Digital Learning Showcase

Digital Learning Showcase 

This rainy day started off with the setup of Ipads and handouts on the programs displayed. There was an issue with the location, as the library just opened up yesterday for the Book Fair. There were two large round tables in the back that were used to display the showcase.

In addition, I found out that fifth grade was going to do DBA's District Benchmark testing today. DBA's are useful in pinpointing areas that students struggle in. They can be used to implement tutorials to address specific needs or extend learning before State testing. 

The campus is to remain quiet for the extent of testing time with no visitors. Sixth-grade teachers were encouraged to come in and take a break from the classroom by having the class visit the book fair, while teachers spoke with me about the digital showcase. Other than a few disruptive students, this worked out very well.

BrainPOP 

Put a Pop in Learning

Most teachers were familiar with BrainPOP but did not seem very familiar with connecting to setting up a lesson with activities attached. In speaking with my mentor, I found out that they had actually had training in the Fall over this very topic. It is obvious that teachers need follow-ups to professional development. In brainstorming how to accomplish this, they could do one of the following:

     1. Create a lesson, to be completed a few weeks later, that is shared with the IT to see that they understand it. 

     2. Take a quiz or assessment piece to see if they understand it.

     3. Work as a group or team to create a lesson together. 

I'm sure there are many other things that can be done to show that teachers understand the training and use it instead of forgetting it so quickly. 

Teachers do have so much that must be accomplished, its no wonder that some information must be 'weeded out'. Especially when you're looking at the Fall. There is so much on their minds from fixing their classrooms up to set up for the entire first two weeks of school. 

Flipgrid

Where Social Learning Happens

As a former sixth-grade teacher, I really found Flipgrid to be an excellent program, so I spent more time on this program than the others. It's free and easy use make this such a wonderful program/app. I showed a lesson and explained how students log in and how it can be used in the classroom. One teacher expressed wanting more help and I shared my email and told her to contact me and we could schedule a time for me to help her one-on-one. I'm really excited about this! To see my creation in Flipgrid click on the link https://flipgrid.com/ and type in jedi3  

Nearpod

Create. Engage. Assess

Nearpod has great potential for classroom use, especially for those teachers who put the effort into using it. One can upload lessons or pay for lessons. Most lessons ranged from $2.99-$4.99 for a single lesson. There were units that were priced for 29.99. The lessons are rich with various types of media. The secondary school of this district uses this program/app. 

ClassDojo

Happier Classrooms

I used ClassDojo in second grade, but not to its fullest potential. When I taught sixth-grade my campus used ClassDojo and it was a fantastic bridge between school and home. I was able to not just communicate behaviors to parents but share upcoming events and project links. There were times when I put a link to a video or photo to stimulate prior knowledge. I've used it to share Quizlets prior to vocabulary tests. 

Library Resources

Learning at Your Fingertips

This was a simple handout of resources provided by the campus for teachers and students to use. Teachers should realize the dangers of letting students use Google for research. These resources offer safe areas for students to look for their information and or give them an idea of where they can look. 

Among some of the links are Kids InfoBits, National Geographic Kids, Britannica School Elementary, SIRS Discoverer, EBSCO Ebooks, and Pebble Go.

It was good to be able to share with teachers some very good programs. It is important to note though that several of the teachers were distracted by students in the background or their minds were preoccupied with other matters. I can't fault them for any of that, the life of a teacher is quite challenging, especially when the normal school day is changed by testing and schedule alterations. The sixth-grade team, for example, had to keep students quiet with little movement until 1 and they didn't receive a conference period until 2 or so. Still, some educators were excited by the possibilities of using a new program/app with their students. Some teachers requested I help them with the programs. I shared my personal email with them and offered to come in and assist them with the creation of an account and setup. 

I created an infographic about the programs/apps shown. Click on the image to see it full size.