Well, in education changes happen regularly depending on the needs of the students. In my case, the need I discussed originally for PART A of my Wicked Problem Project has been addressed by the school. Good thing, but I need to regroup and start over with a new wicked problem.
So, here it is!
The educational need in my classroom is a way to monitor student progress in reading, access to the correct level reading texts, and a way for students to record their own reading with as little transition as possible. I give my students 30 minutes of independent reading time. I have noticed in this time that students have difficulty picking out books, rarely finish a complete book, grab books that are too difficult for themselves, spend too much time finding a book, and of course the temptation to sit next to or talk to their buddies is always there. This has become an unproductive chunk of time that has strayed away from my original intent. My goal is to find a technological program that allows me to monitor students progress, choose a reading level for them to start at based of the DRA or NWEA scores, and also allows an opportunity for them to record their reading for my running record review.
I plan to address this issue with technology by enrolling my students in a program called raz-kids. (www.raz-kids.com) Students will be given their own individual login which is already set up at their designated reading level. Students will be given a tutorial of how to use raz-kids and the expectations for this program. We will be replacing out 30 minutes daily of independent reading time with 30 minutes of Raz-kids time in either the computer lab or on the netbook computers in the classroom. I will be able to track the students progress, see anytime they do something (listen, read, or record a story), view their quiz scores, complete a running record on their recordings, view minutes logged on, and I can always manually move them up or down on the reading levels based on observations or other assessments I make. Otherwise, the students will move up to the next reading level when they have completed all of the parts of the reading level they begin on.
The cost for the program is $90 for a one year subscription. I receive a $100 allowance each semester from our parent organization that I am using to fund this program. My hopes are that it successfully engages the students for a chunk of time daily and that the students reading levels will increase at a steady rate.
The scope of the project:
Students will use Raz-kids daily from 2:35-3:00, replacing the independent reading time. The students will be either in the computer lab or using netbook computers in the classroom. There is an app available, which means the programs can be downloaded onto the schools iPad's as well.
Research indicates that students need practice reading in order to become better readers. My goal is that students will spend more time engaged in reading using Raz-kids as opposed to their countless minutes selected a book to read, changing books, finding a spot to sit, etc. http://www.eduplace.com/rdg/res/literacy/in_read1.html
Indicators of a successful project:
My observable data will be a short term indicator of success. Are the students more engaged with the Raz-kids reading then they were independent reading?
A longer term indicator of success is the student's actual reading scores. Students are tested on the reading levels using the DRA at the beginning and end of the year. Students are also tested using the NWEA test at the beginning, middle, and end of the year. Are the students showing an upward trend in the reading levels?
Another indicator is my own observation of students individually. Listening to them read and listening to their recorded books. I will make observations of whether this program is benefitting them or not.
Wish me luck as I begin this new technological project of meeting the diverse reading needs of my students using Raz-kids.
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