Memorial Students 'Immersed in Technology'

Classrooms are changing. Pencils and blackboards have been replaced by iPads and Smart Boards. Throughout Regional School District 13, teachers and students have embraced the change. This week, Patch asks teachers in Durham and Middlefield to share their stories about the impact technology has had in the classroom.

Teacher: Lindsay Petroski

School:  Memorial Middle School (Grade 5)

Technology: We use technology every day, almost every period.  

Twitter: I am constantly “tweeting” out about the academic achievement in the classroom.  We are also using Twitter to connect with schools across the United States, Canada, Thailand, and Europe.  For example, I signed up for the chance to follow a man named Mark Woodward on his Everest adventure.  He used a program called Skype Classroom to share that he was climbing Everest to promote environmental education and education on the plight of the Nepalese people.  He was going to choose 10 schools from 10 different countries.  Although we didn’t get chosen, a teacher from Thailand did. She “tweeted” out that her class was preparing for their Skype with Mr. Woodward and we immediately started following her tweets and blog. Although we didn’t get chosen, we are still experiencing some of the journey. 

I am also using Twitter to gain more professional knowledge and experience. On Tuesday nights at eight there is a chat at #5chat where teachers discuss ideas and practices and provide informal professional development for each other.  It was during one of these chats that we developed a Pen Pal program with students in Gainsville, Georgia. We are working on the art of letter writing by sending old fashioned “snail mail” back and fourth with the students in Georgia. 

Twitter and Skype: I am also using Twitter to connect with other teachers and organize “Mystery Skypes”. “Mystery Skyping” is when two classes meet up over Skype and try to figure out where the other class is located using only geographically centered yes and no questions. For example, one question you might hear is, “Are you east or west of the Mississippi?”  During the Mystery Skype students are assigned jobs (Navigator, Note Taker, Questioner, and Researcher). Based on the answers to our questions, students are using Google Earth and atlases to zero in on the state, town, or school of the class we are working with. Students use safe search engines to research clues and come up with more meaningful questions to ask.  All of the children in the classroom are interacting with each other as if they  are members of agiant detective unit working to solve a mystery.  We have already “Mystery Skyped” with a class in Georgia and I have set up two more with students in Texas and Illinois.

We have used Skype to connect with Marjorie Bruch’s class at Korn School to practice math facts. Twice a week we called them and, in small groups, worked on our facts. 

We have also used Skype to plan presentations with Mrs. Gohagon. She joined us from her office and use the “share screen” feature in Skype to work on our presentation to the Administrative Council on the benefit of a Global Classroom.  She was able to teach and work with my class from her office at Brewster School.  

I also meet with Mrs. Sorenesen (the 5th grade teacher in Iowa) via Skype or Oovoo every Sunday night to discuss the plans for the week and share any new technology knowledge we have learned over the week.

Oovoo: We have used another video conferencing program called Oovoo to meet with students in Iowa and Canada at the same time.  This program allows for up to 12 guests in a single conference. During our first Oovoo conference, we met with both groups and planned out a collaborative writing called Nightmare on Elmo Street.  Using Google Docs we all wrote a paragraph of the story and passed it along until it was complete. We also use Oovoo on a weekly basis to meet with our partner class in Cresco, Iowa.  Together we work on literacy, writing, and math. Cresco helped us prepare for the math section of the CMT’s with a geometry review. We are helping prep them for their upcoming Revolutionary War Unit with a student written pre-test shared over Oovoo. 

Using Oovoo, we presented to the Administrative Council on the benefits of Global Classroom.  Our friends in Iowa joined us. They helped plan and participated in our presentation.  Previous to the presentation, Mrs. Gohagon taught both classes (in CT and in Iowa) how to create a presentation on Google Docs about Global Classrooms.

We used Oovoo on World Read Aloud Day to meet with 4 classes in Iowa.  We read them the book The Raft. 

I used oovoo to join Mrs. Sorensen at her tech night in Iowa. I met her classroom parents and shared some information about CT. Mrs. Gohagon and I also joined Mrs. Sorensen at a Board Meeting in Cresco, Iowa.  Together we shared the benefit of Global Classrooms and of all the technology we are using to enrich our students learning experiences. 

Goole Docs: Students in Room 4 use Google Docs almost every day. Students do all their writing and most of their presentations on this program.  We started using Google Docs to connect to our friends in Iowa.  Students in both states were grouped together with the challenge of making “All About Us” presentations.  The purpose of this was to allow the students to get to know each other. They also created Power Point Presentations about the benefits of Global Classrooms.  In both projects, students used the chat feature of the Google Docs to communicate and collaborate on the projects.

I also use Google Docs on a nightly basis to help students with their homework.  I sign on at 3:00PM and students meet me when they get home.  Together we make homework plan and they start working.  If they have questions, they ask and I do my best to answer them.  They do any written response work right in the document so I can help them if get stuck.

IPad, iPhone and Laptop: The tools that I used the most in my classroom are the iPad and my laptop.  The joke is that my laptop and iphone are no longer mine.  They belong to the whole classroom.  There are very few moments in our day that one or all of these items is not in use by either my students or myself.  Here are all the things we use them for (NOTE: this is an ever changing and growing list):

1. Answering questions during class discussions
2. Finding correct spellings and definitions to vocabulary words
3. Using Apps and the ipad to: 

•  create projects 
• tape our plays
• show scientific examples
• read books
• make movies
• take pictures
• video conference
• Tweet
• Practice math facts
• Create presentations
• Research for projects
• Watch education videos
• Daily Oral Language review
•  Blogging

Students also use the iPad and the iMovie app to produce a classroom newscast and they are presently create a classroom “variety show” during lunch. They create scripts, record, edit, and share the movie. I just post it on my blog for the world to see!

• Daily Blogging: Students are using my blog www.MrsPetroski.weebly.com daily. They check their homework, do their classwork and post their daily activities on the blog.  We also have participated in a program called Quadblogging. This program has connected us to three schools in England.  On a weekly basis we have visited their blogs and commented on the great thing they are posting. 

• Quadblogging: Students in Room 4 have been quadblogging all year. We signed up for this in the fall and have been connected with three other classes. All from England. We have been exploring each other’s blogs and learning how to make meaningful comments on a blog.  

• Smart Board: The SmartBoard is used as an interactive blackboard. The class often takes notes on the SmartBoard and they save them for later use.  I have used the notes from the SmartBoard to create a Comic Life explanation of the new style of long division. This was then posted on the blog for students and parents. We also use the SmartBoard to play interactive games. For example Mr. Napoletano developed a moon phases game that asks the students to put the phases and their names back in order. It a more engaging way of learning the very difficult moon phases.

How have students benefited from the technology? These children are growing up in a world where using technology is as “common as a pencil and paper if not more common” (Michelle Gohagon).  Exposing my students to a wide variety of technology each day allows them an opportunity to see the world they are going to grow up and join as adults. It teaches them how to use the tools available to learn, answer questions, create presentations, share their ideas and communicate with others. As members of a Global Classroom, Room 4 students are exposed to many of the challenges that adults face today. They are learning how to work with someone who is not sitting right next to them. They are learning the art of communication, collaboration and flexibility.  Students are seeing the world from other points of viewing and learning how to empathize with others. Our classroom no longer has 4 walls. It is an open space that anyone, from anywhere, can enter.  Room 4 students have been to a RSD13 Administrative Council and presented their ideas, with another class of 23 from Iowa, clearly.  We are traveling with a class in Thailand on a journey to Everest.  We are working with students in Iowa to study for exams. Room 4 students are seeing and participating in the world at large. Their education is no longer coming from only their teacher, it is coming from teachers and students across the globe. 

Memorable Moment: We have many memorable technology moments.  Most of them stemming from when the technology was supposed to work and it wasn’t.  However, one of my favorite memories was when we were talking about sound waves and sounds that are produced from high or low frequency’s. One student shared that there was an app for showing exactly what were talking about.  We immediately downloaded the voice app and practiced in real time what I was trying to explain in words.  My point was made loud and clear using the iPad App. 

Other Technology in the Classroom articles:

Reading, Language and Technology Come Together at Lyman School
New Tools to Learn About Insects, MLK and Poetry
From Textbooks to Tablets, History in the Making at Coginchaug Classroom Conversations Take on New Twist with Twitter, Skype
Online Bulletin Board Helps Latin Students
Skype, iMovie and Blabberize Keep Students Connected