Thursday, February 12, 2015
Preparing Students for the 21st Century
The part of the article that explains ways to use the Internet Workshop Model to support reading comprehension gave me an idea for adding a dimension to independent reading centers. My ELL Level 1 students have "technology menus" for their independent work. Their menus give them options for independent work each week. Some of these options include reading texts on Reading A-Z and News-o-Matic (an app I learned about as part of this course). Both of these reading apps have comprehension questions for the students to answer after they read the texts. I check to see how they are doing on the quizes, but I don't follow up unless I see a problem. To enhance this, I could have students choose one article or text they read each week and share a fact they learned; give a summary of their favorite story; make text to self or text to text connections, or complete and share a learning activity based on the comprehension or vocabulary strategy we are focusing on that week.
This is not a new concept or really based on technology. However, being deliberate about taking time to allow the students to discuss their independent reading/listening centers makes a lot of sense in a Level 1 class. So much of the discussion topics seem to be dictated by me based on our thematic unit or on the texts we are reading. This gives students an opportunity to share something they read that interested them.
On another note - I used a socrative quiz to review some NeSA vocabulary terms this week. Here's a video of a team consisting of an ELL Level 1 student and an ELL Level 3 student using this app. I created the first set of questions, but they are working to create more review questions.
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Terri,
ReplyDeleteFirst of all I love how you added a video to show how you are using some of the ideas we discuss in class. Makes me want to think about how to share what I'm doing as well.
Secondly, I think great to find ways to extend what we are already doing in the classroom. Sometimes its not necessarily about how to add new technology but how to use it more effectively or expand how we use it. Seeing as I have access to one-to-one devices I'm really interested in trying on one of the methods discussed in the second article. With having 9 different groups of students though, I think I'll just pick one to try this out on. Then, if its successful or once I've worked out some bugs, then I will consider doing a similar project with the other groups. Also, I have to look into age-appropriate activities. A lot of the methods seemed to be geared towards older students and its a problem I find with most conversations about integrating technology. But the article did reference some younger grades, so I'm off to go investigate those websites.
Terri, I love the video and it is great to see kids excited about learning! I completely understand how it is hard to find time to squeeze something else in when everything is so dictated to us. So I also love how you are adding in a little extra to something you already do. I would be interested in seeing your "technology menus" to see if it is something I could possibly explore with a couple of my kiddos.
ReplyDeleteHi Terri, I love the video too! I am attracted to your blog because of the word "ELL" :) I am engaging into the reading materials utilized in ELL programs and curious about how to get students involved into readings with technology. As the first comment mentioned (sorry, there is no name signed at the end, so please excuse me for using the order of comments to mention the content) that how effectively or expand that teachers use technology in classes. I like the way combining readings, related quizzes and iPad apps together and make students enjoy the fun. And I am considering whether it works, if students could perform puppy show with the app. "Sock Puppets" with iPad. Just some ideas. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteTerri,
ReplyDeleteI love the video! The students are very engaged and excited while they are learning. As a first grade teacher, I also have students at independent literacy centers and would love to add a comprehension component to the computer center. What a great way to monitor growth and understanding. I will have to try this!
Terri, thanks for sharing your video. This seems to be such an engaging activity! I am also interested in your level 1 technology menus. I recently gained a level 1 student who is with me for guided reading. Right now, she uses Starfall, but I am looking for more resources that she can do for independent work as she learns and practices English.
ReplyDeleteTerri, I love the video! It looks like the boys had a great time while they were learning! Looks like a big success to me! I like how they are able to do the Socrative quiz at their own pace. Having students share after using the Technology Menu is a good idea as well!
ReplyDeleteTerri, I love the way you used Socrative with your students, and videotaped the results to share with us! Very creative use of technology to share information and emotion. I agree that integration of technology into required curriculum is the way to fit it into our content-dense classrooms. I really like the idea of having students document what they learned in independent computer centers. Consider having them dictate what they learned in Google Docs using the microphone, or creating a multimedia presentation using Haiku Deck or Puppet EDU. I encourage you to try this and share your findings with us!
ReplyDeleteTerri, I love the way you used Socrative with your students, and videotaped the results to share with us! Very creative use of technology to share information and emotion. I agree that integration of technology into required curriculum is the way to fit it into our content-dense classrooms. I really like the idea of having students document what they learned in independent computer centers. Consider having them dictate what they learned in Google Docs using the microphone, or creating a multimedia presentation using Haiku Deck or Puppet EDU. I encourage you to try this and share your findings with us!
ReplyDelete