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Element 23: Providing Resources and Guidance

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Element 23: Providing Resources and Guidance

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"The focus of element 23 is providing resources specific to cognitively complex tasks and helping students execute such tasks" (Magaña and Marzano, 2014).

The strategies that work well with this element are:

1. Providing support for claims

2. Examining claims for errors

3. Scoring scales

4. Feedback

Resources:

Magaña Sonny, & Marzano, R. J. (2014). Enhancing the art & science of teaching with technology. Bloomington, IN: Marzano Research Laboratory.

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When students make claims or draw conclusions, they should be prompted to not only provide evidence, but be able to explain why their claim is correct. The book explains grounds, backing, and qualifiers:

Grounds- initial evidence for claim

Backing- specific information about grounds to help legitimacy

Qualifiers- exceptions to claims

Technology: The book recommends students use the internet to search for online sources. They can use bookmarking tools like Diigo and Delicious. They should share sources with peers to determine how reliable the source is.

Implementation tip: Elementary students should not be searching the web freely. Use kid friendly web search engines such as KidRex, Kiddle, KidzSearch, etc. I like to have QR codes posted or direct links on my SeeSaw page to prevent students from having to search the internet. However, it is possible to do a lesson on safe online research and reliable sources, it's just tricky for grades K-2nd.

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Students must be taught to evaluate their claims for errors in reasoning, which include errors in faulty logic, attack, weak reference, and misinformation (Magaña and Marzano, 2014).

For example, it very common for online statistic to have errors.

Technology: Teachers can display a rubric on their SmartBoard to help students analyze their online resource for reliability and accuracy. Students can use social media to collaborate with others on examining their claims for any errors. Students can post their links to a class page for other students to examine or use for their research.

Implementation tip: For elementary students, the teacher can show them examples of unreliable sources and why they are unreliable. Students can have a short, simple checklist or rubric to help them check for reliability. Again, it would be helpful for the teacher to have the "unreliable" sites chosen ahead of time to prevent any inappropriate content found by younger students.

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Safe Kids Search Engines is the topic of our blog post today!

Our foremost responsibility as educators and parents is to ensure the safe, secure, and appropriate usage of the Internet by our children and students. This task is best accomplished through conscientious education and consistent practice.

Media literacy and digital citizenship form the bedrock of such education, equipping students with essential understanding and navigational skills to traverse the web safely and efficiently.

To further aid our children in reaping the benefits of the Internet while avoiding its potential pitfalls, we can turn to safe kids search engines. These tools form a more secure pathway for children's online exploration.

While mainstream search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing do offer safe search features to sieve out explicit and irrelevant content, their safeguards are sometimes insufficiently robust. This is where dedicated kids safe search engines step in.

These specialized search engines meticulously filter out unsuitable content, delivering only results from websites that have passed rigorous scrutiny by educators and librarians. Children can confidently conduct their online research, free from the worry of stumbling upon inappropriate material.

Key features of safe kids search engines

Safe Search Engine offer various features including:

1. Content Filtering: This is perhaps the most crucial feature of a kid-safe search engine. The engine should automatically filter out inappropriate content, blocking adult-oriented or potentially harmful results from appearing.

2. Monitored Browsing: Some search engines offer monitored browsing, allowing parents or educators to track the search history. This feature provides an extra layer of security by letting adults know what content the child is accessing.

3. Kid-Friendly Interface: A safe search engine for children should have a user-friendly interface, often featuring larger icons, simplified navigation, and appealing visuals. It should also provide age-appropriate search results.

4. Privacy Protection: Safe search engines for children often don't track, store, or share personal data. They don't use cookies or keep a record of searches, thus safeguarding children's online privacy.

5. Ad Restrictions: Kid-safe search engines usually have strict policies about advertising. Some don't display ads at all, while others ensure that all ads are child-friendly and non-intrusive.

Safe Kids Search Engines

Here are our top picks for safe kids search engines:

Kidtopia is both a search engine and a directory designed by school librarians for kids. Its search functionality is enhanced by Google Custom search allowing kids to enjoy Google features with the least possible amount of commercial and distracting content.

Kidtopia also features a huge collection of kids friendly websites curated by teachers and school librarians covering areas such as social studies, arts, language arts, animals, math, technology, games, and many more.

Kid's Search Engine, as its name indicates, is a safe search engine for kids. It provides kids with an age-appropriate platform where they can search the Internet in a safe and secure way. It uses Google's Safe Search technology and a host of filtering tools to provide kids with appropriate search content.

The site also features a directory containing links to peer-reviewed and kids-friendly platforms and websites. Kid' s Search Engine also includes an image and video search functionality that enables young learners to search for and access educational video content online.

Kiddle is 'a visual search engine for kids powered by Google, offering safe kids web, image, and video search. Results are vetted by editors.'

DuckDuckGo is not necessarily designed for kids but it does however offer features that allow users to search the net without compromising their private and personal information. DuckDuckGo does not store search history, doesn't run ads, and does not track users.

GoGooligans is another kid search engine that provides a number of important features including: use of Google index to retrieve results, apply different kinds of filtering features, excludes inappropriate sites and keywords, offers search in over 30 languages , and many more.

KidRex is 'a fun and safe search for kids, by kids! KidRex searches emphasize kid-related webpages from across the entire web and are powered by Google Custom Search™ and use Google SafeSearch™ technology.'

Safe Search Kids uses Google Safe Search to provide search results. It also provides other features for safely searching for images, videos and wikis.

"Family-friendly safe search engine for children. KidzSearch safe search technology is always on and cannot be turned off by clearing cookies or using a different computer. Results are always Strict Filtered. Nothing to install. Free public service."

SweetSearch is an online search engine that allows kids and other users to safely search the web without worrying about inappropriate or unreliable results. SweetSearch uses a proprietary algorithm to filter out results that may be inappropriate or unhelpful for young users.

It only returns websites that have been reviewed and approved by educators and librarians. The results are ordered by relevance, but with additional filtering options such as subject, age range, etc. SweetSearch also features a safe image search where users can safely look for photos and images.

The search engine also provides kids with useful educational tools such as a citation builder and a research guide. The citation builder helps kids format their citations correctly according to the chosen style (e.g. APA, MLA, Chicago). The research guide provides tips and steps on how to conduct research. It is a great resource for kids to learn how to properly search for reliable information.

Swiggle is an innovative search engine that not only offers a safe and secure way to explore online content, but also encourages responsibility among its users. With the help of SwiggleBot, users can search for useful information and images without having to worry about inappropriate content. In addition, if they come across anything that they deem to be inappropriate, users can immediately report it and have the content blocked.

Swiggle is powered by Google Custom Search and utilizes Google SafeSearch to ensure that the content returned is appropriate. Additionally, Swiggle has also been configured to prioritize educational content, making it an ideal search engine for students and educators alike.

Final thoughts

The kids safe search engines I shared above offer a much-needed layer of security, filtering out inappropriate content and prioritizing educational and child-friendly results. Features like content filtering, monitored browsing, and stringent ad policies make these search engines tailored solutions for young web explorers. As someone who's deeply involved in educational technology, I can't stress enough how crucial it is to introduce these platforms early on. The options we've explored here, from Kidtopia to Swiggle, offer varied functionalities that cater to different needs and age groups.

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10 Safe Kids Search Engines - Educators Technology

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Safe Kids Search Engines enable children to confidently conduct their online research, free from the worry of stumbling upon inappropriate material.

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Teachers can provide student friendly scales for students to self-monitor their progress for their goals. The learning target should be clear and the book recommends the measurement to be on a 1, 2, 3, 4 scale:

1.0- I need a lot of support to understand the simple elements.

2.0- I understand the simple elements but still need support.

3.0- I can understand simple/complex elements do this on my own.

4.0- I understand the simple/complex elements and can make inferences beyond the learning target.

Technology: Teachers can use an online poll (list linked below) to get an overall response on how well students think they are progressing towards the learning goal. Teachers can create an interactive W-N-H (What did I think before? Now what do I think? How are these thoughts different?) for students to add any new knowledge.

Implementation tip: Elementary students can have a simple scale that lists numbers 1-4 with visuals and simple language. Pinterest has many examples of Marzano scales for elementary students. The learning goal can simply be stated on the board or your Google classroom, and then the simplified student scale will work for every lesson.

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Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

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Over the last few months we have reviewed a number of interesting web tools and mobile apps teachers can use to collect students feedback. And as we have argued elsewhere, access to students feedback can positively impact both the teaching and learning process. On the one hand, it provides teachers with a discerning window through which they can assess their teaching methodologies, assess students comprehension, and based on gleaned insights, formulate working plans to meet students learning needs. On the other hand, the act of providing feedback empowers students with a voice, makes them feel valued and that their opinion matters and therefore engages them on a deeper level in the learning process.

In today's post, we are particularly focusing on two basic feedback gathering strategies: polls and surveys. We have curated for you some of the most popular web tools you can use to create various types of polls and surveys. In doing so, we have divided our collection into two main categories: education-focused tools which are basically tools that are primarily created for use within educational settings (yes, we included Google Forms in this category) and general survey and poll creation tools. Check them out and share with us your feedback in our Facebook page.

There is an infographic version of this post which you can access and download from this page.

I- Education-focused tools

This is definitely our best in this list. Google Forms allows you to easily create polls and surveys using a wide variety of forms and question types. It also lets you include multimedia materials into your forms such as images and videos. Its collaborative features enable you to work with your team to build a survey or poll together. 'Responses to your surveys are neatly and automatically collected in Forms, with real time response info and charts. Or, take your data further by viewing it all in Sheets.'

'Plickers lets you poll your class for free, without the need for student devices. Just give each student a card (a "paper clicker"), and use your iPhone/iPad to scan them to do instant checks-for-understanding, exit tickets, and impromptu polls. Best of all, your data is automatically saved, student-by-student, at plickers.com.'

'Kahoot allows teachers to create quizzes and surreys that include a wide variety of multimedia elements such as videos, pictures and text. Each quiz you create can be accessed by students across different devices . Also teachers have the possibility to create time-controlled quizzes. You can set a specific period of time for the answer of each question. In this way students are rewarded not only for the correct answer but also for their timeliness.'
4- Socrative

'Socrative is your classroom app for fun, effective classroom engagement. Quickly assess students with prepared activities or on-the-fly questions to get immediate insight into student understanding. Then use auto-populated results to determine the best instructional approach to most effectively drive learning.'

'GoSoapBox is a powerful, flexible, and intuitive student response system for educators to use in their classrooms. Leveraging web-enabled devices, teachers digitally engage students to conduct formative assessment and gain insight into student comprehension that was never before possible.'
6- Quizalize

'This tool allows teachers to create fun classroom exams or homework. Teachers can see the results live and easily spot students' strengths and weaknesses. The process to create a quiz is simple and easy. After you log in to your account (registration is required,Quizalize is free for individual teachers), go to 'Your Quizzes' tab and click on 'Create a new quiz'. Follow the instructions and type in your data. Once you are done click on 'Save' to save your quiz. To assign the quiz to your students click on 'Set Quiz' button and enter the name of your class. A unique code will be generated for you to share with students. The students can then go to www.quizal.me and input the class code and their name to access the quiz.'
7- Formative

Another excellent web tool to collect students feedback. You can use it to create various types of polls and surveys and track students responses as they happen.

II- General survey and poll creation tools

A good web tool to engage your audience in real time interaction. It lets you design interactive polls and surveys and deliver them live to your audience. 'Responses appear in an animated graph or chart embedded in your presentation. Results update live for all to see.' Poll Everywhere works in major presentation tools such as Powerpoint, Keynote, and Google Slides.

A simple tool to easily create polls to embed on your blog or website. Micropoll provides you with the tools to customize your polls, add various types of questions, and analyze audience responses.

Use Zoho Survey to create multilingual surveys that others can access from any device. You can use pre-designed templates or start your survey from scratch. Results are graphically displayed in real time.

Lets you create and deliver online polls quickly and easily. Just compose your questions, email or post the link to your poll online, and get results.

'Typeform allows you to easily create a poll that looks beautiful, and gets more responses...You can make a poll in minutes by dragging and dropping questions and adding design elements so that it blends beautifully into your brand. Increase the level of engagement and turn the poll into an experience by adding icons, images, GIFS and video.'

It allows you to create your own surveys, questionnaires, and quizzes. It offers a real time reporting dashboard that enables you to see results and statistics of your survey. You can share your surveys through a generated URL, embed them on your website or share them through email.

'SurveyPlanet offers a tremendous set of free tools for designing your survey, sharing your survey online, and reviewing your survey's results'. Some of its features include: custom survey themes with responsive layouts, images upload, multiple languages, pre-written questions, various question types, question branching and many more.

8- Free Online Surveys

'Create a full page survey with multiple questions, question types and pages. Advanced features like question branching/skip-logic, file uploading and more.'

'Create your own questionnaire with our fast and intuitive survey tool. We have a wide range of question types for you to choose from. You can add your own colors and logo to the questionnaire, use skip logic and much more. No third party software is required. You simply need your browser and a user account!'

10- Pollmaker

Another easy and simple tool to create and share polls and surveys. First, type in your questions and answers, select a theme or create your own and on the 'settings tab set options like allowing multiple answers, allowing voters to enter their own answers and much more. Next, click share and copy your poll Vote url to share with voters. You can also hit Embed to place the poll directly on your website or blog.'

Sources:
The 20 Best Online Survey Builder Tools (Zapier).
15 Good Tools for Quickly Gathering Feedback from Students (Free Technology for Teachers).
12 Great Formative Assessment Tools for Teachers (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning).
Teaching Tools: Surveys/Polling/Quizzes (Harvard Library).
13 Great free survey tools for teachers (Educational Technology and Mobile Learning).
Polling The Classroom: 4 Free Polling Tools to Keep Students Engaged (Open Education Database).

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17 of The Best Surveys and Polls Creation Tools for Teachers and Educators

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Over the last few months we have reviewed a number of interesting web tools and mobile apps teachers can use to collect students feedback. And as we have argued elsewhere, access to students feedback can positively impact both the teaching and learning process.

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Here is an example scale from Pinterest for scoring scales.

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Feedback should include constructive criticism that tells a child what they did well and what they can improve. The books states that this can happen between students as well, not just teacher and student.

Technology: Any cloud-based word processing tools, such as Google Drive or OneDrive, allow you to add in comments. Students and teachers could give each other feedback through comments. The book recommends including links in the comments for students to share extra sources or writing samples from past students. Screencasts can also be used for both teachers and students to specifically target which areas need improvement.

Implementation tip: For elementary students, their reading and writing skills should be considered. A student who struggles to read should may not benefit from written feedback. I like the screen recording idea for students to see exactly what parts of their work need improvement. However, in my opinion, nothing beats a one-on-one spoken conference with a student for feedback. :)