Topic 8 - Instruction Technologies Continued

When planning a lesson I think the most important thing to ask yourself is, "What are my objectives?" I think we often design a cool technology project and then try and fit your educational objectives into the project. You have to take a step back and figure out what exactly you are trying to teach and then decide what is the best type of technology you should use. Ask yourself this things: What media would help reinforce this?, What tools do we need?, How do I get from point A to point B and what are all the necessary steps?, What is my end result?

These are questions I have to ask myself when I am trying to plan instruction using technology. After I work through these things, I have to actually create a product myself. I think it is crucial for children to see the end result. They have to know what product they are either creating or using. I like to do things step by step. If I give a bunch of directions up front, I end up losing some of their attention and then they are lost by the time they get back to their computer.

I recently did a project on Google Earth. It was an extension of a writing assignment we had done about trips we had been on. After the writing portion was complete, I e-mailed parents to send me a digital picture of their child on a trip. I then printed a template for each child to write information on the trip. We then learned how to create a push pin on Google Earth where we had traveled. We are still working on this project, but we are doing it step by step. The end result will be a Virtual Vacation Tour and my kids are going to record themselves describing where they went. Many types of media are used here: digital photography, sound/voice/audio, web images, internet tools, different text styles.

This lesson has been so effective for my kids. It is not only a writing project, but a Social Studies project. They get very excited about learning and creating.

Topic 7 - Instructional Technologies

I feel as if I am being introduced to new types of technologies each and every day. While this is very exciting and I love technology, I think that teachers (myself included) can get overwhelmed by the vast amounts of technologies out there. If someone shows me 10 new things I can do and I try to learn all 10 of them, I get lost. I try to embrace one thing at a time.

The biggest change in my teaching career was when I was blessed with Promethean board. It has truly revolutionized the way I teach. As I learn new things I can do on my board, I get excited to use it. It's funny to think about what a big deal it is to my colleagues and me. I guess because we grew up with chalkboards, this is totally out of the ordinary. The kids in my current class have had Promethean boards since they were in kindergarten, so it's all they know. I think you have to take a step back and realize that a laptop to kids is almost like pencil and paper. They are like little sponges just waiting to learn something and they pick up new technology so easily!

I use different types of media almost every day. We love to find videos on United Streaming that reinforce what we are learning, particularly in Science & Social Studies. We have made PowerPoint presentations to teach people about ourselves and teach people about various things we are studying. In these presentations, my students explore different designs, texts, transitions, colors, and layouts. It is a great way to practice writing and even my struggling writers are engaged.

One of the greatest tools that my campus has been blessed with is a COW (computers on wheels). We have one for my grade level, so I'm able to use it whenever we want. You should see the expressions on my students' faces when they see the COW rolling in. I have everyone's attention and everyone is ready to explore, create, and learn.

The most fascinating project I have done with my students is to create their own web page. This was a lengthy process, but definitely worth it. My kids were able to find their own clipart, explore their favorite websites and upload them to their site, practice good design qualities and layouts, and much more. They were able to create a portfolio for their work and show it to their families online.

My district has a technology day every January and we get to choose 2 different things we would like to learn. I love this because you can find something that will interest you and you can pick something that you will most likely use in your classroom. I love the format of this day because it gives you time to totally learn something and learn how to apply it and practice using it. We have a wonderful TIS on our campus and she is always happy to work with us to give us lesson ideas on how we can integrate technology in our classrooms.

Topic 6 Spreadsheet

Spreadsheets
A spreadsheet is a program designed to organize and manipulate numerical data. The information is organized and stored in rows and columns where each position is called a cell. Formulas are used to calculate various data. It helps users manage numbers.

Benefits for teachers:

• Saves time
• Organizes displays of information
• Supports asking "what if" questions
• Increasing motivation to work with mathematics

As a teacher I have used spreadsheets quite a bit. I keep all of my students' grades in an Excel spreadsheet. I have it organized and formatted exactly the way I want it. I have it set up so that it automatically calculates averages for students as well as averages on how the class as a whole does on each assignment. This is helpful to see where my class is struggling and where we are mastering concepts. I also track our benchmark scores in Excel so that I can monitor the progress. My students also LOVE to use Excel. We use it when taking surveys and creating graphs.

Topic 5 Database

A database is a computer program which allows users to store, organize, and manipulate information. This information could be either numberical or text. The most beneficial attribute of a datebase is that they allow people to locate information through shared keyword searches. It is truly like a file cabinet or Rolodex card file. The purpose of a database is to store important information in a way that makes it easy to locate later. Teachers uses databases for the following reasons:

• Reducing data redundancy
• Saving time locating and/or updating information
• Allowing comparisons of information through searches across files
• Helping to reveal relationships among data

As a teacher, I have not personally created a database. That being said, I access our library database all of the time. It makes it EXTREMELY easy to locate books on certain subjects or by certain authors. I am very interested in learning how to use a database in my actual classroom, but I'm not yet sure how I would use one. If anyone has any good ideas for 3rd graders, I would love to hear them!

Google Earth Project

I am currently doing a really neat Google Earth project with my kids! Our TIS is helping me teach it and my kids love it. In the past, I have had my kids bring a picture from a vacation that they have gone on. They use the picture to help them recall their vacation/trips and then they write about it. This year we plotted all of those points with a push pin on Google Earth and their parents have e-mailed digital photos that I have dowloaded. They are going to put their pictures on their push pins and then write a brief description of their picture. We are then going to record a short script of them telling about thier trip. We are going to compile all of these and create a Virtual Vacation Tour. It's going to be really neat!

Topic 3: Model Lessons

Multiplication: Can You Show It?

This is multiplication lesson that helps reinforce the concept of multiplication by using pictoral models of multiplication problems. The students should be familiar with multiplication facts and should have some use with KidPix or Pixie. The teacher starts the lesson by reading a picture book about multiplication. The teacher then creates pictures of multiplication problems. For example, Craig had 3 friends over to play and gave each of them 3 trading cards. How many trading cards did Craig give away. The teacher would draw a model of what this would look like. The children then create their own multiplication pictures using Kidpix or some other drawing software. The students make at least 2 pictures each and the pictures are compiled together (by the teacher) to make a class multiplication movie.

This is something I plan on trying with my students. I have done a similar lesson with my students drawing their pictures on paper. I think they will enjoy doing in on the computer!

Little Read Writing Hood

In this lesson, students read and perfor the play, Red Writing Hood, to see how a character's attempts to solve problems creatively can lead to humorous and unexpected consequences. The lesson will take approximately 7 days. After discussing and reading folktales, fables, and nursery rhymes the students will talk about the problems and solutions in these stories. Students point out the difference in this book is that Little Red Writing Hood is a play. The teacher then assigns parts and students spend the next few days practicing the play. On day 7 the play is performed in front of an audience and video taped.

I think this lesson has some potential, but as it is written it is a little weak. I think lots of technology could be incorpated in this lesson. I would have my students create their own fairytale. They could make story webs using Kidspiration to design the plot. They could also draw scenes using animation. They could either perform their play or it could be displayed on movie maker.

Geometry in Our World

In this lesson, students find real life examples of different geometric shapes, angles, and lines. This lessons reinforces that we don't just see these things in our math book, but we see these things everywhere. Students will use digital camers and will work in groups to find different geometric things. After compiling pictures, groups will work in power point to create a slide show of the different things their group found.

I have done a digital scavenger hunt with my kids, but I like the idea of creating a power point presentation. I think the students will enjoy showing their work to the class. I plan to use this lesson.

Images from:

http://www.ehow.com/

http://www.encuentos.com/

www.cam.k12.is.us/ms/8th/jones

Topic 4 Word Processing

Word processing has perhaps had the greatest technological impact on education. It can be used to support any type of direct instruction or constructivist activity. The three biggest advantages are:

• Saves time - these documents make it very easy for teachers to modify existing materials instead of constantly creating new ones. It is also very east to make corrections.
• Enhances document appearance - the products produced by word processing look much more professional and polished than materials that are handwritten or typed.
• Allows sharing of documents - these documents make it very easy for teachers to share lesson plans. Students can also share ideas and products with each other.

Basic features include: storing for later use, storing in many formats, search and replace, move or copy text, and word wraparound.

Desktop publishing features include: alignment, changing appearance, insert headers/footers, insert colors, graphics, and text boxes.

Language features include: spell-check and grammar-check.

Web features include: inserting "live" URLs and Creating web pages.

Support features include: using templates, voice recognition, and merging text with data files.

As a teacher, I use existing word documents and create new documents every day. There are a plethora of uses for word documents in my classroom. I am in charge of planning math for my grade level. Each week, I type math plans on a word document and e-mail them to my coworkers. I am constantly typing handouts for parents and I print and e-mail them. Our spelling list is created on a word document and posted on my website. This has been especially helpful for my students in case they misplace their list. I have also created different research tools and fill-in-the-blank exercises for my kids to use when researching. I save these on the student public drive and they can access them on their own.

My students also love to create word documents. It makes their writing more novel to them. They think it is fun to publish their work and add pictures and colors. You would never think spelling sentences would be so fun, but my students love to create sentences and add pictures to them. Last year my students also created their own web pages. They had a portfolio of all the work they had created in class. They were able to link all of the documents they had created so they could look at their work anytime and anywhere using an Internet connection.

Word processing has so many benefits that it's hard to sum them all up. It is probably the most commonly used type of technology on our campus. Whether you are a young teacher or a veteran teacher....whether you are "tech savvy" or "tech illiterate" you have created and/or used a word document.

Technology Standards for Teachers

NETS

It is critical that all teachers abide by the NETS standards. As technology continues to change, teachers must take a leadership role to learn new technology and become more proficient in meeting the technology needs of students. Teachers must be designers and facilitators. In order to design effective technology lessons and follow the appropriate TEKS, a teacher must follow these standards on a day to day basis. Students look to the teacher and as teachers we must push our students to their full potential by creating digital-age lessons that utilize the newest forms of technology.

TEKS

The TEKS are the necessary guidelines of what students are supposed to be learning at any given grade level. When designing a lesson, the teacher should first look at the TEKS to know which objectives need to be met. The technology criteria for a specific grade level should be taught and applied within a school year. Teachers need to understand what specific objectives are required of their students in order to effectively plan lessons.

MTT

The Master Technology Teacher takes on a role that promotes technology not only in the classroom, but within the entire campus. The MTT should help peers utilize current technology and help teachers take the next step of embracing new technology. The MTT should model best practices for technology in the classroom. The MTT should use technology as part of the normal classroom routines as well as design lessons that will engage children while integrating technology. Teachers in the building should feel comfortable coming to the MTT for help and the MTT should actively help other teachers who are not as comfortable with technology.

Atomic Learning

My Atomic Learning score was only a 46, which seems rather low. I feel fairly confident in text, numbers and images. Video and sounds are somewhat unfamiliar to me and I think I have lots to learn in these areas.

Technology Goals

• To have a better understanding of blogging so that I can learn how to effectively blog with my students
• To have a better understanding of Web 2.0 and learn new ways to communicate with other classrooms, speakers, etc.
• To learn how to podcast and how to use it in my classroom
• To understand how to use a wiki and when its appropriate use would be
• To utilize all of the technology my district currently has and learn new ways to implement technology

In order to achieve these goals, I need to be proactive in my learning. I need to take an initiative for each one of these items and take the necessary steps for learning and implementation. I will read the materials, participate in discussions and collaborate with my peers.