Final Reflection

Point of View and Perspective

I can't believe we're at the end of this project! It's been a big learning experience for myself and my students! The big idea I came up with in the beginning seemed a little daunting! My fear was that I was asking too much of my students with their first technology project. I knew they could handle the knowledge learned and sharing that out. But the inclusion of apps like Chatterpix and Padlet and inserting so many links into their project might be a little tough on them! Boy, was I wrong! These students acted like pros! Once I explained how to do something, they acted like they'd been doing it for years. One student even familiarized me with Control C and Control V after she watched me take about 50 steps to copy and paste! "Ms. Seltzer you could have just hit Control C to copy it and Control V to paste it." I haven't looked back since!

Our project was to present what they've learned about Point of View and Perspective in narrative texts. In the pre-assessment, not one student knew anything about either concept. We began by reading lots of books and pulling out these elements. Once they started working with their Google Slide shows, they could explain what the two elements were, how you could recognize it in text, and provide examples from text we had read! They did this without any real support from me by following a slideshow map booklet. The booklet let them know what slides should be in the show, an order to go in, and what to include on each slide. Once I showed them the how-to's, they just followed their map and went to town!

The classroom experience was positive. The students' engagement could not have been any deeper.They looked forward to Tech Time each day. Meeting during ELT for an hour everyday was just the right amount of time to learn something new, practice and edit it, and collaborate on the final look of the slide.They loved the freedom of design, loved searching the web for videos or pictures to insert. They absolutely loved the app Chatterpix where they created characters from Goldilocks and the Three Bears and gave them dialogue! We had many laughs with that!

Pre-Assessment
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Post-Assessment
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Their computer skills greatly improved! They are now professionals with creating slides, inserting things, using Chatterpix, and creating a Padlet. They really enjoyed working with a partner (except when they wanted to do something their partner was doing). And they loved that other 3rd graders in the school viewed their work and interacted with it through Padlet. You can view their Google Slides with this link: Slide Shows

Students admit that this project helped them understand Point of View and Perspective on a deeper level. It really brought these concepts to life. I even noticed that they observed Point of View ad Perspective in their independent reading and made sure to point this out to me! POV and Perspective seemed to be on their mind a lot! Their post-assessment showed a 100% knowledge gain of these two concepts. I think the whole experience will stay with them throughout their school years.  They will definitely remember these concepts!

I think what I've gained from this experience is that learning and creating through technology can go hand in hand. I've learned students CAN pick up on the technology skills and have it be a useful learning partner.  True engagement through technology use eliminates the distractions and boredom some lessons can bring. I've learned so much about the SAMR model and its implications for deeper learning and experience for my students.  I would gladly participate in another CLC of this type! Thank you for the experience!  And thanks to the team members for the support and laughs! It's been one of my favorite PD opportunities!