3 Things You Should Know About Technology

Amanda Baron

Stephanie Iannitelli

Meredyth Weintrab

Technology and Keeping in Touch with Parents

Staying In touch A great way to stay in touch with parents is to create a Yahoo

Group.

This is where the parents can find information, create discussion groups, find email addresses, and download documents.

Monthly Newsletter

Chapter 6-Word Processing

HOW TO:

Open up Microsoft Word Go to Project Gallery Click on Newsletter Pick a template

Write about class events of the month so the parents can stay involved in the classroom.

You can add pictures, and make this your own!!!

Adding upcoming birthdays, upcoming events, and an excerpt about the new student of the month will create a more unique classroom setting, showing the classroom is also a caring community.

Class SpreadsheetsChapter 10

The parents in the class will be given an identification code (four numbers) for each child.

After a test, the grades will be posted on the class yahoo group under the students identification code.

There will be a data analysis along with the grade.

For example, on an ELA indicator, the teacher will see what questions the student got wrong and what skill was involved for each question. After the evaluation, it will be tallied up so the parent can see which skill the child needs help in.

Extra help for each skill will be on the yahoo group.

Duplicate Memos Important documents will be on the yahoo group.

This way no child can come in the next day and say “I don’t have my homework”.

This is important for parents as well to teach their child responsibility.

ARIS for TeachersThe New York City Department of Education’s

Achievement Reporting and Innovation System (ARIS)

A website where teachers can track their students scores on standardized tests and can view information to help students improve their outcomes.

ARIS for ParentsARIS Parent Link makes the important information

about the child the teacher receives available for the parents.

With the information, parents can work together with their child, principal and teacher to help their child learn.

ARIS Parent Link uses secure login procedures to be sure that a child's information can be seen only by authorized members of his or her family and teacher.

In today’s education system, data should not only be collected but also used. Data should be analyzed to guide instruction.

Using data and databases helps to:• Plot Progress• Report results• Plan and execute instructional interventions• Holds students, teachers, and school system accountable

Data-Driven Instruction

Data Allows Us To:Provide feedback to teachers and

administratorsAll the information is presented in a clear cut manner

Prevent over-reliance on Standardized TestsIf all assessments are put into data, all assessments can be analyzed

and not just the standardized testing

Give schools the ability to respond to accountability questions

“What have you done to help this child?”“How is your class performing in reading?”

Data-Driven Instruction

With data-driven decisions, we are able to

accurately pin point problems; identify students needing interventions and find solutions. We are able to make decisions mid-course to continually

improve a child’s academic progress.

Data-Driven Instruction

“Databases help teachers to analyze relationships, look for trends, test and refine hypothesis, discover likenesses

and differences, and arrange information in useful ways.”

(W., & Puckett, 2009)

A Database is an organized collection of data in digital form.

Some Database Tools:Microsoft ExcelFilemaker ProOpenoffice.org

Data-Driven Instruction

The students took a Unit test on the United States government and their results were graded. Lessons 1 to 5 refers to the topics that the test questions were on. Their scores under each lesson is a percentage of how well they did on the questions asked of that topic.

Test results were collected and put into an organized manner.

Data-Driven Instruction

If a chart is created based on the class average on how well they did on each topic of the test, it can be seen that the students did not do as well with questions regarding Lesson 4 as they did on the other topics.

This chart holds the class accountable and also the teacher. The teacher might have to re-teach that lesson if there is no outside reason why the students did poorly on that section.

Data-Driven Instruction

Here is a student’s score compared to the class average. The student scored below average on each section of the test. This chart holds the student accountable and by having this chart show these results, teachers and administrators can decide on an intervention for the student whether it is continue to look over his progress or have him evaluated.

Data-Driven Instruction

How Can We Motivate Our Students?

Often times teachers struggle with the question, how can I motivate my students, and keep them actively engaged in learning?

Teachers will no longer need to struggle with this question if they incorporate technology into their daily plans. There are so many different ways that a teacher can integrate technology into their classroom:

SmartBoard Technologies

Kidpix

Educational Games

Engaging Children with Computer- Based Technologies

Roschelle’s article discusses various ways computer technology can be used for planning and instruction in the classroom. The article suggested, that active engagement is the most effective way in improving children’s learning in the classroom. The article stated, “ When students are placed in the relatively passive role of receiving information from lectures and texts (the transmission model of learning), they often fail to develop sufficient understanding to situations outside the text and classroom” (pg. 79).

SmartBoard Technologies When the SmartBoard is used in a lesson the students are

actively engaged. The students participate more, are eager to give answers, and love to write answers on the SmartBoard. The students are most likely actively participating in the lesson due to the fact technology was incorporated into it at some point. I also have noticed that when technology is used students are able to take the information learned and use it outside the classroom.

Kidpix Is a great kid friendly software application can be used to

engage student’s learning in any subject area.

You can create a slideshow and add sounds and animations to your drawings or work when using this software

It is very easy to operate and is a excellent learning tool for ELL learners.

How to Use Kidpix to Actively Engage Students

Students can use Kidpix to create drawing for writing assignments.

In addition students can use this software to produce slide shows.

Creating A Slideshow on Kidpix

Educational Games The use of educational games encourages student

participation in classroom activities.

This participation strengthens skills and motivates students to achieve goals.

Playing educational games enable students to be active learners and it keeps them actively engaged in the task.

Interactive WebsitesSmartBoard Exchange

Funbrain.com

Math Manipulative - nlvm.usu.edu

W., B, & Puckett, K. (2009). Preparing to use technology: a practical guide to curriculum integration. Allyn & Bacon.

Roschelle, J. (2000). Changing how and what children learn in school with computer-based technologies. The Future of Children Childern and Computer Technology, 10, 76-94.

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