I am very proud of what my fifth grade team of teachers have accomplished this year. With minimal training they have incorporated the use of technology in their every day lessons.
I'd like to add kudos to Santa Clara's 5th grade teachers. They've jumped in with both feet and are actively looking for ways that the laptops and technology can be incorporated in instruction. A couple of our specialist (library & art) are also using the laptops with the fifth graders. All of us would like more training, but no one is waiting for that to happen to use the "gift" we've been given.
Go Bulldogs!
Every school has great lessons that incorporate technology! Kudos to us all!
I sure wish I could see some examples of these lessons.
Lily, I have to agree with you. Our 5th grade teachers dove right into technology this year with minimal training as well. They stuck with it, even though they were discouraged at times and did not give up. They have created reading and math learning paths for their students using the Compass Learning program that are school is utilizing. Some of them are using educational websites, powerpoint presentations, digital storytelling, Google Earth, (to name a few) to enhance their teaching and student learning. Student engagement has increased and the students are proud to have their own computers to use during the school day. I am excited to see what the next year will bring for our students and teachers.
I agree that a lot of teachers jumped into teaching with technology this year at our school. I think the momentum is good, there have been so many benefits with using technology that I think that made it easier for teachers to continue working forward and trying new web 2.0 tools,etc. As teachers start to use more technology tools this will be an enormous advancement for students to use these tools.
I think proud is the key word here. I think it is fantastic that principals feel proud of teachers for their willingness to “dive in” this initiative. I also believe that many teachers feel proud of themselves for possibly stepping outside of their comfort zone and embracing this movement, for the good of the students. I have heard some teachers talk about trying a new technology resource for the first time, and realizing just how much the students enjoyed and gained from the lesson. These teachers feel very proud of themselves, as they should. I think many of us also feel very proud of our students for the respectful way they have handled the equipment, clearly our students are very proud to have these nice resources and in some cases the level of behavior has improved as a direct result. Finally, it’s wonderful to hear how proud our students are to have “their own” computer to use on a daily basis. We all know that for many of our students, this is the first time they have had a computer… and it might have been a while before they did, had it not been for this initiative. Any chance we get to help our students feel proud of themselves, and proud of their school/community is a great thing that can only benefit learning and our kids.
Thank you for the compliment, we have enjoyed the challenge. We look forward to more training.
Thank you very much. As a 5th grade teacher it is nice to hear good things. This year has been quite a challenge and I hope we will continue learning and meeting the expectations.
It is always nice to receive a compliment. I hope we have the opportunity to receive additional training so we can implement second order changes.
I am glad you mentioned second order change. What would second order change look like in our classrooms? it is so amazing to watch our schools begin to really transform. There are great ideas out there and i look forward to our brainstorming about what second order change we envision.
I see our whole district transforming, moving toward the second order change. Hopefully one day all our classrooms will be student-centered!
We are way more tech savvy than many other Tucson districts! I met a lady the other day and she was telling me that she moved her 5th grade daughter to a Sunnyside school last week, and she was amazed of what she saw. This is what she said, "I walked in the classroom and the teacher was moving things on the whiteboard, and all the kids had their own lap top! I didn't know Sunnyside was so advanced."I explained to her what a SMART Board is, and then I went on to tell her all about Sunnyside. I felt proud!
Sandra,
I agree, we are definitely further along than most. Our teachers have embraced the changes and have begun the implementation process. Several students have moved into our school and are shocked with what is expected from our 5th graders. When I asked if they had any practice with multimedia presentations, one little girl said, "I don't even know what you're asking me." After showing her some of the presentations the kids were working on, she whispered, "I can't believe they're doing things like that. That's awesome, how do I do it?"
Great job, Sunnyside!
Great job 5th grade teachers. This year you have done a great job of teaching the students how to use technology in your classrooms. You've done this with little training. Next year should be a whole lot better after having some valuable training.
I have to agree that next year is going to be even better. The fifth grade teachers at Elvira are doing an outstanding job too. They jumped right in and the ball is rolling with very little training. It's exciting to watch the transformation of technology in the classroom. We are a phase 2 school and we have only had the laptops for about a month and it's great to see the excitement and motivation in the students.
I believe that we, at our school, have a dedicated team of Fifth Grade teachers who have taken the challenge of improving the technology skills of their students to the pinnacle of learning. The have attended various professional development opportunities and introduced new skills for their students.
I can't speak for the other schools, but it appears that they too are attempting to implement and utilize technology as much as possible, but my team is trying to as well. So long as we keep the momentum going at any pace faster than snail-speed, we can continue to see drastic changes within the district.
We, too, have a very committed fifth-grade team which has jumped head-first into implementing technology every day in the classroom, even with limited tools (no elmo, projector, or smart board and limited internet access). I, personally, still have a long way to go in mastering technology, but I'm willing to keep trying and learning new and innovative ways to use it with my fifth graders. It's so worth it to see the enthusiasm and excitement on the their faces!
It is wonderful to read all the compliments flying through the air! I can not remember a time of such positive discussion,and yes, I have been around for awhile.Teachers are amazing people. They will model the character traits of perseverance, humor, flexibility, humility, and courage in order to create a better learning environment for their students.
Teachers are so innovative and creative. They persevere with the task at hand. Regardless of not having projectors, Elmo's, smart boards, and/or limited Internet access, teachers are committed and willingly and wanting to learn.
As a 4th grade teacher, my students were all abuzz as the 5th graders started carrying around their laptops to specials & LD resource. They are very excited to be a part of the program next year. I had a couple of my previous students come up to me with their laptop bags, so proud that they now had access to technology. Great job 5th grade teachers - I'm jealous! ;)
I know all the 5th grade teachers hit the ground running with minimal training, and after reading all the posts it sounds like there are some great things happening in our district. If we truly want this program to succeed we have to raise the bar every year. Moodle will be a great asset in the classroom to begin second-order change, and I can’t wait to start implementing it in my class. When we think of district transformation we are going to need professional development to understand what exactly a second-order change classroom looks like.
I also have to add that the 5th grade team at Santa Clara has had no fear at all and have embraced this change with excitement and willingness to do whatever is necessary for our students! It has been a wonderful experience and can't wait for next year.
Xavier, I think Moodle is a crucial next step for our teachers and students. It will make the 1:1 implementation more efficient and take us to where we want to go.
I think Xavier brings up a great topic - what does a classroom embracing second order change look like. We need to have some rich discussions about what we should hear, see and feel in our classrooms. It is really getting out of the box. If we are not deliberate about creating second order change it is very easy to slip into a pattern of "using" technology in a way that is really first order change. For example, having students complete a "worksheet" on the computer instead of on paper is really a first order change; but having literacy stations that are screencasts so that the teacher really can be teaching at 4 different stations at one time opens the door to second order change. What other second order change ideas are out there?
Our fifth grade team at Los Ranchitos has done a great job with technology integration. With the assisstance of Mary Bade, they have embraced the changes and and work dilligently to provide what is best for our students.
Our Ranch 5th grade teachers are awesome. They have taken whatever we have thrown at them and made it work. Without other technology supports they took laptops into their classroom and their students are using them on a regular basis. They have taught them some troubleshooting tools and when I walk in with a trail of people with me including our principal they have been willing participants in allowing others to see what they are doing. They share with each other and support each other. I know they would love more training on lesson plans and software to keep them up to date. They ROCK!
I agree that our fifth grade teachers have enthusiastically embraced the implementation of the laptops into their classrooms. Although the teachers expressed frustration at the time span between training and actual netbooks coming into the classrooms (we ended up a phase two school), I think that the teachers had time to think how they would integrate ideas from the trainings with their own and implement them in the classroom, and therefore they were very eagerly ready for "Deployment Day". Also, being in phase two had other benefits such as the new "packaging". The District has been supportive with its increased tech force to support teachers at the school and through trainings. We faced many technical difficulties getting started and the district has been working to stabilize things. The best thing that the District did was decide to allow the schools to hire tech coaches! Our tech coach came from within and is so knowledgeable that she has single handedly assisted with plowing through many of the tech problems. In addition to the "tech" part, Mary Bade has also embraced the "coach" of her job title by being readily available to teachers to help with accessing data, creating lessons and getting our school up with Parent Connect and projectors.
Agreed. Having talked to other teachers and even collaboration within my own team I'm so impressed with our abilities to pull through this great endeavour. There are many great ideas out there. I never thought i could learn so much in such a short amount of time.
I think kudos are in order for all 5th grade teachers in SUSD!!! Well done everyone!!! The technology support has been amazing and they are very ready and willing to give assistance and feedback, and have been great with follow up.
2nd order change is essential to make this initiative soar. I think we have mastered 1st order change this year and have started to scratch the surface on 2nd order change. For example, students have been asked to research a given topic, create PowerPoint's, word documents, and creative projects using publisher. They have also used the Compass Learning program to review and practice concepts learned in class. These are all examples of 1st order change. To make these 2nd order we can let students choose the topic to research and they can choose a program (word, PowerPoint, publisher) to creatively show their understanding of the desired concept. When using Compass learning we may also individualize students' programs by their specific needs. Students should also be able to collaborate with their peers and take charge of their learning.
I agree with most of the comments on here about how the teachers have taking to the lap tops and tried to make use of them in the best way they know how. I think with a little more training we are going to see wonderful things start happening with our inclass computerss.
We are on a great start. I can't complain, like everything it will take time to fix the glitches here and there. Eventually, we will be up and running smoothly (connectivity). My students have benefited from the having the netbooks. It has aided in my math instruction. For an example, we were working on reading protractors, and many students were having problems, so we got on http://mathplayground.com and in no time my students it was assisting my students one-on-one on how to read the protractor and measuring angles. Not only did it cut down my time of going to each child to assist them with the protractor, but it also lessened disruptions and misbehavior.
Before we even received the laptops my 5th grade team was ready and planning lessons to include them. We were excited and we had plan to not use the Internet since we had heard there were a lot of connectivity issues. We bumped into other problems and have had different problems ever since but our team is ready to tackle any problem we encounter and we are always happy to be using the laptops.
One theme i see emerging in the area of PD is not just the necessary PD specific to technology, but also the need for PD that helps us "guide" learning. Questioning techniques, inquiry based learning and how to ensure that standards and learning goals are clear deliberate in this new journey.
I agree Pam. The enthusiasm is there and teachers are willing to learn the technology component. Now we need to support them in the inquiry based learning and to make sure that this truly is a second order change in which Sunnyside moves toward student centered learning.
The team at Los Ranchitos has risen to the challenge. The planning process that we have implemented with Jim Heintz is one that can be carried over to the technology integration. This will be key as we look at standards and learning and the way that technology integration will change our roles as teachers, coaches and administrators. Great job Los Ranchitos team I am proud of your accomplishments this year.
Congrats to all the 5th grade teachers. I have heard about your challenges. Thank you for being the ginny pigs and aiding in solving many of the issues. What a success.
Yes! very thankful to the 5th grade teachers who are now able to be sources of support and input for us who are to embark on this next school year as well. Something that worries me and im curious to find out is how our incoming 6th graders did on their final Aims in 5th grade and whether 5th grade teachers felt that the technology helped 5th graders or if there were any issues along the way in respect to that. Im assuming well be able to discuss that until later in the fall once results and data is out. Im curious to know how much time was spent on teaching technology vs Core content standards.
you are right Gabriela, although we know that students now a days know so much about technology i am not sure how well they know how to use it with a educational purpose. I hope that not much time is spend teaching them the technology piece rather than the content. If we think about it we can always suggest for some of the time in ECCAPP to be use for that. We can always put something together and teach what ever we see at the beginning of he year that students are lacking and we can turn it into a lesson for the ECCAPP class.