Disclaimer: This information is written specifically for parents and caregivers at home with students during school closures for COVID-19. We encourage educators to share this information with their classroom communities. Educators looking for content connections and resources to integrate card and board games into their curriculum should contact their Digital Learning Consultant for additional information and support.

You’ve built a fort, cleaned rooms, watched Netflix, and started a daily schedule. Now what? What else can you do with your kids to keep them happy and maybe even learning something? Dig out those old board games from the back of the closet and find a deck of cards. 

Team Rogers are big fans of tabletop gaming and card games. Not only are we all together, but we’re engaged in the 4C’s (Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, and Creativity) without feeling like it’s school or learning. I’m always amazed at the strategy, humor, and language that sneaks into our home when we’re playing games together at our dinner table.
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Here are some ideas to help you get started or extend your current gaming experience:

KEEP IT SIMPLE
Use the games you have. Play by the rules.

• Deck of Cards: Bicycle Cards has a great resource of card games you can play with kids. Our family loves games like Rummy that requires kids to use critical thinking, logic, and sequencing skills. 
• Common Card Games: Games like Uno, Skip-Bo, and Phase-10 reinforce skills like pattern recognition, turn-taking, and communication with other players.
• Common Board Games: Dust off Monopoly, Candyland, Scrabble, Connect 4, or Chess & Checkers to get kids using their negotiation, language, and logic skills.​

GET CREATIVE
Change the rules of common card/board games. Try something new.

• Add Rules to Common Card/Board Games: Take the card and board games you already have and challenge each other to add a new rule. Each family member could take turns justifying and persuading the others before a family vote.
• Try Free Print and Play Games: PNPArcade.com keeps an updated list of free print and play games for you and your family to try. Potions Class was created by nine-year-old kid named Owen who also created an online tutorial to teach the game rules. 
• Connect and Play Card/Board Games Online: Brooklyn Game Lab is hosting a live stream and providing print and play sheets so families can connect through gaming. They shared on their website that “Most of the content will have an element of participation. We will play games with you. Tell stories. Share interests. We will draw and dance and try our damnedest to bring some levity and joy into your homes. And the homes of anyone who needs it.” Team Rogers is really excited about giving this a try!

DELIVER THE FUN
Add a game to your next grocery pick-up or package delivery. Set up a porch swap game trade with friends.

• Quick and Inexpensive Games: No matter which store you’re ordering from, you can’t go wrong by adding Qwirkle Rummy, Patchwork Doodle, or Sushi Go. All three games are quick plays and will engage families in pattern recognition, critical thinking, spatial reasoning, and creative expression.
• Trade Games with Friends: Our family uses a site called Board Game Geek to keep track of our game collection. If you’re already a big fan of tabletop gaming, why not set up a game trade. You can keep your social distancing by setting up a porch swap of games and share reviews with each other later.
• Purchase with Content in Mind: If you really want to focus on a topic, you can reach out to your Friendly Local Game Store (FLGS) and ask about content specific games. (Our FLGS is providing curbside pick-up and delivery right now!) Here’s a list Gina Rogers and I created last spring for teachers with content connection ideas. I’m a big fan of Elizabeth Hargrave’s game Wingspan, which has lots of facts about bird species and habitats, and any of the Fluxx games like Anatomy Fluxx, Chemistry Fluxx, Math Fluxx, and Nature Fluxx.

Bottom line, get out a card or board game and have fun! Playing games together creates a sense of safety and belonging which both parents/caregivers and kids need right now. And you might just sneak in a little learning, too, if that makes you feel better.

You can also check out this Wakelet with Card and Board Games Resources. I will continue to add resources as I find them.

Feel free to contact Corey Rogers (@corey_rogers) or Glen Rogers (@glitglatglen) on twitter for game recommendations or to set up a game trade in the Iowa City area. #bettertogether

~ Corey Rogers, Digital Learning Consultant
​@corey_rogers

What does Making or Maker Experiences mean to you?
We'd love to hear your thoughts!  Add a comment below to join in on the conversation and make sure that you are following along with #MakerMarch all month long.
And remember #HaveFunMaking!

~Amber Bridge, Digital Learning Consultant
@abridgesmith

A few years ago, while I was still in the classroom, my initial understanding of ‘Blended Learning’ was simply ‘doing centers.’ As a seasoned primary teacher, I shrugged my shoulders at a practice I felt I already had a firm grasp on. However, as time marches on, I find myself reflecting on what my students were doing during literacy centers and realized, in fact, I was not the 'Centers Sensei' I proclaimed to be. Although my students were compliant and probably having some fun, I’m not sure the activities I planned were actually practicing standards-based skills or furthering understanding. My students were quiet. My students were busy. But what tweaks would I make today to make it more meaningful? As I continue to deepen my understanding, I asked Jess Quandahl, a fellow Blended/Personalized Learning teammate and Literacy Consultant, to help me plan a more blended/personalized approach to something I was very familiar with--The Daily 5. 

When Jess and I sat down together, we created a checklist of important points to focus on while we planned for this station rotation model. This checklist could be used not only for planning Daily 5 stations, but for the planning of any centers or rotations. This list helped us to design around the literacy standards addressed in core instruction, while also keeping in mind accountability, which can often be a pain point during a centers or station rotation model. 

• What do we want the students to know?
• ​How will they demonstrate/practice?
• Where will I build in voice and choice?
• How will I know what they know?
• What tools will I use?

​The following is an example of how we used the checklist to plan for a three day station rotation in a K-2 classroom.

When looking at the K-2 Literacy Standards, we chose

• Reading Standards for Literature 1 (RL.1)
• Writing Standard 1 (W.1)
• Speaking and Listening Standards 5 and 6 (SL.5, SL.6)

with the assumption that the core instruction is centered around these standards and that the centers/stations are to further proficiency or to demonstrate proficiency in these standards. 

For this centers approach (or station rotation), we make the general assumption that routines, procedures, and expectations have been modeled and practiced prior to the usage of these activities. Jess and I would also like to point out that when planning these activities, any text or writing prompts could be plopped into this table. When a new activity or center is created, make sure to allow for time to establish (or reestablish) expectations.
Below you will find an example of a three-day hybrid playlist that incorporates choice. You will notice that there are must-dos and may-dos on this choice board. Each section allows for students to choose an option to allow for more voice and choice. Within each section a purpose is stated for the learning activity based on a standard. This makes the choice board fairly text heavy and might not be advantageous for all learners. However, all students should be aware and understand the purpose for each learning opportunity they engage in.  Descriptions of each section are below the graphic.

You can also find this hybrid playlist here.

Read to Self: Students may reread the whole group text by reading the pictures, reading the words, or retelling the story. Students may choose to read a story from their personalized book box. Additional option: you may want to have an audio recording of the story available for students to listen to the story, if needed. By clicking on the link or scanning the QR code in this box (with mobile device), students can have immediate access.

Listen to Reading: There are hyperlinks and QR codes for students to access digital stories.
Showing students how to turn on Closed Captioning also gives them access to the text to follow along.

Work on Writing: Students are able to draw or write, depending on need. Standard W.1 requires students to state the name of the book, an opinion, supporting evidence, and a conclusion (depending on readiness). Make sure students know they will be sharing with a partner on day three. They also have the option to share to a larger audience through Seesaw.

Read to Someone: Using writing from day one and two gives the writing more purpose! Make sure students are aware they will be sharing their writing with an audience. It’s important to have modeled how to ask clarifying questions or to give prompts to get them started.

Work on Designing: Collaborating over writings from day one and day two, students can choose one character from a story read earlier in the week. Then, students design a t-shirt the character would like to wear. This could include a slogan, a picture, or maybe a t-shirt that solves a problem for the character (for example, keeps them dry in the rain).

Word Work: Students will choose one or two words to input into a Frayer Model to demonstrate understanding of the word. Students can choose to work independently or with a partner.

A new Think, Make, Innovate has arrived!  This month we are highlighting Christina Root’s second graders at All Saints Catholic Elementary in Cedar Rapids (@asbruinsnation)!

What is a makerspace without communication and collaboration? When we ask students to share their ideas, it flexes the making muscles and leads to refinement and reflection. Students have to voice their successes and challenges and open up for feedback. You can do this in a variety of ways in your classroom or makerspace. But, always begin with modeling and setting expectations! 

• What does it look like to share to a group? 
• How will we provide feedback to our peers? (I like, I wish, What if)
• How will we receive feedback? (Feedback Capture Grid)

These discussions should be your starting point. Never assume students are experts when collaborating or communicating!

A non-tech option might be a gallery walk when students share face-to-face in small groups. ‘Shark Tank’ can be a fun way to demo your ideas and receive feedback in a larger group setting too. Varying sharing situations requires students to alter how and what we might share with different types of audiences. 
Another idea could be to have a “Maker Museum” or even a “Museum of Fails” that showcase what students have made--successfully and unsuccessfully. Don’t have a large space? Create small exhibit areas around your building instead! But a little tip from us to you--(thanks, Dr. Robert Dillon!), make sure to put an expiration date on your displays! Don’t let it get overcrowded or stale!

But that’s not all! Consider students with anxiety when having to share face-to-face. Or, what will we do when we want to share to a broader audience? Enter technology.
In our student video below, you can observe second grade students sharing via Seesaw. You will observe these students sharing with video or with pictures and audio recording. But no matter how they share, one thing they have in common is honest, insightful reflection. If you aren’t a Seesaw user, no problem! Flipgrid is also a great tool that has the same great tools built right in!

Our Maker Community wants to see what you make! Please email pictures and videos to makerspace@gwaea.org. You can also tag @DLGWAEA on any social media platform! And make sure to use... 

​#HaveFunMaking!

​~Amber and Mindy

January 2020 was an important month for YouTube because it marked the rollout of a number of new changes that will indelibly affect the future of the platform and the people who use it. For teachers, and for schools, these are important changes to be aware of as they look to curate content, upload content, and work with students to do the same. So, here's a quick summary of what you need to know. 

Investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the New York Attorney General found Google to be guilty of violating the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, (COPPA). It was judged to be guilty of collecting data from kids under 13 and using that data to serve personalized ads to those users. This is a direct violation of COPPA. Google were served a fine of $174m, and, perhaps more importantly, it was compelled to make changes to to YouTube. These changes would make YouTube compliant with the terms of COPPA, but they would also alter the way that YouTube works for its users.

In short, the biggest change is that you now need to choose an audience for the videos you upload to YouTube. More specifically, you have to say whether your video is made for kids, or not made for kids. You can set this option as a channel-wide setting, or make the decision on a case by case basis when you upload your videos. Once YouTube knows the intended audience for a video, it can turn off features like data collection and personalized ads in order to better comply with COPPA.

Well, it might not, but if you mark a channel or video as made for kids, there are some other things you should know about. For instance, your video will no longer autoplay on the YouTube homepage, you can't add cards or end screens, the notification bell is disabled, and your video can't be added to a playlist or to the watch later list. Videos that are marked as made for kids, are also more likely to be promoted alongside other videos that have the same designation, so this could affect your discoverability on YouTube. 

​However, these are just some of the features that are disabled with the made for kids audience setting. You can see the full list here on Google's support page. Playlists are probably the biggest drawback, but there is nothing stopping you adding your videos to a Wakelet collection or to a Google Slides presentation as an alternative. 

This can be a bit of a gray area, but YouTube does have some guidance for you. If children under the age of 13 are the primary audience for your video, then your video should be labelled as made for kids. If children are in your video, or your video has toys, characters, or animation aimed at children, then it should also be labelled made for kids. Songs, stories and poems directed at children are also in this category. More information here. 

Although this can be confusing for some people, ultimately the responsibility as to what choice you make does like with you as the account holder. YouTube says, "As a creator, you know your videos and your audience best, and it is your legal responsibility to comply with COPPA and/or other applicable laws and designate your content accurately. If you fail to categorize your content correctly, there may be consequences on YouTube. Additionally, there may be legal consequences under the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) or other applicable local laws." (Source)

As Amber Bridge said on a recent episode of our podcast, think about the age of your students. If your students are 13 years or older, then you probably don't have a lot to worry about here. You will not need to mark your content as made for kids, because the videos you upload to YouTube for your students are aimed at an audience that is 13 or older. However, if you are an elementary teacher, you may need to think a little harder about this. Are you creating a video for your students or for other teachers? These would be a different audience, and that is absolutely fine because you always have the option of picking and choosing your audience depending on the content of your video.

​For instance, a school YouTube channel may have some classroom videos that fall into the "made for kids" category, and some others that are more directed at parents, so they would be labelled as "not made for kids". It would just depend on the content. All you do is be mindful when uploading your videos and use your best judgement to make sure you comply with the new changes. 

In addition to the video above, Google has some support documents that address most of the issues surrounding the audience settings on YouTube. Those articles are linked below, along with episode 71 of The Edtech Take Out, which also features a conversation around the same topic!

• Frequently asked questions about “made for kids”
• Determining if your content is "made for kids"
• Set your channel or video’s audience

Subscribe in Apple Podcasts | Subscribe on Android

If you have questions about any of these changes and the impact it has on you or your students, contact your Digital Learning Consultant for more information!

Jonathan Wylie
Digital Learning Consultant
Grant Wood AEA

A new Think, Make, Innovate is out and we are giving you a behind the scenes connection with Sara Pflughaupt, Solon Community School District's Teacher Librarian (@scsdlibraries) in this guest blog post.​