What an honor to celebrate winning the Teachers’ Choice Award for Professional Development with my four co-authors on the 3-5 NOW Classrooms book. This is one of the books in the five-part series and how fun to say we are now “award-winning authors”. Time to celebrate with Sheri DeCarlo, Sonya Raymond, Grace Kowalski (Worrell), and Justin Gonzalez. I’m so proud to be part of this team! Meg Ormiston
Learning® Magazine 2019 Teachers’ Choice Award for Professional Development
Product: NOW Classrooms, Grades 3–5: Lessons for Enhancing Teaching and Learning Through Technology – TCA Professional Development
Comments from reviewers:
What aspects of this product did you like the most?
I love the glossary that lists all of the different websites in the book. It is a great way to scan for something I previously read in the book. I also like that each section shows classroom connections (e.g. Language arts, math, etc.).
I liked this book a lot. I was able to learn from it, and I really enjoyed reading it. The authors wrote in a way to get me to really understand what they were talking about. I have wanted to up my technology game in my classroom and this book will help me do so. There are a ton of resources to use listed throughout the book and also on the website given. I love how that is organized by chapter and all you have to do is click on the link, and it takes you right there.
This book is amazing! It is filled with practical lessons and ideas for incorporating technology. The lessons are so well thought out, provide differentiation, and give teachers all the resources needed. I learned about so many new sites and programs. I can’t wait to use these lessons with my students. Our technology presentations will be so much better this year. This book is easy to read, full of ideas and has everything you need. Love the appendix also.
How would this product need to improve to better support your curriculum?
I do not see any area that needs improvement at this time.
Since technology has been such a huge push over the past few years, I feel that this fits into our curriculum perfectly. Our district is slow moving, but recently we have been able to have more access to computers for our students which has lead to the opportunity to do more with technology in our classes.
This is an awesome book!
What did you learn from this product?
I learned about several new websites/apps and some interesting ways to use them in the classrooms. I also like the suggestion to check app stores for the newest apps for a particular purpose. In this case, it was recommended for coding, which will continue to update frequently.
What haven’t I learned I feel like is a more appropriate question. I learned a lot about being a digital citizen which is normally covered by our library media specialist. I also found a lot of sites and resources I can use that are great for my students. I plan on teaming my fifth-grade class up with a third-grade class to complete different activities throughout the year. I have some new ideas on how to do this through technology thanks to this book too.
I learned about so many new programs and lessons. The lessons all give ideas for all subject areas and lessons are laid out in an easy to follow format. I am excited to do these lessons with my students and help them learn more about technology.
How will you apply information from the product in your classroom?
I have already used some of the websites and ideas in Now! Classrooms and I have collaborated with colleagues using some of the ideas in the book.
I plan on trying to create a technology time at least once a cycle (we have a 6 day cycle in our district). This will be time for me to teach using technology and give students the opportunity to use it as well in a variety of ways. I have dabbled here and there in the past, but I think if I put the time in the schedule, we’ll be able to accomplish so much more.
I look forward to using the lessons provided to teach my students about digital citizenship, good resources, how to use the technology properly, and improving all our technology projects.
Would you recommend this product to a teacher at the appropriate grade / age level?
I would recommend this book to teachers, especially those that are looking to use more tech ideas or improve their use of tech in the classroom. I also like that it is a series, and I can (and have) recommend it teachers at every grade level.
I would definitely recommend this book to others. it is a great book with a lot of information in it. I am not the most tech savvy person, but this book made me feel as if I can accomplish a lot using technology in my classroom.
Definitely. I cannot say enough good things about the book. It is ready to pick up and use. Anyone wanting to help their students learn about the proper way to use technology should definitely pick up this book. I will be recommending it to many others.