Final Reflection

A Look Back at the Semester

Where I was

At the beginning of this semester, I considered myself fairly tech savvy. I knew how to use Google slides, docs, and sheets, mostly to collaborate with other teachers. I typically used slides for presentations, but hadn't made the leap to students directly accessing these slides. My kindergarten students used Myon on a regular basis, and we had iPads in our classroom at their disposal. Everyday we use the smartboard at the front of the room. In my mind, we had plenty of tech integrated already.

Where I am

After wrapping up this class, I now realize just how many more opportunities there are to add more technology learning resources in the kindergarten classroom. I was under the impression that there just weren't many applications out there that are primary friendly, or if they were, they required too much time explaining to young students how to use that they weren't practical. 

This course introduced me to so many wonderful applications-- Quizziz, Edpuzzle, Seesaw-- that were easy to use on the teacher, student, and parent side. Each of these apps could help students become more empowered learners, using technology to share what skills they've learned as well as demonstrate their understanding of learning goals. Technology also offers tons of opportunities for formative assessment in a way that students will be more engaged with.

Using technology in the classroom opens up the conversation for digital citizenship, something that can be started early in school. Digital citizenship, or making sure that students understand the rights and responsibilities of living and learning in the digital age and act appropriately in ways that are safe, ethical, and legal, can and should be started in elementary schools. These are topics and skills that can carry over into other aspects of the learning environment, that sense of responsibility to oneself and others. 

Where I'm going

I would like to create more opportunities for students in my kindergarten classroom to not only use technology, but use it in a way that enhances their learning and enriches their understanding of topics. In the future I want to put more of an emphasis on knowledge construction and students using a variety of resources to have meaningful learning experiences and to create artifacts.  

I also plan on talking more with my the school based technology teacher to find ways to better utilize the technology we already have in the classroom, as well as following other teacher's online to see what tech they have and are using in their rooms. 

Myon Reading Resource

Myon

Myon is a virtual library with thousands of books for students in preschool all the way up through high school. These titles are leveled to be age appropriate for their audience and are organized by different topics. 

Students have the option of adding their own books to their device, or teachers can go in and add books for students. There is is even a filter where teachers can select books that are aligned with state standards.

Teacher Resource

 After filling student libraries you can go in a see a break down of your student’s reading habits; you can see how many books they have read, how often they’re reading in class versus at home, and compare week by week. You can also monitor how many books the class has read as a whole.

In addition to assigning readings, educators also have the option of assigning quizzes and projects after students have finished their books. There is a search engine within Myon where you can filter by topic or standard to find age and grade level appropriate projects or readings for students to explore.

Bottom Line: Myon is an excellent literacy tool that can be utilized during Daily Five as a listening station, to teach new science, social studies, or math concepts, and to gauge student and parent involvement outside of the classroom. 

Edpuzzle

Edpuzzle 

This week I decided to give Edpuzzle a try to create a lesson around Thanksgiving for kindergarten students. Edpuzzle is an app that is used alongside google classroom as well different video services (such as YouTube) to create new clips with your own voice over recordings. There is also an option to crop videos, add audio notes, and quizzes to check understanding while the video lesson is going on. 

Getting Started

This is a really used friendly application that includes an optional tutorial to get started. Even without the tutorial, though, it is relatively self explanatory.

Starting out you first chose where you would like to find your video; options include Edpuzzle, YouTube, Khan Academy, National Geographic, TED Talks, as well as a few others. There is even the choice to filter searches by curriculum or from your school (if they are using this application).

I chose a Thanksgiving video from Edpuzzle that look primary appropriate. 

After selecting my video I had different options to make it my own including trimming the video, recording my own commentary or notes, and embedding questions. It was a pretty quick process from start to finish, and then it was ready to be shared. 

There are a few options when it comes to assigning your edpuzzle video; you can either assign it to a class already plugged into google classrooms and edpuzzle, or share it out as a link. You can also take away the ability to skip sections of the video to make sure students watch it in it's entirety. 

Bottom Line: Edpuzzle is a super easy application I would recommend to other teachers, particularly in primary grades. However I could also see this being differentiated and a useful application for older students as well. 

Seesaw

Seesaw

This week I decided to look into Seesaw, an educational site dedicated to teachers, students and families. This application has multiple uses; it works as an interactive tool for students, an assessment for teachers, and a way for families to stay connected to what their child is doing in the classroom. This application can be used on laptops, computers, iPads, iPhones, and androids. 

To the right is the introduction video that pops up as soon as you create an account and designate yourself as an educator (there are also instructional videos for students and families as well). 

Starting Out

After you first sign up and watch the information video, you will be asked to name your class and select your grade level. This is important because Seesaw will make suggestions of activities based on the age group of your students.  There are a ton of different actives already made for you to use and implement with minimal setup. 

 The activities cover a large portion of the kindergarten curriculum such as then and now, counting by fives, coin identification, read alouds, and even digital citizenship  for Pre-K - 1st grade. You can even look up specific activities based on learning targets and browse by subject.

Assigning Activities

After looking through all the activities and finding an activity that you like, you click the heart to add to your library. From there you can share out the activity to your students you've added to your class list.




On their devices, students will then log in and see the assigned activities. They are able to respond by taking a picture, recording, typing, or even drawing out their answers.

2018-2019 is the name of my kindergarten class this year (as seen on the bottom).

Create  Your Own

Teachers also have the opportunity to create their own assessments for students. You can take a picture, write out the instructions, or record verbal directions for students to follow. There's also the option to include a template for student responses where you can upload, draw, or write out guidelines for responses. Students will then record their answers right over the template provide.

Student View

 After clicking on the assignment students are brought to a page similar to this. In this particular activity they can hit play to hear the directions read to them and then take a picture to show their work.

After taking a picture they are given the option to explain or reflect on their work. They can record a verbal response, draw on their picture, add labels, and captions.

Teacher View

This is the home page that teachers access on Seesaw. You can view assignments you've saved and ones that you've already sent out to students to work on. There's also a record of how many responses there are, how many are waiting for approval, and how many have yet to record a response. 

Once students have responded their work is saved to the class journal. You can go through and like, comment, and tag student posts with your own set of skills as well as a star rating to see how students are progressing (though this is considered an "upgrade").

Teachers also have the option to send out announcements to all students. While students can receive these announcements, they are not able to message back or message other students.

Finally, teachers are given an option to host a blog to showcase student work samples.  After adding their work to Seesaw, you can publish some of their work to a class blog to share both around the world or privately to familiar just in the class.

Bottom Line:

This is a really useful tool for assessment, student involvement, and including families in the loop about what their students are working on. Seesaw is easy to use, there are plenty of resources, and this is the kind of app that could be implemented in elementary through high school because it is easy to differentiate. 

Spark

Spark Video Presentation

Let me start by saying that I really, really wanted to like Spark. In a lot of ways it reminded me of Nearpod, but an easier to use, user friendly version. It had a lot of great options and components for teachers and businesses alike to use, such as a poster creator, invitations, and other graphics besides just the video slideshows. 

Getting Started

This week we were tasked with creating a video presentation. My immediate thought for use in my kindergarten was a presentation on personal space bubbles, something we've been talking about for a bit now and would like to reinforce. 

I chose the Show and Tell option, as it fit the closest to what I was planning. It was nice to have a blueprint mapped out for you while getting started to help generate ideas. There was also a video in the very beginning to help walk you through the process of creating the video (which was appreciated!). 

However I will say that I wish there was an easier way to add text and images in different spots; I'm used to google slides that can be personalized down to the letter, so it was an adjustment having to stick to the predetermined blueprints and one image or icon at a time. That and the images offered a limited pool (and actually had me changing from my initial idea to use a Mo Willems book to talk about).

I could have uploaded my own images, but it was nice that by using the pictures provided that Spark will cite them for you at the end.

Another issue I had with Spark was that the voice recording didn't work on my end, so I'm curious if anyone else experience problems with it. Each time I tried to record, it sounded as though I was on fast forward and didn't come out clearly. As far as I can tell my mic is working, so again, I'm not sure if this is a problem on my end or from the site.

Here is my spark presentation.

Final Impression

I did like Spark and can see how effective it would be in a classroom, especially when the voice recording is working properly. Next year I would even consider using this site to create my back to school presentation for parents instead of using PowerPoint or even Google Slides.

Exploring Quizziz

Formative Assessment, Take II

This week I chose to use Quizziz to make an assessment after hearing that it was easy to use and student friendly. Specifically, my background knowledge of Quizziz came from this blog and listening to her speak about her experiences using this assessment tool and her success with it.

First Impressions

When you first come to Quizziz to make an account, it gives you the option to play around with sample quizzes that have already been made. This was a nice introduction and immediately sets the stage for what you can expect moving forward as well as different options you can include in your assessment. Already, much easier and user friendly than my experience with Nearpod was. 

Getting started

First you will be prompted to create a quiz by naming it. There is also an option to align the quiz to state standards. You will then be directed to the page below where you can start to build your assessment by creating questions, uploading images, or even searching through preexisting questions. 

Adding questions and answer options was pain free; you select whether or not there will be a single or multiple answers, type up your question and possible answers, and then mark which options are correct. 

Once you have entered all your questions that you would like the assessment to include, you can take the assessment your self to see the student's view. The bar at the top is the time left that the student has to answer, which can be edited to have more or less time. 

Along the way students are given little bits of encouragement to break up the test questions and offer some motivation to continue. There is also an option for different internet memes to pop up after each answered question, which can be turned off if you so choose. 

At the end students are given the opportunity to reflect on their scores and even go back and review questions that they missed or may have spent too much time on. Teachers can also access this information and see how each student did and areas they may require additional practice. 

Bottom Line: Quizziz was easy to use (for both teachers and students), did not require additional training and searching to figure out, and offered an enjoyable twist on traditional assessments. I would highly recommend this application to other educators to use in their classrooms as a formative assessment to gauge student understanding and learning. 

My assessment using Quizziz can be found here.

Nearpod Adventures

Nearpod Adventures

This week I chose to use Nearpod to create my assessment. As per my last post, Nearpod is an interactive slide show that promotes collaboration and engagement among students. At its core this is a tool for teachers to present and receive immediate feedback from students within the presentation. Students using the app are able to draw on slides (such as marking locations on a map or adding labels), answer multiple choice questions, create collaboration boards, polls, and so much more. Teachers launch the presentation and then are able to watch and monitor student progress through the slides in real time.

Creative Process

Originally I chose to use Nearpod because it seemed user friendly and easy to develop presentations for students. I was looking to create a primary-friendly assessment to gauge understanding of patterns at the end of a unit. I liked that Nearpod has the option for students to draw directly onto the slides, which in itself is nice for younger students to show what they know.

I really, really struggled with using Nearpod in the beginning. The first hour or so I was using it

was going back and forth between playing with the different choices (field trip was a nice

highlight, but irrelevant for my assessment) and getting frustrated with creating the individual pieces.  I should also note that this was while using an iPad, so I would imagine that the computer would offer an easier experience. That and internet explorer works much better than google chrome, at least with my experiences. 

After my frustrating hour I finally realized the Nearpod works with google slides, and changed

tactics entirely. I was able to create the slide show and then upload it onto Nearpod and add the

Draw It option to the slide so students would be able to draw in their answers directly onto the

slides. It also generates reports for the teacher to see the creative process and find the areas where

students may have struggled more than others.

Teachers and Nearpod

Once I finally understood how to properly use Nearpod, I actually really enjoyed what it has to

offer. While I used it for a math assessment, I could easily see it be used for social studies

(especially the field trip option), science (matching, fill in the blank) and short answer options.

I’m excited to try creating a new slide and becoming more proficient with this app because it has

tons of options and assessment tools that can be utilized in the classroom environment. I

appreciated that the app can easily be tailored from primary students through the upper grades

appropriately. Nearpod also has the potential to be differentiated for student with individualized

education plans and collaboration among teachers.

Click here to see presentation.

Formative Assessment and Student Data

Role of Assessment

Assessment in the classroom is used to gauge student understanding, student learning, and mastery of the skills taught. Formative (informal) assessments are check-ins with students while teaching to poll the class and see who is absorbing the information and who might need additional support. These kinds of assessments can be as simple as a thumbs up or thumbs down, an exit ticket, check-in with a note-card, or even observing your students' expressions. 

Technology and Assessment

Whereas the easy and free assessments are accessible to most classrooms, there is a benefit to using technology as a form of formative assessment. Below are my reviews on Nearpod, Edulastic, and PlayPosit.

1. Nearpod

 

Nearpod is described as an interactive slide show that promotes collaboration and engagement. At its baseline, this is a tool for teachers to present and receive immediate feedback from students within the presentation. Students using the app are able to draw on slides
(such as marking locations on a map), answer multiple choice questions, create collaboration boards, polls, and so much more. Teachers launch the presentation and then are able to watch and monitor student progress through the slides in real time.

Bottom Line: Nearpod would be great for formative assessment near the end of a unit to see what skills students have acquired and what areas they need more practice in. It would also be good to use as a prelesson tool to gauge what students already know about a subject area.

2. Edulastic

Edulastic is a tool that teachers use to assess and monitor student progress and mastery of standards. It is a free, formative assessment web-based platform that teachers can use to create original assessments or use resources already provided. This is a great program that can not only assess learning, but also offers differentiation for students that need additional practice or enrichment. 

Bottom Line: While not as flashy or interactive as Nearpod, Edulastic is a nice tool to gather data on student learning both in and outside of the classroom. It can also be used in conjunction with Google Classroom and Clever. 

3. PlayPosit

PlayPosit (EduCanon as it was formally known as) is an interactive video tool for teacher to assess student learning. Teachers are able to add questions and pauses to videos from sites such as Youtube, Vimeo, TeacherTube, Shmoop, and Google Drive. While students are able to rewind on their own, they are prevented from skipping forward or fast-forwarding through content. 

Bottom Line: This tool would be good in the beginning of a unit to introduce new terms and concepts to students through video resources. Playposit would also be useful to gauge what students might already know going into a new unit. 

Slides Take 2

This week, my goal was to create a kinder-friendly presentation on how to use our iPads in the classroom during Daily 5. I wanted students to understand from start to finish what steps they need to take and what the expectations are. While giving the presentation my idea was to have students on the carpet listening; at the same time, myself or another teacher would be demonstrating the steps on the slides in real time. After the lesson, students would be given an opportunity to practice getting their materials out and logging onto myon. 

After our discussion last week I tried to limit the number of words on each slide, and utilize images to get the message across instead. This presentation isn't as interactive as my last presentation, but I feel like it is far more interesting to look at and to understand for students. 

Google Slides in Kinder

This week I create a google slides presentation meant to be used during whole group learning. We are lucky enough to have a smartboard in our classroom, and the idea was that students would be able to come up one by one and sort the different items using their hands. I like google slides because it is relatively user friendly and it's easy to add in images, videos, and links. 
Usually I use smart notebook and smart exchange to create class presentations because of the built in activity builder geared specifically students. For example, using a smart notebook presentation, if a student were to move an item into an incorrect spot (such as a blue circle with a blue square when we're sorting by shape, not color) it would reset and give the student another chance to try. With google slides, a teacher would have to make all the corrections. 
All in all I do really like google slides, though, especially for collaboration with other teachers and students. 

Language Arts Choice Board

Language Arts Choice Board

When thinking of hyperdoc ideas, I immediately recalled my experiences in a first grade classroom during language arts. Every week this teacher created a tic tac toe board filled with different choices, such as read to self or work on writing, and students had to get three in a row before they could have free choice. Rather than using technology or an interactive document, each student was simply given a sheet of paper. 

Borrowing from this teacher, I decided to create my own  Tic Tac Toe  board using google docs. My first few attempts were not cute or interesting to look at, which meant students would probably share the same sentiments. After scrolling for a bit I found inspiration from samples at hyperdocs.co/and was much happier with the final product. 

Another challenge I faced was making sure the choices were spaced out in a way that students were still getting a dose of writing AND reading, not just listening to reading and drawing. That, and making the language simple/familiar enough that primary students would be able to follow the directions with as much independence as possible.

There is still room for improvement, but all in all I'm pretty happy with how my tic tac toe board came out.