Learning a Second Language with DiLL (Thanks to HEF!)

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

In the Spring of 2012 HHS received a generous grant (2nd largest in the history of the foundation) from the Hopkinton Education Foundation. This level of support indicated the excitement they shared about DiLL, the Digital Language Lab for Macs, and the potential it had for boosting student engagement and learning in the World Language Program at HHS.

 Heading into 2015, with a year or so of learning with DiLL behind us, we took some time to survey students and reflect upon the impact this digital tool and lab environment has had.

Image credit: Swift Education.com

Here is some recent feedback from teachers:

“DiLL makes speaking Spanish fun for my students. The wide variety of ways that students can be connected to each other and interact with each other while immersing themselves in the target language make it a wonderful tool. My students are always excited for Lab Day!”

"DiLL provides a user-friendly environment for students to speak and listen in authentic ways, while also serving as an efficient tool for teachers to track (record) student progress and help students practice and master a second language in engaging ways."
 
"Shifting into the lab to practice speaking Spanish with DiLL is a much anticipated part of my students’ week!”

Here's some feedback from a recent student survey:

• “It involves a fun way to talk to many people and is productive because you aren't walking around getting distracted.”
• “I like the way you are partnered with a random person and then you can talk with them through the headphones.”
• “One reason I like Dill because you get to practice hablar with a partner, and do not have to speak to the whole class. I also like it because it makes speaking in Spanish more efficient.”

Of course, not all students enjoy their DiLL experience. Here’s some of their feedback:

• “I would like to have some kind of tab or notification that says like Host has entered chat. I don't like to be spied on….”
• “The fact that it doesn't let you do anything else on the computer while it's active--It gets annoying.”
• “I don't like when we do the recordings because it can get boring listening to yourself speak.”

Ironically, some of the things that bother students are what make DiLL a great teaching tool. And while a handful of students respond that they don’t like learning with DiLL (12% out of the 154 students surveyed), the overwhelming majority (88%) indicated they do (see chart below).

December 2014 HHS Student Survey (154 replies)

One final note on the survey: one student shared this reponse to the question, “Are there things you don’t like about DiLL?”

“The name. Kids these days need to stop naming their software after food.”

Hmm.... Good point. I will be sure to share this feedback with the Swift Education Team who developed this product:).

Now that the whole school is 1:1, we have started the process of going wireless with DiLL for the 2015-16 SY, which will make all of HHS a DiLL "lab."

We will update you on "liberating" learning with DiLL from the four walls of a language lab sometime over the next school year. We are also talking to educators other schools in the district about ways they can benefit from using DiLL (including ways to build reading proficiency in younger students, speech therapy, and more).

Thanks again to HEF for the organization's generous support of the Hopkinton Public Schools!

Digital Age Parenting Resources & Reading

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

As a follow up to our Google for Parents workshop, I wanted to share a few resources that help to address some of the questions participants raised about “digital-age parenting.”

Cyberwise is a good “go to” site for parents. Their logo says it all: “No Grownup Left Behind.”

A recent blog post on their site, “What is a Modern Parent,” addresses the impact of the internet and smartphones on parenting and family life today. The post includes information on an app (of course!) called Copilot Family that claims to be “an easy to use tool to help you manage your children's smart phones and tablets.” I have not checked this out by thought I’d include the link here for parents who are interested in learning more.

Parents might also want to take a few minutes to watch the Cyberwise video, "What Kids are (Really) Doing Online.”

The Family Online Safety Institute (FOSI) has a Good Digital Parenting section that provides videos, tip sheets, resources, blogs, and more. Part of their mission is research, and this month they released a report entitled “Parenting in the Digital Age: How Parents Weigh the Potential Benefits and Harms of Their Children's Technology Use." The full report is long, so I am providing you with a link to the overview report, which has some interesting data: Report Overview.

One interesting statistic from the November 2014 FOSI report: “When weighing the potential benefits and potential harms of their children using electronic devices and being online, the majority of parents (53%) feel that, overall, the potential benefits outweigh the potential harms.”

PBS’s Digital Media: New Learners of the 21st Century provides a great snapshot of how technology and social media can advance the mission of student-centered learning. The show “explores how exceptional educators are increasingly using digital media and interactive practices to ignite their students' curiosity and ingenuity, help them become civically engaged, allow them to collaborate with peers worldwide, and empower them to direct their own learning.”

I hope these resources help to address some of the questions and concerns you might have about family life in the digital age!

"Parenting in the Digital Age" Infographic from http://brighthouse.com/digitalparenting.

"Google It" & Beyond: Google for Parents Workshop at HHS

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

More than 40 parents joined the HPS Learning Technologies staff and our 3 student helpers from the Class of 2017 (Julie Tarantino, Sid Shinde, and Jon Katz) to learn about ways to use Google in their everyday lives.

The goal was to help parents understand that Google is much more than a search engine. By signing up for a Gmail account, Google gives parents access to the same storage, creation, and sharing tools that HHS & HMS students use on a daily basis.

For those of you who could not attend, we wanted to share the slides from the workshop: HPS Google for Parents (Google Slides presentation)

Also, here is the document we created to share resources and help differentiate learning for parents: HPS Google for Parents Workshop Resources (Google Doc)

Any parents who attended the workshop are encourage to complete this survey to provide feedback: Feedback Survey for Google for Parents Workshop (Google Form).

Here is some of the feedback we’ve received so far from parents who completed the survey:

"Wow'd by the turnout!”

“It was put together very well and covered lots of helpful tips.”

We will host another session of the Google for Parents Workshop in early December. Stay tuned for the announcement!

Learning & the Power of Play

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator at HHS

Winnie the Pooh just sauntered by my office. An Italian Cafe is set up outside of the Athletic Center. Everyone from Caesar to Elsa is in the house. It’s Halloween at HHS!

Tradition dictates that Seniors not only dress up, but also compete for various prizes -- from scariest to best team effort. The energy and enthusiasm is contagious (okay, and maybe a bit distracting...), and led me to reflect upon the importance of play in our students’ daily lives.

In his book, Play, Stuart Brown, M.D., emphasizes the importance of lifelong play: “Playfulness amplifies our capacity to innovate and to adapt to changing circumstances” (Aran Levasseur, “The Power of Play in Learning” Mind/Shift).

The playfulness on display at HHS today reminds us of the potential games and play have to engage students and transform learning. Digital tools and a 1:1 environment can help facilitate this shift -- but no tech is needed to create quality learning opportunities for our students.

Here are some ways we see teachers integrating play, games, and the “gamification” of learning into students’ daily learning experiences at HHS (with and without technology):

• Rubberband car races in Physics
• Alka Seltzer lab competitions in Chem
• Barbie Bungee Jumping in Math
• Physics “party tricks” lesson activators
• Silk Road and Paper Clip Factory simulations in World History
• 1-minute science videos to open class in Chem (see this blog post on the importance of first few minutes of class and game design)
• “Tech” challenges in Freshman Tech Seminar
• Kahoot in Bio, Wellness, English, and more
• Competitive Debate in US History
• “Speed Dating” in World Languages (using the great DiLL Lab paid for with a HEF grant)
• “Franchocia” election simulation in AP English Language & Comp
• “Telephone” Photo Project in Digital Photography
• “Trick or Treat” review activity in Math (see Ms. Fairbank’s great blog on this!)
• Jeopardy and $25,000 Pyramid for test prep in multiple subjects
• Human Tic Tac Toe review activity in English
• Padlet for creative brainstorming in Art and English

Yes, students will always say that going trick-or-treating is more fun than going to school. But they come away from the experience of school with a lot more than a bag of candy.

For more images from today's Halloween event, see this flickr photo album.

Ashley Wows the Crowd at MassCUE 2014

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator at HHS

HHS Senior Ashley Olafsen received a rousing standing ovation for the “Ted” style talk she delivered to educators attending MassCUE 2014, the state’s premiere technology & education conference.

Held in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, over 1,000 attendees had their backs to the field where the Patriots and Revolution play, and were focused instead on Ashley’s story of how she’s using technology to follow her dreams. She is passionate about building self-confidence in young women in the face of a media industry that makes them feel unattractive and inadequate. 

At age 17 she has not only started a “M.O.V.Ement” to empower and motivate girls through the workshops she facilitates, but also Ashley is harnessing the power of the web to write her first book.

In her MassCUE talk Ashley explained that while new technologies have made it possible for her to get her important message out to a larger audience and connect to experts and activists, it was supportive educators like Mary Ellen Grady at HMS and Kiely Murray and Sarah Ellam at HHS who helped her to find her voice and use it to make a difference in the world.

Here are some of the Tweets that were flying through the twittersphere during and after her talk:

“Blown away by #AshleyOlafsen #massCUE2014 #HopkingtonHighSchool”

“17 yr old Ashley Olafsen will change this world with her message of positive female empowerment - She has "it"!”
“17 yr old Ashley Olafsen addressing #masscue2014 about female self image and confidence. Amazing!”
“Inspiring first TED Talk by Ashley Olafsen”
“Outstanding job! Ashley Olafsen, Senior at Hopkinton High School"
“I think that we will be hearing from Ashley Olafsen in the future. She delivered a great talk.”
“Ashley Olafsen from Hopkinton High School rocked this Ted-Talk at #masscue2014 this morning-standing ovation from the educators here!”
“What an amazing speaker at #masscue2014, Ashley Olafsen! It's so wonderful to see her enthusiasm!!”

Bravo, Ashley!

For more on Ashley’s talk and initiative, visit these resources:

• Ashley’s “Confidence to Create” Video Submission
• Storify Video of Tweets on Ashley's Presentation
• M.O.V.E. website
• M.O.V.E.ment Facebook Page

Digital-Agel Parenting Resources on the Web

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Massively Open Online Courses, more commonly known as MOOCs (pronounced "moo-ks"), have become a familiar part of the higher education landscape over the past 5+years. They are free, open courses that are meant to both "democratize" education and to allow institutions to promote their "brand." MOOC participants can participate as much or as little as they want, depending on their own learning goals and reasons for enrollment.

While MOOCs are only just starting to have an impact on K-12 education, they have much to offer educators and students, especially at the high school level. High Schools and universities are even starting to use MOOCs to reach out to parents on everything from the college application process to digital citizenship. I wanted to share one course called "Parenting in the Digital Age," which started September 22nd. Enrollment is still open for this free course, so you may want to check it out (click on this link: Parenting in the Digital Age MOOC).

Another great resource for parenting in the digital age is the Cyberwise website. In particular, their video, "What Kids are (Really) Doing Online," is worth watching:

Don't hesitate to get in touch with me (cworrell@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) if you have any questions or need resources or advice on managing family life in the digital age.

Zombies Invade Freshman Tech Seminar!

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

 

The 9th grade students in Freshman Tech Seminar are working hard to fight the zombie threat -- all while having fun building key 21st-century skills (including digital literacy, collaboration, and critical thinking) and honing their “tech” skills.

The first class meeting involved the “technologies” of paper, scissors, and tape with the challenge of building the tallest free-standing paper tower. At the debrief that wrapped up this first tech-challenge students shared their insights on how this activity related to helping them “learn how to learn with technology.” They also commented on how much they enjoyed working in teams.

During session two, Tech Challenge #2 helped students learn about copyright and creating digital posters. Here are some of the posters students created to spread the word about the zombie threat: Zombie Posters.

Tech Challenge #3 asked students to work in pairs to create a 45 second video public service announcement designed to tell their audience how to survive the zombie apocalypse. See one team’s infomercial on survival tactics, which had to be created in 20 minutes using only a bank of images provided by the teacher: Zombies!

All of these activities are preparing students to work on an individual video project, which requires each student to create a short video on an issue or topic relevant to the HHS community. Topics range from the mission of Keep Smilin and volunteering for Project Just Because, to why a Chipotle come to the HHS cafeteria. We will share out their digital creations later this term.

PS: See how preparing for the Zombie Pandemic works in the real world (of Kansas, anyway!): October is Zombie Preparedness Month in Kansas.

Welcome!

By Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

We want to welcome both the Class of 2018 and the Class of 2015 to the 1:1 program. The 2014-15 SY marks the first year that the whole school has access to a one laptop per student learning environment. Teachers and students are excited at the expanded possibilities this offers for us to “Learn, Create, and Achieve Together.”

Check out this video for some images from the first two days back: 




Visit this blog to learn more about the day-to-day learning experiences of HHS students.

Grilly Chem’s Learning Experiment

By Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Chemistry teacher Devon Grilly decided to try something new this semester. Her experiment was less about beakers and solutions, and more about how to best help students learn chemistry. With the goal of giving students more voice and choice in their learning, Ms. Grilly used the school’s digital learning management system, Moodle, to design a self-paced, mastery based learning environment. While everyone worked toward common learning goals and assessments, students had a variety of resources, tasks, and options for how they could learn and master the material in each unit.

What inspired this change in approach? Ms. Grilly states, “So much emphasis is being made these days on finding ‘THE way’ to teach students, and what are the teachers doing to help all students learn, that we’ve left the most important ingredient out of the equation: the students themselves.” In the past, she admits that teaching CP level Introduction to Chemistry was often a daily struggle. Ms. Grilly notes, “It felt like I was trying to pull a large boulder up a steep hill.” With the new approach, she explains, “I found that when I let go of the cajoling and pulling, the students were able to take responsibility for their own learning. The hardest part was often standing back and letting them just ‘be,” giving them space to make their own meaning and trusting that if they were in need of help that they would ask me.”

During my multiple visits to Grilly Chem I was able to to see this approach in action. The course would start with a short video clip related to the learning for that day, which helped to engage student interest and shift their attention to the topic at hand. Sometimes Ms. Grilly would kick off class with a short lecture or discussion; other times she would give them a quick reminder of learning goals and daily tasks, and students would start right in on where they left off in the previous class session.

At all my visits I was impressed by student’s eagerness to learn. During a unit the periodic table, a student raised his hand to ask what was the strongest substance. After Ms. Grilly shared the answer, two of the students took the opportunity to delve deeper by going “lids up” on their laptops and researching information on graphene; once they found information, they again raised their hands and shared the information they discovered with class.

Every time I visited I was able to observe and talk with students as they worked at their own pace on learning activities and tasks. During another class, students worked on POGILS (Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning activities) to learn about ionic bonding. They were given the option of working on their own or teaming up with another student or two. One group of students I observed jumped right into this, helping each other navigate to the right spot in their online Moodle course and then carefully explaining why their data worked a certain way.

As students collaborated on their assignment, Ms. Grilly was able to circulate around the room and act as facilitator in some cases, or provide one-on-one reteaching of content in others. In survey feedback, one student remarked that she enjoyed the format of the course because ““it helped me learn things my way.”

Ms. Grilly admits that while self-paced learning works well for a majority of her students, other students struggled with the self-directed, student-centered approach of her course. Some of it comes down to different students’ learning styles and learning challenges. Yet motivation is also key. If the student doesn’t own and take responsibility for their learning, it’s tough for them to succeed in a competency-based learning environment. When I asked a group of students if working at their own pace with the help of their peers can be counterproductive one student responded, “Sure, if you let it. But we don’t want to fail so we team up with kids who help us, not distract us.”

Overall, students have enjoyed this approach. In survey feedback, the majority of students agree that Ms. Grilly’s course encouraged them to be responsible and helped them to learn how to make decisions that would help them learn. The variety of activities and the freedom to make choices in how they learn was also of high value to students in Ms. Grilly’s Chem course.

So what are the results of this experiment? Ms. Grilly notes, “My students felt more ownership over their learning … and more confidence in their ability to learn. If the only thing they got from this experience was that metacognition, learning how to learn, then that’s more than I could ever have hoped for. It has always been my dream from the moment I began my career to find a way to somehow pass on my love of learning and the desire to be a lifelong learner. I think for some of my students this semester, perhaps I was able to show them the doorway to this. It is up to them to open it. Will this work in all classrooms for all teachers? Is this ‘THE way’? No, I don’t think so. For me, for this course, and maybe others, it seems to fit and I will definitely do it again.”

9th Grade iSearch Project

by Kirsten Fournier, HHS Librarian

Recently, freshman ELA classes embarked on their iSearch research projects in which they had an opportunity to learn more about the HHS Library resources available to them, both print and digital. Students learned how to search Google more effectively, explored student-friendly search engine alternatives to Google, and used their NoodleTools account to maintain all of their research notes and citations. In addition, students learned how to search the online library catalog and identify available print sources related to their research topic, as well as how to navigate the library’s subscription databases.

It was a very busy and productive week in the HHS Library!

An important PS: Thanks to the HPTA, which gave HPS a grant to pilot the first year of Noodle Tools over the 2013-14 SY. It's fast becoming the go-to research and writing tool for HPS teachers and students!

Differentiating in a 1:1 Learning Enivronment

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

I read a recent blog post on a great website, Free Technology for Teachers. Written by guest blogger Clint Winter, an Instructional Technology Specialist with the Clarke County School District in Athens, GA,  "Good Chrome Extensions for Students with Disabilities"  reinforces a belief we at HHS share: "Differentiation is a crucial part in a 1:1 environment." Winter has practical tips that reveal how, in his words, "Chrome extensions are dismantling barriers that have long been put in place."

Chrome Speak App

I encourage all students, particularly those with learning challenges, to read this blog post and explore some of the free applications offered by Google and Chrome, that make the 1:1 environment accessible to everyone.

Producing Varied Work for Wider Audiences

Course Dashboard for Student Blogs

By Fred Haas, HHS Teacher

Getting students blogging has been a rising tide in education for a few years now, sometimes with greater hype than substance. Yet a blog should not be someplace on the web for students to simply post essays, completely in MLA format, that they would otherwise submit on paper. Blogs are so much more than that, and the potential power of student blogs can be profound.

While not all student work should be made public, much of it can be and the benefits are many. Most fundamentally, student blogs present an opportunity to showcase work that seeks, demands, even needs a wider audience. Blogs open that work to those both inside and beyond the boundaries of the classroom. Introducing blogs in the classroom liberates student work from being for teachers’ eyes only; that alone has a range of powerful implications.

Student Example

As a teacher, I have been continually amazed at how few opportunities students have had to look at each other’s work, without the looming spectre of cheating. Using blogs as a platform for sharing student work, instantly invites students to not only produce with a wider audience in mind, it also creates an opportunity to amplify the feedback that they receive on the work.

With minimal preparation, it is easy to get students reading and responding to each other’s work with greater engagement and ease than ever before. Student reviewing and responding to each other’s work in a productive way can become a matter of course, not a novelty. Outside experts, other educators, the community at large gain a window into the dynamic and ever-changing world of student work. They too can review and respond.

Think of the joy a student experiences when they read a comment on their own blog left by another of their teachers, past or present, or better still another student, thoughtful and caring adult, even a professional in a respective field, any of these from the student’s own community or another country.

Student Example

What’s more, the dimensions of student work that can be produced expands considerably. Blogs are so much more than the realm of printed text only, they are full-blown multimedia content management systems, capable of showcasing a range of expression. While still the coin of the academic realm, printed text no longer need be the only viable means of student expression of learning. In the digital world of blogs, all kinds of mediums of expression can be introduced and used with increased effect.

At Hopkinton High School, printed text, still photography, audio, video and more all populate the student’s palette of learning tools. Blogs can (and should) become part of an evolving portfolio of student projects as well as a narrative of their experiences, learning, knowledge making, and wayfinding. An individual student’s blog is in the process of becoming a living document of their journey.

Harnessing the potential that exists in a single place for students to document the journeys in multiple courses and the potential of student blogs begins to blossom, reaping benefits that lie beyond our current view.

Student Example

For blogs are not merely a publishing vehicle, although they can certainly be that. At their best, blogs are places and spaces for lengthier, sustained expression. Arguably more important, blogs are a marker in a much larger public conversation. The comment features alone afford that kind of interaction and feedback. In fact, it is their capacity to facilitate conversations that continues to make blogs endure.

The potential power for student blogs is still yet to be completely realized. Yet, at HHS we are beginning to recognize new possibilities.

Check-up Time!

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

It's laptop check-in time at HHS! We started this process last year during Year 1 of our 1:1 program. The goal is to examine all the leased laptops, record information about each machine, and provide helpful feedback to students and parents.

All students who are participating in the MacBook Air lease program bring their laptops to the Tech Center for a quick check-up between May 12-23. Students drop off their laptop during a free period, over lunch, or after school, and the check-in is completed. The process usually takes less than 10 minutes and the laptop is ready for students to collect by the start of the next academic period.

During the "check-up" technicians look at the physical condition of each device and run a quick diagnostic to make sure laptops are functioning properly. Each student receives a completed copy of a check-in form that they should give to a parent. We recommend that parents/guardians review this document with their student. The Tech Center is also gathering data from this check-in process in order to compile a list of reminders and recommendations to share out with 9th and 10th graders (and their families) in order to help all students maintain their laptops properly and get the most of of the device.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact me (cworrell@hopkinton.k12.ma.us or 508 497 9820 x 1520) or the Tech Center (508 497 9820 x1245).

Student to Student: Think about Your Digital Footprint

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator 

Last year a Burlington High School student shared some advice with his peers on "cleaning up" their digital identity. While all HHS students should read this, it is especially relevant to Juniors and Seniors who are starting to think about life after HHS. We recommend you read this to make sure your digital identity does not come back to haunt you....

Cleaning Up Your Digital Identity: A Student's Perspective.

Study Hall Snapshot

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Walking through the cafeteria this morning I saw a familiar tableau: students sitting in groups working on their laptops. Their quiet productivity made me pause. Heading back to my office I got to thinking about the scene.

I realized that while this is an everyday reality for all of us at Hopkinton High School, it’s not familiar to some of our staff, parents, or community members outside of the school. I also realized that while I walk by scenes like this daily, I am not exactly sure what students might be working on. So, with my iPhone in hand, I headed back to cafeteria to investigate and grab some photos.

I was prepared to discover that most, if not all, students would be playing games -- and told them that it was okay if they were gaming. Study is their time and they should decide how they want to spend it.

It was a pleasant surprise to learn that of the 15 students working on laptops, only 2 of them were gaming. One student was on TF2. Full disclosure: he had to repeat this twice for me and explain that this is short for Team Fortress 2, a multiplayer online game. 

The second student was playing Cookie Clicker, where players bake cookies to earn upgrades. Side note to students: Really? There isn’t a better game out there? How about checking out other free online games like Minecraft, where you can create a universe, Marvel Heroes, where you can save the world, or Seven Seas Saga, where you hunt for treasure in Medieval Europe?!.

All other 13 students were working on various school projects, homework, or completing online assignments. The majority of students in the cafeteria this morning were focused on Biology projects. Two young women were critiquing images as part of an online forum in their hybrid Photography course. The rest were completing assignments for math and English -- sometimes even helping each other as they worked.

Just another day in “study hall” at HHS!


 Study Hall at HHS (April 2014 on PhotoPeach)

“Don’t Judge a Shell by its Cover”

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

Last week AP Bio students used an online activity, “Exploring Biodiversity,” to compare DNA sequences. As teacher Michelle Odierna explained to her students, like researchers, they could take advantage of the computer to do the hard work of comparing the complex DNA sequences in order to examine evolutionary relationships. Having gone through the laborious process of comparing sequences by hand on the previous day, students really appreciated the power of technology! Rather working painstakingly through long, tedious series of letters that comprise DNA sequences, students could use a digital application that enabled their laptops do the hard comparative work for them.

Students first ran a practice simulation with molluscs in order to confirm that tonnoids and cowries are more closely related to each other than to neogastropods. Then students were able to enjoy the inquiry-based portion of the activity when they compared the relatedness of several species of their choice relatively effortlessly. The app did the work to show that the more similar the sequence, the more closely related the species. It also was able to draw evolutionary trees to depict the relatedness that the sequences suggested.

Using laptops for the hard part of the lab made doing the analysis to discover various evolutionary relationships fun. Here are snippets of conversations from various class sessions:

Did you know the panda is more closely related to the silverleaf whitefly than to the ostrich?

What’s the scientific name for a Black Rhino?

Did you know that the Macaroni Penguin is more closely related to a flamingo than a Blue-Footed Booby?

Did you know there’s a Red Footed Boobie and a Nazca Booby? I love Boobys….

Did you know a Poison Star Frog is closer to a Tree Snake than a Moray Eel?

What third animal should we compare the Dumbo Octopus and the Blob Fish to?

Students learned that, as Ms. O put it, that you “can’t judge a shell by its cover”: it’s the DNA that counts the most.


Image credits: flickr.com, FDA website.

Smarter Searching

from duckduckgo.com

by Kirsten Fournier, HHS Librarian

Honors Biology teacher, Bryan King, and HHS Librarian, Kirsten Fournier, have been collaborating to identify and instruct students in the use of proper tools for research (both digital and print) and MLA citation of that research. Effective searching, the importance of using peer reviewed sources, and interpreting and understanding academic journal articles are all being addressed. Biology students have access to a class web page where they can retrieve course and library resources. Tutorials posted on the website include tips for effective Google searching and how to use student-friendly search engine alternatives to Google (in addition to all of those great library research databases!).

Check out these resources to see what students are working on and to learn that there are ways to search beyond Google....

Apple Security Patch for iPhone, iPad, & Laptops

Today Apple issued an update to fix a security hole for Mac computers.  It addresses the same security flaw that was found in the Apple iOS software that runs on all Apples mobile devices. Left unfixed, a user could gain access to information including emails, instant messages, social media posts, and online bank transactions. Students should take the time to follow this Updating OSX link to address this issue immediately. If there are any questions or problems with running this update, please visit the Tech Center at HHS for assistance.

Students should also be aware that on Friday, February 21st, Apple issued a security update for iOS 6 and iOS 7 devices due to a security risk. Users not running the latest "patched" iOS software may be open to attacks when connected to a shared network. This applies to iPhones and iPads only. Students with MacBook Airs will not be impacted by this development.

While there have been no confirmed attacks on users, experts are recommending that iPhone and iPad users backup their device and run the patch update (go to Settings> General>Software Update>Download and Install).

Please be aware that some users have experience issues when running this update on their iPads. Read this Slate.com article for more information on the patch: ALERT: How to Fix a Major Security Flaw in Apple Mobile Devices.

1:1 Laptop registration - Now Open for the Class of 2018!

by Ashoke Ghosh, Director of Technology

We have created online forms for the entire 1:1 registration process via the school district’s website. In order to register your student you must use the Schoolwires account you created to receive district listservs.  

Please click on this link to complete the 1:1 Laptop Forms for the Class of 2018 

Once you have completed the online forms please turn in a signed copy of the lease agreement to the middle school central office or mail or return a signed copy to Hopkinton Public Schools Administrative offices at 89 Hayden Rowe Street. Include your initial payment with the lease agreement or remit online using our online payment option: https://unipaygold.unibank.com/Default.aspx?customerid=693 

Please contact Ashoke Ghosh (aghosh@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) at 508-417-9360 if you have any questions. If you get stuck in the registration process and need technical assistance please contact Linda Henderson (lhenderson@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) at 508-497-9820.

Thanks for your cooperation!

Darwinian Snails and Evolution

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

AP Bio students kicked off Semester Two by using SimBio to get crabby. Teacher Michelle Odierna used the hands-on Darwinian Snails virtual lab to help her students understand the range of variables that influence the process of natural selection. SimBio is a digital tool, paid for by an HEF grant awarded to Science teacher Charlotte Shire in 2011. The app enables students “to conduct simulated experiments similar to those performed by practicing scientists, in fields of biology where live experiments are impractical or impossible” (SimBio site).

Students were put in teams to “become a European green crab.” As the lab explains, “You will feel especially crabby if you are not getting enough to eat, and the best snacks available on the coastline are these tasty looking snails. All you have to do is crack their shells by pounding on them with your claw.” The student teams manipulate variables in the population in order to determine how these variables affect the population’s evolution. They make predictions, create models, test hypotheses, and analyze data to explore and further their understanding of population genetics. Students collaborate each step of the way, going through exercises where the crab eats snails using the Claw tool and they try to keep the “Crab Happiness Score” high by eating their snails with the fewest clicks possible. Meanwhile, as the snail population reproduces, the student-biologists track variation in shell thickness as some snails die out and new snails are born. The final exercise asks students to consider bigger questions about “What Makes Populations Evolve," e.g., “What role did the predators play in causing the population of snails to evolve?”

A visitor walking into the classroom would find the AP Bio students hard at work, barely pausing as Mrs. Odierna visits each team to check in on their progress. “Awwww!” one group yells, when they let their crab overeat and too many snails are gobbled up. They laugh as they review the impact, noting that green snails, with softer shells, were eaten, whereas red and yellow snails, with harder shells, tended to survive. “Let me know if the red population goes down as I do this,” one of the trio exclaimed, as they continued on with the snail simulation.

During the wrap up discussion, students shared additional things they learned about natural selection and the factors that make it possible. For instance, one student added “selective pressure” as another criterion that makes natural selection possible. During their discussion Ms. Odierna and her students linked selective pressure back to their study of sickle cell anemia during last term. The students agreed that they liked doing this not only because the experience was more like a fun, video game than a traditional "lab," but also it helped them to experience and better understand how natural selection works.

Research on the Benefits of 1:1 Learning*

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator 

 

As we prepare for Year 3 of our 1:1 Program, we wanted to share some benefits and research on learning in a one-to-one laptop environment with 8th grade families, as well as with our high school students and their parents: 

Benefits for Students 

• Increased Interest in Learning (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Cavanaugh, Dawson & White, 2007)
• Increased Engagement and Reduced Behavior Referral (Berry & Wintle, 2009; Corn & Mollette, 2011; Bebell & Kay, 2010; Bebell & O'Dwyer, 2010; Sauer & McLeod, 2012; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• Better Organized, More Efficient (Silvernail & Lane, 2004; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• More Self-Directed (Gulek & Demirtas, 2005)
• Higher Test Scores for Writing and Higher Quality of Writing (Sauer & McLeod, 2012; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• Deeper Level of Comprehension in Science Learning (Berry & Wintle, 2009) 
• Enhanced Frequency and Quality of Student-Teacher Communication (Corn, 2009; Corn, Tagsold, & Patel, 2011)
• Increased 21st-Century Skills (Cavanaugh, Dawson & White, 2007; Corn & Mollette, 2011; Gulek & Demirtas, 2005; Sauer & McLeod, 2012)
• Access to Global Learning Opportunities (Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)

Benefits for Teachers 

• More Student Centered Strategies (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Lowther, Strahl, Inan, & Bates, 2007; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• Individualized Curriculum to meet Diverse Student Needs (Silvernail & Lane, 2004; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• Movement toward Constructivist Teaching, Student-Led Inquiry, and Collaborative Work (Gulek & Demirtas, 2005; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013)
• More Creative, Customized, and Collaborative Lessons (Corn, Tagsold, & Patel, 2011; Corn & Mollette, 2011; Gulek & Demirtas, 2005; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013) 
• More Collaborative and Project-Based Instruction (Bebell & Kay, 2010; Walker, Johnson, & Silvernail, 2013 
• Enhanced Frequency and Quality of Communication Between Teachers, Students, Parents, & Administrators  (Corn, 2009; Corn, Tagsold, & Patel, 2011)
• Increased Job Satisfaction/Decreased Turnover (Corn & Mollette, 2011)

*NOTE: I modeled this on Waltham Public School's 1:1 Learning Initiative presentation, adding more current research and adjusting the benefits accordingly.

Our Students’ Digital Lives

by Colleen Worrell, Secondary Technology Integration Coordinator

This week we had the opportunity to host a visit from the Westborough Public Schools, since the district is exploring options for launching a 1:1 initiative. As part of this event we invited four HHS students to share their experiences and feedback on our program with the teachers and administrators from the visiting district. We were proud of each student’s ability to discuss their thoughts and experience so effectively and openly. While all four students readily admitted that the laptops can be a distraction, our students also addressed the fact that the program fostered more independence and the need for students to take greater responsibility for their own learning. As one student put it, “We have to learn when it’s okay to chat and play games, and when we need to pay attention.” While teachers have different strategies for monitoring and correcting “distracted learning” in their classrooms, one student voiced the opinion that it really comes down to the students themselves. After all, another student explained, “if we learn how to manage this now, we’ll be better off in college.”

Listening to our students reminded me just how central technology is to their daily lives. I wanted to share this video from Cyberwise, which provides insight on the student perspective on life in the digital age.




We hope to provide the school community with the opportunity to discuss our students’ digital lives sometime in the months to come. Until then, don’t hesitate to contact me (cworrell@hopkinton.k12.ma.us) with any concerns or questions you might have, or for more information on the 1:1 Laptop Program or HHS’ work on developing self-directed, responsible digital citizens.