What Happened Next Was Magical

We often ask our students to take risks.  "It is part of growing and learning," we say.  Yet, we can find ourselves hesitant to take our own advice.  This week, Jami Wiegand, one of our HSE kindergarten teachers and part of the 1:1 Design Team, shares her story of fears, risk-taking, and growth mindset.

From Jami: You Never Know Until You Try

And they all lived happily ever after… in the iPad cart, each night, right where I liked them. Or so I thought.

Where is an iPad's home?

This year I was given the opportunity to be a part of the 1:1 Elementary Design Team. Upon writing my grant and being accepted, I was given a cart of iPads to integrate into the daily routine of 27 energetic and excited kindergartners. I had many ideas of how I was going to use the iPads, but having the students take them home was not one of them.

We started the year simple, with basic iPad skills and then moved onto a whiteboard app, making picture collages to show our learning, keeping a digital portfolio, and taking our calendar time completely interactive and digital.

I had integrated the iPads into many subject areas and the students’ research skills were coming right along. (Yes, kindergartners can research!) Just when I felt like it was coming all together (as much as a kindergarten teacher can have it all together) I was instructed to begin sending the iPads home with the students each night.

Our journey to learning often passes
through doubt and fear!

I won’t lie. I resisted hard. I had every possible negative scenario outlined in my head. Some students can’t even turn in their folder each day, how will they remember their iPad? What if it breaks? What if they lose it? That will be extra work for me! Nowhere in my mind could I see this going well.

I tell my students every day to “go with the flow” yet here I was doing the exact opposite.

But… I did it. I took the plunge and I sent them home. Then, I waited.  What happened next was magical.

That night, there they were, little red notifications on my Seesaw app. Students were uploading their monthly choice homework through videos, photos, and drawings. Upon seeing them I literally squealed with delight. I sat on my couch and watched the notifications roll in.

The magical little red lights of the Seesaw app....

As the weeks went by, students videoed themselves counting to 100, writing responses to QR stories I had attached, or reading e-books I assigned through Big Universe. They were encouraging each other by commenting on and liking what their friends had posted as well.

Why didn’t I send them home sooner? Now, not only were my students using creativity and collaborating in the classroom.  These ideals were also happening at home, too!

Student work from Jami's kiddos.  "It was magical!"

Sometimes you just have to say “Yes!” and then figure out the details afterward. Releasing control can be one of the hardest things for a teacher to do when it comes to our students’ education.

Will it always end up magical? No, not always, but what I’ve learned is that you will never know until you try. 

Respond to Jami: jwiegand@hse.k12.in.us

Have a great week, HSE.

Your HSE Teaching and Learning Team

• Jan Combs, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning
• Stephanie Loane, Director of Elementary Education
• Tom Bell, Director of Special Education
• Jeff Harrison, Director of Educational Technology
• Phil Lederach, Director of Secondary Education