Efficient Workflow with Google Apps

I have used the past few years to teach myself Add-Ons for GoogleSheets and GoogleSlides as well as playing around with more advanced design ideas. It was born out of necessity during hybrid learning – all of a sudden everything that had been on paper needed to be virtual. I also need more efficient communication and data tracking.

YouTube and blog posts are how I taught myself. Teachers and staff I work with often how I accomplish some of tasks I do, so I created two PD trainings in my district and I will describe the highlights below. Most of these Add-Ons are through Google Sheets, but some also incorporate other Google Apps in the final product.

DOCTOPUS

I first used Doctopus to distribute Google Docs before Google Classroom was even an option. Then I paused using it because it was easy have have students ‘Make a Copy’ instead or adding ‘/template/preview’ instead of edit at the end of the URL to share what it looks like before having them use the template. However, the downside was knowing if students really did have a copy of the materials and making sure they were shared back with me. Other impatient students would end up with many, many copies of the Google Doc because they would not let the screen load and just repeatedly click ‘Make a Copy.’ This often meant a blank copy was accidentally submitted instead of the version they actually worked on.

The benefits of Doctopus are easy distribution and management of Google Docs, Google Slides, or Google Sheets. Doctopus also lets you differentiate as simply as having a letter in a group column, then multiple versions of the Google Doc or Google Slide shared out without students realizing it was different. For some projects, I will have 3 or more different versions of a project based on skill level and language abilities. Doctopus also works great for groups – a single copy is shared with all the students as editors. Once students have the files, as a teacher you can run ‘Refresh Edit Counts’ to see what students have done: the last date it was edited, how many times they have edited it, and the word count (depending on the type of file).

A more creative use of Doctopus is using the ‘Refresh Edit Count’ function. Then sort by date. I delete the dates that are current, leaving the students who are behind work on the GoogleSheet with the Edit Count information. It is easy to combine the Doctopus roster with personalized Form Mule emails (more detail below) with suggestions for progress and links to resources that could help them get caught up. For some long term projects, I also add the parent email addresses too and CC them on the updates.

FORM MULE

I love Form Mule with Google Sheets. There are many options for merging Google Sheets data into customized emails, this is just the one I have become familiar with. Form Mule can be utilized for a simple form email that can be sent out to everyone on the list or it can be more complex with conditions added to customize who receives different versions of the message.

It can also be set to automatically email when a GoogleForm gets submitted. This works well for communication with students and parents after having students self-reflect after behavior issues. Our team has used a behavior QR code for 5 years successfully. I helped the band teacher set up a similar communication form for when students forgot their instrument for a lesson or band day. A similar Google Form could be set up to communicate with parents when students forgot homework or were unprepared in another way.

I have been the grade level Student Council Advisor for many years. I have tried many different ways to communicate and plan with students. I have completely run communication through GoogleSheets this year and appreciate the simplicity. I can send emails about Student Council meetings or customize the message with reminders about specific events they signed up for.

CHATGPT

This isn’t an Add-On, but it works so well with the Add-Ons, especially when I know how to describe what I want but do not know how to write the Google Sheets formula. I used to rely on YouTube and trial and error for my formulas. Now if you are specific with directions, ChatGPT or another AI website can generate the formula for you. This has given more more options for personalized communication with FormMule and Array Formulas. My previous blog post was ways I thought of to use ChatGPT for my classroom. Asking for spreadsheet formulas is one of my most frequent uses.

ROWCALL

This Add-On works amazing if you have to group students frequently. It functions exactly as anticipated: adding students to a tab based on what a cell in the column. I used to run an after school program had to sort a long list by walkers, parent pick-up, and bus riders. This was a lifesaver, or a least a huge time saver.

This year we run a remediation period at least once a week. Where the students have to report to changes as often. We needed a way to provide a roster for each teacher of which student they would have in their room while simultaneously communicating with students where they needed to report to. The roster is made possible with RowCall and and the communication is through FormMule. A few clicks of a button and the list is automated and perfect.

AUTOCRAT

I have used a lot more digital notebooks and GoogleDoc templates since hybrid teaching. My favorite source of design templates is SlidesMania. Using the Add-On Autocrat, form fields can be added to a digital notebook or a GoogleDoc. When the Add-On runs, it will automatically email a customized version of the Doc or Slides based on a Google Form submission. One of my Autocrat tasks was a pre-writing for a research project for some of my learning support students. They struggled with where to start. The template gave them a basic outline for their essay with spots to plug in the research statistics they had already found. They just had to add some explanations and edit. As the social studies teacher, my priority was quality research to support a claim, which they were successful with.

A creative idea that I’m looking forward to starting next school year with is a Mad Libs with my course description. I did it this year, but it was low tech. It would have worked better for students to have the entire fill-in-the-blank story in front of them instead of just on the front board. If I create a Google Slide for each of the unit descriptions, it can have the Mad Lib version. Students will fill out a Google Form with the types of words they need to use, then get emailed the Google Slides with their version of the story and the actual course description. They enjoyed the Mad Libs and we all laughed, this would just be more efficient and easier to read.

FLUBAROO

This Add-On was developed before you could actual set a GoogleForm as a test. All of my current assessments are on Canvas, but I love Flubaroo with Google Forms and Google Sheets for self-grading practice quizzes. There are many share options for what to provide students after they submit the quiz. I’ve also used Flubaroo with digital escape rooms, they have to submit the quiz to get the next clue or link to the next part.

NEARPOD

This one is a Google Slides Add-On instead of Google Sheets. I use Nearpod frequently in my class, so it just makes it easier. The lessons created with the Add-On allow Immersive Reader when the lesson is run through the Nearpod website. This Add-On gives me the design choices I like in Google Slides with the engagement features of Nearpod. You cannot copy and paste the Nearpod activities and have them work, but you can ‘make a copy’ and edit a new version of the presentation.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

So I mentioned earlier that I shared my knowledge with some PD in my district. These are the slides that went along with Efficient Workflows with Google Sheets and Designing Digital Notebooks. A bunch of the videos I taught myself for Google Sheets and Google Slides are included in these presentations.

ChatGPT

My plan for this blog post was going to be my reflection of 2022… but the very end of the year led me down the ChatGPT rabbit hole, an apt analogy because it almost seems magical with how accurate it can be. So the traditional reflection is going to have to wait.

If you are new to ChatGPT, there is a great post already written by Ditch That Textbook that goes into the details, defends why it should not automatically be blocked, provides some example uses, etc. The screenshot will take you to the work that Ditch That Textbook already compiled. There is another good overview resource from Torrey Trust.

After reading some Tweets, I jumped right in with the basics, just general questions with some follow up questions. That part does not seem transformational, but the ability to quickly create content that requires minor editing, can allow me to spend the time creating higher level resources.

My post is going to focus on how I can use it right now in my course for Ancient Civilizations and soon Developed and Developing Nations. These are the prompt ideas.

Using AI to generate the backstory and filler text for my newest BreakoutEDU was perfect. Students have learned to predict some of my clues in the written portion because I reveal more than I realize. By using AI, they can’t predict it.

I loved the backstory created. You can ask for ChatGPT to add specific words and places into the answer. It was better than the first two attempts I had.

I saw another post about using AI to generate basic content like tables. You can ask ChatGPT to add more details as you think of it. The table of key Roman Emperors could be used somewhere, if I did not already have one created. But it’s worth considering for future new topics. I will also remember that students will have the same ability.

I’ve used fictional short stories as a way to access the students understanding of the Key Terms for the civilization. You can ask ChatGPT to generate a story with specific words. As a follow up prompt, you can then ask it to create the fill-in-the-blank activity, or just do it yourself with the words originally provided. You can even ask AI to revise with specific tone or add humor to the story.

This is another basic teacher task, writing questions. It could be about a vague, or specific topic. You can also add a link to an article or chapter to analyze, then develop the questions about the source. This was impressive, but students will be able to reverse the process and ask for the answers. A teacher can even ask for the answers separately when posing the original request of ChatGPT.

I saw this idea for content creators not related to education, but history has some good stories that can capture students’ attention if you know how to weave the story. Yes, I can tell the story of Romulus and Remus, but maybe it is more memorable when some humor and making sure to include key phrases. A short script is easy to memorize or paraphrase and work into a normal lesson as an attention grabber.

Research with ChatGPT is going to be something teacher’s have to deal with. You can give AI the websites to use for research, give it the claim, and ask for an essay. The essay is written in a couple minutes. You can prompt for more details to be added or the tone and audience changed. This was amazing to watch, but it will make me reconsider some tasks or the method of evaluating some tasks in the future.

The last is one task I will probably use frequently. I use GoogleSheets a lot for professional tasks and organization in my classroom, but I would not consider myself an expert. I am just good at finding what I need. Finding solutions and developing formulas just got a lot easier. You ask ChatGPT to write a formula for GoogleSheets: describe the desired task with specific parameters, AI will convert it into a formula.

Another teacher posted about asking ChatGPT to write lesson plans. I’m normally confident on my plans, what I struggle with is writing sub plans, especially if I am sick and physically drained. When I asked for lessons on the Achievements in Ancient Rome, the AI recommended sequence was very similar to what I already had students do. But I could just copy and paste the result into sub plans if necessary. I do not think AI will replace a teacher, but if it replaces having to spend hours writing sub plans, that makes me happy. If I had new content that I had to teach, this could be valuable to jump start the lesson planning process.

This is just a few of the brainstorms and things I discovered as I played around with https://chat.openai.com/chat. It has left me with more questions than answers. My two favorite uses are for digital Escape Rooms/BreakoutEDU and for Google Sheets formulas. For now, I need to exit the rabbit hole and grade some current assignments. Future assignment ideas and grade expectations will have to wait until another day.

Feedback Shift

I have tried many different ways to leave feedback in the past few years. I used to write written feedback in the margins, but most of our work is digital now. Then I would leave comments on GoogleDocs, but the students admitted they did not read the comments. Two years ago I loved Mote for leaving spoken comments on student work, but as we switched to more GoogleSlides usage, getting the audio to play from the Slides on the student iPad did not always work the first time. When viewing the statistics of which comments were listened to, it seemed like many students tried, but quit if it didn’t work the first attempt. Even after using Canvas for years, students are still confused on how to find the feedback or comments. The comments were not relative to the space I was commenting on, so it was not as helpful as necessary.

So the question I went into this year with: how can I leave timely and efficient comments that students will actually see and act upon?

I think I figured out the perfect answer for my students this year: DIGITAL STICKERS.

I have a lot more examples at the end of the post.

This year our students are extra motivated by stickers. I’ve bought more than one bulk set with cute animals, funny puns, or motivational quotes. I decided to use that sticker enthusiasm to give feedback on their digital Ancient Civilization Notebooks (created with GoogleSlides).

STEP ONE: Find random clipart to reflect the Ancient Civilization I am going to leave feedback for. Upload those images to Canva. Canva for Education is AMAZING and FREE! I will go into more details about how I specifically create the digital stickers, but I wanted to say how awesome Canva is first.

STEP TWO: Looking over the content, I determine where the misconceptions or missing information will be in the notes. These short phrases will be added as words on top of the clipart.

STEP THREE: Using a 2″ square for the design has worked well for many of them. Sometimes I crop them after downloading. Create a new slide for each sticker. Add one image per slide.

STEP FOUR: Remove the background of the clipart. While selecting the image, click ‘Edit Image’, then ‘BG Remover.’ It takes less than a minute to work on the image, then click ‘Apply.’

STEP FIVE: Pick one of the feedback phrases to go on top of the image. There is no correct font, but my preference for legibility and sticker-like look is Atma Bold. While the text is selected, click ‘Effects’ and ‘Splice’ customizing the thickness and offset to the desired look.

STEP SIX: Download the images with a transparent background. After unzipping the file, the digital stickers can be added so many places.

After three civilizations with feedback, I’ve found a way to be more efficient. I use specific stickers for set pages of the notes. I have my answer set of the GoogleSlides, so I put the stickers where I will for students. Then I copy them back in the same location to the cover slide. With split screen between my cover slide with all the stickers, I can copy them to the page of the student notebook with minimum formatting necessary.

So why do I think this system works? I’ve seen the students actively looking for stickers. They fix the notes or add details based on the stickers. They even help out their classmates, by interpreting the stickers together and recommending changes. Every year might not be so motivated by stickers, but I will take advantage of it while it lasts. You can see a bunch of the stickers I’ve created for feedback below.

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End of Year Project and Reflection

This might come as a surprise considering the chaos of the school year, but the end of this year was awesome, specifically the World Project we finally got to complete. When we first started working on it as a PLC it was 2019. We had a shared vision of a cumulative end-of-year creative project for them to apply the different aspects of the learning. We spent an entire year developing it, then COVID interfered with our first attempt. This year we were successful.

There was an old school project booklet that had ideas for creating a country and going to war. Our project is very loosely based on that. We also Googled “Create Your Own Country Project” and saw what other teachers had done. Another inspiration for me was the Wisconsin Council of Social Studies presentation by John Honish about how to turn your Classroom into a Country.

Other interesting videos for inspiration are about micro-nations. The first one is from National Geographic about the micronation of Atlantium. There are other micronations in the world, and this How-To video goes into the details of starting a country. To introduce the idea to students, there is a book on Epic! Books written for kids about Micronations by Kathy Ceceri.

Our project ended up having four phases. The rest of this post will be a reflection of Phase I. There were two parts to phase I: the draft and the development mini-projects. We picked major concepts that go into a civilization: climate, cash crops, commodities, energy source, economic activity, population, government, physical feature, and water.

At the last minute, we added ancient achievements and religion because of the emphasis we put into Ancient Civilizations G.R.A.P.E.S. (geography, religion, achievements, politics/people, events, and social structure). In a perfect world, the students would have retained information about each topic and would not need to research before the draft. But that wasn’t the case. The week before we compiled resources for students to use as a refresher for the topics before the draft. Before next year I want to modify these resources and how students record their information. I don’t know how to make it better, but I know I can. Hopefully.

FINAL DRAFT OPTIONS:

We ran a snake draft to make it fair for groups. After one round, there was a short debrief/planning time for all groups. Next year I want students to have more time in-between rounds and de-emphasize how much time they have for their draft selection. All but one group selected within 30 seconds. A single group would stall and take the full allotted time to annoy their classmates.

The teachers calculated how many points each group earned to maintain the secrecy of points – sorry you can’t see it either because it took too long to create. Each item had a point value. Some categories were worth more points. The combination of characteristics could provide bonus points or be a negative. For example, an island would benefit with commercial fishing, but a desert would detract the value of fishing.

DEVELOPMENT MINI-PROJECTS

After the groups had their basic civilization, they had to start developing by earning more points through mini-projects (described here). There were both required projects and optional projects for this phase. Groups were not given a set number of projects to complete nor a desired point total. Most classes correctly predicted that having more points would be advantageous later in the project – some even predicted there would be a conflict or battle of some sort. We already updated some of the directions and the points for next year based on the quality and detail that students were able to complete this year. Some mini-projects were based on drafted characteristics.

By this point, having a group folder that never left the room was really important. Project components were not lost nor home with an absent student. The folder had the project list attached, which is where I recorded their points as they completed items. To ensure students did their best work, they were warned that anything not done satisfactorily or not following directions would not earn points. They could not fix it and try to re-submit; it would be crossed off their rubric. Next year I want to add some additional items to the folder to make it more efficient: a QR code to the digital directions so they have access to the template links and a QR code their group’s Google Slides. The second part will definitely take more effort for me to set up, but it will be valuable in the long run.

Students worked really hard on the development projects, but not all of them photographed well. Next year I want students to create more of the items on their iPads instead of writing it on paper and taking an unclear picture of the paper. Below are some of the examples of student work. Many groups adopted a theme for their country and everything related back to it, like a food item or an animal. I’m proud of the effort they put into this entire project considering it was May/June.

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Work-Life Balance

This blog post will not be my normal content. I feel the need to document the chaos of being a full-time teacher and mom during a pandemic. Sometimes during the hectic school year I feel disappointed that my kids don’t get the best version of me. Nights and weekends are shared with planning and grading. For special occasions, at home learning experiences, and summer vacation I tend to go all-out to compensate. I love that my son wakes up in the summer and asks what the adventure for the day is, its just sad when he asks during the school year and I can’t promise anything. I don’t feel like Mom of the Year, but I am proud of the toddler experiences I have provided my children.

SENSORY BINS

I know these are often considered for younger kids, but at 3 and 5 (almost), both kids are willing to spend an extended period of time with a well designed sensory bin. Summer weekends we often explore local yard sales and I specifically keep an eye out of items that could be incorporated into a sensory bin. The random weekend days spent going to yard sales has also taught some money skills, I make sure to put a couple dollars into my kids’ pockets so they can make some choices of what to buy and realize that money is tangible and not endless. Dollar Tree, Target Dollar Spot, and Michaels Clearance have all provided perfect items for sensory bins. The more I have created, the easier inspiration has been.

PLAY DOUGH KITS

Along with the sensory bin theme are play dough kits. Making the play dough is therapeutic and relaxing for me. The kids love to help. My favorite recipe can be found on Living Well Mom blog with a good balance of flour, salt, cream of tartar, and glycerin.

I mix in assorted small toys around whatever holiday theme we have. It’s been fun to also share these with colleagues or friends with small children. I know some people do this as a small business on Etsy, but I would never be successful because I go over the top with what I include.

SCAVENGER HUNTS

Another Dollar Tree winner: big magnifying glasses. I have one for both kids. It makes going for a walk a spontaneous scavenger hunt. I’ve also found good ones online or modified my own with Canva. I purchased the Melissa & Doug Scavenger Hunt kit and it has been a huge success: it has items you can find either inside or outside and every time you randomize the items, so it does not get repetitive. My kids like the bag that holds the cards and their finds.

SCIENCE MUSEUMS

I have fond memories of going to museums growing up, but the area science museums are a life saver when I need a day trip with the kids. I highly recommend an ASTC Membership. Basically if you buy a year membership at one of the member science museums, you can get into so many other museums for free. Yes, there are some exceptions, but it has still been 100% worth it. We spent spring break exploring dinosaur fossils, simple machines, electricity, and a water table. The kids talk about these museums a lot, often starting stories with “remember when…” and adding obscure, but memorable details.

Since a lot of the science museums are about an hour or two away, it is nice to use Libby for kid’s audiobooks to keep them entertained in the car. Scavenger hunts of things they can find looking at the window are also a great way to pass the drive.

DaVinci Science Center

Lancaster Science Factory

Maryland Science Center

PARKS AND GARDENS

I found a random Instagram account that highlights local parks in an hour radius. It has worked out great for discovering new gems. While Wee.Play.CentralPA is local for me, I’m sure there are other accounts for most states, you would have to find them. Going to so many parks means it is a challenge to remember the nicknames my kids give the parks instead of their actual name – like the dinosaur park, spider man park, fire hose park.

We are fortunate to be close to a theme park and a garden that offers seasonal kids activities. We have memberships to both of these, so I don’t mind if we only go for an hour or two.

Hershey Gardens

MOVIE THEMED DINNERS

This was originally my daughter’s idea, but we have done this for a lot of movies. I create crafts or coloring activities, and we research regional food to match the movie, and a printed menu. It has been a great way to get them to try new foods and spend time as a family.

CRAFTS AND FOOD

Special crafts, garden play (we have both fairy gardens and a dinosaur garden), and decorating food is an easy way to make a normal day a little extra special.

MEMORABLE BIRTHDAYS

They only happen once a year, so I put extra planning into making their birthdays exactly like they request, even if it is complicated like ScoobyDoo and the Mystery of the Unicorn Mermaids (complete with a photo scavenger hunt for 4-year-olds).

Globalization

We just finished a chapter on Globalization. It is one of the few chapters that I like the entire chapter for context about Global Sneaker and just add some supplementary resources for context. Of course, the text alone was not engaging enough, so I turned each section into a Nearpod. It offers text-to-speech through Immersive Reader and other websites can be embedded easily. From the textbook globalization, we go into a World Shipping project – the version I developed is World Shipping Monopoly.

GoogleForm

I start by asking students to record where one of their outfits was manufactured by looking at the label – for one pair of pants, a shirt, and a pair of shoes. I turn the results into maps and charts, which is the perfect discussion for class.

Flip Flop Trail

This is an amazing resource that combines visual story telling with detailed explanations for each of the materials and steps involved with creating a pair of flip flops.

Flocabulary

There are a series of videos that are great for looking at globalization and economics. The videos use examples of key vocabulary in context and real life examples are provided in the Read & Response activities. I used some of these videos with an economics mini-unit before getting into globalization.

Newsela Text Set

There are so many options on Newsela for articles about globalization. It was easy to create a Text Set with articles with examples for students to read about different products that are influenced by globalization and also read about the human impacts global trade has. The number of article choices means students can find something that interests them or something they can relate to.

ShipMap.org

This map looks simple when it loads. But it is animated map from 2012 of every ship. The audio intro explains the key and different types of ships, key routes and ports, and what to look for. Students can also explore a zoomed in version of the map.

Vessel Finder and MSC

Students were interested by the annotated map on ShipMap.org – they wanted to explore more about real shipping in current times. There are multiple ship finders, like Vessel Finder, that color codes the type of ship and/or cargo and provides a lot of background information about them. We also use MSC as a real shipping company to track their routes.

Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps that Explain the World

This was a great book to read as a teacher to understand some of the nuances of international trade shipping routes and the power of controlling straits or other important ports. I loved this book for many reasons – including gaining a better historical background and understanding of the current Russian aggression in Ukraine.

Political Cartoons

I grew up devouring political cartoons, for major and mundane current events. This was a chance to curate a set of political cartoons for students to look at and then analyze. I might have gone over the top to create the Google Site with political cartoons for students to choose from. It has general cartoons related to globalization and sweatshops, but it also has specific issues like the collapse of Rana Plaza in Bangladesh and Nike child labor. Students spent longer than expected going through the cartoons, I could tell by their questions that they were interested and making connections. I want to include more political cartoons in other units when possible.

Bitter Side of Sweet

Another book I use for globalization is the Bitter Side of Sweet. This is a fictional book, based on research of the conditions of child labor in many cacao growing farms in Western Africa. I just read an excerpt of it in class, but it was perfect for making them more empathetic about child labor. The passage in the textbook was factual, but not engaging. Earlier in the year we studied the Kingdoms in Western Africa, so students made that connection. A stronger connection is the cacao itself. Living in Hershey, a major chocolate town, they wanted to know where the chocolate Hershey’s uses comes from. Luckily Hershey’s has a Cocoa for Good strategy to have better conditions for the cacao growers, more sustainability, and to give back to the communities that farm the cacao.

Global Glut of Clothing Is an Environmental Crisis

Article looks at the effect of fast fashion on the environment. People in developed countries only wear a piece of clothing an average of 8-10 times before they get rid of it. Much of the clothing gets thrown away. This and watching Behind the Swoosh about the worker conditions at Nike have students questioning some of their clothing choices.

Developed & Developing Nations

The overarching topic of our geography course is countries and their level of economic development. While we have added to the Ancient Civilization content in the past two years (see this post), what I personally hope students walk away with is a greater understanding of what life is like in different places around the world and why. Some of the economic disparities have historic origins dating back hundreds if not thousands of years (like the caste system we learned about in Ancient India and not-so-ancient India).

Some students have prior knowledge of the world. The pre-test is revealing. In 6th grade they learn about the spatial inequality, or the differences within a city. So they have some practice describing the standard of living for different groups of people. Now we are looking at entire countries.

The recent GeoFest Conference provided some additional inspiration or important reminders for teaching. There was a session about writing and geographic questioning with Kyle Tredinnick. While it was targeted for a higher level, some of the reminders for students remain the same. There is often a problem when students over utilized ‘always’ and ‘never’ to generalize an entire country. Sometimes students rely on stereotypes to describe the country without realizing they aren’t real. A practice country analysis Nearpod was all about Burkina Faso (mostly because of the military coup last month), but it focused on historic sites and breathtaking landforms before analyzing the data. When we get to written analysis, I want them to sell the reader on the unique aspects of their country that would make it worthwhile to visit, no matter if it is a developed or a developing nation. Focusing on the positive also includes the economic growth and improvements the country is making.

I customized this graphic to remind students of things to avoid in their writing.

For developed and developing nations, I will not spend a ton of time directly teaching it, but there are a lot of opportunities for students to apply the information. There are many Virtual Field Trips using Nearpod, 360cities.net, and Google Street View. There was a GeoFest presentation on Virtual Ranger Talks using Google Street View by James Fester. This supplemented the virtual field trip options I normally use with 360cities. His planning GoogleDoc is an awesome resource for using Google Street View bit.ly/NPSToursDoc. My goal is to get them to notice details and make connections to health, wealth, education, technology, and urban rates. The virtual field trips provide many chances to ask students “what they do you see?” and “what do you wonder?” Students have volunteered and participated more during this lessons than any other lesson this year. It helps there are not wrong answers if you are just talking about what you see.

From the observation portion of the unit, we move into the research. Predominantly using the CIA World Fact Book, students research different statistics, all of which connect back to the health, wealth, education, technology and urban rates of the countries. I use the Google Sheets Add-On Doctopus to distribute differentiated versions of the Google Sheets for them to record their research. Since students move at different rates through the research, I created a series of Edpuzzle videos with tutorials for each step: finding items on the CIA World Fact Book, editing in the Google Sheets app, sorting columns in Google Sheets, and creating a formula to determine level of development (this part is an enrichment option). While some students grumble about collecting the statistics, they do learn a lot and I frequently hear their hushed comments when they are surprised, both positively and negatively. The data used to be turned into a 5 paragraph essay, but we shifted to a more in-depth single country analysis on Google Slides with a CERC paragraph. Their options for revising their paragraph are shown below. They can just add the emojis to their submission to show which options they went with.

There are additional activities to help students apply their understanding of developed and developing nations. The Hexagonal Thinking activity we did for Ancient Civilizations was an awesome way to get them talking and making connections, so much so that I immediately made one for Developed and Developing Nations (image on the right). While this has more clear connections, they still have to talk to make sure everything connects.

The Dollar Street website from GapMinder is a great visual reminder of the differences within countries based on what the families make in a year. It also provides context for some statistics, like what does a house without an improved water source look like for a kitchen or a bathroom? The students were very interested in the website, but did not always focus on relevant details – but that can be a follow up prompt after they do their research.

Students have also enjoyed Guess Who? Games for some of the Ancient Civilizations, so I created a Guess Who? for Developed and Developing Nations. They will have to use all the research and data they collected in order to play. This game is going to be a lot more challenging because the details are so specific. For students who finish their research and writing early, they will be partnered up for the game. Reflecting on these resources, developed and developing nations is definitely one of my favorite units to teach because of the conversations I get to have with the students and the connections that students make.

Is it a fad? Follow Up

I was looking back at old posts and one caught my eye, which I honestly don’t remember writing because last month feels like years ago, so August 2016 is pre-memories. Anyway. The blog post was titled Is it a Fad? To summarize, the point was a response to a critical observer asking if I was worried that the lessons I created were just fads. What were these worrisome lessons? BreakoutEDU and Nearpod – specifically with virtual field trips.

In the 5+ years since the question was posed, I’ve created more breakouts than I can count and blogged about the creation process for others who are interested.. The style and clues have morphed over time and my ability to create them is dramatically shorter. The engagement for groups of students competing to solve them remains. I do not miss sweaty fingers rubbing the numbers/letters off of my locks, so I think the digital breakoutEDU is a huge improvement. The use of escape room problem solving has more research to support it than when it was new. I can’t image not utilizing breakouts for each unit; they are here to stay.

As for Nearpod, these are integral to my teaching, especially during the virtual/in person times in the past few years. Just like breakouts, my creation process has is more efficient. Some presentations can be ridiculously long because I have so many ideas for what to include, and because you can easily duplicate presentations and customize, so the main presentation could have up to 80+ slides and I delete things I don’t want in the smaller, more focused Nearpods. My love of Nearpod has earned me a spot as a PioNear, presentations for colleagues and conferences, and of course blog posts.

I’m grateful that I surround myself with people in my PLN and PLC who inspire me with new ideas. Great educators are lifelong learners who seek out new tools and are not worried about trying new things. These aren’t new anymore, now they are like old friends. To end with a quote from the original blog post: “Not bad for a fad.”

Surviving the Onslaught of Gaslighting

This year has been challenging for so many reasons, including the onslaught of unrelenting gaslighting. I’m not even talking about the school/education topics. This is more personal, and likely, more rambling than usual. However, the survival techniques and strategies have also been useful in the school arena.

Be Prepared

With all the fake news thrown in your face and constant personal attacks… you have to be prepared. Otherwise, you are going to give in to the gaslighting before you realize it is even happening. It doesn’t matter if the topic is masks, vaccines, CRT, Global Warming, stolen elections, the Deep State, pedophilic infantile cannibals, or anything else deeply disturbing – you need to go into conversations with the assumption that some people are going to try to gaslight you.

News

The best way to be prepared is to know the arguments before they happen. You don’t just need to follow the news, you need to follow the news of the other side. All Sides (screenshot below) is a great resource that shows articles across the liberal/conservative spectrum for the same topic. It is interesting to see what they focus on and the language selected. A warning sign that things were seriously getting worse was when Fox News was declared to be too liberal. So now I also subscribe to random “news” websites to anticipate the talking points I will have to defend against or deflect. Colleagues will use my observations when public officials make outlandish statements, I can often provide context for the original thought that is just being parroted. Good thing I was a strong student who enjoyed research in high school and college, because it’s a lifestyle. It is humorous how many targeted ads often miss their target with me because of the number of things I follow that I don’t actually believe.

Understand the Psychological Tactics of Misinformation

Pre-COVID I was teaching Climate Change, I stumbled across Cranky Uncle vs. Climate Change by Dr. John Cook. It was an amazing book that I definitely recommend and it also has a game available on iPhone and Android. Why would it need a game you ask? The book and game explore the denial techniques people use specifically for Climate Change, like Ambiguity, Ad hominem, Anecdote, etc. They provide examples and practice you recognizing the different tactics and the best way to reply in the scenarios. The Cranky Uncle website also has cartoons that visually summarize each of the techniques, making them very student friendly and easy to discern. In case you want more from the author/illustrator/scientist behind Cranky Uncle, his original website is a wealth of data, charts, maps, and visuals: Skeptical Science. Most (if not all) of the denial techniques covered in the book are carried over to other topics – looking at you pandemic deniers – and it is fascinating to dissect ‘news’ programs live when they are throwing around cherry picked data with oversimplification and false balance to go with their false experts. This is another form of being prepared.

Historical Context

As a history major, I took a class on human geography and disease. Global pandemics happen cyclically. In modern history, it’s about every 100 years. People thought the H1N1 Swine Flu of early 2000s was going to be it, but it only lived through one iteration. The overly simplified history of some pandemics: The Spanish Flu 100 years ago (which didn’t actually originate in Spain, they were just the first to report it since they weren’t fighting in WWI, thus didn’t see it as admitted weakness, so historic gaslighting) showed the devastating effects that waves of different variants of the disease could have. The United States suffered for years, but it was more geographically spread out, so not all places were hit equally.  And yes, viruses naturally mutate which is why there are yearly flu vaccines. 

The Bible recorded plagues. The first major city of Uruk has archeological evidence of a plague or a flu strain. The skeletal remains in tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs and lessor nobles have smallpox scars. Ancient Rome suffered through 3 different plagues. One in Ancient Greece during the Peloponnesian War killed at least 25% of the Athenians, allowing Sparta to win, dismantling classic Ancient Greece. As I was preparing to teach Ancient Civilizations this year, I was so much more aware of the times disease was discussed as an influence of the decline of many amazing civilizations.

Sadly one thing I have to keep repeating is that people predicting disease outbreaks that shape human populations is not plotting for nefarious purposes, it’s just an educated guess based on knowledge of history. Sometimes I think I mumble it to myself like a sunscreen to prevent the burn. Bigger picture, historical and scientific records are woven into two stories I highly recommend: Pale Rider: The Spanish Flu of 1918 and How It Changed the World by Laura Spinney and/or The Lost City of the Monkey God by Douglas Preston, both were published in 2017 and offer different historical perspectives of epidemiology, the archeological/anthropological evidence of disease on people, and what history can teach us about the future (which in this case is the present). I’ve read both of them in the entirely and aren’t just trusting excerpts twisted out of context. 

Summary

Just like every teacher grading essays or research projects, when bold claims are made, I ask for sources… again and again. I still have not been provided with anything reliable. “I hear you, can you provide your sources” tends to shut down the argument. But it might lead to the predictable name calling portion of the gaslighting, so the final ways to prepare are to have thicker skin, louder music in headphones, surround yourself with people grounded in reality, and try to minimize people in your life who believe their delusions are reality. If you have felt alone in your onslaught of gaslighting, don’t. This “pathetic liberal f- idiot” (don’t worry, I don’t actually believe that about myself, no matter how many times its repeated) feels your pain and mental exhaustion from afar. May the pandemic of misinformation be over soon.

Reflections of Ancient Civilizations

This school year we tried something new, or like a series of something new. While I work with a PLC to plan and reflect, I am normally the ones who brings our ideas to a tangible fruition because I can envision how to make things a digital reality.

DIGITAL NOTEBOOK

This was the biggest undertaking of the summer. We created a digital notebook with a tab and note templates for each civilization we planned on studying this year. The original digital notebook came from SlidesMania (on of my favorite free tools). We found resources with a GRAPES (geography, religion, accomplishments, politics, economics, and social structure) acronym for studying and organizing aspects of digital civilizations. We decided that our E was going to be Events instead of Economics – which is sometimes hard for 7th graders to grasp. The notebook also had a page for each civilization with the Key Terms and links to additional resources to help students.

Worked Well: It was consistent and predictable for students. Everything was linked in one place, luckily the Newsela Text Set and Quizlet vocabulary decks could be updated without having to change the link in the notebook. By using the GoogleSheets Doctopus Add-On I was able to distribute copies of the GoogleSlides Notebook to every student on my roster and track their edits. The digital notebook made us seem very organized.

Needs Improvement: If we wanted to modify the Key Terms or the content we focused on, it was already distributed to students. It was a mild annoyance for the regular version, but it was a bigger issue for the modified learning support version. It was the first time we were teaching the Indus Valley, Ancient China, Mesoamerica, and African Kingdoms. It was also the first time we used GRAPES for all of the civilizations, so it makes sense there were gaps in what we anticipated teaching over the summer compared to what we actually taught. Some students also struggled with having so much virtual work, so after the first few civilizations I created a paper one pager for GRAPES that I printed as an option. There were so many slides in the digital notebook that it was slow to load, next year I will suggest splitting it into 2 smaller (but still massive) notebooks.

NEW CIVILIZATIONS

We wanted to represent a greater percent of our students, so we added the Indus Valley, Ancient China, Mesoamerica, and the Bantu Migrations.

Worked Well: We found and/or created some great activities that engaged the students: they really enjoyed coloring mandalas, solving the BreakoutEDUs, discussions about the Olmec and Maya using Nearpod, playing pok-a-tok, and learning languages on Duolingo. The civilizations we added enhanced the ones we already taught by having both similarities and differences.

Needs Improvement: We were just in the brainstorm and develop resource phase of the Bantu when we realized a critical flaw. They were a linguistic group, shaped by a major shared event, but they were not a cohesive civilization. If the pandemic taught us anything, it was how to gracefully pivot and procrastinate while problem-solving. We shifted ‘Bantu’ until after Ancient Rome and rebranded it African Kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, and Aksum), which is accurate with the Roman Empire timeline. The student digital notebook will need a complete facelift, but I’m much happier with the content we are developing. Right now the Newsela Text Set has been updated with the new focus. TBD what the finalized lesson set will look like.

REVIEW ACTIVITY

We wanted to have a review and open note test after the first half of the civilizations. I wanted it to be more effective than students randomly guessing on Kahoot, Quizizz, or Blooket (all of which students like and have a place, just not for this purpose). I saw an idea on Twitter the year before and realized it had potential for our study of Ancient Civilizations

Hmmm I bet this would work for an Ancient Civ review. Luckily I have a couple months to create it. https://t.co/GKxSEcMfGh

— Lisa Whiston (@SrtaLisa) September 27, 2021

Worked Well: Students color coded the boxes based on the civilization, then used their notes to find the answers. Students worked hard over two class periods. Their notes were on GoogleSlides, so this was one of a handful of things printed for students to complete on paper. The following day was an open note, mid-civilization test they were allowed to use the grid on. There was a strong correlation between the students who completed (or nearly completed) the grid and those who did well on the test.

Needs Improvement: The inverse was also true. If students struggled to complete the review grid, their test scores were poor. They did not have the awareness or motivation to realize what they didn’t know for the review should be figured out before the test. There is also limited space to write questions and answers, which limits what you can ask. We did feel it was enough of a positive to create another one for the 2nd set of civilizations – questions still need to be added for the African Kingdoms.

SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT ACTIVITY

After spending half a school year on various Ancient Civilizations, we needed some sort of summative assessment activity. There is no works well/needs improvement because they have not been attempted yet. This pre-reflection is working through the logistics of what it would look like.

My first choice was an essay, but due to some complicated logistical issues, it wasn’t possible right now. Of course, I didn’t figure this out until I had already created an essay organizer with questions to ponder to develop a claim statement and sentence starters for different parts of the essay. I still like the idea of students picking three different civilizations to compare/contrast in a five paragraph essay. I even purchased a resource on Teachers Pay Teachers by Instructomania with Mr and Mrs P that had some practices with finding evidence to support demo claims about different Ancient Civilizations. I wasn’t going to use it fully, but it was a good introduction to historical essays. Saving all of these ideas and resources for next year; hopefully a more normal year.

On Twitter I saw another idea that blossomed into a summative assessment: hexagonal thinking.

I love using the hexagonal thinking strategy on shared Google Slides for review and seeing the different ways students make connections between terms.

We had a funky week so one class completed this over zoom breakout rooms and another class in our hybrid in-person cohort. pic.twitter.com/fTYPAEsezQ

— Stacy Yung (@stacyyung) January 24, 2021

I was intrigued so I searched for more information; I saw a bunch of teacher blog posts, and liked the examples and visuals from the Cult of Pedagogy Hexagonal Thinking: A Colorful Tool for Discussion. I was sold. So I used the same digital notebook with color tabs that students have. The colors of hexagonal tile matches each civilization we have studied. There are also some general grey ones with overarching topics to build off of. This is still a work in progress, but at 80% done, I love it. We still have to add the key terms for the African Kingdoms. I also want to debrief and reflect with the other teachers in my PLC to see if there are any terms we want to add, change, or delete. After creating my own web, I realized my initial target number of terms was too high for the space they had available.

Before having them do a full version individually, I want to hear the discussions they have with a specially curated set of hexagonal tiles. For the group discussion/collaborative version, I’m going to print it out on card stock. Each group will need to cut out their own and label which civilization goes with the phrase. There will be many similar tiles, but will be limited to a set, of which they need to include every single term. I like the idea of having a GoogleSlide presentation where every group inserts their finished product so they can explain to the class the choices they made. I realize that for hexagonal thinking to be the more efficient, it needs perfect terms. The paper copy is going to need more brainstorming to come up with the perfect list of terms.