Each NEWSELA text is offered at multiple tiers, for every student, no matter their reading level. With this site, teachers can be teaching one nonfiction topic, with one article, and have every students reading need met.The higher achieving students will not longer be able to rush thorough the reading because the level has been lowered to meet the needs of majority of the students who are below their level. Instead these students will be challenged in their reading and comprehension skills, by having an article that is at a higher level, while still receiving the same content and instruction. On the other hand, teachers no longer have to worry about students falling behind on the content because they cannot understand the written word. On top of the variety in reading levels for each article on the site, there is also assessments, like quizzes, annotations, and writing prompts, that hit every entry level. Students can improve the critical thinking skills and measure their progress in real time.
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Did you know "In El Paso, Texas, a hacker broke into the computer network of a local school district, finding a database of about 63,000 students’ Social Security numbers.In Wake County, N.C., school officials accidentally mailed out about 5,000 postcards with students’ Social Security numbers printed on the front.
And in Palatine, Ill., two laptops belonging to a state contractor were stolen from a car, divulging the Social Security numbers of nearly 8,000 special education students." Did you know that data breaches leave people six times more likely to become victims of identity theft, according to a survey this year by Javelin Research. The main reason that schools collect students' Social Security numbers is for tracking their progress. However, experts say there are less risky ways to identify students. When a child identity theft victim turns 18, they find their credit has been destroyed, preventing them from taking out loans or renting apartments. Imagine turning 18 and discovering that you're not able to move on with your life because someone has destroyed what was suppose to be your fresh start. Social Security numbers are “the single most misused piece of information by criminals perpetrating identity thefts,” according to a technical brief issued last fall by the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education.Yet schools still continue to not only collect students' Social Security numbers but also print them on transcripts, tests, and athletic educational forms. North Dakota students are assigned a 10-digit ID number when they enroll that sufficiently tracks their performance, leaving no need for Social Security numbers, according to Jerry Coleman, director of school finance at the North Dakota Department of Public Instruction.This shows that there is another way and it has been successful. Using a simple random number generator or some kind of pattern to assign students with a personalized ID can save many, many students from identity theft. “When someone asks for your child’s Social Security number, say no,” said Aaron Titus, chief privacy officer for Identity Finder, which helps organizations protect sensitive data. “I have found about 90 percent of the time, when I push back a little bit, I get my way.” Information gathered from "In Push For Data, Schools Expose Students to Identity Theft" by Gerry Smith Smith, Gerry. "In Push For Data, Schools Expose Students to Identity Theft." The Huffington Post, 15 Dec. 2011. Accessed 23 Feb. 2017. Technology, now more than ever, is becoming such a big part of education and our world as a whole. It is very rare for someone to go even a day without using some sort of technology, especially the children that are growing up with technology built into their everyday lives. Students are already accessing and building their knowledge of and with technology, so why not put that knowledge to good use? I believe that students today are benefiting every time they have a chance to work with technology.
This semester I am teaching in a transitional first grade and as I have been taking over more responsibility in the classroom I have began teaching the math lesson everyday, which always starts on the smart board. Whether it's just showing story problems or giving the students the opportunity to interact with the board, we start there at the beginning of every lesson. As we have been discussing integrating technology more and more into the classroom, I have started allowing the students to interact with the smart board as well. These interactions range from moving objects around to using the markers to answer question or share answers with the class. Since I have began allowing the students to be the ones interacting with the smart board, I have noticed a higher level of engagement as we work through the lessons. The experience that I had with technology as a moved through grade school was positive, but limited. As I was moving through school I did not have the opportunity to see technology integrated into a lot of the lessons, mainly because it was not available at the time. However, now it is! I think educators need to take full advantage of it. On top of the endless activities and resources that can be found through technology, the range of availability it opens up to diverse learners is unlike anything we have had access to in the past. The wide range of accessible knowledge that is provided through technology is almost unbelievable. I truly believe that the more students today use technology, the more their minds will grow and continue to grow.
This semester I am happily teacher assisting in a transitional first grade at Ridgeview elementary in Sparta. I have seen the variety of technology resources that Sparta offers to the schools. I have included the available and supported technology that I have seen present at Ridgeview elementary.
Hardware & Peripherals
Infrastructure:
Software and electronic subscriptions: Ridgeview has an access page, Sparta Links, that provides students and teachers with all the software and electronic subscriptions that are available to teachers and students. Students use this page to explore activities they are assigned to do as well as choose to do during their free time in the lab. I have listed a few below that I have seen in action.
How I could use a blog in my future classroom.
Thinking about how I have used a blog in my own classroom experiences I would be open to implementing a blog into a future classroom. I think I would use the blog to post information about assignments where the students could respond to my posting on their own blogs with pictures and videos, much like we are doing for this class. Helpful features of a blog would be the creativity aspect that students could put into an assignment that they might not be able to do when handing in an assignment on paper. Students are able to upload pictures and use clip art that they may not be able to draw or use when they are not using a blog to complete an assignment. A constraint we could experience while using a blog in the classroom would be the lack of availability the students may have to the internet while at home. With this constraint, I would have to make time for students to have access to the internet to complete the assignments while in the classroom. My name is Jenny Wutka and I am originally from Livonia which is located on the east side of the state. I am a mathematics, elementary education major currently teacher assisting at Ridgeview Elementary in Sparta. I love being outside and spending time with my family and friends. I spend most of my summers babysitting, hanging in our pool, and golfing with friends. I recently started hiking and visited Yosemite National Park with my family for a four day exploration of the park. In May I am traveling with facility and students from Grand Valley to Tanzania where we will teach, visit an orphanage, hike Mt Kilimanjaro, and explore the Safari. The video below shows me in Yosemite National Park in front of lower Yosemite falls, double skiing at our cottage with my best friend, practicing my golf swing at the range, and having more fun at the lake on paddle boards with my dad. I do not yet have much experience with technology in the classroom. In my placement at Ridgeview I have had experience with the smart board during math lessons. The lesson is in a powerpoint and students have the opportunity to interact with the board. We recently started using XtraMath with the students where they have their own account and they work through math problems at the level they are performing at; as they increase performance, the difficulty increases. |
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March 2017
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