Padlet
There are a lot of ways to incorporate Padlet into the classroom. It is so quick and simple that it is an easy was for students to share their ideas, questions, and comments. One of my favorites was the clarifying questions. I could see this helping when I am teaching a mini-lesson or when they are in a station. I can have a link to a Padlet where they can ask a question. There may be a concept that they do not understand or an instruction that they do not understand. Instead of them raising their hand and waiting until I can get to them, they can just post the question on Padlet and I can address it when I am available. This will keep them from forgetting their question and it may also be a question that someone else had but was afraid to ask. I can also see myself using this as "bell work". I can have a question on the board that they reply to with a padlet. Sometimes this question may be silly, but other times it could be content related. It can be something we discuss in morning meeting. This will get them writing everyday. I will make them post as a complete sentence with a capital letter and a period that way they are in correct practice. https://drive.google.com/open?id=1y9hIflBoRAfKQGID3PpvPKhPw4XKWA12VyfXvb3r9so Education Galaxy One thing I would like to try is Education Galaxy. I love that it addresses Texas TEKS and has the students playing interactive games. I can see myself using this as a station one or two days a week and assigning something that is relevant to the unit. This is also good because they take an assessment to see what level they are on so I will know what to assign to them. After benchmark assessments, I can create groups that need work in different areas. I think this would be very beneficial in my classroom. Reflection over iTransform This week has been very informative. I am really going to strive to become a blended classroom. Because 4th grade is going to be 1:1 I want to look for ways to use stations in my blended classroom. It all seems a little bit overwhelming right now just because I don't know how I am going to set up the stations or what it will look like. Once I have time to digest everything and really focus on just a few strategies from this course I think it will become more realistic. We covered so much information in this course so I think I really just need to focus on a few things to implement at a time rather than everything at once. The two things that I think I want to implement first will be regularly writing and reflecting on our Weebly's as a class. The other thing I think I want to focus on is incorporating flipped lessons into Canvas courses for the students to watch for homework.
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Student portfolios are beneficial to the students on many levels. They can help the student keep track of the growth they have made by setting goals, it can give them a purpose for putting their best effort into a project, and it helps them remember what they learned in grades as they go through their school year.
As we move into this next school year, I am going to try and incorporate more student blogging. I would like to focus on them making a goal page so that they can always go back there and see how they are meeting those goals. I also want them to do regular reflecting because self reflection creates growth. This will also be beneficial for the teacher because if you see the goals they have set before themselves you can help them create a pathway to succeed at their goals. It can be something I use to encourage my students. The way the reflection part will be beneficial to me is seeing what the students are really grasping and what they are struggling with. Or maybe I can see what really interests them and create more lessons off of that. A goal that I am going to set to ensure their portfolio is being well developed is to pick a day of the week that is set aside from blogging. What we do on that day will depend on what is going on in the classroom. The day may be reflecting on what we are learning in that current unit- what they have learned in it, what they would like to continue learning, what peaks their interest. It may be a day where they upload a project they have worked hard on. I want them to be able to showcase and remember the projects from my classroom that fostered learning. One day it may be taking a look at the goals they set for themselves at the beginning of the year and where they are in meeting those goals. If they have already met those goals, they will take the time to set new ones. I think that by setting a day and time aside each week for blogging that it will become part of our routine and it will be more like to get taken care of than just trying to remember every now and then to upload a project. My lesson plan is nearly finished. I will just need to create my flipped lesson and my screencast explaining the lesson. I am excited to do this lesson in the unit because if my pacing is correct it will last about 2 weeks. I think it is something the students will get really invested in. It will be authentic information in both in reading and writing which will help with the productiveness of their learning. This lesson is extremely technology infused from research in the very beginning to a video at the very end. The thing that I am most worried about are the students converting their research into expository writing. I am hoping the template that I create for their research requirements will help them find the information they need for their expository writing.
What was a big take away from yesterday?
In today's classroom we all know that we all know the important ingredients to a successful classroom: building on background knowledge, hands-on learning, safe environment, use of technology, etc. Any teacher can tell you that is what will create productive learning. However, even though we know all that to be true, most classrooms are still focused on "block minutes", test scores, teaching to curriculum, etc. This is because it's they way we have known the classroom, the way we think we can increase our test scores, the way we think our classroom will be best managed. None of that is true though. When we start working towards what we know the classroom should look like rather than what we think is expected, we will have more productive learning. When we grab our students attention with the use of hands-on technology, they will want to learn. If the student does not want to learn about something, then they will not improve. How can you see yourself using something we did yesterday in your classroom? I can see myself integrating technology on a more regular basis than what I did last year. I want to give my students something to look forward to. We have so many wonderful resources and I do not want those to go to waste. One thing that I thought of as I was reflecting last night is using Google VR to let my students explore a place or an animal or something that peaks their interest that they will eventually write an expository piece of writing on. I think by giving them those real experiences that they have not had before that it will really drive them to take charge of their own learning. What affordances do you now feel technology can bring to your students? Our students current "experiences" are way different than those experiences that we had when we were growing up. Their electronic devices are essentially a part of them now. It is a part of their identity. Instead of letting that hinder our lessons/plans, we can use it to our advantage. There is so much technology out there now that provides educational resources. We know that our kids love being around technology and being a part of it so when we incorporate it into our classroom, they will have more productive learning. How can technology assist in assessing your students and giving immediate feedback? There are a lot of formative assessment tools that incorporate technology. For example, if we are wanting immediate feedback, we can use Plickers. Quickly ask a question and have your students raise their Plicker card to see how many are grasping a concept and how many of them still need more time on it. We can let this guide our reteaching and small groups. What can you do to integrate technology more into your class? I'm hoping a lot of this will happen naturally in the classroom with 4th grade going 1:1. I want to create stations that provide choice for my students and maybe at the end of each unit do a project that includes a different type of technology. I am hoping to use Canvas for my stations as well so that the students can always interact with each other, ask questions and do some critical thinking. In the classroom last year, I was mostly at the substitution level of SAMR. Occasionally I would be at augmentation. The main way I used substitution and augmentation is during writing. Once the students would complete a piece of writing, they would type it on their Weebly. This takes it from just pencil and paper to something their peers can see and comment on. One way I can take this further is using a recording app for them to potentially further explain their topic/argument or to record themselves giving feedback on other peers papers.
Another way I was at the augmentation level was through the regular use of Quizziz. I would take vocabulary the students would need to master for that specific unit and put it into a quiz. I would give the assessment at the beginning of the unit and at the end to see how much growth occurred. The reason this is only at augmentation and not modification or redefinition is because it is only checking for their understanding. It does not involve critical thinking. One way I could take this assessment further is to give each of the students a vocabulary word and have them create a flipgrid on it to explain their word. This would involve more critical thinking. I think with 4th grade going 1:1 that it will be really important for me to learn how to authentically reach the modification and redefinition levels. Flipgrid is a tool that can be very resourceful for my classroom:
Pros: * All students can use it on their own device * It is a way to check for student understanding on a concept * It can be used as a choice in a station rotation * It helps students who cannot get their thoughts across in writing * Students can watch their peers videos and learn something that they may not have understood Cons: * Shy students may not be willing to share as much as you are wanting In my opinion the pros obviously outweigh the cons. I will be using Flipgrids in stations for different reasons. One that I have in my head right now would be during RTI. While I am working with a small group, other students will be working on a differentiated lesson and could post on Flipgrid a summary of what they learned. Another thing that I find rewarding through this application is that I can have multiple students record at one time and go back and listen to them later to check on their understanding of a lesson. This will allow me to see who grasps a concept and who is struggling. My main technology learning goal for this school year is to provide opportunities for student choice. My reading partners and I are going to try and use Canvas this year for our lessons because 4th grade is going to be 1:1. I'm hoping that by implementing the use of Canvas, we can create a menu of learning opportunities for our students. They will have to choose a number of activities to choose to reach a certain amount of points for the day/week. These lessons can include videos, flipped lessons, student flipgrids, and other varieties of technology oriented assignments. My hope is that by allowing student choice, it will allow them to take control of their own learning. It will encourage them to choose what interests them and will create more productive learning. While this will take more time to plan and implement, the positive effect that it will have on the students learning will make it worth it.
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