BrainPOP in BVSD: Molly Kirk

Our series of spotlighting teachers who use BrainPOP concludes with Molly Kirk, a 5th grade teacher at Foothill Elementary. To get started, visit the BrainPOP in BVSD webpage, and for more ideas about how to use it in the classroom, check out Part 1 & Part 2 of this blog series!

Molly Kirk, 5th Grade Teacher | Foothill Elementary
21st Century Cohort 3.0
Class Website
Molly is currently in her 9th year of teaching 5th grade at Foothill Elementary. She has worked in BVSD as an elementary teacher, a secondary Language Arts teacher and in the GT and Literacy programs. Molly has a Masters in Education from University of Colorado and is endorsed K-12. She is a member of the BVSD 21st Century Cohort 3.0 and thinks the IT department is awesome!

How do you use BrainPOP in your classroom?

One of the things I love about BrainPOP is the versatility. I am able to find a BrainPOP video for almost any topic I teach. Along with the variety of topics, there are also so many different ways to use BrainPOP beyond the videos with Moby.

Recently, we watched two videos about the American Revolution as an introduction to the important events leading up to the Revolution. The kids did a scavenger hunt of sorts using the American Revolution Timeline in GameUp. They had a list of six events and needed to put them in chronological order using the Timeline as a resource. Then they could choose three battles of the Revolutionary War to read more about. The additional links in the game were informative and we found the students engaged and seeking additional information on topics that they found interesting.

What do you see as the benefits of using BrainPOP?

BrainPOP allows me to apply the 4 Cs easily. My students can be creative as they design their own Make-A-Map which also taps into their critical thinking skills. I love seeing their thinking as they share Snapthoughts with me which also allows them to communicate their thinking. We frequently use BrainPOP with partners or in small groups to allow students to collaborate. I can differentiate by using the FYI and Activities and I love having access to BrainPOP Español for my Spanish speakers. They can watch the videos in both English and Spanish to reinforce content specific language. One of my favorite things is that from time to time I will log on and see that my students are using BrainPOP at home to learn about topics they are individually interested in.
Editor’s note: For more information on how to use the educator dashboard, go to the BrainPOP Help Center.

If you had one piece of advice to give about BrainPOP, what would it be?

Go beyond the movies and the quizzes. BrainPOP has so much more to offer that allows you to tap into higher-level thinking skills. So much technology just entertains; the full spectrum of BrainPOP allows students to truly engage in the learning process.

Guest Blogger - Erin Mayer | The Road Less Traveled - Going Gradeless

Erin Mayer, Science Teacher | Casey MS
21st Century Cohort 4.0
@Erinsmayer | www.reinventingclass.com








The Road Less Traveled - Going Gradeless

After a successful trial run last spring eliminating grades in lieu of feedback and reflection with my eighth grade science students (The Road to Gradeless), I decided to completely eliminate grades for all 155 of my sixth and seventh grade students this year. In September, after I felt that my students and I had begun to create and develop a collaborative, safe, learning community, I explained to my students that because our primary focus throughout the year would be learning and understanding, they would receive learning feedback from me, not grades. With the full support of my administrators, I also shared my vision with my student’s families (Learning and Grades Parent Letter).

To provide and document feedback on student learning and understandings, I use Schoology in conjunction with single point rubrics focused on our learning criteria.

If a student learner has met the learning criteria, they receive a “Proficient”. If they have not met the criteria, they receive a “Not Proficient Yet”. I include concerns, questions and evidence of advanced understandings in the comment column of the Schoology “gradebook”. I emphasize the “yet” in not proficient yet, consistently acknowledging and reminding my student learners that the learning process is messy and that it is often necessary to traverse multiple learning paths and revision processes to develop, refine and communicate understandings and ideas.

Our school is on a quarter system and I still need to submit traditional letter grades each quarter. At the conclusion of each quarter, my seventh graders reflect on and evaluate their learning using a Personal Learning Reflection and Evaluation template that I share with them. At the conclusion of this document, each student determines what their quarter grade will be. Students mini-conference with me after completing their reflection. These conferences are critical and allow my students and I to dig deeper into their personal reflection and evaluation of their learning. Our class is self-paced which allows us to mini-conference during class time because all students reach the unit evaluation and reflection phase at different points.

I discovered that my sixth grade students need more scaffolding to reflect and evaluate on their learning. Their most recent reflection, after a quarter-long problem based unit focused on bioplastics, provided this additional structure and focus: Polymers for the Planet Individual Learning Reflection.

Overall, the feedback I have received about our gradeless learning environment has been positive. Parents and family members appreciate our emphasis on learning and communicating understandings. At this point in our journey, most of my students have developed a deeper understanding of what gradeless means. This has been a transition for many students, particularly my seventh graders. An emphasis on learning and understanding over grades requires students to own their learning. Their experiences in our science classroom are helping them understand that learning is messy. They are realizing that it is okay, and often beneficial, to slow down and focus more deeply. They are more aware that the ability to communicate their understandings, in ways that work best for them, is critical and can be very rewarding. As my students’ learning facilitator, our experience has convinced me that a gradeless environment is best for kids. It provides the opportunity for all of my students, many who are often labeled as “underperforming”, to find learning success in our science classroom and ultimately allow to develop their capacities as thinkers, learners and doers.

21st Century Cohort 2.0 Graduates

In 2012, the BVSD Ed Tech team facilitated the first 21st Century Cohort for secondary teachers. After a successful launch year, the second cohort began with elementary teachers from across the district. In November of 2013, over 25 teachers and teacher-librarians committed to three years of professional development, community building, and collaborative learning. Last month, they celebrated this three-year journey at the Cohort 2.0 Graduation ceremony.

Every school that participated in Cohort 2.0 was asked to create a digital story to share their experience as well as show evidence of personal and student growth. These stories became powerful reflections from this professional learning community and their time in the cohort.

When teachers and teacher-librarians were asked what is one word that would describe their experience over three years in the 21st Century Cohort, the responses included:

• Growth
• Collaboration
• Mindful
• Overwhelming...turning into exciting

When they were asked to reflect on how being in the cohort affected their students, common themes were a culture of risk taking, students feeling empowered to teach other students and teachers in the building, and watching students that struggle having positive experiences in school now with the new ideas and tools.

Katherine Kross, teacher at Lafayette elementary, was able to articulate what this has meant to her and her classroom.

“When I came into this cohort I had very little tech experience and so not only have I gained confidence in my technology skills, I really valued learning that technology is an important tool for my kids. And like someone else said, you just kind of have an idea for what you want to do and give it to the kids and off they go with it.”

It was a great honor to collaborate with this talented group of leaders and risk-takers over three years. We wish them the best in their classrooms and school buildings as they continue to learn, reflect, and share.

Introducing Cohort 4.0!

It is our pleasure to introduce the newest 21st Century Cohort--Cohort 4.0!  

This year, we were able to offer this opportunity to teachers in grades K-12 and received almost 50 applications! Through our cohort selection process, including a “blind review” where names and schools were removed from applications, the team selected 31 participants for this newest group.

Our Cohort 4.0 members began their journey December 13th with conversations around how technology can be used to enhance learning experiences for students, as well as the most valuable characteristics of teachers in taking these risks. Members also explored the possibilities they have for developing their cohort toolkit. Each member receives 25 points to use towards purchasing technology for student use in their classroom. This year, the toolkit catalog includes not only Chromebooks and iPads, but also makerspace tools such as Sphero, Gizmos & Gadgets, and more!

Cohort 4.0 members are excited about starting this journey and many shared this excitement on Twitter!

New to Cohort 4.0!

For this cohort, we are also excited to share that in addition to Ed Tech Team leadership, we have asked previous cohort members to help lead, mentor and provide professional development for this group. These teacher leaders will be vital to the development and support of Cohort 4.0.

Please join us in welcoming  Liz Barcheck, teacher librarian at Angevine Middle School (Cohort 1.0); Jeff Cote, 5th grade teacher at Lafayette Elementary (Cohort 2.0); and Colleen Kanemoto, 2nd grade teacher at Mesa Elementary (Cohort 2.0) as our Cohort 4.0 Teacher Leaders! You can read more about each of their own cohort journeys in their portfolios linked above.

We are excited about working together as we continue to implement the Success Effect in creating meaningful and engaging opportunities for learning for teachers and students!

The BVSD Leadership Cohort

The BVSD Leadership Cohort, a group of district and building leaders, gathered for the first time on November 29th to explore digital leadership and innovation.

During our November time together, we facilitated experiences that included:

A Walk Through Time: We divided into groups based on decade of graduation, and while this provided a few laughs, it also helped set the stage for where we’ve been.

Group Discussion: We read the introduction to the book Teaching Digital Natives by Marc Prensky and participants identified the statements that they agreed with, disagreed or hesitated to accept as well as their “all-in” statements--meaning they completely believed in that idea.

Vision-Casting: Utilizing the work of the BVSD Success Effect, Innovation Guidelines (in draft form) and Future Ready Schools, participants divided into groups based on levels (elementary, middle, secondary and district) and created a statement of needs in order to support the innovation and success effect visions.

Finally, participants reflected on their hopes and visions for the future of this time together:

Our upcoming professional development day is Friday, January 15th, from 8:30-11:30am at Southern Hills Middle School.

During this time, participants will reflect back on our first day together and discuss engaging with the community within the school/district and beyond. This connection and collaboration is important for leaders as they build their personal learning network of support and expertise.

The goal of this professional development is to provide time for BVSD leaders to think about how digital leadership is a necessity to the fulfillment of the BVSD Success Effect and the commitment of our district to be future-ready.

Don't Turn It In: Publish It!

 Don’t Turn It In: Publish It!

• “Is this for a grade?”
• “Will this be on the test?”
• “My printer ran out of ink so I can’t turn in my paper.”
• “Why are we doing this?”
• “Are you the only one who looks at this or is it for a bigger audience?”

Turning in Work by Publishing!

While the above questions might be familiar, they are often times irrelevant in the modern classroom. Now, our students have an opportunity for learning and assessment beyond the traditional model of turning in work. No longer are students or teachers limited by the process of submitting work to be graded by a teacher with little to no impact beyond the four classroom walls. With access to the world around them, students realize they can publish their work beyond their teacher, impacting a wider audience and, ultimately, increasing their engagement of the learning and project they are completing.

See examples of the possibilities below from students and teachers in BVSD

Did You Know? All of the projects below were graded electronically!

In Language Arts…

• Students create book trailers as a way to assess their understanding of content, deeper literary elements (character, setting, etc.) and to increase student engagement. (8th grade)
• Students wrote, illustrated and then made a video to share their beautiful watercolor artwork and imaginative "If.." book inspired by Sarah Perry's book. (1st grade)

In Science…

• Students create online, collaborative posters with research about the periodic table of elements demonstrating understanding and application of the information (6th grade)
• Students publish their animal research by creating a website to share with each other and their families. (3rd grade)
• Students create videos that analyze and explain the parts of a cell. The videos are linked to a Google drawing that connect to that cell. (10th-12th grades)

In Math…

• Students demonstrate their understanding of math skills (addition with proofs) by creating videos teaching the skill. (2nd grade)
• Creating original thinking with systems of equations and demonstrating this learning in a presentation (6th-8th graders)  
• Students analyze and connect math proofs to real-world issues and provide a solution by creating videos and collecting the resources in an online document. (10th-12th grades)

In Social Studies…

• Students create digital, interactive posters that presents their research on an explorer. (5th grade)
• Students synthesize their research of The Americas and create an online digital atlas. Then, they share with other students in the class so they can learn from each other. (6th grade)

In World Languages…

• Students create, perform, record and publish Latin plays to learn, understand and analyze various chapters for learning. These recordings are now being used all over the country for students in other Latin classes. (9-12th grades)
• Students create a final product for their Spanish class that captured and applied the themes they had learned through the course of the year. This particular student chose to create a website. Along with this website, students created videos and articles to publish as content on the site. (10th-12th grades)

In Music…

• Students analyze and publish their thoughts regarding their musical selections and performances through a blog and through individual reflections of performances in a Google Form. See this portfolio for even more examples! (6-8th grades)

In Art…

• Students create original projects/designs for a variety of purposes and student-determined audiences in this digital art course. Two examples: Ad Campaign and Book Cover design (9-12th grades)

In Health/P.E.

• Students are monitoring heart rates using iPad apps (6th-8th grades)

Interested in learning more? Any BVSD educator to leave a comment as a response to this blog will be put into a drawing to win a copy of  Role Reversal: Achieving Uncommonly Excellent Results In The Student-Centered Classroom  Must leave a comment by February 2nd to be considered for the drawing!

A special thanks to the following educators whose student work is featured in this blog post!

Megan Cosmos*
Gregg Cruger

Kristin Donley
Melissa Duplechin*
Rebecca Feeney
Josh Feiger*
Lynn Gibert*
Rachelle Lieberman*
Lisa Norton*
Ingrid Parker*
Korrie Skibinski*
Janelle Stanton*
Caitlin Thomas*
Mary Waddell*

*21st Century Cohort Member

A New Direction

The Educational Technology Department recently underwent a year of strategic visioning and planning. Through this process, a group of teachers, students, administrators, and community members created a new mission and vision for the department. Our mission now reads:

The BVSD Educational Technology Department will support the development of standards-based, 21st Century Learning Environments that foster high levels of student achievement through exemplary instructional practice in the application of educational technology.

Today, students are living in an increasingly diverse, globalized, complex, and media-saturated world. This rapidly changing environment requires a new approach to learning. The next generation will be required to adapt and handle change better than any other generation. Students see this change coming; they’re living it now. As a result, “Today’s students want to learn differently that in the past. They want ways of learning that are meaningful to them...and ways that make good use of the technology that they know is their birthright.”1 While our “digital natives” excel at using this emerging technology for entertainment, it does not necessarily mean that they know how to use these tools for educational purposes. It is our job to teach them how to use technology to collaborate, research, problem solve, think critically and create new knowledge, while also empowering them to find relevance in their learning by providing real-world learning opportunities and audiences. This is the 21st Century Learning Environment.

Interestingly, this new environment has less to do with teaching technology tools and more to do with teaching the behaviors and approaches towards these ever-changing tools. A teacher must understand the balance between tools and learning. While the tool is important because it is the language of our students, the tool itself is less important than understanding how to use the tool to increase of the power of learning. It is this emphasis on learning rather than tools that will create an effective learning environment.

How does this new approach look in the classroom? The role of the teacher moves from being the center of all learning to being the architect of learning--creating and designing experiences for students that enable them to be 21st century learners. The role of the student moves from being a consumer of knowledge to being a producer and creator--experiencing learning that is personal and authentic.

In order to integrate technology in meaningful ways, we need to create multiple levels of expertise in the schools. As a result, we have empowered multiple groups and cohorts through the Google Ninja Program, iPad User Group, 21st Century Cohort, Tech Contacts and Teacher Librarians. The goals of these groups are to:

• Foster 21st century learning environments for students
• Promote the instructional use of technology
• Build Ed Tech expertise at each school
• Develop district-wide learning communities
• Create a culture of online collaboration and professional expertise

The newest group, the 21st Century Cohort, will develop instructional expertise at each building in the integration of technology tools as part of the ideal learning environment. Then, this group will be responsible for sharing their learning and helping other teachers in their buildings and across the district understand how to utilize technology in the classroom.

In addition, the Ed Tech team provides many professional development opportunities every month that will help teachers find ways to engage their students in relevant and meaningful learning experiences. Some recent examples include:

• Digital storytelling
• Web 2.0
• Creating a Personal Learning Network
• Google Apps for Education
• Edmodo
• Google Learning Day (Nov. 3rd)

Please contact Kelly Sain if you are interested in more professional develop opportunities for you and your staff.

It’s an exciting time for educational technology and teachers in Boulder Valley School District as we look forward to creating a culture of learning, collaboration and community. Ultimately, we believe that we must teach our digital natives with the past in mind, but the future in focus, with a willingness to allow students to explore, to create and to dream!

Ed Tech Team

Kelly Sain, Educational Technology Manager
kelly.sain@bvsd.org

Nannette McMurtry, Educational Technology Specialist and Library Coordinator
nannette.mcmurtry@bvsd.org

Erika Morreale, Educational Technology Specialist
erika.morreale@bvsd.org

Amy Bland, Technical Services Librarian
amy.bland@bvsd.org

Rae Ciciora, Assistant Cataloging Librarian
rae.ciciora@bvsd.org


1Prensky, M. (2010). Teaching digital natives: partnering for real learning. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Corwin.