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1. I want to become more comfortable with technology myself and integrate it in more innovative ways than I have in the past. My placement kind of hindered my technology ability with the kind that we had in the building, however I feel that there are ways to work around these obstacles. This can better my meeting of standard 2 as I can successfully communicate to them using technology and implementing it in the classroom.
2. I want to work more with the technology teachers in the building because I feel that they have a lot to offer and just are not used to their full potential. I feel that also bringing the specialist in during lessons when introducing new technology not only supports me but can help transition my students in to the technology.
3. I want to work with using more technology with my SPED kids so that they can be supported by technology and become literate with technology. I have seen the abilities of my SPED kids and their excitement to use the technology that is presented to. I believe that integrating technology with specialized education plans can help learners and can serve as an extra scaffold for their learning.

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I am in a first grade classroom at Beltsville Academy in Prince Georges County. In my class specifically there are about 10 kids total who receive ESOL services and are pulled out on a daily basis. The specific group that I chose to work with was two students who both knew less than 5 words when they were first tested in August/October time. One student, Rafael, was a new comer from Honduras and was non verbal for a while when he was first in class. I would try to speak to him in English and Spanish to see if one was better than the other and it was obvious the Spanish helped but he would never let me know as he refused to speak in Spanish when he did speak. The other student is Abraham who is in the process of obtaining SPED services since he struggles with verbal and some written things. Both of them were preforming way lower than the average “below level” kids which is why I selected them for this project.

My goal of the project was to improve their recognition of sight words and to increase their 1st grade vocabulary. A sub-goal was to have them work on chunking letters together to make sounds when trying to sound out the words. The phonemic awareness was a sub-goal and was not the focal point of my original goal but I found that it was a skill that I was constantly reinforcing with the boys as we were working on the sight words. Since both boys had a lack of foundation with phonemic awareness, I tried to tie it in to the activities when I was introducing new vocabulary that they struggled to read. The knowing of sight words was a great all encompassing goal that lent itself to get manipulated and combined with many mini goals that just worked hand in hand with one another

I did three main activities throughout the sessions that all worked building off of one another. The first activity I did for the first five sessions was a flashcard activity. I took five words, two that they knew and three that were completely brand new to them and quizzed them on it. If they could clearly identify the word within five seconds, they got a star on the back of the card. When a card got five stars the card became “retired” and a new word would be added into it the mix. The main reason that this was the first activity was because they essentially were starting with little to no sight word base. In order to do any activity with the words I knew that I had to build up their sight word knowledge and this was a great way to do that. In the beginning it was hard to get them to learn the words, but that is where the phonemic awareness played a huge role.

The next activity that I had them do once I felt that the flash cards became to easy for them, I transitioned them to the next activity, which was a wipe board activity. I found this idea on Pinterest where I would write all the words that they had either mastered or worked on up until that point and I would verbally say the words to them. They would then circle the word that they thought I was saying and if it was correct then they were able to erase the word. For the last word I would have them say it to be and it had to be correct until they could erase it. This was just added on to the flashcard part of the session so that they were still building the vocabulary while doing this other activity, which brought back in to play past words that were “mastered”.  Once I felt that they grasped the basic premise of the game, I added the element of creating sentences with the words that they circled. This way they could add meaning to the words and have it carry more meaning in their minds rather than just to memorize the word. This way they got the opportunity to use the words in real life and see how it is used in everyday speech.

For my last activity, I created a memory game of the sight words. They had about ten matches all spread in front of them and they were expected to flip them over and if they matched then they were to read aloud the words and say which ones they had matched up. Once I felt that they had mastered the simple task of just saying the word I had them add it to a sentence once they got the card. The special education teacher that works in the building, who is constantly working on sight words with her students, gave this idea to me. This game is so universal that you can add different skills, like use it in a sentence or have them sound out the sounds, which really make it easy to differentiate for different students.

The flashcard activity really allowed them to build their skills and sight word knowledge as it was a daily activity that had them constantly be exposed to the words and mastering them. They felt proud when they were able to master a word and new one got introduced in the mix. This motivated them and I constantly reminded them when they got close to retiring a word. They also loved creating sentences with the words, this let them be creative and express their knowledge the way they wanted to. I all of the activities with the boys separate until the end so that I could really hone in on what they needed from me and I could focus all of my attention on one student at a time. Rafael loved this one and progressed a little faster than Abraham but I feel that this was because Abraham struggles more with academics since he is in need of an IEP. Rafael being a new comer it was just a matter of learning the sounds of the letters and being exposed more to English that really kick started his learning.

For the wipe board activity I will say that Rafael enjoyed it way more than Abraham. I think it was a combination of having made strides in knowing sight words and gaining confidence with speaking that really had Rafael excited to do the activity. Rafael left right before I instilled the last activity and was no longer able to participate in the project, yet I feel that if he had stayed he would have made leaps and bounds with constant drilling of the words.

However the memory game was an all time favorite game for Abraham to the point where he reminds me to play everyday. His face lights up when he can say the word and put it in a sentence and I found that this really translated to his speech in general. It really allowed him to create sentences and he recognizes when one of the sight words are in books during reading groups and gets excited by knowing a word in the book he is reading.

They both had major improvement as shown in the graph with learning over 20 words. I am still working with Abraham and play the memory game constantly trying to level him out to other students in the class.

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Technology focus: Doc cam

Standard: CCSS.MATH.CONTENT.1.OA.A.2
Solve word problems that call for addition of three whole numbers whose sum is less than or equal to 20, e.g., by using objects, drawings, and equations with a symbol for the unknown number to represent the problem.

Objective: Students will be able to solve math problems by using different strategies.

Sequence:

- Activator: The students will complete the first page of the textbook which is a review page going over the last strategy they learned which was drawing a picture.

- Student will have a few minutes to work on it alone

- A student will be picked randomly and will write their answer on the doc cam so the other students can see their work

-Then the students will work on the lesson where they will be solving problem out of the book by drawing their picture. After having time to work alone students will be chosen at random to come up to the doc cam and show their work to the class. The students will then correct/check their work with the work that is on the board.

- Closing: The students will receive a worksheet in which they will need to solve the problems the same way (by drawing a picture). The student will then share their answers and explain their thinking and why they chose the strategy that they did.

My classroom has very limited technology, as we do not have a smart board, we only have computers and a doc cam. In most subjects, other than reading, uses the doc cam as its primary way to teach as that is how we project our materials and show students different things.  Math in specific has become very visual, as they are required to draw pictures and show their work that way. It was becoming hard for me to check on all of the students at the same time by just circulating the classroom when they are working independently. However by having the students come up to the doc cam and display their work or draw work for it to be on the screen has not only increased my ability to check their work but they have also been more engaged in the lessons. They get excited for their chance to come and show their work on the screen and it has them take ownership of their ideas and makes them excited to share them with the class. It also has them become the teacher for a moment so that they can really understand what they are doing as they have to explain it to the whole class.

My class is unusual from many as we hardly use chrome books or smart boards since they are not in our class. When thinking about this lesson and the planning it was hard to think about what technology to implement as in my mind a doc cam is not necessarily “new technology” however it is a way for my students to interact and use technology on a daily basis. In my other placements I have had more technology to work with and the students get super excited to use it. It is a shame that my current class does not have the same luxury of technology like that, however as educators it is our job to find different ways to expose them to technology despite these obstacles.

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One piece of future technology that I would love to have in my classroom is a robot that can do individualized writing conferences with young students. This robot would be able to read and correct the students writing and offer verbal feedback to the child in order to improve their writing. This robot will be able to correct their writing and they can use headphones to hear the verbal feedback. This can be used during reading groups and centers to ensure that students are doing the work and that they are getting more feedback then they would have gotten with just one teacher in the classroom. The students will be able to verbally discuss their writing and they can explain their thinking to the robot and that it can somehow combine both the written and oral component and give correct feedback.

This can support learning as it can help be another form of instant feedback in the classroom for students in order to help them progress along while still allowing the teacher to work in groups, yet still keep tabs on her students. I find that now having two bodies in the class helps with reading groups as the teacher can sometimes be strained by being the only one in the room. This robot will be able to help with one aspect of it as students would be receiving daily feedback and then the teacher can go back and see how their students are progressing and shape future lessons.

One struggle with this technology is having it be able to read young kids handwriting. I, as a human, struggle most times to read my students writing and so the software for the robot would have to be able to read the worst of handwritings and yet still be able to decode the writing. Another struggle could be setting up the software to not use key words to score the assignment. Today some software’s are able to edit the generic things in a paper and or just count word count (Education Weekly), which can be not as beneficial in lower grades as the mistakes that they are making aren’t common errors, they are huge  errors that arise when one is learning how to write. These errors could vary from student to student making it hard to create software that could detect them all.

However if finding a way to create this software , the classroom would improve so much as would the writing of children. During reading time, teachers are expected to be like circus performers, juggling several different responsibilities at once. With this robot the students have a feedback loop that gives them an incentive to be able to do their work since they will get to interact with cool technology. Also this allows them to be able to make real time change to their writing and not have them make the same mistakes over and over before it becomes harder to break their habits.

I would use this in my classroom as a checkpoint during their independent work. Someone random will get called on half way through the independent work block and if they are finished then they will be able to go and have a writer’s conference with the robot. This way they are completing their work and receiving some feedback that I otherwise may not have been able to provide to them since I was in reading groups. This could also act as a motivator to my kids so that they do their seatwork before I randomly choose someone so they all need to so their work incase they get chosen.

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Inside the Tech World: Interview with Tech Teacher

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Inside the Tech World: Interview with Tech Teacher

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1.     What are the most frequently used devices in your (class/school)?

Desktops, have some lap tops

2.     Can you share the funding source for the devices or suggestions on how I can acquire resources or devices when I begin teaching?

Computers are provided by the county, things in classroom probably do fundraise but was unsure of the where they come from exactly

3.     How did you learn about using technology and implementing technology in your class/school?

General info tech degree

4.     What best practices have you observed for the implementation of technology with children?

Istation, ABCYA, finds tons of other websites, schools database (Beltsville) can show everything research and pictures, Britannica online, tumblebooks (can be accessed at home, has games and books and other things) rosetta stone for free for esol kids

5.     What technology would you suggest as a resource for communication with families?

Phone (cell) school website so that parents can contact them, school max (grade book)

6.     In a school where they have no technology, how do you suggest they introduce it to the class when there is no school support?

Planning to have kids have access to the computer even if it is not that much time, they are all exposed to it a little bit and they can get familiar with technology

7.     How do you teach a child to think critically/not to be lazy with the easy accessibility of technology?

Whatever their parents have them see, they want to do that. Clarify that they are at school and not at home, so that they can be serious to learn reading and math, starts with easy websites. Short time on websites when there is backlash, give them ownership, MAKE THE HOUSE V. SCHOOL DIFFERENCE

8.     What age do you think is best to introduce/rely on technology in the classroom?

PRE-K they are already exposed to technology at a young age, but they just really need to be directed

9.     Do you find it harder or easier to keep kids engaged while using technology?

She plans lessons and aligns them with programs, she uses free time as a prize to keep them engaged and to minimize the distractions that can occur

Games also help stusents who might be lower, feel that they can do things and help others

10.   Is there a certain subject that you feel lends it self to be easily accessible to technology?

Personally math, but combining both is the best thing to do, reading and math need to be in harmony in order to have technology

When I originally thought about technology in elementary school I found it to be more of a distraction than anything. Call me old fashioned but when growing up I never really had access to technology and sometimes think that it can disrupt learning in the classroom, however after talking to the tech teacher I have seen that there is a way for technology to be added that can benefit elementary kids. Also something that was unexpected was that the teacher had no background in education. Her degree is in general information technology and had no background with teaching.

I learned that I could use the software Istation to help with phonics and reading with the students. Before this interview I really did not see the point in Istation and I thought it really was just a way to help students type, but now I see that it really does tailor itself to each student and there is a way that I can access their progress and in turn plan lessons around areas that they still need more help.

Beltsvile has a database website that I thought was a really great idea for my future classroom as this can put any website that students can access in one location so that they don’t have the chance to go on one that isn’t indicated by me. It was also such a good resource for parents and teachers to be able to plan around it or ask parents if they have access to a computer to please have the students practice more at home. Also something that I plan to use in my future classroom is the tactic to differentiate how the student views internet access at school and at home. The tech teacher was explaining to me how she takes the first week of school and instills the idea in the kids that these computers are where they are going to work on building skills, not playing games. She said it was effective and helped students stay on task and changed their mentality about the time that they were dedicating to bettering their skills and not that it was time to be off task.

The software that would be easiest to integrate is obviously Istation since it is already in the class and is something that the students use weekly.  The only thing is that I don’t feel as though my teacher and I use it to its full potential, as we do not check their progress on it or anything. This software could be helpful when we feel that a student is falling behind, we can put them on Istation in the mornings and track their progress through that program. The hardest thing to implement would be computer time and work on the computer (like Google classroom) since we don’t have that kind of technology in the classroom. Last semester since we had chrome books readily available it was easy to have them type up papers or accommodate students with oral typing but we don’t have that in my class this year, which limits what we can do exactly.

My idea of technology has changed since I thought that it was just something that was not accessible for little kids. But through actually seeing the kids in tech class and talking to the teacher I have seen that the students really interact with the technology and be engaged. I feel that this has allowed me to gain an appreciation for technology and really understand that now a days it is an integral part in the classroom and need to be exposed to children

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In my classroom we have three computers where students rotate during reading groups. One of my SPED students gets on the computer during warm-up time since the warm ups are too hard for him. He has benefitted from the technology and getting to work with literacy on his own level. Istation is a website that works on students literacy level through different games and does not move on a different level until a student proves that they can master a skill.