Exciting things are already happening for this week. As I entered the teacher's workroom this morning, two of our 2nd grade teachers were talking about the 2nd grade website one of them was putting together for their team and students to use. They are including discussion questions for the students to respond to. The teacher seemed genuinely excited. I was excited about the idea of our 2nd grader using this tool. These teachers are always finding ways use technology with their students both in the classroom and the computer lab.
The one-to-one classroom teacher and I collaborated on some ideas for using the laptops in her science and social studies classes. We will be using labeling worksheets created in Excel with the students and using PowerPoint to created a Colonial Williamsburg map with labels.
In 7th grade Social Studies the students are going to create "Immigrant Diaries" chronicling their families history. We are going to have students create blogs for their dairies so they can share and respond to others.
In 8th grade Social studies we began an online poster project that will create a timeline of events in WWII. I am looking to see how the project develops for us.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Week of January 21, 2008
This was a short week with a holiday and my need to take a personal day but it was a good one!
I continued working with the 7th Grade Language Arts teacher and her classes. During the week we talked about the project. I was concerned because it looks as though it is going to take a little longer than we had planned. She said that it was okay because she was having fun with the project and learning along with the students.
Speaking of the students, I am seeing some really good projects and ideas being developed. One group has decided to create a brochure for their public service announcement - the only group to do so. They planned out the entire brochure - front and back - even drawing in some samples of picture they would like to include. It was really creative! Now we are working on putting it into a brochure template in Word and trying to find graphics similar to the ones they had drawn.
Next week I will be working with the 8th Grade Social Studies teacher and her classes. We are going to create online posters about events from WWII. The teacher and I have met several times to plan the project with each of us contributing different things dependent on our expertise - social studies or technology. It should be a fun and busy week.
I have to admit that I am learning a lot with these projects also. Learning new ways to utilize the technologies we have available and learning about the subject areas from the teachers. The 8th Grade Social Studies teacher also wants to work on another project using DBQ. I have to admit I did not know what a DBQ was when she first mentioned it but now now that it stands for Document Based Question. I have spent some time researching the topic to learn more so that I can help more with planning as we begin.
It is just so great to be working with teachers who are excited about learning new things and willing to step out of the box and learn something new along with me.
I continued working with the 7th Grade Language Arts teacher and her classes. During the week we talked about the project. I was concerned because it looks as though it is going to take a little longer than we had planned. She said that it was okay because she was having fun with the project and learning along with the students.
Speaking of the students, I am seeing some really good projects and ideas being developed. One group has decided to create a brochure for their public service announcement - the only group to do so. They planned out the entire brochure - front and back - even drawing in some samples of picture they would like to include. It was really creative! Now we are working on putting it into a brochure template in Word and trying to find graphics similar to the ones they had drawn.
Next week I will be working with the 8th Grade Social Studies teacher and her classes. We are going to create online posters about events from WWII. The teacher and I have met several times to plan the project with each of us contributing different things dependent on our expertise - social studies or technology. It should be a fun and busy week.
I have to admit that I am learning a lot with these projects also. Learning new ways to utilize the technologies we have available and learning about the subject areas from the teachers. The 8th Grade Social Studies teacher also wants to work on another project using DBQ. I have to admit I did not know what a DBQ was when she first mentioned it but now now that it stands for Document Based Question. I have spent some time researching the topic to learn more so that I can help more with planning as we begin.
It is just so great to be working with teachers who are excited about learning new things and willing to step out of the box and learn something new along with me.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Week of January 14, 2008
Along with all of the other exciting things happening, I had an opportunity to work with one of our teachers who wanted to use technology in her classroom but needed some encouragement and instruction. We met one afternoon after school and set up her digital projector. We went through a few operational instructions and then looked at some resources she could use in the classroom.
The next day she e-mailed me with the message that she had used the projector with her first class and everything went well. She genuinely seemed excited and looking forward to continuing to integrate the technology into her lessons.
Later in the week, we also began working on a project with her students. I had put together some materials for us to use to introduce the project. During the first class, I modeled the introduction using the projector, a couple of PowerPoints that included pictures and video. When it was time for the next group of students to come in, she said she wanted to try introducing the lesson and using the materials herself. She successfully did it with much confidence!
These are the experiences that I look forward to having repeated time and time again.
The next day she e-mailed me with the message that she had used the projector with her first class and everything went well. She genuinely seemed excited and looking forward to continuing to integrate the technology into her lessons.
Later in the week, we also began working on a project with her students. I had put together some materials for us to use to introduce the project. During the first class, I modeled the introduction using the projector, a couple of PowerPoints that included pictures and video. When it was time for the next group of students to come in, she said she wanted to try introducing the lesson and using the materials herself. She successfully did it with much confidence!
These are the experiences that I look forward to having repeated time and time again.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Week of January 7, 2008
Our first week back after break and lots of things have been happening. The first couple of days I had teachers sharing with me about exciting ways they are using or thinking about using technology. Everything from having their students using a website I had shared to the ways they are thinking about using their teacher Webpages. One wants to make it a place for the entire grade level to share information with parents and another as a place for students to share their work. I am excited about seeing how they progress and the impact it has upon parents and students.
Another teacher in the district and I made presentations at the school board meeting about technology use at our schools and within the district. I think that the board was impressed at the things that are happening at our schools and how they are supporting student learning.
We did some training at Papago this week on using Lexia software to support reading skills development. The teachers seemed excited about the opportunity to use it both as an afterschool intervention tool as well as in their classrooms during guided reading.
The AZ Department of Education hosted a webinar this week regarding a one-to-one grant to be awarded to one school in Arizona. It was a good learning experience for me as I learned some of the ins and outs of grant writing.
I am looking forward to the coming weeks after meeting with some teachers about upcoming projects and set meeting times with others!
Another teacher in the district and I made presentations at the school board meeting about technology use at our schools and within the district. I think that the board was impressed at the things that are happening at our schools and how they are supporting student learning.
We did some training at Papago this week on using Lexia software to support reading skills development. The teachers seemed excited about the opportunity to use it both as an afterschool intervention tool as well as in their classrooms during guided reading.
The AZ Department of Education hosted a webinar this week regarding a one-to-one grant to be awarded to one school in Arizona. It was a good learning experience for me as I learned some of the ins and outs of grant writing.
I am looking forward to the coming weeks after meeting with some teachers about upcoming projects and set meeting times with others!
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