Hitting the brick wall and then backing away from it

Technology has been an amazing part of my classroom. Aside from the iPad classes, I also teach 3 resource room classes. Each resource room has 2 different grade levels at the same time. So looking at the schedule I may only “teach” 5 classes but 3 of the classes have 2 grades in them. I typically loop with my students at least part of their middle school experience. I love watching them grow, getting to know their personalities and also their families. The first time I get my kiddos it is often a rough go for the first few weeks, usually I have a lot of faith in being able to get them where they need to be but for some reason early this year, I didn’t have the usual confidence.

I finally came to the conclusion that I was spoiled for the past 3 years. They made AMAZING growth. By the time they left me in 8th grade, the state of Ohio saw them as proficient on their OAA. Some of them made 20 points worth of growth, others made closer to 50 points growth. Last year we were reading Edgar Allen Poe and the reality was that I would not be able to do it with this group of students. I was crushed as I felt last year was amazing, we read and understood text that I never thought I could do in the resource room.

This year started and I would ask questions, the kiddos looked at me like I had 6 heads. I felt that I was knocking my head against a brick wall (and some days I actually was) I realized that the issue was not with the kids but with me. I was still wishing and hoping that I would be able to use the same short stories and have the same levels of understanding. Once I realized that we needed to change, I had to set the wheels in motion.

I have one individual who can do the short stories and have the same understanding, but the rest of them should be met individually or in partner groups. Two of the young ladies might have the abilities but really lack the confidence to speak out loud in class or look people in the eye. Before I can even start to “teach” reading I need to boost their confidence.

I decided to teach them individually. Luckily I have only 4 students in the class and I learned how to make a mastery unit with Schoology. Between Schoology and Google Slides, I was able to converse and build a presentation with one young lady on point of view in writing. She has even begun to preview the short story “Charles” by Shirley Jackson. She is going to be my pilot student on the mastery folders. If they work well (and I think they would) I have a few other ideas. Might take me all year but I think this should work well for the kiddos. After all they are the reason I’m there.

Being in a resource room I love seeing any success that we can get from a student. I wished the state would see the students through my eyes and not just as a test score. With all the changes to evaluations and testing, it becomes harder and harder to see even the smallest success in a positive light, in my mind I have to refuse this as sometimes this is where my students land and they have worked their hardest to get there.

Stepping outside our comfort zones

As a teacher my intentions are to prepare students for the future. Yes I care about the test scores but more importantly I want them to be prepared for real life. Not only do I make them research apps, brainstorm activities, self evaluate, peer evaluate, take risks and attempt to show their creative side, I also make them present to their peers on a weekly basis (GASP! HOW DARE SHE!) Some of the presentations are very short, others longer but they have to present their findings and what they created. Here is the issue...I dislike being in front of a crowd of my peers. Give me a class full of students and I do fine, but my peers are another story. In order to not be a "Do as I say, not as a I do" type of teacher, I have started to branch out of my comfort zone.

Last spring, I presented at a small mobile learning symposium at Bowling Green State University. The experience was not that bad so I decided to start looking for more opportunities. What I found was a very limited number of presentations on students with special needs and the incorporation of technology into their classes. I found my niche!  I spent this morning presenting two different sessions one being a paper"less" classroom and the other was meeting the needs of all students in the digital age. The feedback I received was positive and by the end of the morning I was more comfortable. Last week I submitted a proposal to present at OETC in February.  I should know more in a few weeks if I have the opportunity. Either way I plan on attending.

Things are trucking along in my classroom. In my absence I gave my students an experience with app dice. We have been talking about digital citizenship and internet safety for the past few weeks. Students were choosing a random item from a bag and roll an app die (Thanks Tony Vincent) to see what app they would be using to create a visual explanation of the item. I was really excited about this project. I hope they were also. Too often we get stuck in the apps we like and are afraid to go outside of our comfort zone. This activity required the students (and adults) to go outside of their comfort zone.

Whirlwind of a start

I can't believe that we are halfway through the first marking period. We had midterms earlier this week and it was eye opening to both some students and parents. Middle school is a little different than elementary school and the expectations have moved the bar up just a bit. Overall, I think the transition for most kids went very well.

Classes are going well. The resource rooms are going slower than I would like but we will speed up at some point. I have found that one day worth of lesson plans in those classes last me two or more days. But, the kids are showing growth. Even though we are 1 to 1 with an iPad for each student, I put into place a interactive math book. In the book, we have the typical table of contents, but I have also included their "I Can" statements complete with a place to show they that they can solve the problems. In addition, I have started to add a QR Code that links to a You Tube Video on how to do the skill. Sometimes we all need a little help remember what we did in class.

I am still loving my iPad classes. I can count more days when everything is working and going well. Although this week was another story. Everything went wrong. The projector bulb is quickly dying, my Activboard wouldn't work, the laptop was stuck at the loading Windows screen and then went black, and then the Internet wasn't working. Days like that make me want to cry and I feel like a failure to my students. I have to remember to take a step back and realize there are so many amazing things that the kids are creating. We just finished creating Snap Guides which are how to guides. I saw everything from how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to how to put a saddle a horse. My 7th graders were more willing to take risks with this. They loved eating all the things that people created in class. The 6th graders kept it a little safer. It was amazing to see a student type on a braille typewriter and the confidence that they showed. Typically we don't always see the confidence in kids, but this project brought it out.

There are always a ton of ideas swirling around in my head in relation to the iPad and student creations. Some of them work, others are HUGE failures.  Still a learning experience for all of us,

Beginning of the school year

Welcome back to another year in school. I consider the Tuesday after fair break to be the second First Day of School! The kids thought I was a little crazy until I explain.

The days up until fair break gave me an opportunity to learn about them and their abilities. Everyone is still on their best behaviors, pencils are shiny and they are excited to show what they can do. Until we get into the school building I often don't know what technology is really working.  I learned so much about the kids that some of them showed animals at the fair, others were excited to be spending the time with family and friends. The Tuesday after fair break allows me to get into the content without feeling that I did not give the kids ample time to show me who they are. Now that we are back, tech issues are on the mend. I was able to get everyone into +Schoology and also into their Google Accounts. Both made me happy.

Over break I spent some time looking at the information the kids provided me the first days. I asked 2 essential questions:
1. What do you need from me as a teacher to be successful?
2. What are you looking forward to learning about in ___________ class? (I teach iPad 6 and 7, Reading, English, and Math)

I loved how honest they were when answering the questions. Some answered that they wish the teachers would read material to them to "sometimes we just need a break". What I realized is that I needed to do a better job celebrating my student's success. With that idea I created a hallway Twitter wall. Right now we are using the #success for the students to write about some of the things they are happy they have been successful at. I can't wait to see what people post about. I don't only want it to be students but also the adults around them. It is important that we model for the students that we can celebrate little successes.

New Marking Period

I am hoping that this will take off a little more now that we are done with delays and cancellations. If you are interested in being a guest blogger for us, please let me know. If there is a topic that needs to have information put out there, please let me know.

Now for some MAJOR KUDOS

- the 3rd marking period iPad class: Your movies were great. I think for the most part, they were honest and opened up a great deal of discussion. Keep up the amazing work. 
- RR English 8: I think you guys have me teetering on the edge of my pinnical as an educator. I gave you want I needed to cover yet, you spoke up, decided to tackle research and you guys are setting the rubric for the assignment. By now you guys know what I expect from you. Thanks for making me teary eyed in class. 
- Mrs. Lilley: We owe use a HUGE Thank you. You turn on the app store, you turn off the app store. You are allowing us to customize the iPads for each student. Thank you. 

Information and Updates

Dates to know: 

April 2-4 Spring Break

April 18 No School: Good Friday

April 23 Arts Festival

April 30 Midterms

May 1 Reading OAA

May 6 Math OAA

May 7 Science OAA for 8th grade. BE QUIET IN THE HALLS

10 Things To Remember When Emailing Your Teachers

Welcome to the inaugural post for our iPad class. I hope that we will be able to have some guest bloggers to pass along important information to us.

Top 10 Tips for E-mail Etiquette

10.Think, write, and think again.

9. Use the subject line to let people know the purpose.

8. Always start with a greeting and end with a signature. "From My iPad" is not a closing.

7. Do not send all of your messages as URGENT. Ever hear the story of the little boy who cried wolf?

6. Don’t SHOUT at your recipient.

5. Proof, spell check and use proper formatting.

4. Remember that your tone of voice can’t be heard in your email

3. Be brief and to the point.

2. Teachers do not appreciate slang or text talk.  For example, "Yo. Wuz up, dog?"

1. Remember that email is not private.