Grace Erwin

Dr. Cody-Mitchell
Twitter Report Compilation, Ed Tech
Fall Semester, 2017

EdSurge [@edsurge]. (2017, September 2). Making STEM Equitable With Beautiful Ideas,
Affordable Projects, and Serious Play #playbasedlearning https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-
08-28-making-stem-equitable-with-beautiful-ideas-affordable-projects-and-serious-
play?utm_content=bufferebb50&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign
=buffer. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on September 6, 2017.

This article is about science teacher Sam Haynor, and his attempts to make school, and
specifically science, fun. He believes that students are more engaged and retain more
information when lessons are interactive and fun. Im not going to lie, I have always hated math
and science, but I think it is all about the teachers I had growing up. If I had a teacher like
Haynor, however, I may have a more positive outlook toward science. Haynor finds fun and
inexpensive crafts and experiments to teach his students about science. STEM is quickly
becoming the future of education in America, since more technology based careers are needed,
and Haynor is doing a great job of preparing students in a way that is fun and memorable.
Education Week [@educationweek]. (2017, September 5). Chronic Absenteeism: These Schools
Struggle with a Big, Often Hidden, Problem. #studentlife
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/rulesforengagement/2017/09/chronic_absenteeism_these_school
s_struggle_with_a_big_often_hidden_problem.html?cmp=soc-edit-tw. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://www.twitter.com on September 6, 2017.

In this article, Evie Blad talks about what chronic absenteeism is and how it is affecting all
students, not just those who miss school. There are five levels of chronic absenteeism that range
from lest to most days missed. The lowest level, low chronic absenteeism, consists of students
who miss between 0-5% of school days. The highest level, Extreme chronic absenteeism, is
made up of students who miss more than 30% of the school year. The graph in the article shows
absentee percentages for the 2013-2014 school year. The article draws conclusions from studies
done by Absence Works, a research organization that follows patterns and effects of student
absence. Absence Works states that the problem of chronic absenteeism often goes unnoticed,
because most students who are chronically absent only miss about 10% of the school year. Evie
Blad argues that any level of absenteeism affects not just the absent students, but those who
regularly attend as well. Blad explains how when the same students continually miss class, the
teacher has to backtrack, and focus on the absentees, neglecting the overall needs of the
classroom.
Edutopia [@edutopia]. (2017, September 16). Kahoot? Padlet? Quizzizz? Tell us how you do
formative assessment. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/classroom-tools-measure-student-learning-
bethany-petty?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=socialflow. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://www.twitter.com on September 19, 2017.

Twitter Review:
Bethany Petty talks about the different types of fun formative assessments that incorporate
technology into the classroom. She gives five examples: Kahoot, Padlet, Quizzizz, Quizlet Live,
and Flipgrid, and explains how each is useful in different class settings. I was originally
interested in the article because I love the use of interactive formative assessments instead of
quizzes, but I had only ever heard of Kahoot. I was fascinated at all the different kinds there
were out there.
ISTE [@iste]. (2017, September 20). Personalize learning with #VR creation tools
#VoiceOfISTE #ARVinEdu #ISTEStandards
https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=1049&category=Tools,-devices-and-
apps&article=. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on September 20, 2017.

Julie Randles talks in this article about technology being the future of education. Randle
believes that technology can personalize learning like nothing ever has before. She talks about
virtual field trips, and bringing stories and history to life with virtual reality simulators, which
are being integrated into classrooms across America.
ISTE [@iste]. (26 September, 2017). Getting at the heart of the #empoweredlearner
#ISTEStandards #profdev #PD.
https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=999&category=ISTE-Connects-
blog&article=Getting+at+the+heart+of+the+empowered+learner. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://www.twitter.com on September 26, 2017.
This article is about using technology to empower each student by adapting to his/her specific
learning needs. This is talking about how having a 1:1 school significantly increases student
empowerment, when combined with teachers who strive to grow their students as digital and
global citizens. When we grow our students as digital and global citizens, they are better
students. They are more resourceful and can retain more information.

EdSurge [@EdSurge]. (2017, Septmeber 26). Why One Anti-Tech Teacher in Tennessee Says
Educators Need Autonomy to Feel Comfortable With Tech.
https://www.edsurge.com/news/2017-09-26-how-an-anti-tech-teacher-learned-to-stop-worrying-
and-embrace-
edtech?utm_content=buffer492dc&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campai
gn=buffer. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on September 26, 2017.
This article is against the use of 1:1 technology in the classroom. This Tennessee teacher thinks
that by integrating technology at such a high scale places a higher value on student assessment
and success than on student-teacher relationships and student growth as a whole person. I feel
like so much of what we see in this class is about how beneficial technology is, and it was
interesting to hear a different perspective even though it is one I do not necessarily agree with.

David Geurin [@DavidGeurin]. (2017, October 8). Promote student voice and choice with
blogging via @iste.
https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?article=%E2%80%8BPromote+student+voice+and+c
hoice+with+blogging&articleid=1060&category=Digital-
citizenship&utm_content=bufferb6c60&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_ca
mpaign=buffer. [Tweet]. Retreived from https://www.twitter.com/ on October 9, 2017.
In this article, teacher Rachelle Poth talks about assigning a weekly blog post to her students
instead of discussion posts or journals. She allowed her students total creative liberty on their
blogs, as long as they wrote every week. She said that her whole classroom dynamic improved.
Students were more confident, better communicators, and more effective writers. Poth says that
blogging for class improves confidencebuilds relationshipsboosts creativityfeeds student
empowermentdevelops digital citizenshipand helps assess skills.
EdTech K-12 Magazine [@EdTech_K12]. (2017, October 9). #K12 districts offer tips on setting
up hands-on leaning in all kinds of spaces.
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2016/10/makerspaces-encourage-students-innovate-and-
build-critical-thinking-skills?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://www.twitter.com/ on October 9, 2017.
This article talks about ways to get students using their critical thinking and problem-solving
skills outside of the classroom. The White House hosted the first Maker Faire and school
districts have been adding these to their yearly events. Students meet and are given supplies to
use technology to be innovative, and create however they want to. Students can code, create and
program cardboard robots, and so much more.
EdTech K-12 Magazine [@EdTech_K12]. (2017, October 18). Teaching #K12 students
#medialiteracy is important for their future success.
https://edtechmagazine.com/k12/article/2017/03/putting-focus-media-literacy-digital-
age?utm_source=t.co&utm_medium=referral. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com
on October 19, 2017.

This article talks about the importance of teaching good media literacy and research skills. As an
English teacher, I will be giving students many project and papers that they will have to do
research for. If my students are good digital citizens, and can effectively filter through reliable
sources, they will do better research, and will be more equipped to cite the sources they
reference.
eSchool News [@eschoolnews]. (2017, Obtober 18). Inquiry-based learning gaining momentum
#edchat #K12 #curriculum #teachers. https://www.eschoolnews.com/2017/09/26/inquiry-based-
learning-future/. [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on October 19, 2017.
eSchool News interviewed three experts on the use of technology in the classroom. They were
asked about the rise on inquiry and research based learning and its effectiveness in the
classroom. I wasnt sure how Inquiry-based learning applied to me until I read this article. In an
English class, most of the research done for papers is considered inquiry based learning.
Students are forced to think outside of the box, ask good questions and discover the answers for
themselves, before they form and write an opinion.
Grace Erwin [@GraceErwin9]. (2017, October 26). Funbrain offers great games for grades K-8
in English and in Math. Theyre both fun and educational. #k8 #englished.
https://www.funbrain.com/games [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on October
26, 2017.

Funbrain is a great website with educational games for math and English. The English games
were time sensitive, which made the games very engaging, and fun. There were various levels of
difficulty and different areas of English. There were specific games for grammar practice,
writing, synonyms and antonyms, word choice, and sentence structure and variation. I played
hangman, which I a great game for younger students to learn to spell.

Grace Erwin [@GraceErwin9]. (2017, October 26). Games To Learn English offers games for
English language learners of all ages, with games at all different difficulty levels. #ELL #TESL.
[Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on October 26, 2017.

This website offers great games for English Language learners. I played the game Fast Phrases,
which uses pictures to give clues about for to form proper English sentences. I want to teach
ESL, and this would be a great tool to use at any age level, because there are so many levels to
play on, and you can go to higher levels to form more complex sentences. For a student who
speaks Spanish,English subject verb agreement seems backward, and this would be a great tool,
for learning basic sentence structure, subject agreement, and parallelism
Grace Erwin {@GraceErwin9]. (2017, November 9). This app has great games for teaching the
alphabet to first time ELL students! [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on
November 9, 2017.
Review:
I could not find any websites with games for learning and practicing English that did not require
Adobe Flash, or were free, so I decided to look for apps that taught English. Most of them were
geared toward math, or were for preschool, but there were a few good ones. This app is called
has great games for brand new English Language Learners. This game is called Tracing, and it
is intended for preschoolers learning the alphabet for the first time. It is great for beginning
ELLs because it introduces them to letters, basic, phonics, and basic words. The only downside
to this app is that there are a lot of in-app purchases to get to certain games, or to certain letters
of the alphabet within the games. I only got to the letter G on tracing, and everything else you
had to pay for. The initial download of the app, however, was free.
Grace Erwin {@GraceErwin9]. (2017, November 9). This game is great for teaching the
Alphabet to ELLs grades K-6! #ESL [Tweet]. Retrieved from https://www.twitter.com on
November 9, 2017.

Review:
I could not find any websites with games for learning and practicing English that did not require
Adobe Flash, or were free, so I decided to look for apps that taught English. Most of them were
geared toward math, or were for preschool, but there were a few good ones. This app is called
ABC games, and has great games for teaching basic letters, phonics, and words. This was a free
app, but there were some in-app purchases available. Most of the games were free though. I
played a free phonics game that was great for matching letters to their sounds. The games start
at very basic levels, and progress to harder games and higher skill levels from there.
Grace Erwin [@GraceErwin9]. (2017, November 15). This is a great video for all educators on
recognizing glass children - siblings of children with disabilities - and how to best help them in
school and life #sped. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSwqo-g2Tbk [Tweet]. Retrieved
from https://www.twitter.com on November 15, 2017.

Review:
This video is not specific only to my licensure area, but it applies to all educators. There is a
large, growing number of immigrant students in american schools right now, and a growing
number of students with disabilities, which means that there is a fast growing number of
immigrant students with disabilities. Resources for immigrant families with disabled children are
hard to come by, and so there is often more pressure on the siblings to hold it together. More
than likely, in ESL, I will have glass children in my class, and they will feel the constant weight
of supporting their families, since they are not getting much, if any, outside help. I am a glass
child, and I am able to empathize with these students, but many teachers will not understand how
that affects their students. This video is a detailed look on the life of being a glass child, and how
to best help them as an outsider, and more importantly, an educator.

Grace Erwin [@GraceErwin9]. (2017, November 15). This video is an example dialogue in a
classroom setting, with subtitles, to practice practical, social English #ESL #ELL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8irSFvoyLHQ&t=29s. [Tweet]. Retrieved from
https://www.twitter.com on November 15, 2017.

Review:
This video is of a classroom, in which there is a new student. There are subtitles, and all the
conversations are in very basic English. There is interaction between the teacher and the class,
the teacher and the new student, the new student and the class, and between individual students.
This is a great tool for differentiating appropriate social language with authority figures and with
peers. Students can copy the language used in the video and apply it to real classroom settings.
We often do this in my Spanish classes, we watch example conversations, and attempt to recreate
similar conversations with our classmates to get real time practice. I find it both very helpful and
very entertaining.