Techie in Primary

" student_ipad_school - 131 "  by  flickingerbrad  is marked with  CC BY 2.0 . What Are Acceptable Use Policies?  An acceptable use policy, or AUP, is an agreement between students and their school district that outlines how students should stay safe while learning online. AUPs are also sometimes called responsible use policies or responsible use expectations. The purpose of these documents is to outline how the district's internet and devices should be utilized by students. They may also be considered codes of conduct. If students do not follow AUPs there may be consequences ranging from loss of privileges to removal of devices. The tone of a AUP is critical in conveying how a school district trusts its student body and embraces digital learning. Student-centered language makes students assume responsibility for their actions, for example "I will not eat or drink while using technology."  This story from the Office of Educational Technology shows how Bost...

Looking Back This week I am finishing up my first class for my technology specialist degree at Dominican University. Before starting this class I was a little nervous. Do I know enough about technology? Will I be able to keep up? How much of it will go over my head? Am I flexible enough in my thinking and teaching to try new things? I thought back to last school year when my kindergarten team was piloting the 1:1 device initiative in our school district. I was terrified! My students didn't touch the iPads until October and every time they did I was filled with anxiety, expecting something to go wrong. I can say with confidence that I have come a very long way. Those devices really changed my teaching and my students learning. Creating, explaining their thinking, and sharing was really transformative for my students. That experience encouraged me to start my technology specialist classes at Dominican. This first tech class allowed me to try so many new things: my first blog, T...

Social Media This week in Edu 776, I learned about using social media in the classroom and reflected on my own use of social media. I read David Geurin's blog post 7 Reasons to Use Social Media in Your School . Here is his awesome infographic that summarizes his points. Infographic from DavidGeurin.com Social media is definitely not going away and to ignore it as an educator is to do a disservice to our students. Through my reading of various articles this week, one point was really hammered home: social media is generally safe for our students! Our students are more likely to be abused by someone they know in their real lives than they are to be attacked online. I think that teachers can feel comfortable using social media in our classrooms. Teachers can guide our students to make good choices, show them how to be responsible, but help them to see it as a great tool for learning and sharing. I think the opportunity to make connections outside of your building is one of ...

Ed Tech Research This week in Edu 776 I studied some research on educational technology. There was one area of research that I wanted to take a closer look at. Common Sense Media interested me because my district is starting to use the Common Sense Digital Citizenship curriculum this school year and I piloted a lesson in my kindergarten classroom last year. Embarrassingly, I hadn't actually read the research available, so I figured this was a great opportunity to do so! GIF  via GIPHY The first document I looked at was the  Common Sense Census: Inside the 21st Century Classroom . It was great to read that "teachers who used any type of digital citizenship curriculum in their classrooms, approximately half said it was “extremely” or “very” effective in helping students make smart, safe, and ethical decisions online." My students have 1:1 devices in our classroom. They use their iPads mostly for creating and sharing learning with me and their parents. They don...

Word cloud created on WordClouds.com What is Active Learning? Active learning moves teachers away from being lecturers to passive listeners and more like facilitators of engaging learning experiences. Active learning helps put students in charge of their learning with hands on activities. We know that the days of lecturing passive students are long gone, or at least they should be. Students that are active in meaningful activities will be more engaged, more motivated, and end up learning and retaining more. Here are just some examples of teaching strategies that prioritize active learning: Think Pair Share Partner and group games Debates Roleplaying Self-reflection  Group projects Science labs STEM projects Hands on learning /manipulatives Genius Hour / passion projects Research projects Field trips Whole body learning Multi-sensory learning My Experiences with Active Learning As an early childhood educator, I've been trained to focus on developmental...