Agency

Why Innovation in Technology? (what is the purpose of the project? How does it fit into your classroom curriculum, school-wide tech initiative, etc?)

The innovative technology classroom is designed to promote agency, or choice, to students in order to increase student engagement and learning outcomes. Differentiation is incorporated within the choices that are provided in order to meet the needs of all learners. The physical design of the classroom allows students to collaborate on projects and work together towards common goals.

2018- 2019 Extension

• Student projects should not end in the classroom- they should be meaningful and impactful in some capacity
  • shared Google Docs/Drive
  • sharing information with others
  • video-conferencing with Lori
  • Google Hangout between classrooms internally
  • epals- global sharing (text, conferencing, etc.)
• Projects will include a "global" collaboration piece where students will see their work make a real-world impact
  • students can share their work on a website
  • share their work within their own community
  • share their work throughout the school building
• Note-Taking Website for Second Grade Students (class 2-311):

https://sites.google.com/ps112m.org/geology-unit/home

• The Plan:
  1. Build collaborative conversation skills within the classroom
     • listening and waiting
     • asking questions
     • what to do if two people start talking at the same time
  2. Model a mini-lesson with Lori on Google Hangouts for kids to see interactions
  3. Before students try Hangouts, make physical tools for the kids to represent using the tech tools (make a physical frame to show the screen, mute button, mirror to display)
  4. Google Hangout a classroom (Lori) in the school
     • have a general discussion (focus on body language/social skills- appropriate conversational skills)

2. Google Hangout the same classroom

• discuss content (curriculum, projects, etc.)

3. Video conference with another school

• Caitlin Duffy

2. Sharing on Google Docs:

• Students add newly learned information to a public Google Doc
• https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tZVIeQ-ZeWaUahtDrki8i9QoysNa4Se0fh4oLKAVB_E/edit
• Challenges-
  • Students were deleting each other's work unintentionally
  • Students were intentionally typing "nonsense" (banging on the keyboard to distract other students who were typing)
  • You cannot see who is typing what because students do not have their own Google accounts (hard to detect who needs help in what areas)
• Solutions-
  • We created individual boxes for students to type in
• Next Steps-
  • Encourage students to read each others work (bring purpose to the Google Doc)
  • Assign a task that makes students need to read each other's writing

Assessment

Throughout the school year, I've observed a shift in how students select technology tools. In November, they were given a function v. modality chart which allows them to choose a technology tool purposefully to best fit their learning needs. Students use the chart to select a tool based on its use of videos, audio, text, and dictation search tool.

Students are assessed based on the following:

• teacher observation
• how do students make choices?
• how do students self-assess? Did they rethink their choice?
• can students articulate reasons for choosing different centers and tools based on their learning needs?
• what tools worked best and which tools were not as effective? What would I use again next year?
• how much modeling does each tool require? can students use them independently?

Next Steps (successes and challenges)

My next steps are to include a fourth layer of agency- allowing students to select how they want to present their work. They will be given options such as Pixie, photo collages, iMovie, and podcasting. These projects have all been introduced to the students in isolation in order for them to become comfortable learning the tools. Once the students are able to use the tools independently, they will be able to choose a project to present their work.

Successes:

• student engagement
• differentiation
• independence

Challenges:

• students don't always choose a tool that is most appropriate for them
• allowing students to have agency while also encouraging them to use an appropriate tool
• lack of high interest materials (Osmo Coding, Spheros, functional iPads)
• group work (turn-taking, compromising, team work)

Example- 2nd Grade Coding Project

Second grade students are learning how to code during the New York City Over Time unit. They are able to choose different centers based on their interests and learning styles.