Classroom Spotlight – Elementary – Mr. Smith’s Class
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It’s 10:30 in the morning and everyone in Room 112 is well into their daily routine. Donavan is using his iPad, Eder is getting ready to spend some time in his stander, Aiden and Sarah are helped to the next morning activity: “Who is Here?”
And Alexa, also known as Amazon Echo, is there too, an important and effective tool in the classroom (see the article in the September issue of Parent Briefs). Teacher Mike Smith asks Alexa to set a timer for one minute, giving everyone notice that they will transition to “Who is Here” by first signing in.
Each student is shown a small board with individual photos of all the students in the class, and they are asked to point to their own photo. This is part of an exercise in recognizing themselves and their names, both audibly and visually.
Students are shown photos of who they are and what their name is using iPads and shatter-proof mirrors, and see their names in puffy paint-traced letters and magnetic letters–multiple ways to show the students their names, the letters in their names and how their name is spelled.
Everyday, the students “sign in” on a white board by using a pointer to move their projected photo toward the top of the board to indicate that they are present that day. This exercise works on visual tracking and hand-eye coordination, using the pointer as extension of their arm.
When Alexa sounds another reminder, a few giggles flutter through the room. “The students get a kick out of hearing Alexa. She’s become part of the classroom,” says Mike. She helps the students transition through the day.”
Mike also depends on good old-fashioned human help in the classroom–teacher assistant Kim and one-on-one aide Charlene!
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