Techie in Primary

" data privacy "  by  stockcatalog  is marked with  CC BY 2.0 . This week I've been exploring the topic of privacy. I don't know anyone who is not online in some way. For most of us, the online world is an integral part of our every day lives, whether we are using Google Maps to safely arrive at a destination, checking in with loved ones on a messenger app, or receiving an email from work. Whether you grew up on the internet or not we all need to be aware of what happens when we step foot online and give away information about ourselves. As an educator of young children I feel it is my responsibility to teach my students digital citizen skills, which includes navigating online spaces safely. These will be lifelong skills for this generation. It is also my responsibility to keep my students' data safe while they use school devices. This year we actually came across a problem with a popular literacy app called EPIC! not following Illinois'  Student Online Person...

" orang ramai " is marked with  CC0 1.0 . This week I have been reflecting on Professional Learning Networks, or PLNs. A PLN is a group of educators (that can exist outside your immediate bubble of colleagues) that you can connect and collaborate with to expand your professional learning. Social media has allowed educators to build diverse and expansive PLNs! Torrey Trust, who is a professor of educational technology, identified four different benefits of PLNs: social, affective, cognitive, and identity. You can check out her Thinglink to view videos explaining these benefits.  After watching her videos explaining these benefits, I've concluded that the cognitive growth I've received PLNs has impacted me the most. Thanks to PLNs, I have learned about methods and resources that I've been able to bring back to my students. These include behavior management strategies, new children's literature, tech tools, specific projects, and more. This has helped me to grow...

Hello, everyone! My name is Laura Rzewnicki and I'm a first grade teacher at a public school in Northbrook. This blog used to be titled "Techie in Kindergarten" but since I now teach first grade I decided to change it to "Techie in Primary." I have been teaching at the primary level for 13 years. I've always wanted to be a teacher and consider myself a lifelong learner. I'm really passionate about providing developmentally appropriate learning experiences to young children and fostering a love of literacy in all. A few years back I started teaching in a 1:1 device setting and that inspired a love of teaching with technology (which is sometimes easier said than done with kindergartners and first graders). I'm really excited to be taking my ninth educational technology class at Dominican University. I started this journey with the intention of getting my technology specialist endorsement but decided to keep going and earn a masters degree. I have my cr...

Pilot Experience This is the end of my EDU781 class and the completion of my pilot experience for this class. My proposal was a big one that would require systematic change for my entire district - using E-Learning days for snow days. This was an interesting project because the more I worked on it the more my idea changed. In the beginning I just thought about using E-Learning for snow days but then I realized that this protocol could be used for students that are at home for extended time due to illness and injury. It could also be used for when schools need to be closed down due to the spread of illness and they need to sanitize the entire building. Sadly, sometimes schools need to close due to a threat declared on social media. There are so many reasons school might be shut down and they all disturb the flow of learning in our students.  My first goal was developing an appealing slideshow to persuade my fellow staff members that this could be a a good choice for our distric...

I am currently in a new class, EDU 781, called Technology for Leaders. In this class I am learning about the different roles and responsibilities of being a technology leader in a school. Our main project in this class is to design and implement a technology related change for our building. My proposed change is to use E-Learning days in place of missed snow days. These E-Learning days would count towards the mandated attendance days in the school year. The E-Learning opportunity would also be used to bring lessons and materials to students who are stuck at home due to prolonged illnesses or injuries. The challenge to implementing this project is that for full implementation, this would realistically be a year long process. We have about 4 weeks left in my EDU 781 class. So, for the remainder of this class I am going to be focusing on educating staff on the benefits of E-Learning. Then, I will gain feedback and see what parts of my proposal need tweaking. This is a really important p...

I have come to the end of my EDU777 class and have finished my technology proposal project. I have spent the last 7 weeks of class working on each part of this technology proposal. Some aspects of the project were easier than others. Trying to understand the challenges to the proposal left me feeling doubtful that it would be successful. However, this was obviously a very important aspect of building the proposal, tweaking and adjusting the proposal as needing and thinking of all the pros and cons.  This project has helped me to better understand the role of a technology specialist in a school. Especially, the scope of the job as well as the many hats a technology specialist might wear. The research, planning, and organizational work that was necessary to create the technology plan showed me how complex the position can be. In addition to coaching teachers and planning technology instruction for students, the technology specialist is also a problem solver and may be relied on to...

In my EDU 777 class (Learning Theories and Instructional Design), I am working on a technology proposal project from the role of an instructional designer. Right now, I am at the mid-point of the proposal preparation and it's time to reflect on my journey so far. My proposal is for the adoption of a communication platform that would streamline the communication process between team members in a school and the family members of the students. The process of brainstorming a need for my school was a challenge for me. I am very lucky to work in a school district that is very privileged. We have a lot of technology and resources in our building. So I was looking at this project as a way to streamline and make more effective a communication process in our educational community. I have really enjoyed the problem solving aspect of the instructional designer role. I have enjoyed doing the research on the various communication apps and platforms that are available. I used Common Sense Med...