PBL News @SDUSD

Need a lift? Watch the video below.

The video was created by Innovation Middle School students over the summer through distance learning. Their teacher, Aneesah Silvels, wanted the students to participate in a collaborative project that included song interpretation, music, and dance. In addition, a focus of hers is finding ways for her Deaf and Hard of Hearing students to experience positive news and social media. Learn more about this project.

Lincoln High School's SOcial JUSTice REMIX project launched September 21 with an incredible activists panel that included Aeiramique Glass-Blake @AGlassBlake, Geneviéve Jones-Wright @GJonesWright, and Kendrick Dial @Kendrickdial. Each of the panelists shared when they "woke up", the issues they tackle, & strategies they use in their efforts to bring change.

Two key messages shared by the speakers were "Show Up" and "You are leaders right now". If the Lincoln 9th graders participating in this project take those messages to heart, they can make a real impact on their community.

In this project, students will map and evaluate their neighborhood ecosystem through the lens of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs to identify assets and areas of concerns throwing off the balance of Homeostasis for a community to truly thrive. Student groups will each choose a community need to research and evaluate how civilian and/or law enforcement professionals respond to that need. The investigation continues as students learn how the body responds to stress, fear and pain. After evaluating the impact of current models of response from public servants, students will propose a REMIX of how those needs are addressed. Presentations will be made virtually through a combination of video, guaranteed to include creative license, and live Zoom presentations to the Southeastern Division's Captain's Advisory Board of the San Diego Police Department and/or other related public services.

To learn more, visit the SOcial JUSTice REMIX Website.

Kearny EID High School's ROV Industry Project will be highlighted at San Diego Fleet Week on November 10th. NAVWAR is excited to partner with the Kearny EID 10th grade students. During the 30 minute live stream session, students will have an opportunity to ask engineering experts questions about ROV designs. Kearny EID students will also have a chance to share their in progress ideas to receive feedback from engineering experts. Interested in learning more about the project? Visit the ROV Industry Project Website.

*ROV - Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicle

*NAVWAR - Naval Information Warfare Systems Command

Sign-up to participate in the Jacobs Institute Changemaker Challenge, a worldwide challenge event for teachers and teenagers (13+) who want to develop an innovator's mindset and change the world.

Students use Pactful, a design thinking application and curriculum, ideal for distance learning, developed by The Jacob's Institute for Innovation in Education to create innovative solutions to local and global problems aligned to the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals. In the end, teens will submit video pitches to win prizes!

Last year Mt Everest Academy 9th graders were recognized with 1st and 4th place and Kearny BST 9th graders took 5th place.

There's no cost to participate and the Jacobs Institute will provide scheduled webinars to support educators and help you connect with each other. The kickoff webinar on December 3rd will feature guest speaker, Dr. Jennifer Williams, author of Teach Boldly: Using Edtech for Social Good.

Priority applications are accepted until November 20. Sign up today.

If you would like support with implementing design thinking, using the Pactful curriculum, or signing up for the Changemaker Challenge, email rhoffman@sandi.net

Distance / remote learning is hard and not ideal for most students, teachers, and families. The education community is wondering how we can improve the experience. What if we started by listening to and learning from students and go from there?

Students from High Tech High started a podcast as a project called “This Teenage Life.” One of their episodes focuses on Remote Learning (scroll down) and is an honest critique of what students have experienced and what they need from teachers right now.

How might you learn more from your students?

Challenge: Not seeing student’s faces or hearing their voices in Zoom.

• “My students won’t turn on their cameras.”

• “ I don’t know what some of my students look like.”

• “Students will comment in the chat, but not speak over the microphone.”

Let’s pause a moment and consider that being “live” on camera is very difficult for many people for a variety of factors. If the goal is to see and hear our students, what if we remove the pressure of being seen and heard “live” on camera in front of a large audience?

Students may be more willing to be seen and heard on camera if they have more control. What if we move from focusing on “live” on Zoom to using an asynchronous, quick capture video tool, like Flipgrid?

The Lewis Middle School 6th Grade PBL Team recently had success with this strategy. Students who had been reluctant to show their faces or talk enthusiastically shared their independent reading books with their teachers. The Lewis teachers were excited to share how this small strategy shift had such a positive result.

The great thing about using a quick capture video, is that students can record when they want, and as many times as they need to before submitting a video. Starting with Flipgrid may increase student comfort level over time to the point that they will be more open to turning on their camera and/or speaking in the live setting.

Things to consider when you start using Flipgrid with students:

• Low stakes - Opportunities for students to share and reflect (interest, prior knowledge, opinion)

• Only teacher can view

• Limit the time 15-30 second response

• How will students know you viewed their videos? You can comment on them in Flipgrid and/or mention what a few students had to say during your next synchronous class meeting.

To learn more about Flipgrid, check out the SDUSD Flipgrid page on the SDUSD Online Learning Resources for Educators website.

Fleet Week San Diego will be hosting several virtual student STEM Days on November 10th,12th, and 13th to encourage students to pursue STEM education programs and careers. The events will feature drones, virtual reality, and other new and emerging technologies, and will highlight local companies, military commands and community organizations.

Teachers can sign up their classes at no charge for any STEM day event using the link below. Once a teacher signs up, the Fleet Week team will send out a schedule with the live/interactive session times, and the teacher can select the sessions they’d like their students to attend. The secure link they receive will work for all three days.

Event Details

Where: Online. Register here

When: Tues, Nov 10th, Thurs, Nov 12th, AND Fri, Nov 13th; full schedule will be sent out to teachers who register

Who: Educators and students, grades 5 – 12

The Deeper Learning Hub has created a set of 1-2 week project based learning courses designed for distance learning. The projects range from grades 4-12 and were designed by expert educators who care deeply about student engagement and authentic learning experiences. Each course culminates in an exhibition of learning with an authentic audience, and includes key elements of effective PBL. Teachers can make a copy of any of the courses, tweak or add elements, and then invite their students to take the course. Currently, all courses are available for free. See course catalog.

Interested in getting started with or going deeper with Project-Based Learning or Design Thinking? Let's customize an experience for your site or team. Contact Reuben Hoffman at rhoffman@sandi.net.

Otter Products (yes that's right... the company that makes phone cases, accessories and a lot more!) has announced that their Innovation Station grant application window is officially open! They are accepting applications from schools and nonprofits in San Diego County to build their very own Innovation Station (up to $25,000). To learn more about applying, please visit the Innovation Station Grant Website.

This video explains a little bit more about our innovation stations and how they have impacted past grant recipients.

The applications are due no later than November 15, 2020. Award Notifications will be sent by January 31, 2021.

Great option for all types of funding related to student learning. Create an account at www.donorschoose.org

* The events listed below are paid events not sponsored by SDUSD. They have been included in the newsletter for awareness of events that pertain to PBL / Linked Learning / CCTE / Pathways. You can follow these events for free virtually on many social media platforms, especially Twitter.

• Educating for Careers Conference (Virtual) - February 28 - March 2, 2021
  The Educating for Careers Conference is an annual three-day professional development event surrounding career technical education (CTE). Call for Presenters
  

For more information regarding PBL at SDUSD, please contact Reuben Hoffman at rhoffman@sandi.net, visit the SDUSD PBL Website, follow #sdusdpbl & @reubenhoffman on Twitter.

Please invite me to see your students in action, so I can share more of the great things happening in SD Unified.

If you would like to submit something for a future newsletter, please contact Reuben Hoffman at rhoffman@sandi.net.

Email: rhoffman@sandi.net
Website: https://sites.google.com/sandi.net/pbl/home
Phone: 8584142557

Follow @sdschools on Twitter for daily highlights from schools throughout SDUSD.