Technology News
September 1, 2017
Hello,
We seem to be having a great start to the new school year. The Chromebook carts at Upper Campus seem to be well used. I think we have been addressing all technology issues in a timely manner thanks to Mr. Durrett and his new team of tech aids. Please remember to call the tech aid phone if you have something that needs immediate attention or fill our a helpdesk ticket if your problem can wait a bit.
I want to encourage you to think about ways to make the learning in your classroom more dynamic rather than static. This is certainly a process that has to be taken one step at a time. I am enjoying trying out some new ideas in my Pre-Algebra class but I am taking it very slowly for my sake and the students (who have to adjust). I am including more information about this idea below.
I am including some information about Front Row for our K - 8th grade teachers. Please let me know the topics you would like to know more about in the coming weeks!
Remember we have a teacher technology website. The link is under quicklinks on the school webpage. It is certainly a work in progess but I would love for it to be a great resource for all your technology needs.
Testimonial from a co-worker
Front Row Education
Teachers can assign Adaptive Practices, Targeted Practice Assignments, and Benchmark Assessments. Adaptive Practices use diagnostic data collected on each student to create a personalized set of items based on individual student needs. Targeted Practice Assignments focus specifically on ateacher-designated standards and are not individualized for each student. Benchmark Assessments give teachers the opportunity to assess the whole class on a specific standard, domain, or grade-level. All of these assignments pull from Front Row’s library of over 30,000 standards aligned items in various formats, such as multiple choice, short answer, and sorting tasks.
For ELA, tTeachers can access a library of articles, browsable by anchor skill and genre. Some of the article topics include DNA, Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, Computer Programming, and Freedom Riders. Every article is available in five different reading levels and includes a corresponding writing prompt and set of comprehension questions. These prompts and questions also adapt as the teacher selects different reading levels. Teachers assign articles to individual students and can designate different reading levels for each student. When assigning articles teachers can choose to assess comprehension, writing, or both. They also have the opportunity to assign different reading levels to each component (comprehension and writing). For teachers who are unsure of their students’ reading levels, Front Row provides a reading diagnostic test that students take when first logging on to their accounts. The results of this test serve as reading level recommendations for each student.