Does technology help or harm literacy?

In my opinion, technology helps literacy.  There are so many games, computer programs, etc... on the computer and Internet that can help students develop essential skills that can improve literacy skills.  While there is no substitute for a teacher, there are definitely many Internet based games that can help students practice skills taught in the classroom.  For example, our school has a computer program called Orchard.  This program is aligned with the Alabama Course of Study and allows students to practice a variety of skills in language arts and math.  When my class goes to the computer lab, I load games and assignments for students to practice skills I have taught in class.  Orchard provides a test for teachers to give at the beginning and end of the year in order to track students' progress.  Our school also has an iPad lab.  Each week my class goes to the library and uses the iPads to play games that help enrich literacy skills previously taught in class.  Through our reading series, I can load books for students to listen to and read.  I could give many, many more examples of how I believe technology has been helpful in the development of literacy in my students.  Honestly, I can't image teaching without the use of technology.  I believe it has been extremely helpful to my students in the area of literacy!

Article about Technology in Schools

One article that I have found to go with my research paper is called "Using Assistive Technology to Meet Diverse Learner Needs".  It discusses using assistive technology within the schools to help students with special needs.  The article discusses how it is important for several staff members of the school to help students with special needs who use assistive technology.  A librarian was discussed as a crucial person to help teachers as they use assistive technology.  Also, the article stated that it is important to train personnel in using the assistive technology so they can effectively use it with their students.

The article discussed Universal Design for Learning (UDL) which is a set of principles that helps guide teachers in preparing lessons for students with diverse learning needs.  UDL can also help teachers integrate assistive technology into their instruction in order to more effectively help students.

I agree that when schools use assistive technology with students several personnel should be on board to provide support.  It is important for teachers to have support as they help to meet the needs of the diverse students in their classroom.  Also, teachers should be trained in order to be able to effectively use the technology with students.  The article stated that there is a large variety of assistive technology that teachers can use to help support the needs of all learners in their classroom.  I hope to learn more about such technology through other articles I read for my research paper.

Community Engagement Meetings

Ginger Henshaw and I had the opportunity to be greeters at both the Buckhorn and Madison County High School Community Engagement Meetings.  It was very interesting to hear Dr. Copeland discuss the state of the Madison County School system and to hear the questions parents had regarding their children's education.  Both meetings began with Dr. Copeland sharing a PowerPoint about the school system.  The meeting ended with questions from parents that were answered by Dr. Copeland, board members, central office personnel, and administrators. 

The first meeting we attended was at Buckhorn High School.  It was very rainy and stormy that evening, so there weren't a lot of parents who attended.  Most attendees were administrators from each of the local schools in the cluster.  There were a few parents who attended and asked questions regarding the school system.  The second meeting we attended was at Madison County High School.  The attendance by parents was great!  This meeting lasted quite a bit longer as there were more questions from parents.

From both of these meetings, I gained a better understanding of our school system.  I knew that Madison County Schools were great, but this meeting showed how we compare to other larger school systems across the state of Alabama.  It was very interesting to hear the questions parents expressed regarding their child's education.  The main concern right now for both school personnel and parents is the lack of funding to do all the things we would like to do in our system.  However, our system has been proactive in getting grants and creatively spending money in order to get the most bang for our buck.  I'm proud of our system and I'm proud to say that I work for Madison County Schools.

What to do with old technology?

As a teacher, I have had several pieces of technology equipment that I no longer wanted in my classroom.  When I got my Promethean Board and projector, I gave away my overhead projector to a teacher who wanted it for center work.  Also, I have given away printers that I no longer needed to teachers who needed a printer.  I always made sure I let my bookkeeper know where the equipment was going so she could have an accurate count for inventory.

As a future administrator, I know that technology will continue to rapidly change and I will want my teachers to have the most up to date technology in their classrooms.  In order to switch out technology for more effective, new technology, I would first ask the people who work in the operations department what I need to do with the equipment.  Hopefully, they will take it and use it in another school.  If it is technology within the building that was purchased, I would find other teachers who needed it and put it in their classrooms.  Also, I would set up a lab in an extra classroom or in the library to utilize the technology.  I look forward to seeing what the future of technology holds and the new products that will become available.

Data Notebooks

Our school is implementing "The Leader in Me" this school year.  One component of this is to have students prepare a data notebook to keep up with their progress and growth throughout the school year.  The second grade teachers decided to prepare data notebooks that include students' DIBELS and fluency scores, STAR Reading scores, STAR Math scores, and a math facts graph.  Students also included their academic and personal goals for the first nine weeks.  We will change or refine these goals every nine weeks and discuss if students met them or not.

I sent the data notebooks home for the first time last week with progress reports.  I had so many parents include great comments regarding the data notebooks.  The data notebook provides a means of communication with parents in order for them to understand their students' goals and progress better.  It also provides that home/school connection that is so important for student growth.  I've included some samples of a students' data notebook below.

Teachers Pay Teachers

Teachers Pay Teachers is a website I found over the summer that has helped me tremendously in my teaching and in turn has been helpful to students.  This website is loaded with lesson plans, activities, templates, etc... for any classroom.  This summer I found some cute owl themed templates to help me in labeling and decorating my classroom.  Any time I am teaching a lesson on any topic and want to supplement it with a cute activity, I just go to this website and search for materials.  The great thing about this website is that there are a lot of activities that are free.  If you find something that isn't free, it is usually very reasonably priced.  There is no yearly membership fee to pay for this site.  Each week I receive an email that informs me of the freebies for the week.  Items that are priced occasionally will be offered for free for a week.  I have told my colleagues about it as well as a friend of mine who is in school now working on her education degree.  I love the fact that the materials on the site are created by teachers, so most of them are very user friendly.  This is an awesome website!!!

Student Teacher is Gone

Today is my first day back teaching my students and it is a relief.  Someone asked me in the hallway if I was having student teacher withdrawals to which I replied...."Absolutely Not".  While I did enjoy the free time to work on school work (Riverton and Samford), I missed teaching my kids.  Also it was very difficult for me to sit back and watch someone teach my class differently than myself.  It was definitely a learning experience for both of us! 

I was very disappointed that my intern's supervisor only came twice to observe her.  Both times my class was in a transition time and she never got to see her teach a full lesson.  I emailed the supervisor and told her that I was disappointed about this because I feel like my intern could have used her feedback as well as mine.  As a future administrator, it makes me not want to hire someone from this university if they don't prepare them better than what I have observed.  I plan to email the Dean of Education at the university in order to express my concerns. 

I believe that universities owe it to their students who are paying good money to prepare them in the best way possible.  I went to The University fo North Alabama and I was observed once a week in my student teaching placements.  I felt like I got good feedback from my supervisor and cooperating teacher that has helped me in my job now.  I believe with more observation and accountability this university could better prepare its graduates.

Teacher Resistance to Technology Use

Technology is changing at a very rapid pace.  Over the last ten years, it has become a huge part of our schools and instruction in schools.  When I started teaching 8 years ago, I had one computer in my classroom and an overhead projector.  Now, I have two desktop computers, a laptop, an ipad, a projector and a Promethean board.  When our school first got Promethean boards and projectors, many teachers didn't want them in their classrooms because they were afraid they wouldn't know how to use them.  We started out "piloting" the Promethean boards with teachers that wanted them.  Observations of lessons and professional development were provided for all teachers in order for them to become acclimated with the new technology.  Today, all classrooms have a Promethean board in them and are used by all teachers on a daily basis.

If I were an administrator, I would do the same type thing in order to help teachers who are resistant to the use of technology.  I realize that every teacher has their own teaching style; however, I believe that technology and can and should be impedded into lessons in order to make them more engaging and interactive.  Just like my school, I would allow teachers to volunteer to pilot new technology and I would observe it's effectiveness in the classroom.  Then, I would allow other teachers to observe lessons taught using the new technology and provide professional development in order to train teachers on using it.  I believe that seeing is believing and if teachers see it's usefulness and helpfulness to them they will be more likely to use it.  Technology should be a tool that helps teachers in their lessons and not a source of frustration.  Therefore, as an administrator, I would provide support and training for my teachers in order for them to feel comfortable using it in their classrooms.

The Daily Five

I had the privilege of observing a coworker do small groups using "The Daily Five".  Ginger Henshaw had suggested I read the book over the summer and I really enjoyed it; however, I needed to see it in action before implementing it in my classroom.  One of my second grade coworkers does this in her classroom and I was able to go and observe her.  The Daily Five is a model of how students can work independently while a teacher is working with small groups.  Students are trained to do five things every day which include:  read to a partner, read to self, word work, listen to reading, and writing.  Everyday students are responsible for doing each of these tasks while the teacher is working with other students. 

It was neat to see this in action.  I was amazed at how the 2nd graders were able to work so independently without needing much guidance.  It was very evident that the teacher had spent a great deal of time teaching students routines at the beginning of the school year.

My student teacher finishes teaching this week, so I'm going to implement this in my classroom next week.  I look forward to training my students to work independently and seeing the growth they will have in language arts.