G1 IAs are Moving from Learning Apps to Using Apps for Learning

Grade 1 IAs are now on their third year of attending tech training sessions on Wednesday afternoons. In the beginning, there was a lot of time spent on classroom ipad maintenance and care as well as a some app explorations.  Training then moved more toward building confidence and competence with the core G1 apps.  At the end of last year, G1 IAs were regularly using apps to share learning and create independent projects.

This year, we are following a Discovery Time cycle, where individuals pursue personal interests, passions, and curiosities.  IAs began by brainstorming a variety of topics that interest them, topics that pique their curiosity, and even more topics that they hold dear to their heart as a passion. After brainstorming, IAs have decided on one topic and what kind of product they want to create in order to share their interest, wonder, or passion with a larger audience.

Going Places Safely Online

The G1 Librarian and I teamed up to teach students about how to start using the internet safely.  We begin by making comparisons with real world travel and online travel.  Just as children have rules when traveling in the real world, they should have rules for going places online as well.  After that, students go on a virtual field trip and explore the San Diego Zoo Kids' website.   They practice asking permission to go to Safari or Chrome and have an opportunity to apply rule #3, if they end up somewhere that is not a 'just right' place, students close out the tab.

G1 PLCs - Inquiry Time, Make Time, and Digital Portfolios

First Grade teachers are interested in trying out iTime, Maker Time, and Digital Portfolios this year. The goal is to spend 3 PLCs in S1 planning, developing, and deciding on some basic structures as a beginning framework.  Then, in S2 implement these ideas and during 3 more PLCs adapt the framework based on reflections.

Teachers originally answered four guiding questions to make sure group members shared a similar vision for these concepts.  Two of the questions were, "How much time will this take?" and "Where will the time come from?".  The main concern from teachers was that there simply isn't enough time to integrate all of these ideas independently.  So, we are working on an overall Discovery Time framework that would encompass each of these components in one cycle.

A New Twist on an Old Idea

Mrs. Coole, a Grade 1 teacher, always launches her Reader's Workshop by asking students to bring their favorite book to school.  Students have the opportunity to identify if it is fiction or nonfiction, give a brief retell of the story, and explain why it is their favorite book.

This year, Mrs. Coole wanted their work to be presented in a more engaging way, have more longevity than a pencil and paper version, and to share them with a wider audience (i.e. Parents at Back to School Night).  So, Mrs. Coole used this as a perfect chance to seamlessly integrate technology with the lesson.

First, students planned out their retell and reasoning why the book is their favorite.

Next, the tech teacher, me, delivered a discovery lesson on how to take clear photos and edit photos so they are cropped and rotated.

  

Then, I worked with students on exploring the functionality of the Doodlecast Pro app.  After, the app was used to record their planned 'book talk' with the clear, cropped, and rotated photo they took in the previous lesson.

Finally, Mrs. Coole's IA worked with me to create the QR codes for each student's book talk.

Embedding Digital Citizenship Lessons into G1 Q1 SS Unit

Grade 1 Social Studies committee members have been working with their tech coach to develop an updated Our Community unit in order to embed digital citizenship lessons.  Our Community is a unit that focuses on:

• both 'real-world' and 'online' communities
• student roles and responsibilities within these various communities (classroom, school, neighborhood, online)
• the variety of ways people within communities communicate with each other

Four digital citizenship lessons will be explicitly taught either by the classroom teacher, tech coach, and/or librarian.  Optional follow up lessons are also provided for teachers to reinforce these key concepts and skills.

    

Stop Motion with Building Shapes

Grade 1 students are learning about Geometry in their current math unit.  One of the lessons focuses on using pattern blocks to build shapes.  The students absolutely adored the app Stop Motion to record an animation of their shape building.

Socrative in the Chinese Classroom

Some of the K-2 WL teachers have been using Socrative with great success.  Students listen to a story as a whole group and then answer comprehension questions using Socrative.  The teacher runs the 'quiz' at the teacher's pace allowing for the class to see the correct answer after each question and giving time for discussion on why that answer was correct and the others were not correct.