Week 6

This past week was very productive and helped me move closer to my goal of integrating technology into my campus.  This week my intervention students received their robotics folders to help organize their work. Students were told expectations and shown the robotics rubric.   Students were given time to begin a Blockly assignment with Dash robots and began tracking their progress using their assignment organizer.   My homeroom continued with Seesaw Lesson 5.  I continued assisting students with taking a photo of their work and encouraged peer collaboration.  We also discussed appropriate/not appropriate photos to use on Seesaw.

My campus recently expressed concerns about behavior, which made me think of an application titled Class Dojo- an app used for behavior management. Students receive weekly reports, and the system is very positive.  My hope is that the data I have been collecting since September will show administrators the effectiveness of the technology application in reinforcing positive behavior.

This week I had my supervisor observe my robotics group– While my students continued working on their robotics assignment, my supervisor spoke shared with me information about Lego Robotics as well as Presentation software titled “Spark.”  I am hoping to utilize Spark at the end of the semester as a way for my students to present what they learned about robotics to the group.


Our class began Seesaw Lesson 6, where students set and recorded their goals on paper. The class was introduced to the rubric that they would use to self-assess their writing. Students were shown a writing example that was read aloud. The teacher then went over the steps for taking a photo, tapping the microphone, and reading the story. Students were given five minutes to brainstorm their “5th Grade Goals.” After the brainstorming period students were given a 15-minute silent writing period. The teacher then went over the steps for taking a photo, tapping the microphone, and reading the story.

This week was definitely rubric-focused.  My robotics students were introduced to the journaling rubric that they would refer to when writing reflections on programming sheet. Students continued working on projects, teacher recorded student progress into Seesaw in the form of video that students could leave feedback on.

I reviewed with my homeroom students the rubric that they would use to self-assess their writing. Students then took snapshots of their writing using the Kindles and uploaded the work to Seesaw. Students then added their voice to their posts. Students were then asked to use the rubric to assess the quality of their post.



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Students continued to post their goals to Seesaw, taking pictures of their writing and recording their voice to go with the image.


During Science I had my students self direct themselves through an interactive whiteboard virtual investation about life cycles. Students wrote scientific method in journals and drew and labeled pictures as they were guided through a smart board lesson controlled and read by their peers. Students were asked to come up to the board several times to interact with Mimio smartboard.


We had "Read Across America Day" on friday, and I had the students scan QR codes with their Kindles in order to trigger a read-aloud of a Dr. Seuss story that they then listened to with their book buddy. Students then used the technology to helped their buddy take Accelerated Reader (AR) tests over the books read.  I also discussed with technology teacher website code.org. She was unfamiliar with the website, which features self-guided modules that teach students to code.

On Saturday, I proctored and judged junior high and high school optics examinations.   While stressful, it was a really exciting experience, and I also helped with operations of a Smart Board used during the testing period.  I had a chance to work directly under three physics professors and was even able to provide assistance as to how incorporating a tablet into a lecture would be more engaging for students.

I also did a bit of research this week.  I viewed a pre-recorded presentation titled “Ask an Expert: Programming and Team Management” by First Lego League. I also researched STEM activities for Read Across America, April. https://littlebinsforlittlehands.com/egg-drop-activity-stem-challenge-young-kids/.  Finally I reread chapters “Social Media and Education,” Sound educational design using social media,” and “Common aspects of social media functions and practice” from the textbook Using Social Media in the Classroom by Megan Poore. 

This week was long, but very productive.  I look forward to continuing to research and continue activities with my students that will go toward my internship.