Barrington 220 and MobileMakersEdu Present Ken Kocienda

Barrington 220 staff and students are invited to attend an upcoming guest speaker presentation at Barrington High School. Ken Kocienda wrote the book Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs. He was a software engineer and designer at Apple where he worked on the software teams that created the Safari web browser, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. Among other contributions, Ken created the onscreen keyboard for iPhone and iPad. I am pleased to announce that he will be visiting Barrington High School in April.

I found Ken’s story a testament to the 4 Cs of Creativity, Communication, Collaboration, and Communication. If possible, I highly recommend reading or listening to his book before attending his presentation. I hope you will be able to join us! Here is the detailed information about Ken’s presentation:

Barrington 220 and MobileMakersEdu present

Ken Kocienda

Author of Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs

The Path Isn’t Straight

Wednesday, April 10, 7:00 PM

Barrington High School Auditorium

616 West Main Street, Barrington, IL

Free Admission

Please RSVP at bit.ly/220speaker

Presentation Description

Hey, students! Your life is yours to figure out. Your parents, friends, and teachers can help, but it’s up to you make the decisions about who you want to be in your life and the kind of work you want to do. Getting there probably won’t be a straight path. My own path wasn’t straight, so I can share some ideas, and hopefully inspire you to find a path that will work for you, and maybe lead you toward a career in technology and creativity.

The presentation will end with a Q&A session, and a book signing will follow the presentation.

Speaker Bio

Ken Kocienda was a software engineer and designer at Apple for over fifteen years, but he didn’t start out in high technology. After graduating from Yale with a degree in history, he fixed motorcycles, worked in the editorial library of a newspaper, taught English in Japan, and made fine art photographs. Eventually, he discovered the internet, taught himself computer programming, and made his way through a succession of dot-com-era startups, before joining Apple in 2001, where he worked on the software teams that created the Safari web browser, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch. After leaving Apple in 2017, he wrote the Wall Street Journal bestselling book, Creative Selection: Inside Apple’s Design Process During the Golden Age of Steve Jobs.

Free Admission

Please RSVP at bit.ly/220speaker

Download poster (PDF)

Digital Literacy: Balancing Print and Digital Text

This article was contributed by Amy J. Rolain, Lines Elementary Teacher Librarian, with contributions from the Barrington 220 Elementary Teacher Librarians.

How do we support our learners as they become successful readers of e-books?

Every avid reader is aware of the magic of print books, whether it's the wonderful smell of a new book, the joyful feel of each title as you browse the bookshelves at the library, or the warm memories that come rushing back when you read a well-loved childhood classic. As our youngest learners begin to build on their experiences with print and step into the world of digital text, how can we harness the benefits of both?

"We cannot assume that students’ prior experiences with devices have prepared them for the unique demands required to access and read an e-book effectively" (Schugar et al., 2013). While reading digital text, many students forgo the reading strategies they use when reading print books, which may contribute to research literature consistently showing a small cost to comprehension when students read from a screen (Ferlazzo, 2016). Kristin Ziemke, author and expert in innovative learning practices, suggests that parents and teachers guide children to become better readers across all types of text, teaching them to navigate each effectively (Ferlazzo, 2016).

"As [parents and] educators, we need to take a closer look at what online reading is all about and think about how we can help our [children] not only navigate with comprehension but also understand the underlying structure of this world.” Kevin Hodgson (2017)

Digital text offers young readers a spectrum of benefits. Differentiation opportunities abound and provide readers with the opportunity to tailor their reading experience, including the ability to adjust font and text size, line spacing, and background. In some cases, text level can also be individualized, allowing all learners to read about the same topic at their unique reading level without the stigma of an alternate text. Audio support allows students to hear a fluent voice read books that may be developmentally appropriate and relevant to their interests and/or core curriculum, but above their decoding level.

Tools that support comprehension are paramount when reading digital text, including bookmarking, highlighting, annotation tools, and an interactive dictionary that allows readers to define words in context. Digital text is also convenient, portable and accessible. Students are able to carry an entire library in one device, providing them with an interactive, multimodal, motivating, and engaging reading experience.

All Barrington 220 students have access to digital text that provides the comprehension support tools discussed above and more. In addition to building-based e-book collections in Destiny Discover, Barrington students utilize the Sora app by Overdrive, a catalog of e-books and audiobooks selected and shared by Barrington 220 Teacher Librarians. Sora allows students to read and listen to e-books on their district-issued iPad or any device.

Students also have the ability to add their local public library to Sora, allowing them to check out audio and e-books with their public library card. The Sora app can be found on your child's self service app repository, and for home devices, can be downloaded at soraapp.com or from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. To access the Barrington Elementary Sora catalog, students log in with their district username (first initial + last name) and password.

Elementary Launchpad Digital Text Resources

In addition to Sora and Discover, Barrington 220 offers a number of additional subscriptions that provide students with access to high quality, age-appropriate digital text.

• TumbleBook Library is a collection of animated audio picture books as well as chapter books, graphic novels, nonfiction books, math stories and books in Spanish. 
• PebbleGo (Grades K–3) and PebbleGo Next (Grades 3–5) are databases that offer science, social studies, and biography content that integrates "read with me” highlighting and fluent audio read aloud, high-quality photographs, Spanish, and videos that support text, with kid-friendly printing and citation capabilities. 
• Epic is a free in-school resource that offers an unlimited collection of fiction, non-fiction, STEM, biographies, and graphic novels to students. 
• The MyON collection consists of 70% leveled nonfiction and provides a dictionary, highlighter, drawing tool, sticky notes, a journal, and a citation creator. 
• Britannica School offers thousands of up-to-date, curated, and curriculum-relevant articles, images, videos, audio clips, primary sources, maps, research tools, recommended websites, and three separate leveled encyclopedias. Students can utilize read-with-me highlighting with audio as well as a dictionary, font size adjustment capabilities, and articles in Spanish. 
• Flipster is an easy to use digital magazine newsstand accessed on each school library homepage. 

While magazines are selected and purchased by individual libraries, most sites offer Ask, Cobblestone, Dig into History, Faces, Muse, and Zoobooks. Back issues are available, and all articles have zooming and printing capabilities. These digital text resources and much more can be found on your school's Elementary Launchpad, which is located under the Student Menu on each elementary homepage. Library homepages, catalogs, and home access password information can also be found at the top of the Elementary Launchpad.

How can we harness the benefits of print and digital text?

As we strive to harness the benefits of both print and digital text, parents and teachers must always remember that nothing can replace the close bond and rich conversations that come from sharing a good book, no matter the format. Modeling the application of comprehension strategies such as predicting, inferring, retelling, summarizing, and comprehension monitoring must be implemented with digital texts just as they are when reading traditional print books. The key to getting kids to read deeply in any format is to have them engage with the text in meaningful ways and use the tools available to support comprehension. In the digital space, that means disrupting a pattern of clicking, skimming, scanning, browsing, bouncing, and keyword spotting and dispelling the common childhood myth that digital text is only for casual, leisure reading.

Teaching kids to slow their reading pace down, engage in and break down complex text, find key ideas, organize, discuss and reflect on the text and defend claims will develop good digital reading habits that become second nature (Schwartz, 2016). Close, thoughtful, and engaged digital reading and reflection can and will emerge when parents and teachers model this behavior, both with the worn, dog-eared pages of beloved traditional print, as well as the convenient, tailored reading experience of digital books.


References

Alexander, Patricia A., and Lauren M. Singer Trakhman. "The Enduring Power of Print for Learning in a Digital World." The Conversation, 3 Oct. 2017, theconversation.com/the-enduring-power-of-print-for-learning-in-a-digital-world-84352.

Ferlazzo, Larry, et al. "Why the Death of Paper Books May Be Greatly Exaggerated." Classroom Q&A with Larry Ferlazzo, Education Week, 28 May 2016, blogs.edweek.org/teachers/classroom_qa_with_larry_ferlazzo/2016/05/response_reading_digitally_vs_reading_paper.html.

Hodgson, Kevin. "Strategies for Online Reading Comprehension." Learn NC, 2017, www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/6958.

Overdrive (2018). Sora: The Student Reading App from OverDrive Education. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/uqQvD9QpEOU.

Schugar, Heather Ruetschlin, et al. "Teaching with Interactive Picture E-Books in Grades K-6." Reading Rockets, 2013, www.readingrockets.org/article/teaching-interactive-picture-e-books-grades-k-6.

Schwartz, Katrina. "Strategies to Help Students 'Go Deep' When Reading Digitally." KQED Mindshift, 16 Oct. 2016, www.kqed.org/mindshift/46426/strategies-to-help-students-go-deep-when-reading-digitally.

ClassVR in Barrington 220

ClassVR allows teachers to add a virtual reality component to almost any lesson, and it's now available right here in Barrington 220. Virtual Reality creates an exciting and engaging environment while bringing a real-world element into the classroom.

The ClassVR headsets and content are controlled from an online subscription platform, please use this form to request a ClassVR account. The headsets are set up, connected to the WiFi and ready to go, please click here for the ClassVR quick start guide. Content can be planned, delivered, and monitored in real time. The teacher controls the visuals, monitors each headset, and draws student's attention to specific areas on the screen all from a user friendly dashboard. Click here for guidance in creating and planning lessons that incorporate ClassVR.

Students at BMS-Station have been enjoying the benefits of virtual reality lessons.

Students from both Barrington 220 middle schools have been taking advantage of the ClassVR headsets over the last few weeks, Amira Shabana, Teacher Librarian at Station, says that the students and staff have "loved" the experience. Ted deBruin's Grade 5 class at Countryside is spending the next couple of weeks testing the ClassVR content, and they are hoping to create some of their own content as well.

Barrington 220 currently shares 3 classroom kits that include 8 headsets each. These kits can be reserved by visiting your building Teacher Librarian or LTA.

Grade 5 students at Countryside experience ClassVR for the first time.

Using Real-world Engagement to Help Students Commit to Meaningful Learning

Apple recently published a series of three books on the topic of Educational Leadership. Written in partnership with SRI Education's Center for Technology in Learning and with contributions from Apple Distinguished Educators, this series highlights the latest research and knowledge about great teaching and learning. In fact, the book Elements of Leadership features the Barrington 220 District Technology Committee as an example of shared leadership in instructional technology (page 21).

This bsd220tech series focuses on the book Elements of Learning which discusses powerful instructional strategies that engage learners and empower them to believe that their work matters. This month, we discuss the conditions under which students will maximize their willingness to engage in learning.

Elements of Learning

Part One: Teamwork
Part Two: Creativity
Part Three: Personalization
Part Four: Critical Thinking

Elements of Learning—Part 5 of 5: Real-World Engagement

Motivating students is a tricky thing. There are so many variables that we must consider when trying to engage students in a way that causes the learning to stay with them long term. We teachers attempt to create the conditions for learning and invite our students to participate, but their level of investment is ultimately up to them. When students enter class and are asked to spend time on an activity, or commit their mental energy to an idea, they ask themselves two questions: "Can I do this?" and "Is this worth my time and effort?" Students must be able to answer "yes" to both questions before they are willing to engage in the learning. The first question is hard enough. Teachers must consider the level of the task, the ability level of their students, students' prior knowledge, and many other variables. Getting students to say yes to the second questions often feels impossible. Real-world engagement is a key component of getting kids to feel that their time and effort on a task will be worth it.

Components of Real-World Engagement

• Realistic Examples—Examples provide context for student learning. These are plentiful and should be used liberally. The right example can connect a student to the academic learning in powerful ways. The more a student can see themselves in what they are learning, the more invested they will be.
• Immersion in the Real World—Immersion refers to any opportunity for students to directly connect to the people and places they are learning about. Field trips, video conferencing, Google Earth, augmented (AR), and virtual reality (VR) all serve to bring learning to life and connect students to their learning. 
• Realistic Task—Even if students are immersed in the context and have understanding through examples they could still disengage if what they are being asked to do is artificial. When students are engaged in a realistic task, they commit themselves to the learning. Realistic tasks include anything that looks and feels like what a professional would be doing. A realistic task could also be something that has a meaningful impact on the world around them.

Each component above helps to provide opportunities for students to experience authentic meaning and connection to what they are learning. When put together, a lesson goes to the next level. Giving students opportunities to connect their academic learning to issues and people they care about will make the difference in how long they will remember the content and how much they are willing to invest themselves in the learning.

For example, students in a high school Spanish class are asked to write children's books in Spanish. This, by itself, is a realistic example. Students must apply their knowledge of the language to an activity that goes beyond conjugating verbs on a worksheet. The teacher wants to increase student engagement by creating immersion in the real world. She reaches out to an under-resourced elementary school in Mexico and develops a relationship. The high school students connect through Facetime to read their stories to the elementary students in Mexico. Finally, to add a realistic task, the Spanish teacher partners with the high school Graphics Design class to design and produce physical copies of the books. The Spanish class arranges for the books to be shipped to the school in Mexico to provide each student with their very own book. When these elements are combined in this way, students are invited to authentic engagement in activities that are having a real impact in the world. 

How can technology amplify real-world engagement?

Technology can amplify real-world engagement because it connects students to the world. In fact, it is literally the mission of the "One to World" program to accomplish this. Physical access to people and places is limited by geography and resources. But virtual access to the people and places we learn about are limitless. Through technology, students can partner with local businesses, connect with their community, gain perspective from others all over the world, or communicate their ideas to everyone.

Want to Learn More?

Download the multitouch book, Elements of Learning, in the Apple Book Store. The book is available right now, including examples from multiple grade levels and content areas.

1. Open the Apple Books app already on your device in the Applications folder of your MacBook Air or from the App Store (or Self Service) on iPad.
2. Search for Elements of Learning.
3. Click or tap Get.
4. Enter your Apple ID and password when prompted.
5. Start reading!

Why Should I Care about Computational Thinking?

Computational thinking can seem like one of those buzzwords that's hard to nail down a definition and explain to others. When it's hard to explain, sometimes we ignore it for fear of looking uninformed. I know I'm guilty of that when it comes to explaining why certain algorithms in math like inverting and multiplying fractions work. But even though computational thinking may have a multi-layered definition, you and your students (as well as society) will greatly benefit from working towards understanding and utilizing this problem-solving process. Just keep reading.

First, a simple Google search of "computational thinking" will yield a variety of results.
This image from the BBC will be one of the first you will see in an image search.

Here are a few definitions you will find.

• Computational thinking is the thought processes involved in formulating a problem and expressing its solution(s) in such a way that a computer—human or machine—can effectively carry out. (Wikipedia)
• Computational thinking (CT) is a problem solving process that includes a number of characteristics, such as logically ordering and analyzing data and creating solutions using a series of ordered steps (or algorithms), and dispositions, such as the ability to confidently deal with complexity and open-ended problems. (Google for Education)
• Computational thinking refers to the thought processes involved in expressing solutions as computational steps or algorithms that can be carried out by a computer. (K12cs.org)
• The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) provides a multi-layered definition. I presented on this topic at ISTE 2018 and handouts are linked at the bottom 5 Top Robots for Computational Thinking:

Another one of my favorites is from Barefoot Computing. Although the definition isn't my favorite, I love using the infographic with students and in PD presentations.

• Computational thinking is about looking at a problem in a way that a computer can help us to solve it.
• Computational thinking is not thinking about computers or like computers. Computers don’t think for themselves. Not yet, at least!
• Computational thinking involves 6 different concepts and 5 approaches to working:

So with all these complicated definitions why should we care about understanding and teaching computational thinking?

For me, it's like the next level of 21st-century skills. In my STEM classes, we have been focusing on the 4 Cs (Critical Thinking, Creativity, Communication, and Collaboration) plus Character. With each engineering or robotic challenge or lesson, we try to highlight one of these as the skill we are developing and utilizing. So for me, Computational Thinking encompasses the cognitive competencies (4Cs) and offers more. It breaks critical thinking into specific problem-solving processes (or concepts) which allows us to really describe and practice these strategies. We can understand that using decomposition will help us solve our drive the square challenge and that by looking for patterns we can make our code (algorithm) more efficient.

Computational Thinking helps students efficiently solve non-coding related problems as well.

Students putting on a play or wax figure museum, for example, would need to decompose the large event into smaller parts to define tasks to accomplish. They would then need to determine the algorithm or sequence of those steps. These same processes are also often used in math class when solving story problems or in algebra and geometry. In science when our experiment yields unexpected results students can evaluate to consider explanations and then debug by testing just one variable at a time. In daily life, students can find ways to use computational thinking to accomplish simple and complex tasks. I use this example with my students (also from Barefoot Computing).

I think computational thinking is so important because our global challenges are getting larger and more complex. We need a systematic way of thinking about them in order to go about solving them. While I do believe that all students should learn and practice computational thinking, it does have its limits. When using logic to solve a problem, ethics and human nature are not taken into consideration. We originally added character to our 4Cs (+1) goals for students because, without it, teams (society) can end up dysfunctional because they do not trust and respect one another. With the rapid advancement of technology and robotics, we need people that know how to program as well as make ethical judgments to consider whether we should be creating certain types of technology.
Just imagine what problems we could solve if Einstein and Gandhi were able to collaborate on our global challenges today! Maybe you can empower our future citizens, engineers, politicians, and computer scientists with the tools and hearts to solve these complex issues!

AP Biology Classes Get Creative with Sphero

Julie Baylor teaches AP Biology classes at Barrington High School, and she charged her students with creating a model that demonstrates the blood flow from a human's big toe to the heart and back again. In an effort to amplify student thinking in creative and engaging ways, Julie incorporated Sphero robots into the assignment. The Sphero robots served as a moving visual, exhibiting the characteristics of the blood running through the body and provided a concrete formative assessment that went beyond a verbal presentation or quiz.

These types of assignments and experiments allow students the freedom to think outside the box and provide them a creative outlet applicable to any subject.

Would you like to incorporate Sphero or another robot into one of your assignments? Simply visit your building Teacher Librarian or LTA for assistance.

Looking for activities, ideas, or inspiration? Navigate to https://edu.sphero.com  and create an account to get started.

BrainPop Educators

Have you been searching for new and exciting ways to use BrainPop? Are you looking for standards-based content to enhance an upcoming lesson? The BrainPop educators site offers all of this and more. Gain insight from blog posts written by teachers just like you, get a sneak peek of the newest content, watch webinars, get training, and preview lesson plans all from a website that is created and organized with busy educators in mind.

Need help getting started? Simply navigate to BrainPop Educators and click "GETTING STARTED." Each page focuses on specific features.

The Barrington 220 subscription includes BrainPop, BrainPop Jr, BrainPOP Español, BrainPop Français,  and BrainPOP ELL for Elementary. BrainPOP and BrainPOP ELL are available for BMS-Prairie, BMS-Station, and BHS.

To check out the brand new BrainPop 101 course for teachers, navigate to this link, or click "BrainPop 101" from the home page.

The Certified BrainPOP Educator Program is available for a deeper dive.
Click here to get started.

Barrington 220 One to World Program Update for 2019-22

At the Regular Board Meeting on Tuesday, March 19, 2019, the Barrington 220 School Board approved a lease to continue the district’s One to World Program. Part of the proposal includes the first major change to this learning and teaching program since it began as a pilot during the 2013–14 school year. Students at Barrington High School will switch from using the MacBook Air 11-inch laptop to an iPad as the primary learning device. High School teachers will receive an iPad, keep their MacBook Air 13-inch laptop, and will now have the same two devices as Barrington 220 elementary and middle school teachers.

iPad Generation 6, Logitech Slim Combo integrated keyboard case, and Logitech Crayon smart stylus. Photo courtesy of Logitech.

The Board Finance Committee and School Board considered several different options before they made their final decision. One issue that was addressed early was whether BHS should phase in iPad devices over several years or make a change all at once. Current BHS course data reveals that over 69% of BHS classes contain students in multiple grade levels in the same class, affecting over 88% of BHS teachers. Thus, unless we make a one-time device switch, BHS teachers would need to prepare two types of activities for each of their classes for up to four years, a situation that is not ideal. For this reason, the Board opted for a one-time switch. For BHS courses that require specific technologies, appropriate devices will be provided (i.e., Project Lead the Way desktops running Windows, MobileMakersEdu app development laptops running macOS).

While much discussion has ensued around the BHS student device change, all Barrington 220 students and teachers will greatly benefit from this new lease.

Three-Year Cycle

As a result of this lease, Barrington 220 will be transitioning ALL iPad devices at the same time, starting at the end of this 2018–19 school year and likely moving into the beginning of the 2019–20 school year. This means that after our transition, every Barrington 220 student and staff member will have the exact same iPad device, a new iPad Generation 6 with 32GB storage, for the next three years. After three years, we will plan another complete device refresh. This will allow teachers and students to have the same device with the same capabilities and allow tech staff to manage our devices more efficiently than our current situation with up to four different iPad models deployed.

New Cases for Students and Staff

Since our BHS students are switching from a MacBook Air 11-inch laptop to an iPad, we have had many discussions about text input on the iPad. We have heard from students, parents, and staff that they would like the option of an external keyboard in addition to the many text input options available on the iPad. In preparing for our transition, we tested at least four different integrated keyboard cases with students and staff, and our selection is the Logitech Slim Combo for iPad Generation 6.

We also re-evaluated our elementary and middle school case option through testing and speaking with other districts and found that districts using folio-style cases (with covers that flip to protect the screen when it’s not in use) have a lower percentage of breakage than our current iPad case. Our new elementary and middle school case is the STM Dux Plus Duo Case for Generation 6 iPad. This case is a folio-style case with a slot for a smart stylus.

iPad Generation 6, STM Dux Plus Duo case, and Logitech Crayon smart stylus. Photo courtesy of STM Goods.

Smart Stylus

One of the features added to the iPad Generation 6 its ability to use a smart stylus. We selected the Logitech Crayon. This stylus works with all apps designed for the Apple Pencil. All Barrington 220 teachers and BHS students will get a Logitech Crayon issued to them, and we have purchased a Logitech crayon for every Grade K–8 student that we will make available to use in class sets.

Logitech Crayon. Photo courtesy of Logitech.

Apple-Delivered Professional Development for All Teachers

This lease also includes services from the Apple Professional Learning team. Each Barrington 220 teacher and administrator will have the opportunity to learn directly from Apple trainers to use the apps and ideas described in the Everyone Can Create series in the classroom. For more information about Everyone Can Create, download the free books on the Apple Book Store or visit the website.

Apple's Everyone Can Create books in the Apple Book Store.

For a complete explanation about why our district made the device change at BHS and to find answers to many frequently asked questions about the transition, please visit the Barrington High School One to World Device FAQ.