Ashley Pesch's Blog

  What is Accessibility?  Accessibility is something that is available to help technology users use the technology more easily. This is not just something available for students. All sorts of technology has accessibility features. Even the Iphone you use has accessibility features. Simple things such as increasing your font size or what the side buttons on your phone do are accessibility features that you may not even realize you use.  Accessibility for Students Students need to have access to a variety of tools that will make them successful in the classroom. Majority of students today have a device they use daily. Within the device there are things called accessibility features that allow students to access technology conveniently. All technology has accessibility features, it is up to the user (or in education sometimes the teacher) to turn these features on.  Majority of my teaching career (in my old district) I used Apple products. My students had iPads and I ...

Show Me the Research! It is so important for teachers to stay up to date on educational research. As educators we need to know what the latest trends are and how to best meet the needs of our students. Without staying up to date on research, it is kind of like going into your classroom blind. Research gives us such a deeper understanding of what our students need and why.  What Are the Stats Saying? There are so many things that influence our students and how they learn in the classroom. According to McCrindle , “ Almost half of Gen Z turn to TikTok (48%) and Instagram (46%) to teach themselves new things daily” (McCrindle, 2023). This statistic spoke to me for a variety of reasons. The first being that that the stat is showing almost half of this generation uses these apps to teach themselves things. It makes me wonder what else are they using to learn things? What is the other 52% using to teach themselves things? Another reason this statistics spoke to me is it is focused on Gen...

What is Active Learning? Cornell University describes active learning that truly draws students attention. They are not just doing the basics, retaining information. Students are participating in problem solving strategies, discussions, and more. I like to think the name says it all - the students are active in the learning and play a role in their own learning as well as their classmates' learning.  Jigsaw Discussions Jigsaw discussions are a great way to get your students engaged in active learning. This strategy can be used with most grades (probably third through twelfth).  How do you implement it?  Place students in the number of groups dependent on the number of parts to your assignment. The group students start in is called their “home group”. This group is made up of students each doing different things Within their “home groups” assign each student a topic or task to complete. No one in this group should have the same task or topic.  Once students have thei...

My Digital Space  I have admitted before on my blog that I know I spend too much time using technology. I use technology all day professionally for both my teaching and coaching job. I then come home and use it for more professional work such as my classes. As well as personal use for mindless scrolling or to plan my wedding. I loved creating this map of my digital space because I truly got to see where my time goes and what sites I am using the most. I found it interesting though to analyze which websites I am a visitor and which I am a resident.  Source: Created by Blog Owner SURPRISE!  When placing my most used apps and bookmarks on the digital map there were a few surprises. The first surprise was realizing I placed Google Sheets in relatively the same area as the social media app, Instagram. Instagram is an app I use daily for both professional and personal use. Professionally I have a teacher account that I am definitely a visitor on. I don’t post very much on that ...

  Examine your Relationship with Technology My Overall Relationship with Tech Technology is a big part of my life. I use technology for all sorts of things. My district is a one to one district so I use technology daily for my job. I am currently taking online graduate school classes therefore I use technology for my own education. I use technology to create and organize things for my upcoming wedding. I also use technology in my personal life for fun like scrolling on Tik Tok or using my Kindle to unwind and read. I am not going to lie, I do feel like I use technology too much. Especially once you write it all down and see how much you use it. It makes me take a step back and realize maybe there is something I can do about that.  The Tool that has my Heart  Source: Blog Owner's Instagram There is a certain piece of technology that holds more meaning to me than others and that would be Instagram. Instagram is a social media platform where users can post pictures, videos, ...

Technology in the Classroom! Technology is within all of our classrooms at some capacity. It is the way we as educators incorporate technology into our classrooms. One model a district may use is the SAMR model. The model has four levels of utilizing technology in the classroom. The four levels are: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition.  Source: Giphy What is SAMR? S - substitution. This is exactly what it sounds like. You are replacing things that can be done with a paper and pencil with a digital version of it.  A - augmentation. This level is one step above substitution. In this level you are still in a sense substituting those paper and pencil activities however adding a little twist to it. The biggest idea that resonates with me is gamified activities such as playing a Kahoot. This can be done paper and pencil is more fun with the use of technology and its features. M - modification This level is where transformation begins to take place. You are no...