![]() ![]() Any time that we had any questions found Karen not on line with us but, at our school, jumping in and helping us get up and started. She is an inspiring, helpful and can do person. Our trainings by Karen Justl were phenomonal. Wrote comments to each other in English most of the time and talked a lot about their blogs. They learned and used network etiquette and the reasons for it. They did lots of research about science and in interactive math games throughout the year. Student impact: All of my ESL students started and kept up their science blogs this year. They love the computers and take really good care of them.Not so much with pencils and paper.I have found that even the wildest students can be brought around with a promise of "5 minutes of math choice time when you finish your work." I wanted the students to think of the netbook mini's as they would a book or a pencil or a composition journal. I did that! I worked hard to use technology as a tool in my class and not as a reward. I worked hard to have a more green classroom and use less paper. The technology that I was given access to this year changed my teaching methods. It is a difficult program for me.Once everyone was settled it worked out okay. I was extremely frustrated at times with Word Press at first. I am of an age that sometimes has trouble accepting change. I am proud to say that the person that was impacted most by our grant was me. We will have an advantage next year since we already know what we are doing :) and we can start earlier in the year. ![]() We also want to use all technology in centers more. Next year, we would like to use a more project-base approach with technology. The net books were used with AUDACITY, they created a weather report and students were at all times engaged in practicing not only the vocabulary in the lesson but also their skills. They liked using apps to learn Spanish vocabulary and grammar and also gave them the opportunity to practice listening and pronunciation "away" from everybody else. The I-Pod Touches were a great success with our Spanish learners. These were a great tool for them to evaluate them selves in how to improve the speaking skills. The Flip Cameras were a hit, they worked on interviews and gave formal presentation. It was also a great tool for students who needed to "handle" something and made the learning more pleasant. Students really enjoyed using the iTouches and were more engaged and thrilled about learning using technology. The biggest impact of the grant in our classes was that it gave students the opportunity to access technology in a regaular basis. Our Power To Learn grant served a total of 242 students all in Spanish 1 through 4. This was an experimental year and it has been very successful! Thanks to our wonderful leader, Laurie Pickup who wrote and encouraged the grant! Next year I plan to use the minis more for researching areas in American History and more for creating stories of their own. They will do any thing asked of them on the IPOD Touch and finding sites to practice English spelling, common words, pronunciation has been wonderful for the new language learners. The technology that we have been given through the grant has been a God Send! The students love to go to Brain Pop, StoryBird, Tumblebooks and more, as long as they are on their mini's. By learning just how much English they ALREADY knew simply because of the cognates in English and Spanish, students have moved quickly up the scale of knowledge. Blogging has been a wonderful tool for them to comment on the various projects that students have done. The motivation of using an IPOD or a Net book is so great that they will research and learn whatever they have to as long as they can use the computers. They have needed to use and know many words in English just to navigate, search and report on various topics in Social Studies and Language Arts. Due to the Power to Learn grant in Spring Branch ISD this year.specifically at Spring Woods Middle, my ELL Newcomer students have excelled in their English language learning. ![]()
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