- This next speaker is a teacher who transformed
her classroom in just a few short months.
Her story blew me out of the water when I heard it
a few months ago, and I knew we had to bring her here.
She's a fourth grade language arts teacher
at Garfield Prep Academy in the southeast district
of Columbia.
Before we bring her out on stage though,
I thought it would be really good if we
could show you a video of what it's really like
with her fourth grade students in DC.
Let's roll that clip.
(calming music)
- Hi baby, good morning.
It's our job as teachers to find the ways
and the tools for personalized learning.
We're unique and we're different,
so we're not all going to learn the same way.
Personalized learning in my classroom
looks like everyone doing the same task,
but in a different way.
- Ms. Graves is amazing.
- She the best reading teacher in the whole world.
- Ms. Graves is, she's a great teacher.
She'll go above and beyond figuring out
what she can do and how she can tailor her instruction
for even just one kid.
- We really do our best to serve the whole child.
I know that teaching is my purpose.
It's why I was put on this earth.
- There's so many different ways kids can learn.
There's no one right way.
- Absolutely, finding that way for that kid,
and then it's off and running for them, you know.
I love Class Notebook.
I've often thought where has this been
my whole entire teaching life?
Now put them together.
- Advice.
- Good job.
This tool is incredible.
It helps my children become more organized.
Everyone's engaged, everyone feels successful.
And that's certainly what I want for all of my children.
I'm so proud of you.
Good job, bud.
- The OneNote Class Notebook helped me because
if I don't know some words I just go to
immersive reader and they can say it for me.
- Oh gosh, immersive reader has helped the comprehension
in my classroom.
I see better fluency.
I see better engagement.
And the kids are taking more ownership.
People who serve tend to forget about themselves.
But it's so important that we take care of ourselves
so that we can take care of others.
OneNote has given me the time back that I need
for my own balance.
And most of all, what I see are students who feel
more confident in their own learning.
(upbeat music)
(applause and cheers)
Good evening, it's an incredible honor to be
surrounded by educators to share my story.
And I want to thank Microsoft Education
for the opportunity.
My story starts here at the Garfield Preparatory Academy
located in southeast Washington DC,
where I have the privilege of serving
some of the smartest, most resilient, amazing
and strongest students around.
98% African American, 100% free and reduced lunch.
13% special education.
It started off as a typical school day last November.
Got my kids in ready to settle down, settle down to learn,
then it happened, destruction.
The beloved laptop that I had been in a faithful
work relationship for the last six years crashed.
Like any good teacher, I played it cool
in front of the class.
Didn't show the panic on my face.
But on the inside I was totally freaking out,
thinking what am I going to do about a laptop?
Where am I going to find a new laptop?
How am I going to get a new laptop?
Where am I going to get it from?
I don't even have time for this kind
of inconvenience in my life.
On top of all of that, there were a classroom
full of fourth graders ready to be taught
right then and there without a computer.
So like any good teacher, I just had to
go old school on them.
Yet I was in denial and without a computer
for many weeks.
Winter break rolls around.
I have a little time to research and explore my options.
I discovered a Microsoft Surface Pro.
And then I thought I think this is the laptop
that I'd like to start my new work relationship with.
While waiting for it to arrive,
I discovered the Microsoft Educator community.
I was intrigued.
What's this?
Professional development courses that I can select
for myself that interests me,
that I can take at my own pace,
and that's full of practical information
that I could use right then and there?
This was different, but I liked it.
One course led to another led to another.
And then I would discover the course
that would, I would discover the course
that would revolutionize my classroom
and instructional practice in guided reading
and close reading, OneNote Class Notebook,
a teacher's all in one.
Yes, give it up for, yes, give it up.
(applause)
I discovered learning tools,
and after realizing how they could support my kids,
I got so hyped.
So I decided to dedicate myself to the paperless process.
With resources being so limited, I had to figure out
how I would get devices into the hands
of all of my students.
So I wrote a grant for DonorsChoose.
I got five tablets funded.
Went to my principal, explained to him
the vision that I had for my classroom
and the resources that I had obtained.
He said great idea Graves,
and I think I'll supply the rest of the devices
so that you can go one to one.
(applause)
I was like, yes!
And I was full of gratitude and excitement.
That lasted all of one minute
because then I realized a new challenge was at hand.
How and when am I going to teach my kids
about Office 365, but most importantly,
how do you use Class Notebook?
I found out that our district is fortunate enough
to have access to a Microsoft learning consultant.
That's him there.
(cheers and applause)
Yes yes, this is Zia Hassan.
Hey Z!
I know he's watching right now.
I reached out to him, and I explained to him
what I wanted to do with my class,
and he was more than happy to come out and support.
I selected the five students that I knew
could learn it quickly and then teach their peers.
Z came out maybe once or twice every two weeks
until all the kids got it.
And we rolled the tablets out five at a times,
five at a time, until everyone was,
until we were one to one.
Now this the point in my story where I have to
address all the school leaders.
If you're a school leader, could you raise your hand please?
Okay, good.
Give it up for the school leaders, yes.
(applause)
But I gotta tell you guys, what I noticed
about Principal Branch is it wasn't a matter
of just throwing technology into my classroom,
he provided the flexibility in our instructional block,
the much needed encouragement to me and my kids,
but most of all, and he provided the human resources.
What do I mean by that?
Well there were timeS when even Principal Branch
was in the classroom helping kids log on to Office,
answering questions about Class Notebook,
and most of all acting like the IT person
in troubleshooting and fixing technology
that was not behaving.
As a result of their constant tactical support,
patience, and encouragement,
some dynamic differentiation took place in my classroom.
If you teach Common Core, you are aware
of the challenges that close reading poses
for struggling readers.
Immersive Reader gives my students the support
that they need by allowing the first read
to be independent without being singled out
and coming to my table so that I could read for them.
I've noticed how they like to turn on the syllable function,
which breaks down each word in the text.
One of my struggling readers told me,
I like to use it because it helps me say the word
on my own.
This tells me that he's practicing his decoding skills.
My students use dictation and audio
to record their answers as a way of maximizing
their class time.
Check out what one of them told me.
That's not the right slide.
Sorry.
Check out what one of them told me
as I was checking through their notebooks
and just stumbled on this audio.
I didn't think I'd have enough time
to finish typing so I tried to talk the answer out
by recording my answer.
I thought it would be quicker because I knew
I had other classwork to finish,
that I needed to finish so that I could go
outside for recess.
(laughter)
For my proficient and high flyers,
learning tools gives them the opportunity
to think beyond the text.
Diving deeper into concepts, content,
and central messages.
And I can't even express the increase
in academic conversation that you hear in my classroom.
When you're listening to a fourth grade conversation
about the Boston Tea Party and you hear
a fourth grader say, where did you get
that source information from?
I don't know if I could trust that.
On the inside, you're like, what?
(applause and cheers)
In addition to learning tools,
Class Notebook has given me the capability
to share a simple running record as I instruct
in guided reading.
While my student is reading on their device,
I annotate the text on mine.
And since OneNote allows us to share the work,
we refresh our screens, have a quick debrief,
and my student walks away from my guided reading table
with a visual record of their miscues.
Imagine how this has changed the conversation
when a parent asks how can I help my student,
my child at home read better?
I provide them with a parent link
to their child's notebook.
And remind them that with Internet connection
and a device, they have everything they need.
Using audio has increased fluency in my classroom.
My students record themselves reading,
play it back, and listen to how they sound.
This has caused many of them to reflect
on their own reading practice.
They are given as many opportunities
as they need or want to re-record
until they sound as smooth as silk.
The look of pride on their faces when they realize
they sound better reading, well that's priceless.
So if I could tell teachers anything,
it would be dive in.
Take time to explore the Microsoft Educator community.
That's where I discovered the ideas and strategies
that transformed my classroom.
Dive in by reaching out to those who can support you.
Dive in, work with what you have
and seek out what you can get.
It wasn't easy, and there were many days
when I wanted to throw in the towel.
I said the old way is easier.
It's more convenient, and it still works too.
But when you look at that face
and realize that the old way is not the best way
for his future, you press forward
and you dedicate yourself to the process.
(applause and cheers)
So my story ends like this.
I am a reading teacher, but after all
destruction led to a discovery that ignited
a dedication, and as a result, dynamic differentiation
is what learning looks like in my classroom.
Thank you.
(applause)
- [Woman] Thank you Merlyn.
- [Merlyn] You're welcome.
- Thank you so much.
Okay, so everyone is so inspired
and they all agree that having a supportive administrator
is really, you're super lucky for that, right.
So for the teachers though that have
an administrator that's got maybe a much bigger
school that they're worried about
or you know have other things that they're focusing on,
what suggestions do you have for the teacher
who is kind of in on it on their own?
Like how could they get started using OneNote?
- Well definitely the Microsoft Educator community.
I mean all week here I've been seeing the words,
find your tribe.
Find your vibe, find your tribe.
And you certainly, I certainly found my tribe
on the Microsoft Educator community.
It's awesome.
- Yeah, thank you again Merlyn.
One more round of applause for her
and her fantastic kids, thank you.