LiveBinders at Work in the Classroom

Like Wikis, http://www.livebinders.com/ allows teachers to coordinate and collect information, files, and websites into one location for easy access at home and school.  Unlike Wikis, LiveBinders do not allow students to alter information already placed there.  I recently discovered this little treasure and have put it to use in my classroom. 

In my school, we do not allow students to randomly surf the Internet, "Googling" for websites.  We provide our students with pre-screened websites for their use.  While there are several ways to accomplish this from dropping links into a document and uploading it to a shared folder to handing lists of web addresses to students for manual entry, none of the historically utilized tools really meet 21st Century standards. 

LiveBinders allows users to create virtual three-ring binders of information, files, and websites in easy-click tabs and sub-tabs.  Once students the correct LiveBinder, they have a sort of closed-circuit web browser at their disposal where websites are "Live" from the tabs on the screen.  Teachers can also add media, text, and files to tabs. 

This technology means that students can conduct research, pursue WebQuests, and explore new concepts on their own in school or at home, without having to look for a needle in a haystack.  I am still exploring the possible uses of LiveBinders, but I can envision future "Live" bibliographies and Webquests created by students to demonstrate their learning and understanding.  This resource could be the beginning of student presentations that go beyond research papers, posters, and PowerPoint presentations.

You can view a basic LiveBinder I created to help my students research ocean exploration technology by going to http://www.livebinder.com/ and searching for the binder entitled townsendhcms.  The site also features binders of all kinds.  Move over, Bookmarks.  A new era has begun. 

Wiki's in the Classroom?

The 21st Century is a time of creation and collaboration.  Our students will not graduate from high school into a world of fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, or true-false options.  They will enter a world in which they will be expected to reason, to problem-solve, to communicate, create, and collaborate.  They need Wiki's. 

With Wiki's, students can accumulate and edit information on a given topic.  Students can create study guides for tests by including and defining vocabulary or outlining chapters.  They can enjoy creating and publishing an add-on story or build a collection of information from which to build a research presentation.  Wiki's are excellent places for students to ask and answer questions.  A Wiki is also an innovative way to create a class bibliography of resources or websites. 

Of course, with Wiki's a teacher must lay some ground rules.  Spelling and punctuation may be edited, but no one should be allowed to delete or greatly alter another student's contribution without their permission.  All information input needs to be meaningful and on-topic, and students must be required to document sources of information they cut and paste or paraphrase. 

Among the skills students can learn using class Wiki's is respect for the work of others, acceptance of constructive correction, and the value of each contribution to a larger whole.  But, teachers, please monitor your students carefully as they begin to use Wiki's.  Technologies that are new to you and them can be the stimulus for unanticipated bumps in the road. 



Images courtesy of http://parcepsocialmedia.wikispaces.com/null?from=ss_embed

Whole Brain Teaching

When I first heard of Power Teaching (now called Whole Brain Teaching), I was an undergraduate student. The first time I watched Chris Biffle's basic training video on YouTube, I became enthralled with the interactive nature of the method. Power Teaching involves so many best practices that it can hardly fail to be effective for those courageous enough to try it.

I am in the process of putting Power Teaching to the test in my classroom of sixth and seventh grade students with special needs. I am taking it much more slowly than Chris does in his training video, but my students embraced the "Class-Yes" and the "Scoreboard" immediately.

My students are all male and very active. They also have a history of feeding off one another's frustrations. However, it is a beautiful sight to see the instant transformation when I say, "Class!" They all stop what they are doing and say, "Yes!" in exactly the tone and pitch I used. An unexpected benefit of this practice was the immediate feedback I receive for my own actions. They are so well trained that when, in exasperation, I spoke the magic word sharply one day, they answered me in like kind. We all had a good laugh, and then I repeated my "Class!" in a more restrained tone, to which they responded appropriately.

Since my students love to make noise and be silly, Power Teaching gives me just the tool I need to provide them with an acceptable outlet while serving my own purposes of classroom control as well. The results are well worth the performance. The "Teach-Okay" is my next step, and I plan to integrate it next week. Updates on progress will follow. In the meantime, feel free to visit for a wealth of helpful information about this innovative educational strategy.