TackkandNonfiction

by:CatherineBriggs
ElizabethRosinski
WeiyanXia
WhyTechnology?
Astherapiddevelopmentofourworldandconstantemergingofnewtechnology,we
areinanewerabothforlearningandteaching.Wehavestudentsborninaworld
surroundedbytechnology,andwehaveaccesstosomuchdigitaltechnologyoronlinetools
andmoreareemerging.AstheNGeneration,ourstudentsareborninadigitalageand
technologyiseverywhereintheirlife,onandoffcampus,whichmakesthemthedigital
natives.Theyareviewingtheworldinadifferentwayfromours.Aseducators,teachersmust
beawareofthat.DonTapscottnotedthatTodayskidsaresobathedinbitsthattheythink
technologyispartofthenaturallandscape.Tothem,technologyisnomoreintimidatingthan
aVCRortoaster(ascitedinKajder,2003,p.23).Itisanunpreventableandunchangeable
movingdirectionforoureducationtoincorporateandintegratetechnologywithinourteaching
andstudentslearning.Thereisalreadyanexplosionoftechnologyapplicationforeducation
(Spires,2013).Teachingwithdigitaltoolsisapartofnewliteracies,andteachersarethe
changeagents(JohnHattiesVisibleLearning,2014).Ourstudentsarenowaccessinga
massamountofunscreenedinformation.Therefore,itbecomesasignificantgoalofour
schoolsandteachersHelpingthemsortthroughallofthisinformationandtakingthenext
steptoshowthemhowtoutilizeiteffectively(BushmanandHass,p.206).Researchby
Cuban(2001)foundthatevenwhenequipmentismadeavailable,studentsarentusingitto
extend,enrichandenhanceunderstandingTheyuseitinschooltocompleteassignments,
playgames,exploreCDROMsforinformation,andconductInternetresearches(ascitedin

Kajder,2003,p.8).Itisatrendtointegratetechnologyintoclassroomteaching.Wecantstop
thewave,thenwefollowandsurfonit.

AboutTPACK
Technologicalpedagogicalcontentknowledge(TPACK)istheframeworkofthe
teacherknowledgefortechnologyintegration.Ithelpsteacherstolinkthecontent,pedagogy
andtechnologytogetherinteractivelyandeffectively.Teachingiscomplicated.Itissomething
involvingpedagogy,psychology,interpersonalskills,disciplinaryknowledgedisciplinary
mind,synthesismind,creativemind,respectfulmind,andethicalmind.(Gardner,2009)And
teachingwithtechnologymakesitmorecomplex.Teachersnowalsoneedtomasterdigital
skillsandknowhowtouseonlinetools.Butifwestepback,andthinkaboutthisfromanother
angle,whichisthinkingofpedagogyfirst,technologysecond(TeachThoughtStaff,2014),it
willbecomeclearer.Wethinkaboutteachingobjectivesfirst,andthentoolsandtechnology
thatcanbeusedtoserveourgoals.

OurLessonandTackk
Ourlessonstartedfromourcompellingquestion:HowcanTackkhelpstudentsreach
theappropriatestandardbyintegratingtechnologyandthetextbooktoillustratetheir
understandingofnonfictiontextfeatures?Ourtargetstudentsgroupis4thgradersina
CatholicSchool.Theyarecurrentlyreadingnonfictiongenreandlearningaboutthe
nonfictiontextfeatures,includingtitle,subtitle,headings,photographs,captions,timelines,
andboldprint.
Tackkisafreeonlinetoolthatallowsstudentstocreateonepagewebcontentby
simpledragging,adding,andtypingwithoutanyfurtherdesigningortechnicalskills.Students

cansearchfortheimagesandvideostheywantontheTackkpagewithoutdownloadingthem
first.WeplannedtoletstudentsuseTackkastheirtooltohelpthemunderstandthese
nonfictiontextfeaturesanddisplaytheircomprehensionbycreatingaTackkpostercovering
allthoserequiredfeaturesinpairs.

RevisedBloomsforUs
TherearesixthinkinglevelsinBloomsTaxonomy,fromthebasictothehighest
includingknowing,understanding,applying,analysing,evaluatingandcreating.
Inourlesson,wecovered:
1. Knowing
Weletstudentsreadanonfictiontextandlearnaboutthenonfictionfeatures.
2. Understanding
Whenstudentswerereadingthenonfictiontext,theteacherexplainedthenonfiction
featurestothembyshowingwhatisincludedinthattext.Studentsthendemonstrated
theirlearningofthecharacteristicsviaTackk.
3. Applying
TheteacherrequiredstudentstomakeanonfictionposterwithTackkbasedonthe
texttheyreadinclass.Studentsappliedwhattheylearnedaboutnonfictionfeatures
totheirnonfictionposters.
4. AnalysingandEvaluating
Whenstudentswereworkingontheirnonfictionposters,theyneededtosearchonline
fortheinformationtheyneedontheirposters.Theimages,videosandarticlesonline
arenotfilteredbyanyoneforthem.Theyneedtoevaluatealltheinformationtheygot
toselectthecorrectonetouse.

5. Creating
MakinganonfictionposterwithTackkistheprocessofcreating.Studentsneedtobe
creativeabouttheoveralllayoutoftheirposters,inwhatwaytoorganizethepictures
willmaketheirpostersmoreattractive,andwhatvideotoputonwillstrengthentheir
posters.

LessonImplementation
ThelessonbeganwithourgrouplookingatTackkandfiguringouthowtoimplement
thiswebsiteintothecurriculumaswellaswiththestudents.Aftermanydiscussionsand
ideas,wesettledonusingTackkwithreadingandimplementingaskillbeingtaughttohelp
supportthestudentsandtheirlearningcreatively.Studentswillbepresentingnonfictiontext
featuresusingmainideaanddetailsfromaparagraphfoundintheirbasalreaderseries.
Studentsworkedinpairsforthisportionofthestory.
First,studentsreadthestoryofMaeJemisonintheirreadinggroups.Duringthe
reading,weworkedwithstudentspointingoutthemainideaanddetailsofspecific
paragraphsandpages.Studentsalsoworkedwithteachersandtheirgroupmemb
ersnoticingandlabelingthevarioustextfeaturesfoundinthestory.Someofthesewere:
boldedprint,pictures,captions,breakingupofinformation,quotes,anditalics.Oncethestory
wasread,andstudentscompletedthewrittenassessment,wemovedintotheTackkportion.
IncorporatingTackktookaweekofintroductionstothestudentsbeforetacklingtheproject.
WeintroducedthewebsiteonMondaybyshowingtwoTackksthatwecreatedourselvesone
onMaeJemison,andoneonacompletelydifferenttopic.OnMonday,wealsosenthome
permissionformsforparentstoconsenttostudentstobevideotaped.

TuesdayandWednesdaywerealsospentshowingthedifferentfeaturesofTackk
usingtheprojectorintheclassroom.Studentswerestillnotinteractingwiththewebsite,but
werebeingintroducedtoitinshortincrements.ByThursday,wefeltconfidentinhaving
studentsinteractwithTackk.
Atfirst,allwasgoinggreat.Studentswereworkingwiththeirpartnersassignedon
computers,andiPads.Withthisclassverycomfortablewithtechnologyduetotheschools
implementationofiPadsandaMacLabthreeyearsago,theheadteacher(Elizabeth)allowed
studentstoplaywiththewebsite.Studentswereinstructednotposttheirlastnamesor
picturesofthemselvesasTackkisanopenwebsite.Safetyprecautionsandinternetsecurity
arediscussedthroughouttheirschooling.Elizabethisastrongadvocatethatstudentsthese
daysknowmoretechnologythanteachersallowthemtoshow.Byallowingthemtoplay,
studentsfiguredouttheinandoutsofTackk,justliketheywouldwithavideogameathome
orsomethingonlinethatisanewfad.StudentsweredirectedtocreateaTackkabouta
famouspersongivingfactsabouttheirlifeorananimalintheworld.Whilewalkingaround,
ElizabethfoundthatherstudentswereactuallyfindingmorepartsofTackkthatshedidnt
takenoticetowhileresearchingthewebsite,whichiswhatshehaslearnedhappensmost
times.Anotherreasonstudentsexploredbeforetheactualprojectwassothefocusduring
instructiontimewasmoreforcompletingaprojectthenlearninganewsite.Shefindsthatthe
challengesoftechnologycomewhenstudentsarefrustratedorconfusedabouthowasiteor
gameworks.Withsometimededicatedtoplaying,studentsthencanfocusdirectlyontothe
projectinsteadoftryingtofigureoutthecoolestpartsofthesite.Italsoexpandstheir
creativitywhentheyrealizeothertoolsavailabletocreateanddecoratetheirproduct.
Duringtheplaytime,amajorobstaclewasdiscovered.Whileonestudent
researchedapictureofafamousfootballplayer,aninappropriatepictureappeared.Elizabeth

andherassistantresearchedthattherewasawaytoblockthepictures,buttimeconstraints
putaholdonthis.Inordertoeliminatethistroublespot,Elizabethcreatedawebpagethat
studentscouldaccesswhichcontainedpreapprovedphotosandvideosforusewiththe
product.Afterthedesignatedtimewasover,studentswereorallygiventhedirectionsforthe
MaeJemisonprojecttopreparethemfortheactualcreationoftheTackk.
TheactualimplementationofTackkinalessonforfourthgradersworkedoutgreat.All
studentsweregivenstepbystepdirectionsastowhatwasexpectedfromthemforthe
readingportion.Creativityandlayoutwascompletelyuptothem.Studentswentrighttowork.
First,theyfoundaparagraphinthestorythathadmainideaandstrongdetails.Theycreated
bulletpointsfortheseonapostitplacedinthetext.Oncestudentsweresignedoffashaving
selectedaparagraphandcorrectlyfolloweddirections,studentsloggedontoateacher
accountofTackkandcreatedtheirownmediaposter.Thiswasimportanttokeeptheir
individualnamesoffofthepublicinternet.UsingtheirGoogleDriveaccounts,students
accessedthepreapprovedpicturesandvideos.Theycopiedandpastedthemontotheir
postersaroundthemainideaandtypeddetails.Studentsworkedcooperativelywiththeir
partnersandtheproductsturnedoutexcellent.Allstudentsmetthestandardsandeach
projectwasuniqueandattractive.Itwashelpfulfortheteachertoprojecthowtocopyand
pastetheURLforvideoandphotosontoTackk.
Attheendoftheproject,studentsdidnotpublishtheirTackksasitissuchanopen
site.Instead,Elizabethgradedthemontherubrictheyweregivenpriortothestartofthe
projectviatheaccountstudentscomposedtheirTackkson.

Challenges&Successes

AlthoughtheoverallPBIprocesswentwellforus,wedidnotcompletethisexercise
withoutmeetingourfairshareofchallenges.Thefirstchallengewemetwasindecidingon
thepiece(orpieces)ofreadingthestudentswouldfocusonfortheirTackkprojects.
Originally,weplannedforstudentsinElizabethsclasstocreatetheirTackksbasedonthe
leveledreadingbookstheyweresupposedtobereadingatthetime.Duetotimecontraints
withinElizabethsclassroom,wewerenotabletousetheleveledreadingsasthematerialfor
theTackkprojectwehadtoreviseourplantoincludetheshortreadingonMaeJemmison
fromthestudentsreadingtextbooks.Thisbynomeansruinedourproject,butwasa
reminderthatwhenworkinginaschoolenvironment,thingsareoftenoutofateachers
controlandflexibilityisrequired.
Anothersetofchallengeswewerefacedwithrevolvedaroundthestudentsuseof
technology.Althoughmost,ifnotall,ofthestudentsinElizabethsclassroomarefamiliarand
comfortablewithtechnology,therewasstillalearningcurveinvolvedinintroducingTackk.In
orderforthestudentstouseTackkonthedaywecompletedtheproject,itwasnecessaryfor
themtospendtimegettingfamiliarwiththeprogrambeforehand.ThismeantthatElizabeth
hadtosetasideasubstantialamountofclasstimeinthedaysbeforetheprojectinorderto
allowthestudentstimetolearnaboutTackk.Thispracticetimewiththeprogramprovedtobe
helpfulbecausewewereabletolearnafewimportantthingsaboutTackkalongtheway.We
learnedthatwhensearchingforimageswithinTackk,studentsareabletosearchforandfind
imagesofanything.Thismeantthatstudentshadaccesstoinappropriateandirrelevant
materials.Becauseoftheagegroupwewereworkingwith,Elizabethdecidedtocreatea
GoogleDocwithaselectionofimagesandvideosforthestudentstochoosefromwhen
creatingtheirTackks.Thiswaytherewasnoriskofstudentsstumblinguponinappropriate
materialontheInternet.ThisallowedforagreatteachablemomentonInternetsafety.

Despiteafewchallenges,weexperiencedmuchsuccessinourPBI.Thesechallenges
rangedfromourownpersonalgainsandinsightstoresoundinginterestinTackkfrom
Elizabethsstudents.BasedonourinterviewswithElizabethsstudents,itappearsthatwe
metouroriginalgoalwhichwastoimprovestudentsunderstandingsofnonfictiontext
featuresthroughtheuseofTackk.Webelieveweaccomplishedthisgoalbasedonthe
comprehensiveTackksmadebythestudentswhichdisplayedtheirunderstandingsof
nonfictiontextfeatures.Notonlywerethestudentsabletolearnaboutnonfictiontext
featuresmoreindepth,buttheyalsoreportedthattheyhadagreattimedoingit.Each
studentinterviewedstatedthattheyenjoyedusingTackkfortheprojectandthattheywould
liketouseitinothersubjects.Studentscameupwithmultipleothersubjectsandprojectsfor
whichtheycoulduseTackk.Theoverallenjoymentexperiencedbythestudentswhile
participatinginameaningful,educationalactivitywasanenormoussuccess.

Collaboration
Ourgroupwasabletocollaborateextremelywelltogetherbothcreativelyand
academically.DuetothefactthatElizabethiscurrentlytheonlyoneinourgroupwithherown
classroom,itwasclearthatwewouldneedtouseherstudentsforourproject.Webegan
meetingtodecidewhatwewereinterestedinandhowwewouldcarryoutourproject.After
Weiyanjoinedthegroup,thethreeofusstartedcollaboratingtoworktowardourfinished
product.WesharedideasforourPBIopenlyandworkedtogethertofamiliarizeourselveswith
Tackkandtodecidehowbestforthestudentstousethesite.OnceaplanforthePBIwasin
placeweworkedcollaborativelyinpersonandviaGoogleDocstodetermineeachstepofthe
project.WeworkedtogetherinElizabethsschooltohelpthestudentstocompletetheir
projectandinterviewthem.Oncethestudentportionoftheprojectwascomplete,wemetto

puttogetherourPBIvideo.Wefoundthatthethreeofuswereabletoworktogether
extremelywellincreatingourvideo.Weeachmadesuggestionsandmadeouropinions
knownaswecompiledthevideo.Wewereabletolearnaboutourselves,ascollaborators,
thatwewereabletoworkwellasagrouptoexploreeachothersstrengthsespeciallyin
termsoftechnologyuse.Wewereabletoinspireeachotherbasedonourownexperiences
andbackgroundsinordertocompleteourproject.

OurVideo
Click
HERE
toviewourvideo.

References

Spires,H.,Hervery,L.,&Watson,T.(2013),ScaffoldingtheTPACKFrameworkinReading
andKoehler,M.J.,&Mishra,P.(2009),LanguageArts,WhatisTPACK,
JohnHattiesVideo,VisibleLearning(2014)
Bushman,J.H.&Hass,K.P.,UsingYoungAdultLiteratureintheEnglishClassroom,2006
ThinkPedagogyFirst,TechnologySecond,TeachTought,2014
(
http://www.teachthought.com/technology/thinkpedagogyfirsttechnologysecond/
)

AppendixI

Names________________________________________
MaeJemisonTackkProject

Goal:Workingwithyourpartner,youregoalistocreateavirtualposterdescribingaportionofMaeslife.
Youwillbeusingyourreadertohelpyouwithinformation.Youneedtoworkcooperativelyandquickly!
Watchyourtimingandstayfocused!

Stepone:Findaparagraphinthestorythathasastrongmainideaandsupportingdetails.Useapostitto
markyourparagraphdown.Onthatpostit,workingtogether,makebulletpointsforthemainideaandlistat
leastthreedetails.(Ifyoucannotfindthreedetails,raiseyourhand.)

Steptwo:
*Logontothecomputers.GotoSafariandtypein

www.tackk.com
*ClickonLogIn
*username:
erosinski@saintraphael.org
password:srcs2014
*ClickonCreateandscrolldowntoClassAssignment

Stepthree:
*YOUWILLBEADDINGPICTURESANDFEATURESLATER!
*ScrolldownbelowthepictureandnoticetheparagraphwrittenaboutTackk.Onceyouclickthere,
itwilldissapearandyoucanstarttyping.
*YouneedtotypeupMainIdeaandmakeitbold,likeinanonfictionbooksoweknowwhatthis
paragraphisabout.
*Next,listeachdetailyouwrotedownaboutthatmainidea.
*Afteryoulistall,clickonthemainideaandyouwillseeab
thiswillboldyourmainidea
boldingisatextfeatureonnonfiction!
Afterthisstep,stopworkingandgoontomysqworlpagewithyourpartneruntilthewholeclassis
readytomoveontothecreativityportion.

Stepfour:
*AddphotographstomakeyourTackkcomealive!FollowthestepsfromMissRosinskiandhave
fun!Addasmanyphotosorvideosasyoucanfindorwouldlike!

Stepfive:
*WhenyouareCOMPLETELYfinished,clickonpublishTackk

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AppendixII

Criteria

Excellent
FullCredit
20points

Good
HalfCredit
10points

Poor
LittleCredit
5points

Score

Content:
Isthecontentof
theproductwell
chosen?

Contentchosen
basedon
knowledgeofthe
MaeJemison
story.

Informationis
relatedtotheMae
Jemisonstory,but
itnotaccurate.

Informationdoes
notappeartobe
relatedtotheMae
Jemisonstory.

Completeness:
Iseverything
includedinthe
product?

Allrequired
informationis
included.This
includes:
MainIdea

Some important
information or
requirements are
missing.

Most important
information and
requirements are
missing. The product
does not meet the
task, or does not
meet criteria.

andDetailsfroma
specificparagraphin
thestory,boldedprint,
photo,title,subtitle,
yourfirstnames.

Creativity:
Istheproduct
original?

Tackkiscreative
Tackkiscreative
anduniquetoeach butnotuniqueto
partner
pair.

Tackkisplainand
notunique.

Correctness:
Isallthe
information
includedcorrect?

Allinformation
presentedinthe
productiscorrect
andaccurate.

N/A

Anyportionofthe

information
presentedinthe
productisincorrect.

Appropriate
Communication:
Istheinformation
intheproductwell
communicated?

Allinformationis
neatandeasyto
read.Tackk
contains13
spelling/grammar
errors.

MostoftheTackk
productisneat
andeasytoread.
Thereare47
spelling/grammar
errors.

TheTackkproduct
isnotneatand
easytoreadorthe
productisnotinthe
appropriateformat
(Tackk).Project
contains8ormore
spelling/grammar
errors.

TotalGrade:

11

AppendixIII

DearParent/Guardian,

October28,2014

AsacomponentofmystudiesatNorthCarolinaStateUniversity,Iam
participatinginaprojectdesignedtoassessmyunderstandingofProjectBasedInquiry.
Toprovideevidenceofmyeffectiveness,thisprojectrequiresthatIvideorecord
lessons.Thefocusofthisvideowillbetechnologyimplementationintheclassroom.
Somestudentsmayalsobeinterviewedfortheprojectandthisinterviewmaybe
includedinthevideo.Additionally,theprojectrequiresthatIsubmitsamplesof
studentswork.Toensureconfidentiality,nostudentslastnamewillappearonany
materialthatIsubmitincludingthevideorecording.Thesubmittedmaterialsforthe
projectwillnotbeusedforanypurposeotherthanmyassessmentandwillnotbe
distributedbeyondmyassessors.

Thankyouinadvanceforyoursupportinthisprocess.Pleasecontactmeifyou
haveanyquestionsorconcernsaboutthisprocess.

Sincerely,

__________________________________
ElizabethRosinski
NorthCarolinaStateUniversity
CollegeofEducation

Checkonethatapplies:

_____Yes,Igiveconsentformychildtobefilmed/interviewed.

_____No,Idonotwantmychildtobefilmed/interviewed.

___________________________________
Parent/GuardianSignature
12