Technology in and out of the classroom

Welcome to my 21st century classroom. We are fast paced, high energy, tech savvy zombie information junkies, making math come alive. Here's a snap shot of class on a typical day.

Warm-ups and homework correcting on the Smart board. Write on top of the problems with electronic smart pens and save the "ink" layer for later classes. Freeze the screen while taking attendance so they can keep working. (saves 1-2 minutes)

Open to lesson 1.3 in your book, oh wait! You don't have to! The e-version of the book is on the Smart board. Follow along. Take notes as we read. I will be writing with the timed erasing ink that disappears 10 seconds after written. 

Missed the notes for a band lesson? Check out the study guide on Mrs. Bellm's website. The key is also provided, so you can see if you're on the right track.

Time for a math lab, bring your cell phones outside so we can use the timer app to track our walking rates. Make a short video of the process because Student X has such a funny speed walk. Bring the students to the computer lab to teach them how to enter their lab data into an exel spreadsheet and then use the graph feature to make it come alive. Save to your student drive in the mobile student file cloud (where any teacher, but only that student, can see it).  

Were you absent today? Check out the homework list on Bellm's website or link to her teacher Facebook page to get homework help, class reminders and notices. Network with other students and/or chat or Skype so everyone is on the same page.

Forgot your homework at school? No problem! Print a copy of Mrs. Bellm's document page on the website.  Or do your homework on the computer and email it back to her! Terrible handwriting? Type it up and print it.

Text Mrs. Bellm when you get stuck on a problem, get help right away, move on with your life. Cell phone with unlimited texting capabilities has not yet gotten a crank text or phone call. They have figured out how easy it is to get caught.

Students come to class prepared the next day, questions answered (mostly). And if they are not prepared, they have absolutely, 100% NO excuses why it isn't done. It was on the whiteboard. It was on the website. It was provided during the lesson on the Smart board. Mrs. Bellm updated her website and Facebook with the current homework. You could have gotten a copy of the assignment in class or electronically instantly.

Parents want to check in? Read up on the weekly parent "messenger" emails with class updates, homework concepts for the week and general notices for the grade. Mom or Dad can email back right away or visit my website at the link provided, and check the online grading portal to track their students' progress. 

Need I continue? 

-Computerized MAP tests fall and spring give immediate feedback on progress.

-Students pick their own Accelerated Reader books and take computerized tests for course credit.

-Web quests are often assigned as homework with 30-60 minutes of game time on Mrs. Bellm's website

-Math MCA-II tests are fully computerized as of this year.

-Independent student math software has been implemented in a variety of settings for enrichment and remediation on the computer.

Heck, our SCHOOL even has a Facebook page and a Weather bug link too! We are digital, baby!

I could put up a comparison of what a typical class day was like when I was a middle schooler, but the highlight of our day back then was getting to sniff the whiteboard markers or write with a bright purple overhead marker during class. PATHETIC. Be happy, little students, you are living in a dream world.

Seating charts done zombie style

The first day is done and so are seating charts. I do something a little unconventional on the first day to empower and calm students for a good start to the trimester. It's called Seating Request.

While parents and students both see the logic and are quick to praise and give suggestions, I have gotten more dubious responses from some professionals more closely tied to education.

"Why do you bother? It's so time consuming." 

"They will just put down their same friends and not get to know or how to work with anyone else."

"Student preference shouldn't matter. Split them boy/girl or alphabetical to keep them quiet."

I can continue the list but I'm not going to. From the first days of my first year teaching, I felt an obligation to provide a safe and productive environment as quickly as possible. The seating request form shown above, with the silly Michael Jackson example, has some added benefits besides just the obvious ones. I'll go through it for anyone who wants more specifics.

#1: Name/Hour

This may seem like a "duh" to most people, but it allows me to find out students' preferred nicknames and what part of some of the hyphenated, double first or last names, or just plain WRONG names may have shown up on my student roster, without embarrassing students in front of their peers. I take attendance visually with an alphabetical assigned picture roster on the first day, thus having to only check for missing students, and not wasting 5 minutes calling out and butchering long legal names.

#2: Boys I want to sit by & Girls I want to sit by

I remind students before completing their request form, that they must have 2 boys and 2 girls on their slip or I will not collect it. We talk about the importance of picking good "work partners", not good "talk buddies". Parents get super jazzed about this at open house, to the point of wanting to fill out a slip for their kid before the school year starts. But I leave the decision to the student, ultimately. Obviously some kids will try to write extra names on the opposite gender, or hand-write in extras on new lines, or whatever. No big deal. Once I have my stack, I start sorting them into piles, linking names to names like dominoes, and then separating the dominoes into rows and columns... POOF, seating chart created! Allow any SPED or other needs of students first dibs on placement to ensure you don't have to start over later. Then I usually anchor new kids or kids whose name isn't written down on any other slips with supportive peers around them.

#3: DO NOT sit me by _______

This goes way behind separating/identifying bullies; it also helps students who want to quietly be separated from friends who may distract them, or an awkward situation with a past significant other (which in middle school usually means that they walked down the hall together, exchanged a few blushes and side-long glances, and made several sappy comments on each others' Facebook walls or possibly got Facebook "married" for a week, before calling it quits). At least half the class writes down 1-2 names per person, several leave it blank, write "I don't care" or "the window".  (I get distracted easily)

#4. Are you a lefty?

This comment was added last year after a very helpful administrator pointed out that I had left-handed kids sitting on the right of my pairs, banging elbows with right-handed kids on the left sides of the desk. This is not good for behavior management, concentration, and as most lefties will tell you, makes it very hard to take notes. After all the anchors in step 3 are placed, then I mark or anchor my lefties so that they have a left-handed desk or are next to another left-handed person. 

#5: Any other comments

While there isn't a specific spot for it, I verbally instruct students to write other helpful comments on their sheet, such as "I like the back so I can stand if my legs cramp" or "I love the front so I can see better" or "I need a seat close to the pencil sharpener because I have an obsession with pointed pencil tips!". I go back through each slip and add my own comments, such as "SPED/needs front" or "ADHD/ADD, needs side away from window", etc. and then keep all the sheets confidentially tucked away for later use. 

The down-side to using such an elaborate seating strategy, is of course the time needed to sort through them. But it gets faster each time, and even faster as the year goes on and I get to know students better. I usually have them re-fill out the slips each trimester even if the class doesn't change, because friendships and allegiances (especially in 7th grade) often do. I try to switch seats every 6 weeks and rotate back-of-the-room kids to the front of the room if at all possible. But then it begins to look like Tetris! Yikes!

Am I nuts? Yes! Is it turning me into a zombie? YES! Because I still have to organize my lessons for tomorrow! Is the copy lady going to shoot me tomorrow for sending worksheets to the copier after hours, that I need for the morning? Probably! I'll blame it on my zombie brain for not having caffeine from 9-3. Ugh. I think this is what I looked like when I left today. Here's hoping for a better tomorrow with a comfy seating arrangement!