Tech Tips and Tidbits
What's happening with technology at LHS and beyond: Dec 2014
Techie Teacher Spotlight: Substitutes and Technology
Good news for teachers who have to be absent!
All substitutes with the district have now completed a basic training course on the Responsible Use Policy and itslearning. As a result, students are now free to use technology in your class (BYOT or student desktops) to continue learning even when you are absent.
What does this mean for you? When you have to be away from your students, you can create learning modules to place on itslearning for students to complete. You can give notes, create practice activities, link to additional resources or practice on the Internet, and even ask students to complete a quiz or submit an assignment to provide documentation of their engagement and learning.
Want to nominate a teacher who is using technology in the classroom? Please fill out THIS SURVEY. You can also post this link on your itslearning page, as students and parents can nominate as well.
Using technology to give all students a voice in your class
A common reason for educators to choose to integrate technology into the curriculum is to increase student engagement as seen through participation and collaboration. In 2009, university professor Brian Harper experimented with technology-enhanced feedback as a way to increase engagement, participation, and comprehension of the material. He found that the use of digital technologies “contributed to increased perceptions of competence, intrinsic motivation, autonomy while promoting pro-achievement behaviors like regular attendance, careful reading and engaged learning that will increase the likelihood of academic success” (2009, p. 7). Even in middle school, when asking students to participate in class conversations via Twitter, teacher Enrique Legaspi found that previously silent and disengaged students were able to “find their voice” and began actively participating in class discussions, as was reported by CNN’s Dan Simon. Eighty-one percent of teachers participating in the 2011 Single Path study of Indian Prairie School District 204 in Illinois reported that student engagement had increased post-implementation of a BYOT policy, and 70% of students felt that the initiative had increased their learning.
Still not convinced? Here are other articles you can read about backchanneling and the importance of using technology to ensure that all students have a voice in your classroom:
Tools for Increasing Student Voice
ActivVotes
ActiVote is a student response system that enables teachers to poll students at any time during class to assess progress and, based on responses, tailor lessons to specific student needs. LHS has 15 sets available for checkout.
Socrative
Socrative lets teachers engage and assess their students with educational activities on tablets, laptops and smartphones. Through the use of real time questioning, instant result aggregation and visualization, teachers can gauge the whole class’ current level of understanding. Socrative saves teachers time so the class can further collaborate, discuss, extend and grow as a community of learners.
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