Center Grove Shadowing Experience
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of shadowing Jenna Cooper at Center Grove for the day. During my visit I had the opportunity to go to several different schools in the Center Grove district including a middle school, two different elementary schools and the districts tech lab. I was also able to meet different teachers who are using technology in their classrooms, other technology coaches and even a principle who was looking to improve the implementation of technological resources.
One of the highlights of my visit was going to a fourth grade classroom that was about to engage in an online, Google Classroom book club. When Jenna was first telling me about the classroom she told me that the classroom was not actually in the school building, but in an annex where you had to go outside to get to it. This was because the school district does not have enough big enough schools for the amount of students they have. I was very skeptical before entering the classroom thinking, how can kids go to school outside and away from all the other classes? How can their teacher be okay with being sent outside? However, once I got inside, I saw that although the classroom was much smaller, it felt just like a normal room inside the school.
When we got into the classroom the students were getting ready to start their online book club about the book “Wonder.” The teacher explained to me that each student has their own buddy in another classroom at the other elementary school in the district and they each would hold their own discussion about the chapter they discussed. I thought this was an AWESOME way for the students to interact with kids outside their classroom and an AMAZING way for teachers to use technology to enhance their lessons.
As the book club went on I visited with different students and saw how each one of them discussed the questions with their partner differently. The students were able to spread out and find their own space to talk with their buddy. Some of the problems that came across while conducting the book club was that the teacher of the other class was absent and so were a few of her students. However the substitute teacher was still able to conduct the lesson. If a student’s buddy was absent the day of the book club the teacher would just have them join in with another student to add to their conversation. Overall this was an awesome way for teachers engage their students in book discussion that is different than anything I have seen before.
Throughout the day I feel that I gained a lot of understanding about what comes with being a technology coach and even how technology is currently being used in our schools today. One strategy that I really enjoyed learning about was the way that the school has their students log onto their computers. Especially for younger students, remembering a username and password can be difficult, so Jenna being the technology coach for the district, problem solved with the computer teacher at the elementary school to create QR code for each student to use when they log into a computer. All the student has to do is hold up a piece of paper that has their QR code up to the camera and they are logged in. When I first saw this work I was mind blown! This strategy is so efficient and saves the teacher so much time when she is trying to get 23 first graders logged onto computers!
I also really enjoyed seeing the fourth grade book club using Google Classroom. Every student in the classroom was engaged and interacting with students at a completely different school. They were all excited to share their ideas and talk with their new buddy that they had only met through book club. I absolutely loved this idea and really look forward to using a variation of this in my classroom. I can definitely see myself using this in older classrooms and even in younger classrooms by changing it to maybe a whole class discussion so the teacher has more control.
Although I saw the districts technology lab/ makers’ space, I didn’t have the opportunity to see it in use. The facility was beautiful, however, I didn’t really get a great idea of how it worked. They have a plethora of equipment that I was able to see and hear how its used, but I would like to see how students and other teachers interact with the equipment. In the future, I would like to have the opportunity to observe students and technology coaches in a maker’s space to see how students engage with the technology at different levels.
After my experience at Center Grove, I am more excited than ever to continue my education in technology leadership. I have seen how the different technological tools I have been learning about can enhance classrooms and engage students in school and even how it makes classrooms more efficient and effective. Leaving Center Grove I am feeling inspired to be a technology leader in my future school and help other teachers use technology to the best of their abilities in their classrooms.
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| A look into Center Grove's innovation lab! |
When we got into the classroom the students were getting ready to start their online book club about the book “Wonder.” The teacher explained to me that each student has their own buddy in another classroom at the other elementary school in the district and they each would hold their own discussion about the chapter they discussed. I thought this was an AWESOME way for the students to interact with kids outside their classroom and an AMAZING way for teachers to use technology to enhance their lessons.
As the book club went on I visited with different students and saw how each one of them discussed the questions with their partner differently. The students were able to spread out and find their own space to talk with their buddy. Some of the problems that came across while conducting the book club was that the teacher of the other class was absent and so were a few of her students. However the substitute teacher was still able to conduct the lesson. If a student’s buddy was absent the day of the book club the teacher would just have them join in with another student to add to their conversation. Overall this was an awesome way for teachers engage their students in book discussion that is different than anything I have seen before.
Throughout the day I feel that I gained a lot of understanding about what comes with being a technology coach and even how technology is currently being used in our schools today. One strategy that I really enjoyed learning about was the way that the school has their students log onto their computers. Especially for younger students, remembering a username and password can be difficult, so Jenna being the technology coach for the district, problem solved with the computer teacher at the elementary school to create QR code for each student to use when they log into a computer. All the student has to do is hold up a piece of paper that has their QR code up to the camera and they are logged in. When I first saw this work I was mind blown! This strategy is so efficient and saves the teacher so much time when she is trying to get 23 first graders logged onto computers!
I also really enjoyed seeing the fourth grade book club using Google Classroom. Every student in the classroom was engaged and interacting with students at a completely different school. They were all excited to share their ideas and talk with their new buddy that they had only met through book club. I absolutely loved this idea and really look forward to using a variation of this in my classroom. I can definitely see myself using this in older classrooms and even in younger classrooms by changing it to maybe a whole class discussion so the teacher has more control.
Although I saw the districts technology lab/ makers’ space, I didn’t have the opportunity to see it in use. The facility was beautiful, however, I didn’t really get a great idea of how it worked. They have a plethora of equipment that I was able to see and hear how its used, but I would like to see how students and other teachers interact with the equipment. In the future, I would like to have the opportunity to observe students and technology coaches in a maker’s space to see how students engage with the technology at different levels.
After my experience at Center Grove, I am more excited than ever to continue my education in technology leadership. I have seen how the different technological tools I have been learning about can enhance classrooms and engage students in school and even how it makes classrooms more efficient and effective. Leaving Center Grove I am feeling inspired to be a technology leader in my future school and help other teachers use technology to the best of their abilities in their classrooms.
Hi Gabby,
ReplyDeleteI love how you were able to go up to Center Grove. I think the resources there are amazing and that must have been such a cool experience. With everything that Center Grove already has going on in their school systems, what do you think could be implimented that would make it even more better?
Nicole