Something I want to work on in my learning space- Nearpod

I'm enjoying learning more about Nearpod and how to navigate it using student paced, not just live version. I'm hoping to grow as a learner in this area and using Nearpod as interactive presentations. I'm excited to give students opportunities for interaction and immediate feedback by having them draw on a map, respond to a poll question, post to a collaboration board, or take a multiple-choice quiz and even take a virtual tour!

Jack and the Bureaucratic Process

Jack be nimble,

Jack be quick,

Jack jump over the candlestick.

Jack be patient,

Jack regroups,

While Jack jumps through the seemingly endless bureaucratic hoops.

So that last line killed the cadence a little bit, but that’s my story. I like to think of myself as Jack: nimble, quick, and avoiding dangerous fires. By nature, I am a problem-solver, so when presented with an issue or concern, I work expeditiously to get it solved. When some teachers on my campus expressed a need for personalized grammar instruction for their students (PROBLEM!), I was all over it.

In the fall, I was hoping to integrate the program No Red Ink (www.noredink.com) (SOLUTION!). I did the ground work, pitched it to the English teachers, talked to the folks at No Red Ink, and then met with my principal about the cost. That conversation went so well, and we mutually agreed that we would abandon No Red Ink due to creative differences ($$$).

My work in trying to make No Red Ink happen lasted about three weeks. Considering time and energy spent, that’s a solid investment in something that turned out to be a total bust. Let’s go ahead and refer to this incident form here on out as BF1 (bureaucratic failure 1).

I would love to wallow in my failure, but my solution-oriented brain kept reminding me I had a problem to solve. I did research, talked to folks, and found an alternative to No Red Ink: Quill (www.quill.org) (SOLUTION!). There is a ton of functionality in the free version of the program, and the full version had a much more reasonable price tag. I didn’t know anyone who had actually used Quill, so I decided to set up a pilot on my campus with one class. I found an enthusiastic volunteer, and it was off to the races!

In the program, students take a diagnostic grammar assessment, and based on the results, their teacher can assign them learning modules. The first thing I needed to do with my pilot class was have them create accounts. I put together a quick Google Slides presentation to guide them through that process, visited the class, and took care of that step. The teacher and I scheduled a day the following week for the students to take the diagnostic assessment.

On the day of the diagnostic, the students logged in with no issues (which is a miracle in itself), clicked to launch the diagnostic, and… NOTHING HAPPENED. The browser window went blank, and the test didn’t load. Turns out our district firewall settings blocked a script the site needed in order to launch the test. WHY WOULD THE DISTRICT DO THIS TO ME?!?!?!

Oh wait. I failed to submit a request for a new technology to be approved for student use. And this, my friends, is BF2.

After a little grumbling under my breath, I went through the appropriate channels, and Quill is ready for use. We haven’t administered the diagnostic yet, but it is scheduled, and I’m sure it’s going to be a wild success and revolutionize the way we approach grammar.

Maybe.

But maybe not. There may be other pieces to the bureaucratic puzzle that I didn’t even realize were missing. And if (when) that happens, I’ll channel my Zen state, find an alternative, and continue my pursuit.

Jack is relaxed,

Jack understands,

That some things are really out of Jack’s hands. 

Love Them? Hate Them?

My students absolutely love these Vidgets.


However, I have run into a few safety problems with the chairs. We went over the rules in the beginning but they subconsciously sit different ways.  They fall out of the them everyday. Ahhh...

SOLUTION: I need to reteach the procedure and expectations.

I have found that the kids are just still one way vs the three options.
The point of the chairs is to allow the student to have movement as they learn. Therefore, they are definitely doing their job.
I tend to lose sight of my goal and just focus on the constant hollow drumming of Nike's on the Widgets that echoes in my room. I was glad that Cassie asked to borrow one to remind me how kids really love and enjoy the chairs.

Creating Goal-Getters In Kindergarten

When I moved from pre-k to kindergarten I set some rather lofty goals for myself and my students.  All based around the concept of growth mindset and goal setting.  I know many people think that’s way too much to ask of a 5 year old but I am here to tell you it’s not!  This goal really came out of my frustration. Just stay with me I'll explain.  Early childhood education has always been my passion.  I feel the sooner a child can start their educational journey the better.  I believe that the future of our students doesn't wait until a testing grade to develop ... no those 4 year old pre-k students are just as important as those students tested by the state.  I have sat in meetings and listened to people regard pre-k and kindergarten as play and disregard the tireless investment teachers and assistants make for kids in those grade levels.  I've worked long nights and early mornings and I am hear to tell you yes we play!  Not in the sense that we are lollygagging around not learning. More in the sense that research shows young children learn through exploration and play thus that is what we do in a very purposeful way. So let me step down from my soapbox and tie this all together.  So when I was offered a kindergarten position I accepted and with that I made a promise to myself and my future students to prove the naysayers wrong.  The buzz word today is growth mindset, blended learning, goal setting etc.  But seldom do you see or hear it being implemented in early childhood.  Challenge accepted!  My students were going to show the world kindergarten students are beyond capable of growth mindset they are where it all begins we were going to set the bar! I started the year by creating simple goal setting binders for each child.  The binders were simple they contained the beginning of the year character survey each child completed with their families, their goal setting conference sheet, and some tabs that would give us room to store some of their work samples if needed.  We also enacted the use of the Class Dojo app.  Not only does the app record behavioral goals and conduct it’s also a way for us to share student work samples and communicate with parents.  All was going swimmingly and then HARVEY!  UGH!  No one enjoyed that guy’s visit.  I was very concerned about the impact this would have on the timeline I had for goal setting.  Honestly at that point I was ready to just say forget it and give it another try the next year but instead we persisted.  The first round of goal setting conferences were very helpful not only to gather information on what the students wanted to accomplish but to also connect with them and just show them that I really believe in them and I care about their desires and interests!  To say they all just poured out their hopes and dreams without any issues would be a lie I still have a few that just stared at me with big doe eyes wanting me to give them the answers.   The thing about goal setting is well I can’t give you the answers that defeats the whole personalized aspect of it.  For those kiddos I had open ended questions that helped to ease their anxiety and help us to develop their plan for their learning journey.  Each student was asked to set one or two academic goals and one social goal.  Interestingly all the academic goals centered on reading and phonics.  Some just wanted to learn all their letters and sounds before they went to first grade.  Others wanted to read and then make movies from what they read.  Some just wanted to learn how to read.  All totally obtainable!  The social goals centered more on making friends, being kind, setting a good example, being good citizens etc.  The one thing to keep in mind when goal setting is to have measureable goals so we were sure to word the goals in a way that was measureable.  Now this is my first time implementing a more elaborate goal setting program so we didn’t set a concrete time line on when it should be achieved.  To me in kindergarten they don’t have a real grasp on time in general so I feel not having a set in stone completion date is fine.  I from there took their goals and aligned them with our TEKS.  I created a graph on the wall titled “Tackling our goals” our room is football themed so this fit perfectly.   The cool thing was even though you can look and see the learning gaps you can look and see what each and every student is accomplishing at their current place.  No time is wasted there is a celebration at all times for our goals.   Each student colored their football player and we labeled it with their name.  It’s so great to see them go and find their name and see where they are and then to hear them discuss this with their friends.  While we are all learning as we go I am really enjoying having a growth mindset learner centered approach in my classroom.  Many times people think that at this age they are not capable of this way of thinking.  My philosophy has always been that children will achieve on the level you believe they can.  We have done so much this year others said wasn't possible for this age group.  So in room B109 at Ridgecrest Elementary we will continue setting goals, accomplishing those goals and setting new ones.  Each and every day is a learning adventure lead by kindergarteners with a growth mindset and a teacher who believes in them! You can follow our learning adventure on my Twitter page follow @notjustcrayons !

Sketching Hunt

Prior to Thanksgiving Break I wanted to give my Calculus AB students something fun and relevant to what we had just learned. I sent them on a scavenger hunt with prizes:

http://infinitesums.com/commentary/2017/sketching-hunt

Trick or Treat Lock Picking

In October my Calculus BC students were begging me to let them trick or treat, I came up with a unique spin to make them work for it:

http://infinitesums.com/commentary/2017/trick-or-treat-lock-picking

Digital Planning

I've migrated my planning methods from paper to iPad. Read how I juggle some relatively simple tools to make it happen:

http://infinitesums.com/commentary/2017/digital-planning