April 27, 2017

Session Leader: Andy Losik, @mrlosik

Presentation Resources

Class Project, Resource Slide Deck

What did you think was valuable? Why

I enjoyed the fact that our cohort met again in a synchronous session. I have missed that, since we have been working mostly independently through the last few classes. I feel the networking and sharing of ideas, struggles and resources are the most valuable part of this program.

This session provided a more in-depth discussion of the SAMR model and challenged us to brainstorm ways of transforming a traditional lesson topic to the various levels of the SAMR model. I appreciated the fact that Andy stressed that we can't and shouldn't be teaching at the redefinition level all the time. There are occasions when substitution is appropriate and the best way of delivering the specific content to our students. Pedagogy and student needs should always be the driving force when making instructional decision - not technology and flashy tools.

Another tech tip that I learned was that in Google Chrome, I could drag an image from one tab to another - perhaps this is common knowledge, but I had no idea! I have been right-clicking and saving images to my computer and then uploading them to the doc, slide, or site on which I was working. This is a huge time saver for me! Thank you, Andy!

What did you NOT think was valuable? Why

At the beginning of the session, we were all asked to create a slide on a shared slide deck to share something about ourselves, and our favorite technology tools as well as our struggles. It was nice to learn more about my fellow program participants, but we spent over an hour on these introductions, and many ideas were repeated. I don't want to say that it was invaluable, but it was not what I was expecting out of the session, and I don't think it was the best use of our time. I believe that we should have made the slideshow, then read through it on our own time as opposed to spending that hour sharing our slides one by one.

Will the discussion change any of your teaching practices? How?

This discussion definitely helped me understand the SAMR model better which will help me as I continue implementing technology in my own classroom. This is also the focus of the blog I am working on for my IEC project.

The group slide deck that I thought tool a lot of time for this particular workshop, was an example of Jon Corippo's IRON CUE Lesson Design Jigsaw Lesson. This is a lesson model that I can easily incorporate in my fourth-grade classroom. My students created an ebook using Google Slides for their biography reports. Each student claimed one slide to write about the individual they were studying. A shared Google slide would be a great way for teams of students to collaborate. I could set up a slide deck for students to research and share information about the regions of CA, the early CA missions, immigrant groups to CA, biomes and ecosystems - possibilities are endless. The beauty of a shared document is that all participants then benefit form the information contributed, and students claim ownership of the materials. They become an expert on something specific.