The Second Year

      THE SECOND YEAR

You would think that the second year in any position would be easier. But the reality is that it is not. There are always new things to do or try. You make adaptations. Look for something you tried last year and realize that you can not find it. Lost in that endless sea of files and folders, the creative ideas become jumbled together. For me the obstacle that appeared was the issue of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts decision to change their standards for technology and it was not in place for the school year.

When standards are realigned, they spend some time in review. Professionals throughout the Commonwealth have an opportunity to review and comment. So for the 2016-2017 school year technology was a year to explore possibilities while waiting for the details.

One area of expansion for my little world, was the second grade students gained access to their Google for Education accounts. I no longer had to create approximately 145 Microsoft Office documents, or Paint pads, for the students to use, but could now use Google Classroom for all of the students. Also I could now create lessons for the students using these Google Apps. The second graders did quite well with Drawing, Docs, and Slides. I was evaluated just after a vacation break while one second grade class was using information on the life cycle of a butterfly to create a Google Slide presentation.

When I use real school topics, I supply the students with grade, age, level appropriate information to use in their projects. This item helps to alleviate the stress of spelling, and memorizing the steps or information. What does happen is the students are able to interpret the information differently than their peers. They can explore the platform without fear of failing. They try new things- fonts, design, colors, images- to get their point across.

The evaluator went around and asked students to explain what they were doing. The students were able to give feedback using correct terminology for the butterfly's cycle but also were able to use the correct terminology for the Google Slides parts. My evaluation document was very positive.

Overall this year was "another what works and what does" not type of teaching mode. I had still not found a competent curriculum for the lab, that I can pilot or purchase. I had to wait for the new standards to be released.