Johanna Busch
Technology
I integrate technology into my classroom as often as possible both to increase student achievement and to allow students to build technological literacy. Using technology often engages students and allows them to gain a deeper understanding of academic content. Furthermore, technology integration allows students to develop technology skills that will allow them to be successful in a twenty-first century world where these skills are crucial for career success.
Document Camera
I use my document camera daily to make instruction more clear and engaging for students. My document camera is attached to my projector. It allows me to project a large image of whatever students are working on. I often use this to model new skills for students. Students can have the same reading and worksheet in front of them and watch on the board while I model the skills necessary for success. This is especially helpful for students who are still learning to read, as they can see exactly where we are in a text or on a worksheet.
Below are images of my document camera being used during a reading comprehension lesson about how to use evidence from a text to identify the author's purpose. Students popcorn read a informational text about bats. As students read aloud, one student followed with their finger under my document camera, supporting students who might struggle to follow the text. Students discussed why the author wrote the text. Then, students identified textual evidence that told them that the author's purpose was to inform. As students shared evidence, I modeled underlining this important information on my document camera. Students underlined the information on their own texts.
This is an image of my document camera projecting an informational text about bats.
This image shows the projection of the document camera onto my Smartboard. As students suggested evidence for the author's purpose, I modeled underlining that evidence.
I also often use my document camera for sharing student work. I often project completed student work and allow my students to present to the class. Sharing their work with the class gives students an opportunity to demonstrate deep understanding of content and to build their public speaking skills and confidence. Furthermore, students are often able to explain concepts better than I am, helping students who still haven't gained mastery of a skill.
After students identified the author's purpose of the bat text and underlined evidence, students recorded to pieces of evidence that supported their thinking. After students were finished, I called two students up to share their work and projected their writing with the document camera. Students were able to show how they used information from the text to support their conclusion. Students were very excited and proud to share their work with the whole class.
This is the work of the student that was projected as she presented. The students shared that she knew the text was informational because it tells us where bats live and what's bats eat, information that she had underlined in her text.
Below is another example of a student presenting their work to the class using the document camera. After solving a subtraction story problem as a class, I noticed that many students properly broke the second number into parts and subtracted the tens, but struggled to correctly subtract the ones. I chose one student who had made this mistake projected his work using the document camera. The student presented his own work and actually realized his own mistake while he was presenting. Then, he was able to talk the class through why he made the mistake and how he could avoid it in the future.
I know that my students are almost always better at explaining a skill and common misconceptions than I am. Because of this, I often use my document camera to have students show and explain their own work. Having students discuss misconceptions and talk through their thinking helps other students to avoid these misconceptions and master challenging skills. Furthermore, modeling that it is ok to make mistakes, even when presenting to the whole class, reinforces a growth mindset in my classroom. This is possible because students are able to project their work on the document camera.
This is a picture of a student presenting his work which is projected on the Smartboard using a document camera.
This is a picture of the document camera projecting the student's work so that the whole class can see it.
SmartBoard
I use my Smartboard to help students develop deep content understanding. The Smartboard allows students to interact with online content, such as videos and images. I am also able to project the assignment that students are working on. This allows me to model and have students write their own thinking in a way that the whole class can see. This interaction helps students develop a deeper understanding of the content we are addressing.
One way I use the Smartboard is to supplement my curriculum with engaging content that will allow students to more deeply understand content. I know that my students are often more engaged by a fun video than a static powerpoint slide. Therefore, I often use a video from Brainpop Jr. or other websites to introduce new content. For example, when introducing the parts of a letter, students watched the "Sending a Letter" video from Brainpop Jr. (https://jr.brainpop.com/readingandwriting/communication/sendingaletter/). Students then took the Brainpop quiz about sending a letter. Students turn and discuss each question with a partner. Then, one student comes up to the board and selects an answer. This gives students an opportunity to immediately discuss new material with peers to develop a deeper understanding of content.
Here is an image of students watching a Brainpop Jr. video about sending a letter.
Here is an image of a student selecting a response to the Brainpop quiz after discussing the question in his group.
Students then continued to use the SmartBoard to apply what they learned during the video. I projected the morning message, which they see everyday. They used the information that they learned in the video to identify the five parts of a letter. I used the Smartboard to label each part of a letter as students identified it. This is a meaningful application of their learning because students are constantly interacting with the morning message. Identifying the parts of it will help them to better understand the components of a letter and prepare them for writing their own letters.
Here is an image of our morning message, which I annotated as my students identified each part of the letter.
I also use the Smartboard to help students develop a deep understanding of content by using it to show their thinking. I often project the math workbook page that we are working on. This way, what students see on the Smartboard matches what students have in front of them. Students are then able to come up and talk through how they would solve a problem. I know that my students learn best when they are able to hear other students explain their thinking. Hearing and seeing other students talk through the same problem helps all students to develop a deep understanding of a skill.
Below is an image of a student demonstrating how she would solve an addition word problem in our math workbook. She circled key information, wrote an equation, and is now breaking both numbers into parts. The student is talking through her work as she is writing each step. This helps other students to develop a deeper understanding of how to solve addition story problems.
Here is an image of a student showing how she would solve a math problem on the Smartboard.
I-Ready Lessons
I-Ready lessons are another way that I use technology as an instructional strategies. I-Ready is an adaptive math and reading assessment. I-Ready also includes skill-specific reading and math lessons. These lessons include engaging games, videos, and questions to help students master new content. Students spend about 30 minutes a week completing I-Ready lessons during small group time.
Here is an image of a student completing an I-Ready lesson.
I-Ready lessons help students develop a deeper content understanding because they are so differentiated. Students are able to practice the specific skills that they need to work on. This is especially useful for students who are below grade level. I-Ready lessons give them opportunities to reinforce foundational skills. A stronger grasp of foundations skills allows them to better access and develop a deeper understanding of grade level content.
Below is a student's I-Ready diagnostic results. These results show that this student is one grade level behind overall, but is lacking foundational skills in the algebra and algebraic thinking domain. This student needs more support with foundational addition and subtraction skills
Based on this data, I assign students individual lessons based on their needs. This student was assigned a lesson called "Count on to Add." Completing this lesson during center time give students additional instruction in skills that may not be taught as grade level content. Since counting on to add is a first grade skill, I do not spend much time explicitly teaching this content whole group. However, many of my students' assessment results show that they need additional instruction and practice to be able to apply these skills. I utilize laptops and the I-Ready software to provide students with meaningful opportunities to build skills based on their assessment results.
Here is a screenshot of the counting on lesson that the above student completed. I assigned this student this specific I-Ready lesson because her assessment suggested that she needed additional instruction in this foundational skill.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I use my document camera, Smartboard, and I-Ready lessons to help by students develop deeper understanding, build skills, and apply content knowledge. Using technology in my classroom is especially important to prepare students for a quickly changing twenty-first century world. Students must be comfortable using technology to be prepared for any college or career they might choose. Technology makes learning more accessible for students, helping them to deepen their content understanding. Students are able to display their work and explain their thought process using the Smartboard and document camera. Furthermore, engaging videos draw students in and allow them to interact with content. Finally, I-Ready lessons allow students to receive individualized instruction based on their specific academic needs. This helps students to build key foundational skills that they may be lacking, helping them to better access second grade content and meaningfully apply the skills that we are learning in class.