Teachers, if you’re a screencaster, I’d like you to try out Screencastify. It’s easier and simpler than Jing or Camtasia, and it’s the first screencasting software that works on Chromebooks.
It’s a Chrome app, so you need to use Google Chrome, but if that’s OK with you, Screencastify then becomes an extension that’s easy to access.
Screencastify takes about five seconds to set up. (You need to allow it to record your voice). Then, just click on the extension, then on “Start Recording,” and you’re off and running.
Here’s an example (about 50 seconds)!
After you’re finished, the screencast is saved directly in the extension window. You can upload your screencast immediately to YouTube (public or private) or export it as a file.
The only weakness is that it doesn’t directly save to a URL. It would be amazing, for example, if a copy of the YouTube URL were saved to the clipboard so I could email or text a student my screencast.
This would save a huge amount of time, especially because I know many English teachers who like to screencast their essay comments.
If you try out Screencastify, please let me know what you think in the comments. Meanwhile, maybe you’ll see more screencasts on Iserotope in the near future!
Nancy Jo Turner is an extraordinary ninth grade English teacher in Berkeley. She’s also a good friend of mine and a former colleague. There she is on the right!
About a month ago, Nancy Jo shared a dream with me. She wants a class set of Chromebooks so that her students can work on their writing and revising skills.
(I share that dream. I’ve seen what Chromebooks do for students, particularly to improve writing, and I’m hugely impressed.)
Nancy Jo means business. In just two weeks, she already has one Chromebook, thanks to several people who made contributions on DonorsChoose.
Here are a few pics — one of the Chromebook and one of Nancy Jo’s classroom library, one of the most beautiful I’ve ever seen.
Cute Chromebook, chair, desk.
Beautiful: Clean design, covers facing outward!
Now it’s our turn! I’d like to surprise Nancy Jo with a Chromebook for her students, and I’m asking for your help. With tax, the computer is $300, and I’m committed to donating 10 percent of the cost. That leaves $270. This is going to happen!
Update! This project is complete! Thank you, LeAnne (Fremont, CA), Laura (San Francisco, CA), Zoe (Oakland, CA), Rashada (Ann Arbor, MI), Marilyn (Los Angeles, CA), Gavin (Berkeley, CA), Jasmine (San Francisco, CA), Kyle (Sacramento, CA), Pauline (Davis, CA), Franklin (San Francisco, CA), Stephanie (Santa Cruz, CA), and Elaine (Stanford, CA)!
Want to help out? Here are two easy ways you can donate:
Donate an Amazon Gift Card! I’m going to buy the computer on Amazon (for free shipping). So an easy way to contribute is to donate an Amazon gift card! It’s super easy. Click on the card below and fill out the form. My email is iseroma AT rocketmail DOT com. Be sure to leave your name and email address in the message box so I can get back to you!
Send me money over email!
There’s this new app called “Square Cash” (affiliated with Twitter) that lets you send money via email. You don’t need to start an account. All you do is click on the button below. An automatic email will pop up. In the subject field, change the amount to what you want. Then type your name in the message field before clicking send. You’ll receive an email that will request your debit card number. Easy peasy! Thank you, Loyal Iserotope Readers, for thinking of making a donation to surprise Nancy Jo and her students with a new Chromebook. (Just don’t tell her!)
If you contribute, you’ll receive a thank-you letter from me (for tax purposes) and a thank-you card from Nancy Jo’s students (for heartwarming purposes).
Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Can’t wait to see what happens!
Now another dream has come true: I’ve been interviewed as a “literacy expert” on CAT News, the scholastic news broadcast at City Arts and Tech High School in San Francisco.
It’s spectacular. Please take a look. (I edited the newscast down to just our segment. It’s about 3 minutes, 30 seconds long.)
All I can say is, I did my best. Global Studies teacher Marni Spitz is amazing to work with, and I love her energy and dedication to her students. I hope the “CATsters Caught Reading” campaign flourishes.
We’re finding out that SSR during the school day just isn’t enough. To get books read, and to improve reading scores, students should read three hours or more a week. Because many ninth graders regard anything school-related done after school to be “homework,” and therefore anathema, we’re trying to change things up and get students reading more.
In other news, Ms. Spitz and I have just launched another Kindle classroom. Twenty ninth graders from CAT are reading on Kindles!
Please let me know what you think of my debut broadcast!
My first response was to have students sign a contract to borrow a Kindle. The contract puts down on paper some key messages I want to get across. In addition to wanting students to read as much as they can, I emphasize the importance of handling the Kindles with care. If students aren’t taking things seriously, their Kindle gets taken away.
I’ve also found that distributing the Kindles student by student, rather than in a large group, is a good practice. These little Kindle conferences allow me to meet each student, get to know them a bit, and demonstrate how to care for their Kindle. Many students, for example, don’t know the best way to store their Kindle in their backpacks.
Despite those preventive efforts, a few Kindles — 1-2 per classroom per year — still get broken. I used to think this was because of negligence. Maybe part of it is. (Certainly I’ve never broken one of my Kindles before.)
But negligence or not, Kindle breakage happens. The question is what to do about it.
One option is to punish the student who broke the Kindle. This seems reasonable. If you break something, you should replace it, right? There are a couple problems, though, with this approach. First, Kindles are expensive, and I’m not going to ask for $69 from a ninth grader. Nor am I going to ask her to make amends in some other way. Second, I’m not entirely sure that 100% of the breakage is due to negligence. I’ve never been a particularly good investigator, and I don’t want to be the Kindle Police. I’d rather spend my time encouraging students to read.
Another option — which I’m trying out this year — is to ask students to participate in a Kindle insurance plan. For $5 (or $10, depending on the teacher), they get to use a Kindle for the year. This is not a deposit; the student does not get the money back. Rather, the money goes into a classroom fund to pay for any broken Kindles. At the end of the year, the balance is given back to the class as a whole, which gets to decide what to do with the money.
There is one big negative to this approach: The program is no longer free. Therefore, some students may opt out of joining the project. A recent get-out-the-Kindles meeting in San Francisco brought 30 students, but only 20 decided to sign up and pay the $5. It’s impossible to discern which of those 10 students didn’t follow through because of the fee.
I’d like to keep the Kindle Classroom Project free, but that would require raising money for broken Kindles. I’d rather raise funds for good books, more Kindles, and Kindle cases.
That’s why I’m more convinced by the advantages of the insurance plan. First, giving $5 is more of a commitment than signing a contract. It may activate their social responsibility. Second, I have peace of mind and don’t have to stress out when a Kindle is broken. If it’s true that an average of 1-2 Kindles are broken per year, the $5 per student will cover the expense. Third, students don’t have to fear that they’ll be looked down on if something goes wrong. They can spend more time reading.
There are some potential legal problems with requiring the $5. I work in public schools. You can’t charge money. So far, my rationale is that this is an optional, extracurricular activity, much like joining a football team. This is not a course requirement. Perhaps my reasoning is faulty, and maybe the best course of action is to find the funds some other way. I’d like to hear your viewpoints on this issue.
Update: Uh-oh. I just did 5 minutes of Internet research on this one, and yes, my legal standing is tenuous at best. California AB 1575 disallows the requirement of any fee of any kind for any school-related activity (yes, including football).
And yet: Until I get a better plan or a cease-and-desist letter, though, I will likely continue with my Kindle insurance plan.
The point of the Kindle Classroom Project is to maximize the joy of reading. Yes, Kindles are expensive and should be treated with care. But we don’t have to be glum in the process. Let’s read with vigor and see where the Kindle takes us.
What are your thoughts? I’d especially like to hear from folks who have donated Kindles to the project. Do you think the insurance plan is a good idea, or does it take away from the purity of the project?
Teachers, if you’re a screencaster, I’d like you to try out Screencastify. It’s easier and simpler than Jing or Camtasia, and it’s the first screencasting software that works on Chromebooks.
