StMM Teacher Reflections...

What are our teachers in grades 4-8 saying about our changes to technology this year? Check out some of these quotes:

"I love how my project was completed so much faster this year. With Mrs. Cade working with my students in the media center with their research, the children doing their project in the computer lab, and with the Chromebooks in the classroom, the children didn’t forget what they were doing from week to week because they were able to work three days a week instead of just once a week."

"The math program we used on the Chromebooks was awesome!  The students loved being able to quickly and accurately see how changing information affected their graphs.  Being able to visualize multiple different scenarios in a short period of time was very beneficial.  I am looking forward to seeing how this experience translates to their overall comprehension."

"As a teacher whose curriculum priorities don’t necessarily work with using technology, I was delighted to utilize the Chromebooks and Google Drive to take my elective students’ skills to new levels. By harnessing our collective obsession with taking digital pictures, we created shared class slideshows, individual projects and even provided the Yearbook elective students with a host of quality photographs to use. The Chromebooks opened a door into an exciting and creative learning world."

"In November, we completed a one-week project as a culmination to our novel study in language arts class.  The project was an inquiry into different aspects of the time period. Using various websites, students took screen shots or “snips” of their work and placed them into a Google Drive document.  The final part of the project was a student-written radio transcript and recording.  It was great to hear the students being reporters telling us about what happened to the survivors from our novel. The project went well, with adequate time and Google Drive was easy to use. Students didn’t really encounter many problems along the way."

"Being able to use Moodle for religion homework and for taking religion tests has been a wonderful experience.  Both of these activities prepare the kids for the future.  Kids love being able to take tests using the computers.  Teachers like that students can submit their homework online, thus eliminating lost papers or forgetting to turn in completed assignments. 

"Using Google Drive for our social studies simulation will be a fantastic way for the kids to share ideas and information at home."

"Using the Chromebooks in class for testing and for practicing keyboarding skills is one of the students’ favorite things to do."

"I was nervous that we didn't have a scheduled time for technology every week, but it has been great to have technology instruction in our classrooms; it even seems better. The individualized instruction on the Chromebooks is awesome as well!"

"I love the Chromebooks, and hope to get another set of 30 to use. With the Chromebooks,  we can solve equations using Algebra Tiles. It is tedious to do this by hand whereas the online tool makes it much more successful.  Graphing linear, quadratic, and inverse functions can and should be done by hand, but by using the Chromebooks Application we are able to compare many functions on the same coordinate plane in a much quicker manner."