Danielle Terry's Blog

Through this course and my colleagues, I have learned about so many different technology tools to implement in the classroom.  I have especially become interested in Google and all of the different apps that can easily work in my classroom.  Recently, I decided to sign up to take the Google Educator Level 1 Certification Exam.  I worked through all of the modules and learned so much about ways to implement Google into the classroom and the various ways that Google tools can be accommodating for all types of learners.  Through the modules and the exam, I was able to easily see how Google Forms can be used for exit slips or surveys in the classroom, and how easily it is to track the data that you collect from Google Forms in a Google Sheets document.  I began using Google Forms in my small group instruction the day after learning about it! I also admittedly have always been nervous about trying Google Classroom, but after the training modules and exam, I can see...

As a school and district, we have utilized MAP all year and I feel as though I know a lot about my students and their growth, but we began to wonder "Do our students know a lot about their own personal growth?"  My team and I decided to spend time with each individual student to set personal goals for MAP performance before taking the spring MAP assessment.  We started the goal setting process, by first showing our students the growth that they had made as an entire grade level on MAP in reading and math.  Our students were so excited to see the graphs on the MAP website and to notice that they had made more growth than MAP had projected them to.  Their confidence was soaring and it was so exciting to celebrate with them!  We then used MAP to pull up individual student reports showing where each student had performed in the fall and winter and where they are projected to perform in the spring.  We took the time to sit down with each student and show them ...

This week Jennifer Gonzalez shifted her focus from Google to Microsoft. Microsoft has added ways to make it easier to use their tools for all learners, especially learners with visual impairments or English learners. There are four ways that Jennifer highlights that Microsoft is allowing educators to personalize learning experiences for their students. 1. Learning Tools: This was designed originally for students with reading difficulties, however, these tools are free and allow students to improve their reading and writing.  The tools appear under "Immersive Reader," allowing students to highlight words, change font sizing, have the text read to them, etc.  Jennifer suggests using learning tools in the classroom to allow students to break apart text in a way that works best for them. 2. Dictate: Dictate is an "add-in for Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook."  It allows users to speak in over 20 languages and accurately recognizes speech to the point of capitalization ...

Scott McLeod's most recent blog post focused on the benefits of active learning.  The blog post started by discussing quotes in an article from the Washington Post.  A childhood development expert told the Washington Post that research shows that young children learn best actively, however "rigorous instruction" is expected at preschool age. A researcher told the Washington post that he found that "Seventy four percent of teachers from high-SES districts and 64 percent from low-SES districts reported their schools had cut the amount of time scheduled for child-directed activities in recent years." Scott went on to explain that schools who provide more time for students to actively participate in their learning through project based learning or inquiry learning usually end up with higher test scores as well as students who are academically, socially, emotionally, and behaviorally functioning at higher levels.  Scott said in "other words these schools ROCK ...

I have always been an avid user of Go Noodle for either brain breaks or indoor recess.  I love that it provides students an opportunity to release energy and re-focus, especially if wellness isn't until late in the day for them.  Recently, I have been receiving emails from Go Noodle reminding me that they have uploaded videos relating to content areas.  We are working on geometry in my fourth grade math classroom and I knew I needed something to help the students remember all of the vocabulary (line, line segment, ray, parallel, perpendicular, and intersecting lines, acute, right, and obtuse angles, etc.).  I decided to search on Go Noodle and found the perfect interactive dance for my students! The very first day of geometry I told the students we were going to do a Go Noodle, not even mentioning that it related to what we were about to learn.  The students were dancing and doing all of the motions relating to all of the vocabulary words.  After the vide...

My team uses Google Docs for weekly PLC's.  We often plan using Google Docs and also use Google Doc's to collaborate with teachers at other schools.  This past week we had a PLC focused on RTI and noticed that with being departmentalized, students are often overlooked if they are not struggling in both reading and math.  We currently track student data by class using Google Doc's, but during this PLC we decided to create a document that tracked our Tier 3 students only.  Each math or reading teacher had kept data throughout the year on their own Tier 3 students, but we were able to combine this data to identify students struggling in multiple areas or to identify students who may only be significantly struggling in one area.  This was helpful to see how Tier 3 students are performing across the board, as some students may only be Tier 3 in math or only Tier 3 in reading.  This Google Doc was extremely helpful as often we are asked to send data to our co...