The Prologue
After it was announced at the end of the year staff meeting that I would be moving to second grade, our technology support staff for the building bounded over to me eager to talk about the coming year. "I'm so glad it's you in that room! It's where all of the grade level technology is housed! I know you will use it!" However, my brain was not on iPads and MacBooks. It was on the beach and late cups of coffee after a morning of trying to get in some yoga with my kids crawling all over me.
So on the first inservice day of the summer, I happened upon my new home in the second grade basement wing of our historic school building. To say I was overwhelmed is an understatement. To say I was underprepared is accurate. The first month and a half was a time of treading water...well more like bobbing and coming up for air every once in a while. As I tried to sort through my new habitat, standards and curriculum, and to strike a balance between that and grad work and my personal life, the technology sat tight, neatly charging in their little carts with baskets of pre-decodable readers and other inappropriate-for-second grade materials. I mean, I clearly did not have time to mess with logging kids into sites and dealing with locked out technology.
And so was the birth of my first mistake misconception.
The Story
Eventually, with the new technologies being introduced to me through my EDT courses, I couldn't put it off any longer. I unlocked the cart, swiffered the Apple products, and got to work.
My first task was to update all technology and acquire the apps I needed. I started with SeeSaw. From my research, it seemed appropriate, user friendly, and fun. I submitted my request with our district technology department and they ran with it. It was approved and made available on all elementary school devices in our district. WIN! To my surprise, the kids were like old pros handling the equipment (well most of them). WIN again!
The first week was solely for my use. I took pictures of student work and students at work. I practiced posting and loading into appropriate folders. The next week, I introduced it to the class. I taught them how to login with the QR code posted in our room, how to take a photo in the app, and how to find their own folders to load them into.
Since then, parents have been invited to share in the experience of their online portfolios. We have taken videos of students explaining concepts and work they are doing in class, and have even uploaded help videos for parents. There is so much more to learn with this app, and I am confident this next year will bring more use for this app in the classroom.
Next, I tried Kahoot. This was a hit! Students love this game as a way to compete with each other while also practicing their skills and showing what they know. Unfortunately, the connection in my room kept dropping iPads while using devices with the entire class. This problem was very recently addressed and I hope to pick up this 'abandoned' tool again in the near future.
Plickers was the next venture. Since it only requires the use of one device, and collects a lot of evidence at once, I thought this would be a fun and engaging tool to use in the classroom. However, as with most technology, there is a learning curve. It has taken a while for students to get used to holding their cards correctly, but they are improving. As long as the site is functioning properly, it is a fun way to assess students on lower tiered skills and information.
Students have loved using Educreations in the classroom. It has been most helpful in explaining math work so far. Recently, I was able to show a student who was struggling with getting his ideas to paper how to use it to dictate his thoughts using the app and then play them over and over again as he recorded them on paper. Students are enjoying making videos and uploading them to SeeSaw for their parents to see!
The discovery of Get Epic! has been a very valuable tool in our classroom. I have been able to bring in text that is relevant to our themes in ELA, and students enjoy the game-like component of racing to read books towards our class total.
Finally, we have been using a lot of games and apps in our learning this year. It has kept students engaged and excited about learning. I am eager to find more appropriate games that will help students to work towards the standards in second grade.
The (Not So) Epilogue
My journey into the world of integrating technology into the classroom has been a primative and slow process so far, but a worthwhile one. I anticipate that, with the close of my coursework (and the subsequent close of my first year in a new grade level) I will have more time to 'play' with the technology, and to integrate it more seamlessly to enhance the learning in my classroom. I may never "reach the red" in the SAMR model in my career, but I will keep climbing!
Looking Ahead
I am very interested in the concept of blended learning in the classroom. As I become more familiar with my standards and curriculum, I anticipate being able to incorporate more of the three main components of blended learning (student control over time, location, and pace, instruction in a classroom setting, and the integration of online and face-to-face instruction) into my students day. (Gatens, 2015)
Watch this TED talk to familiarize yourself with blended learning.
Gatens, B. P. (2015,
January 22). Understanding the Definition of Blended Learning. Retrieved
February 7, 2018,
from https://education.cu=portland.edu/blog/curriculum-teaching-strategies/definition-blended-learning/
Infographics: SAMR Model for Technology Integration. (2014,
July 27). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from
http://www.teaching-and-technology.com/blog/1827/infographics-samr-model-for-technology-integration/
Student
Driven Digital Portfolios. (n.d.) Retrieved February 9, 2018, from https://web.seesaw.me/
Woolley-Wilson, J. (2012, December 17). Blending technology
and classroom learning: Jessie Woolley-Wilson at
TEDxRainier. Retrieved
February 8, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0TbaHimigw
Hello Amanda! I really enjoyed reading your blog and listening to your journey with incorporating technology into your classroom. I'm glad you have found success with Seesaw. I remember us "talking" about that in a previous class we had together. I was introduced to it about four years ago from a colleague and I'm continually fascinated with all the updates and ways to use it. Following Seesaw on Twitter has given me even more ideas on how to incorporate it into my classroom. I have also found that my students enjoy Kahoot and Plickers as well. I have found with Educreations that they can only have one activity they create saved, because I have the free version. It's a great way to have students explain their mathematical thinking.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the SAMR Model, I often find it challenging to reach the redefinition level as well. I think my problem is coming up with the ideas that reach this level that are developmentally appropriate. If you have any success with that you will have to share your ideas!
I had a similar experience that you had two years ago, when I was moved from a second grade classroom to a first grade classroom. I loved utilizing technology, but I was worried at first with learning a new set of standards and their ability to use some of the applications. Over time, I found that if you show a student or two how to do something, they become great little teachers. Well, I look forward to reading your next blog soon. Sound like you are doing great in second grade!
Hi Jamie! You definitely gave me the SeeSaw idea! My team has run with it. Just today students all made videos showing and explaining their work and strategies used to solve double digit addition story problems. They loved it and it went right home! I send pictures of anchor charts too. It really helps parents! We have also focused on Kahoot! (which they love) and Plickers (which can be tricky if they don't hold the pluckers perfectly) and SeeSaw and Educreations. I feel like these are pretty appropriate tools for this grade level. I'm hoping to add a technology or two once I'm more comfortable with this grade level, but I think that's enough!
DeleteThat redefinition level is going to take time and work. I'm far from there myself! I feel like working in teams to bounce ideas off of each other would be a more effective way of working towards this level.
I was SO bummed to move, but it's definitely growing on me. I think if I move again, I'd like to be in an even higher grade that's departmentalized. I could personalize my technology use and really get deeper with it. Thanks for helping me learn so much!
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog. I enjoyed reading about your journey. Up until four years ago I had always been a third grade teacher. I spent 16 years teaching third graders and was fully prepared to teach that grade until my retirement. Then something happened. I had a year unlike any other year. It was a year that caused me to want a change. God works in mysterious ways. Before that year I thought the first graders were cute as they walked past my class but I had no desire to change grades. Now I was asking to move to first grade. First graders are so much more needy than third graders. They are so much more dependent than third graders. However, not as needy or dependent as kindergarteners are. And within the first month I knew I was where I was supposed to be. I love teaching first grade. There were a lot of changes I had to make to my teaching but I have enjoyed every minute of it. Your journey reminds me of the journey I was on. It sounds like you are very happy with your change also.
In the past few years I have also adopted more forms of technology. Although we do not have a cart for my class (we share one ipad cart for the entire grade) we are learning more and more how to incorporate what we have. We have used Kahoot a lot. The kids love it. Usually on holidays or the day before a big vacation, our technology teacher puts on a school-wide Kahoot game. The kids....and teachers...absolutely love it. I also have a little experience with plickers but not a lot. I would love to learn more about SeeSaw and how I could use it in my class. Thanks for sharing your story.
Thanks, Dana! I share a cart with my grade level too. We have 6 designated to each class, but I can usually snag a few when other teachers aren't using them. We have a cart of MacBooks and a cart of iPods (which we don't really use) too. That school wide Kahoot sounds cool!
DeleteI think the change may have been a blessing for me. I think it will help keep me from going stale. Thanks for the insight!
Hi Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI love your blog, too, because I think you and I have similar ideas for what we plan on posting on our blogs. Your beach pictures make we wish for summer just a little bit more than I already am! It will be here before we know it, I am sure, and there is so much left to do between here and there!
I have been a fourth grade teacher for the past four years, and don't want to change that, but I can appreciate your trepidation moving from kindergarten to second grade! I feel like education nowadays is a totally different animal from what it was ten or twenty years ago. Expectations have changed, resources have changed, students have changed, and teachers have changed, whether we've liked it or not! Moving grade levels is not as easy as just moving classrooms, it requires a shift in your mindset, starting at the bottom rung, and trying to climb up a ladder that feels like it's constantly moving. So, adding technology into the mix, it's no wonder that you didn't get to it right away. I love how you described "Swiffering" them off once you were ready to get started, and I know that these classes we are taking are also encouraging me to give it a go.
I am also starting with Seesaw, and I do really love it so far, but I didn't consider creating a folder of students in action to give myself more practice. I did create an account for my daughter (who's NOT in my class!) to try things out, and the kids love seeing her posts. I do have a student whose parent doesn't want her to participate, so I'm not sure what to do about that, but I'll figure something out. I like Kahoot, too, but Plickers never worked for me! Maybe I need to give it a try again. There are a couple of apps similar to Educreations that I use for a STEM class I teach called, Lensoo Create or Mindomo. My kids also use Epic for reading in the classroom, and I've found it's also very helpful for classroom research, as kids can choose to have the books read to them online. All great resources!
I also love your SAMR model chart, and I'd love to grab that for myself if you wouldn't mind. I agree, too, that I'm not sure I'll ever get to the red! Baby steps is always my motto! Great job! Can't wait to read more!
Absolutely grab the SAMR model! Do you know why the parent doesn't want them to participate in Seesaw? I have it set so that students can't see each other's work (unless I have their permission to share it). Their parents can see their work and what I post to the class journal. That's the same view they have when they login. I just didn't feel comfortable with parents and other kids seeing potentially poor grades and work from their classmates.
DeleteI regret not starting with the technology sooner, but I may have gotten so overwhelmed with it that it would have delayed me moving forward. Thanks for the insight! I look forward to following you as well!
Amanda thank you so much for your honesty and transparency in this post. I am very new to technology so I am not even aware of some of this technology you are using in your classroom. I am going to keep plugging my way through though. Seesaw I have never heard of and I have never heard of Aurasma either. I am looking forward to learning more about these apps and seeing if they will be useful in my classroom. I am just getting my feet wet with this digital age, but I am not giving up!
ReplyDelete