The implementation of my ImagineIT project has been a journey. In fact, I finally decided to call it: From Me to We - A Journey in Shared Inquiry. Pausing to reflect, I am much more confident about my path than I was at the beginning of this school year. The book I chose to read, Stuck in the Shallow End: Education, Race, and Computing by Jane Margolis, prompted constant connections for me to the inequitable distribution of computer science classes for students and professional development for teachers - specifically in low-income neighborhoods. I am concerned that our Latino and African-American students are rarely represented in the field of Computer Science. And so I believe teachers must continue to push for technology that can be accessed by our students and a curriculum that offers them high level courses. We have an amazing Mac Lab at my school, it takes up an entire half of the spacious library on the third floor. However, it is mainly used for to provide classes such as journalism and basic computing skills to our students. In return, teachers have a prep. Middle school students in my school rarely have access to the lab due to prep classes or because it is also unavailable due to standardized testing. We make do with classroom iPads - but the students are wise to the iPad’s limited capabilities.
As I embarked upon this project I was concerned that my students would not use the iPads to their benefit. My focus group and teaching demonstration offered me the opportunity to try out a new system to hold the student accountable for their work and limit the number of students off task - “playing” with the iPad rather than using it at as a tool. We held a brief discussion about the mini-contract I implemented and I have been using this system for days when the iPad is needed for 1-2 sessions and it is imperative that they meet a deadline. The classroom Sketchnote, Technology- Tools or Toys, evolved over the last few weeks and throughout the class I could hear students reminding each other this was tool time not play time!
Both my colleagues at school and my fellow MSU fellows have been a great source of encouragement! I’ve not only learned loads of technology tips, tricks, and how-to’s, but how to take the risk and dive in! I’ve also let the students take the lead and they have taught me how to problem solve so many iPad or app issues! I’ve always believed that the teacher does not know everything, but it has truly been evident in the realm of technology use in my classroom this fall.
My ImagineIt project is unfolding quite well and as I mentioned in my last update, it looks a bit different in every class. All four classes are still heavily guided by me as I am modeling discussion techniques, determining testability of research questions, and collection of data along with analysis. Period 2 took off first with their experiments investigating human behavior. They were excited and focused and it took about two weeks to design their experiments and carry them out. Their projects ranged from testing reflexes among boys and girls, who uses their cell phones the most, and observing if a young child can exercise patience. The students are currently analyzing their results and creating digital presentations to present to each other. Some decided to use Google slides and a few groups felt confident enough to try out Prezi for their presentations. This group is my prototype if you will. I am laying the foundation very deliberately and to pull back for other groups in the future.
Looking forward, in Round 2 of this ImagineIT, I need to follow through with the creation of a Perplexing Topics board or some type of Wonder Wall where we can publicly view some of the questions and not lose them over time. The students also have inquiry journals that were started but haven’t been used as much as I would like. There is technology to upload to the iPads, specifically IMovie, Explain Everything and an app for stop motion video. The quickfire challenges really generate a lot of excitement but I need to develop a better rubric for the expected collaboration and cleanup! All in all I’d say much of the foundation for inquiry has been laid, documentation by the students would be ideal and therefore my next major goal is to get that blog up and running!
Have a look at my latest WeVideo capturing our progress!
As I embarked upon this project I was concerned that my students would not use the iPads to their benefit. My focus group and teaching demonstration offered me the opportunity to try out a new system to hold the student accountable for their work and limit the number of students off task - “playing” with the iPad rather than using it at as a tool. We held a brief discussion about the mini-contract I implemented and I have been using this system for days when the iPad is needed for 1-2 sessions and it is imperative that they meet a deadline. The classroom Sketchnote, Technology- Tools or Toys, evolved over the last few weeks and throughout the class I could hear students reminding each other this was tool time not play time!
Both my colleagues at school and my fellow MSU fellows have been a great source of encouragement! I’ve not only learned loads of technology tips, tricks, and how-to’s, but how to take the risk and dive in! I’ve also let the students take the lead and they have taught me how to problem solve so many iPad or app issues! I’ve always believed that the teacher does not know everything, but it has truly been evident in the realm of technology use in my classroom this fall.
My ImagineIt project is unfolding quite well and as I mentioned in my last update, it looks a bit different in every class. All four classes are still heavily guided by me as I am modeling discussion techniques, determining testability of research questions, and collection of data along with analysis. Period 2 took off first with their experiments investigating human behavior. They were excited and focused and it took about two weeks to design their experiments and carry them out. Their projects ranged from testing reflexes among boys and girls, who uses their cell phones the most, and observing if a young child can exercise patience. The students are currently analyzing their results and creating digital presentations to present to each other. Some decided to use Google slides and a few groups felt confident enough to try out Prezi for their presentations. This group is my prototype if you will. I am laying the foundation very deliberately and to pull back for other groups in the future.
Looking forward, in Round 2 of this ImagineIT, I need to follow through with the creation of a Perplexing Topics board or some type of Wonder Wall where we can publicly view some of the questions and not lose them over time. The students also have inquiry journals that were started but haven’t been used as much as I would like. There is technology to upload to the iPads, specifically IMovie, Explain Everything and an app for stop motion video. The quickfire challenges really generate a lot of excitement but I need to develop a better rubric for the expected collaboration and cleanup! All in all I’d say much of the foundation for inquiry has been laid, documentation by the students would be ideal and therefore my next major goal is to get that blog up and running!
Have a look at my latest WeVideo capturing our progress!