Spring 2021 Post 6

Post 6: My A-Ha Moment!

With this being my last technology class of my Master’s Program, I’m going to apply my A-Ha moment not only to this particular class, but to all my technology classes as a whole. I have discovered that technology is not just another “hoop” for us teachers to jump through and try, but it is a gift to truly enhance our students learning. Starting off in my technology classes, I looked at it as just one more thing to incorporate in my classroom. New applications and tools scared me, and I felt like I didn’t have the time to create all these new activities for my students using something they (and I) were not familiar with. But, as I have gone through these classes, specifically this final class and ReDesigning my instruction, I have seen just how much technology allows for learning opportunities for my students. For example, as I was ReDesigning my unit I looked at ways that allowed more student independence through technology by allowing them the choice in how they wanted to obtain the information and they will also have the choice in how they want to present information to their classmates. At the beginning of this “technology journey” for me, I didn’t give my students enough credit. I thought that teaching them one more tool would do nothing but distract them and I would be troubleshooting more than exploring, but I WAS WRONG. Does student us of technology have it’s challenges, of course.. but so does the Teacher’s Lounge copy machine. There will always be challenges, but I truly feel that incorporating technology is far more a positive than a negative. I feel that through this crazy year that we have endured, I have also gained so much. I have learned that the unknown is scary, but rewarding. That not all technology tools for students need to be super creative in order for them to gain a lot out of it. And most of all, I learned that students + technology = a whole lot of positive learning!

Spring 2021 Post 5

Post 5: Asking for Help

This week I tweaked my ReDesign project by adding in photos of different locations within the Regions of the United States. Being that I have not had the opportunity to travel to all 50 states, and I wanted to make this personal to my students, I decided to ask for help. One simple text to my colleagues and I was FLOODED with photos and descriptions of locations all around the United States. I often feel that asking for help, especially this year, is that of a burden on other teachers  and friends because we are all so busy and just trying to “keep our heads above water”. This week I learned that even in the toughest times us teachers stick together and always come through for one another. It’s crazy to think about what we have all been through this last year, but even crazier to think about where I’d be without my awesome colleagues that I can always ask for help. Below I have attached a Padlet link that I’d like to hear your thoughts on. The prompt attached may take you a little out of your comfort zone, but I am just curious to know, “What is something you have asked a colleague to help with that you are SO glad you did?”. Thanks in advance for sharing!

https://padlet.com/starkeramy/5zp0nxfs9oywnuol

 

 

Spring 2021 Post 4

Post 4: Testing my ReDesign

This week I have been working with one of my colleagues to test out my ReDesign Unit that she wants to use with her 4th grade class as well. As previously talked about, I am adding in some key digital components along with a lot of student choice for a Regions/States Geography Unit in my 4th grade classroom. I teach in a Central Illinois low income school district, in a community that I now call my home. This has been my only job since I graduated college, and since being a teacher here I have learned so much about my community, but also the students that come from it. Having talked to my students and developed a relationship with them over the past year, I have learned that most of them have not visited another state before. When posed the question, “What is your favorite place to vacation to?”, I had 5 answer Bloomington because that’s that furthest they had been. I had 2 that had never left our town, and the rest answered that they had been to states such as Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Florida. No one had every been to the east or west coast, and I knew then that I had to find time to teach this Unit. Through talking to my colleague and reading the comment left by Amy on my Ideate Phase post (Thanks Amy!), I decided to accumulate different pictures from the various regions in the United States from my own personal travels, and photos of the travels of my colleagues here at school. I am going to add these photos into the Google Slides presentation that I will doing the bulk of my instructing from, and it’s my hope that this will encourage classroom discussions beyond basic facts of the regions. I want to share my own personal experiences, but also allow them to share the places they have been (or know something about), and ASK QUESTIONS!! I am really looking forward to this tweak in my design and also for getting to know more about this group of students that I have now!

Spring 2021 Post 3

Post 3: My ReDesign Idea

I don’t know about in your school’s but in mine, we have pretty much done away with Social Studies. Growing up I HATED Social Studies, but as I have gotten older I have really grown to appreciate it, and I have realized it’s importance. Having had such a different schedule this year (we only go 8:30-1:45) I have had to find time to incorporate Social Studies when I can. For my ReDesign project, I chose one of my favorite Social Studies units- States and Regions. As I began brainstorming about this ReDesign, I talked to my students. Although only 9-10 years old, they are VERY opinionated in their learning styles. Through our discussion, I realized that I needed to give them more freedom. I didn’t want Social Studies to be an absolute dread for them, as it had always been for me. For this assignment students will choose how they want to learn. They can learn digitally, or using paper/in classroom materials. After studying each of the regions, we will dive into the states, but they will do so independently, with just an outline of ideas I want to see provided by me. They will then present this information in whichever format they choose. Once done, students will start to study the states based on location and we will end the year with the State’s Test (not for a grade, but for a chance at a Pizza Party during lunch). I am looking forward to this new format and seeing my student’s individuality’s shine in their presentation.

 

Spring 2021 Post 2

Post 2: Our Classroom’s Obsession: BLOOKET!

I want to preface this with the fact that I teach 4th and 5th graders who have been partially remote since last March (until this March) and we get excited very easily! A couple months ago a good friend of mine who teaches in Nashville told me about an online game program called Blooket. When she brought it up to me I honestly wanted no part of yet another “new” program for this year, as I’m sure we can all agree we have had more than enough “new” thrown at us. But then came the February classroom slump. We all know what I mean… no motivation from kids (and sometimes even staff), the annoyance of being stuck indoors and always being cold… the month that is the shortest but drags on to be the longest.. yes, in February I took the plunge and we tried Blooket. My kids quickly became obsessed. Blooket is a program that in my opinion is a cross between Kahoot and Quizizz. It’s super user friendly, competition heavy, and a great motivational tool for the students (and teachers). There are sets that are already made for you to try with your class, or you can create your own. When the students are answering questions, they will have the opportunity to compete with classmates in one of the game formats which can of course include some stealing of points or gold in the Gold Rush Game, or you can distract the class during the Racing Game. It’s a lot of fun, and a great motivational tool, no matter what kind of slump you may be in. 🙂 Let me know if you check it out with your class!

www.blooket.com

Challenge #10

Manifesto 

Throughout this course, I have learned that technology plays a crucial role in student and teacher learning. As I worked my way through challenges in this course, the importance of technology was reiterated to me. It is so important to allow student choice in their learning, student collaboration across various modes of communication, and the opportunity for discovery. As I move forward as an educator, my goal is to continue to push students in those three areas to allow even more growth and knowledge. 

I value these specific goals because in a year that we have all been pushed outside of our comfort zones, we have all still learned a lot. Allowing students to continue to have a choice in their learning through their use of technology would allow them to grow their knowledge bank. Fostering collaboration across modes of communication will allow students to continue to work with their peers from near and afar effectively, and allowing student discovery in the classroom could allow the student to teach me and their classmates something new! 

When thinking about the topic of student choice in the classroom I think back to the “5 Finger Rule” for picking out just right books to read, but choice is so much more! This brings me back to my Challenge 4 Place Value Playlist! As the teacher, I gave the students a variety of activities to complete to show their understanding of Place Value. I love the idea of allowing student choice because growing up, I was a student who struggled with tests. Having the choice would have allowed me to show mastery my own way,  and would have allowed me to be a successful student without all the test anxiety. Because of my own past, I want to ensure students have the choice to “show what you know” through paper, pencil, or chromebook! 

Student collaboration has been tested in many ways this school year. Students are SAD! They don’t get to see all their friends, and if they do see them at school they can’t touch them or play games they were used to. Through the different HOMAGO challenges I looked at ways of how I could build relationships with my students virtually, and actually learned a lot about how my students could build relationships as well. Of course, my personal favorite way to build those relationships for my 4th graders, was Google Jamboards, but there are many options out there that students of many ages could use to continue to have friendships and also work together in education. 

Finally, allowing student discovery in my classroom. I love how HOMAGO allowed us the time to play, indulge, and focus on different applications and I found myself often thinking that my 4th graders could totally do this as well! I think that when students are back in front of us, it would be a great opportunity to try out a HOMAGO of my own, or spend more time with something like a flipped classroom or genius hour! Students know so much and have  so much to share! Allowing them to not only express themselves, but to discover something new to teach their teacher or their peers are wonderful opportunities for growth. After all, as teachers we are constantly discovering new things, why not allow our students to do the same? 

Before this class, technology was not my number one priority. With the ideas gained from personal research and the ideas of peers in this class, and  the push from the universe thanks to remote teaching, I quickly realized how important technology is. I believe that moving forward I will be more conscientious of the use and teaching of technology tools in the classroom to truly expand my students’ brains to opportunities outside of the traditional classroom, to all the world of technology has to offer!

Final HOMAGO

Through this HOMAGO process I have learned more about interactive apps that have allowed me to build better relationships with my students virtually. I chose to focus most of my attention on Google Jamboards and have been pleasantly surprised with the mastery I have seen in my 4th graders during our Remote Learning time. I have attached a video below of my presentation describing what Google Jamboards are, as well as an activity I have done with my class to explore all that Google Jamboards has to offer!

 

HOMAGO PRESENTATION

HOMAGO 11

Before this class I had never even heard of the term HOMAGO but after going through the process I realized I do this almost every day. I found that being able to hang out with different apps allowed me to see what was quality and what was trash. There are a lot of advertised classroom apps that seem super helpful, but as I had the opportunity to mess around with them, I found some of them to be hard to operate or very costly. While I was exploring Google Apps more in depth, I realized that a lot of really cool tools were accessible to me for FREE and had been there all along. There is a lot of negative that has come from this pandemic and change in teaching, but I will see I have grown so much as an educator in my use of technology in the classroom. 

When I think about using HOMAGO in my own future teaching, I think it would be a great experiment. I think that kids are often driven by choice and using a process such as HOMAGO would allow the students a lot of choice. I do think it would be hard for them to understand that the cost of something doesn’t always mean something is better, but that is another teaching point I would be able to reach. I don’t think my students use HOMAGO very much on their own in my classroom as they usually just try whatever is easiest and linked for them. But, with the students using their devices more frequently, I think it could be a great time for them to broaden their knowledge by allowing them time to hang out, mess around, and geek out with something new! I think that if I ever do use it in my classroom I would start small, allowing them to each explore 3 different math apps. As they explored, I would have them fill in the pros and cons of each of the apps to support their findings. After they had chosen their app, they could share it with the class and we could have a couple of days of messing around with each other’s apps. I would closely monitor their exploring of apps with the help of Hapara and a daily check-in with me to see what apps they have chosen. 

Moving forward, I believe I will be more purposeful in app searching. Through the process of HOMAGO I have learned a lot about myself as a teacher, but also as a learner. I have learned what I like and what I don’t like in terms of app usage, and I believe that in the future I will be able to choose apps that are effective and efficient for my students.

Challenge # 8

For challenge 8 I have decided to explore Merge Cubes a little more in depth. A couple years ago, I read a teacher’s Instagram post about Merge Cubes and decided to explore them for myself. At the time I was a science teacher and thought it sounded like a fun activity. My local Wal-Mart was selling them in the clearance aisle for just $3, so in true teacher fashion, I bought 10. I didn’t realize at the time that a phone was needed for each to make them work, so instead of classroom usage I gifted them to my teacher friends who could show their class. They were a huge hit, and when we renovated our school library we purchased more to use with the cell phones in the library. 

Recently, I have found myself more intrigued with using Merge Cubes again so this post was at the most fitting time. The downside to Merge Cubes is that a subscription is needed. A subscription is $9.99 a month, or $99.99 a year. Within the app you will find readings, the virtual reality view of the cube and even quizzes for each lesson. 

Being a former science teacher, I was drawn to the lessons about adaptations which was one of my most favorite units. If I were to use this in my classroom again, I could still teach that lesson but alter it to be a writing lesson. As you explore the adaptations lesson, students are read a caption by the app and then show the virtual reality jar shown below. I would use this time to have the students write using their descriptive words on everything they see in the jar. This would allow students to not only work on their grammar skills of basic writing, but also allow them to use adjectives in their writing. We would share as a class what we each saw and why we think the creatures are adapting the way they are shown. To follow up, there is a short quiz that would test their science skills worked on during science class. The series of photos shown below are my own personal cube, the cube in virtual reality mode, a snippet of the reading section, and a snippet of the ending quiz. 

I think that the reason I am most drawn to Merge Cubes and the use of them in my 4th grade classroom, is that they allow students to actually hold science in their hands! In addition to the adaptation lesson, there are a variety of other topics including one about the brain. Students can “hold” a brain and explore the different parts, the quality of the picture and the realness of the brain is incredible and allows students to see things they may have never had the opportunity to explore. As we work to getting students back into the classroom, activities such as this would allow students to be engaged independently and safely through their own Merge Cubes.

 

For more information check out, Merge Cubes at their website!