Growth Chart

My Growth Chart will always be growing, but here is what it looks like now. : )

Click to see my Growth Chart

How I really wanted to present. : )

Okay friends!  As my classmates know I like to make rhymes.  It helps me learn and its catchy!  I was originally going to do my final presentation with a poem, but I couldn't get it to sound exactly how I wanted it.  I tried to use the instrumental part of " The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air" theme song, but my beats were off and I couldn't talk fast enough.  But here is what I put together for your enjoyment anyways!

I am still adding verses as I go, but thats the beauty of a poem.

Read to the beat of the theme song "The Fresh Prince of Bel- Air."

Now this is a story all about how 

my tech savvy brain got turned upside down

I would like to take a minute just sit right there.

I’ll tell you how I became the tech savvy teacher of the year.

In my classroom the kids were bored and un-amazed

Without technology is how they spent most of their days.

Listening to my voice I realized that wasn’t cool

So I opened up YouTube right at our school.

On came ABC Kickbox by Dr. Jean

Oh you should have seen the excitement that they got from that screen.

The kids were up following directions and saying letter sounds

Learning new skills by leaps and by bounds 

And I opened my eyes, I was onto something good

I starting making changes in my neighborhood.

The students and I, we knew that we were not scared

Because where moving on with times and we are well prepared.

I begged and I pleaded for chrome books day after day

My boss said maybe and then sent me on my way.

But then she called me back in and then gave me a ticket 

So I bought my own device and said I might as well kick it.

The kids are learning, sure this isn’t bad

Seeing success through devices such as an ipad.

Is this what a tech savvy classroom is like?

Hmm this might be alright.

Now communication with parents was something I did

But more similar to how it was done when I was a kid. 

Through one to one conversation or notices on paper.

Now we have apps that make things that much more easier.

Such as classroom dojo and classroom remind, two apps I now use

Parents are alerted, informed, and up to date on our news.

Anything you want to tell parents you can do it all there

Oh come on now friends lets go, the change is here.

I was on a search for an app that would not make me late

I was introduced to google calendar I think it was my fate

Let me tell you one thing, this app changed my whole life

It made me a better mom, teacher, business owner and wife.

I looked to the future

I was finally there

Technology in my class

I am no longer in fear.

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology/ Boardmaker

Let's start here : Take a moment to put yourself in the seat of a child with a learning or thinking difference.  Please visit understood.org and take part in the activities under Through Your Child's Eyes.  This website gives you tasks to complete, but you are completing them through a child's eyes who have these differences.

These tasks were frustrating for me and it made me realize just how frustrating it may be for the children we work with that are experiencing these differences.  This is why it is important for us as educators to help these students stay on track so they are not left behind.

This website is a great tool for parents to become informed, ask for help, and join a community of others that may be going through the same struggles.

Some differences children may have are:
 - dyslexia
 - ADHD (me!)
 - dyscalculia
 - autism

What is Assistive Technology?
Assistive technology is any item, piece of equipment, software program or product system that is used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of persons with disabilities.

Here are some examples of assistive technology:
Mobile aids: wheelchairs, walkers, canes, crutches and prosthetic devices.
Hearing aids: to help people hear or hear more clearly
Computer software or hardware: screen enlargement applications, screen readers, voice recognition programs.
Physical modifications built into the environment: ramps,  grab bars, wider doorways, handicap buttons to open doors.

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An assistive technology that I find to be extremely beneficial is boardmaker.

Boardmaker is a collection of standardized picture symbols used for communication with students who are strong visual learners.  When students have communication deficits, the day can be really frustrating.  Using an assistive technology like boardmaker, communication can is made easier.  This teaching technique has been a huge help with the English Language Learners in my classroom.

Ever since I began using picture cards like the ones shown above, communication with my English Language Learners has been so much better.  

If you want access to over 40,000 symbols you can click the link here:  Board Maker Symbols.  Unfortunately these are not free, but there is a solution to that! Create your own!  WIth google images or even your own camera, you can create picture symbols that the students can relate to.  I actually took pictures of my students acting out different emotions (happy, sad, surprised) and used those as the picture symbols.  The children loved it!

Classroom Management

Classroom Management

We all know that there is so much that goes into classroom management, but for this blog, I am going to focus on Virtual Timers.

Time seems to be one of the hardest concept my preschoolers have to face.  Let's be honest.  How many times a day do they come up to us asking when snack is over, or when are we going to lunch, or when is it recess, or how much longer do they have for free play?  A virtual timer can help set a tone of accountability in the classroom and help students self regulate the completion of their work. Here is an example of a simple virtual timer  . .

Time Timer

From a teacher's perspective using any timer with the children is simple.  It is not over stimulating and it is easy for the 4-5 year olds understand.  This app is also free.  It is a nice visual that will inform the students when time is up and when we need to move on to the next activity.

From a student's perspective- 

Some children do well under pressure, but some do not.   Will this app cause children to become anxious in fear that they will not finish on the task they are trying to complete before the time is up?  Will it cause them to rush through their work because once that timer is up they can not work on it again?  Timers could very well lead to students not performing to the best of their ability and ultimately lead to extreme frustration or even anger.  I know this because this type of child is my own.

Welcome to my life of being a mom.

Here is my personal take on timers (used at home or for academic use).  Let me start out by saying that being timed as a kid was something that motivated me.  I loved it.  I could not wait for the minute math tests (or whatever they were called).  It was a game for me because I was competitive.  I wanted to make sure I finished before the time ran out and I wanted to get the best score out of everyone in my class.  Didn't everyone feel that way?   I guess not...

Fast forward to having children of my own, which I can now see the frustration it may cause in certain kids like my son.  My oldest is like me.  He wants to be timed on everything.  He uses it as motivation to work harder and learn more.  Now my middle son Jake, he is interesting.  A personality that would blow your mind, but when he sees a timer like the one above he gets nervous.  He tends to focus on how much longer he has left rather than completing the task he has in front of him.  He will tell me, before even knowing really how long it will take for him to complete a task, that "it's moving too fast" and he "want's one that goes slower."  And this upsets me. It upsets me because I am the complete opposite and I never really took the time to look at the other side of it.  I just couldn't understand why he would get so fixated on the time when it should be a motivator or reminder for him complete a task before the time is up.  I guess that is exactly what these blogs are made for.  Reflection.  We need to look at all angles of the teaching techniques.  Just because something works for one child doesn't always mean it will work for another.  

Final Presentation

https://voicethread.com/share/13392640/

Hope you enjoy my final presentation.  I had a whole rap I was going to do, but I could not get myself to record it.  I will attach it within the next wee here for your own enjoyment so you can rap it yourself. lol

Parent Communication / Assessment

                       
                   What is Remind?

It is a safe, classroom-friendly communication website and app where teachers can send messages, en masse or targeted, to individuals or groups without disclosure of anyone's personal contact information. Messages can also be translated into over 70 languages. While Remind used to be a one-way messaging app, new features allow parents and students to respond as well, but users can independently decide to disable this feature. Teachers can share text, audio, or video messages as well as links, files, and images. Users can even collect funds for fundraisers, supplies, or events (with a small fee per transaction).

Remind is a well-designed, highly effective messaging tool has the potential to keep students and families connected with their schools.  

Sign-up is easy: Simply add members by sharing a link, having them text a class code to a five-digit number, or sending them a PDF with written instructions.  After a confirmation text, they'll begin receiving all messages through either SMS or email.

Teachers can manage up to 10 classes with an unlimited number of subscribers per class. While Remind is great for sending reminders about homework and assignments, other options for productivity allow teachers to set office hours, create collaborative groups, add co-teachers, get read-receipts, and schedule messages.

Pros: With over 70 languages and options to share files and links, it's easy to keep students and parents informed and involved.

Cons: Not everyone has access to a smart phone and hope that your device is fully charged.

This app I am currently using as a parent.  I have not actually used this app as teacher.  Both of my children's teacher use this app to keep us up to date on everything that is happening within the classroom.  They REMIND us of upcoming events, changes in the lunch, activities that are happening at the school, etc.  This app has really kept my mom game up.  If it were not for those alerts I know I would have forgotten it was Patriots day, or wear your favorite color day, etc.  And let's be honest.  Our phones are attached at our hips.  It is more likely for us to read a message on remind that we are being alerted for then we would read a paper being sent home from school (I am still one of those parents that read and go through my boy's folders every day the second they come home), but those little reminders from the phone really stick with me.

This app has really kept me up to date with what is happening in my children's classroom.

Another parent communication app that I love is Class Dojo. 

As I mentioned in a previous Blog about scribing and tracking students progress, this app is a great way for teachers to communicate with parents.  You can easily send and receive messages from your smart device.  Reminders can be sent out and pictures of classroom activities can be posted so parents can see what is taking place in the classroom.  

Students as Global Communicators

Student as Global Communicators : 

www.empatico.org

Teaching children to become aware of their surrounding cities, states, and countries is important.  Teaching young children to learn, respect, and celebrate the differences in all people is also important.  With that being said I feel like Empatico is a wonderful way for global communication.  This is where the children can interact with other children around the world and see how people differ from themselves.

Empatico is a free tool that can connect classrooms around the world.  All you need is internet connection and a computer, a tablet, or a smart phone that has a camera to create global communication.  Although this is geared toward ages 6-11, I still feel as though it is something that I could use to teach my preschool students about children around the world.  The best part about this website is that it will always be free to educators everywhere.

I found this website to be very easy to navigate through.   It is very straight forward and it is extremely helpful in making sure we get the best experience out of each interaction.  It gives lesson plans and activities on many different topics of interst.

What I also loved about this website was that it gave tips on how to be a respectful communicator.  Teaching the students how to be an active listener and to communicate respectfully will help make the experience more meaningful.  

One problem that may occur with this app is that if internet connection gets lost you will not be able to communicate.  

Check out their own blog by clicking this link:  https://blog.empatico.org

Student as Researcher

Let's Research!

The best way for preschool students to be researchers is for them to use non-fiction books or simply do their own investigations! 

This week we had a blast talking about pumpkins.  We started off my making a KWL chart.

What we know

What we want to know

What we learned

The children did their own investigations by using 4/5 of their senses.  We did not do the tasting part, but we activated their background knowledge by asking if they have ever eaten anything that was pumpkin flavored.

Our library was filled with non-fiction pumpkin books.



After we completed our research, the children as a class made a pumpkin book.  They loved doing this because they were the authors and the illustrators.


Reflection:  I feel as though anything that is hands on is going to have a much greater impact on the children than just being lectured.  I know we didn't use much technology for this activity, but the students are activity involved in their investigations.  We currently do not have access to do online research like we would want to, but the students created their own non-fiction book.  This book is called "A Pumpkin is..."  It is based off of their real experiences with experimenting on a pumpkin.

Student as Scribers

Scribing is a way for students to track their change over time.  

In the preschool classroom, my students scribe as drawing pictures of what they want in learning in journals.  
  

Let’s face it.  The amount of money I spend on portfolios each year is insane, but the end result is beautiful.  Here is an example of some of the pages from the binder I give at the end of the year.

I know parents will miss getting a binder like this at the end of the year, but realistically it was putting a dent in my wallet.

This brings me to an amazing app called 

DOJO

I have heard about the app before, but had never taken the chance to really dig into what it was all about until this year.  This app is amazing and a complete game changer.  It is easily accessible directly from the app on your phone or you can access it from a computer, tablet, or iPad, by entering https://www.classdojo.com. 

As a teacher, this has saved me so much money.  I no longer have to print pictures of the students working.  I don't have to save their work for portfolios at the end of the year (because we all know space in the classroom is limited).  And I save so much more time at the end of the year not having to put their work in binders and figuring out the order in which all of the printed pictures were taken to make sure the portfolios go from the beginning of the school year to the end.

As you can see in the photo below, each student has their own monster image.  When clicking on the child's name it will bring you up to their portfolio where you can add their pictures.

I also love that this app allows for us to upload videos.  This is a screenshot from a video of the students retelling the story of The Three Little Pigs.  At the preschool age, most likely the children can not write out what happens in the story.  What better way for them to retell the story by taking part in a play?  : )

Obviously we can not be texting our parents videos like this all the time, but this app allows us to upload videos directly from our phone.  If your child was taking part of a retelling experience from the story like the one above, I am sure you would want to see it and DoJo make that possible!

As a parent you get to feel like you are a part of the classroom by receiving posts of your child working hard in school.  

One of the things I really miss with my boys not being in my preschool any more is watching them go through these childhood years.  I was able to pop my head in and watch them interacting with their peers and working hard in the classroom.  This app would allow me to see what I am missing out on on days the teachers post.  Also it helps me keep my child’s work organized right in his folder in the app.  I was never really good with keeping my own portfolio of my kids work, but with this app I can see their progress through out the year and create a photo book at the end of the year of all of their work.

Another benefit of this app is that it allows for translation.  With the preschool I work at, many of the students are ELL and it makes communication difficult.

As long as a parent has access to a device, they can use this app!

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Another application I was introduced to during this course was Voicethread.  I feel that this is an awesome go to for helping students scribe.  Here, students can add a description to any image that they upload.  For instance, I can take a picture of their work and they can explain their work by using the voice thread app.

Different Education Models In The Classroom

“No Teachers, No Class, No Homework; Would You Send Your Kids Here?”

  As an elementary, middle school, or even high school self, I would be all for going to a type of school like the one talked about in this article.  As a mom of 3 boys, the title seems less appealing.  Let's first talk about what type of school this is.  A democratic school.  A school where the students basically can do whatever they want at their own time.  There are teachers, but the teachers are there for support, not to make the rules.  After reading this article, I wanted to see more about this type of school and found this video.  It is interesting to see really how much freedom there is at Sudbury  

School.  Is this the type of school I would send my kids too?  Probably not.  Why?  Because in my opinion, that video gave me anxiety just watching it.  I think schedule and structure is just a few of the important pieces to a successful future, and these types of schools are not my type.  I do though think that we can incorporate some of the features of these types of schools in the public school classrooms such as creating the rules as a whole..

https://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2012/12/no-teachers-no-class-no-homework-would-you-send-your-kids-here/265354/

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"Pedagogy of the Oppressed" 

The Wikipedia description of the Pedagogy of the Oppressed talks about classrooms where the students are co-creaters of the knowledge they learn.  This is a type of classroom that I can agree with because I feel the the children in my classroom need to feel like they are part of a community.  Knowing that they help set the rules of the classroom will hopefully inspire them to follow them, since they took part in making them.  Also the children need to take responsibility for themselves and for their classroom that they go to 180 days of the year.  When a strong community relationship is built within the classroom, classroom management, learning, and goals can hopefully be achieved.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedagogy_of_the_Oppressed

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"Flipped Classroom"

This type of classroom is exactly what the title entails.  It is flipped.  The students basically do the homework in school, and the learning at home.  Instead of the teacher standing in front of the classroom lecturing about what is needed to be learned, the students will watch a video or tutorial at home, on their own time, at their own pace.  In the classroom the students take part in activities to help engage the students in the content they had learned at home.  I am the type of student that likes to ask a lot of questions the moment I do not understand something.  My worry about this type of classroom is that it lacks the interaction during the initial learning of the content.  Another worry is that not all students have access to the internet or a device that will allow them to take part in the online learning concept.  Let's take today for instance (October 17th, 2019).  Many communities are out of power.  If I were to have to watch a video for an interactive lesson tomorrow and I did not have power, I would not have the knowledge of the content that is needed for the next day.   Although I like the idea of being able to learn the information at my own pace, there are a lot of factors in life that could make this type of classroom a stressful experience for some.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flipped_classroom

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"Montessori Education"

The Montessori classroom is an intentional classroom where everything in the classroom is intentional.  From the materials, to the classroom set up, to the structure of the classroom.  The Montessori classroom allows the children to move freely within their "prepared environment".  With this type of structure, the learning is individualized.  I like the idea of the Montessori classroom, but I feel as though there has to be a significant amount of training to help make these classrooms successful. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montessori_education

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"Waldorf Education"

The Waldorf classroom is focused on the children using their imagination and creativity to activate their learning.  These types of classrooms use free play, artistic work, circle time, and practical tasks.  

The set up of this classroom at the preschool level is made to feel as if the students were at home.  A warm environment with natural materials to help foster ones imagination.  As you can see in the photo below, the classroom looks as though it is in someone's home.  Rugs, big windows, plants, and natural wooden materials. 

The Waldorf education discourages the use of electronic media as they believe that such devices conflict with the developmental needs of the children.   The curriculum is based on art, music, gardening and mythology.  Much different than the schools in my community.  

I really love the environmental feel of this classroom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waldorf_education

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"Glen Urquhart School"

This type of education is geared toward the curiosity of the children.  Looking at the Glen Urquart's Pre-K classroom, the students are able to direct their own learning through the guidance of the teachers.  There are teacher-led small-group and whole-group lessons that are geared toward certain skills and concepts such as: social emotional, physical, artistic, scientific, language, and math.

This would most pertaining be a school that I would send my boys to because I feel like the curriculum is very similar to what I teach.  But for the yearly tuition to attend GUS Pre-k school at $15,750 a year, I like my options at Passos Avante Preschool in Peabody (nearly half the price of GUS). 

https://www.gus.org/prek-faqs

Student Tutorial Designers

What is a better way to teach a child how to put their coat on than to watch a video of a classmate doing it?  

Students learn so much when they are taught by their peers.  In this blog I had my son demonstrate how to put his jacket on.  My 5 year old took the video and my 7 year old was the one demonstrating how to put his jacket on and then how to zipper it up.

As we know, children love technology.  Some children also love seeing themselves on a screen.  So I thought it would be a great idea to have the children record their friends using a phone or iPad.  This can be beneficial when a student is struggling with a certain task and can not figure out what they are doing wrong.  If they see themselves making a mistake through their video, they can see what they need to change to make it better. Also using video tutorials can help ELL students.  I know with this video my son is telling the steps of putting on his coat, but just having the visual can help.  

For the video application I used an app called Magisto.

This app allowed me to add multiple clips into one video.  For $29.99 a month I wouldn't recommend using it as there are most likely other apps that can accomplish the same look, but it worked for the 7 day trial for this assignment : ).  If you decide to try it out and don't like it, remember too UNSUBSCRIBE or they will automatically bill you. 

Tech for Admin

Google Calendar (after one week of switching from apple calendar)

Eye Catching

I have been in search for a calendar that works for me for a long time now.  I have always used the apple calendar that comes with the apple products because I own many apple devices.  I am also old school and love to write everything down. I would have a large paper desk calendar that was too big to take on the go.  I found myself texting my husband to send me a picture of my October and November schedules.  

  I never took the time to really venture out from the apple calendar until this class.  Simply because I never really had the “extra” time to research it.  As a mom of 3 boys, an owner of a photography company, a teacher, and a grad student, scheduling can get tough.  

Although I loved the apple calendar because it linked between all of my devices, there was something that was missing.  I wanted something where I could just look quickly to see if the boys had a sport, if I had a photoshoot, if there was no school or no day care, a doctors apt, etc.  With the apple calendar I was not getting that.  I couldn’t seem to figure out how to color coordinate everything as simple as I was able to do with the google calendar.  

One thing that I found interesting was after I had realized how much I liked the look of the google calendar, I never went back to the apple calendar.  I switched over all my information and never looked back, until I wanted to get pictures to include in this blog.  I never expected for all of the information that I put into the google calendar to sync with the apple calendar, but it did.  This actually was great for the comparing and contrasting looks of each calendar and made me realize that I like the google calendar that much more.

Google Calendar 

Apple Calendar

As you can see the google calendar is much easier to distinguish between events for the kids, photo sessions, no school, etc.

Event and Calendar Sharing

This part of the google calendar app was my favorite.  It makes sharing events with others simple.  I was able to share my google calendar with my husband where he is able to add or edit any events as needed.  

Apple calendar only allows sharing with people that are in your contact list.  If they are not in your contact list, you are unable to share.   

Notifications 

One thing I loved about the apple calendar app was that I would get notifications on my phone and my Apple Watch.  I wasn't sure if I would be able to have the google calendar application sync because it was not an apple application, but I was wrong.  If your information wasn't already synced with your apple calendar you can go to your Apple Watch app on your iPhone check the settings under watch.  Click calendar and have it show to mirror the iPhone.

  Overall, I would recommend google calendar over apple calendar if you are looking for a calendar that is easy to navigate through.  I will come back in a few weeks and let you know if I am still using the google calendar over the apple calendar.

12/18/19
Review from over two months later-  This app is amazing.  It has kept me organized, on task, and has been a life changer for me!