information is available; this color-coding also differentiates between student and instructor-posted material. Instructors can choose to let students post anonymously or with their identities shown, and they are able to endorse student responses that they feel are particularly strong. This allows students to feel safe asking any questions and responding to one another.
practices, and caring for younger siblings, students are involved in a number of different extracurricular activities every day, making it almost impossible for their free time to align with that of their peers. That is where Piazza comes in! Students can collaborate on their own time to assign roles, generate ideas, and complete any group assignment. Instructors are also able to monitor everyone’s progress and participation to ensure each group member is pulling his or her own weight.
Piazza includes a variety of tools that allows both students and instructors to post responses, help answer questions, and create new questions and material for collaboration. This is more efficient for teachers because they no longer need to repeatedly answer the same question from different students via e-mail. Whenever a new question is asked or a new response is posted, it is highlighted in a different color to show that new
To get started, all instructors need to do is register a class page under their school’s name. Once the class page is established, teachers then invite students by either giving them a signup link or entering their e-mail addresses in the Settings tab; students will then automatically receive a link to activate their account. Do not let another student question go unanswered ever again! Sign up today and allow students to explore, respond, and collaborate in the cyberspace world of Piazza!
References:
Rusli, E. M. (2011, July 3). Homework help site has a social networking twist. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes. com/2011/07/04/technology/
04piazza.html?pagewanted=2&_
r=1&ref=homework
Caitlin Stansell recently completed the Master of Arts in Educational Studies with Secondary Teacher Certification program at the University of Michigan and is now substitute teaching high school English in the Lansing area. She can be reached via e-mail at:
cstansel@umich.edu.
The New and Really Cool 21things4students By Sue Schwartz
http://remc.org
The 21things4students (
21things4students.net) Project was developed to equip students with 21st Century Technology Skills, for success in their education, jobs, and lifelong learning experiences. 21things4students was specifically funded by the REMC Association of Michigan to provide districts with resources to help students meet or exceed the 8th
grade
technology proficiency requirements in Michigan. Over 700 educators from Michigan and across the country use this resource with 10s of 1,000s of their students.
The 21things4students (21t4s) design team of Carolyn McCarthy-Project Manager, Jan Harding and Jennifer Parker-Moore-Macomb ISD and Melissa White-Ingham ISD along with members of the REMC Instructional Technology Specialists and classroom educators took two years of feedback from students and teachers and made many improvements to the website this past summer.
The new 21things4students site, launched this past August, features a more “kid-friendly” look and feel, more videos and interactivity, a more game-like approach (with points, badges
MACULJOURNAL | Winter 2013
and achievement levels), less text on the pages and more audio options for listening to the introductions and directions. The teacher web links and lessons have been updated and/or revised with the addition of some of the activities contributed by the educators using this site.
Students start off as Recruits to the 21t4s Academy. They begin with a Basic Orientation, graduate to a
“Cadet” and then become “21t4s” Agent attending the 21t4s Agency”. Upon completing all of the 21 things-missions made up of quests (projects)-the 21t4s Graduate is presented with a printable certificate. Teachers are the SSI Department Chief (Secret School Instructor). They approve student work and award badges and gems for completed things.
We hope students and teacher alike enjoy this Project and learn a lot of new skills.
If you have any questions about the REMC Association or its Projects, please contact me at
sueschwartz@remc.org.
Sue Schwartz is the Executive Director for the REMC Association.
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