"My Experience with Phrazer" in my classroom

Katja K., December 18, 2018

Please introduce yourself with name, title, organization, your role within the Phrazer program and tell me what you are passionate about. 

Nicole Thompson, EL Teacher, Neveln Elementary School. My passion is supporting my English Language Learners in any way I can and having high expectations for their success.  My students come from varying backgrounds and I aim to provide a safe place where they can achieve greatness.  

How does Phrazer support your passion? 

Phrazer has allowed me to incorporate parent/teacher and student communication, which has been proven pretty difficult in the past. Phrazer eliminates barriers, increases involvement and true communication can occur between teacher and family. Students are able to take the Phrazer System home and parents are able see the progress they are making in school. More specifically what they are currently working on in the software program, Independent Reading, and Small Group with individual recommendations on how to support the child’s reading development. Phrazer also supports my passion by offering personalized learning engagements that help the students to progress and succeed. 

How is Phrazer currently used and how does it help your students, parents, staff and system? 

With Phrazer we are able to communicate with parents on a daily and weekly basis, without having to go through the obstacles we typically would. Communication is more positive this way and the parent can see what their child is working on and how they are making progress. Parents can then send the device back to us with any questions, concerns or comments. Phrazer also revolutionizes teaching in class by offering engagements for spelling, dictation, reading fluency, and more. Phrazer’s entertainment portal offers audio books and e-books for several reading levels that help students in their development.

If you think about Phrazer’s capabilities and the future within your system - what are you most excited about? 

We are most excited about the fact that students and parents who speak any language are going to receive the equal education and engagement they deserve. With the growing EL population, parents are missing opportunities to be involved in their child’s education. Phrazer will allow them to have that involvement and empowers our students to achieve their goals. I am also excited about exploring new areas where Phrazer can make a difference. 

If you would describe your experience working GeaCom in three words - which ones would that be? Please explain. 

Innovation, Empowering, Creativity. This is easy since no other school is working on anything like this.  This is the first of its kind to combine medical technology with education to benefit students, families, and our community. I feel empowered by GeaCom because they truly look to me and my co teacher for our knowledge in education. Lastly, we come up with creative solutions and collaborate on achieving our goals.