Week 7 - The Digital Divide

The digital divide is a term they began using in the 90's to describe the gap in between families that have access to technology and the internet and those who do not. In my school, we have many families that do not have access to technology and the internet in their homes though they have the option to get access. Also, many have cell phones, but do not use any technology for educational purposes. Our city has several hubs that broadcasts free internet service in several locations as well as a program for low income families to help with the digital divide that they can apply for through the Saint Vrain Valley School District. The following link has more information on this program:

http://www.longmontcolorado.gov/departments/departments-e-m/housing-and-community-investment/housing-and-community-investment-news

Our school has 1:1 technology in every classroom, giving students equal access. Every student in grades 6-12 in our district also have 1:1 access to an iPad and that device is checked out to them so they take theirs home as well. I don't think that all the teachers use technology equally and some are definitely more effective at integrating technology pessons better than others.

We do not have ESL classes in our building because support for Spanish speakers is provided in every classroom. The special ed teachers use Chromebooks for I-Ready lessons and often for writing and reward time. I think that the technology being utilized here does a great job at leveling the playing field by offering differentiated instruction for individual students. Also, our teachers are great at communicating with parents about accessing services that may help them get ahead.

Week 6 - Grades and Assessments

My collaborating teacher still uses a paper grade book, but several others that I work with use online grade books. In my school, the teachers keep track of assignments mostly with a check mark to show that an assignment has been completed. There are not a lot of grades collected, but they focus heavily on performance, participation and effort. These things are then communicated on the report card. 

The primary way that the teacher assesses reading and math skill is through work in I-Ready. This is an online assessment tool. The students take a formal summative version three times per year. The reading portion of the test measures things like phonics, vocabulary, high frequency words, phonemic awareness and comprehension. The math portion tests students on numbers and operations, measurement and data, algebra and algebraic thinking and geometry. This diagnostic tool can also be used to create differentiated instruction for students.
When the assessment is complete, it generates a wealth of data for the teachers and administrators to use to determine students abilities and track their progress. They also perform progress monitoring assessments periodically to check for growth. By using this technology assessment, teachers are able to differentiate lessons to better accommodate student learning.
Here is a link that explains more about the I-Ready test.

http://www.wtulocal6.org/usr/2016/pdf/Busra_Aydin_-_Iready.pdf

Week 5 - Teacher Resources

We are incredibly lucky to be learning in a time when so many resources are available to us. I asked several of the teachers at my school what some of their favorite resources and sites were and received a variety responses. The top responses I got were:

Edutopia
Teachers Pay Teachers
Common Core

For students, some of their favorite websites were:
Woot Math
MyOn
ABCya!

What are your favorite teacher resources?

I love to find lessons on Teach Engineering. These STEM lessons, when planned at the right times, can support a variety of subjects. Edutopia has great resources for all areas of teaching and Teachers Pay Teachers has activities to support pretty much any lesson you are going to teach and often they are free. Finally, I use the Common Core Standards website to ensure that all of my lessons are following the required standards for fifth grade.

 What are your favorite student resources?

Woot Math is a great resource to reinforce math lessons. You can have students work on lessons based on material that has already been taught to review material or reinforce current material. This also allows you some time to devote to student who may need extra help. MyOn is a great resource to get kids reading and introduce books that they may otherwise not have access to. I allow them use time to read or log on to MyOn when they complete their literacy work before we transition to the next activity. Students also have the option to log on to this resource at home and over the breaks.

Week 4 - Classroom Newsletters

Communication between teachers and parent is a key component of student success in the classroom. I spoke with a third grade teacher this week and asked her the following questions about her newsletter.

1. What information do you communicate in the newsletter? 

The newsletter always has a note to parents letting them know about units that we are studying, any special events going on and information we want to convey to them.We include upcoming events or things to remember and helpful tips for home.

2. How often do you publish your newsletter? 

We send home a newsletter bimonthly.

3. Is your newsletter published digitally? Why or why not?

We do not publish the newsletter digitally, though we could if requested. Most of the families at our school do not use email for communication and we feel that they are more likely to read it, if it is sent home on paper.

4. How do you ensure that all students and parents receive the newsletter?

The students take home all communications and forms weekly in their Thursday folders. Parents were told at the beginning of the year, parent's night and conferences that the newsletter would be coming home twice per month. We also send it home in both English and Spanish so that all of our families can read it.

5. Why is it important for teachers to have classroom newsletters?

It is a great way to share information with parents on a regular basis what things are going on at school. We are also able to translate the newsletter which helps the teachers that do not speak Spanish have regular communication with parents.

Here is an example of a newsletter sent out by the third grade team in both English and Spanish. It is always copied 2-sided with both languages.

Week 3 Observations - Learning Tools

Every day students walk through the doors of the school to build their knowledge. Some of these students must overcome a variety of obstacles just to enter into a zone where they can learn. Teachers prepare lessons each and every day to help students overcome these obstacles and learn something new (or even just retain what has been learned). We are fortunate to live in a time with many learning tools that are available to support students. The fifth grade students that I work with had a wide variety of tools to help support their learning this week. 

First thing in the morning, each class holds a morning meeting. The classrooms have posters on the wall called "accountable talk" to help the many second language learners practice their conversation responses. Below is a picture of the ones we use from Really Good Stuff.

During their math time, I observed several more learning tools. They are working on fractions and the lesson was finding common denominators. Many of the students used multiplication charts, allowing them to learn the new skill, even if their knowledge of multiplication facts were lacking. Students worked in rotations spending some time doing a fraction game with a partner (which helped them to catch mistakes), some worked in a small group with a teacher or interventionist helping solidify the skills they had been learning and others used Chromebooks to access lessons on I-Ready and Woot Math. All of these tools worked together to enhance student learning.

I also observed teachers using videos to share information on topics they were studying. The teacher reminded me that it is important to view the videos personally to ensure they are appropriate and that for some students it is helpful to show the video twice if it is short to help them retain the information.

One last thing I saw was a very low tech tool. I took a professional development class during our late start time last week and they highlighted the importance of phonemic awareness for second language learners. We created a tool with post-it notes that looked similar to this.

The teacher says the word, the student repeats the word and then taps each square to help identify the individual sounds. We learned that using hand motions and tools like this help solidify learning.

I look forward observing and learning about many more tools in the future.

Week 2 - Observations, NET-S and ISTE Technology Standards for Teachers

This week I had the opportunity to observe students working on a project that linked literacy and science standards. The students are reading a book about Rachel Carson and learning about how she studied the ocean ecosystem. Their goal was to choose an ecosystem in a specific area, research it and create a presentation to share with the class.

What standards did you observe? How did the teacher meet this standard?

• Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity
• Design and develop digital age learning experiences and assessments
• Promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility

The teacher allowed the students to choose the ecosystem they wanted to learn about and encouraged students to choose something that interested them and allowed them to decide which software they wanted to use to present their project.

She designed the activity to give the students opportunities to do internet research and assess their learning by giving them four requirements that must be in the final project, also created digitally.

She went over technology expectations before they began and reminded them that they should be doing research. She also helped a student who stumbled onto a site that wasn't appropriate for school (a brewery named after the location she was researching) and reminded her that she should just quickly exit the site and gave some tips on how to read the listings that you get from a google search to gauge if that site may be helpful in your research.

Was the lesson effective? How do you know?

I think the lesson was effective. Most of the students were able to choose an ecosystem and find 2 of the 4 criteria needed for their project within the first 30 minutes given to work on their assignment. After additional time was given the next day, most of the students had their criteria and were ready to work on a presentation.

What were the students doing in the lesson? Were the students engaged, thinking critically, collaborating, and communicating?

The students were actively researching and taking notes on a graphic organizer for their project. They were engaged, offering advice to students at their table groups and seeking guidance on their topics of research when they had trouble.

Were there any changes you would make to the lesson? Explain.

I might have provided a graphic organizer on a preprinted worksheet (at least for some students) rather than having them draw the web themselves. Several students that struggle with executive function had trouble getting started simply because drawing the organizer in their spiral took a long time.

What learning model do you think the teacher was using in his/her classroom?

I would say that she used the inquiry based learning model which includes these steps:

1. Ask questions
2. Probe into various situations
3. Conduct analyses and provide descriptions
4. Communicate findings, verbally or in writing
5. Think about the information and knowledge obtained