Digital Practice to Deepen Learning and Student Engagement

This page is dedicated to AUSD's work to make learning for students and staff more intuitive, efficient, and engaging.

Innovation Team members met on 12/12/2011 to accomplish the following objectives:

Discuss the varied mobile device uses that are currently in practice and that teachers believe have the highest affect on learning and will be easy to transfer to other teachers.

Keeping the learning targets in mind…Determine and document the Top 5 uses for each grade level. Email a brief description of the practice to the superintendent.

Think about accountability and assessment of learning using the Top 5

Coordinate who/when video examples will be made for each mobile device learning practice.

Review the professional development survey the district is assembling and provide feedback for edits.

The team consisted of teachers, principals and district office leaders.

SHES: Anne Stahl 2, Lori Hernandez 4/5

CELC: Wendy Yoshinaga- Kinder

MVLA: Jennifer Broderick

Special Needs Specialist: Katie Hurst, Kelly Stacks

AES: Diana Tompkins 3, Jenna Weinert 1/2 /Traci Valade 5

BOES: Chris Morales 3/4 , Darlene Newcomb 4, Karen Jensen 5

JMMS: Brendan Casey, Stephanie Jacques (via Skype), Jane Smith

Rita Andrews (district technology coordinator)

Stephanie Sibler (literacy specialist)

Katy Andersen, Keith Malcom, Yvette Maier, Jon McEvoy, Deann Jeffreys, and Tom Pellegrino

The group focused on the specific learning targets and problematic areas of students' learning cycles:

Learning Targets:

Increase fluency and comprehension in reading and math, critical thinking & problem solving

Develop creativity, communication, and collaboration skills

The Learning Cycle was discussed and teachers were asked to determine the most difficult areas of teaching and learning so we could link these areas to a promising digital practice.

Learning Cycle Difficult to Master Areas:

Basic math facts

Editing skills in writing

Writing mechanics

Long term planning

Providing meaningful work for fast finishers

Independent thinking

Paraphrasing information

Language skills-basic- difference between apostrophe’s, possessive, abbreviations

Reading directions-

Breakdown problems- words

Math problem solving strategies: a way of thinking- a map-

Online portfolio for assessment

At what age level is it appropriate to deviate from traditional teaching?

Coordinate and develop apps-

Cooperative learning

Flexible time

· Meeting the needs of varied academic levels in your class

· Finding a way to spend more time with each student to teach and get to know the needs of each student

· Helping students develop as writers

· Teaching students to be more self-directed / self-starting

· Giving frequent and individual feedback to all students on progress toward objectives

· Showing the relevancy of the content you teach to your students

· Asking students to apply and create using the new learnings

· Teaching students how to collaborate well

· Getting students to critically think and problem solve regularly without asking for help

· Moving students toward thinking more of others and understanding their place as a global citizen

· Motivating every student to work diligently and stay focused in class

· Teaching students how to learn to be a learner /be more flexible and adaptable

· Creating a learner-centered classroom

· Content area specialist

· Using technology to heighten learning

· Ensuring students retain the most important information and skills learned

Digitial Practices Currently in Use and Shared:

Digital Practices will be described in detail and a video of the practice will be made for teachers to view here. This work will continue in Janurary 2012 with the Innovation Team.

Docucam- modeling their work

Use of Ipods for fluency- reading the book and timing them for fluency- recording- students listen and research

Prezi- presentations- netbooks on research concepts-

Calendar component- managing own tasks and responsibilities

Immediate feedback- Student response –clickers- platform for online quizzes

Online tutorial support- teacher video- or concept via pdf or powerpoint- or Khan academy

Teacher recording a passage – allow the students to listen for struggling readers

Rubrics- rubistar -teacher and student use

Storyrobe- and storykit reading and writing- built for summary- narrate the pictures and summarize a movie- with student voice

Edmodo – reading- assignment of reading the chapter- survey on what they thought- collaborative dialogue- friends are reading and responding to an online discussion about the class novel

Downloaded encyclopedias so the web is not as critical.

Persuasive Writing-convert it into a movie- using imovie

One page summary and instruction of the basics- (digital tool explanation)

Computer lab- as a classroom aide- Jiji-

Taking pictures of nouns that start with a letter- A, B, - have to work collaboration

BYOD- 1/3 of class brings devices- 50-60% in 8^th grade

¼ at SHES in 4/5

Web-based research to find answers

Website-blogs and kids are discussing and interacting

Instructional videos that students have created (2 minutes or under)

Wolframalpha

Create a graph