Kindergarten is Tech Savvy!

Deb Zuercher has become a model technology teacher in the past two weeks, and is taking technology on with gusto! She has become a risk taker in a matter of those two weeks.

She is a dual language kindergarten teacher who is determined to flip some of her lessons for her students in her classroom.  She started the journey by entering all of her students into Google Classroom and then pushing out a video for them to work on their letter sounds with independence by means of singing along to the song the class performed on video.  Her student who was practicing while I was observing was engaged while listening to the song.  He sang along, used hand motions, was animated, and very proud of his independence upon finishing the lesson.

As time progresses, it would be interesting to do a bit of a case study to see how students who use this process progress versus students who do not.  Her next goal is to find some videos on hibernation to use on EdPuzzle to enrich her unit in Science.

Thinking around BB9

I have been excited about working through how to optimize BB9 and thinking of ways to engage students in taking more ownership of their learning.  I have been taking small steps, but I feel that, as I continue, I am going to build a strong course that can be used (with tweaks) every year.

One major piece I implemented this week is building flipped modules that students complete at their own pace.  I have considered different formative checks to help analyze student learning.  One huge piece of learning for me was discovering with Brian Yearling's help that assessments could be inputted directly into BB9.  This could easily replace a Google Form and provides a "one-stop-shop" for students and teachers alike.

Achievements in Blackboard 9 is
a tool that educators can use to offer digital
badges for the completion of tasks, review
of content, or scoring well on a quiz.

Another big piece I am wrapping my head around is creating games/competitions using badges.  I mentioned this to my students and they are very excited about this potential.  All in all, the unit has been successful.  We have worked through some technological learning curves, but students are feeling more comfortable and seem to be enjoying their journeys.