Experiment 2: Learning (Skills) Labs

All this mind blowing reading I am doing this summer has me willing to walk the plank and jump into a new ocean of opportunity. Flexible seating was an opportunity that came my way with a new classroom filled with broken furniture. The idea of the skills labs came to me from either a FB or Twitter post.

Of course I cannot find the original post but it went a little something like this...

It had a picture of a button with needle and thread (or at least that is how I picture it). The headline was something about how students no longer have everyday life skills like simply sewing a button. I would like to think I could, but I have no idea if I could sew a button. I do remember my mom sewing my soccer patches right through my jacket and onto her comforter. Hehe! 

My intention is to teach students how to learn skills and to actually pick up a few good skills along the way. 

What is a Skills Lab?

I plan on running 1 skill lab a week. The lab will entail the students learning a skill. I will have a webpage or #HyperDoc filled with resources such as videos, articles, links...that the students can access at their skill levels. At the beginning of the week each student can set a goal based on where they are at with that particular skill. For instance, if the skill of the lab was to sew a button beginner students may have the goal of actually sewing a button onto a pillow by the end of the week. Where someone who already has some sewing skills may have a goal of teaching someone else to sew a button on a pillow. An expert might even choose to sew the pillow for us! 

At the end of the week students would rate their effort, share their creations, and reflect on their learning. It would be a quick Google Form where they would give themselves a grade. The sharing would be a part of the Form but more time would be spent with them sharing to others in or outside of our classroom walls.

What Skills?

I have a few ideas already but I am hoping for more. I am also planning on having students create the labs after the first couple months or so and take it over for the rest of the year. (Those who do the work do the learning.)  I would like to eventually become just a student in the lab and not the teacher. 

Side Note: I just came up with that thought of the student take over as I typed it. I like this blogging thing.

I would like to have the students work on life skills, tech skills, communication skills, and more.

Skill Ideas:

• Sewing
• Knitting
• Song Writing
• Code Cracking
• SketchNoting
• Tech: Learn a new app 
• Drawing
• Origami

I need more skill ideas. Maybe I don't because I would like this to become student led sooner than later. My husband said 'change a tire'. Good skill to know, but not to learn in my classroom. 

I will be posting the labs and their outcomes. Check out my other experiments like Flexible Seating for Middle School and soon to come automatic group making with Google Forms/Sheets, multiple types of #HyperDocs...

Thank you!

PBS Storyboard

Today I was able to play around with the PBS Storyboard. I have to admit that when I first began to explore the PBS Learning Media I was really missing my science classes. This is my first year not teaching science. I am all ELA now. 

I quickly searched for some content on adding detail to writing for our department's PLT lesson and I was a bit bummed at the lack of stuff I found. My frown quickly turned upside down when I found Lesson Builder and Storyboard. I only spent a brief moment on Lesson Builder just to see how it worked.  I will definitely be revisiting it especially after working with the Storyboard feature. 

Storyboard is just an awesome interactive multi-media poster where students can get their learning on! In the current 8th grade ELA Narrative Reading unit we are focusing on historical fiction with the book Nightjohn by Gary Paulson. I quickly created a Storyboard with a video of the Nightjohn movie trailer, links to PBS's amazing Slavery, The Making of America, other video clips from PBS, and a video I downloaded from YouTube.  I have placed some basic captions and instruction so far, but I plan on adding more once I work out the whole plan. 

Putting the board together was easy and fun. I love the concept, the ease of use, and I am excited that the students can obtain and retain the information on their own at their own pace. There are no lost papers or lack of resources. My students will be able to see the Storyboard if they are on iPads in the classroom, on PCs in the labs, or at home. 

I will publish the Storyboard and blog more about the lessons that accompany it as well. 

Please let me know if you have used Storyboard or any other questions or thoughts. Thank you! 

Check it out:

http://www.pbslearningmedia.org/tools/