Time to Breakout (EDU)!

Breakout EDU has developed a way to use play, excitement, collaboration, communication, critical thinking and creativity in the classroom environment with breakout box kits or digital breakout games.  Students solve clues and Breakout (or unlock clues or boxes) for the “win”. I have used kits can be used to create puzzles and mysteries for students to discover curriculum or review content.

Breakout EDU can be used to introduce a new lesson or concept, to reinforce and strengthen learning, or at the end of a unit to bring closure to a lesson and reinforce skills and concepts learned, all in a fun way.

Breakout EDU’s kits provide the basic materials necessary to present puzzles for students to decipher, each clue leading to another, and ultimately to the locked the puzzle or mystery. There are many reasons to try Breakout EDU:

Last year, I used a sandbox game with my students to discover the Lost Colony of Roanoke found on the website: http://www.breakoutedu.com/.  I set the timer and turned them loose.

The students were immediately curious and their problem-solving skills soon kicked in. They worked independently and together to solve clues. They made mistakes, backtracked, and tried again, moving from one clue to the next. As the game evolved, the excitement grew and even initially reluctant students gained confidence and began taking active roles in the quest for solutions. The kids were questioning, thinking and focusing, solving the puzzle and “breaking out”—all the time trying to beat the clock!  Excitedly they all asked, “When can we do it again?”

Well, I was just as hooked as they are!  I set off to write my first game: Escape from Mars as a review of science and math content.  From that moment on, I have been looking for lessons and puzzles on the Breakout EDU site and writing my own.

I have written a 7th graded math game incorporating variables and the awesome new lock I found on Amazon.  It allows for a letter variable and two-digit answer. I have become a frequent browser for new locks on Amazon Prime!

I have written a school wide Polar Express game, with 6 versions geared to each grade level from kindergarten to 5th grade. And, most recently, I created a game for 5th grade teachers introducing a Social Studies and literacy unit for Colonial Williamsburg and Fever 1793.

I have also spent some time exploring Digital Breakout games found at http://www.breakoutedu.com/digital/. No boxes or locks needed. Students login to the game using their Chromebooks, and you are off to solve a puzzle or mystery!

Frankly I am hooked on this awesome learning tool and the opportunities to provide for students and teachers.

 Consider “Breaking Out” of the routine and trying a Breakout Edu game in your classroom today

You are so much more!

You are not your test score!  You are so much more!

There are many things that standardized tests can’t measure. Tests can’t predict who will “succeed” in life, regardless of your definition of success. Tests can’t tell a child what he needs to improve, or how to improve it.

These tests don’t recognize our most creative thinkers. We need to celebrate these thinkers because our world needs all the creative problem solvers it can get. Tests don’t measure kindness, perseverance, generosity, creativity, resilience, and collaborative skills. Skills that will likely get them farther than a test score will.

As we enter our final two days of the state assessment and soon head into our final round of STAR testing, let’s keep in mind that we are entrusted with these children to help them grow, learn and develop skills for life. Yes, test taking is a skill. But, this skill alone does not prepare a child for life and career.

As, I helped students and teachers navigate our state assessment last week, I kept thinking:  “ You are NOT your test score!”  This test does not measure the essence of the child or the teachers teaching them. It is one little blip on the road of life.

Last year, I found a letter on a blog post and was inspired to write my own letter to my students, letting them know they have many gifts beyond taking a test.  I thought I would share the letter I found written by head teacher at Barrowford Primary School with you:

Letter:

Please find enclosed your end of KS2 test results. We are very proud of you as you demonstrated huge amounts of commitment and tried your very best during this tricky week.

However, we are concerned that these tests do not always assess all of what it is that make each of you special and unique. The people who create these tests and score them do not know each of you- the way your teachers do, the way I hope to, and certainly not the way your families do.

They do not know that many of you speak two languages. They do not know that you can play a musical instrument or that you can dance or paint a picture. They do not know that your friends count on you to be there for them or that your laughter can brighten the dreariest day.

They do not know that you write poetry or songs, play or participate in sports, wonder about the future, or that sometimes you take care of your little brother or sister after school.

They do not know that you have travelled to a really neat place or that you know how to tell a great story or that you really love spending time with special family members and friends.

They do not know that you can be trustworthy, kind or thoughtful, and that you try, every day, to be your very best… the scores you get will tell you something, but they will not tell you everything.

So enjoy your results and be very proud of these but remember there are many ways of being smart.

Let’s help child recognize the importance of the virtues that tests can’t measure. Children everywhere deserve to know they are so much more than a test score.

Becoming a Connected Educator

In the fall George Couros shared the following quote with us when he spent the day with us on September 30, 2016:

We know that our students are “online” and “plugged in” more often than not.  We see intentional shifts in the way we teach, moving to Google Apps For Education and moving away from paper and pencil.  All teachers have a district provided device, and students in grades 4 – 8 do as well.

But are we teachers taking advantage of technology in the classroom to get “connected” too?

It is essential that we begin to consider ourselves as “connected educators.”  That we jump into the water with our students to become global citizens and collaborators as well.  Just imagine the impact we would make on teaching and learning in if each educator in Grand Forks shared something with others just once a week?

So, what is a Connected Teacher?

A connected teacher is an educator who has actively established associations with other professionals and resources from across the world.  These connections exist both inside and outside of the digital arena.  Connected teachers take time to connect to:

·      Others in your building. Smiling, asking questions and being reliable goes a long way in establishing professional relationships that help make you a better teacher. You don’t have to look far to find other teachers with similar challenges, fresh ideas, and equal passions.

·      Teachers in your region. You can connect with familiar faces at district level professional learning meetings, conferences, seminars, cross-district interactions, and even at competitions. It’s helpful to gain insight into what’s occurring at other buildings and what’s trending across your region.

·      Professionals and resources online. This is what we typically think “connected” means, because this is when you connect with like-minded individuals across the world who can link you to experiences, ideas, resources, or literally anything else you may need to get to that next level of instructional performance.

Getting connected plugs you into an active, passionate, customizable network of professionals ready to share with you and help you succeed as an educator.  But how do you actually go about doing this?

In addition to simply forging relationships with the people you work with or know regionally, here are the most powerful ways teachers have already discovered for connecting with each other:

Social Media: Twitter, Google+, Facebook, etc. I love Twitter because connections are fast and easy to make.  If you like what another educator has to say or the links they share, follow them. In a matter of moments you can create a personalized professional network of teachers you like to learn from, and at any given moment you can scroll through recent “tweets” and learn from them. You can even get engaged in educational conversations yourself by asking questions, using hashtags, and participating in twitter chats.  One of the local chats I follow weekly is #gfedchat.   Google+ and Facebook are similar by providing the fundamentals for allowing you to find and follow other professionals as well as a platform for sharing your own micro-blog commentaries, updates, resources and data.

Blogs. Do you have a blog of your own? Consider starting one at blogger, which is part of our GAFE applications (it’s in the waffle). Or, explore blogspot.com, weebly.com, tumblr.com, or the teacher-specific edublogs.com. Or if you’re not ready for sharing your own blog, then subscribe to others and participate with them!

Create a vlog on YouTube. Did you know that behind Google, Youtube is the second-largest search engine in the world? Post videos of your ideas and lessons for students and teachers to observe. Find videos of others and subscribe to your favorite contributors and share comments and connections.

When it comes to being a connected educator, there’s no right or wrong way to do it. Do what suits you … but do something.  If you can’t get to it today, make a point to do so in the next five days. The resources we have today allow for unprecedented opportunities for expanding your knowledge and mastery. There are millions of teachers waiting to get connected to you!  Please, consider telling your story!