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| We started the hour with the Chromebooks on the tables to save time. |
In order to facilitate online testing, we have been provided with carts of Chromebooks. We spent time earlier in the year familiarizing our students with iPads, but Chromebooks posed a new challenge: how would we get students comfortable with using them prior to the testing window? We decided to have the computers in the students' hands as much as possible.
Our first experiment was paired with our need to have the kids think about how much time they were spending reading outside of school. I had shared this
infographic with my colleague and we agreed that it was worth having our students look at it, discuss it, and write about it. This would allow them to reflect on their reading time, as well as get familiar with using the Chromebooks to write a response.
We started by displaying the graphic and talking as a class about what it might mean. We then handed out the
assignment which was a
John Collins Type 3 writing assignment. Each student then used a Chromebook to type his/her response. The responses were shared via Google apps and then the teacher printed them so we could display the students' ideas.
Using the Chromebooks required a learning curve. Most of the students had not used one before and none of the students had logged into their Google accounts. However, they quickly learnied how to open a doc and how to type and share the doc. We know that we will be using the Chromebooks throughout the process of working on a research paper as well, so hopefully our students will be familiar the the devices before they have to take high stakes tests on them.
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| The students worked diligently throughout the hour, but we noted that they needed a great deal of support as they learned to use the new devices. The assignment was set up in a step-by-step process that helped the students work on following directions as we know they will have to read and follow directions for their standardized tests will little guidance from their teachers. |
After the responses were completed, I created a bulletin board in our main hallway that displayed book covers from our collection in a mock-up of the original graphic and showed the students' work as well. Many of them talked about reading stamina and grit--two of the characteristics we have been working to develop as we move through the school year. They also wrote about how being able to read would help them in their futures.
