Ambassador of the Week: Robert Wind
Ambassador Robert is fairly new to our community, but that doesn’t mean he’s new to sharing Osmo games. Robert goes out of his way to talk about the magic and wonder of Osmo to everyone and anyone who will listen! He has also shown incredible ingenuity in the ways he uses Osmo with his students. Robert teaches English to ELL/ELA students in middle school and high school and he has found that using Osmo to enrich his curriculum makes a world of a difference! So much so that he’s caught the attention of news stations. Robert, your wealth of Osmo knowledge is formidable and your willingness to share our games is truly humbling. Thank you so much! And keep up the good work!
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Mr. Wind, in his own words:
- I became an Osmo ambassador to share the platform with others. It does not matter if I am at the chiropractor getting an adjustment or on the golf course discussing parenting—I always mention the efficacy of Osmo for early learning. I give Osmo Genius Starter Kit games as gifts to friends and family who have young children.
- Last year, I was a media specialist at a middle school and the Osmo station remained out and utilized all year long. I especially loved using Osmo Masterpiece as our maker space center. I recall one girl drawing a family portrait, from a photo she had, for her mother for Mother’s Day.
- As a Literacy Specialist (Reading Teacher), I immediately saw Osmo Words as a tool that has limitless potential in today’s classrooms. I began making word sets that morphed Words Their Way word sorts with the Osmo Words platform. I used this with my daughter for two years while teaching her on the weekends and summers prior to Kindergarten.
- After three years outside of the classroom, two years as a reading coach and one year as a media specialist, I have returned to a 10th grade English classroom teaching struggling readers and English Language Learners (ELLs). I knew from the beginning that Osmo would need to be a station in my classroom. It took me until November to figure out how to incorporate it with 15- and 16-year-old students. I decided to use Osmo Words for my students to simply increase their vocabulary. After a while, I noticed I couldn’t get the students to utilize the words they were learning or to stop using their native language at the station. The other dilemma I was having is that I was not giving my ELLs enough opportunities to speak and write in English. That’s when it hit me: I needed to adapt Osmo Words and Coding to provide opportunities for my students to speak and write in English. I created companion sheets for my students to keep in their interactive journals and made minor adjustments along the way. Now my students write sentences in English about what Awbie is doing in Osmo Coding. They also record their words from Osmo interactive word games for kids on the companion sheets and then look them up later to incorporate into their interactive journals. Thus far, Osmo has been the missing link in my secondary English classroom.
What the Osmonauts in Mr. Wind’s class are saying:
“Osmo Coding games help me to learn how to write in English.” ~ Olivia
“Osmo Words helps me to learn new English vocabulary words.”
~ Olivia
“Using Osmo Words and Coding makes learning English fun because we get to talk to each other about the new vocabulary.” ~ Gianna
“Osmo coding games for kids is a fun way to learn to write sentences in English that I could not write before.” ~ Josefa
Want to see more from the talented Mr. Wind? Check out his YouTube video and channel.
