Highlands Elementary School, Washington State
Is this your elementary classroom?
“Eyes on the big screen… hands in your laps please, everyone please look at the toolbar where you see my pointer moving… John, I have a great tool to show you but you need to look up front at the big screen to understand how to use it… Thank you Sarah, I appreciate the way Sarah is following directions…”
In her short class period, this scenario was all too frequent for Margie Maier’s satisfaction. A “fun but serious” computer skills teacher at the Highlands Elementary Campus of Rainier Christian Schools in Renton, Washington, Maier faced the challenges that technology brings to the classroom firsthand.
More efficient, more effective
Maier decided to experiment with Vision classroom management software to help her students learn in a more effective way.
Before using Vision, she took data throughout a day of teaching. She found that out of 30 minutes of class time, she spent at least 6 minutes (one fifth of their weekly experience) trying to get her students to focus on demonstrations at the front of the room, so they could retain instructions to put into practice on their own computers.
“Vision has honestly revolutionized our learning time,” said Maier. “Using Vision I can demonstrate steps in a way that my students are better able to transfer directly into their own practice. I have been able to add one or two more skills per session by demonstrating directly on their monitors!”
It can be difficult for young students to learn complicated concepts in large groups. “Vision allows me to come as close to 1:1 instruction as I can,” Maier said. “Using this tool in only two or three class sessions so far, I have already found even my most challenging learners are able to follow through on the instruction more consistently.”
One of the most effective ways to learn a new concept is to teach it to someone else. Before using Vision, Maier had no way for her students to share their computer work with each other. “Now I can share the student’s work directly to the others – or with even more fanfare, we can watch their work together like a movie on the ‘big screen’ by showing it through the projector. They can hardly believe their work is being shown; each student is sooo proud!”
Looking forward
Maier was thrilled with the grant she received to make Vision classroom management software a permanent part of her elementary computer skills classroom, and has only just begun to tap into the resources it brings to the classroom.
"I am especially thrilled at the possibility of an easy way to demonstrate our new library’s search tools and the Internet Safety Course I teach,” she said. “The monitoring security Vision would offer to me as a teacher/guardian would be invaluable.”
She looks forward to demonstrating how to use resources on CD like encyclopedias and learning games.
"I believe it is my responsibility to help children learn in the most developmentally appropriate way,” she said, “so that as they use computers both at home and school, they become grounded in foundational skills and patterns that they can build upon, rather than having to unlearn bad habits or misconceptions in order to function in their ever-changing technological surroundings."
(This case study was adapted from Margie Maier's award-winning 2007 Visionary grant application.)
