Marching onward

Last week we completed ISTEP Applied Skills. I worked with 3rd and 5th grade students, as many of my ELL students receive accommodations for testing. This includes having the test administrator read questions aloud in English and having extended time to complete the test. I have just a few makeups to finish this week. Next week we start IREAD 3. After all of this testing, I will have one week with my students before Spring Break. I have a couple things in mind already: SMART cookie celebration and brainstorm project ideas.

This last quarter, my students will complete a collaborative online project. During CEP 810 (which just finished last week), we created a SIG - Special Interest Group. Our group decided to focus on using Web 2.0 graphic organizers to plan and produce expository writing. You can find the link to our presentation here and well as our list of resources at diigo here. It was a lot of fun to work together on this project and I am looking forward to implementing these ideas into my own classroom. I have created a separate website to document the progress on our project (We Know How To...). 

Looking ahead to summer break, I plan to organize and compile a giant list of resources for language learners that focus on all the tested skills on the LAS Links assessment. I made another separate website to keep track of that project as well (Tech4Language). I am very excited about undertaking these exciting projects and am looking forward to documenting what I learn, as well as what my students learn.

In addition, I am planning to put together a kind of SIG at my school focused around technology. I have created a basic survey here to gather information about the staff and their ideas about technology. My goal is to use this data to design technology based professional development for my colleagues.

I have lots of projects and ideas that I am excited about right now! Of course, there always seems to be other things that usually fill up my time. I just need to focus on school and work on extra projects when I can.