My Math Reflection

Student Reflection Example: What is it that I learned about myself as a mathematician? I need to carefully line up my numbers in columns when multiplying. My calculations and notes need to be neater and better organized. How can I use the information about what I learned from this mistake? I can turn my paper sideways and use the lines to keep me organized. Why is this important? I have to multiply and add individual numbers when multiplying double digits (or more) numbers. Being organized will increase the likelihood that my answer will be correct. My math will involve more complex calculations and thinking in the future. Being organized will help me be successful.

Marshmallows, Technology and Self Control

What do marshmallows and Chromebooks have in common? Self Control! Students (and many adults;) struggle with self control on a regular basis. As a teacher, I've seen the challenge first hand in classrooms where teachers struggle with students as they use technology. Whether it's students sending digital notes to one another or watching youtube videos while they should be learning and creating content in their class, self control is present and a challenge to all from arrival to dismissal. I've used this topic of Marshmallows to identify students with self control, dissect the features of self control and support students with strengthening their self control with respect to technology use and the decisions they are faced with on a daily basis. View the below clip to learn more about Dr. Mischel and his longitudinal study or experiment on self control.

Padlet and thinglink

So my colleagues have been slowly turning me onto new digital presentation tools. Really, I sometimes feel a bit overwhelmed with the amount of tools out there. The speed with which new tools are being created, shared and then modified, requiring new information to be synched with the previous, is dizzying at times. thinglink is a great multimedia tool, that I believe teachers and students will find very useful. While there is a cost to the thinglink tool, you can create thinglinks with basic "free" tools. Padlet provides a shared format to post/host content.

Created with Padlet

thinglink

So previously I posted a thinglink I created with the wife. While entertaining, it was primarily used to share with Digital Solutions students on what NOT to do in a thinglink;) Below is a thinglink I created for/with my friend and colleague Lisa Tilly, Librarian at WOIS. Hover over the image to view the links to text and video that provides you with information about Lisa and her work at WOIS as the librarian.

Social Studies and Technology

As part of the RCSD Digital Transformation, my colleague Liza Steffen and I were asked to coordinate classroom visits and discussions between students, teachers and the Social Studies and African American studies directors with respect to the use of technology within Social Studies teaching and learning. Audra Schmitt, Director of Social Studies and Djinga St. Louis, Director of African American Studies, joined Liza and I as we met with Davin Reddington, WOIS #58 and Demetria Lawton and Charles Hall of MLK School #9.

Click here to access information from the experience!

Digital Transformation in the RCSD

The RCSD is in the early stages of "Digital Transformation." Actually, we have been deep into this transformation for at least the past five years. Up through the turn of the century, most classrooms were paper based with the ole Overhead Projector as the primary technology tool of teachers.

Approximately six years ago, I stepped out of the classroom, to support teachers and students as SMARTboards, document cameras and iPads came into use within most classrooms across the district. SMARTboards provided an interactive learning device for teachers and students to display teaching and learning. The district initially rolled out the technology in classrooms with "model classroom teachers." The hope was that these teachers would be successful and would act as leaders and turn-key technology use within their buildings. In addition to SMARTboards, teachers received teacher laptops, document cameras, Netbooks, student response systems or "clickers", training and support for all the technology. The iPads that were rolled out were part of a Kindergarten through 2nd grade initiative that provided teachers with a "technology center" for their students to use apps for learning. Lexia, Raz-Kids, and a variety of Math apps provided primary students with a tool for learning that was highly motivating.

This next wave in the RCSD Digital Transformation, I believe, is a Tsunami. Well, it's big, hopefully without the destruction of a Tsunami. The Smart Bond Act of 2014 was passed by the voters of New York. This act provides school districts across the state with funds to support with technology integration across the grade levels. The RCSD looks to begin rolling out Chromebooks, moving toward a 1:1 computing environment in grades 3-12. The technology is part of three important parts of this transformation. Technology, pedagogy and classroom management are intertwined when we speak of student success and learning. How will these three work together for teachers and students to produce a rich, high quality education for students? Stay tuned for those posts!