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Digital Comprehension Exhibit Home Learn More Standards Inspiration About the Author

The Beginning

During my second year of teaching I had a co-worker come to me and ask if I was interested in attending a CUE (Computer Using Educators) conference during the summer. I hesitantly agreed to go. This moment led me to where I am today. After realizing the world of technology that is offered for the classroom I decided to open my mind to it. I was teaching a 1st/2nd grade combo class during that year then 3rd the year after. During this time we only had computers once a week. The next couple of years technology exploded in our district. Classroom teachers started to get more technology in their classrooms and then came 1:1 Chromebooks for all students.

There were not a lot of trainings when teachers received all of this new technology. So I continued to go to CUE conferences and other trainings and conferences available to me. During this time I was opened up to a world of resources for students with 1:1 devices. I was able to try all of these new ideas on my students.

My students were so excited to try all of the new websites. Anytime I asked them to open up their computers their faces lit up with excitement. Unlike some adults, children wanted to try new things especially if the computer was involved.

So when I started teaching 2nd grade at my new school, Sierra Vista K-8, I found that my students did not enjoy the stories in the anthology. I knew I had to read these stories but I could not figure out a way to get them more engaged with the curriculum. In 3rd grade the stories were fun and engaging, in 2nd they seemed more dry. So I thought that maybe I could use their love of technology to have them interact with the text.

I started out my research with trying to use digital storytelling tools to help students with comprehension. In one of my classes I played around with VoiceThread. This was an easy to use tool for students to use to retell the story with a group. There were some complications since my students did not have their own accounts, so I had them make the videos in my account. Then I was introduced to Flipgrid. Flipgrid turned out to be more elementary friendly. Each student could make their own accounts and easily create their own videos to retell the story. Plus, my students LOVED it!

This year I have tried out so many different sites with my students to improve their comprehension. Some of their favorites were Kahoot, Flipgrid, and Edpuzzle. If anything, I noticed a vast improvement in their engagement with the text. I can’t wait to continue my journey as a 21st century educator.