Teaching Teachers

1. Teaching Teachers

2. Goals • By the end of this presentation teachers will be able to use, navigate, and incorporate three websites that can enhance student learning.

3. SMARTER Assessment • The Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium is the new assessment being developed for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). • This new assessment will take the place of the WKCE test students in Wisconsin have been taking. • This test will feature content aligned with the CCSS. • By 2014 the majority of these tests will be taken online with the expectation that students will be able to navigate web pages.* *standards.dpi.wi.gov

4. Digital Literacy • Students will be expected to have fluency in Digital Literacy with the expectation that they understand what they’re reading and how to express themselves using digital tools. • This will be essential for students to be successful in this new way of testing.

5. Assessment • These websites will give students and teachers a chance to practice online tools for assessment. • These are not your typical websites. They can be used in all subject areas and they’re very easy to navigate.

6. The Websites • There are three websites this presentation will focus on. • There are hundreds of websites that can be adapted and used for teaching student comprehension. These are three website I have found personal success with while teaching 4th grade. • www.todaysmeet.com • www.glogster.com • www.quizlet.com

7. Todaysmeet.com • Todaysmeet.com is an online chat room collaboration tool. • Unlike regular chat rooms, teachers have complete control over the content and who is able to access the chat room. • Each chat room is created for a limited time and only people with the specific link have access to the content of the chat room.

8. Todaysmeet.com • Please type in link address: • http://todaysmeet.com/thispresentation • When you go to this link you will be asked to create a name. You do not have to use your own name. • Free to explore this tool throughout this presentation. • Please see your handout for how to set up your free educator account!

9. Todaysmeet.com cont’… • This tool would seem for more advanced users, but it can be easily adapted for elementary students. • With the new expectation of students being able to type papers, this is a great way of having students practice typing their thoughts and responding to their peers. • As you can tell, it can be very freeing for students, or teachers, to not have to use their own name. It lets the user feel free to express themselves without the fear of having a name attached to the opinion. * • It would be wise to lay out some ground rules ahead of time, no inappropriate comments, no put downs, etc. This will hopefully remind students of the school expectations they still need to follow. *Daniels, Harvey, Comprehension & Collaboration Inquiry Circles in Action pg 37

10. Today’smeet cont’d… • What are some ways we could use this tool at the elementary level? • Some ideas might include; during a read a loud or through a Social Studies lesson. • Students could ask questions or clarify with peers during a presentation. • The next website will really get you thinking about ideas!

11. Edu.Glogster • Edu.glogster.com • This website is an online poster project that allows students to create interactive posters about specific topics. • Edu.glogster is kid friendly with only appropriate content. Make sure your students are on the edu.glogster, however, because the regular glogster can contain grown up content. • There is much more to this website than meets the eye and it can be used for expanding students comprehension skills.

12. Glogster Edu • I chose to use this project to assess my students’ understanding of animals as an assessment to a Science unit. I wanted students to be able to create a research project in a different context than simple pen and paper.* • For this glogster report, students had to research, make sense of numerous articles, create a glog on what they learned, and then present their glogster to the class. • This is an example of one of those glogs: http://srk2u6hsm.edu.glogster.com/animal-report-mika-pupfish/ • Educators are allowed 10 free accounts per e-mail. I simply set up 2 separate e-mail accounts and was able to register my entire class for free. • Please see your handout #2 for how to get students registered for a free account. *Morrow, Gambrell. Best Practices in Literacy Instruction.Pg 265.

13. Quizlet.com • www.quizlet.com is a wonderful tool for helping students get comfortable with taking online assessments. • This website allows the teacher to create specific content based flashcards for students to study.

14. Quizlet cont’d… • Quizlet.com is an interesting website because the content is completely controlled by you. • You can create flashcards or use other flashcards created by others. • It is not restricted to only learning words, but can also be used with pictures, math, science, etc. • Example: http://quizlet.com/find-flashcards/ • See handout #3 for log on information for quizlet.com

15. Closing Remarks • Incorporating new technology can be intimidating. Just remember that technology is only as good as the teacher behind it! • You don’t have to be the expert at this technology right away. I can guarantee your students will be better at these websites than you. As the teacher you still hold the ideas and know how to make learning meaningful. • I know there has been a lot of information shared today but please don’t hesitate to ask me any questions. If I can’t answer them, I’ll ask my students for help.  • I can be reached through e-mail: tdavis@npsd.k12.wi.us.

16. Works Cited • Academic Standards. (2011). Wisconsin of Department of Public Instruction. Harvey • Harvey Stephanie, Daniels Harvey. (2009). Pg 37. Comprehension & Collaboration Inquiry Circles in Action. Heinemann Portsmouth, NH. • Morrow & Gambrell. (2011). Pg 265. Best Practices in Literacy Instruction 4th Edition. The Guilford Press. NY. London.