After sending EdSurge a copy of the proposed Beta Bill of Rights, I had the absolute privilege of speaking with EdSurge’s CEO Betsy Corcoran. This opportunity was amazing because it allowed me to speak with someone I greatly admire and to learn more about the world of Ed. Tech.
I cannot express how extraordinary it was to speak with her. Even without that seemingly unimaginable opportunity, I would still be overwhelmed by the privilege this journey has been. What started as an email lead me to speak with thoughtful and ingenious entrepreneurs about the things that matter the most to me. These chats have inspired deep reflection on my part, and provided them with insight into what happens in the classroom.
It’s only been a month, but I think something has changed since I began this mission. I recently spoke with an entrepreneur who asked me what I wanted, and I had no answer for him. After thinking on it for a while longer, I realized that there were some wants that were easily to express, and others that I do not fully know how to express.
~ I want to return to the classroom this fall with all the incredible technology I have had the extraordinary privilege of using.
~ I want to be successful as I take my first steps of trying to acquire 30 ipod touches for my classroom, so that my students can take full advantage of all the applications I have gained access to.
~ I want to continue to collaborate with those who are creating new ed. Tech…but I’m unsure of the shape that this collaboration will take…
My mission led me to form extraordinarily successful partnerships with Daniel Yoo of Enome Inc., Brett Kopf of Remind101, and Sam Chaudhary of Class Dojo. Our relationship worked because they genuinely dedicate themselves to create technology that will help my students scale the difficult mountains we ascend each day; and because I realized the importance of helping them understand what each step feels like.
Below is the result of our collaborative effort to help Edsurge create a “Bill of Rights” for other startups and teachers to use. We need these “rights” to establish a new relationship between teachers and technology, and hope our contribution will serve as a testament to the extraordinary potential of effective relationships between teachers and entrepreneurs.
Earlier this summer, I told you of my mission to provide my students with access to transformative technology, and you were incredible in responding with guidance. The purpose of this email, is to offer lessons I’ve learned during my journey, and recommendations for Edsurge’s awesome beta bill of rights.
My mission began when I sent an email to technology companies as well as groups like New School Venture Fund and Startl to say: “Hey! Access to technology is inequitable, but I’m on a mission to change that! I want my students and I to have access to potentially transformative ed. tech. and will offer user insight in exchange.”
Days later, I spoke with the CEO of a very large technology company, who chuckled at the idea of a partnership between myself and technology companies. “Well it works out well for you,” he told me. In this person’s mind, the insights of a teacher were insignificant when compared to the technology their company would allow me to review. His remarks did not deter me, because I was in talks with startups that were not only excited to partner with me but also revolutionizing technology in ways this executive could never imagine.
My mission led me to form extraordinarily successful partnerships with Daniel Yoo of Enome Inc., Brett Kopf of Remind101, and Sam Chaudhary of Class Dojo. Our relationship worked because they genuinely dedicate themselves to create technology that will help my students scale the difficult mountains we ascend each day; and because I realized the importance of helping them understand what each step feels like.
Attached to this email is the result of our collaborative effort to help Edsurge create a tool for other startups and teachers to use. We need these “rights” to establish a new relationship between teachers and technology, and hope our contribution will serve as a testament to the extraordinary potential of effective relationships between teachers and entrepreneurs.
Brett: We as startups often think we know what’s best for our users but I’m learning very quickly that though we have what’s best in mind for you as a teacher…we may not be solving your problem. A user test let’s us “test” the user, by observing the user navigate or click through the site. An example would be me observing you click through every step of the site. It’s enlightening for us because what we THOUGHT made sense, really doesn’t at all. Your feedback was so successful because of the way it was delivered; you pretty much did a “user test” for us!
Jennie: I had no idea what a “user test” was. Nor was a I asked by any of these guys to provide them with one. All I knew, was that the best way to help them understand how I interacted with their technology, was by performing a “think aloud”, which is how I help my students understand how to actively read. I filmed myself doing a “think aloud” while using each technology. This enabled them to not only see everything I clicked on, my reactions, what I looked at first etc…, but also hear me explain the thoughts that were behind my actions. Because “think alouds” are unscripted, I was a bit intimidated at first. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized how the qualities that make a “think aloud” so powerful in my classroom would also apply to this situation. Not to mention the fact that I was kind of tired of typing and personally find talking far less energy consuming.
Brett: So, the term “user test” doesn’t necessarily need to be used…that’s just startup mumbo jumbo. We can say small pilot, or get on a 20 min Skype call etc…I usually Skype with teachers, have them share their screens and watch them navigate through the site. The Edsurge header said it right, “Startups need more feedback from schools if they’re going to have a prayer of building a good product”, and yor feedback is so successful because you respond fast, always give examples and are honest with what you like/dislike. But, if we look deeper at why it was helpful I think it’s more so because you really cared and took the time to do it.
Jennie: And none of it would have been done, if you all hadn’t been as genuinely wonderful conveying your interest in hearing my feedback. I want to be very clear about “genuine” and I think the best way to do that is to include a brief dialogue we had while collaborating on this.
Me: teacher’s should not treat the entrepreneurs as therapists, or expect them to care about or try to solve all of their problems, at least not right away
Brett’s Reply: Haha. Hmmm… A teacher has never talked my ear off. I don’t think we should add this. You did say I’m really on the teachers side…
Daniel’s Reply: I agree I think listening to complaints, even tangential ones, are part of the game when asking for feedback
Even if your technologies had been total flops, this is the kind of care and compassion that will convince a teacher to offer the best possible feedback. Being a teacher is not easy. Being a passionate and energetic one is even more difficult. But, your compassionate support of my feedback provided me with the confidence to do everything I did. These highly intelligent and accomplished entrepreneurs’ responses to my first email was very effective:
Daniel’s Response: “Wow! I almost fell over when I read your response on my phone. I am so glad that a teacher-entrepreneur like you came across Goalbook”, was as refreshing as a cool summer rainstorm.
Brett’s Response: “WOW. What a breath of fresh air. I have to say, it’s such a pleasure to see educators like you who are as excited as we are about infusing tech in the classroom.
Sam’s Response: “Wow! I’m thrilled that you’re so excited that what we’re building could be useful to you. I am also really excited by your entrepreneurial spirit – you seem to have such a progressive classroom! I am in awe!”
Given the infinite number of powerful voices in our society telling teachers that they are a problem, menace and detriment, you guys had me at “wow”.
I am a teacher at a large, urban, comprehensive, public high school. I can’t thank you enough for your report “Steering Capital:Optimizing Financial Support for Innovation in Public Education”. It enabled me to fully understand my position in the cycle of innovation and contained the language I needed to express my efforts more effectively.
I am currently on a mission to give my students access to the benefits of the education technology revolution. Such benefits are not equitably distributed to schools, like the one I work in, but I am working on changing that. I started to make this change by contacting groups like Startl, ImagineK12, and other’s who fund ed. tech. start ups. I contacted them in an effort to create the types of partnerships you discussed in your article.
The purpose of these partnership is to give my students access to technological innovations that have the potential to empower their education and future, as well as provide innovators with “small spaces” for generating feedback, or further demonstrations of their product’s capabilities.
I have spoken to three young innovators from Palo Alto, and given them reviews of their excellent beta technologies. I have also started a blog about my journey to get technology into my classroom, but I am not sure of what my next steps should be.
I am passionately dedicated to empowering my practice and optimizing my student’s learning, which leads me to reach out to individuals like you who are at the very top of the education world. Your record of achievement in the field of education is beyond extraordinary. You have thought outside the box and provided foresight that will forever redefine the potential of public education. Please let me know whether you have any tips on how to further my current efforts.
Thank you so much for your time, and what you have done for our field.
What you are doing sounds really amazing. I am so pleased our work has been at least a little helpful to you. You are the one doing the really important work here. We are just trying to help folks be more aware of models for thinking outside the box, as you say.
***I cannot believe Ms. Smith responded! I am speechless and SO excited that she saw another positive impact of her research and efforts!***
According to EDSURGE’s latest newsletter, “The market for edtech information is broken–and we’d like to glue the pieces together.” (And I say Amen to that!) Plans are brewing at EDSURGE to create a website that will:
Allow innovators and users of educational technology (edtech) can share what they are doing.
Give information on products to educators so that we can decide what will work best for our students! (Yay! Power to the teachers! )
Connect developers and educators willing to try out beta products (I just about fell over with excitement when I read this!)
Provide fair and frank information on edtech.
Already the recipient of funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, EDSURGE is going to start by looking at the technologies that create blended learning environments. The newsletter, prompted individuals interested in these endeavors to let them know what information they needed and to get ready to contribute! Well, it was only a matter of minutes before I began writing my response to the edsurge team.
Dear Edsurge team:
I am SO excited about your plans for the EdSurge website! The only information I need to know is how I can help contribute to its creation. I have just finished writing my first review of a beta technology on my blog:
I am working on two more reviews that will be posted to my blog in the coming week. I am overwhelmed by the fact that I have found so many extraordinary individuals interested in including teachers in the edtech revolution. I am unsure of the next steps I should take…
For now, I am continuing to reach out to edtech innovators, focusing on getting my classroom the technology necessary to test out innovations, and waiting to hear from you how I can best support and contribute to your upcoming website.
Please do not feel obligated to reply to this email right away! I know you are VERY busy, but couldn’t resist replying to the incredible announcement in your most recent newsletter.
As a first year teacher, I noticed that few, if any, of my students consistently turned in their homework. This fact did not lead me to conclude that my were unmotivated or unconcerned about their work. It lead me to consider what I could to make them more aware of their homework grade. Based on my own reflections and observations, I decided to create the homework chart [see image/watch short clip below]
This homework chart transformed my student’s behavior. Before the homework chart, fewer than 5% of my students were consistently turning in their homework. Within days of hanging the poster, 80% of my students were turning in homework and, within a week, the majority of my students were getting “As” on the assignments they were turning in. These “As” continued to be earned despite of the fact that my homework assignments became increasingly difficult. At that time, I was too overwhelmed to consider the reasons for this remarkable turnaround and simply reveled in the “miracle” that had taken place. Since then, I have come across studies that may explain my student’s positive response to the poster.
One explanation came from an article written by neurologist Dr. Judy Willis, which “ Makes the Case for the Video Game Model as a Learning Tool”. In it, she explains that “the human brain, much like that of most mammals, has hardwired physiological responses that had survival value at some point in evolutionary progression.” According to Willis’ article, one reason my homework chart was so successful was because it made them aware of their achievement and able to clearly recognize their progress, which triggered my student’s dopamine reward response. Unlike before, the chart caused my students to experience the reward from the release of dopamine, which prompted them to seek future opportunities to repeat the actions that led them to be successful.
Much like a sequential, multilevel video game, my homework chart’s feedback of progress was ongoing, and took the form of accumulating points and visual tokens. However, the real reward, according to Dr. Willis’ article, was the jolt of dopamine that my students experienced in response to achieving the challenge, solution, sequence, etc. needed to earn a higher grade and move onto more challenging assignments. According to Dr. Willis, “[w]hen the brain receives feedback that this progress has been made, it reinforces the networks used to succeed. Through a feedback system, that neuronal circuit becomes stronger and more durable. In other words, memory of the mental or physical response used to achieve the dopamine reward is reinforced.”
Stepping Up My Game: Why Google Docs. Don’t Work.
This year, I decided to not only have a homework chart, but also a class participation/behavior chart for my students. I made this decision based on the fact that I wanted the class performance chart to provide my students with “real time” feedback for their positive and negative contributions to the class. I used Google docs. to create columns in which I could award points for turning in homework, class participation and “other”. This system provided some positive results however, its drawbacks were numerous:
1. Vague Feedback:
My system was not behavior specific. A student knew they got a positive or negative point for class participation but the point was not explicit in terms of the reason for which it was rewarded.
2. Limited Freedom of Movement:
In order to give feedback, I had to be standing near my computer, and unable to do it while walking around the room, which caused the system to be less authentic, and took my attention away from my students as I glanced at the screen to ensure that I had input the information correctly. I tried to correct this by accessing the document on my iphone, however, this was not ultimately a workable solution because the system was incredibly slow and made me less effective as a teacher.
3. More paperwork
Friday afternoon, I would be exhausted and done with grading, but still have to go through the class participation Google docs and spend at least an hour counting up each student’s points, add points to my gradebook and then transfer notes on student’s behavior to their individual records.
It was Friday’s like the one described above that made it an absolute pleasure to test the beta-version of Class Dojo. Seconds after I began using this program, I thought “This thing is going to make me into a feedback rock-star!” My next thought: “Goodbye google docs!” After an extensive review of the program, I dubbed ClassDojo a “teacher approved technology” because it improves my practice and optimizes my student’s learning.
Class Dojo optimizes a teacher’s routine of providing recognition and rewards in class. With one touch of a smartphone or computer button, teachers can instantly award (or take away) points and badges based on student’s behavior or participation; it gives students and parents access to a profile page that is updated in real-time to display how the student is doing in class, and what badges/points she earned in class (e.g., for helping other students, for showing great creativity). During class, Class Dojo’s reward system provides instant visual notifications for students to see (‘Well done Josh! +1 for helping others!’). This tool is based on a whole host of game mechanics: think level-ups, badges and achievements to unlock, in-classroom games, avatars and leaderboards. These “game-like” notifications make students aware of their achievement, recognize the correct choices they made, and reinforce their understanding of the behaviors/skills necessary to succeed in class.
The neurological response that a student gets from successfully meeting challenges in class, makes it all the more likely that he will develop the intrinsic motivation to persevere in future situations. The specific features that qualify Class Dojo to be a “teacher-approved-technology” include:
1. Flexibility (Allows me to decide criteria, point value, and rewards)
This program is teacher-centered and therefore has greater flexibility to allow teachers to customize the reasons and incentive structure for each class. It allows me to not only decide the criteria and point value of rewards, but also add notes at any point in time that will not seen by students, which is particularly helpful when trying to keep track of follow-up to a particular event.
2. Mobility (allows me to be where I need to be, with my students and not at my keyboard)
What I particularly love about Class Dojo is the fact that I can control it with my iphone! No longer will I be forced to choose between standing near my keyboard or using a paper seating chart to record points that will have to deciphered, entered and analyzed at the end of the week! This application allows me to be where I need to be-with my students, and frees me from being trapped at my keyboard.
3. Parent Feedback (enables me to tell each parent how their child did in class that day, and everyday)
Our circumstances often make it difficult for us to provide parents with as much feedback as we would like to. Class Dojo, however, is set up so that parents can access their child’s data and see how they performed in class each day. Now I will be able to tell each parent how their child did in class that day and everyday.
4. Analytics
On a Friday afternoon, the last thing I want to do is enter student performance data into an excel spreadsheet and then use that data to update my grade book’s record of each student’s performance. This fall, I will rely on Class Dojo to provide me with a data analysis of the feedback I give my students. The applications analyzes each child’s progress overall (e.g. more positive than negative) as well as each type of behavior (24% of positive points awarded for correctly answering questions). This makes it even easier to keep track of my student’s behavior goals! Additionally, it provides me with information about my own feedback patterns in terms of my feedback ratio (Am I giving more positive feedback than negative feedback?) While the system already allows students to access their performance data and get a detailed view of their performance history, the company is currently building dashboards that show engagement and participation over time, to help teachers and administrators understand what is actually happening inside all of their classrooms, in a data-driven way.
I recently spoke with one of Class Dojo’s co-founders, Sam Chaudhary. A former teacher in the UK, Sam developed the program with the objective of helping teachers and is currently improving the program based on feedback he received from teachers who used the beta version. When I spoke with Sam and I offered him tons of praise as well as a list of suggestions to make the application even better than it already is. Some of my suggestions included:
1. Putting in a seating-plan style template of boxes, to reduce the amount of time it takes to scroll through a list of names looking for the student you wish to award a point to.
2. Using a time stamp that recorded the actual time rather than ’3 minutes ago’, so its easier to see analytics
3. Create an easy way to print or text analytics/rewards to share with parents who may not have computer access.
4. Provide teachers with a button to document giving students a “bathroom pass” as an additional way to ease some of the record keeping.
Having already developed a powerful tool for any teacher, Sam communicated his enthusiasm for incorporating my suggestions as he refines Class Dojo and prepares to release it. “As former teachers ourselves, we want to make teachers’ lives easier by creating a positive learning environment in the classroom that will make it easy to manage behavior and engage their class. This will reduce the amount of work teachers currently have to do, and give them more time to do what they love (that’s teaching, rather than crowd control or data entry!).” As Sam sees it, “teachers have had bad technology pushed on them for too long. We promise to only ever make easy-to-use, powerful, beautiful technology that teachers love (we hope, at least – you tell us!), and will enable them to do their jobs even better and more easily than before.” Given Sam’s intention, and Class Dojo’s current level of quality, I have little doubt that he will be able to accomplish his objective of empowering teachers and enabling them to optimize student learning.
This fall, Class Dojo provides a data-driven system to measure and improve students’ social / behavioral development, makes it easier to share the information with students and parents, and gives teachers more time and energy to focus on our students. Finally, rewarding students won’t have to punish the teacher.
Contact made! Now, the fun begins as I try to establish relationships with start-ups. I have no idea how to begin, but I’m really excited by the extraordinary opportunity it will provide my students with! I’m also not sure whether Socrative would like me writing about how much I love their program! I will email my contact there before posting further.
A record of one teacher’s interactions with innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs trying to redefine the potential of public education.
This page contains records of my discussions with innovators, researchers and entrepreneurs as they develop their beta technology. These discussions are inspired by the process outlined in newly released white paper Steering Capital: Optimizing Financial Support for Innovation in Public Education by Kim Smith and Julie Petersen, which charts a path forward for how the public, private and nonprofit sectors can work together to advance education innovation.
To enable faster and continuous learning cycles, the author’s proposed:
“the identification of a diverse set of what we call ‘subsidized beta networks,’ where a group of like-minded practitioners provide extra access to researchers and developers in exchange for early access to new tools and funding subsidies that would make adoption low-cost. These networks of subsidized early-adopter customers would provide small learning spaces to help inform practice, accelerate development and attract investors.”
One of Beta Classroom’s goals is to provide small learning spaces to help innovators develop beta technology for the classroom.
I just can not stop smiling and feel like I have won a huge prize! In less than 24 hours of sending my “email of inquiry”, three start ups that have contacted me about establishing a partnership with my classroom.
