New EdTech In My Classroom...

After a visit to East Noble, a 1-to-1 school in northern Indiana, I have added several pieces to my tech use puzzle. The largest is Edmodo, a secure, social networking site that can be used for any and every conceivable use you could ever imagine in the classroom. My kids are loving it...they are submitting assignments to me and doing quizzes for choir (and eventually band) online. Another gem is Scribble Press. I plan to use that with my 1st grade success class. An app I already have & use is called educreations. They are also web-based, so if you don't have iPads or iPods you can still use this. The last app I have added (for the time being) is popplet, a webbing app. This is also web-based, so it to offers an alternative to tablet apps. I have used all of these with my kids very successfully! They are adapting quickly to "app'ing" their way through school. Next up, cloud computing!
ENJOY!!

Peer Resource

I really like the TetraData data warehouse Jeff used in his project. It seems very easy to use, to understand, and since it is only a warehouse instead of a complete CIS, I think this would be a more affordable option for many school corporations who already have CIS in place, but no warehousing. This would make the teacher's job of differentiation much easier if they had this kind of access to data.

Tetra Data Home Page

Jeff Harrison Blog (referencing TetraData)

6 states given permission to tweak No Child Left Behind | pal-item.com | Palladium-Item

This is exciting news, especially for schools who have been showing yearly gains but still fall short. I just hope the state doesn't (didn't) screw up their proposal and make it just as bad as the original. It's time for schools to start receiving recognition for improving and growing, not just passing.

6 states given permission to tweak No Child Left Behind | pal-item.com | Palladium-Item

smartDESKTOP

In my opinion, the rubric tool is the best thing since sliced bread for implementing RtI and helping to improve ISTEP scores. Teach-nology used to be my favorite rubric maker, as it had a wide choice of pre-made rubrics and also had a very simple create-your-own maker. This site has since won over my heart. The feature that makes this so great is the ability to include the state standards, down to the sub-standard (ex. 4.5.3) in rubrics you create to fit your assignments. Also, you can add standards from all different subject matter AND grade level. So, for example, you have a student that reads at 5th grade level but does math on an 8th grade level. You would be able to tailor the different parts of an assignment to suit the different performance levels and fit the rubric the the project. This type of differentiation is going to be an absolute necessity with the implementation of RtI in the next few years.

The rubric on my page is one I did with our 5/6 choir band students on designing their own guitar after watching a small portion of "Guitar Heroes" in Ken Burns' History of Rock & Roll. I tried to include a variety of subject matter, including writing, as that is one of our focus areas for school improvement, while keeping the assignment interesting to the kids.

smartDESKTOP