Michelle Dech

Middle School STEM teacher. Interested in technology and its applications within education.

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

Check out my second blog post-this one focuses on setting expectations for flipped learning. Let know your thoughts. https://t.co/TK874efc4J
#wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@mrsyoungchs Our school has discussed the cell phone caddy idea (calculator pocket charts work great!) but we haven't gone school-wide with it. I think we may need to try something like this next year because middle school students aren't great with inconsistentcy. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@SchafflerCHS We do labelled weekly folders as well that then go into a marking period folder. Most of us also have a separate Assignments folder-we found if assignments were in the weeks that they were hard to find.#wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@mrsyoungchs We are both in the same district I believe-we should suggest the poll idea for next year! #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

Let's help each other out this week. What roadblocks have you hit when implementing edtech or an emerging trend in education? Has anything made you hesitate to try implementing something new?
Respond to others with any tips, tricks, or suggestions you might have! #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@ShannonZeccola At the middle school level, students usually deal with most of the tech support issues, not parents. Our district has a page on our website with tech help, including a form to request assistance. So it doesn't fall on the teachers much. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@SJShissler Yes! We have a district-wide Vex robotics team and I coach the Technology Student Association (TSA) for my school and we use lots of technology! #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@MsMachlis Primarily a tool, however it is a tool that can help to inspire creativity and collaboration which makes learning more fun. And I have no problem using it as a toy occasionally as well! #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@AlexTrace27 I think on the planning side of things they may be more time consuming up front. But I find that it makes teaching less stressful and grading can be faster. Also, once Edtech lessons are created, you can continue to use them so it is less time consuming in the future. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@MTr8PhysEd 100% this. Districts need to change their PD approach to allow for repeated PD on a specific technology so teachers can learn, practice, then extend their learning, and practice more. Let teachers master one tech rather than be aware of many but not able to implement. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@tucker_teach You just need to be careful with that because then you are opening up a whole lot of potential distractions for the students. I would make sure to just give them the link to the game you want them looking at, and not let them browse the Explore section. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@tucker_teach That's a tough one. One possibility could be to take a look at https://t.co/E3dkCgZRAv. It is a coding platform and people post the games they have made-it has some Angry Bird type games in the Explore section. You just need to select a well-made game. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@mrsyoungchs Definitely a concern. Maybe district can do a poll at the end of the year for which licenses are worth renewing? Something to suggest to the district tech team. Maybe at a school level your principal can use their budget to get a school license for a program or two? #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@AlexTrace27 It definitely does take patience! Is there any chance that your district IT would provide teachers with an iPad and maybe a fake student account so that they can check before trying to use it in class? Either one for every teacher or several for the building? #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@mrsrobersonmed Even though my district went 1:1 we still have students who have lost or broken their Chromebooks or don't have good internet access at home. I try to keep tech work in school, except watching videos since most students seem to be able to do that on their phones. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@EdTechMilkshake @McCoolWILMu @EdTechLaura I really love the way that you phrased this.
EdTech is also a constant reminder that teachers are lifelong learners-we are always learning new ways to reach our students and improve our practice. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@LizMoraMartinez I definitely agree that EdTech offers a lot of opportunities for differentiation. I love being able to offer my students so many different ways to learn and using EdTech makes the differentiation much more manageable. #wuedt6020

[Michelle Dech @MichelleDech3]

@EdTechLaura The pandemic did lead to more technology in the hands of students (my district sped up the timeline to go 1:1 with tech). It also led to an improvement to a lot of edtech tools out of necessity. That makes this an ideal time to explore edtech! #wuedt6020