Integrating Technology
Technology plays an imperative role within the classroom. It allows me to use different media during whole group, small group and center/station work. Not only does it allow for additional instructional style, but it also allows me to assess and review how students are doing are particular skills when they are using this technology independently.
There are several different technology strategies that I am using within the classroom. These include particular websites that students can access on the desktops within the classroom or the tablets that I have. Not only can they access them at school, but these are websites that they have unique logins that they can use when they are at home if they have access to the internet and a device that connects to the internet. The first website that is used is RAZkids. This is the kids site from the bigger known Reading A-Z. On RAZkids, I can assign work to each student and assessments that accompany the work that is assigned. I am then able to review the work to see what skills that have not mastered (comprehension, trick words, letter sounds, etc.) in order to reinforce that skill in another way.
There are several different technology strategies that I am using within the classroom. These include particular websites that students can access on the desktops within the classroom or the tablets that I have. Not only can they access them at school, but these are websites that they have unique logins that they can use when they are at home if they have access to the internet and a device that connects to the internet. The first website that is used is RAZkids. This is the kids site from the bigger known Reading A-Z. On RAZkids, I can assign work to each student and assessments that accompany the work that is assigned. I am then able to review the work to see what skills that have not mastered (comprehension, trick words, letter sounds, etc.) in order to reinforce that skill in another way.
Above is a picture of a students assignment page and an overview of what the student has done on the website. The allows me to go back in to the readings and see if they listened to the book, read the book and completed the quizzes and the assignment that goes along with that. Once the student has completed the assignment and the quizzes, I can go back in and review the data to see what skills they need to review.
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Above is what I view when I go into RAZkids to review what has been done on the website. It is a class overview of what level all of my kids are on, the skills they have practices and what has been completed as far as listening, reading and quizzes. It also allows me to see an overview of how students are doing on the quizzes that they are taking.
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RAZKids is used to reinforce strategies and skills that have been learned in whole group instruction of Fundations or a small group intervention block. When students are assigned books to their profile, it is to help them work on the strategy independently. Below you will see a lesson plan where we were focusing on the sound /ew/ and the student was then assigned a book where the high frequency words had the /ew/ sound in the book. Students are read the book, then they read the book and there is an assessment at the end for comprehension.
Another site that is used and is extremely helpful for students is ABCMouse. I have set up several different profiles that are based on the groups that they are in for the level of their reading. Based on the skill level that I assign on the website, the website assigns activities that are appropriate to the level. Students can log-in and complete the activities and I can view the results of these activities and make adjustments on what each student group needs more support in. Below you can see the home screen for ABCmouse and then an activity. This page is based on students who are struggling with the letter knowledge and segmenting sounds in words. The activity below helps with placing the sounds of words based on the assistance of the picture and the different segmenting of each word.
Presenting the material in different formats and with different skills allows the chance for students who succeed in different instructional formats the opportunity to gain the knowledge they may have missed at a different block. Using online, tablets and speaking games and activities for them gives them freedom and the chance to hear the information from someone other than myself. Although it is not always focused on the exact skill that we are focused on that week during Fundations, the profiles are set to reinforce the skills that are necessary for those individual students.
Most of the students using ABCmouse have received an intervention block to allow me to assign a specific skill or set of letters that I know they need to work on. For my lowest reading group, we have been focusing on their vowel sounds to help them spell cvc and cvc-e words. Below you will see one of those students practicing with a vowel game on ABCmouse as well as the small group lesson plan that was used to focus on their vowel sounds.
Most of the students using ABCmouse have received an intervention block to allow me to assign a specific skill or set of letters that I know they need to work on. For my lowest reading group, we have been focusing on their vowel sounds to help them spell cvc and cvc-e words. Below you will see one of those students practicing with a vowel game on ABCmouse as well as the small group lesson plan that was used to focus on their vowel sounds.
How does this help my students?
My students learn in different ways like: visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic. By providing access to apps on tablets and phones as well as access to computers, students are able to see and hear the information in a different format. The technology allows students to be more hands on with the process and the learning that they are working on mastering. These applications allow me to set standards and give guidelines for what work the students have access to in order to make sure the work is best fit to their own needs and supplement what is being taught during whole group and small group instruction. Technology is a great supplemental tool to support those students who need immediate intervention and those who learn in different ways than in whole group.