Currently I am reading Amplify! by Katie Muhtaris and Kristin Ziemke. Although, I originally bought this book with the idea of continuing to implement technology into my third grade classroom, I am now shifting my focus to middle school science! I can see so many integrated uses for iPads and tech tools down the road, but have to wait as we will have all new teachers in the building again this year. It is hard to ask a brand new teacher to dabble in tech when they are still trying to learn their curriculum. However, I hope that I can provide leadership in this area as time goes on and hope that I can serve as a role model over the rest of my career.
One tool that I can see myself using differently this year is Padlet. Originally I used Padlet to share resources with my third graders for research projects. I loved printing the QR codes for my students to access the site and will continue to do this as a middle school teacher. However, in this book the teachers presented some other ideas for ways to use Padlet in the classroom that I can see using in my new classroom.
First, using Padlet as a digital bulletin board is perfect! Padlet offers a variety of ways to share including images, videos, and links. I can see using this as an exit ticket to check for understanding. I can see using it as a place to pre-assess students’ background knowledge. We can also share questions students still have on a topic, we can ask higher level questions and have them work on answering and sharing those answers.
Second, I love the idea that in order to use technology in the classroom you have to just pick one thing and try it! Jumping in head first is important and something many teachers are afraid to do. I think we have to also realize that our students will become the teachers…as teachers we have to know two things: Why are we using the technology and How do you use the basic functions to accomplish that goal. From there the students will teach us and their peers all the intricacies of the tool itself.
As with every lesson you teach…teaching tech is the same: model, guide, practice, experiment and share! I can see that my MS students will pick this up much faster than my third graders, but the only concern is that I only get them 47 min. of the day and still have content to cover. What that means for me is that if I invest in teaching how to use technology then I better have a reason for taking time away from curriculum to teach those skills. It makes me really think about what I want my students to be able to do and how to “kill two birds with one stone” while teaching it!
I love the idea of a recording booth and following up after inquiry investigations! The one-to-one iPads will be a wonderful tool for this! So many kids dislike writing all the details out and actually will miss a lot of what they learn from labs because they have to write it out! I think having an oral analysis will benefit my students greatly! This will especially be try of my special needs kids and oral lab reports will be an important modification. Things to remember: provide charts that outline basic procedures and buttons posted around the room. Of course for ELA teachers this is a great opportunity for you to have students create book talks and save them to either a Padlet for each genre or on classroom websites for others students to listen to and get book recommendations.
Other thoughts: for early finishers have them read nonfiction articles from National Geographic Kids, sports Illustrated Kids, or Smithsonian Tween Tribune and do a blog entry about it. This would need to be taught to the kids—not only how to do it, but also what a good vlog looks like. A scoring guide could easily be designed for this and perhaps at least one a semester should be required? Thoughts? I thought about having this as one of the BW assignments each week, but wonder if that is too much to do at the beginning of class. The Latin and Greek roots is another BW activity that isn’t seeming very realistic for my kids…maybe something we just teach throughout the year and make available as an extension activity for those that finish early or have extra time. For ELE classrooms starting off the day with a nonfiction read is a great idea. Illuminates busy work (that we all hate grading—let’s be honest) and provides more time to read!
Finally, another tip I picked up from reading the first chapter in the book was the importance of a classroom website. I started making one using Wix and am pleased with what I have so far. But, I need to find a way to post and share things with my students like: charts, organizers, handouts, videos and other snapshots of student learning. This is definitely something I will be working on this year. Many times when I am looking at other teachers websites they have their weekly planner posted, with links to videos, notes, presentations, worksheets, etc…. I think this is a great idea for future use as well as student support at home! A website is something students can access from any device, any place and any time they want! Wow!
So, there you have my thoughts from just the first chapter of Amplify! Unbelievable…and that was the theory section! Look out blog world…there is much more to come!
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