Windows 8 in 4th Grade -

Using Technology as a tool to enhance instruction has been on my mind a lot lately. It's not about the "toy," but about how the teacher uses the various technologies to engage students and work to improve student outcomes.

I am repeatedly saying how lucky I am to have been invited to participate in a Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum, but also how lucky I am to continue to be part of the PIL family and receive support from the teachers that I have met through Microsoft, and the Microsoft executives involved in PIL.

One of the focuses this year in my classroom has been to explore 1:1 computing and the various ways it can improve student outcomes across the curriculum. Student engagement has stood out as a big change, once a computer was in the hands of every student.

This generation of students is the video-game/I-pod generation. They all have screens at home that they turn to every day - before and after school. They are "tuned in" to the latest technology toys on the market today.

When I presented Windows 8 to them, one of the first things that they wanted to explore was the personalized start screen. They loved being able to pick what to pin to the start screen; to pick the color and background style that they wanted. The Live Tiles were a big hit, especially once they discovered the built-in camera and could have a tile with their picture on it. Many of them have the Weather App pinned, and are quick to tell me what the temperature is outside as we prepare for recess. My sports oriented kids have the Sports App pinned, and love keeping up with the latest scores of their favorite teams. Many times I hear morning conversations about sports as they are turning on their computers and looking at the live Sports tile. 

They love being able to pin their favorite websites to the start screen. As we go to different sites that the kids know we will visit frequently, they pin it to the start screen for quick access.

Being able to organize the tiles to suit their needs is another highlight to these kids, once they figured out they could move them around. They each have come up with their own unique way of arranging  the tiles, and frequently rearrange them during free time. Some have websites on one side, and productivity tools on another. Some have the Apps that they visit lumped together, and then websites mixed in with the tools. The great part of this is that EVERY Windows 8 Start Screen is different and represents the individual response to learning.

Here are some of our Windows 8 Start Screens - as of April 9...

By being able to personalize thier start screen on the computer, these students have taken ownership of  an aspect of their learning. They are feeling in control of what they are doing, and where they are going. Something so small as choosing the background color has excited some of these students and made them WANT to work on a project or practice math facts on an interactive website. Pinning the class Blog to the start screen has motivated them to write more entries and comment more frequently.

This is just one little piece of the Windows 8/ 1:1 computing experience that is having an effect on student engagement and improving student outcomes!

For some of these students who were not engaged in their learning, and were not excited about math or writing or reading....a personalized start screen on a computer is making all the difference. They are excited to start their day, turn on their computers and see where it will all lead.