Lia’s approach to classroom management and the devices were to allow students to take ownership of the decisions set for using the devices appropriately throughout. She found that this approach worked well, and the students began keeping each other accountable at all times. Next, Lia focused on transitioning her curriculum up the SAMR Model. Through the use of Google Apps for Education, and a variety of both Chromebook and iPad apps, Lia allowed her students to curate content related to their units. They began to dig deeper into conversations about the details of the subject matter and ask higher level questions. Through this approach, her students had better retention of the topic, and were able to make further real-world connections.
Overall, Lia realized that her role as a classroom teacher began to change, and her students were taking ownership of their learning. She became more of a facilitator rather than constantly providing her students with all of the information. Now her students are more familiar with this approach to learning and are eager to continue exploring new units, and most of all, to using tools such as the Chromebook and iPad to enhance their experience.
Kelly has become quite the curator of tech tools, building on her prior experience using Motivation, Edmodo, QR codes, ScribblePress, Genius Hour, Blabberize and more with her students last year. Kelly is a master at differentiated learning and offers her students a variety of ways to learn and present their learning by incorporating tech tools that match students’ interests and the projects’ relationship to core standards.
As the school year progressed, Kelly found that her style of teaching has evolved, especially with the pilot program. She has become the ‘guide on the side’ and her students have become the experts. They have developed a stronger sense of ownership through collaboration in their projects and have mastered several tech tools. Students also have a higher level of confidence as they have shared the project contents and the tools they have used.
Kelly’s lessons have consistently moved up the SAMR model from year to year, and the pilot program offered even more opportunities to advance creativity and best practices in tech integration.
Both teachers and students developed a fondness for the carts and were sad to see their pilot phase come to an end. Upon watching his iPad cart roll down the hall to the next set of pilot teachers, Mark exclaimed, “Goodbye iPads! I’ll miss you!”
By Maria, Carolyn, and Christine
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