Diversity
In today’s school environment, technology can provide support for the diverse groups of students that we serve. The current student population at Brumby Elementary includes approximately 70 white/Caucasian, 45 multiracial, 232 Hispanic, 552 black, and 44 Asian/Pacific Islander, with 71% low socioeconomic status (SES), 106 students with disabilities (SWD), and 115 English language learners (ELL), as well as 22 gifted and 105 with an EIP. Through the ITEC program, I have learned about multiple tools and resources that can benefit SWD, ELL, and low SES. I am also more equipped to address needs of gender and ethnic groups through use of technology for instruction, assessment, and project- and problem-based learning. My knowledge and skills relating to technology allow for incorporation of the 4Cs, communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity, specific to diverse groups of students. Use of technology to meet these students’ academic needs supports their cultural understanding and awareness of the world that they live in.
The main component of my Capstone involved designing and implementing a professional learning workshop to educate teachers on use of OneNote for digital journals in support of Brumby’s STEAM initiatives. Digital journaling itself is a means of differentiation in that it provides an additional and/or alternative means for recording and assessing student learning, and the OneNote platform allows for collaboration and communication among students, teachers, and parents. OneNote is also accessible for students outside of school, and available to all students as each one has an Office 365 account through Cobb County Schools. The types of projects that digital journaling can be used for involve critical thinking and creativity, as STEAM requires students working together to solve real-world problems.
Working through field experiences with ELL and SWD, I gained knowledge and skills with using websites and applications as learning tools, such as the Starfall app to support a student with reading difficulty and Imagine Learning to understand the analysis of ELL students’ level of English proficiency. Use of the Iris model allowed me to incorporate students’ home language to facilitate instruction, which further enabled students in using both English and Spanish vocabulary in the development of a screencast to explain the steps to an art process. Along with screencasts, I can support diverse learning needs by using podcasts and virtual field trips as tools to engage students. Extensions and add-ins such as Read Aloud and OurStickys can help fulfill project requirements for SWD and ELL. Technology tools such as Picture It and ArtLink can be used for global collaboration purposes, which can address cultural differences in exposing students to perspectives from around the world. Much of this technology is accessible to students outside of school, and I have developed surveys for parents to inquire about at-home access, and researched options for checking out iPads provided through community resources. Continued implementation of these various tools, along with gaining support for at-home use, will further benefit the needs of all learners. Listed below are activities that demonstrate my knowledge and skills in addressing diversity in schools.
The main component of my Capstone involved designing and implementing a professional learning workshop to educate teachers on use of OneNote for digital journals in support of Brumby’s STEAM initiatives. Digital journaling itself is a means of differentiation in that it provides an additional and/or alternative means for recording and assessing student learning, and the OneNote platform allows for collaboration and communication among students, teachers, and parents. OneNote is also accessible for students outside of school, and available to all students as each one has an Office 365 account through Cobb County Schools. The types of projects that digital journaling can be used for involve critical thinking and creativity, as STEAM requires students working together to solve real-world problems.
Working through field experiences with ELL and SWD, I gained knowledge and skills with using websites and applications as learning tools, such as the Starfall app to support a student with reading difficulty and Imagine Learning to understand the analysis of ELL students’ level of English proficiency. Use of the Iris model allowed me to incorporate students’ home language to facilitate instruction, which further enabled students in using both English and Spanish vocabulary in the development of a screencast to explain the steps to an art process. Along with screencasts, I can support diverse learning needs by using podcasts and virtual field trips as tools to engage students. Extensions and add-ins such as Read Aloud and OurStickys can help fulfill project requirements for SWD and ELL. Technology tools such as Picture It and ArtLink can be used for global collaboration purposes, which can address cultural differences in exposing students to perspectives from around the world. Much of this technology is accessible to students outside of school, and I have developed surveys for parents to inquire about at-home access, and researched options for checking out iPads provided through community resources. Continued implementation of these various tools, along with gaining support for at-home use, will further benefit the needs of all learners. Listed below are activities that demonstrate my knowledge and skills in addressing diversity in schools.
- Starfall app to support SWD reading skills
- Screencast-o-matic, Imagine Learning website, and Iris model to support ELL
- Webquest developed through Weebly for student use as part of Engaged Learning Project
- Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) workshop for teachers involving use of digital journals with students for project-based learning and assessment
- ArtLink program for global collaboration through problem-based learning
- Google Tour for virtual field trips
- Expansion of current 1:1 access within homeroom classes to extension classes and outside of school through parent surveys and collaboration with local technology loaner programs
- Canva to design flyers and demonstrate learning as a means of differentiation
- Extensions with Chrome and Add-ins with Office 365
- Podcasts for instruction and student learning opportunities
- Kahoot and Quizziz for assessment purposes