EEDN 679 REFLECTION

EEND REFECTIONS

The time has come to roll on once again. As I reflect on my class experience, I am drawn to Digital Badges and Rubrics that communicate student growth through visual communication to enable all students to learn at their individual ability levels. 

Take a look.

   Digital Badges Personalization /Differentiation

Equity:
the quality of
being fair and
impartial.


At times, it is a difficult task to be impartial when I connect a name to an assignment. Sometimes it is for the good, the betterment of the student. A nameless paper is read and assessed for its quality. But then I see that it was written by a student who is capable of more detail, voice, or correct grammar. And I score accordingly: the proficiency grade, but then I will leave explicit guidance on the rubric to support deeper learning for better writing.
And not just writing, but in every subject. Best practice, gear the classroom according to ability level groupings and assignments in literacy and math. Move more slowly for certain groups, break down the lessons into smaller chunks, and find a multitude of visuals and concrete examples and activities to support all learners. Accelerated learners are given more autonomy than the rest, and teach each other. Peer tutors are a mainstay and have been for years in this classroom. 

 Digital badges are an alternative to grades. Using badges recognizes learning and growth wherever it happens and helps students connect their accomplishments across the curriculum. The badges enable students to see their full range of potential at a glance. They symbolize levels of achievement, honor, status or recognition.

Rubrics are essential in all classrooms. I use a lot of paper rubrics in writing, reading and Math. I now have experience with 
online rubrics using ForAllRubrics.com.

Genius Hour

The Idea of Genius Hour

I love the idea of Genius Hour because I am the type of person who wants to know
the answer to a question immediately. I use my computer while friends are constantly
using Smartphones. Either way, we are a group of people who want our questions
answered instead of wondering what the answer may be. Don’t get me wrong, first, we
brainstorm the answer: this is adults in my personal life as well as the students in
my classroom. I model how I think, how I work out a question seeking the answer.
Then, it is time to search for the answer. And I also model using 2-3 sources to confirm
the answer is correct using evidence from multiple sources.

Struggles

This specific question was easy to answer: How to restore old windows.
Renovation is something I am familiar with and enjoy. I know specific sites to
begin with like This Old House. I find myself taking far more time that I has
intended to find and answer. Sometimes, website have links and before I know it,
I have wandered onto other topics of interests. So my hurdle is focus.
Think Pinterest.Fortunately, today I was on a mission and remained focused.
I found great resources to learn from and developed this slide presentation
for future use- this summer!

Slide Show

Victories

The victories really are the wanderings as I find lots of youtube videos on restoration.
Being a visual learner, the videos are best for me. And I like to replay the videos
twice before I begin the task to ensure understanding. Think, measure twice cut once!

Genius Hour- teaching and learning

My administrator has already requested that we find time in our day to offer 30 minutes
of Genius Hour to our students. I have elected to make it part of my Soft Start in the
morning. Every team of 2-3 students has an opportunity to input questions that
they/ the class have had in the days leading up to Genius Minutes. I write their
questions on the whiteboard and photograph them. The questions are them projected
onto the screen in the AM during Soft Start. The students have investigated everything
we have read about from the Eiffel Tower to the Statue of Liberty to why pumpkins are
orange. They love it! Our biggest hurdle is the limited exposure to the keyboard that
the students have. We use Google Safe Search and Kiddle.co.