach out with their time and love to support these girls.

For the purpose of this grant, I've expanded the definition of literacy. I have three main goals:

Girls will improve English language skills
Girls will learn digital literacy skills
Girls will strengthen their innovative spirits.

I will rotate through Coding, Digital Literacy, STEAM, and English language activities. My goal is to expand their thinking and expose them to tools and resources they don't already have.

Today was my first day and like all first days it was a bit rough but also wonderful.

Coding 101

I like the computational and critical thinking that coding requires. Using the Move It, Move It lesson plan from Code.org, I introduced some offline coding activities.

We defined "instructions" and practiced giving each other instructions. We played the Move It game where a person gives simple hand signals one at a time to another player in order to find the hidden smiley face. They caught on really quickly and I had to keep adding papers to make it harder.

To test their understanding, they completed Meet the Flurbs worksheet, pasting in arrow commands. They aced it.

Having built a foundation, they were ready for something more challenging. On the iPad we practiced with Daisy the Dinosaur, Move the Turtle, and Cargo-Bot. It was a little tricky sharing iPads, as it always is (even with only 2 kids on a device), and they each wanted sufficient opportunity to try.

Perhaps the most rewarding part for me was watching them try, get frustrated, try again, feel proud of themselves for succeeding, and then reach over to help the other person figure it out.

That alone is a valuable journey for Day 1.