Friday, March 8, 2013

Apple Tour Visit


The district welcomed a technology tour of several of our K-12 classrooms with approximately 27 guests from Reef Sunset, Fowler, Burton, Sylvan and Kings River Hardwick School Districts.  The tour was sponsored by Apple Computer, and it was led and conducted by our Academic Coaches Shellie Escobedo, Kristina Seaman and Rich Lane.

Our guests were inspired and impressed at the innovative practices of
our teachers, the involvement and savvy of our students and new ways
students are using technology as a learning and information
management tool.

Here are some of the impressive practices we and the guests witnessed:

Students writing and producing persuasive adds using a variety of
modalities focused on good writing and communication being created in
an "ad like" file in Keynote and iMovie.

Students determining points on a graph, locating and identifying
points, finding related numbers to location while learning how those
points relate to geometrical shape, etc. using a related website.

Students creating challenging questions in their Cornell notes and
posting those questions to the screen using Air Play.  The questions
were well thought out and showed some complexity (6th grade).

Students in each classroom were working in a blended tech environment. On the iPads, students were working on building words and creating books using the apps like Montessori Spelling and Story Kit. Students were using the laptops and desktops to access web-based programs like Starfall and Lexia. 

In most of the 4th and 5th grade classrooms, students didn't even notice when we walked in, that's how engaged they were.  We saw well-planned lessons and students who felt comfortable using the technology.  It is evident that they use it often.  Students were using apps like Show ME, Voice memos for fluency and Popplet.

One teacher was instructing a class on how to create a commercial using iMovie. Students were then encouraged to practice before actually creating the comercial they wanted. The teacher instructed the students on how to fix timing issues that would arise. 

Students were creating sentences from math problems using rigor model words and streaming them up to the board for the class to see and critique using air server. 

Students were using Popplet to create timelines.

Students in some classrooms were working in a blended tech environment. On the iPads, students were working on building words and creating books using the apps like Montessori Spelling and Story Kit. Students were using the laptops and desktops to access web-based programs like Starfall and Lexia. 

Teachers had multiple grouping arrangements.  Some were doing EDI lessons with half the class, while the rest of the students worked in small groups and individually. Other teachers (and high school students) worked with small groups, giving individual instruction while the rest of the class worked in small groups or individually.

Lessons have been modified to meet the needs of every student in the classroom. The perfect example was a group of two boys that were working together on the same math app. One boy is in kindergarten and the other is in the third grade. The older student was able to assist the younger student and walk him through math problems.  The teacher went into the settings for each student and adjusted the level to meet their individual needs. 

Teachers were excited to share with guests and urged their kids to show, rather than tell, what they have been working on. Students were doing research to create Keynotes on animals that will be presented next week. Other classes were using Popplet for vocabulary development (see photo), Mad Libs to practice parts of speech, and Story Kit to demonstrate their knowledge of generalizations. 

One teacher had two students work on Keynote to "master it." She then had the rest of the class meet with these two students so they could get "cleared" to work on their keynote. When her class was done with their project, she sent them to neighboring teachers' classes to demonstrate and teach them how use the app. Way to get kids networking!

Visitor comments:
They (the teachers) don't need a computer lab or computer station in their classrooms. Anywhere (points at kids in chairs, on the floor, in corners) can be a computer workspace...;-).

One favorite comment from a group was regarding the level of engagement in the classrooms.  The visitors were amazed at how engaged the students were in each classroom.  The group was really impressed with the amount of interaction and collaboration between kids at this level.

They also commented on the amount of pride that the teachers had in their students. It was very evident in ALL classrooms that we visited. 

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