This week marks the beginning of a new trimester. During this transition, I have switched over two of my three classes. One to a new class to me that I’ve never taught before. This class poses a unique challenge as it is a blend of 10th and 11th grade students who need a math credit. In this class, that means I also have a blend of students who do and do not need to also pass the state test for graduation because some of the students met the requirement though alternatives.
With this transition, I have decided to integrate technology back in my classroom in order to provide some more opportunities for differentiation. One way we started this is through setting up all students on Edulastic for future assessments. We also set up students on Khan Academy and set a mastery goal. This mastery goal will allow students to work at their own pace through elements of Algebra and Geometry and meet them where they are. The nature of this type of course is that the gaps in each students’ learning differs based on the credit they’re missing and which portion of the credit they’re missing.
I’m tired after a week of establishing norms for new classes and establishing norms around technology into my year long class. However, there are benefits to this. Today I used Desmos to help my students review solutions to systems of equations. The engagement of my easily distracted class seemed to be better today. The access to Desmos gave my students a different access point in something that would normally be frustrating to access. That made the end of a week a highlight.
I’m excited to see where this transition goes. I’m nervous about how it will play out. I want to use technology to enhance the learning experience. I want it to be a tool for students that makes the learning experience not better. I’ve tried to integrate it before and there were pros and cons. So I’m trying to keep the pros, learn from the cons, and improve practice. However, in just nine months of taking break from my familiar platforms, they no longer feel as familiar and I have many things i need to relearn.
So as I end this week, I’ll be looking forward to next week. Ways to improve. Ways to change. Ways to wrap my head around the new technologies and changes to the old technologies.
Ormberg Teaching 