CCSS AND

TECHNOLOGY

A M A N D A P A Q U E T T E

• CHAPTER 1 •

Technology is embedded into the new Common Core State Standards, and are an essential component of the new Smarter Balanced Assessments that will be digital. These new technology practices and skills will challenge our students to be able to express themselves in a variety of medias, collaborate virtually, research, read and analyze information from a from a variety of formats, and more. While this may seem daunting, it is really shaping the way we engage students in technology in a more organized, systematic, and meaningful way. We are being challenged to really integrate technology into all areas of learning.

COMMON CORE ELA WRITING STANDARD AND TECHNOLOGY

The Vermont Department of Education has put together their own site, Common Core in Vermont, to aide teachers and administrators in understanding the Common Core, and in providing resources to support the transition. You can find the website here.

On this site, you will find links to tools and resources, SBAC Weekly Q & A, the Statewide Implementation Plan, and many more documents to help you learn more about the transition to the Common Core in Vermont.

This video from Atomic Learning emphasizes the role of technology in the new Common Core Standards. This video illustrates where technology is embedded in the Common Core, and references the TPACK model for effective technology integration.

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• Section 1 •

Common Core Resources

Technology in the Common Core

Learn more at www.atomiclearning.com/k12/techcore.

Vermont Department of EducationCommon Core Site

https://sites.google.com/site/commoncoreinvermont/

As written on the Common Core website. The key points in the Writing Standard are as follows:

The ability to write logical arguments based on substantive claims, sound reasoning, and relevant evidence is a cornerstone of the writing standards, with opinion writing—a basic form of argument—extending down into the earliest grades.

Research—both short, focused projects (such as those commonly required in the workplace) and longer term in depth research —is emphasized throughout the standards

but most prominently in the writing strand since a written analysis and presentation of findings is so often critical.

Annotated samples of student writing accompany the standards and help establish adequate performance levels in writing arguments, informational/explanatory texts, and narratives in the various grades.

As written on the Common Core website. The key point about Media and Technology is as follows:

Just as media and technology are integrated in school and life in the twenty-first century, skills related to media use (both critical analysis and production of media) are integrated throughout the standards.

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Common Core Website

http://www.corestandards.org/

The ELA Common Core State Standards in writing for grades K-2, place an emphasis on drawing, dictating, writing, narrating, research, gather and organize information, develop typing skills, and use digital tools to collaborate and publish work (even in Kindergarten).

The ELA Common Core State Standards in writing for grades 3-5, place an emphasis on gathering and organizing information and ideas, research from a variety of sources, writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, develop typing skills, revision and editing skills, and using digital tools to collaborate and publish work.

We b R e s o u r c e s

1. Popplet

2. Google Docs

3. Little Bird Tales

4. Graphic Organizers

5. Read, Write, Think

6. VoiceThread

7. Wall Wisher

8. Online Dictation

9. Kerpoof

10.Scholastic

Apps to Try

1. Popplet

2. Skitch

3. Scribble Press

4. Corkulous

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• Section 2 •

Tech and ELA Writing K-5 Overview

My digital newspaper that is created each week on Paper.li

The ELA Writing Standards, especially in K-2, place an emphasis on Drawing. Some ways teachers can encourage students to express themselves through drawing is by using programs like Kerpoof. Kerpoof has tools available for students to create a drawing, make a card, tell a story, and other tools to express understanding visually. Kerpoof is easy for younger students to navigate, and then save the image as a jpeg. Even better, students don’t need accounts, so this is a quick and easy tool for teachers to use with their students.

In our district we currently have some tools available for Dictating, but there are quite a few good online tools that are free to use. Tools like Online Dictation and the Google Browser Extension work well with recording a student’s voice and then converting it into text. Both of these are free to use. Another option is Dragon Dictation, and if you have a mobile device, the Dragon Dictation App.

Writing from a variety of sources and audiences, now has increased importance, and at a younger age in the Common Core Standards. Many of the tools that we can use to help engage students in the writing process, also feature Narration

functionality. Tools like Google Docs, activities like the postcard creator, and story map creator from Read, Write, Think, Little Bird Tales, and tools like the character scrapbook from Scholastic, are good tools to use with students in K-2.

Google Docs allows students to write, create presentations, and share their work with their teacher and peers.

Read, Write, Think has a wealth of interactives and activities that will help guide students through the writing process.

Little Bird Tales is an online tool where teachers can set up accounts for their students. Students can then create their own books by creating or adding images, text and audio.

The expectation for students to conduct Research, with guidance (Kindergarten-grade 2), and independently (3rd-12th grades) has now increased. Conducting effective research is an essential skill for all of our students. Some tools that

teachers can use to help teach these skills, and ensure that students

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Little Bird Tales

Check out this Little Bird Tale made by a second grade student at DBS.

Online Dictation

are visiting sites with relevant, safe information are Sweet Search, Kid Rex, and Google’s Custom Search Engine.

The custom search engine by Google allows teachers to add the sites they want to allow students to search, and then when students search through that search engine, only content

from those sites will be displayed. This is a great way to allow students to conduct research while also ensuring that they will be viewing appropriate content. Check out this Custom Search Engine we created for the 5th grade study of Government.

There are many tools available to help students Organize and share information. Some of these tools are Popplet, interactive graphic organizers, mind maps like Bubbl.us, Mindomo, Inspiration and Kidspiration. These tools can be used to prompt students to write and or research information, and also help them expand their ideas. Some of these tools like Inspiration and Kidspiration are programs we have purchased a license for and are on our school computers. Others are web based like Bubbl.us and Mindomo, and allow students to create mind maps, print them, and sometimes collaborate with others. Popplet is a an app and a web based tool that students can use to create graphic organizers that include text, comments, video and audio. It also has a neat color-coding feature that works great for organizing a painted essay.

There are many tools available to help our students Collaborate. Probably the easiest, and the one that teachers have really started using in our district is Google Docs. Google Docs allows students to work on the same document at the same time. Students can now share their work with their peers and their teachers and receive instant feedback. This tool is so easy to use, and teachers have commented that they are able to provide more,

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Sweet Search Tutorial

Check out how to use Sweet Search

Google Custom Search

Google Custom Search Engine built for 5th grade

study of Government.

Popplet Example

clearer feedback to their students through using Google Docs for the Editing process. When teachers add a comment, students can view the comment, the corresponding text, and then click resolve when they are finished Revising. Teachers can then go back to the essay and see where and what students did to revise their work.

We know that when we provide our students with an opportunity to share and Publish their work with a wider audience, the quality of their work is often improved. Blogging is a great way to encourage students to share their ideas and their work with a wider audience. Teachers can create a class site or blog on which they can share student work with their school community and/or a wider audience. Many sites like Animoto (short movie creator), Scribble Press (app that allows students to create books), and VoiceThread (interactive presentations) allow students to demonstrate their learning, share their questions, and interact with others. Students should be encouraged to share and interact with a larger learning community as much as possible, as this will be an essential skill,

and also encourage reflection about their work and how it is received.

The tools discussed in this section are just a few of the many, many tools available to help students learn the essential skills of gathering and organizing information and ideas, researching from a variety of sources, writing for a variety of purposes and audiences, developing typing skills, revision and editing skills, and using digital tools to collaborate and publish work.

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VoiceThread

Example VoiceThread I created for summer technology course.

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