Hi, I’m Jennifer Dragotta, a 3rd grade teacher from South Carolina. As an educator I wish I had more time and resources. I never seem to have enough time in the day to teach everything I wish or plan everything I want for every child. I often have to go to several different sites to find new resources that I know my students will enjoy. Yet again, this takes time! My students use various websites that promise personalized education, yet most only deliver the same cookie cutter lessons. If the lesson uses a video about basketball, that would be great for students that love basketball and are visual learners. What about the student that learns best by reading? What if the student dislikes sports? Now they’re not as engaged or as excited about the lesson.
Personalized Learning
Then, along came Fishtree and I was very impressed! Fishtree has been a terrific way to incorporate personalized learning quickly without taking up too much time. It allows me to use resources that I already have or resources they’ve found for me which saves a lot of time. I’m able to make a lesson, and then tweak it for individual students without much more work! Plus, my students are able to access it easily at home for extra practice.
Happy Students
But the best part of Fishtree is that my students love it! I have students ask each day if they can get on Fishtree. They enjoy being able to tell me what they liked and what they want me to change. If they have a question, they can send it to me without fear of an entire class listening in. Plus, after pre-testing my students, assigning lessons to them, and giving them posttests, I have seen an improvement in both their test scores (one student made a 40% gain!) as well as their confidence.
More Time in a Day
Overall, Fishtree is a great way to help students learn as well as a quick and easy tool for teachers. The amount of time I spend planning and student achievement are always two things I’m looking to improve. Fishtree has allowed both.
By Jennifer Dragotta, 3rd grade teacher, South Carolina
P.S. Teachers use Fishtree to plan lessons, find standard-aligned teaching resources, create assessments and see students performance, all in one place! If you’re a teacher, use Fishtree to prepare for your class and understand how well each student is learning. What’s more, it’s safe, secure, collaborative and easy! Try the next generation learning platform or contact us for a demo.
Image credits: reynermedia / CC BY 2.0
