Education : May 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2014

On April 29^th, 2014 I had the pleasure of visiting Hampstead Central School and observed Mrs. G second grade classroom. As soon as I entered the school I knew this was a school that integrates technology into the classrooms. When I went to the main office to check in, they had a computer for visitors to sign in and sign out.

I was able to observe the students using technology a couple of times through out my visit. Mrs. G has six IPads assigned to her classroom. Mrs. G was involved in a federal grant to get the IPads into the school. Mrs. G said that they have had the IPads for about two years and she really enjoys seeing the fruits of her hard work. Grades K-3 have access to IPads, while the older students have access to Nobis but will be switching to laptops. Mrs. G stated that they are switching because they are finding that the Nobis to not be reliable. I got to see the students taking turns using different apps on the IPad for some skill work. One of the apps that I observed them use was for practicing tracing different numbers and letters. The app would show the student the proper way to write a letter either uppercase or lowercase. The student would have to do it correct a couple times before they could move on. The students seemed to enjoy using the IPad and were exited when their name was called to use it.

I also was able to observe the students using a new math program called EnVision Math. Mrs. G’s class is a pilot for this new interactive math lesson. The lesson I observed was Geometry. For this lesson Mrs. G used her IPad and a projector to display the math lesson and had all the kids gather on the floor. Mrs. G would select certain lessons and take turns asking the students questions that were displayed on the projector. It was great to see all of the hands shoot up into the air with excitement. This program was fun, colorful and had animated characters to entertain the kids. Mrs. G did not solely relay on the projection but would stop and hold up real shapes so the students could see a three-dimensional shape and be able to count the sides. Mrs. G said that she really enjoys this new program and that the students are doing well with it.

The students also have a block where they use computers in the computer lab. I did not observe the students use the computer lab, but received a tour from a couple second graders. They told me they enjoy the time they get to spend on the computers and play fun games.

Mrs. G told me that they are very fortunate with the technology they get to use in the classroom. Some of the other technological tools they use are laptops, document cameras, IPod touches, digital cameras, and many printers.

It was great to be able to see first hand how students really enjoy using technology to learn. It was clear that the students were more engaged and less distracted when they were able to use some form of technology. I really enjoyed this field experience and would love to spend more time with this class. It was great to see that Mrs. G has over seventeen years of teaching and embraces the use of technology in her classroom. Mrs. G has even completed Google certification training, and IPad training.

Here are some of the questions I as able to ask Mrs. G

1. Do you use an online site to post homework or communicate with your

students?

We have a district webpage and we each have a class webpage through Moodle.

I am able to communicate with families on this page.

I post special learning, updates, notes and contact information. I also

use e-mail as a major line of communication with families as well as

text messages when appropriate.

2. Do you prefer the use of technology in your class?

I enjoy using the technology in my classroom but I also understand

that it is not the only tool. It also needs to be used with instruction

and with a purpose not just a time filler.

3. In your teaching career, what are the different software’s you had to work

with? Which one did you find more apt and for teaching and why?

As we move forward with technology in the classroom and the

world in general I find the ipads to be effective with my second

graders at this point. I can pair kids up and they can explore,

reinforce and create amazing things. The technology has changed

rapidly and will continue to each and every year.

4. Do you encourage your students for computer-based activities and how

do you guide them through it?

I do encourage and work with my students using computer

based activities. Our computer technology teacher also supports

classroom learning by exploring technology extensions in the

computer lab with students. With many of the mandatory data

collecting assessments that are given each year moving towards a

technology based administration the more comfortable students are

with using technology the better they will be able to access these

tests.

5. What obstacles do you run into when trying to use technology in the
classroom?

The biggest obstacle is time to give everyone adequate time to explore

and work with the technology we have. The other issue I find is at

times out network isn’t as efficient as we would like and things get

bogged down or we can’t access internet.

6. In your teaching career, what are the different software’s you had to work

with? Which one did you find more apt and for teaching and why?

As we move forward with technology in the classroom and the

world in general I find the ipads to be effective with my second

graders at this point. I can pair kids up and they can explore,

reinforce and create amazing things. The technology has changed

rapidly and will continue to each and every year.

Lesson Plan Component	Criteria
Title	Weather Watch Grades K-2
GSE’s/GLE’s/Frameworks	S: ESS1:2:1.1 Science> Atmosphere, Climate and Weather: Students will recognize that weather conditions change frequently, and that weather patterns change over the seasons. S: ESS1:2:1.2 Science> Atmosphere, Climate and Weather > students will describe and compare weather using observations and measurements of local weather conditions 1. Creativity and innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology b. Create original works as a means of personal or group expression 2. Communication and collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others a. Interact, collaborate, and publish with peers, experts, or others employing a variety of digital environments and media d. Contribute to project teams to produce original works or solve problems 3. Research and information fluency b. Locate, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and ethically use information from a variety of sources and media d. Process data and report results
Objective(s)	1. Students will describe a weather storm after observing video clips and researching it 2. Students will investigate different facts about the storms and how to stay safe. 3. Students will be able to work well with their partner 4. Students will use and Ipad application, Story Creator to illustrate what they learned 5. Students will be able to identify weather terms such as such as severe weather, hurricanes, rain and wind. 6.Students will complete the Storm Watch sheet
Materials	1. Internet access 2. IPad 3. Printer
Anticipatory Set	Watch a couple YouTube videos of some kids forecasting the weather and video clips of severe weather. Tornado Blizzard Hurricane
Procedures	1. First have the students sit with their assigned partner 2. Show the students video clips of different severe weather storms. (Tornados, blizzards, hurricanes, thunderstorms) 3. Once the students have observed each severe weather storm tell them to pick one to research 4. Tell the students to research their severe weather storm with the provided web links 5. Tell the students to pick at least two interesting facts about the severe weather storm they picked 6. Tell the students to create a digital story about their storm using at least three pages 7. Go over instructions together as a class 8. Students will use the internet to research their weather storm 9. The students must include a written sentence describing each page 10. The student must create a recording of their voice reading each sentence 11. Tell the students each person is responsible for providing at least one fact. 12. On the IPad using the app, Story Creator the students will create several pages to add to the class book and share with the class 13. Demonstrate to the students how to create a page and use all the application functions 14. Tell the students to share at least one new thing they learned http://itunes.apple.com/app/story-creator-pro/ Weather Watch: severe storms Think about? 1. What are the dangers of your storm? 2. How can you prepare for your storm? 3. How can you stay safe during your storm? 4. What is your favorite storm and why?
Closure	1. Have the students share their part of the class book 2. Have the student explain what the most interesting fact is that they learned and why?
Assessment	1. Did the student provide at least two facts about their storm? 2. Did the student do at least four pages in the digital book? 3. Did the student work well with their partner and each provided a fact? 4. Did the student provide a sentence on each page? 5. Did the student provide a recording on each page? 6. Did the student complete the weather watch sheet and apply the information learned? 7. Did the student share at least one new thing they learned?
Modifications/Accommodations	1. Students can allowed additional time and help from the teacher

	Points Possible 0	Points Possible 1-2	Points Possible 3-4	Points Possible 5	Score
Meteorologist Partners	Students did not work well with one another and neither of them showed effort of completing the lesson	Students showed very little effort in completing the lesson	Students worked together on the lesson and did a fair job.	Students worked very well together the entire lesson and did an excellent job.
Verbalize what they learned	Did not say what they learned	Stated one thing they learned	Stated two things they learned	Stated three or more things they learned
Define your Severe Storm	The definition was not correct	The definition was partly correct	The definition was mostly correct	The definition was defined completely
Facts	No facts were investigated	1 fact was addressed	2 facts were addressed	More than 2 facts were completely addressed and explained
Weather Sheet	The questions were not answered	Some questions were complete and answered correctly	Most of the questions were complete answered correctly	All of the questions were completed and answered correctly
Pages	There were no pages	The page included nothing	The page included a picture, sentence	The pages included a picture, sentence, voice recording
Total

Education

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Digital Story

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Lesson Plan- Weather Watch

Monday, May 12, 2014

Field Interview