Pilot Program Reflections

Last school year, I was lucky enough to get a set of laptops to try out in my classroom. 

Here are some reflections of what I did and learned.

Fall 2014- 

Before the laptops came in, I went ahead and checked out the laptops from the library to introduce students to Edmodo, which we had major problems with and Actively Read, which is completely awesome for reading teachers. I did this all in the same day which really overwhelmed the students as well as me. I learned to only introduce one thing at a time!! I also learned to not try and announce anything important while the laptops are out because students are super-duper engaged and will ignore you once they start a task on a computer!

When laptops came in, I began to use Google Classroom, slides, docs with my PreAP classes only. I kept it simple for awhile. I wanted them to get good at the basics! They were able to collaborate, revise and edit on a pretty regular basis. I also experimented with StoryBird for creative sentence writing to enforce grammar skills (this was in a learning station setup).

Spring 2015- January-March continued with laptop use for PreAP only where they created Blogger accounts to write/reflect/connect with others across state lines, they created digital poetry scrapbooks using Glogster, Smilebox and some used QRC codes to read their poetry, they created Google sites for possible portfolio use in future grades, and they continued using docs and slides for various written and analysis assignments/presentations. 

In April I began transitioning my on-level students onto laptops. I introduced Google Classroom, docs and slides to them. At this point, all students were using Google Classroom and docs for script rewriting. A lot of collaboration, revising and editing was happening. Students were engaged and I was able to monitor all at the same time right from my computer. I was able to communicate and help with revising/editing to all and guide them if I saw that they needed help. At the end of the year, all of my students continued using Google Classroom and Docs to make digital notecards for research. They used our Gale Database to research a topic for their final Public Service Announcement research project which they either used Google Slides or Smore to present with. One student recorded their PSA and shared it with the class!

What I learned? 

- I still have an interest in integrating technology. 

- Having the computers at your fingertips is key. 

- You may think that all levels of students are proficient with computers and all you have to do is tell them to go to a website…nope. 

- Even if they have been taught in middle or elementary school, this doesn’t mean that they retain how to access these nifty sites and apps(just like with everything else). 

- Have a presentation with “how to” steps to access a website or app for the first time. 

- Come up with Technology Rules like “Ask 3 before me.”(This would have saved me from so much stress when I first started with the laptops.) 

- I learned that having some classes go digital/paperless and the rest stay traditional can be extremely frustrating. 

- Digital and paperless is the way to go because teacher grading turnaround is quick. It also keeps everything MUCH more organized! 

- I learned that experimenting can become overwhelming and that it is key to keep the standards in mind first and test run everything. If I could have the pilot program again, this would be the one thing that I would work on. 

- I learned that I still want to get better and continue growing in this area, but I must have access to the sources and training that is needed to do so.

- It would also be nice if our classroom designs were more tech friendly.

Romeo and Juliet + Technology

I write this post with much excitement! Being an avid Shakespeare fan, Romeo and Juliet has always been one of my favorite units to teach, and I have always played around with different ways to bring the play to life for the students. Whether it's drawing out an interpretation of a monologue, watching how differing acting companies play out the scenes or having the students recreate the scenes themselves, I have found that students really get more out of the drama when they can artistically connect to it. 

Side note: This year, my focus has been on how to integrate technology into each of my textbook units: less worksheets, more projects! My goal at the beginning of the year was that once I received my classroom laptop cart, I would try to incorporate some sort of collaborative technology based project per unit. This whole new year of technology integration has had its ups and downs, but I will elaborate on that in an end-of-the-year reflective post later on because there are MANY things I want to discuss in regards to experimentation, proper planning, and technology transition for both students AND teachers. Anyhow, now back to technology integration for Romeo and Juliet...

Because we are towards the end of the year, I figured this would be a great time to assign a larger project where students could pull together use of several technology resources, some new and some older which had previously been taught. Keep in mind that although the teaching of the text is not experimental for me, the technology integration is!

So here is what I've assigned for Romeo and Juliet:

#1

- After being taught about sonnets, students used Google docs to create and write their choice of either the Italian or English sonnet which they then submitted as a Google Classroom assignment.

- Students will add their sonnets to their Google Blogger accounts so that other classes(hopefully from other locations) can comment and respond to their sonnets! (Keep in mind that students had already created their blogs and had been given the opportunity to post and comment on one another's blogs first.) I used Google Connected Classroom in Google Plus to make a connection with other teachers who teach the same subject area.

*Note: As I said, a reflection post will come later!

#2 (Note: We are starting this assignment this week!)

-  After reading Acts 1 and 2, watching several versions of the balcony scene, and writing/discussing differences and similarities between director interpretations, students will recreate and record their own scenes from the play. Prior to recording, students must research(using MLA guidelines) certain aspects about their scene and translate plus recreate the scene giving it some sort of twist. I have two classes and have assigned a casting director, artistic director, tech director and dramaturge/translation assistant to me. One class has chosen to create different groups doing one scene with different twists and settings. The other class has chosen to create a parody of several scenes with the possible use of flipped roles. 

*Note: We are still in brainstorming and casting mode, but all decisions will be made by tomorrow! The project begins Wednesday. 

- After recording and editing, I plan to have the students write reflections about the process and then hopefully we can share the performances with a greater audience! 

I cannot wait for these upcoming two weeks! I hope my students are excited as well. 

BTW: I just got a message this morning through Google docs from one of my students who has already started researching about how makeup has changed since Elizabethan times...the student was curious about what Mercutio meant when he said, "I conjure thee by Roseline's high forehead..." 

How awesome is this! I haven't even assigned the research topics, but students are so inquisitive that they are researching on their own. I love it! 

Blogging With My Students

Last week, my students started their blogs. This project is really taking off, and I cannot wait to do more with it! 

There have been a couple of benefits to having students blog that I have noticed right away. First, I have had more students asking for editing and revision help. If they are not asking me, I overhear them asking one another and discussing where to research for answers to their questions. I get excited about this! I know that blogging is not preparing them to write in the format of a "state-required" 26 lined essay, but it is prompting the students to research and collaborate and to seek out answers about the technical aspects of writing. Secondly, I have had students asking if they could post more often than I give them assignments. I've been checking their blogs, if not daily, every few days. I've seen one student take a bell ringer prompt that I had assigned earlier and reflect in an extremely analytical way which then led him to realizations about how society sometimes works. I've seen another student use the blog to write a well-written poem to express how unheard she sometimes feels as a teenager. A third student used it to journal about the idea of depression. These three students wrote during "their" time just because they wanted to "write." 

Some may question me allowing my students to use it for personal writing, but I tell them to keep it school appropriate. I feel like the more they write, the better they become, but most importantly they develop a passion for an art that allows their very important voices to be heard.

Signing off,

Mrs. Burk w/o an "e"

My Thoughts On Blogging

  Okay, well...this will not be a legitimate "first" blog post if I I don't say it, so here goes: This is my first official blog post! Ha! I have to say that I'm a little nervous about it. But why if I love to write and I love to journal am I nervous?

  It's funny-I shouldn't be anxious at all because of the lifelong writing relationship that I've had with my journal. I know by saying that I have had a relationship with a book with lined pages is sort of weird, but it is true. Let me explain. Back when I first started keeping a journal, I would use it for writing down my feelings. Sometimes those feelings would be pretty darn personal. Oftentimes I felt like I was actually writing a note or letter to an individual-hence the usual friendly formal address: "Dear Journal." So you can see how the "journal" could be thought of as a "person" if you're sharing your innermost thoughts with it. At times, my blank paged spiral was my most trustworthy companion because I knew no one would read it! It certainly was not going to talk!

  So all this rambling on about journal writing does bring me back to my original question which was "why am I so nervous about blogging?" I think it's because my opinions will no longer be shared with just a pen and paper but with the worldwide web! My thoughts will be published and possibly shared with millions of others! And being a more introverted private-like person, am I ready for this? Well one thing is for sure, if me blogging will help my students become better writers and prepared to face our ever-changing digital world, then I am more than willing to take a flying leap into the world of digital writing.

Question: So what are your thoughts on blogging? Any anxieties? Feel free to comment below!

Signing off, 

Mrs. Burk w/o an "e"