Edtech Tools for SPED, Math, and Reading

Over the past two years, I have been blessed to partner with District 205 in Elmhurst, IL. I still vividly remember having lunch with Dave Moyer, the superintendent, where he explained in detail the vision that had been set for the district, centered around the six C's (collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity, character, citizenship). It was at this time that the decision was made for me to assist. The overall goal and focus of the partnership have been to help them get the most out of the devices that were rolled out a few years ago across the entire K-12 district as part of a 1:1 implementation. My role, like in many other similar districts across the country, has been to assist the teachers and administrators with digital pedagogy leading to purposeful use and efficacy using the framework below.

One of the best parts about job-embedded, on-going work with school districts is facilitating a variety of professional learning opportunities. They have utilized me as a keynoter, coach (leadership and teaching), and workshop presenter. Recently the district asked me to be a part of their professional development day, which consisted of seven different learning strands specific to the needs and interests of their teachers. During a planning call prior, I was asked to work with special education, math, and reading teachers in particular. To be honest, these groups are not in my traditional wheelhouse, but I saw it as a learning opportunity to branch out and expand my level of knowledge. 

Prior to the day, I spent a great deal of time planning my slide deck and associated digital handouts. The overreaching goal for each session was to support instructional strategies aligned to rigor & relevance and the 6 C's with a focus on the purposeful use of technology. What resulted was a great resource that I plan to share below on specific edtech tools that can assist special education (SPED), math, and reading teachers. 

With the SPED sessions, everything was tied into support and planning for the six approaches to co-teaching embraced by the district. I realized early on that I consistently see all of these in action regularly through my coaching work in schools across the country. I went deeper into the models from a pedagogical standpoint to help them better plan for instruction. This was then followed with strategies and tools for embedding tech that would assist with both differentiation of instruction and co-planning (virtually). Both the math and reading sessions focused on how edtech could be used during independent work, formative assessment, and pedagogically-sound blended learning.

Below you will see the specific tools I provided during each session. Some aren't new, but others might be.

Co-Teaching

• Pear Deck (formative and targeted assessment)*
• Nearpod (formative and targeted assessment)*
• Padlet (cooperative learning, closure, checks for understanding)
• Linoit (cooperative learning, closure, checks for understanding, annotation)
• Flipgrid (video creation for closure, checks for understanding, blended learning)
• Newsela (assign current event articles by Lexile and quizzes)
• Freckle (differentiation, stations)*
• Edpuzzle (upload videos and insert questions)*
• GoSoapBox (confusion indicator, quizzes, discussion forum, polls)
• Formative (formative assessment, differentiation)*
• Gimkit (formative assessment, closure)
• QuizWhizzer (formative assessment, closure)
• Seesaw (demonstrate and share learning)

* Denotes importing and syncing with Google Classroom, Canvas, Schoology

Co-Planning

• Voxer – (push to talk app that works like a Walkie-Talkie; share synchronous and asynchronous voice, test, and video messages in a threaded conversation)
• Google Drive
• Slack (workflow tool with instant messaging)
• Padlet (collaborative board with text, video, audio, drawing, and screen sharing)
• Linoit (collaborative Post-It note space)

Math

• Prodigy (K-5 games)
• Xtra math (free program that helps elementary students master addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts.
• IXL (paid personalized learning tool)
• Educreations (create mini-lessons for students to watch/refer to and then practice concepts)
• Khan Academy (videos for supplemental support and practice)
• Knowledgehook (formative assessment tool for grades 3 – 9)
• Patrick JMT (short instructional videos for middle and high school)
• Hooda Math (K-12 math games)
• CK-12 (adaptive practice problem sets; also check out their PLIX series)
• Freckle (differentiation, stations)
• Flipgrid (have students solve problems on whiteboards and then explain how they solved them using video)
• Math Pickle (puzzles and games organized by grade level)
• Edulastic (tech-enhanced assessments)

Reading

• IXL (paid personalized learning tool)
• Epic (access to 35,000 of the best children's books for elementary)
• CommonLit (free reading passages with formative assessments for grades 3-12)
• ReadWorks (K-12 articles and assessments)
• Read Theory (online reading activities by reading level with associated quizzes)
• Smithsonian Tween Tribune (articles and quizzes for K-12)
• Rewordify (simplify difficult-to-read English text, monitor students' reading and learning progress)
• ReadWriteThink (a wide array of free student interactives)
• PBS (games for elementary students)
• Starfall (K-2 reading games and activities)
• Flipgrid (have students record themselves reading passages and excerpts in order to assess)
• Newsela (current event articles by Lexile with pre-made assessments)

So, what would you add to what I have curated? Please feel free to share your suggestions in the comments section below. As I facilitate future workshops, I will add more tools to this list that align with other content areas. 

QR Codes in the Math Classroom

In Mrs. Chellani’s continual efforts to create an engaging learning experience for her students, she has found utilizing QR codes to facilitate collaboration to be highly beneficial.  In order to review material discussed in an assigned video and in class in her Pre-Calculus and Calculus courses, she created QR codes with relevant questions on the material and its’ applications.  Students were placed in groups of four to five; and, using a QR reader app on their phone, they were able to view the question.  Once the students worked on the problem together, they would confirm the result with Mrs. Chellani. When the solution was correct, they would be given the next QR code (i.e. question).  The level of engagement increased dramatically with the use of QR codes and simply allowing students to utilize their cell phones in the learning process! 

Image credit: http://www.youngupstarts.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/QR-Code.jpg

Mrs. Chellani has been a pioneer in flipping her classes at New Milford High School where her tools of choice have been Adobe Captivate and Edmodo.   Be sure to check out her class website at Learn Math Easily. In addition to the interactive videos she has created to flip her class you will also find case studies and online resources on her site. 

Learning Math Should be Fun and Engaging

Kanchan Chellani, currently a math teacher at New Milford High School, is a strong believer in making the learning process fun, interactive, and meaningful for students. To engage students in her classroom, Mrs. Chellani has utilized a variety of tools to help her develop an interactive, student-centered learning environment.  Through the use of technology, collaborative learning exercises, and teaching mathematical concepts in the real-world and interdisciplinary context, she has managed to successfully work towards creating this desired positive and energetic blended learning environment.  Some of the many methods Mrs. Chellani has employed in her daily instruction include integrating Smart Board interactive review games and videos to reinforce prior learning, case studies performed in the computer lab so students understand the significance of the material taught, and team assignments to foster a collaborative working environment.

Since the “flipped” approach to instruction is proving to be a key asset in modern education, one of Mrs. Chellani’s recent initiatives has been to provide students with a means to learn independently utilizing digital content.  Starting in December 2011, she began using Edmodo, an online platform that enables innovative and social learning, as a way to share online videos and content on the relevant topic for her students to view and assign online polls to complete in order to foster discussion on the topic the next day.  Although enabling the “flipped” approach to instruction using Edmodo has transformed the way material is taught and comprehended by students, it has been difficult to find resources that combine curriculum delivery, real-world examples, and assessments in a cohesive manner.  As a result, she has started to create her own online learning modules, using the software Adobe Captivate.

Adobe Captivate is a highly, user-friendly digital content creation software that fosters interactive eLearning content.  Mrs. Chellani has made use of the tool by creating learning modules that teach the basic mathematical concepts, as well as, provide practice problems, real-world examples, and assessments that allow for better comprehension of the material in an organized fashion.  In these learning modules, instruction is provided using digital content, simulations, videos, screen captures, voice-overs, etc. to meet the visual, auditory, and tactile needs of the diverse student population. Once the instruction has been provided, guided practice problems and real-world examples are then discussed to reinforce the learning of the mathematical concept and to illustrate its’ significance.  A variety of prompts and formal assessments are also embedded within the project in order to ensure that the learning has taken place, to develop higher-order thinking skills, and to facilitate discussion in the classroom.

Here’s how it works! 

• Students go onto www.learnmatheasily.com and select the assigned video for homework.
• Students view the instructional portion of the video (both mathematical content and real-world applications) and complete guided practice problems, prompts, and formal assessments embedded within the video.
• Students come into class the next day with a solid foundation on the mathematical topic.  The teacher utilizes the aforementioned prompts to facilitate class discussion and assigns polls via Edmodo to ensure that the learning has taken place.
• SMART Board interactive review games, case studies, collaborative learning exercises, group projects, quizzes, and tests are assigned in class to reinforce the learning in a differentiated fashion and probe deeper into key mathematical topics. 

Using Adobe Captivate, Mrs. Chellani has been able to create an engaging and interactive learning experience for her students that not only helps them understand complex mathematical concepts, but also helps them understand the real-world significance of those concepts.