Michelle Coronado, 3rd Grade Dual Language Teacher

With the pass of the time the opportunities to implement technology in our curriculum have become a relevant and important need, a requirement of our new educational practices. As an educator, we may find ourselves feeling as if we’re in a dead end where we doubt our ability to adapt. I confess that the main message of this new trend is "to start one device at a time" and the most relevant tool is you: the teacher.

In this incredible journey of technological learning I’ve found wonderful tools that have made this path accessible and manageable for a beginner geek teacher, but I’ve learned that to be an expert, you should start from the unknown with the humility that it is best to learn something new.
First, I went step by step and found Plickers an application that reads unique barcode associated with users, excellent for those who want to start with something simple, small groups and without access to 1:1 devices. Among other tools, Osmo offers interactive games with concrete material using iPad applications and Aurasma is the first step to augmented reality and it gives 3D and interactive life to inanimate bodies. The tools that I’ve discovered along the way led me to NovoPro and today I am learning again how to apply and adapt the device and characteristics to my class. I love the process of the unknown, to ignore how this strategies and devices are going to improve and embrace them. I’m certain the NovoPro will be of great benefit in this new school year because the simple idea of collaborating simultaneously using our 1:1 devices properly and expanding the possibilities of my students to learn in groups and to be mentors of their learning process and others, meanwhile opening up a big scenario of opportunities for this new world where collaboration through technology is increasingly relevant. That is how NovoPro will give my class, my students and my person the opportunity to give our lessons a focus towards the 21st century.

In this current search for ideas that becomes relevant and vital, as always, let’s start from basics with students and the use of NovoPro, as well as planning the first steps through the gradual introduction of this device in our daily routine. I recommend a gradual introduction of the device through tutorials, allowing students to to learn how to activate the tool on their devices, and begin to include it in our lessons. After passing this first phase, I recommend integrating the NovoPro at the beginning of class, asking students for written production activities, where we can review and discuss other students work. For example, this is especially useful for the vocabulary and spelling check in Spanish. Something that I’ve discovered throughout this process is that we must be flexible and tolerant with our ignorance, remember that to be experts we must begin from the basics and reinforce our prior knowledge, because the best mediator is you: the teacher. It is a path from simplicity to effective use of technology in our classes, creating collaborative work environments for the 21st century. That is why the NovoPro gives us the opportunity to create and plan lessons with a greater impact in the new technological educational communities.

As a teacher, I continue to seek opportunities for my students and their educational future in the e-world, because we are the appropriate device to mediate, guide and control the information that our students have access to. NovoPro offers several options and functions to control what we share and how interact during the lessons. For example, with research projects within small groups, students can reinforce social skills, collaborative learning, appropriate online content management, use of devices 1: 1 and group review of the progress of each team. All of these ideas are made possible with the NovoPro in the classroom and the effective belief that through collaboration students can improve and advance in their learning because interacting with their peers complements their skills and improves their difficulties, we make them experts in their area of trust.

That’s why the reason that moves and motivates us as mediators of this process is improving and implementing new technologies, is to make our students digital citizens, responsible for their learning, improving from the opinions and ideas of their peers and growing together from their curiosity.
Do not be discouraged, because like you, I am on this path with you, learning, improving, reviewing and reflecting on my educational practices through the appropriate use of technology, one device at a time.

About the Author
Michelle Coronado is a dual language teacher in Onslow County Schools in North Carolina, where she has worked since 2013. From Caracas, Venezuela, Michelle brings vast experience in various languages and culture to further enhance her fifteen years of teaching experience. As a NovoPro Ambassador the 2016-2017 OCS Tech Savvy Teacher of the Year, Michelle invest her time in learning and incorporating the latest technology into the classroom. Outside of the classroom, Michelle is married with three beautiful children.