Transfering files, assignments, modules, etc between classes you teach

I teach Honors Biology and Biology.  Much of the course content (Power points and assignments) is the same between the two courses.  I found a way to copy the content from one course to the other in Canvas so I don’t have to upload the files twice. Here is my version of a tutorial to help you if you need this feature. 

After uploading content into one course (Honors Biology)

Open the course you want to put content into (Biology)

Click on Settings in the lower left.

Click on Import Content into this course button in the right hand column.

In the drop down select Copy a Canvas Course.

Search for a course and select the course where the Content is coming from.  (Honors Biology) 

In the options section click the check box that says Select migration content.

Press Import button.

Then you can select the content you want.  Press the blue Select content button and use the check boxes for what you want to copy.  Whatever is checked will copy.

See example:  I use the Modules so if I copy the Module then all my assignments and or things I’ve loaded in the module will be copied.

Press the Select Content button.  Wait for it to turn blue and then go check your class.  It should all be there.

A few hints:  You do get the entire list of everything in your course.  So if you start at the bottom and check on the way up you don’t have to keep scrolling down.

If you use modules then click add the module and it will only upload what hasn’t been previously uploaded (all the assignments and files, etc).

If you don’t use modules then just click on the content you desire. (Assignments, files, etc and it will be uploaded.)

Let me know if you need help or have questions!  Cheers!!

Does your instruction cross the "Red Line"?

Even though I am no longer at RJ, my heart and spirit still reside there. At my new job, much like this blog, I am creating an Ed Tech Newsletter for the folks in my district.  I recently shared one of these newsletters with Jason and he asked if I would post it here for all you to read.  Of course I grasped at an opportunity to still be a part of the RJ community!  So here it is.

I know most of you are already aware, or at least have heard of the SAMR Model of instruction.  However, is your instruction crossing the "Red Line" into the realm of Modification and Redefinition?  This answer is not always clear and I suspect most of us are crossing the line, at least some of the time.  But the real question is, can you cross it most of the time?

Does your instruction cross the "Red Line"?

Education in a Changing World Conference, by Gretchen Kessler

I attended the Education in a Changing World Conference in August in Watsonville, CA. Monte Vista Christian School, which hosted the conference, was the first school in the country to go to iPads for all students. As a faith-based school they have focused on keeping their charism at the center of what they do while adding a whole new level of technology to their identity. All textbooks are in e-format….some are teacher-created while others are from a variety of publishing companies. Many of the apps that seem to be of interest to us are exactly what they are using. When talking about flipping the classroom, one speaker said that if the teacher’s brain is the most active one in the classroom, then we're not doing our job.    If all we do is flip the lecture and worksheets, that isn't flipping the classroom at all.   It is a technique that can be used  to maximize the time we have in the classroom with them with applying the knowledge and guiding. They spoke very clearly that pedagogy must drive technology, not technology driving pedagogy.

From one speaker to the next, they referenced such apps as

·         Explain Everything

·         Knowmia

·         iMovie

·         Socrative

·         Thinglink

·         Doceri

·         Timetoast

Take a look at www.flippedday.org and www.flippedclass.com for some ideas on flipped classrooms.

AND if you’d like to follow one of my favorite blogs on iPad Apps for Schools, go to http://ipadapps4school.com/ and subscribe.   This guy is great!  I’ve been following him for a few years on his regular tech for teachers blog and now this one dedicated to iPad use.

iOS7 and AirServer

With the update to iOS7, many features have changed and one, in particular, affects the previous tutorial I made on using AirServer.  I have updated that tutorial here (you can also view it and other tutorial by clicking on the appropriate tabs below the title of this blog - Document Tutorial Archive, Video Tutorial Archive).

Request for Training

While working on more systemic training in preparation for next year's 1:1 environment, it is helpful also to get a "pulse" on what would help you right now.  There are certain apps that have more flexibility (use by more than one department), others that have more power (Dropbox, for instance, can work with almost every app that would benefit from importing and exporting files), and others that have more teacher appeal (Explain Everything, Class Dojo or Socrative).  We want you to have a way to tell us what you desire training on (so we don't offer trainings that no one shows up to) and a way to tell us how you desire that training (live, video, document tutorial).  This form even includes the capacity to tell us you would like training on something we haven't anticipated.  So please fill it out whenever you experience the desire/need:

RJ Newsletter Article - "Where are you on the Education Continuum?"

This reflection was inspired by this article.

No single educator, even if teaching the same content or having identical Myers-Briggs letters, can be placed in the same box.  Regis Jesuit has been a respite for me in allowing the opportunity of teaching in my strengths rather than a curriculum of conformity, yet as we technologically look ahead there are many movements to the “same box” - 1:1 classrooms (where every individual has access to technology at any moment and as the need arises) and Canvas.

This causes issues for the tech transitions happening in our school, and it can inspire a feeling that we are being forced to adopt things that either make life more complicated or just do not support learning.  I will respond to these issues by offering a model of development in education for reflection.

Technology may offer us an alternative to the “sage on stage” model where a teacher’s vocation is one of knowledge transfer, to see our task as building knowledge sharing and eventually supporting the student to experience the joy of engaging in knowledge communities.  I will consider these three points different models of teaching.  Ultimately, the way you integrate technology - what you use and how you use it - will depend on what model you have adopted or will work to adopt.

Knowledge transfer is how most of us were formed.  There are strengths to this, and from my experience in Germany this method gave me the best education I ever received.  In this stage, technology can support effective learning as a note taking tool or content delivery device.  From SmartBoards to PowerPoints to Canvas to iPad apps like Socrative, NearPod or Notability, next year will support this method.  

Knowledge sharing may connote the dreaded, and often ineffective, group work scenario; or as we train and sustain accountability, it actually refers to collaborative learning with things like project-based learning.  Integrating apps like GoogleDrive, Dropbox, Blogger, Explain Everything, Class Dojo -- with Canvas’ “Discussions” and the previous stage’s technologies -- into planning can support students seeing the classroom as a place to share knowledge rather than solely absorbing it.

The final stage, knowledge communities, embeds the previous stages with the goal of inspiring the spirit of self-learning in our students.  This moves us beyond the personal choice of the student (which I had to do in Germany in order to survive) to nurturing this as a natural urge from within the student.  Rather than a sage, the teacher now becomes a coach or consultant.  The 1:1 environment acknowledges that knowledge is always available and centers on the questions, “how do students discern which knowledge is accurate and useful?” and “how does this student answer the problems posed to him/her creatively, competently, and faithfully?”  Now iPads, mobile devices and technology in general allows, for instance, Twitter to become a place where my cohort evolves beyond the classroom to the larger community focused not on personal expression but intellectual and professional evolution.  Our libraries provide mobile access to databases, online communities, and class room consultation to train these skills.  The teacher then models the learning s/he requires, which demands some restructuring of curriculum to showcase students learning - the process as well as the product.    

As teachers, we know an aspect of our vocation is to continually learn and, in doing so, rejuvenate our minds.  The opportunity that technology presents for us next year can be overwhelming, but if we engage in this together as a community, I believe and hope it will be rewarding.  Just the examples that I have seen in the Boys Division: Bob Bowers using his Camera app and AirServer to facilitate group reading and editing, Billy Willson using Notability to create homework reviews, Jeff Goldsmith, Jen Gray, and Bill Kehrman using discussions on Canvas to augment learning, Candace Busselmeier flipping her classroom with Explain Everything and other apps; these examples show me that there are a myriad of ways technology can support our teaching.  I’ve even heard about Sarah Sherwood giving instruction to other teachers on how to use AirServer - each of us has more capacity than we think!  Please know Kathy and I are here to support your use, at any level, of technology.  Our goal is not to force technology, but to use it to assist the development of a creative and challenging learning environment that prepares our students for the world they will be entering.

Finding an iPad Keyboard Case

A couple people have asked me about a keyboard for their iPad. Personally, I have never used one, just because it doesn't fit with how I use my iPad (and an iPad + keyboard would be the size of my laptop). But for a lot of people, they are very useful. Here are two sites that review the different styles of iPad keyboards and make recommendations.

The Wirecutter: Best iPad Keyboard Case

Macworld Buying Guide

And remember: just about any Bluetooth keyboard works with an iPad, so if you already have a wireless keyboard you use with your computer, you can also connect it to your iPad.