Resource Collaboration

This past Friday, my New Tech team did a professional development seminar on Peardeck. I like the idea of using Peardeck to check in with students on particular slides. I can see where it would make the lesson go much more smoothly than stopping for an assignment every time it was necessary. We discovered that we could use Peardeck as an extension of Google Chrome. This worked really well because much of our school is already setup with Google Chrome. Students would need their school provided Chromebooks, which they already bring to class everyday. They would also need the Peardeck code given by the teacher. Overall, it seems like a simple way to make class go smoothly. 

We discovered Google Drive. Google Drive is a great resource for students and teachers to be able to use in the classroom. This resource is free to use, so it is great for teachers with a small budget. Google Drive allows students to organize their assignments and projects, and share them with their teacher. It also allows you to convert assignments into Microsoft, or download them as a PDF if needed. The only thing students and teachers need, is a laptop and a Gmail account. Teachers will also need to make sure that the class makes a list of all their emails so that students can share their work.

My grade level team at school chose to explore Loom. This is a tool we were just introduced to this year and are encouraged to use by our administration. However, we have not had time to explore the tool ourselves. One of the system requirements for this tool is downloading the extension onto your computer. You will also need to go into the settings in order to make sure that your browser is not blocking the use of camera and audio. We also needed to make sure Google Chrome was not blocking the Loom pop ups before we could video. 

The contextual requirements needed for Loom are the ability to share the link. As a grade level we use Dojo to help share information out with parents. However, a concern would be how Loom appears on a phone screen. We have multiple parents who use their iPhones as their source of technology. Another contextual requirement is that we are still learning Loom so if a student or parent needs support, we will only be able to give limited support. A positive of Loom is that neither parents nor students will need to download or log in to view, which allows easy access for all.

The digital resource that I looked into for this badge was called oodlü.org. It is a website where teachers can insert their own content related questions and add their students. Once the students log in to the website, they can play free games while answering the questions that the teacher inserted. When students get answers right and participate in the games, they earn "oodles" which are like dollars that they can spend in the "oodle" store (this is only available in the teacher premium account). It allows the teacher to track student progress as well as parents can create a parent account and watch their child's progress.

Anyone can participate using their website, oodlü.org, or you can download the app (available in both app store and Google Play). So students would need any kind of technology whether that be a laptop, iPad, or phone. Accounts for students are free and the basic teacher membership is free, but it doesn't include everything the site as to offer. The parents account is 99 cents as well as the teacher premium account but in light of the pandemic, the premium teacher account is now free.

·  Resource Collaboration
1. With a partner or in a team, discover a new digital resource (hardware or software) that you would like to use in your classroom to learn more about (3D printing, Scratch coding, Kahoot, Google Drive, etc.)

• My partner, Cassie Jacoboski and I discovered the new resource Kahoot for our kindergarten and first grade students. We feel that this app will be a helpful resource in both reading for kindergarten students as well as for physical education for first graders.
  

2. Diagnose what system requirements and other contextual requirements are needed to be able to use this resource in a classroom (1:1, filters, class size, etc.) Submit this diagnosis

• The requirements that we both would have to complete to successfully integrate into our classrooms would be
  
1. Students need to be 1:1 with a device (our school is 1:1 with iPads)
   
2. Create accounts for each student using their school email. (We will be using our students school Gmail’s)
   
3. Explore and present app to students
   
4. Create an example Kahoot to show students rules and expectations while using app.
   
5. Present example to each class of students and have student join using the special code participate by answering questions.
   
6. In future lessons, use Kahoot for review, new topics, and reflecting for a fun and engaging lessons.
   
• This new resource integration will be completed over multiple days and lessons due to the age of students/ (kindergarten-first grade)