Reflecting on our CLC

When we started our Seesaw blogging page we were already pretty far along in our novel (Bud, Not Buddy). My goal was to give my students an open forum of dialogue that they could have with their peers to further enhance their comprehension of the novel. I thought it would be a nice break in routine from the previous comprehension checks I have given them throughout the school year. I had the students complete a pre-assessment blog post and then introduced the rubric they would be using to improve upon their blog posts. As I stated before not only were my students new to Seesaw, but I was as well. Our first few posts were written out but as we went on with using the program we expanded our content to commenting on each others comments and posting video responses. One thing I found with the video responses is that when I first started this blog the main thing I was checking was their writing responses. As more kids started to prefer the video method of delivering their content, I was then no longer assessing their writing. I find myself wondering how to use both writing and video effectively, without the writing completely falling off by the wayside.

I found that the students comments and video responses were great opportunities to get kids talking to each other more so than a group discussion. I had to tweak my rubric a little to allot for the comments and video responses. Overall the quality of the students responses were much more in-depth and had had higher quality as they read on through the novel. I definitely see myself using this program next year with my students. We have one more blog post to go and here is the link we have thus far to our class blog:     https://blog.seesaw.me/room303/#!/

This has a very worthwhile experience taking this course. I am glad I decided to take this course because it enabled me to take a chance with something I may not of used with my students. The one important thing I've realized from this course is that when introducing new things to my students that I don't have to be an "expert" in what I am trying to implement. Too often I feel as if I have to have a full grasp of a new program that I am trying to establish in the classroom. Taking this course and talking to some of my peers helped me realize that I just had to take the plunge and dive into my Seesaw blogging project. Thank you to my classmates and mentors for helping out!

Does Technology Enhance Student Learning?

Without a doubt I think the amount of technological resources we have to choose from is a positive in the classroom. It's better to have too much than none at all. In regards to this helping my students writing I have mixed feelings. For starters my students are highly motivated to use their Chromebooks for their writing. I have also found that from an editing standpoint I am able to help more students more often. The ability to do frequent checks on my students work using google docs does help the work they are producing. One drawback I have found that research reports have left some of my students just copy and pasting random facts from websites. This obviously requires some intervention with the teacher to help the students understand the best way to use and understand facts and sources from the internet and providing some of their own context on it.

At our school we are constantly looking at a plethora of data that helps us pinpoint specific areas our students need help in. Its from this data where my students and I come up with academic goals for themselves. Having this data at my fingertips has been instrumental to my RTI groupings. Having students look at their own data and assist in making their academic goals is very empowering to the students. It gives them a sense of ownership in their education and they feel accomplished when they accomplish a goal they made for themselves.

While making these goals for students I am constantly trying to figure out which specific academic program we use would be best to use to give the student independent practice on their particular goal. This can sometimes be hard to manage. In my small groupings I can give students an assignment and ask for them to have it done when they meet with me next. Incorporating these goals with a academic program can sometimes be hard to keep up with. Trying to make sure all my students are working on specifically what I have asked them to independently can be challenging.

As with anything there are upsides and downsides. In regards to how students learn best, from my experience it includes the use of some form of technology.

Seesaw Blogging in Room 303

It has been a challenge in my class to get my kids more responsible with their independent reading. Trying to manage them staying on task and making them more accountable for their work can be a struggle. I have decided to have the kids in my room use SeeSaw to blog about a current novel we are reading in class.

Setting this up seemed like a daunting task. They had to realize that what they will be posting is out on the internet for all to see. I provided all of the students rubrics to follow proper blog post guidelines. We will also be collaborating  with Mr. Hall's class which hopefully, if it goes well, we can expand it to a distance learning type activity.

I have found that some students are very self aware of their writing abilities and can sometimes be embarrassed to post among their peers for fear of being made fun of for their writing ability. I am working with these specific students to build their confidence in their writing to be able to post confidently.

I'm hoping that expanding beyond paper and pencil will make my students more motivated to interact with text they are reading. I can see this being a valuable tool that would promote discussion and enhance their comprehension. Students will also, depending on the task given, some choice in their responses while also following the rubric.

It's been a slow process implementing this in the class and I hope in the coming weeks to have a much better grasp of the process.

Wonderful World of PLNs

Social Media I use in my personal/professional life.

I currently use Twitter, Facebook, Google+, TeacherTube, and YouTube in both my personal and professional life. I admit I am more of a consumer of these networks as opposed to a producer of any content. With networks like Twitter and Facebook I primarily use those as more social platforms. Twitter is great because it enables me to follow specific individuals in specific areas of the teaching profession. Following these individuals has really helped me consume specific content that I think would be helpful in my professional practice.

I use Google+, TeacherTube, and YouTube A LOT in my daily lessons. Part of the reason why I am taking this course is to push myself to be more of a contributor to some of these networks. This is particularly true with blogging. It has been refreshing to look through my fellow peers blogs and see the conversations that are happening within everyone's blog posts.

How to change my habits. 

A lot of my time spent on these social media platforms is spent reading and navigating topics that others are talking about. I would like to take a more active approach when on social media. This would require me to separate both my professional and leisure social media accounts. I see the benefits of discussion with fellow educators. I also see benefits of sharing not only successes in the classroom but "failures" as well. My hope would be that expressing these on a social media platform (like a blog), I will be better able to grow as an educator while also helping others.

What I'm finding and sharing

I currently find a lot of material on YouTube and TeacherTube,that helps enhance my daily lessons. Some of the people I follow on Twitter provide me with articles pertaining to certain areas of the teaching profession that I find interesting. As mentioned before, I would like to become more active with sharing content across social media.

My Twitter Handle

@BloggerBrooks

Blog Post 1

Welcome to my first endeavor of blogging! My name is Charlie Brooks and I am currently a 6th grade teacher at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. School #9 in Rochester, NY.

As far as using technology in the classroom, I would say I use a fair amount. Our school is lucky enough to have a plethora of technology tools including: smart-boards, document cameras, Chromebooks etc.

What I would like to gain from this collegial learning circle is also one of the fears I have in using technology, just trying to keep up and be informed with the amount of resources that are out there to use. We are inundated with so many helpful tools and internet resources to use not only ourselves but also with our students. Trying to find a balance of what can be useful and manageable can sometimes be overwhelming. My goal would be to find a better way to navigate all we are given to better determine what would be of benefit to me and my students.

One of my favorite hobbies outside of work is sports. I am a season ticket holder of the Buffalo Bills and Rochester Red Wings. I am also very busy with my family. My wife and I just had our second baby girl, Mackenzie. Our first daughter, Madeline, is two years old and is quite a ball of energy. The picture below was taken over Christmas.