Final Project - My Narrative

    Hi. Check out my Pecha Kucha here. My name is Emily Shea. I teach at Alfred Lima Elementary School in Providence. This past year I taught 2nd grade ESL and this coming year I will be teaching in an EL integrated classroom. I am excited to have a mixture of ELs and mainstream students. It is hard being the only English speaking model in the room.

     After taking this class, I have been reflecting on my beliefs about how students learn. There are many things about my classroom that I have thought about changing. I need to think about providing daily opportunities for my students to work collaboratively because this is when the best memories of learning happen. Wesch says learning happen

    I am also thinking about routines and rituals. I believe  it is so important to be consistent from day one with how you want your classroom to function. How will you line them up? How will you assign lockers? How will you explain morning procedures? How will you establish a positive reward system? How will the students quickly transition from one center to the next? 

    All of these questions lead me to my idea for this project. My classroom is lacking a computer/ technology routine. We go over how to handle the computers and how to put them away but this is not enough. My classroom has one to one technology so every student has their own classroom computer.  Like Robinson, I believe learning should be individualized and computers help us do just that.

    I want to be able to reorganize the way my students access assignments and applications on their computers. I believe that  students learn best on computers when navigation and access to assignments are easier.  They can spend more time doing work and less time figuring out how to navigate through the technology.

    I want a more seamless approach. My goal is for them to use technology independently so there are less disruptions and we both are not stuck pulling our hair out in frustration the first weeks of school. Who wants stressed out students? I want everyone to know what they are expected to do, how to do it, and how to get there. 

     Here is what I used to do. I would prepare for the coming school year by writing down their student identification numbers. I would look up all of their information and passwords. Put them on index cards and place them into a box. And let me tell you, I needed that box! GOLD. 

But guess what happens with those cards? The cards get destroyed and lost. Now, what!? I have to remake them. 

    So the students finally get logged on and they start to learn how to type in their passwords. Then, they don’t know where to go and what to click on. They have all of these online programs they are expected to use and they need to go to each page and bookmark. Now, the entire class is crying, frustrated, confused and it begins to be an awful experience. I am one body in a room of twenty-six. 

     I can’t continue this way. Distance learning was so difficult because their computers were not set up to use google classroom. I spent weeks just teaching them about the technology. I don’t want my students and parents to have to deal with more stress than they already have. Next year, I need to be more prepared for whatever comes my way. 

     Here is my plan for next school year. I will create a technology bookmark, a Symbaloo account, a storage area,  a google slideshow for centers, an assignment checklist/playlist, and spend time setting up their computers so they can be successful.

    First, I will create a technology bookmark with picture icons and their login and password information. I will print them out and laminate them so they can’t easily be destroyed. To make sure they do not get lost, I will attach a pocket to the top of their chrome books so they can insert their bookmarks when they are done. Then, the computers will no longer need labels and they have their bookmarks whenever they grab their computers. 

     I will also need to create a space for their headphones to be stored neatly. There is nothing worse than tangled and messy headphone cords! My headphones are always getting broken or stepped on. Since my students do not have desks, I am going to label an over the door shoe holder to fix this problem. 

    Then, I will create an account on Symbaloo and bookmark it on their computers. The online description is as follows, “Symbaloo is a customizable start page tool that lets users add all their most important links in a format that is easy to use. The user’s webmix appears as sleek buttons with icons or logos. The user can drag and drop items to organize them in a way that is convenient and practical. The items, or tiles, can be searched so users can find those that are most relevant to the items they are adding.” I will make it their  home page so the second they log on they will see icons of their online programs all in one place. Symbaloo is great for younger students who have issues navigating on computers. All they need to do is click on the correct icon to get to where they need to go. From Prensky, we know students or digital natives read pictures more than words.

    The next thing I want to do is create a google slideshow for centers. I want to have a twenty minute timer on each slide and a 1 minute song for transitions. I will need to make sure I have a student responsible for controlling the technology. The student can go to the computer after the twenty minute block, click the play button for the one minute song, and then hit the space bar to advance the slide.

     Each slide will have student names in groups and where they need to go.I will project it on the smart board for the class to see. No more writing out groups every few weeks. It will help me stay organized and I can quickly change the groups on the computer without having to recreate a whole new chart paper.

    I also want to create a checklist/ playlist of weekly assignments that the students must complete. For my students, a paper copy would work best. This way they can physically check off with their pencil what they have completed. It will allow them to be responsible for their own work and progress. While I am taking individual reading conferences, the students can go to their checklists and make sure they are completing their assigned tasks. After they complete their work, I can give them a stamp or a smiley face as a reward. For older students, you could make the checklist virtual and have them fill it in with x’s. 

    This individual conferences allow me time to building relationships with my students just like Wesch did during his lunch bunch sessions. I want to be able to have academic conferences and conferences that are just about our daily lives. If I have the technology piece organized and well thought out, I can make more space for one on one time with my students. Students learn when they feel connected to their learning and they feel they have a purpose.

    They can bring it home to their parents to show them they completed their weekly tasks. I have done progress reports before where I have the parents sign it and return it but I am always rushing to fill them out on Fridays. I think this checklist will put the responsibility on the students and motivate them to want to complete their work. 

     I am excited to see how my plan will work out this coming school year. I think it's important to spend time organizing and thinking about how students learn and  function best in a classroom.  I hope you enjoyed my presentation and have found ideas you can use in your own classrooms. Thank you!