Socrative

You can access Socrative through a website called http://www.socrative.com. This tool is a website that does not need to be downloaded and is open to teachers and students across the world free of charge.

The purpose of Socrative is to make assessment more fun for students, and easier for teachers. It provides an easy way for students to complete quizzes, questioners, and activities anonymously to the class and online. By having students complete these activities through socrative, teachers are forming a quick and accurate form of formal assessment. Teachers get instant results stating who gets the concept and who needs more help. Teachers will also be able to tell the next teaching points for the lesson, or if they need to move on to the next lesson.

Socrative has many different tools to utilize. Teachers can start a quiz to open up to students online. The quiz can me multiple choice, true/false, or fill in the blank. These quizzes can be anonymous or have names on them. The teacher gets immediate feedback as the students submit the quiz. Socrative also has a quick question option allowing teachers to throw in a quick question in the middle of a lesson. Similar to quick question, exit ticket is another option in Socrative. Exit tickets can be used for a ticket out the door for students. They may have to get the correct answer before they leave or perform a certain task. This is a way to assess what students have learned that day. The last activity available for students is called a space race. This activity is a fun competitive game between the class that is a race form.

Socrative can be used in many ways in the classroom. In the high school level, I would use Socrative everyday during lectures for an exit ticket. I would have students answer one questions coming from the lecture to see if they were paying attention, if they were confused at all, or if all students got the point and the class needed to move on. I could also use Socrative in the fourth grade classroom on the iPads. I could create a five question quiz and have students take it during class. This will help me with assessments and understanding interpretation.

Digital Classrooms

The most important things to consider when designing a digital classroom is access to everyone. I feel as if it is important for each student to have equal opportunities when accessing technology. Students should all get opportunities with iPads, laptops, interactive whiteboards, etc. I think it is important to have technology organized and easily accessible to students. It is important that all of the technology tools are on the same setting, that they are all logged in, and that the students know how to work each tool.

The main things that I have considered in designing a digital classroom is organization and accessibility. It is important that the teacher understands the tools just as well as the students. A teacher should not have any tool out that they are not 100% certain they know how to run. Students generally know their way around technology and it can quickly be turned into an inappropriate tool.

I decided that excessive digital tools weren't necessary, for example tools that are only usable for one or two activities. It is much more benefitting if the students are familiar with two or three technology tools that are very versatile rather than six or seven that they do not know how to use. 

I hope to have enough resources in my future classroom to effect the students in a positive way. I do not want the technology tools to be a distraction to the students, I want them to know how to operate them to assist their learning. Digital learning changes daily so the tools that I will have in my classroom are most likely not popular today.

Blogging- Week 4

The internet is a huge place full of so many resources. Some teachers are great at discovering new technology and others find themselves drowning in every new app and update. There are so many great websites to discover new technology and learn how to use it. Youtube is a great resourse to search new tools, designs and learn how to use it with an instructional video. A lot of times teachers will hear through word of mouth a great new tool, but they will have

no idea how to apply it to their classroom and how to work it themselves.


I feel that the most beneficial resource to discovering what is best in the technology world is blogs. It is so beneficial to follow as many blogs as you can keep up with. Teachers from around the word are blogging about what they they do and don't like in their classroom. They blog about new things that they try and how they use them in their classroom. It is such an easy way to bounce ideas off with other teachers in the same boat as you.

The creators of the technology, apps, devices, and programs have blogs as well. They blog about specifics in how to use the tools, what to use them for, and the reviews of whether or not it was successful. I follow and read blogs now and I will until the day I die. Blogs are such a great way to get informed in a relatable fun manor. 

Technology Tool #1 Lexia Core 5

Lexia Core 5 is a technology tool that can be accessed through a website, or an iPad app. It can be downloaded though the App Store and is simple to get started. Students will need a k-12 email or log-in to be able to discover the app.

The purpose of Lexia Core 5 is to easily build a solid foundation in reading. Students will be able to work through each standard at their own pace. The app is student centered but the teacher has options to become more involved as well. The teacher can see each of his/her students from the admin account and will be able to easily assess his/her students. It is very interactive and fun for students. The app takes many different approaches to learning so it tends for students of all needs. It is nice for learning at different paces because excelling students can move on to more challenging lessons while struggling students can remain at a certain lesson until they get it as well as trying new methods to maintain a concept.

Lexia Core 5 is very simple to navigate. Students get an individual iPad from a classroom set, open up the Lexia Core 5 app and sign in. They should have a short username and password set up. They will be brought to a screen that shows grade levels and standards. They can choose where they want to start, or the teacher can pre determine where he/she wants the students to start. After they have decided on where to start, the students will be taken through the entire program slowly. One activity leads to another.  When they get past a level, Lexia Core 5 will take them to a new ‘country’. Students love this aspect of Lexia Core5. It makes them feel accomplished and they get to explore some things about a new country. They are always so excited to say “Look!! I am in Spain now!”

Lexia Core 5 is great for kindergarten-6^th grade. There are activities for a wide age range with the ability to go up or down if there is a learning disability. Lexia Core 5 can be used to teach reading, writing, grammar and literacy in the classroom as a lesson in place of the teacher lecturing. Lexia Core 5 can also be used as a tool to be used in free time. If students finish a project early, they can grab an iPad and work on some reading strategies. Lexia Core5 could be used as an incentive program that provides rewards. If the teacher sees a student spending a lot of time using Lexia Core 5, or if they see a student excelling on levels, or just trying their best, the teacher could recognize that student and give him/her a small prize.

Teaching above the Line

Teaching above the line is always a goal to shoot for when teaching. Using SAMR (substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition) makes it easier to reach that goal. SAMR is a great way to get teacher's brains thinking about the next steps that can be taken to make their lesson better. Using any of the four levels of SAMR will help teachers redesign lessons to make them more fitting into the growing future. Technology is moving so fast that it is almost impossible to keep up with but SAMR will hopefully give you the push to keep moving. 

SAMR is best used during the creation of the lesson plan and thinking process. It is used to better a lesson and rebuild it to the best it can be. After the lesson is completed using SAMR, that is when students can view it and work on it as assigned. 

The tool I decided to focus on is an app called Lexia Core5. Lexia is an interactive reading program filled with standards based activities for pre-kindergarden through fifth grade. It is a tool where teachers can assess and track where students are as they move through levels. Teachers can easily see if students are struggling or excelling. 

The difference between SAMR and Lexia core5 is that Lexia is a high level of technology. Using SAMR, teachers could break Lexia down to a smaller less powerful tool, or they could think of ways to redefine it. There are many ways teachers could use SAMR with Lexia to change the way of the app.

   

Both SAMR and Lexia Core 5 will benefit me as a teacher in different ways. I believe that Lexia will help to benefit my students as they learn reading. It is an interactive fun way that makes students want to learn. SAMR will help me turn paper/pencil assignments into creations similar to Lexia.

SAMR relates to TPACK because it is important to be aware of all technology. Teachers need to have a general understanding of technology and how it works to help them to be a better teacher for their students. With the help of TPACK, teachers will be able to easily use apps and programs similar to Lexia Core5.

All About Me!

     My name is Claire Sherman and I am a Junior at Iowa State studying elementary education. I have endorsements in english/language arts, reading, and I am working on the learning technologies minor. I absolutely LOVE it here at Iowa State and could not imagine myself anywhere else.

     I started off my college career at the University of Northern Iowa and decided that it was not the best fit for me. I stayed for a year and enjoyed my time but transferring was definitely worth the hassle. 

     I am originally from Ames, so being back on my stomping grounds really has its perks. I love being around my friends and family, going to sporting events, and getting involved around campus. 

     I am very active in my sorority and love being pushed to be the best that I can be everyday. I am so happy to be studying something I am so passionate about and am extremely excited to start my career as a teacher.

Week 1 - Class resources

The first day of class in CI 302 was just as I expected. Night classes can be challenging both mentally and physically but the relaxed nature of 302 makes it enjoyable. I love learning about new forms of technology and different shortcuts for tools that I am already familiar with.

I was offered a great opportunity to serve as Colo-Nesco Community School district's technology intern. Through this class and my internship, I hope to bounce ideas off of each of my responsibilities. I hope to learn new skills of growing technologies to better current classrooms as well as my own someday. I believe that incorporating technology into the classroom is extremely powerful and will definitely be the main focus in our society someday.

Throughout the semester I hope to better myself, and help to better the people around me.