Mo Physics Mo Problems

When looking to implement change in my classroom, I often think big.  I spend time with great ideas that I will put into place when I have the time to sit down and plan them out. Too often, these great ideas become a low priority when faced with the day to day management of my workflow. So the change I’m looking to implement doesn’t get addressed until I have the time to plan.  That means during summer vacation. It’s a problem that the change I’m looking to make doesn’t happen until I have time to address it because it feels too big. With the help of Kate Sommerville from the Institute of Personalized Learning , I’m going through the process of mapping a classroom constellation that brings personalized learning to life in my classroom. I have been on my PL journey for several years, but this process has …. (explain how it has helped structure, support, grow your practice??). One of the key steps in the process is creating an action plan for immediate implementation. A

I am really loving the Flipgrid app in Canvas. Why? It allows students to access class grids right from Canvas without having to share out links or codes. It allows me to create a Flipgrid response as a Canvas assignment. Students can turn in assignments as a Flipgrid response. With Speedgrader in Canvas, I can quickly see who has and hasn’t responded to a Flipgrid just like any other assignment submitted to Canvas. So, I wanted to share out how to easily add it to your canvas course. If the GIFs are too small for you, I created a quick video below. From Setting in Canvas, go to the Apps tab. This sets up a specific Flipgrid for your course. The Flipgrid can then be accessed via the side navigation by you or students. You can easily create assignment submissions to be Flipgrid responses during assignment creation. Students can easily submit their assignment directly to Flipgrid from the assignment page. Here’s the video compilation of th

We just finished our unit on energy in my physics classes. The unit centered on 2 major activities, a 3 day activity in which students built marble roller coasters out of pipe insulation and a 2 day activity in which students built virtual rollercoaster using an iPad app called Coaster Physics . Both of these activities were connected to the topics we were covering in the unit such as potential energy, kinetic energy, and the law of conservation of energy. But there was no required formal write-up or submission for either.  At the end of the unit, students had a variety of choices for the focus of the summative assessment. Two of the options were an analysis of the data from the different coaster activities. So for many students, the work done during on these activities over 5 days was never formally graded. As you can imagine, both of these activities were highly engaging. In the marble coaster activity, students worked in groups to create a functioning coaster with multiple

As the Thanksgiving break comes to a close, I’ve had some time to reflect on all of those who shape my work in education.  I wanted to take a few moments to thank them for being a part of my work in the classroom with my students.  The all inform different parts of my practice. Much like the Marvel superheroes play their role in a bigger universe, the individuals form my Personal Learning Universe. You don’t need to acquire any infinity stones to gain their power, just follow them on Twitter. Thought Leaders These are the ones who help clarify my why. When I look for someone to challenge my thinking, this is where I start. Dave Burgess @burgessdave Barbara Bray @bbray27 George Couros @gcouros Kathleen McClaskey @khmmc Institute for PL @Institute4PL Allison Zmuda @allison_zmuda The How It’s one thing to have a goal, it’s another thing to know how to use tools you never heard of.  This is where I go to discover new tools and strategies. Matt M

Over the past 4 years I’ve been experimenting with options for student summative assessments related to unit outcomes. It’s been going quite well for the most part, but I’m trying something a little bit different this time to help with some of the logistics. I am always amazed at the options that I fail to explore in some of the tech tools I am using. But like every good tool it doesn’t make sense to use these features until you have a purpose beyond novelty. I currently teach 3 blocks of physics with 80 students total. My first block is co-taught and ⅓ of our students have an identified learning disability. We are intentional about the supports we provide to learners with IEPS, but also the entire population in terms of strengths and challenges. To address this, we moved away from using Google Docs as templates to Google Slides . I have been using Doctopus for ages to distribute the same templates to all learners and it has been working wonderfully. (FYI we use an LMS the

This post is part 2 of my constellation construction. Read part 1 here. Once I had a vision for my classroom , or the why for my classroom, the next step was to consider what it would look like in the classroom. The Institute calls these “learner look fors”. I have a vision, but what evidence would I look for from a the perspective of an outside observer. Students propose and engage in different forms of learning- modes, methods- based on their needs Students' interests and strengths drive their connection to the content Feedback drives next steps of learning and conferring is happening face to face and digitally  The vision and look fors are things we are working towards. The next part of the “what” is  what elements would be considered key parts achieving that vision in my classroom. After determining the “look fors”the next step is to find elements that align with the look fors. The honeycomb has many elements that are considered part of a learner c