Grade 6

transitioning with technology

Students in grade 6 spent time this past week cleaning up their Google Drive accounts and thinking about items they would like to keep and share with future school assigned accounts.  Google Drive is one way to house a portfolio of digital work that was created here at Spofford Pond School.  These students are figuring out how to neatly maintain a record of their best pieces as elementary school students and how to share and make copies of the items they hope to keep throughout their Middle School and High School experiences.

Technology Essential Questions

Digital Portfolios

How can we use this technology to keep a record of progress?

How does a digital portfolio help students connect big ideas, across subjects & grades?

How does a digital portfolio help extend student thinking?

How can we use this technology to teach the art of reflection, curation and collaboration?

Interactive Whiteboard

Fun with Jamboard

Another great technology tool in the Google Workspace for Education toolbox is Jamboard. According to the TeachThought website, "Jamboard is a cloud-based app that enables visual collaboration between users in real-time [via] ... a shared ‘whiteboard’ on each user’s individual screen."  Using Jamboard, instructors can:

• Model skills like math, art, note-taking, and other competencies whose mastery can be encouraged through modeling for students
• Collaborate on projects in project-based learning–either between the teacher and students or between students
• Brainstorm ideas collaboratively–for writing, projects, and more
• Concept-map problems and solutions while using inquiry-based learning
• Use in a flipped classroom setting to allow peer groups to collaborate in real-time in class or at home
• Use during remote teaching and learning as an online ‘chalk board’ to lead activities, check for understanding, and more

Jamboards can be found and modified through one's PLN or created from scratch. Here are just a few Jamboards Spofford Pond School classes have been using lately:

Learning about Taxation without Representation

Science Vocabulary

Animal Adaptations

SEL Checkins

Technology Essential Questions:

How can technology be used to enhance a project and communicate knowledge?

How can we use this software to create original, innovative works and ideas?

How can we use this software to address the different needs, learning styles, interests and abilities of students?

Technology Highlights

Technology Tools for Robust Learning

Spofford Pond School staff and students, whether remote or in-person, have access to a variety of technology tools.  These tools are excellent resources to aid in enhancing curriculum across all subjects and grade levels.  Our digital tools provide students an opportunity to innovate, create and demonstrate knowledge.

One of the most important tools in the Spofford digital tool box is Google Workspace for Education. Google Workspace for Education provides our staff and students free access to a tremendous amount of technology resources from word processing, to digital drawing, to creating presentations and videos. Our school Google accounts truly allow us to make the most of our devices in a collaborative and creative way. Chromebooks are a standard tool in the classroom and used daily for enhancing content engagement and innovative projects.

We also have access to a variety of online like Generation Genius, Brain Pop, Kahoot, Quizlet, Padlet and more!  Be sure to ask your student about one of these great online tools and how they are used in the classroom to dive deeper into all subject areas.
Finally, I would like to highlight the power of the digital badge.  As students learn about various topics, from English Language Arts to Math to Science and more, some teachers encourage further exploration by offering digital badges of completion.  Fun to create, simple to customize and easy to share, digital badges can be a great motivator for anyone!
Check out these digital badges some of our third graders have earned in Science:

Congratulations to our Third Grade SMEs (Subject Matter Experts)!

Technology Essential Questions:

How can technology be used to enhance a project and communicate knowledge?

How can we use this software to create original, innovative works and ideas?

How can we use this software to address the different needs, learning styles, interests and abilities of students?