Digital Directions - Summer 2013 - (Page 23)
make some lessons more meaningful, is
pushing to get Nooks into the hands of
2nd graders, particularly for reading and
math. Students start learning about digital
citizenship in kindergarten, and the district
is planning to host its second e-learning
day—in which students log in to their
assignments and complete them from
home—next school year.
“They come to us being able to do so
many things with technology,” Baggett says.
“We have to take them from where they are
and grow them.”
Online Elementary School
Applying technology in the most discerning
way was a guiding principle for the Marion
County school district, based in Ocala,
Fla., as it created its first online elementary
school. Marion eLearning opened in
October 2012 to 4th and 5th graders.
“That’s why we started with the upper
grades,” says Tracy Patterson, a district
curriculum and technology program specialist
who coordinates the new school and is
writing curriculum to include grades K-3.
“I was very concerned about making sure
they were very engaged in what they were
learning, that they were really understanding
and applying what they knew, and not just
playing games.”
Once a week, students can meet with the
teacher for a two-hour voluntary tutoring
session, which includes hands-on science and
math experiments.
For K-2 students with short attention spans
and limited reading skills, Patterson is making
sure their curriculum includes animated videos
and a significant amount of face-to-face time
with the teacher on the computer.
Marion eLearning opened with one 4th
grader, and now has seven students. The
roster for 2013-14 stood at 37 students as of
mid-May, with 75 percent enrolling in grades
K-2, and Patterson says the number grows
every day.
It’s not surprising that young children, with
their fascination with cause-and-effect toys,
would be interested in technology-driven
learning, according to developmental
specialist Michael Robb, the director of
education and research at the Fred Rogers
Center for Early Learning and Children’s
Media. Using apps creatively—such as those
that record voice and movement on screen to
create digital stories and promote language,
problem-solving, and imagination—are good
for self-reflection, he says.
“It’s hard to turn your back on technology
entirely for this age,” Robb says. “And it
doesn’t make sense to do that. That’s not the
world we live in.” n
Citalli Balcells, a 1st
grader at Kyrene de los
Niños Elementary School,
uses Pixie software
to work on a report
about animals during
computer-lab time.
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Digital Directions - Summer 2013
Digital Directions - Summer 2013
Contents
Editor’s Note
DD Site Visit
Bits & Bytes
Test-Driving the Common Core
Flipped PD: Building Blocks to Success
Virtual Learning in the Early Years
Kindergarten the Virtual Way
7 Steps to Picking Your LMS
Cracking the Code
Powering the Crowd
Digital Directions - Summer 2013
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http://dd.edweek.org/nxtbooks/epe/dd_2012fall
http://dd.edweek.org/nxtbooks/epe/dd_2012springsummer
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