December 2008

Work that Goes Further, Faster, and Deeper than Ever Before

Brookside Elementary, Janet Paden, 6th Grade Teacher

One year ago, Shoreline school district rolled out a 1 to 1 laptop program: all students in grades five through twelve were given a laptop computer to use for school work in the classroom and at home. Along with those brand new computers came the Digital Learning Commons and a plethora of resources. For Janet Paden, sixth grade teacher at Brookside Elementary School, these were the “best tools” to enter her classroom in 19 years.

“The first year with the laptops, we went further, faster, deeper, and better than I have ever been able to go in 19 years of teaching,” said Paden, “We get these kids for maybe five hours a day and so much time is wasted--fire drills, assemblies. The laptop is the only tool, besides a book, where you can make every moment of their day valuable; which is what we are all trying to do. It’s an amazing tool.”

Data project goes digital

A data collection project was her breakthrough to the DLC. Last spring, her students engaged in an electronic survey and data analysis by using the DLC’s WebQ survey tool. Students worked in groups of three to collect and collate answers to the question “Who are we at Brookside?” Paden explained: “We worked together as a class to create an electronic survey. Then the beautiful part was that my students took their laptops down to the primary grades and taught the younger students, one-on-one, how to use the survey. We were able to collect so much more data than we’ve ever been able to collect before. I used to do this same process on paper, turning their cubbies into a data warehouse with all those slips of paper. It was crazy.”

Another use of WebQ involved keynote presentations which incorporated online quizzes as links at the conclusion of each report. “The presenters had to analyze the main points of their own work in order to make the survey,” said Paden, “And the listeners had to be on the ball to answer the questions. It was a win-win for everyone.”

Other digital tools

From there, Paden moved on to other tools within the DLC’s Digital Tools suite. Collect It saved her enormous amounts of work and a considerable amount of paper. “I was really intrigued with electronic paperless grading as an effort to save paper. But, I discovered that I could write comments right on their digital work and could give very specific feedback in the areas that they need. They are still young enough that feedback is really motivating to them. They get to make changes and resubmit, with comments that they want me to see. I have that whole paper trail that never gets lost, taken home, or recycled.”

Mastering that, Paden moved on to GoPost for student discussions. She intends to use it for her civil rights topic in social studies and sees this online discussion as a means for self discovery for her students.

Gizmos make short work of her goals

One of Paden’s core beliefs as an educator is that her students should be focusing on the subject at hand even after they’ve finished the assignment of the hour. If it’s math time and a student finishes early, it’s still math time. She uses ExploreLearning Gizmos to provide her students with extra activities that are fun and formative. “Right now, we are working on fractions. I print the study guide and make it into a packet with three fraction Gizmos for each student. So in their downtime when they have finished their work, they make their way through those online Gizmos using the study guides.”

This year, her goal with the laptops was to have valuable activities in each subject area so that there was never a moment when her students were not engaged. “That was my goal for the entire year. Then we had the training on the laptops and the DLC’s Gizmos and other resources--I had met that goal by the end of September,” Paden said, “Do you believe it? I’ve been working on this goal for 18 years and I’ve completed it in a month! The Gizmos are a huge part of that because math is the hardest one. It has to be something they can do independently. Once I had these electronic activities to use, it was just so easy.”

Substantive work

Through her work with the DLC, Paden has embraced the whole intent of technology integration in the classroom. Reflecting on the possibilities ahead, she said: “I went home last year feeling better about what I’d accomplished than I had in 19 years, so I am passionate about what we can do with kids through technology. The laptops are not babysitters or a way to get iTunes. This is substantive work; they are able to get to high level thinking for much greater chunks of the day. And this is just my first year… just the tip of the iceberg compared to what I am going to be able to do with the DLC.”

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