Challenges
My grant project, “Personalized Learning: Engagement on Fire” is underway. I have definitely encountered some challenges. I had found kindle fire tablets on Amazon for $49 each, but was required to order them through a technology company our district uses. The tablets were more expensive, and it took much longer to order and receive them than if I had been able to order them through Amazon, but finally, I have 18 kindles for my students to use. My innovations coordinator found me a charging station (cart) that I did not have to pay for through the grant. She also found enough ipads so that I can have a classroom set of devices, since most of my classes have more than 18 students.
The first day I used the devices with students, it took 25 minutes for everyone to get a device and get to the website http://www.schoology.com. I have numbered all the devices, (and charging cords and blocks) but it is tedious for 31 freshmen to get their specific device during class. So, instead of assigning students specific devices, I am trying letting students take a device at random and having one student helper count all the devices at the end of class and make sure they are charging…. The first two weeks, I was still plugging in devices by myself at the end of the day. One of my New Year’s Resolutions is to make better use of student helpers…
Another issue- I was so excited to set up my tablets initially that I had 3 students help me use my personal Amazon information to register the tablets. BIG mistake! My husband realized earlier this week that we had paid for 3 months of a subscription to Amazon Unlimited Music that a student had subscribed to using the classroom tablets. So, the kindles have been unregistered and I’m creating a school Amazon account and hope to get them all re-registered soon.
My next post will be about all the great ways my students are using the kindles to work at their pace to better personalize their learning.