1. How do we leverage mobile technologies to better student achievement?

JR challenged us to consider how technology is used and how we can ensure that it enhances student learning. Of course, there is no one, right answer to this question. If there were, we would not be having this discussion. I started using technology purely as a way to engage students. As I have learned more, and have become more comfortable with technology myself, I see the benefits of mobile devices for my students as a way to deepen their learning. By completing a writing assignment in Google Classroom with Google Docs, I can help students edit and revise in live time. Students can participate in class when they are absent, and share documents with each other for collaboration and peer review. We can accomplish things so much faster which allows us to do more. I think it is important to find a handful of tools that you are comfortable with (even if they are not super fancy or sophisticated) and use those with your students well, as opposed to trying a bunch of flashy tool with no clear objective.

2. How do we qualify applications for student use in the classroom?

To analyze this question, JR had us collaborate on a shared slide deck and create two slides where we shared one app and one web resource with our classmates. One our slide we had to consider how this tool can capture, sort, share, and discuss student learning. Once we all completed our slides, we shared our resources and our rationale for the green/yellow/red indicators that we selected. I shared Plickers as my mobile app. At the beginning of the workshop, there was a discussion about getting teachers who are not using Web 2.0 tools started. Many state "lack of devices" as a challenge to integrating technology. I shared Plickers because it is a great tool to engage students, and get instant feedback on their learning, with only one device. All you have to do is print our a set of code cards for your students, load a set of multiple choice questions for your students and you are ready to go. The students hold up their cards, and the teacher scans them with a smartphone or tablet app. The data is visible instantly, and the teacher knows who got it and who didn't. I didn't give it 4 green dots because you can only ask multiple choice questions which lower level thinking questions. This is a great app to use in a classroom where you can stop, and discuss to correct students misconceptions immediately, but there no feedback or discussion tools within the app itself.

For my web tool, I shared Seesaw. Seesaw is a digital learning journal where students can create, share, reflect on, and view peer content. I use it all the time in my classroom. For the paid version I gave it all green indicators. In the paid version, the teacher sets up skills and is then able to tag student posts with a particular skill and the progress level toward achieving that skill. Perhaps I should have given it a yellow indicator because this system is not automated. The teacher manually has to review and then tag the posts. The sharing and discussion features are amazing. It breaks down the walls of the classroom so that other teachers, parents, administrators, or students in other classes can comment on the work shared.

Of the other tools presented, I am most interested in looking into Storybird and NearPod.

3. How to we focus on content creation vs. content consumption with mobile devices?

At the end of the day, students should be creating content of their own. Since content knowledge is so readily available and easy to access, it is more important that students practice using that knowledge to produce something. The Qualifying Apps activity helped with this as well. I noticed that most of us selected toward creation apps as opposed to content apps for that activity even though that was not stipulated. I think students should be responsible for creating something every time the class meets. It does not have to be a big, elaborate project every time, but getting students to reflect on the content they are studying by writing a reflection or completing a thinking map is more valuable than just reading a text and answering multiple choice questions to see if they understood it. Creating something requires understanding. With information so easily accessible and readily available, memorization of dates and facts is not as important as it once was deemed to be.

What norms can we establish for using mobile technologies in our classrooms?

Mt. Diablo Unified School District Universal Form - Elementary

My schools district as a Universal Form that is signed by each elementary student in the district, and as teachers, we are provided with a computer use expectations slide deck presentation (developed by our district tech team) that each teacher is expected to present to their classes during the first week or two of school. I also pull resources from Common Sense Media. I also share this information with the parents of my students. We have to remember that parenting digital natives is uncharted territory just like teaching digital natives. We have to work together as a team to make sure the whole child is being cared for.

My district expects the following according to our Acceptable Use Form

Grades 3-5

1. I promise to use all electronic devices carefully.

2. I promise to use the computer and the Internet for school work only. I will use the programs and websites that my teacher has approved.

3. I promise not to share my password.

4. I promise not to damage or tamper with the hardware, software, or the network.

5. I promise to obey copyright and privacy laws.

6. I promise to tell my teacher if I read or see something on the computer that is inappropriate.

7. I promise not to view, send, or display inappropriate messages or pictures, for example, those that fall into this category include those that: a). incite or promote violence b). are obscene; and/or c). are defamatory

8. I promise not to change computer setting unless approved by a teacher.

9. I promise to print only when told by my teacher.

10. I promise to only use my own file or my own folder on the student server.

11. I understand that if I break any of my promises, I may not be able to use the computer, and/or Internet.

12. I promise never to use the computer to be hurtful to others.

13. I understand that I should not expect privacy when I use a District owned technological device; such as a Computer, tablet, or other electronic device, and when I access the internet or wireless networks via District resources.