Ray Solem Foundation Grant

As 2013 winds down, I will be updating everyone on the many successes that we have had this year. But first, I would like to thank the Ray Solem Foundation for their generous grant of $3,000! We have had many financial benefactors this year, and are truly grateful for the support.

Our older students (3rd - 5th grade) are taking home novels for the break in addition to their regular reading assignments.  They do have the books to follow along, but the idea is that even just listening to a novel will help with vocabulary, hearing English sounds, and further develop a love of reading. As I prepare to travel to see family for the break, I downloaded an audio book for the trip, and hope that the love of reading continues for these kids well past elementary school.

Whole school testing will commence after the break. We can't wait to see the results of our students who have been working so hard!

One fun story: There is a student, a whole family really, who has been focusing on being healthy. They have been trying to incorporate more healthy eating and fitness into their lives. This student told me a story of how when her and her family went to the park for a walk, she and her brother (both L4L students) listened to the novels while walking. She was very energized that she was able to work out her body and mind at the same time!

Thanks to everyone who has supported this amazing program, we look forward to a productive and inspiring 2014!

Listening for Literacy Year Two!

Listening for Literacy Update. Year 2!

We are pleased to announce the start of the second year of Listening for Literacy! This innovative program started last year with a small amount of money a large dreams. After having guided thirty students through the program last year, we are expanding to fifty. We have held a few parent meeting to launch the program. There were a few notable moments at the parent meetings that I would like to share.

The first is a few questions that we got from parents who students would be participating for the second year. A parent first asked questions to clarify how students were chosen for the program. She then asked if her other child would be able to participate. I work with the other child and tried to explain that we had selected students whom we deemed most in need. She then asked if she purchased all the equipment, could her son participate. We were so incredibly flattered! It was slightly heartbreaking to explain that there is more than money and equipment invested. The man hours alone, are donated by the teachers, and prove to be exhausting. But the idea that her daughter was so successful using this program, that she was willing to do whatever it took to get her son in the program, was such a vote of confidence.

During the parent meetings we projected up on a screen some of the material that would be on the new video MP3 players. As sight words flashed across the screen the parents were reading along. This may not seem very impressive, adults reading second grade words, but it is! These parents are not English speakers. They come everyday to an English class at the school. A year ago many of them could not say “hello” in English, and they were reading sight words! As their proficiency in English grows, so will their students’.

Listening for Literacy is also representing the inaugural blog post in the DCPS Educator Portal. They are launching a new teacher blog and I am proud to have written the inaugural post about our program. 

EdTech Women

Thank You to EdTech Women for recognizing our efforts!
Check out the article.
http://edtechwomen.com/blog/2013/9/29/listening-for-literacy

More thoughts on STEM

1)   What is your background and how did you get involved in STEM?

I have a varied background ranging from being a gymnastics coach, to doing sound and lighting for various theatre companies. I studied History in college and through an alternative certification program landed a job in Elementary Education in DC Public Schools. While I am primarily a language teacher, I have always possessed a natural curiosity about technology and how it could help me. I carried this into my teaching and have become one of DCPS’ School Based Technology Coordinators in addition to my regular teaching responsibly.

The thing about STEM education is that no teacher is in it for the money. We are not worried about profit margins, investors or the next big thing. We are meeting the individual needs of the 30+ human beings who sit in front of us every day. The teachers that are using technology, and using it well, are those who have invested their own time, talents, and often money into learning new things. They know that learning is so important that they are willing to lead by example, showing students and the world that learning new things is essential. In turn, their students see learning as essential. They see technology as a tool. Many students that I work with do not have a computer at home. Their parents do not own smartphones. Many of their parents can not read, in any language. So it is imperative that they see technology as something that can help them bridge a gap between them and their peers, not as another hurdle. I think that the staff and students that I worked with this year utilized technology in a way that was not intimidating to students or families and saw measurable growth in academic performance.

2)   Please describe your day to day responsibilities.

This past school year I fulfilled several responsibilities at Thomson Elementary in DCPS. First and foremost I served as an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher to 37, preschool through 5^th grade, students. I also taught several sections of reading interventions. This was targeted instruction for students identified as struggling readers. I also served as the building leader for Dibles and TRC testing, which are our benchmark reading assessments. And lastly, I was the building’s Technology Coordinator, which involved the purchase and maintenance of the buildings technology. I also trained employees on proper use of technology, acted as in-house tech support and was the chief liaison with the districts various technology offices. In this position I also developed a multi-year replacement plan and updated an outdated and inaccurate inventory. I implemented various pilot programs with technology including MP3 players, Apple TVs, iPads and netbooks in the classrooms. Some of these will be implemented building wide next year.

3)   Can you tell us something about "Listening for Literacy"?

The necessity of a project like this has been evident since the time I started at my current school. I teach at an urban public school in one of the country’s most challenging districts. We proudly boast a very diverse population including around 60+% ESL students. I worked closely with two other teachers to develop this project. The idea was fairly simple, how can we provide language support to our students outside of the school day?  We decided to try giving them MP3 players to take home containing differentiated language content specific for each student.

After pooling our remaining balances on Office Depot cards, distributed by the district for school supplies, and pitching in a little cash of our own, we purchased 32 small, 2gb MP3 players. They are nothing fancy, no screen, but they are the perfect vehicle to launch this program. They are easy to use, only a few buttons. All the buttons are pictorial and do not require English literacy to operate. Best of all, they were only $10. Along with printing and copying resources at school we felt that we were ready to see if this crazy idea would work.

The idea of MP3 players evolved from the practices of a few teachers. I personally had sent home CDs with material on them. One year I sent home the audio of Alice in Wonderland, one chapter at a time. Last year, with kindergarten students, I sent home CDs containing phonics songs and letter sounds. Another participating teacher, used a tape recorder to record herself reading books. The other participating teacher used a MP3 player with an individual student to help bridge summertime learning. The idea of using MP3 players in not new, and there are a lot of companies that are using them successfully. Our question was, can a program be implemented at a low cost, using individualized materials? The pre-packaged programs that were researched are applicable to usually to a narrow range of students who were reading at or about grade level, most of our students were significantly below grade level. We actually have one of these programs in our first grade classrooms. The other difference is that most of these programs require expensive equipment and are meant to be used in the classroom. We specifically wanted something that went home with the students each day. As far as we can find, we are the first group to put together a larger scale program that is concentrated on sending home audio material that does not require internet. While there are great things online for students, most of our families do not have a computer or internet at home.

The other difference between this and other ideas, was the strong parent connection. We held parent meetings and let the parents go through the content before giving it to the students. They gave feedback through surveys and parent reading logs. All of the parent surveys indicated that they would like for their students to continue in this program next year. Many of our parents are learning English in an afterschool English class. We have learned that they are using the MP3 players as well as the students, and in one case, the family purchased speakers and listens as a family! These are the positive unintended consequences that we did not even imagine.

Academically, we have seen significant measurable growth among the students who participated. Their middle of the year reading scores averaged a full point higher than the average growth of the students who did not participate. Teachers have even noted that they participate more regularly in class, and there are a few students who, in one year, grew from far below grade level, to grade level proficient. While certainly all of this growth cannot be attributed simply to MP3 players, we do think that in addition to the language and reading objectives that we set out achieve, it allowed our students to develop a love of reading that had yet to be kindled within them.

Technology helped us to achieve these goals that are not necessarily directly related to any STEM subject. It showed students that technology can be a tool that helps them. It showed teachers that individualized education is possible, and at a manageable cost. I hope that the lesson learned for the educational community is that with creativity, technology can be a catalyst to solving problems.

Next year Listening for Literacy will continue with hopes of expansion. With a small grant from Donors Choose, I was able to purchase an additional 10 MP3 players, and all the headphones and accessories. Out hope next year is to start incorporating video flashcards, and expand to a greater number of students.

3)   The U.S. is not turning out the engineering students that we need to in order to compete as an innovative country.  Why is this issue so important?

As America pulls away from a manufacturing society, we have become the innovators. I firmly believe that America will be the place to create the “next big thing,” and then whatever overtakes that. It is our ingenuity that has always set us apart in the world, and our creativity and hard work that has allowed us to begin to solve problems, that do not even exist yet. It is not necessarily formal engineering that will be lacking in the coming years, but the engineering mindset, of being able to take things apart and figure them out, and change them or improve them. It is the ability to improve on existing designs, and take ideas and make them reality, that will be truly important in the next generation. These very notions of problem solving and creating solutions, start with our three-year-olds. I think that if the country wants to see more college educated engineers, it needs to insist on more education for three-year-olds. It needs to demand more technology and math education in the youngest of its students. For the spark that will grow into a full flame of dedication to engineering, starts earlier than college.

5)   What’s the best STEM success case study/project that you have been personally involved in?

This year I was able to see a dream fulfilled with our Listening for Literacy project. I was thrilled to see the results at the end of the year! We took 30 students and a few hundred dollars and actually made a measurable difference. I think so often people assume that to create change involves large amounts of money, committees, and years to complete. Yet here at a school, that has quite a bit stacked against it, a few people with commitment and ingenuity are making change happen every day.

6)   What’s the biggest misconception about STEM?

I think there are a few large conceptions when it comes to STEM education. The first is that STEM initiatives should not begin until middle school. Most programs and initiatives that exist, particularly those targeted at girls or minority students, do not begin until middle school. While all of these programs have merit and can be effective, I think exposure at an earlier age may be more effective. I have found that it is assumed that students all have the same elementary experiences. Nothing could be further from the truth. While hard for some to believe, the first and only time some students see things like iPads, laptops or even use the internet, are in school. They are not witnessing these things at home. It is not until they are in school that they are able to explore what technology really is, and how it can change their lives. By the time they reach middle school they have not had enough exposure to develop a love for STEM subjects.  

The second misconception that I see is that science, technology, engineering and math, are only taught in classes that contain one of those titles. To truly energize students about technical thinking, it should be a part of everything in a well-rounded curriculum. Particularly technology, should not be taught in isolation. Students need to experience technology as a tool, not as a subject. A computer can help them learn, and is not something that they have to study. Once that love of technology is developed, I think it will be almost impossible to stop it.

7)   Who you admire in terms of STEM education?

I admire my mother. She is an engineer who went to MIT, as a woman with two little kids. She would share stories of being the only woman in a class, or studying with a baby in tow. She has been successful in her field by anyone’s measurement and it is because of her that I never saw being a girl as a barrier to any career.

8)   What’s the future of STEM?  The future of STEM is limited only by the future of technology. As long as teachers continue to be lifelong learners, and companies continue to see investments in education as essential to their success, STEM has endless possibilities. As an older generation of educators begin to retire, the majority of the teaching force will be those who have grown up with computers, cell phones and the internet.

How can other like-minded people get involved?

I think that there are some really great organizations and projects that are proving successful. When looking at programs I think there are a few signs as to whether the program will be effective. First, the program needs to work with teachers. It is my personal experience that programs that are brought in for a day, and then leave, or are prescribed to teachers are not as successful. They do not have the buy in of the teachers or students. However, programs that offer meaningful, ongoing experiences for students and teachers can have long-term success. Initiatives also have to be relateable to students. For example, there was a program that came into classrooms for a day and wanted to talk about math in banking. I thought this was a worthy topic. The material was not relatable for urban students. They spoke of holding lemonade stands, when most of our students live in high rise buildings, and they used examples that involved sheds, yards, mowing lawns, and raking leaves. These are all things that my students have no experiences with. The students did not connect with the content and were not excited about banking, at least not in the way that was intended. While companies have admirable goals, they need to put more effort into relating to students where they are. Students all have different experiences and good teachers capitalize on those experiences, instead of ignoring or discounting them. Corporations who wish to help schools should do the same.

I would also recommend sites such as Donors Choose. Teachers post projects for which they need funding. At the end of the day, teachers know what they need for their students better than anyone. I think if people really take the time to support the teachers and their creative and often genius ideas, real change will start to happen. Sites and organizations like Donors Choose aim to give teachers what they need. I think it is a really great way to support new ideas. 

DCPS Teacher Stacy Tedesco’s Brainchild “Listening to Literacy” Takes Off

DCPS Teacher Stacy Tedesco’s Brainchild “Listening to Literacy” Takes Off

Washington Executive Magazine

Washington Executive Magazine recently published an article on me and Listening for Literacy. The link is below.
Article Link

ING Award

I am very proud to say that I, and Listening for Literacy, am the recipient of a ING Unsung Hero Award and Grant. This should provide most of our funding for the next school year!  Thank you ING!

Women in Technology Honor Update!

If you will allow me to brag a bit..... Check out the results of the Women In Technology Awards! 

http://www.womenintechnology.org/node/621#overlay-context=node/621

Women in Technology Honor

 Stacy TedescoSELECTED AS A FINALIST FOR 14 ANNUAL WOMEN IN TECHNOLOGY LEADERSHIP AWARDS

 

Awards Program Honors Professional Women in the Washington, D.C. Area for their Extraordinary Leadership, Talent and Mentorship in the Technology Community

Today it was announced that Stacy Tedesco has been selected as a finalist for Women In Technology’s14th Annual Leadership Awards in the Rising Star Category. The awards program honors professional women working in the Greater Washington, D.C. region who have exemplified unique vision, inspirational leadership and mentorship in the technology industry.

 

“This year we received many outstanding competitive submissions, but these finalists are true leaders in the industry,” said Nancy Lamberton, President, WIT. “These women are not only leaders for their innovation, vision and successful business results, but also serve as role models and mentors to the next generation of professionals. We want to congratulate all the finalists for their outstanding work in the technology industry.”

 

Stacy Tedesco teaches ESL and reading intervention for grades pre K-5th at Thomson Elementary in DCPS. As Technology Coordinator, she single handedly provides tech support for the school while heading technology purchasing and professional development. Stacy co-founded Listening for Literacy, a program which has earned critical acclaim and is hailed as innovative in its concept and execution. The program has proven successful at using technology to raise student test scores and student participation will likely triple by next year. Last year, Stacy was named a DCPS Highly Effective Teacher. Stacy also blogs about classroom technology and sells original instructional products online.

 

 

WIT will announce the winners at the Leadership Awards Banquet on April 18, 2013 at Reston Hyatt in Reston, Va.

 

For additional information on the Leadership Awards, please visit: http://www.womenintechnology.org/node/382

 

About Women in Technology

Women in Technology (WIT) is a not-for-profit organization with the mission of advancing women in technology—from the classroom to the boardroom—by providing advocacy, leadership development, networking, mentoring and technology education. With nearly 1000 members in the Washington, D.C.-area, WIT strives to meet its vision of being the premier organization empowering women to be architects of change in the technology industry. For more information, please visit, www.womenintechnology.org or connect with us via: Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter (@WITWomen).

Listening for Literacy Test Scores are in!

Such Growth! As Listening for Literacy meets its first testing benchmark the results are great! All of the students in Listening for Literacy also receive tier three reading intervention. So as a control I compared the growth from the beginning of the year scores (BOY), to the middle of the year scores (MOY) from last year to this year. I compared only students receiving intervention, and this year those receiving L4L. Last year from BOY to MOY, intervention students grew 1.07 levels on the TRC test, our standardized reading test. This year, with the addition of L4L, they grew….drum roll please….2.7 levels! This is huge! Now I cannot solely contribute this to the L4L program, but I will claim that it is a contributing factor. We here at L4L will keep up our work I can not wait to see the growth at the end of the year

Listening for Literacy Update 12.12.12

Listening for Literacy Update

12.12.12

This has been an interesting experiment. There are students who are religiously listening every night, and those who sporadically listen.  As we are assessing some of the material on the MP3 players we are noticing a slight growth in sight words. I also had a student reference one of the stories during class, saying that the word we were working on was in the story. It is nice to see them making connections. I have made a few procedural changes with my older students. I have two folders on the wall, one for reading logs that are completed and one for blank ones. I now have the students switching out their own reading logs. This has saved me a little bit of time. It also has them taking on a little more responsibility. The older students are starting to request novels, for pleasure reading. I struck the deal,  that if they are doing the required work, I will put on the audio version of a novel one chapter at a time, provided that they check out the actual book from the library. So far I have four students reading Harry Potter books, and one Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I think that over the winter break I will put on the book in the entirety with the hope that they will finish it over the two week break. We have had only one technology failure, in a pair of suddenly non-working headphones. These were replaced with a pair from the dollar store. Getting the MP3 player back to students at the end of the day has almost become routine for me. I now posses a large basket and traipse around the hallways shoving bags into lockers. We are still problem solving about how to charge them over the break. Many students have a way to charge via usb, either  their family owns a computer, a cell phone charger with usb, or a wii. Some students will have our limited chargers go home with them over the break. I hope that this project shows the results that we are excited about!

-Stacy

Listening for Literacy, Day 1!

 

Day 1!

 

The students received their MP3 players on Friday so today was the first day they came back to school. All but one were returned. Most, but not all, had filled out the listening log. One student told me that her father had purchased speakers and the whole family was practicing their English by putting the MP3 through the speakers. There was a problem with one of the books, so another was substituted. We took on the responsibility of charging them here at school and the running around in the morning to collect them turned out to be more complicated that I initially thought. The students that I am responsible for are in seven different rooms. So that will be something I will be working on.  The audio is pulled from a variety of internet and in school resources. It has been a learning experience for me to convert and find all of the necessary resources. The first few books were recorded at such a loud volume that they were filled with static. The next too quiet. So like the proverbial Goldilocks, I am still looking for “just right.”

PBS

Save Big Bird, and Nova, and Nature …  

Recently, Big Bird made news in a political debate. These brief comments have even people who don’t usually talk about politics, rallying for, or against, the big yellow Muppet. I thought I would share some of my brief comments on PBS.  The presidential debate aside, PBS is a central institution to our country and means a great deal to me personally. Let us start with the big yellow bird. Sesame Street has been on the air since 1969 and I can remember fondly enjoying many hours on Sesame Street. I still count to 12 singing the pinball song in my head. Occasionally I find myself singing “I’ve got a new way to walk, walk, walk,” when the light changes and my feet step off the curb. I learned that Hola means Hello, when Maria sang this song while twirling around in a ball gown. Even though I have such fond memories of Sesame Street, I wondered, is it still necessary?  Luckily I work with about 200 kids who are at prime Sesame Street age. So I asked them about Sesame Street.  The answers surprised me.  I work with one three-year-old who is experiencing not only school, but English for the first time. She speaks only Spanish and until this day I have never heard her say a single word in English. When shown a picture of Sesame Street, she started to sing, in English! While she may have little to no idea what she was saying, she was building the linguistic structure required to learn a new language. Shows like Sesame Street allow parents to expose their children to English. This was an angle I had not considered. Looking a little closer, I realized that Sesame Street is a pretty diverse, urban, neighborhood. It mirrors the environment that my students live in. It is relatable to students who live in the city. Most children’s shows that I am aware of cater to a suburban demographic, where everyone has a car and no one speaks another language. I can’t think of a modern, relevant issue that Sesame Street has not addressed in a kid friendly way. They have talked about everything from a parent losing a job, to divorce, to homelessness and even Cookie Monster now talks about how cookies are a treat and we need to eat mostly healthy foods.

The argument was made that Sesame Street can support itself through merchandise sales and does not need to be part of a federally subsidized endeavor. But what about all the other shows? Rick Steeves has taken me across Europe showing me things that only winning the lottery could facilitate their squeezing  their way into my reality. Nature has taken me under the sea, and to the top of mountains through stunning photography and video. I adore musicals. PBS has filmed and shown Broadway Musicals that may never be seen again. Les Miserable is amazing, and I can hear the music over and over through a PBS concert. And then there is NOVA.  Quite possibly my favorite show ever, NOVA takes complex science subjects and makes them not only understandable but interesting. I can not think of a science question that I have had, that NOVA can not answer. Things such as, Could we really go to Mars? Why was the Tsumani in Japan so horrible? How did Darwin come up with these ideas? Why is Pluto no longer a planet?  It seems that every time I hear something interesting on the news in a 30 second snippet, NOVA explains it fully. 

But wait there is more! PBS hosts a pretty impressive website. The children’s website (www.pbskids.org) is a completely kid friendly site, that is updated regularly and is a safe, educational place for kids to go online. As a teacher this is key, but PBS goes above and beyond for teachers. Some people may not know this but teachers need to renew their licenses every few years. In my district, as in many others, when you apply for your re-certification you must prove that you have been learning, and improving during the time since your last certification. Many teachers take a graduate level course or get certified in a new area.  PBS is here to help. They offer teachers online courses in the latest greatest subjects for only $99! (http://www.pbs.org/teacherline) Plus, they give graduate credit for the courses. Tuition reimbursement in my district is a joke, so if I want to learn anything new it is out of my pocket.  They offer courses from everything from how to teach math using manipulatives, to using iPads in the classroom. If you are a teacher and something new comes out, you better believe PBS is offering a class on it.

So in conclusion, regardless of who you are going to vote for this November, remember that PBS is important.  It is more than just Big Bird. It is a safe place that still cares about education as well as entertainment. I fear that if there was no PBS, shows like “16 and pregnant,” and “Jersey Shore” would be the only sort of options that our families have to watch.

Dropbox and student work

Dropbox use as classroom storage

Last year my school embraced the use of dropbox as a cloud storage for teachers to

store things and have the be accessible to all. As this was my first exposure to dropbox,

I have since played around with it and have found a few new uses pertaining to use in

the classrooms.

The first idea came from library. Our school has a series of netbooks that are for

student use and are usually utilized during library time. However the problem came

when the students wanted to save their work for later use. Dropbox came to the rescue.

I created this solution for a particular fourth grade teacher, who had twenty students

working on research projects. Here is what I did and why:

1. I created a gmail specifically for her class. It is important that the password not be

given to students, you do not want them to functionally use this email.

2. Use the class email to create a free dropbox account. Make the password different

from the password to log into the email.

3. Once in dropbox, create a folder with each student's name.

4. Now when students are working on a project, they can save their work to dropbox

in their own folder, using the "dummy" email, they can retrieve their work from any

computer with the internet. Teachers can log in and look at all students folders. An

additional folder can be created where students save their final draft to be graded.

That way the teacher can download all final drafts for grading, comment on them

and then upload them, with comments, back to the students individual folders. Think

of all the paper that can be saved!

5. Dropbox also has an iPhone and iPad app, so teachers can even read papers on the

train, bus, or coffee shop!

6. Once dropbox is installed on computers, you can put an icon either on the desktop

or on the toolbar. It will also show up as a folder when you go to save a document.

Hope this helps!

www.dropbox.com

For the Love of Labels

This year I have become increasingly obsessed with labels.  To be clear, not labeling student, or people but supplies and baskets and honestly it makes me so excited!   There are several methods and reasons for obsessively printing and adhering labels to everything. 

 

Why I love labels.

- Being able to find supplies easily saves time, for everyone.

- Having clear, often pictorial, labels allows kids to find supplies easily, and better yet allows them to put them away.

- Cleaning up takes less time.

- You can instantly see on a shelf what you have and what you don't,, making planning easy.

 

Now the fun part, how to make lovely labels

I like to use pictures as well as words on everything that kids will come in contact with because I work with all ages and I like to include the little ones.

 

To make labels effective they should look relatively uniform, easy to read and somewhat standardized. I also like to label the shelves where things go, that way students are simply matching the basket (or box, bin, whatever) to the picture on the shelf.  I like to take painters tape and outline or divide the shelf so that the bins are haphazardly thrown on the shelf.

 

I am happy to share some of my labels.  I created these using Boardmaker software.  You are welcome to print out the page, and then cut them out.  I use clear packing tape to adhere them to things.  You could laminate and use some other sort of adhesive if you chose to go that route.  Another idea for pictorial labels is to create a table in Word and then use clip art to populate the table. There is also the Avery Label route.  Buying labels is certainly easy and I use them for notebooks, books, and the occasional bin or basket. Avery has free templates for almost every product they make.  Even better, Avery has a free download that puts the templates directly into Microsoft Word.

My labels are free on Teachers pay Teachers. The link is on the homepage. 

Stay Organized,

Stacy