Increasing student engagement with technology

Seriously, when you look at this picture what emotions come to mind? Free day, no homework, catch up on the latest gossip?  We all can remember the times when teachers would roll the tv cart and VCR into the classroom. For the next 50 minutes or so, students had to listen to the video and gather the information needed for the upcoming test (students could only hope the questions on the handout were written in order following the video)

Now, let's give these teachers a break, at least they were using various forms of technology and teaching strategies within the classroom. I am sure back then that would have received a check on a walk through form for student engagement.

As a classroom teacher of 10 years, I can describe the many changes in classroom technology. I can also explain how technology has changed my daily instruction and the level of student engagement. I now have 1-1 Chromebooks for my 4th grade students in my classroom. With technology in the hands of most children at an early age, students come to class ready to complete assignments online and they are capable of troubleshooting technology issues. I hope that when my students are using the Chromebooks and iPads, they get the same excited feeling we did when we saw that tv cart.

Teachers are evaluated on classroom practices and student engagement.  Simply placing a computer in front of a child is not truly engaging students with technology. Our division is providing professional development with Dr. John Antonetti, the author of  17,000 Classroom Visits Can't Be Wrong.  We have learned from Dr. Antonetti there are eight engaging qualities to plan for within each lesson. For a lesson to be truly engaging for students, the lesson needs to include three of the eight qualities.  The eight engaging qualities are: personal response, clear modeled/expectations, emotional/intellectual safety, learning with others, sense of audience, choice, novelty & variety and authenticity. There are numerous applications to use during instruction and for assignments that will help truly engage students.  Here are some of my favorites:

• Pear Deck - this is an interactive slides presentation. Present information and then ask students questions to gather instant feedback. This holds all students accountable for demonstrating understanding. Peardeck
• Quizlet Live - review and practice information. This is played as teams with a minimum of six people total on the site.  Teams work collaboratively to answer questions. Teachers can create their own or select from quizlets already created. Friendly competition all students are held accountable. Quizlet Live
• EdPuzzle - 📺 This app will take the place of the tv cart!  This app allows teachers to assign students video clips to watch and answer questions or discussion prompts. Students are allowed to re-watch sections of the video if they need information repeated.  It can run within Google Classroom. Teachers can add their own video and questions, add questions to a video from Youtube, or assign already created videos. This requires no paper and teachers can grade the responses. EdPuzzle
• Quizziz - Similar to kahoot (another fun site) allows students to work at their own pace to practice and review information. Teachers can create their own or select from already created reviews. Quizziz
• SeeSaw - an online digital portfolio for students.  SeeSaw

I hope any of these applications will bring about the same emotions we had growing up when the tv cart was in the room. Except now we are able to ENGAGE and hold ALL students accountable for learning.