I am currently working in a small rural middle school in which we have been working extremely hard to raise our acheivement scores. We have begun using technology more and more to try to engage students to higher level thinking. Although we are a small rural school with about 50% free/reduced lunch we have 2 portable computer labs, 1 1/2 computer labs for teachers to use with students, and my computer lab where I have each student at least for a 7-week rotation all three years. Our teachers each have their own computer with projector and school pad. We also have several CPS systems in our school that we can check-out & use with our students to review & assess what they have learned. Our school uses thinklink to access the students 3 times a year to see how they are progressing and we use study island for the students to have extra practice. Our school has resources with technology, but we still haven't achieved the scores that our state is expecting us to achieve, could this be because we are now focusing on the score more than the students? Or does this drive to increase scores individualize instruction more to meet the needs of each student?
The focus of my lab this year is going to be a Math Lab. I have been told that many schools are moving to this to help close the gap in their math scores. One plan that I have for next year is to create a blog for each class so that when students come in everyday they can check for a new problem of the day & begin to write about a solution. I would also like to see the students begin to analyze & respond to each others work. Students aren't very interested in doing this process with pencil & paper but I am hoping that by learning how to create & respond to blogs that they will write and learn a lot more about math.
Other ways that I plan to use technology to help close this gap is with spreadsheets and webquests. I am interested in finding out if any of your schools also have a math lab or something similar and what they are doing in these labs. Have you used blogging & podcasting in your classrooms & did you find it effective?
I plan to teach digital citizenship before the students create their first blog because I know that many are currently using myspace, facebook, etc & give out too much personal information and do not communicate with each other in a way that will be acceptable in a classroom setting. I think this blog will be a great way for students to learn about communication skills and internet safety. This will be a new way that we are trying to close the gap, what ways has technology been used in your school to help raise student achievement?
