Ramp up your "Timer" game

Using a timer in class is certainly nothing new. There is a wide variety of timers out there: egg timers, kitchen timers, Smartboard timers, iPhone timers, etc.... Those all work and are just fine, but perhaps it's time to level up your Timer game. Perhaps it's time to use something different. When you use your Smartboard timer, kids can see the number as it counts down. Which is fine. But they are looking at a number which is kinda boring. If you use your iPhone, kids can't see the time going down, which is okay because it adds a little mystery, but maybe you want the kids to see how much time they have remaining. So, we have a problem: We want the students to see the timer, but not just watch numbers tick by. Solution! Use the sun as your timer! With this awesome thing called "YouTube," we can use sunsets as our time. So if you are doing a challenge or activity that is timed, use the sunset as your timer. Once the sun sets, times up! Kids get jacked about trying to "beat the sun" and complete the challenge before the sunsets on them and their hopes of completing the challenge. Not all activities warrants a timer, but if you do something that is timed, think about using the sunset! The sunset I have attached to this post is for roughly 30 minutes. This would be a long challenge, so if you want a shorter timer, find a shorter sunset or just start the above video further into it.
Watch the sun set but motivation soar with Sundown Timers!

Other ideas: Find a slow motion video of a balloon being inflated then popped, or the tide coming in, or a tree burning down. If you can't find a video of a balloon popping or a tree burning down, then make your own video of that happening! 

Student Presentations

Having students present is something that has been done for along time and will continue to be done going into the future. It's good for students to get the experience and opportunity to show what they know and practice talking in front of people. Giving the students a chance to perform should never go away. What should go away is students standing in front of the class and reading a bunch of text off their power point slides. When this is done, the students are not presenting, they are just reading to the class. They are not showing evidence of learning/understanding if they are just reading. We want our students to present! A big myth is that power point is dull and boring and shouldn't be used. The tool is NOT the issue, it's what's on the slides. Some of the best presenters I have seen recently use power point. They are awesome at presenting, not because the tool, but what they have on the tool and, more importantly, what they say/how they say it. There are lots of presentation tools out there, some more "exciting" than others, but it still boils down to what's on the slides and what the students say. 

A few years ago, I wanted to go in a better direction for student presentations so I implemented the TED format for student presentations. If you ever watch TED videos, there's very little text on the slides. Just some images or talking points. You will NEVER see a TED presenter read off their slides, so why should we allow our students to do that?  

My recommendation for Student presentations:

*1-2 words per slide only. NO EXCEPTIONS (unless it's a poignant quote)

*No note cards or paper for the student to read off of

*Use insightful pictures to help tell the "story" of what the student is presenting on.  

Forcing students to these guidelines will increase rigor, thinking, learning and their ability to present thoughtfully and creatively.  

Ask questions with Kwik Survey

I wanted to give my students a survey so I set one up with surveymonkey.com.  Unfortunately, the free version of surveymnonkey limits you to 100 submissions. This wasn't going to cut it for me because I have 127 students. As a result, I went searching for another survey option. Kwik Survey allows you to customize the survey and record as many entries as you want. Your survey is easy to share as it gives you the option to share the link or actually embed it into your website. It gives you options on when the survey closes, how many responses can be selected, and customize the look of it. You can also add pictures to your survey instead of just words. 
Application for Education: Any type of voting or opinion activity would work well with Kwiksurvey Easy way to compare the thoughts/attitudes/opinions between your classes. Survey students or use it as a pre-test. Use pictures for students to vote on which picture best represents something (democracy, theme of story, math something??) I used it to have my students vote on what things from the ancient world should be in our Ancient World Hall of Fame. 

Example of Kwik Survey
(this poll is closed so only results are visible)

Creating a Youtube Interactive Review

Looking for a unique/different way to review? Try making a Silent Video. I started making these last year and the kids have really liked both making them and watching them. With YouTube now open, the Silent Video is even better because students can watch them during the school day! 
How to make a Silent Video: After studying a unit or topic, compile a list of questions. You need to have at least one different question for each student. Pass out the list of questions and have your students each pick one question. Give them a piece of cardstock. Have the student write the question on the front of the cardstock and the answer on the back. I tell my students to use block/bubble lettering so it stands out more for the video. After each student has made their card, tell them to find a spot in the room to hide their card, but stay by it. Walk around the room with the video camera, going from student to student, video taping them showing the card, then flipping it to reveal the answer. Really emphasize with your students to think of a creative way to hide the card before showing the camera. Add a cool song for the students to listen to as they watch. Publish the video on YouTube and share! 
A Silent Review video becomes an interactive reviewing experience. As the students watch their video, along with the videos from the other classes, they can look at a question, think about the answer, then see if they are right when the card is flipped. This is more interesting/engaging then basic flash cards so the students are more likely to use this review tool. With YouTube open in school, they are now capable of watching it during study hall.

Interacting with the Public

During our Ancient Greece Unit, we learn/talk about Democracy. Athens started it as a form of government and we have that as our government, so there is an obvious connection. I am having my students interview the public to see what they actually know about democracy. So to get things started, I went to the mall in Sioux Falls and asked random people some questions to see for myself what people actually know. The video above is my experience at the Sioux Falls Empire mall. It was an interesting day, to say the least. 
 Application for Education: I think it's great to have your students go out into the public and interview people, ask them questions, and teach them about what we are learning. For this example, my students are essentially "teaching" the adults about democracy and in particular, what questions they get wrong. It gives them purpose in the assignment and in the learning. They need to learn the material so they can go out and help others. In a history class, there could be many different things you could have your students go interview people with: civil war information, american revolution information, government, etc. Reading: have students interview adults about their favorite books, why they like them, etc. English: have students give a grammar test! Any topic could be turned into an opportunity to interview the public.