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Over the course of my teaching career, I have become familiar and comfortable with students using iPads and Chromebooks to enhance and support literacy. I am very familiar with various apps, such as Seesaw, Reading Eggs, Lexia, and Reading AZ.

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When I started my career 11 years ago, we would often create literacy activities using our Mimio Teach (essentially turns a white board into an interactive board). After that got phased out, we would often use Google Slides and Powerpoint to create games and literacy activities that could be done whole group or small group. I am also comfortable using SeeSaw to create literacy lessons where students could do anything from listening to a story and responding, reading a story or words/sentences and recording themselves, or writing and illustrating their own story.

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I would love to know how to make the student use of technology more meaningful. Sometimes it feels like they are just going on to "play games".

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I would love to become more comfortable using technology such as Google Classroom. This is something that the older elementary students have used but I see value in learning in order to support all students.

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As an urban public inclusion school teacher, I've had students use the Read&Write google chrome extension to engage with digital content (reading and writing) through its tools: a) text-to speech, text and picture dictionaries, speech to text, word prediction, and etc...
In my district, students have access to clever.com where the district has put many different apps e.g. Learning Ally, Epic, Lexia, Newsela. These apps allow students to hear texts read aloud and/or read texts at different readability levels.
- A. Kim

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The use of technology definitely allows my colleagues and I to engage students in different ways. During the pandemic when we heavily relied on zoom, my colleagues and I learned about and implemented different platforms eg. padlets, jamboards, peardeck/nearpod.
- A. Kim

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I haven't looked into the creation of podcasts but I would love to learn how to create them with my students.
- A.Kim

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I am an elementary special education teacher. Thanks to remote learning, I am familiar with google classroom, Seesaw and Slides, Lexia, Boom Cards, etc. I make a lot of resources and visuals for students using Slides, though I print these and create tangible visual supports. Most recently, I am exploring  Clicker 8 and Book Creator for a student who does not yet write. I feel like I've dabbled in lots of forms of technology and education, but don't know anything in depth.

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I'd love to know more about AAC and how to use technology to tap into the potential of students who can't always access traditional paper/pencil methods. I'd love to learn how to confidently embed the use of technology into my daily teaching practice. I'm excited about the possibilities that  resources like websites, podcasts, and Padlets can bring to my teaching and my communication with colleagues and families. I've always wanted to create a website, but have only experimented with google sites.
Stephanie Letts

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By being a digital native, a special education teacher, and due to the pandemic, I have become quite well versed in a variety of technology tools that really streamline learning and accessibility. I use Zoom for my practicum and other tools including a variety of Google tools (slides, jamboard, docs, etc.) All of my students have iPads and options to work on apps such as Lexia, Dreambox, and Seesaw. Being able to use the Apple TV and projector is highly engaging for many of my students. Teaching would be hard without the technology we have today!

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One area that I would like to understand more about is how to streamline the use of technology and assistive technology so that learning is accessible but not singling them out. For example, I have a student who does her best writing work through Clicker Writer- how can I integrate this into my small group time so she has the same ability to produce dictation without a paper/ pencil? Additionally, how can I best use technology for the purpose of progress monitoring/ data collection?

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I, like many others, had to do simultaneous teaching during the pandemic and learned many creative and innovative ways to utilize technology in the classroom.  Some resources I found highly engaging and accessible are Google Classroom, Seesaw, Padlet, Answer Garden, Jamboard, Flipgrid, and Classkick.

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I'd love to learn how to maximize the use of assistive technology for my students who are on IEPs

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Over the course of my career as a first grade teacher, I have had the opportunity to incorporate technology in my classroom through whole group, small group and 1:1 activities. Mimio lessons allowed students to interactively practice rhyming games, sight word recall and reading comprehension skills. Students have 1:1 devices (ipads) where they can access literacy apps such as Lexia, iReady Reading, Seesaw and Learning A-Z. Students have the opportunity to utilize Book Creator for the final writing pieces during our expository nonfiction and opinion writing units.

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I am very intrigued by the incorporation of podcasts into the classroom for students, specifically at the early elementary grades.

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Throughout my teaching experience, I have tried to incorporate technology as often as I can. I use Class Dojo for parent communication, Reading A-Z, Kodable (a coding app that my first graders LOVE), Xtra Math, various Google Apps, and more. I know there is SO much out there, so I'm excited to explore more!
-Erin

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I'm super curious to learn more about different apps and other technology that helps with reading and writing instruction.
-Erin

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Some of my favorite Apps to use with Google are Slides and Forms. They work really well with first graders, and they love becoming more independent with technology.
-Erin

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I would love to learn more about Seesaw, because I have heard it's great for younger grades but I've never tried it! I see some people have used it, so I would love to hear what people think and how they use it!
-Erin

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I enjoyed learning more about how to incorporate UDL. This is a focus in my district right now; but since I am new to the district I have yet to receive any PD on it! Learning the principals of UDL and applying them to a sample lesson was helpful to determine how I can include UDL in my lessons.

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I loved learning about various ways to utilize and implement a Wordle activity. Prior to this module, I only used wordles as a beginning of school year assignment to build classroom community. I now know I can use wordles to build content vocabulary, text analysis and even a writing prompt. Wordles can be individual or group work too.

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I learned that bio-poems can be a great way to connect with students! I would love to have students do these as an icebreaker at the beginning of the year, so I might have to try that next year!
-Erin

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This week's TED Talk and articles reaffirmed something that I've felt strongly about for many years and that is how technology can connect students around the world. I find it so inspiring that students in Massachusetts can learn and connect with students around the world to enhance their knowledge and understanding. One of my favorite ways to use technology is through Google Meet or Skype where we connect with students in a different city, state, or even country to share our learning and deepen our understanding of a particular topic. As a Google for Education district, we have had many opportunities to use technology to strengthen overall student understanding and engagement. There are so many ways to incorporate literacy and connections within daily lessons and it only serves as a way to further develop a student's transliterate skills.

Posted by: Emily Frey

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As I continue to make my way through this first year in a new role, I would love to learn more about Google Classroom and other ways to engage adult (teacher) learners. This role incorporates a lot of teacher literacy professional development and I am always looking for ways to make it more accessible and more meaningful. I would also love to create a Google Classroom where teachers can access (or revisit) materials or topics that have been covered in the past.

Posted by: Emily Frey

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One of the key takeaways for me this week was the idea of being transliterate or understanding multiliteracies. It is so important for educators to recognize the need for students to be fluent in all forms of literacy: whether it be print, digital, media, computer, web, etc. Students must be able to analyze these individual sources for reliability and validity, and understand how to interpret information that comes from various sources. Our overall comfort level in exploring multiple types of literacy is what will eventually strengthen our depth of understanding on a particular topic.

Posted by: Emily Frey

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I learned how to use Adobe Express to make a video! I was surprised at how simple it was, and it's definitely a tool I would love to use again! I think it's a tool that students could definitely learn easily as well, which could be a fun option for assessments!
-Erin

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I would love to learn about some more text-speech options for students who need accommodations
-Erin

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The bio poem activity is an excellent way to begin the school year. It creates a creative way for students and teachers to share personal attributes about themself.

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I really enjoyed doing the bio-poem. I was thinking as I was doing it of all the ways I could adapt this for my young students. I could have students create poems of this structure on nonfiction topics, personal narratives, etc. It can be a helpful tool to get students to present knowledge in new ways.

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I learned that making a classroom blog is super simple and easy! I would love to use one in the future to share student work with families!
-Erin

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Using a blog as a way to think about lessons is a great way to be a reflective teacher. I never thought to use a blog in this way before! It also allows other teachers to get ideas and understand what works and doesn't work for a lesson.

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I enjoyed the idea of creating a video to get share great books and resources.

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I'd love to learn of more technology apps that are SoR aligned.

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I love the idea of using blogging as a way to reflect on past lessons. Sharing links to lesson plans and activities can be super helpful to other educators.

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I really enjoyed the process of learning Adobe video. I'd never heard of the software before. I could see using it with students to make lesson intros for a new concept, having students make their own mini videos on something they've learned, making a video about a new phonics rule, endless possibilities!
Stephanie Letts

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I'd love to learn about more literacy apps to help young students with disabilities learning to read.
Stephanie Letts

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I had never used Adobe Book Trailer and I thought that was such a fun way to preview, summarize, review books, etc. I could see students really enjoying this project and it is a great option that can be used across all content areas.

Posted by: Emily Frey

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After reading and reflecting on our discussion board, I found myself wondering about the various types of technology that students have (or may not have) access to across the country. Having only taught in New York and Massachusetts, I am aware of what we have (in the districts that I worked in) but I am curious about how other parts of the country use technology in education and would love to learn more about that.

Posted by: Emily Frey

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I had never heard of My Ideal Bookshelf before and it was so fun making my own book spine! Great resource to use in the future! -Erin

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It was so fun to create a digital story! I would love to do this in my classroom- it is something that I would always do during our fairy tale unit and for one reason or another, we stopped! I learned about StoryJumper- it was fairly easy and I think would be great for older elementary students

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I really enjoyed using Google Draw. I really like using google suite apps. I find then very user-friendly and if I don't know how to do something, there is always a youtube video available to explain it. This app makes it so easy to make graphic organizers and visuals for students. I'm really grateful for the ways this course has stretched me to use tools I've known about but avoided trying.
Stephanie Letts

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I'm really curious about podcasts. I listen to plenty of them and the process seems lengthy and complicated when you break it down. I'm interested to see if like some of these apps, it's not as difficult to use. I had a hard to time with the wix site. I did not find it very easy to edit pages. I wonder if it was just me!
Stephanie Letts

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I had no idea how to create a podcast. I used "wevideo" for assignment 4 and was pleasantly surprised to see it was user-friendly and guided you step by step to complete.

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I found so many valuable resources this week when it comes to digital storytelling! I also thought the idea of a readers' theatre podcast was really fun! -Erin

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I enjoyed creating a digital story, but it definitely took a lot of time. I hoping that as I get more comfortable with creating them they will be easier to make.

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I have really increased my comfort with technology and knowledge of various programs due to virtual schools.  I am grateful for becoming much more familiar with online platforms such as SeeSaw and google apps.  I also learned about a lot of online resources that I have used since we have been back at school learning in person such as lexia, raz-kids, online PD, IMSE, etc.  I am very excited to learn more in this class, since I am still more comfortable low tech. Tanya Knight

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I would love to learn more about technology to support students with a specific reading disability, such as speech to print,  and options for audiobooks.   I would also like to learn more about tools that could read text to students with identified disabilities in other subjects like math.
Tanya Knight

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I loved the many suggested applications of a biopoem. I will have students use biopoems to describe book characters, historical figures and classmates. Tanya Knight

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I love the idea of creating a book trailer. This will be an engaging way to recommend books to students and also to have students recommend books to one another. Tanya Knight

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I would love to learn more about incorporating speech to text with a program like Adobe Spark so that students can create trailers. Tanya Knight

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I loved this idea for personal and professional reading. I can imagine hanging these in the staff room to inspire other teachers and having students make them to share with their teachers and classmates what they are reading. Tanya Knight

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I would like to learn more about formatting. Moving around images, changing the weight of lines, making organizers look more polished. Tanya Knight

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I love the audience engagement with a podcast! I can imagine students interviewing experts during a non-fiction unit and creating podcasts. I also love the idea to hook the class on various topics. Tanya Knight

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I would love to explore more exemplars of student podcasts and learn about more ways to embed them in the classroom. I would also love to learn more about strategies to get students independent with writing a script and recording their podcasts. Tanya Knight

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I have always taught at a k-2 school, so when I use social media it is a platform for parents and guardians. I learned how I could incorporate kid-safe social media platforms for the youngest learners. An interesting thought!

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I really enjoyed learning about the many ways that teachers can collect and organize useful content for their students. It was great to learn about so many tools to present your content to your students. Tanya Knight

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I would like to learn more about how to make content curating accessible to very young students. Thinking of students who may not be reading and supporting them in their navigation. Tanya Knight