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$Grade 5 Math Instructional Materials 2009 - RPDP$

Duckwater Elementary/Middle School Rural Technology Use Duckwater Elementary/Middle School is a one room school in extreme northern Nye County School District (NCSD), 140 miles from the next nearest school in the district, and 70 miles from the nearest town, Ely. I am the only teacher for students in Early Childhood Special Education and K-8, although I am fortunate to have a full-time classroom aide. Together, we provide all the learning opportunities for the sixteen students enrolled at the school. Teaching in a multi-grade classroom with such a wide age range is both challenging and rewarding. One of the greatest challenges of teaching in a rural setting is resources. Students do not always have a well-developed schema or vocabulary for typical urban concepts such as “skyscrapers” or “crosswalks”, and the reference section of a rural school’s tiny library does not offer a wide selection of materials. The training provided by Southern Nevada Regional Professional Development Program (RPDP) and NCSD has been the key to unlocking the learning barrier created by distance. Students now use reference materials such as online dictionaries and encyclopedias daily. A word that stumps an English Language Learner (ELL) student can be magically added to his vocabulary through the use of Google images or video. Earlier this school year, NCSD replaced satellite internet with T-1 technology. T-1 speeds have allowed us to more fully utilize the internet for video conferencing, which is essential for several of our projects involving technology. SNRPDP has been able to use this type of video conferencing to provide courses through University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) and Southern Utah University (SUU) to me at my own site, meaning I am no longer limited to taking coursework during the summer at sites 300 miles from my home. Instead, I was able to complete all of the class requirements for a middle-school math certification without the extensive travel that I suffered in the past. Music is one of the few extracurricular activities available at our school. In addition to our general music program, we also offer violin lessons from a virtual studio in Kansas using the video conferencing abilities afforded us by our T-1 connection, webcam, laptop, microphone, projector, and video screen. Julie Stroud is the owner of Violinnovation©, and “meets” with students each week via webcam. The free messenger service, SightSpeed©, has been the vehicle through which we meet. Mrs. Stroud is a talented violinist and highly qualified instructor of the Suzuki© method of violin instruction. More information can be found at her website: www.violinnovation.com. NCSD’s technology department worked diligently to provide a firewalled way for the video-conferencing to happen.
Locally, I have used the digital video camera to create short 3-5 minute video clips of reading materials so students can do multiple readings. I read the materials, video-recording the text with my finger tracking the print. This allows students to become fluent by the end of the week or unit. Video clips of decodable readers, leveled readers, fluency passages, vocabulary passages, spelling words, and literature excerpts (stories from the basal reader) have all been created for each week/ unit of study. While many of the materials are not available at all from the publisher in an auditory format, those that are available are often read too quickly for the recording to be of use to students. Furthermore, none of the materials available from the publisher have the added benefit of a video component in which students who get lost or distracted can selfrelocate by looking at the monitor. Completed videos can be utilized in several ways. They can be copied from the video camera to the hard drive or the server and shortcuts can be created for students to use at their desktop. Students are assigned daily to re-read materials, specific to their individual needs, as an independent learning center activity. The projector is used to show the videos in large-screen format to larger groups, and DVDs are created for use with a television/ DVD player. The video-clip format also gives me a chance to reiterate important vocabulary or skills, such as cause/effect, drawing conclusions, or making predictions. In a multigrade classroom, this frees the teacher to meet with other individuals or small groups in other grade levels. For my youngest students in the Early Childhood Special Education program, I’ve also made short video clips to provide adequate repetition of pre-academic skill areas, such as counting, numerals, letters, writing their names, and colors/shapes. These clips have been burned to DVDs and sent to the local daycare facility, where those teachers continue education beyond the school day. For students who do not have a great deal of family support for homework, video clips can be created to guide them through homework assignments. The clips are then burned to DVDs that students can take home with them. It’s rather like having the teacher right at home with them each night. The ELMO and projector have also been valuable during phonics letter tile activities for students in kindergarten and first grade. Using the projector gives immediate visual clues to students who don’t respond as well to oral directions during letter tile activities. As students receive instruction during letter tile activities, they are receiving both visual and auditory prompts, and are simultaneously involved in a kinesthetic activity of moving the tiles, providing for three modalities of learning. This helps maintain the attention of students who might normally be easily distracted or who have a short attention span. I have found that when using technology, one must make a decision to acquire a “can-do” attitude. I CAN learn to use this gadget. I CAN use it to do things I’ve never been able to do before. I CAN begin to think of this as a way to solve a problem I have. My students CAN learn to use it, too. A teacher must also practice using technology before using it in the classroom, and not feel frustrated if it doesn’t go just right every single time. It’s also really great to have an ally to go to (like SNRPDP or NCSD tech guys) if you get stuck! Technology opens a door for teachers and students – the teacher’s imagination and creativity are the only limits to the paths that lead from the doorway to the world. by Lyn Huston Duckwater Elementary/Middle School Rural Technology Use
Page 1 and 2: Shop TALK Vol. 4 No. 3 Getting Stud
Page 3 and 4: Listen and Learn by Sue DeFrancesco
Page 5 and 6: Administrator Highlights Kenneth Wr
Page 7 and 8: “…we live in the Age of InfoWhe
Page 9: Beatty Elementary School Rural Tech
Page 13 and 14: “We want to be thermostats, not t
Page 15 and 16: What Students Need to Know and Do W
Page 17 and 18: what they have written to the expec
Page 19 and 20: More Than Just Multiple Choice! by
Page 21 and 22: Technology’s Influence on Formati
Page 23 and 24: Formative Assessment in Elementary
Page 25 and 26: Getting Students to Think Scientifi
Page 27: Professional Development Secondary

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