The district
welcomed a technology tour of several of our K-12 classrooms with
approximately 27 guests from Reef Sunset, Fowler, Burton, Sylvan and
Kings River Hardwick School Districts. The tour was sponsored by Apple
Computer, and it was led and conducted by our Academic
Coaches Shellie Escobedo, Kristina Seaman and Rich Lane.
Our guests
were inspired and impressed at the innovative practices of
our teachers,
the involvement and savvy of our students and new ways
students are
using technology as a learning and information
management
tool.
Here are some
of the impressive practices we and the guests witnessed:
Students
writing and producing persuasive adds using a variety of
modalities
focused on good writing and communication being created in
an "ad
like" file in Keynote and iMovie.
Students
determining points on a graph, locating and identifying
points,
finding related numbers to location while learning how those
points relate
to geometrical shape, etc. using a related website.
Students
creating challenging questions in their Cornell notes and
posting those
questions to the screen using Air Play. The questions
were well thought out and showed
some complexity (6th grade).
Students in each classroom were
working in a blended tech environment. On the iPads, students were working
on building words and creating books using the apps
like Montessori Spelling and Story Kit. Students were using the
laptops and desktops to access web-based programs like Starfall and
Lexia.
In most of
the 4th and 5th grade classrooms, students didn't even
notice when we walked in, that's how engaged they were. We saw
well-planned lessons and students who felt comfortable using the
technology. It is evident that they use
it often. Students were using apps like Show ME, Voice memos for fluency
and Popplet.
One teacher
was instructing a class on how to create a commercial using iMovie. Students
were then encouraged to practice before actually creating the
comercial they wanted. The teacher instructed the students on how to fix timing
issues that would arise.
Students were
creating sentences from math problems using rigor model words and streaming
them up to the board for the class to see and critique using air server.
Students were
using Popplet to create timelines.
Students in
some classrooms were working in a blended tech environment. On the
iPads, students were working on building words and creating books using
the apps like Montessori Spelling and Story Kit. Students were using
the laptops and desktops to access web-based programs like Starfall and
Lexia.
Teachers had
multiple grouping arrangements. Some were doing EDI lessons with half the
class, while the rest of the students worked in small groups and individually.
Other teachers (and high school students) worked with small groups, giving
individual instruction while the rest of the class worked in small groups or
individually.
Lessons have
been modified to meet the needs of every student in the classroom. The perfect
example was a group of two boys that were working together on the same math
app. One boy is in kindergarten and the other is in the third grade. The older
student was able to assist the younger student and walk him through math
problems. The teacher went into the
settings for each student and adjusted the level to meet their individual
needs.
Teachers were
excited to share with guests and urged their kids to show, rather than tell, what
they have been working on. Students were doing research to create Keynotes on
animals that will be presented next week. Other classes were using Popplet for
vocabulary development (see photo), Mad Libs to practice parts of speech,
and Story Kit to demonstrate their knowledge of generalizations.
One teacher
had two students work on Keynote to "master it." She then had the
rest of the class meet with these two students so they could get
"cleared" to work on their keynote. When her class was done with their
project, she sent them to neighboring teachers' classes to demonstrate and teach
them how use the app. Way to get kids networking!
Visitor comments:
They (the teachers) don't need a
computer lab or computer station in their classrooms. Anywhere (points at kids
in chairs, on the floor, in corners) can be a computer workspace...;-).
One favorite comment from a group
was regarding the level of engagement in the classrooms. The
visitors were amazed at how engaged the students were in each classroom. The group was really impressed with the
amount of interaction and collaboration between kids at this level.
They also commented on the amount
of pride that the teachers had in their students. It was very evident in ALL
classrooms that we visited.
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