Standard+3

Standard 3: Literacy

__Reflection:__ I am fortunate to teach in a system that values the use of technology in the classroom for teaching. Because of this I have a class set of Nooks in my third grade classroom. These have become very valuable in student learning and achievement; we use them everyday throughout the day. In a typical day, we use Nooks for several learning opportunities. First, we use the app Nearpod during our number talks. This app allows students to write their answers and work. Then, using an iPad I am able to share the different strategies to the students' Nook screens as we discuss it. I have seen increased excitement and accountability during number talks since each child has to submit an answer to me. They are also eager to see if it's their strategy I share with the class. We also use the Nooks for various research times. For example, when learning about different weather phenomena, students were able to use their Nooks to go to websites to research information with a partner. We also use them with various websites. One of my favorite websites is ixl.com. This website allows students to select various math skills to practice. It's very individualized, so students can do problems from different grade levels as needed. I can also log in as a teacher and see what they have completed and how they did on it. Of course with the Nooks, students can also read. They can read pre-downloaded books, eBooks I purchased, and eBooks downloaded from our school library using the Overdrive app. Attached is my project from EEC 692 where students read eBooks in literature circles using their Nooks. Below are also pictures of students working collaboratively with their Nooks.

Technology is an area that I have tried to grow in each year. I understand that each day our world is getting more technological and students need to be prepared for it. Statistics show that 65%-80% of jobs in the future aren't even created yet. Andrea Lo (2013) said," How do we prepare this next generation for the uncertain future? We can start by giving young people lessons in 21st century skills, the opportunity to learn and explore, and the ability to access the resources and capital they need. If we can’t prepare kids for certainty, then we must prepare them for uncertainty" (from http://www.good.is/posts/how-to-prepare-young-people-for-jobs-that-don-t-even-exist-yet). For my PLP in the 2010-2011 school year (the first year I participated in Educate Alabama), technology was an area I sought to improve in. Below are comments from my principal. Since then, I feel as though I've grown tremendously and continue to do so each year.

Another way I have sought to go in the area of technology is by attending various technology based workshops. I have attended Ed Camp and Technology Tailgate. Through Ed Camp, I met one of the authors of //Teaching 2030: What We Must Do for Our Students and Our Public Schools--Now and in the Future// and was motivated to read the book. I was able to share my learning from this book with my teammates.

The area of "knowledge of effective oral and written communications" (Standard 3) is one in which I feel I have tremendously grown in over the last few years. During the 2011-2012 school year, my third grade students wrote and professionally published a class novel on the April 27, 2011 tornadoes. This was a year long process. Throughout the year, the students grew in their "oral and written communications" through interviewing victims of the storms, first aid responders, local meteorologists, as well as researching, planning, writing, revising, writing invitations to our "Meet the Authors" events, writing thank you notes to many people who helped us, and through the multiple television interviews they were fortunate to do. This process taught me much about the importance of authentic writing and actually incorporates many of the standards together. [|Here]is a link to a webpage dedicated to the novel, //April's Rampage.// Below is also a comment from my principal on this process from my PLP on Educate Alabama.

Evidence and Comments
Teacher takes a leadership role in our PLC-Leadership Team. She uses Outlook Calendar to post each meeting time and date for all members. New this year is Spelling City. Students practice at home; the tech helper for that week clicks on the words and call the words. Even the student with a hearing issue is able to take part. || Ashley has an idea to have technological professional development during the school day (ie hire subs to cover classes) so that teachers can gain, for example, Jeff Richardson's expertise. Ashley observed Dana Joiner teaching via Edmodo. We want that, too! || Just recently, I attended the Technology Tailgate PD at UAB. I learned much information about twitter and google docs. I am happy to say that each day since that PD, my class has tweeted something each day for our parent and other class followers to see what we are doing. I also was able to share what I learned with my team.
 * Joseph, Linda L (5/13/2011) -
 * Joseph, Linda L (5/13/2011) -

Evidence and Comments
Joseph, Linda L (4/18/2012) - Mrs. Dark has led her class through the Novel Process this year. Her class has written a novel entitled, April's Rampage. In the first semester of this year, her class did research and conducted interviews on the effects of the tornadoes that swept Alabama, particularly Tuscaloosa, on April 27 of last year. This semester, the students learned to develop plot lines, edit, and extend their thinking. The result can be seen on the Fox6 news and Over the Mountain Journal in which the class and Mrs. Dark were highlighted. These differentiated lessons extended the learning well beyond the normal requirements.