NCTIES2025

This presentation describes a grant-funded project in which two teacher educators from a local university and two classroom teachers (first grade and AIG) at a nearby K-8 school have collaborated to develop and implement a “tech buddies” program. In the program, middle grades students mentor and support their younger, first grade buddies to use digital tools for a variety of purposes, including the crafting of narratives to support literacy development (e.g., fairy tale, about me bios, personal digital story). Other activities include coding and using Sphero robots and creating digital artifacts using tools readily and freely available. This project builds on an existing reading buddies’ relationship between the students in both classes and provides the older students opportunities to develop as leaders and the younger students a chance to connect with an older student they can look up to as a role model. The two classroom teachers will also share their growth as technology using teachers and developing leaders at their school.