Thomas' Tech News and Tools
Keeping up with the latest technology news at WPS
How Have Teachers and Students Been Using Our New Learning Space?
Lots of exciting events happen in the Learning Commons. Students explore new books each week as they continue to build a love for reading and learning. Mrs. Cerny's book club not only reads together, but also shares their opinion of the book using a number of different EdTech Tools.
2nd grade students and their parents were invited to participate in some unplugged and online coding activities during their annual STEM Day. They learned about robots, what it means to write a computer program, and put their new skills to work on code.org. Perhaps we can inspire future programmers.
The 2nd grade team of teachers continue to meet once every two weeks during their lunch to learn a new EdTech Tool that they can integrate into their classrooms to engage students and offer more voice and choice in their learning.
Family Literacy Night 2018
Mrs. Church and Mrs. Jacobsen planned a fabulous reading night for students and their parents. There were tons of activities for all grade levels so they could have fun while engaging in literacy. In the Learning Commons, Mr. Salemi was the Mystery Reader and read a story to the students as they relaxed on our comfy, flexible furniture. Students and their parents were given the opportunity to collaborate on an idea that stemmed from the book Mr. Salemi read, and build on that idea using materials from the Makerspace.
Students also came by to participate in the Readers Theater station where students practiced reading a poem and performed it in front of the green screen which allowed us to replace the background with a fun carnival themed picture.
K-2 Focus Skills
Throughout the month of November, students will focus on the following technology skills when they come into the new learning space as well as in their own classrooms:
- K - Computer mouse skills, letter identification on the keyboard, and continued practice of reading and math skills through the use of EdTech Tools.
- 1st - Keyboard practice, word processing on Google Docs, creating visual representations of text via Google Draw, researching on PebbleGo and Epic books.
- 2nd - Keyboard practice, organizing files and folders in Google Drive, keyboard shortcuts, word processing in Google Docs, researching on PebbleGo, and using digital resources to read fiction and non-fiction text.
Home Connection Tech Tool
As we prepare students for their future, and for jobs that don't yet exist, it is important that we teach them STEM, Computer Science, and Coding. One of THE BEST websites out there for elementary students to learn how to code is code.org. Students can learn the basics of computer programming as pre-readers using blockly coding language and advance as high as college level by learning JavaScript and HTML. Our early learners can code with some of their favorite characters including Minecraft, Angry Birds, Frozen, Moana, Sports games and a Dance Party.
Help us inspire your child to learn to code, enjoy the journey and persist through the struggle, and learn from their coding failures or "bugs." Code.org is a free website and app, but if you'd like them to keep their progress from one day to the next, you can create a free account for them.
Teacher Spotlight
Miss Claire Martin is always doing what is best for her students. She understands the needs of her 21st Century Learners to engage in STEM and Coding activities that teach computational thinking skills. To teach critical thinking skills, Miss Martin provides students with the opportunity to Breakout EDU once a month. Her students have explored using different circuit tools such as Snap Circuits, Wacky Wheel Circuit Cubes, and Bright Lights Circuit Cubes. Students are also given the opportunity to engage in Makerspace activities where students use building materials to create settings in the stories they've read, build vocabulary words, and of course, make their own creations.
Keep up the great work, Miss Martin! Your independent thinkers are lucky to have you.
Mrs. Christina Thomas
Email: cthomas@sd925.org
Website: https://canalitisthomas.weebly.com/
Twitter: @thomastechteach