Name of Technology used: www.gaggle.net

Name of Intern: Lynn Nahmens

School Name and Location: Rudolph Matas Elementary in Metairie, Louisiana

Grade Level and Subject where technology was applied: Grade 3

Describe the Success Story:

At Rudolph Matas Elementary in Metairie, LA, a third-grade teacher and I collaborated on a project.  She had come to me wanting to know how to create a live homework hotline chat room.  I did some research and approached her with some information about www.gaggle.net.  Gaggle is a safe email environment developed for students and teachers.  The teacher creates accounts for her students and has complete control over the accounts.   She can read students’ email, both sent and received, and she can limit or take away account access.  The teacher can also set up live chat rooms.   You can subscribe to Gaggle, but there is also a free version.

The third-grade teacher was very excited about the possibilities Gaggle offered.  We approached the principal and she gave us the go-ahead.  We also spoke with the Technology Integration Specialist assigned to Matas (by the Jefferson Parish Public School System).  She called a contact from the central office and we discovered that JPPSS had purchased a certain number of accounts for the district and many of the accounts were not being used.  The central office asked for a class list and set up the account for us.  Both the teacher and I were listed as “administrators.”

Our next step in this project was to inform the parents.  The teacher wrote a note home to the parents explaining the premise of Gaggle and how the chat rooms would be used (as homework assistance and study session for tests).  The note offered the parents the option of allowing their students to have their password (they would sign and return the note).  We thought it would be best if the parents decided if the students could have access to the program.  We also explained that it was an earned privilege and that if the student abused the site, they could be restricted.  I am very happy to say that every parent signed their consent.

After giving the students their login and password, the class has had several chat sessions.  The teacher set up at least two one-hour sessions a week.  After a chat session is complete, the teacher closes the chat room so that students cannot chat without supervision or stay up chatting all night.  She also prints a transcript of the session which includes all comments, who commented, and what time the students entered the session.

How did this activity/project benefit the teachers, students and the school?

There are many ways Gaggle can be utilized in the classroom.  Students can email each other (and the teacher).  They can pretend to be a famous person from history and give clues to their identity to the class via email.  There is also a feature that allows students to upload their work to their Locker on the website.  Students’ projects or homework that involved a computer can be turned in this way.  The students are excited to use the chat room, but there have been some instances where further instruction is needed.  If a student uses inappropriate language, he/she is warned or blocked.  This is a great feature, but students have the ability to warn other students even if it is not necessary.  The teacher has had to explain that warning students for “fun” is not acceptable and will have consequences.  The Gaggle Project has been successful this year and we hope to add more classes to it next year.