All About Mrs. Howe
I currently teach at Hatch Elementary School in Oak Park, IL! All day long I get to read great books to the K-5 students and help them become life long learner. I have been the Teacher Librarian here at Hatch since 2016. Prior to being the librarian, I taught 7th grade math for nine years. While being the librarian, I have had the opportunity to experiment with a lot of different technology and have become the tech leader at my school. We are fortunate at Hatch to have 1:1 iPads for grades 3-5 and in grades K-2 there is a tub of 6 iPads in each classroom. In the library, we have 20 iPads that K-2 students can use for entire class instruction. There are also multiple carts of laptops in the building to use. Due to having a variety of technology available, I feel very comfortable with technology and trying new tools. Some of my favorite tools to use include: DoInk, Google Classroom, and FlipGrid! 
Over the years, I have tried a lot of different technology in the classroom with my students. The most memorable successful experience was when the 5th graders created a claymation video using iMotion in front of a green screen. Then the kids uploaded the video to DoInk and edited the video to adjust the background! Watching the kids excitement with bringing their ideas to life is amazing!
One of the biggest hiccups with technology, came when I was leading a professional development for the staff on a great new tool called FlipGrid! I had practiced on my computer and the teachers were able to post their videos responses on FlipGrid with their computers too. Then one of the teachers tried to do it on their iPad and in front of everyone was when I realized the only way to use FlipGrid was to download the app. At the time, our school district hadn't approved the FlipGrid app therefore I did an entire professional development for an app that wasn't accessible for the students. Now, before offering any professional development I make sure to check with the technology department to ensure that the technology is available for the students and staff. Teaching 2nd graders how to use technology is always an adventure.
My funniest moment in EdTech came when I was preparing the students for the MAP assessment that they had to take on a computer. The week before the assessment I was walking the students through a practice assessment so they could learn how to log-on. I was dying with laughter as the majority of the students when I would tell them to click on a box, they would try and tap the screen due to the students' majority of technology experience being with iPads.
Hi! I'm in your Managing Ed Tech services class. I always think that seeing the librarian's perspective with tech is interesting as I feel in some districts this role has almost become half librarian half tech specialist. I imagine that must be interesting, but challenging.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar issue with them using my maiden name even though I got married 8 years ago. I can tell you who to email and what you need to do if you want to and haven't already. My email is mmgraves2@gmail.com.
Thank you, Erin, and welcome to our multimedia course! I love your stories about your experiences with technology. They are great examples of how you just need to jump in with tech and be flexible as you go. That's great, too, that you are now the school's tech leader. Your job sounds amazing...reading to ids all day...it sounds like so much fun!
ReplyDeleteThanks, again, Erin, and welcome! Lea
Hi Mrs. Howe. Your job sound amazing! Do you think the iPads are the right device for the 3rd-5th graders? Our school district has iPads 2 to 1 for K-1 and Chromebooks 1 to 1 for 2nd grade all the way up. Luckily we have touch screens so that they can actually click like an ipad or iphone.
ReplyDelete(My accounts are all goofed up too from a name change so I know how you feel.)
Hi Erin!
ReplyDeleteI absolutely LOVE using Flipgrid in my music classroom. It is so user friendly, and the kids have so much ownership over their performances. So glad to see someone else who is using it as well!
Hi Erin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for being a tech leader at Hatch! I am glad you feel comfortable with technology. The iMotion green screen project sounds like a wonderful experience. I look forward to your contributions in this course.
Karen
I am excited to learn with you this summer. As someone who also works in a district with 1:1 iPads, I love hearing new ideas and continuing to grow in my work as an Innovative Teaching Coach. I just so happen to work pretty closely with our District Librarian to support our students and staff!
ReplyDeleteThis is from Meagan Bubulka by the way - in grad class.
ReplyDeleteHi Erin! It's nice to "meet" you! It sounds like you have incorporated some really awesome technology with your students. I love seeing kids get excited when they create things, and I am always on the lookout for tools that will make technology meaningful and facilitate learning instead of *just* being cool. Your story about Flipgrid is too funny! That's actually one of my absolute favorite tools for formative assessment. It stresses out my high schoolers at first (they worry about not looking "camera ready") but I model some videos in ridiculous hats while hanging out with my dog to let them know that we're not here to be fashionable, just share ideas. It seems to work! I look forward to learning with you this semester!
ReplyDeleteHi Erin,
ReplyDeleteIt's great to see a familiar name pop up again in class! I look forward to learning more about your take on things from a library director perspective. The MAP assessment story is so cute!
Hi, Erin,
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your flipgrid story. Don't worry; that happens to more people than you may realize. It's sad that we block so many educational tools. We need to provide more professional development and provide more opportunities for educational tools to be utilized. Kudos to you for trying something awesome; hopefully it was a learning experience for everyone.....including whoever did block that app.
Hi Erin! The name "Hatch Elementary" is adorable. Thanks for sharing your FlipGrid story, we've definitely all been there! Sounds like you will have a lot of experience due to the variety of tech you use at your school!
ReplyDelete