Another great semester at MSU

Today is the due date for my final project for CEP 815: Technology & Leadership. This has been my favorite class so far in the MAET program at MSU, although I have learned so much throughout the entire program. I have one semester to go before finishing my Master of Arts in Educational Technology. CEP 815 focused on the practical aspects of how to lead change in an organization, particularly surrounding technology. The assignments and projects I have created will be useful for helping to make change a reality at my school and corporation. In all reality, I tend to be somewhat reserved when it comes to leading...I am fine if you put me in front of 100 elementary students, but talking in front of other adults makes me very nervous. I learned in CEP 815 that there is much more to leading than just public speaking and a charismatic personality. The concepts presented in the unit readings have helped to increase my confidence when sharing my ideas. For this final project, I brought together many concepts from throughout the course to create a proposed technology learning initiative. I am proud of the work I have created and want to present my ideas to the school board in the future. This project can be implemented for next school year.

Check out my project below. It is all about using MobyMax to increase standardized test scores.

Final Project Galbreath

ISTEP Round #2

Today we started round two of ISTEP: Multiple Choice. Everything on the computers went well this morning. Thankfully we did not have a repeat of last year. That was a nightmare! I am happy that things went smoothly and we got Session 1 Math done without any problems. I hope that the internet does not have any hiccups the rest of the testing window and that headphones and mice work properly.

The weeks and months before testing have been busy getting ready to take this test. We practiced reading fiction and nonfiction. Students reviewed strategies and had to explain what strategy to use when. We asked and answered questions, and had some very interesting discussions. We looked at vocabulary and context clues, as well as reviewed some basic math. When it is all said and done, student achievement comes down to how they do on those few tests. It is out of the teacher's hands at this point and we can just trust that we have prepared our students as best we can.

In two short weeks, we will receive our LAS Links test scores. I am excited to see how my kiddos did! I am planning a reveal and celebration party for them. It is going to be ... pirate themed! Lots of fun :)

What do you do to prepare your students for test time? Do you have a celebration after the testing is over?

What Influences Student Success?

Here is my latest project for CEP 815: Tech & Leadership. This project focuses on the work of John Hattie.

Here is the link in case you can't see the embedded presentation below.

Everything English

Here is the link to my latest project for CEP 815: Technology & Leadership. It is my manifesto - all the resources and information I use to help me be successful as an English Language teacher. I am really happy with how it turned out! I created the pages in PowerPoint, then saved as a PDF. I then uploaded my PDF to Issuu. Some of the links did not transfer, but Issuu has a really nice interface to easily add links to external pages or pages in your document. This was the first time for me to use Issuu. I really like the final format. It looks very professional. This will definitely be a piece to add to my capstone portfolio for next (final) semester!

If you can't see the embedded Issuu frame below (requires flash), click HERE.

Observing ourselves with technology

I gave my students the opportunity to observe their own behavior this past week. We have been working on sight words quite a bit lately. Now that texts are getting a bit harder with less cvc words and more words that can't be sounded out, sight words need to be automatic when reading. I found a great way for kids to practice sight words at Teacher Tipster. (By the way, all of his ideas are great and I have used quite a few including Sight Word Jenga and Silly-brations, plus he is so fun! :D )

One Breath Boxes is my latest find. Check out the links below for more info.

One Breath Boxes printable from Teacher Tipster

One Breath Box video by Teacher Tipster

I gave students the chance to practice with partners or in small groups. We practiced first together how to take turns. One person reads first and the other checks the words. If the person gets a word wrong, the checker has to stop them and tell them they missed a word. I made sure to emphasize that we all want to get all the words right, but if we miss one we want to know so we can fix it for next time. I then went around the room to record students practicing with each other. We then got back together as a group and watched/listened to ourselves. They had to follow along with the video/audio recordings to check if they were right. I had one student who kept saying 'came' instead of 'can.' When a friend or myself would stop to correct, he insisted that he did in fact say 'can.' Of course, we said "No, you said 'came.'" This goes back and forth for a while, until we pull out the video of him saying the words. Now the student can hear and see himself say the wrong word. "Oh! I guess I did say that!" That's what I love about using technology as a learning tool - it forces students to look at themselves. When we have knowledge of ourselves in the present, we can make a better attempt at improving for the future.

Breath Box #1 by First Grade