This article describes a couple of tech tools that they have used to help students meet the common core state standards. Sweetwater Union High School District in California uses a tool called Learning Upgrade in its special education classrooms that uses songs, video, and games to engage the students. It helps individualize the learning for where the students are currently at and allows multiple means of representation. C.T. Sewell Elementary School in Nevada uses myON and Accelerated Reader to address close reading. Students read an excerpt through myON and are connected to Accelerated Reader to take a quick quiz to assess their level of understanding of what was just read. Calcasieu Parish Public Schools in Louisiana uses an audio system called Flexcat to monitor and support students in group work. The teacher is able to listen in on up to 6 pods conversations and assess their productivity and understanding. They can pitch in to offer comments to the groups also. Phoenixville Area School District in Pennsylvania uses Defined STEM that embeds assessments in the curriculum. The problem can be as broad as ‘design a backpack’ and it incorporates these assessments to help students along their development. Clear Lake Middle School in Iowa uses three assessment tools: Skills Iowa, My Access, and Naiku. These tools branch across different curriculum and provide standards-based feedback to teachers.
I believe these tools can all be quite effective when used appropriately in the classroom. I do a lot of group-work in the mathematics classroom and would be interested to see how well Flexcat works. I am always circulating around the room to determine student's progress on a particular lesson, but it would be neat to always be able to 'tune in' with each group whenever I would like. I like the idea of students being able to work in other locations and still being able to monitor their progress outside of the classroom.
There are many great tools out there to help teachers improve student understanding and it is up to the educator to use a particular tool effectively. It can be overwhelming to try and use too many tools, so I believe it is good to start with one or two that you have a vision of being effective in your learning environment and expanding your repertoire of knowledge from there. It can also be very useful to see other teachers utilize tools that work well for them.
Meyer, L. (2015). 5 tech tools that support common core. T H E Journal, 42(2), 19-20. Retrieved from
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