A Year in Review
Technology at Merryhill Durango
About the Vanguard
Dominique Courtney has taught at several grade levels in her five years at Merryhill Durango. She enjoys pushing herself outside of her comfort zone, and giving her students the tools do the same. She is happy to have had the opportunity of being the Vanguard this year and working with other teachers to raise the bar at our school.
Email: dominique.courtney@nlcinc.com
Location: 5055 S Durango Dr, Las Vegas, NV, United States
Phone: 702.889.2803
My 3rd Grade Classroom
Below are some new ways technology was incorporated into my classroom this year.
Kidblog
We began a student blog through Kidblog, where students would post responses to questions, raise questions of their own, and start conversations with their peers. It was great to jump right into it this year, and learn more about how I can really make it work as a learning and communication tool for my students.
iMovie
Students are in the process of creating iMovie book reviews of the novel Frindle by Andrew Clements. I am excited to see what they come up with!
Graphic Organizing
My students became very comfortable with the platform of using iPads to organize information from what they read. They used creation apps like Popplet, Venn Diagram, and TImeline to organize and share their thoughts.
A Look Around
Below are some examples of ways technology has been integrated on our campus during the 2014-2015 school year.
One-to-One in Fifth Grade
The fifth graders incorporated the iPads into so many different parts of their day. They kept them close by at all times, as they became a tool they would use without even thinking about it.
Traveling Keynote Presentations
Second graders were planning for a virtual field trip from Roos N More, a non-profit zoo in our community. They made presentations using Keynote to introduce the animals to other classrooms, and went around using the Apple TVs to project their presentations.
Student Conversations
Throughout our classrooms, you can always find students having conversations with one another. What has changed this year, is that students are using technology to demonstrate arguments, show evidence, and collaborate with one another.
Process Boards
Another important topic of conversation this year was the process board. Teachers started to see the vision of a true process board, starting with the essential questions and showcasing the steps the students took to find answers. We have worked together as a school to think of ways across the SAMR continuum to incorporate technology.
Below are some examples of the process boards that can be found in our hallways.
What does the data we collect really mean?
What does it mean to be unique?
How can words change people's lives?
Professional Development
Merryhill Durango was very excited about adding rigor with technology in each of our classrooms. We checked in on technology every chance we got. It was a daily topic of conversation at lunch, teachers would share ideas and best practices via email, and formal trainings were organized at almost every staff meeting. One way I communicated with the other teachers about what I was learning as the Vanguard was through the platform of the Smore.
Advice for Next Year's Vanguard
My advice to next year's Vanguard, as well as all of the teachers trying to find ways to add rigor through technology, is found in one of my favorite quotes below. You don't always have total control on the path to change and growth. I definitely need to be reminded of this now and then!