During my placement, I quickly realized how reliable and essential technology is when teaching in a 21st century classroom. Ensuring that all students were engaged and interested in learning was my main goal throughout my entire placement at WJ Watson. Applications for Ipads and Computers Students used applications for both free time and centers for subjects like literacy and math. For literacy my Senior Kindergarten/ Grade One placement, the students engaged in apps such as; Endless Wordplay, abcya, abcPocket, Phonics Lite, ABC Alphabet Phonics and Endless Reader. These apps were available on a regular basis during the literacy 100 block as students engaged in interactive centers. Students always had all app options available, depending on their interests and learning level. Cube for Teachers Cube for Teachers was a great way to quickly find and/or store curriculum resources, other resources, and tools and technology used in the classroom. This sharing network is a free educational sharing network where educators are able to collaborate, connect and find amazing new and innovative ideas to implement in the classroom. DPA resources During my placement, many of the DPA sessions were held in the classroom. Depending on the classroom’s energy at that time the two choices were either yoga or dance and the students loved both! For yoga, I would project Cosmic Kids on the smartboard to ensure all learners were able to see. The students would spread out around the room and follow the instructions for the yoga session. What I loved about this YouTube channel is that there are so many choices and topics that focus on what the students enjoy, such as Frozen and Star Wars. To change things up a little, I also used GoNoodle which I also projected on the smartboard in the classroom. What’s great about GoNoodle is that videos are sorted in featured, duration, energy level, favourites, and category. The categories included guided dancing, free movement, stretching, sports and exercise, kinaesthetic learning, coordination, and calming. I found some of these videos were great for cross-curricular lessons, for example skip counting in math! I would normally start DPA off with a stretching video, then a more upbeat video to warm up everyone and then finally end off with a calming exercise.
1 Comment
Helen DeWaard
1/22/2017 09:08:26 am
Thanks for sharing your experiences and linking to all these great resources. You are certainly building connections to digital and media resources that support student learning. Did you get an opportunity to integrate any media literacies into any of these lessons e.g. safety, security, privacy, digital identity? Even students in K-Grade one need to talk about these issues in purposeful and meaningful conversations.
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