Introduction

Hauppauge Union Free School District is a public school district located in Long Island, New York. Hauppauge has five schools and over 3,200 students. The district takes pride in its excellent reputation for academics, arts, and athletics, which it maintains through a high standard of learning for all of its students.

Problem

In her role as Technology Integration Specialist, Leslie Brophy is always looking for new technologies to assist staff and students. When she came across Mote, she was impressed by its simplicity and how easily it integrated within the Google Suite. 

As Leslie notes, “for teachers, it’s so easy. Mote is right there and all teachers need to do is press a button.” Beyond its accessibility, Leslie also came away impressed with Mote’s resources. With myriad templates in the Learning Hub and an ever-growing video library on Mote’s YouTube page, it was easy for Leslie to push Mote out to staff and for them to take it up. In fact, as Leslie and the Mote team reviewed her usage data, she shared how impressed she was by “non-techy” teachers’ usage.  

Solution

As Leslie pushed out Mote during Professional Development sessions, there were two areas where Mote especially resonated. 

First, Mote provided a major scaffold for teachers of students with learning differences. As one staff member noted, not only is Mote a “good tool for leaving feedback on assignments,” but it also helps with “collaborative assignments,” in which students partner with one another. The reason that Mote is so powerful for students with learning differences is because it removes barriers to learning. For a student that may feel anxious reading their teacher or peer’s feedback, Mote gives them the option to listen to that same feedback and hear the sender’s warmth, tone, and humor. Having this option allows for greater access to learning because it grants multiple points of entry as well as a human touch.

Beyond serving as a powerful scaffold, Mote also helped Hauppauge bolster its world language courses. Like for many language departments, it was difficult for world language teachers to get their students sufficient opportunity to practice speaking. Mote helped solve this issue. Already integrated with Google Classroom, Slides, and Forms, world language teachers now had the opportunity to record questions in the language of instruction and prompt students to respond in that language. As one world language teacher shared, 

"I love Mote because it is easy for students and teachers to use….I will post a speaking task in Google Classroom and students simply attach their Mote recording to the assignment."

For both students and teachers, this integration is a win. Teachers can easily give their students more at-bats, and students have a fun and engaging way to practice their emerging language skills. 

Conclusion

Simple and integrated with the tools that teachers know and love, Mote has provided a boon to learning at Hauppauge. With a quick push of a button, Mote helps students with learning differences more easily access instruction, just as it opens opportunities for language learners to practice their speaking and listening. All in all, Mote makes learning easier.

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