Reflecting on the Teamie

How do you manage learning in your school or district? During my time in Orange County Public Schools,  we used a variety of learning management systems. We used eClass, and Edmodo, and Progress Book, and Blackboard, and Crystal Reports, and Google Classroom and I'm sure I am not remembering all of the tools and digital shift. After all, when I started teaching we were still issuing progress reports mid-quarter in triplicate and grades were recorded by hand and delivered to the guidance department. It's been a minute.

Each platform of the past had a specific purpose or function. I remember when Digital Learning at the district moved to LaunchPad to give users a single-sign on opportunity. That move, organizationally, made a huge difference for teaching and learning: finally, every portal, program or platform was in one spot.  

We're shifting systems here in Singapore. Shift happens year to year  everywhere I imagine. As new technologies and tools are developed, we educators move into new spaces.  I've been playing in one our new spaces, Teamie. 

Teamie is a  self-described teaching and learning ecosystem. I appreciate that metaphor. 

As a teacher, I can build units in Teamie, do quick check ins on Teamie, deliver assessments via Teamie and assess and evaluate those pieces right in Teamie. I appreciate the streamlined workflow! Here's a picture of a recent in-class formative analysis. 

Learners had 15 minutes or so to use their envelope annotation notes to write a quick analysis paragraph.  You can see that Google docs seamlessly connects with Teamie from the imported file below. Unlike our current platform, Schoology, with Teamie, students can still see, edit, collaborate on and revise their work even after it has been submitted to Teamie. I like that feature. 

I also like how, unlike Schoology, I can use Google comments, and text editing features right from Teamie. Plus, as you can see at the bottom of the page, I can attach a rubric.  

The rubrics come from the standards (or from customized descriptions) and skills can be flexibly picked or grouped. I love that I can mark it and comment on each strand of the rubric. I also love how I can select different strands from different standards--- flexible and fluid--that kind of pick and choose feature helps me tailor assessment tools. I could even create different rubrics for differentiated formative practice that I could assign to various small groups and individuals. I'm still learning, so I have not maximized the grouping and differentiation features yet. 

I'm also still learning about the gradebook feature. Below is a quick peek at the standards-based grade book with names removed. The rubric view pictured is one of three options. The color-coding based on recent assessments gives me an at-a-glance look at learners -- love it!

The learning is good and I've only just begun. 

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