Using Technology to Keep Communication Flowing

While I've always been the type to integrate technology into just about every aspect of my teaching, it wasn't until I was preparing to leave the classroom for maternity leave that I came across a few new ways to use technology to more easily communicate!

The first "tool" I used was the video camera on my iPad. Instead of typing up page after page of routines and expectations I decided to record my students showcasing the various routines I wanted my long-term sub to be aware of.  I recorded my students lining up, walking down the hallway, having a morning meeting, as well as many other aspects of the day. I was then able to reference these videos in the sub plans. My sub could then access these videos whenever she needed them and could even replay them for my students when they were in need a reminder! My students also LOVED feeling like the stars of their own movie so that was an added bonus :)

The next tool I've been able to continue utilizing is the app "Educreations." It's a digital white board that allows students to record their thinking (both verbally and in writing), save their created lesson and send this lesson to my email. Before leaving I set each student up with their own account and linked that account to my email. We spent a few different days practicing how to create and send a lesson. Since I've been out the room, I've had multiple students who have used their own iPad at home to create a lesson showing me something they've learned in the classroom lately. I LOVE getting these lessons from them and I can tell they're enjoying it as they usually spend the first few minutes saying hi and relaying a message to baby Grayson :)

Lastly, I haven't been able to set this up yet, but I'm hoping to begin using Facetime to communicate with a few students a week. I could see my sub using this as an incentive for students to work towards and it gives me a great opportunity to stay up-to-date on the happenings of my classroom! 

A "Smart" Website Resource-for my confer

Do you have a Smart Board in your classroom? If so, I sure hope you're as obsessed with it as I am! I'm not kidding when I say obsessed...we're talking, my projector bulb burns out leaving me without my board and I feel like I'm missing my right arm.

WHAT??! I have to use...CHART PAPER?!?

It's bad.

However, my students love just about anything we do on the Smart Board and have become so tech savvy because of the integration of this tool throughout our daily lessons.

When I first began using the Smart Board I found myself spending way too much time creating my own lessons. I was constantly working to create something that would be engaging for my students and meet the objectives of multiple lessons each day. It was too much.

And then...(cue the angelic "ahhhh" from above) my coworker told me about the Smart Exchange Website.

This website contains a plethora of teacher-created Smart Board lessons ready to be downloaded, edited (if need be) and used in a matter of minutes! No more recreating the wheel!!

Since discovering this site I've saved a ton of time and been able to "beef up" my lessons with many interactive and engaging Smart Board activities! I hope you're able to benefit from this great website as well!

My technology goals...updated!

After setting technology goals for my classroom  I've decided to focus primarily on the use of Facetime to enhance a few aspects of my classroom.

The first way in which we'll be using this tool is to create weekly communication opportunities for a student of mine who is homebound right now. The students miss him dearly and his mom has been reporting that he's missing our class as well! We've decided to facetime with him every Wednesday during morning meeting. He'll participate in all aspects of this meeting as he'll be able to greet another student, share something important to him and participate in our morning message. He'll then "travel" with us down to music where he'll be a part of the first 15 minutes of music class. I'm really excited about this opportunity!

I'll also be using Facetime while I'm on maternity leave. I've spoken with my long-term sub and our technology teacher who have agreed to select 2-3 students a week who will spend 5-10 minutes of their day on Facetime telling me about the happenings in our classroom (and meeting baby Geier!). I think this will help those students who are having some anxieties about losing their classroom teacher for the next few months.

Robert Marzano: Instructional Strategies That Work!

While reading Marzano’s chapter on effective Instructional Strategies I was surprised by the percentile gain elicited from homework and practice (28) versus questions, cues and advance organizers (22). I think there’s a fine line when it comes to homework and it caused me to reflect on the homework I’m assigning: how much, what kind and am I providing enough feedback on it?

Also, at first I was surprised by the percentile gain of 45 when using the strategy of “identifying similarities and differences.” However, the further I read the more I came to understand that this strategy helps students to tap into what they already know and make personal connections to prior learning and content. I’ve seen first-hand how powerful this strategy can be so it became more justified as I read.

This next week I’m planning to be more intentional about the implementation of the following strategies:

-providing more opportunities for students to compare and classify new and prior information.

-I’ve used double-bubble maps periodically throughout the past few months and find that students really like them!

-While I’ve improved the use of student journals for note taking and reflecting in all the subjects, I want to be more intentional about having my students summarize their learning at the end of the lesson. I could have them do this via an exit slip or in their journals right under their learning goals. I would then randomly check 5-10 journals.

-homework: I typically give homework once a week in math and in reading (two separate assignments) and then give the students a week to complete. These homework assignments consist of a few pages that allow them to practice strategies they have previously learned. However, rarely do I find time to provide effective feedback. I simply skim for understanding, star or circle problems and give it back. I think if I provide a few less problems it’ll allow me to provide this feedback more intentionally. Less is more in this case!

Presence in my Everyday Life

As I think about how presence finds a role in my life I find that, lately, I seem to be much more present in my classroom than I am at home!

I feel that I am very present in my classroom as I'm constantly self-reflecting on and adjusting to my student's needs. We show presence as a class every day as we reflect during our closing circle (and morning meeting the next day if needed). We always take a few minutes to reflect on the positives of the day and, when needed, what things didn't go so well and how we'll fix them. I've seen a huge growth in my students' reflections of themselves over the past year and see their honesty coming through as they recently self-evaluated their work ethic and classroom behavior. Many were spot-on!

I also feel that my presence shows in the way that I create a safe environment conducive to sharing ideas and taking risks. Through this opportunity I've been given to loop I feel that we've created a sense of family and the students have truly developed relationships of support!

Teacher-Level Factors Impacting Student Achievement

As I read through Marzano's chapter on Teacher-Level Factors that impact student achievement I felt a great sense of responsibility for the 20-25 students I work with every year. What left the most lasting impression was the statistic that a student who enters a grade at the 50th percentile can drop all the way down to the 3rd percentile if he is in a least-effective school and in a classroom with a least-effective teacher for just two consecutive years. While I take a high level of responsibility for my student's achievement, I've become accustomed to considering other factors, such as school and home environment, when analyzing that achievement every year. According to Marzano, those factors don't impact their growth, or lack thereof, as much as one would think!

While I anticipated instructional strategies (best practices) and classroom management as being part of his teacher-factors, I would've thought teacher-student relationships and classroom environment would've played roles as well. I suppose both of those may fall under his broad category of classroom management.

With my experiences at Talahi over the past 5 years I feel that I am above average in the area of classroom management...you have to be to have any success there! However, I worry that I'm not where I should, or want to, be in the areas of instructional strategies or curriculum design. It's not that the effort isn't given, but rather that I find myself constantly stretching to meet the vast needs of my learners and don't feel that I am supported enough in the area of curriculum. I'm constantly searching out and trying various best practice strategies but know consistency is also key! These are two areas I strive to continue to grow in and feel my experiences with SMU have helped me with that growth!

Library Organization (for my conference group)

Over the past 5 years as a teacher I've realized the essential need to be organized! Not only does it save you much-needed (and always lacking) time, but I've found that the more organized I am, the more self-sufficient my students are.

One area of my classroom that very organized and, thus student-maintained, is our classroom library.
To begin, I created separate spaces for my chapter books, non-fiction, and picture books. Pictured here is the chapter book section of our library (top 3 shelves) which is mostly organized by series. Each bin then has a label with a coinciding picture to show my students which books are available and (most importantly!) where the book should be returned.

The bottom shelf contains my non-fiction texts. I've currently got "Informational Texts" and "Informational Texts about Animals" to try and further help with the organizing. 

This section of the library contains my "Rhyming/Poetry/Songs," "Realistic Fiction" and "Fantasy" books. Each tub contains a label and a letter code. The letter code can be found on each book (see below) which helps my students to know where to return the book (while also reminding them of the genre they're reading..bonus!).  

Finally, this section contains a few more genres (Traditional Literature, Graphic Novels and Mysteries) as well as leveled readers. 

The most time-consuming, but beneficial, aspect our library are the stickers I've placed on each book which contain a "letter-code" matching the bin they belong in. 

While this method of organization isn't perfect, and I often have to remind students of the importance of keeping the library organized for themselves and others, it's definitely helped to create a student-maintained area in our classroom!