Smarter Balanced Assessments

After attending Brighton's staff professional development day on Monday, I am even more convinced that 1:1 Chromebooks (or something similar) needs to be implemented for our district. We will be partaking in the national standardized test through Smarter Balanced Assessments like many other states in the country. This testing will take place for the state of Michigan in 2014 and it is an assessment that will be aligned with the Common Core State Standards. There were two national tests to choose from, and from my understanding we chose the Smarter Balanced route due to the "computer adaptive testing" that will provide great feedback and make the testing more meaningful with data that is useful in a timely fashion. I am excited for these new assessments for a variety of reasons. First and foremost - NO MORE MEAP! Second, it sounds as if the testing that will take place does work towards student success, rather than an amount of data to provide schools with government money. Also, what I have heard so far, it seems that the test is more focused on real world learning rather than to memorize facts that don't really make an impact on student understanding. That being said, the shift in education is here and we need to be ready. The Common Core State Standards are the basis of 21st Century Learning and I feel overwhelmed and anxious that many districts may not be prepared for what is to come. Brighton has an opportunity to be leaders in this regard - due to the recent bond passed in the community. I really do think that putting Chormebooks in the hands of students 3rd grade and up on a very frequent basis would be so beneficial and would give us an advantage that we need. As the elementary teachers sat through the morning's PD on Monday, we saw an example performance task and test question. The third grade students need to be able to read digital text, view multi-media content on a computer screen, go back and forth to several internet websites using tabs, and type a lengthy essay using supporting evidence from the media reviewed. I do think third graders can do this. They can do it well with practice, opportunity and access to devices on a regular basis. As I investigated more on the Smarter Balanced Assessment website, I did find out that Chromebooks do support this testing in the system requirements specifications executive summary.

I know the timing of when this test needs to be taken has not yet been determined. However, I do worry about how and when my future students may take this assessment. Of course I want my students to perform well. If this testing is used towards my evaluation (like the MEAP) I want to be sure that my students get to take the test at the ideal time, especially if there are not enough machines or devices for everyone to take it simultaneously. If my students are allocated the computer lab or cart right after lunch recess on a Friday, but Mrs. Smith who teaches next to me has her students take it Monday morning before snack, I will be very discouraged and disappointed. If we had Chromebooks available to all kids this wouldn't be an issue and the results for our students would be even more accurate and useful.

Reading Online

During the month of April, my classroom has been finishing up our non-fiction unit and we have started our poetry unit. I always like to have an over abundance of texts available so students can emerse themselves in the particular genre we are studying. I have bins and bins of high interest topic books, I pull carts full of texts from the school library and I currently have 116 books checked out in my name from the Brighton District Library! What can I say, I love books! For these two units I have also provided links on my website (under my language arts tab) for students to try some online reading. I used free resources like Tumblebooks, ducksters.com, buzzle.com, gigglepoetry.com, poetry4kids.com and many more. I have allowed the kids to choose which type of text they want to read, and of course most of them want to read online using our new Chromebooks. I created a survey for them to fill out asking their opinions about online reading versus book reading and most kids said they liked online reading better. Some reasons they included were, "there are more topics to choose from", "I can't lose the page I left off on", and "it's more fun!". One special education student said, "I learned a lot more words as Tumblebooks were read to me and I could follow along!" I know that the implementation of this pilot is new and exciting for the kids and the novelty of it all could wear out after awhile. However, it has been great to give these students so much choice and options that seem endless. Having books and online texts available at any time of the day for the kids to go to has been ideal. I would never want books to be taken out of the picture completely. There is nothing better than a great book you can curl up on the couch with and get lost in. I see online reading as an extra bonus and a way to motivate students to take ownership in their literature choices.

No Annoying Updates

The week I received my classroom's Chromebook cart, I also received my teacher MacBook Pro. I was bombarded, overwhelmed and thrilled all at the same time to have exciting, WORKING technology in my Brighton Area School classroom. I love my MacBook Pro. It is beautiful. However, I have already received a few notifications on updates needing to be downloaded for a variety of different things. I have seen a software update, an update available for iphoto and some annoying boxes keep showing up in the upper right hand corner telling my I have to update something that I don't even know what it is. The Chromebooks have never had any such notifications. Why? It updates by itself! Chromebooks download security and software upgrades automatically so you don't have to! As a teacher, the last thing I have time for is to keep up with updating software for my student technology implemented in my classroom. I need to be busy designing lesson plans that can include technology that I know will work. I also love that all student work can be accessed anywhere, using almost any device. No need for a jump-drive or disk to save work so homework or projects can be worked on at home. Chrome's ingenious marketing line for the Chromebook is "No hassles included". Sounds good to me!

Everyday Math Online Games

Our district just purchased the Everyday Math Curriculum for grades K-6th. Brighton got the "deluxe" version of this curriculum which means there are many technology components available to students, parents and teachers. Teachers are thrilled to have a "deluxe" version of a curriculum because it seems like it has been a long while since Brighton had something shiny and new worth bragging about. I have only received positive feedback from parents about the new math program and I can tell they are pleased with the convenience of so many resources available to them online to help their child with math. Ever since my classroom has had the opportunity to work with their own Chromebooks, they have been logging into their Everyday Math accounts at least three times a week. They play any of the online games available for the specific lesson we are on. I have seen an improvement with performance and I have been surprised that our lessons have been progressing at a quicker pace since we have implemented the technology. I also know that more kids are logging in at home to continue playing games they may not have had a chance to finish at school. Not because they have to, but because they want to! There is a way to have students take an online assessment through Everyday Math Online, but I haven't figured it out yet. I hope to try it at least once before the school year is over. I am curious to see if the program gives you an immediate result - one less paper item to take home and grade! It feels great to take an adopted Brighton curriculum and enrich it to the full extent with useful, purposeful technology! Click HERE to see some neat third grade games from EDM online!

Shelfari

Since the beginning of the school year, my classroom has been using Amazon's Shelfari online book shelf. It is a program that allows you to put a virtual book that you have read onto a virtual shelf. As students put up the books they are finishing in reading workshop, they have the opportunity to rate, comment and share ideas about that book online. The students can "follow" other people's shelves to see what others are reading and they love to message each other to recommend books that they have enjoyed to their peers. Shelfari works as a great reading log that allows kids to see all the reading they accomplish through the school year. Ever since we have received our Chromebooks, the kids do not have to wait for that 45 minute a week computer lab time to put their recent books on their shelf. They can do it immediately with access to their own machines all day long. This program available to them at any time of the day has been a perfect example of collaboration and meaningful 21st Century Learning at its finest.

Shelfari: Book reviews on your book blog

Vocabulary Spelling City App

As I was creating emails for my students using an administrator code and password, I made sure to have the Elementary Education App Pack automatically installed for each students' gmail account. This means when the student opens their Chromebook and logs in, these apps are always available to each and every one of them. I have been trying out all the different apps Google Chrome has chosen to include in this App Pack, and my favorite so far is the Vocabulary Spelling City app. This award winning site's mission is,"efficient game-based study of literacy skills". I tried the free portion of this program, but I knew immediately I wanted to purchase the premium membership because of the huge variety of activities the children can participate in. I paid about $50 for a year membership and I feel it has been worth every penny and I have only been using it for two weeks. Because my students have experienced Rebecca Sitton's spelling units thus far, I have chosen to continue using the third grade word lists by inserting them into the list management section on the premium teacher's toolbox. I can give assignments, track student progress, get immediate test results and allow students to progress at their own pace. The kids have loved the games and I love that they are having fun doing word work. I also don't mind that I no longer need to bring paper spelling tests and homework home to grade! To learn more go to https://www.spellingcity.com/

Class Dojo - New behavior management app

While searching for great apps to implement while using our new Chromebooks I came across something called, "Class Dojo" in the Chrome Web Store. It is an online classroom behavior management program and since my room was experiencing some behavior issues, why not start there? The students had a blast creating their own cute, unique avatars. All day we have an extra Chromebook open with the app up and running. The special education instructor, my para-pro, my math educational assistant and I all take turns keeping track of positive and negative Dojo points. When we see a student doing something great like staying on task, participating, working hard etc. we click on the child's avatar and give them a point. The machine lets out a positive "ding". When a negative action is viewed a negative Dojo point is given to the student and a sad sounding "honk" occurs. The difference in behavior has been amazing. When he kids hear the sounds they may not know exactly who received the point but immediately make sure their own behavior is on track. They enjoy logging in themselves to see how they are progressing, and I give a small reward to the top positive point earners at the end of the week. I print their weekly progress sheet to send home in their Friday folders that allows parents to see in a very organized, friendly way what actions are being noticed in the classroom. I love it!

Why Chromebooks?

I put a lot of thought into my choice for Brighton Area School's technology pilot project.  I wanted to choose a device that was useful, affordable, sturdy, reliable and had a wow factor to motivate and engage students.  My goal is to show how useful having this unique laptop available to a student all day long can be.  During the district's Summer Vision Series I was told to "dream big", so I am dreaming big.  Brighton has an opportunity to show that we can be leaders in technology education and with the monies spent wisely from our bond, I feel we can.  21st Century Learning is here and Brighton should be on board in providing technology experiences, global connections and collaborating and project based learning to our students. Upcoming nationwide standardized tests will be online and we need to be prepared.  Follow this blog to see what I am discovering as I implement 30 Chromebooks into my third grade classroom for the remainder of the school year.