Embracing technology in the classroom

Lena Whitmore Elementary teacher Lacey Watkins once resisted technology. Now, she is fully embracing its educational benefits in her kindergarten classroom.

Watkins spent her Tuesday afternoon prep time scrolling through her ClassDojo news feed, a website formatted similarly to Facebook that allows her to post pictures, newsletters, give feedback on students and interact with parents.

The updates go straight to parents' cellphones, similar to a text message, giving them daily glimpses into their students' learning.

Watkins started teaching at Lena Whitmore last year, around the time the district was extending its kindergarten classes to all day. At the same time, Watkins was enrolled in a technology course to go toward her master's degree at the University of Idaho.

Watkins said she has taken some tips from the class into her own classroom, including building her own website where she keeps lesson plans, educational games and other student resources in one place.

"I decided not to resist technology anymore," she said with a laugh.

Her website and ClassDojo are just a couple ways Watkins has embraced technology to work to her advantage in a classroom of 5-year-olds whom Watkins is expected to teach not not just the alphabet, but behavioral skills they will take with them for the rest of their lives.

"If we're learning about the letter M, I have letter M videos up and ready to go. If we're eating a snack, I put on something related to what we're learning, so that even when we're relaxing, we're doing something," Watkins said.

With the help of an app called Animoto, several of Watkins's young students can already add "video production experience" to their future resumes.

As part of weekly duties Watkins gives to her class, one student is assigned to document the week's activities in a short video slideshow to be uploaded to the news feed for parents to see.

Watkins pulled up one of the latest student creations Tuesday. A student named Evan had used the app and a classroom iPad to pick out and preview music, choose a slideshow theme and upload his week's worth of pictures to produce a short video.

The compilation is essentially an overview of what the student learned throughout the week. Evan included a photo he captured of the stuffed cats he played with during free time.

"It's kind of the eyes of kindergarten through the children, which is often a lot different than through my eyes," Watkins said.

Each student has a Minion-esque icon on ClassDojo that Watkins can click to give them either positive or negative feedback for the day. Those notifications also get sent to parents.

Watkins typically does not give out negative feedback unless a parent requests their child work on a specific behavior at school, such as listening. All feedback stays private.

Students who receive a certain amount of positive feedback for doing things like listening in class can trade in "Dojo points" for a material prize, though Watkins said the inherent reward of receiving a Dojo point and knowing their parents will hear about it is often enough to brighten a student's day.

This is the first year Watkins has used ClassDojo as a tool to connect her with parents and students. For her, the website saves more time and is more effective than typical daily responses to individual emails.

Watkins has even learned how to use technology to receive funding for class projects.

On Tuesday, Watkins had $96 to go toward a fundraiser on DonorsChoose.org for her to purchase multicultural dolls for a class play. At least eight other Lena Whitmore teachers have posted calls for funding to the website as well.

Other than helping teachers get organized, Watkins said the technology she uses in class gives students and parents something to talk about.

"It's a much faster glimpse at how your day went throughout the day and being prepared to sit down at dinner or the ride home and talk about what the day was like," Watkins said.

Taylor Nadauld can be reached at (208) 883-4630, by email to tnadauld@dnews.com and on Twitter @tnadauldarg.