21st Century Teachers at
Sherwood Elementary
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Resource teachers, Nancy Mixson (left) and Candace Strickland (right), and Speech Pathologist, Doris Wray (middle) of the Home School Model at Sherwood ES have really taken off on a new vector when it comes to collaboration.Don Johnston, the publisher of SOLO Software, was so impressed, that they published a case study on their website in which Nancy, Candace, and Doris share 6 tech tips for teachers. |
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We took a five week HIAT class called SA-86 Writing Tools for Struggling Students (SOLO Software) and the seed of excitement was planted. We created an after school writer's club using the applications in the SOLO software. We soon discovered that as individual educators we're “A-OK,” but when working together our potential was dynamite! Using our HIAT training in the applications contained in the SOLO software: Draft:Builder, Read:OutLoud, and Write:OutLoud, we joined forces to improve student performance on narrative writing and expository writing. Students who could not read independently accessed facts to incorporate into research papers through Read:OutLoud. Writing fatigue from multiple drafts and note taking was almost eliminated because of Write:OutLoud. Organization was provided by Draft:Builder for papers that were “practically perfect in every way.” Teachers and students learned from each other as we overcame computer glitches together and discussed new ways to implement the programs with the curriculum. How did we make this happen?We worked to coordinate our schedules to take a number of E-TIPS workshops together. Having other members on our team or in our building who actively incorporate technology resources is a fabulous tool for collaboration to support instruction. In our latest collaboration, we are currently using Pixie, WebBlender, Clicker 5 and United Streaming in our Vocabulary Building and Math Reasoning programs. When using Clicker 5 we are able to support our students understanding of word definitions and symbols. With Pixie students retell stories. We started using WebBlender when we paired internet pictures with math concepts. United Streaming (which is now called Discovery Education Streaming) provides visual and oral introductions to lessons, summarizers for lessons, and background knowledge for reading. |
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