We encouraged students to read and
respond to their teammates’ facts and
to decide whose facts were the most
important to include in their paragraphs. Students then wrote their own
paragraphs describing their part of
the computer and how it worked. Students were required to cite the sources
of their information as well as find a
picture and cite it. They then turned
their paragraphs, citations, and pictures into a poster to teach about their
part of the computer. They shared the
final products with their virtual team
as well as their face-to-face classes.
During the discussions that followed, many of the sixth graders
said they noticed that the facts they
thought were important were the
same facts their teammates chose. But
many also said that some facts were
different, and they had to explain and
defend their choices.
In a face-to-face class, the process
would have been an independent
project with little feedback or ability
for students to express why they chose
what they did. Having to explain their
thinking to colleagues led to a deeper
understanding of their topics.
Meanwhile, the eighth graders were
learning how to use Scratch to create
games. In their face-to-face classes,
each student created a sample game
with teacher guidance, then developed an original game designed to
teach players about cybersecurity.
They shared their games with their
virtual teammates during a “virtual
game fest,” where students played each
other’s games and offered feedback
and suggestions for improvement.
Students discussed the challenges
and road blocks, and their teammates
chimed in with possible solutions.
If more time were available in a
rotation, we would have liked to have
expanded the game-design project
to have students share their plans for
the games before they actually created
them. That way they could have given
each other ideas during the process
rather than in a feedback session after
the fact. It also would have been ben-
eficial to allow students to go back to
the design process after they received
feedback. This trial-and-error ap-
proach would more closely emulate an
authentic STEM process.
Lessons Learned
Much of the work involved in this
project was carried out long before
the students entered the picture. The
three teachers met several times over
the summer to become familiar with
the Edmodo interface and to plan and
coordinate the activities. We shared
materials through the Edmodo library
and used email to work out the logistics of co-teaching.
Setting up the virtual classroom
presented a few challenges. Edmodo
updated its system in the middle of
the school year, and the new update
was not compatible with Internet Explorer, our district’s approved browser.
When we tried to use Google Chrome
instead, we discovered it was blocked
at the system level. It took many conversations with our coordinator of instructional technology to get the ban
lifted districtwide.
In addition, the Edmodo interface
had changed with the update, and it
took some time before we were able
to find out where all our tools were
hiding. It did, however, help that we
were in contact with each other daily
and were able to share new tools we
discovered in the new update.
One of the biggest complexities was
forming and monitoring the virtual
groups. Once they were set up and
working, each of us was in charge of
overseeing five or six groups, which
consisted of one or two students from
both the morning and afternoon
classes from each school. We sent
introductory messages to each of our
groups and responded to our teams
as the project went on. We kept tabs
on what students were writing and
quickly stepped in when students
Meeting the ISTE Standards
This project met many of the ISTE
Standards for Students (formerly
the NETS for Students).
Standard 1: Creativity and
Innovation. Students developed their
own knowledge of how a computer
works, and they learned new technical
skills by using the tools in Word to
create original products or processes.
Standard 2: Communication and
Collaboration. Students used digital
media (Edmodo) to communicate with
peers and work collaboratively from a
distance.
Standard 3: Research and
Information Fluency. Students
read digital articles, took notes, and
wrote original works or paragraphs.
In addition, they compared notes on
parts of a computer to evaluate and
synthesize information.
Standard 5: Digital Citizenship.
Students used discussion boards
and groups in Edmodo to practice
safe, legal, and responsible use of
information and technology. Creating
the All About Me projects and
responding to peers helped them
understand some of the similarities
and differences between themselves.
Although they knew of the rivalries
between their schools on the soccer,
cheerleading, and football teams, they
also realized that they all supported
the state professional teams together,
thus making them aware of their
own camaraderie. In addition, most
students demonstrated a positive
attitude toward the work of others.
Standard 6: Technology Operations
and Concepts. Students selected
and used applications effectively
and productively and transferred
current knowledge to learning new
technologies. For example, the
information they learned in the
All About Me project carried over
to creating the posters about
computer parts.
