EDU 6433 Module 1 Reflection

Incorporating Technology Within Genius Hour

Using the first ISTE Standard, facilitating and inspiring student learning and creativity, I asked a question that hopefully I could answer to further my technology integration: “How can I incorporate technology to advance student innovation during Genius Hour with my first graders?”.  I have been implementing Genius Hour in my classroom for about a year now, and am very passionate about implementing passion projects or student centered learning within a classroom from a young age.  I even wrote another unrelated blog post  about Genius Hour in a primary classroom prior to taking this course, so the concept of Genius Hour is something that I am comfortable with and am now looking to improve.  Prior to researching articles to answer this question, I did allow some use of technology during genius hour, but I felt like I was only using it as a replacement to other tools rather than a way to advance innovation.  This is a problem that I have previously run into when trying to implement this specific ISTE standard.  I find that incorporating technology with a younger age group requires a lot of direct, step by step instruction.  In the past, this has limited my use of technology for students to create.   As I am coming up on the second year of implementing it with my first graders, I also will have significantly more technology in my classroom than I did last year, so I am excited to take student technology use during Genius Hour to the next step. 

In my initial quest to answer this question, I was searching more for specific apps or tools that students could use.  A classmate shared a great resource for this, a book of apps that can be used in education (Chamberlain, 2017).  One resource discussed in the book that I think would be useful is “Explain Everything”, because it could be used as a way for students to present information about something they are researching for Genius Hour.  I like this app because it gives student choice in how they present the information they’ve learned, and it is also primary friendly.  For my students that may need some extra support in writing/typing their response, they can instead draw or insert a picture and record their voice.  This would also increase their independence because they could complete their presentation with minimal adult assistance.

Edutopia’s article, “12 Awesome Ed-Tech Apps”, also gave me some great ideas for apps that can be used during Genius Hour.  Another app that I think may be useful for student presentations during Genius Hour is called “ScreenCast-O-Matic”.  It allows students to record their voice and record their thinking about a topic or assignment.  It also allows teachers to screencast their recorded voice while grading an assignment (Davis, 2016).  This is another way that students could take ownership of their learning independently during the presenting phase of Genius Hour.  The article also discussed voice typing as a powerful ed-tech tool.  There are various apps that allow voice typing such as dictation, google doc’s voice typing tool, and dragon naturally speaking (Davis, 2016). This is another useful tool that can be used by students throughout the entire Genius Hour cycle.  Writing or typing is a lot to add in addition to gaining new information for a first grader, so I think having the option to record audio on an iPad will be useful to my students.

In our required readings, I reviewed the article “50 alternatives to lecture”, which had a wealth of information about engaging students rather than using a lecture style.  While this did not directly relate to my Genius Hour topic, there were some useful resources within it such as creating news articles and allowing students to show what they’ve learned through video (Pickett).  I especially liked the video idea because I could easily picture how students could use our classroom iPads to create videos on iMovie.  I already knew how user friendly iMovie is, but hadn’t connected it to student use during Genius Hour until then. 

After reviewing all of these resources, I had a wealth of possibilities for apps that students could use during Genius Hour; however, I didn’t feel as though my question was fully answered.  While I enjoyed learning about more apps, I felt as though I already had a list of great apps that could be used or that could be easily googled and tested out with my students.  I needed to dig deeper and answer the HOW of my question, especially in a primary classroom.  Since I’m teaching first graders, a lot of these apps would require some direct instruction and training before they could be effectively used independently. 

The article that I found most useful to answer my question was called “Caught Up in Curiosity: Genius Hour in the Kindergarten Classroom”.  This article went through the process of how a Kindergarten teacher implemented Genius Hour within her classroom from start to finish. This teacher found it important to discuss a variety of options to gather information other than iPads, since that seemed to be the “go-to” choice for her Kindergarteners.  She also discussed ways iPads can be helpful in Genius Hour such as text to speech functions and specific teaching sites that would be appropriate for Kindergarteners.  The Kindergarteners were also given the opportunity to present their Genius Hour project in a variety of ways, including using iPads.  Some uses of the iPads for presenting were creating videos through iMovie, making captions to pictures on iPads, or sharing their physical projects virtually to parents via pictures or videos and the internet (West, Roberts, 2016). 

              After reviewing this article, I know have a better understanding about how I will present the option of technology in my classroom without insisting that it be used in order to express student creativity.  I am excited to allow students to share, express, and present information digitally.  Rather than being overly concerned about what apps students can use, I think presenting an iPad or a desktop as an option to learn is going to be a lot more effective in the learning process for my first graders.  As I researched articles to answer my question, many more questions popped up that I look forward to exploring in the future.  Here are some of the questions I still have as I dig deeper into exploring this topic and testing it out in the classroom:

• ·       What websites are good for primary students to safely research information?
• ·       How will I narrow down the options of apps students can use in order to answer their Genius Hour question?
• ·       Can I implement any of these apps outside of Genius Hour and into other subject areas? 

Kucirkova, N., Audain, J., & Chamberlain, L. (2017). Jumpstart! apps: creative learning, ideas and activities for ages 7-11. Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge.

Pickett, A. M. (n.d.). 50 Alternatives to Lecture. SinEducation. Retrieved October 4, 2017.

V. D. (2016, January 22). 12 Awesome Edtech Apps. Retrieved October 08, 2017, from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/12-awesome-edtech-apps-vicki-davis

West, J. M., & Roberts, K. L. (2016). Caught Up in Curiosity: Genius Hour in the Kindergarten Classroom. The Reading Teacher,70(2), 227-232. doi:10.1002/trtr.1497