Using Technology in Lessons

Classroom technology observation

My mentor teacher was very intimidated by technology. We never used technology in the class unless it was absolutely necessary. We used an overhead projector and tape player for shared reading. Once a week, the lab assistant would bring in a Mac laptop for every student so that they could take their weekly assessment on the literacy skills they learned that week. I would often see Ms. Leighton writing notes on her own laptop. But, honestly, she would try to avoid using technology for teaching or administrative tasks if she could. I think we could have enhanced our lessons with technology.

We had a promethean board installed in the class while I was there. My teacher didn’t know how to use it and so we used the promethean board as a projector screen with the overhead projector. The other cohorts had promethean boards in their class as well and told me how much it helped them teach their lessons. I think the promethean board would be especially useful in teaching math allowing students to learn together and have a visual representation of the mathematical manipulations. I finally had to bring in my own laptop and teaching a vocabulary lesson giving a small group of students visual representations of words. The kids loved my technology lesson and were so engaged! Technology can really help give students a multimodal learning experience allowing them to see things, hear things, and move things, interacting with the promethean board for example.

Two video clips

I watched two video clips--

Inside Kapunahala

Bookends of War

Technology clearly enriches children’s learning experience by allowing them to see, hear and interact with the curriculum they are trying to learn, thus letting them use several of their senses in the learning process, keeping them more engaged. The projects students do with technology provide opportunities for a variety of students of different backgrounds and ages to work together, and peer-tutor to create and accomplish, together.

In both videos, all the students seemed to be very engaged—very excited about their learning experience. Students are proud about what they are able to do with technology—what they are able to make. Technology is so exciting for the children because although it is challenging, students find they have a knack for technology. The challenge makes success so much more satisfying. One student said she loved using the technology because she can take what she learns in class, outside of the classroom and apply those technological skills in real-life experiences.

Another thing I learned from these clips—Using technology can help move assessment away from standardized testing and gives students experience, allowing the teacher to observe their skills in a more realistic and student-friendly way. Also, integration is simple. There is a possible technology application for every subject/topic. You can use technology to enhance any learning experience—students didn’t just feel like they were getting better at using a computer. They saw progress in their speaking skills as well.

Using Technology with Young Children

If I have learned anything while doing my cohort, it has been that students learn better when they are actively participating in the learning process. When I lecture the whole time, they fall asleep. They love to be my volunteers, to do anything where they get to move and interact. Using technology to teach is so engaging for our students. They get to use their eyes, and their ears. They get to explore and discover. These different clips showed how technology allowed students to be the scientists. Technology is so easily integrated into geography, biology, literacy (reading), teaching patterns, writing and drawing, assessments, or internet communication. Also, technology is something our students can pick up computers quickly. It is a fun way for them to learn and they excel. And using technology requires lot of thinking skills. And most importantly, it helps teach students how to access information from different electronic resources which is a skill they will use for the rest of their lives.

Technology Assessment

When I first entered my teachers classroom I had a panic attack because I couldn't see a ceiling projector and I wanted to show a PowerPoint. My teacher took me on a tour of the technology available in her room. She does have a computer projector that sits on a cart. She has a light projector, a television, DVD and VCR players, and a CD player. She even has a tape player at the reading center. There are 3 MAC computers sitting on a counter that we haven't yet used, and the teacher has her own MAC laptop.

There are technologies outside the classroom that are available to us, such as the computer carts that supply students with MAC laptops for testing. There are three technology experts we can call if we need help. I was impressed by how well equipped the school was and I'm certain I'll have fun integrating technology into my lessons.

I have completed the mid-course evaluation and informed consent.

Science Challenge

I viewed and commented on Beth, Mariah, and Kerry's science activities.

Wow, this was a really cool activity for me because it taught me how to use technology to teach an entire lesson. We could leave this voice thread with a substitute if we can't make it to class and we can still teach without even being there. Or, the substitute can get direct instruction from us. Using the voice thread is a great way to pass on knowledge without having to be there in person. I also was extremely impressed with Stellarium. This technology is so effective because it allows the teacher to give direct instruction and then allows for the student to construct their own knowledge. Stellarium is a multimodal presentation that students can interact with and manipulate, allowing them to see the planets move across the sky after it has been explained to them why they appear to be moving like that. Thus, using Stellarium provides a learning experience teachers can't possibly hope to provide without that technology.

There is a downside as well. I went through three computers before I could get this program to work. Technology is not always reliable and I am convinced that we need to have a plan B, always, just in case technology doesn't feel like working when we need it. Also, I don't want students to pay more attention to the technology than they do to me. I want to work with the technology and if one is going to take dominance over the other, I want it to be me:)

Science Challenge

Describe the technology-enhanced science activity that you will be doing.

We are going to be teaching students about the 24-hr rotation of the sun on it's axis. The teacher will be shining a flash-light on a globe. The flashlight (our model of the sun) will remain stationary, while the teacher slowly has the globe turn on it's axis.

As teachers show the bigger picture of why it grows light and dark over a 24-hour period, students will have the opportunity to use the program Stellarium to chose a location and watch, hour by hour (or by shorter intervals) the sun and moon move across the sky. Thus, the students can see an technological representation of the 24-hour revolution of the sun, helping them form connections and giving them a clear representation of what the teacher is modeling.

What is the content you will be focusing on in your science activity?

3rd Grade Science

Standard 1
Students will understand that the shape of Earth and the moon are spherical and that Earth rotates on its axis to produce the appearance of the sun and moon moving through the sky.

Objective 2
Describe the movement of Earth and the moon and the apparent movement of other bodies through the sky.

Indicator c)
Use a model of Earth to demonstrate that Earth rotates on its axis once every 24 hours to produce the night and day cycle.

What is the pedagogy you will be using and why is it a good fit with the content?

We are going to have our students build a conceptual knowledge through "building activity types." Students will have the opportunity to view a presentation/demonstration by the teacher as the teacher models the movement of the sun and the earth in space. Thus, our first step in the pedagogy is to have students gain information from the teacher.

Second, students will have the opportunity to view Images/Objects and do a simulation. This is where Stellarium comes in. Students will use Stellarium to see and examine both the still and moving images of the 24-hour day cycle. They can see the location of the sun and the moon over a 24-hour range. While using this program, students will interact with digital simulations that demonstrate the science content.

This is a good fit for our content because it provides students with a unique opportunity to see for themselves the movement of the earth, sun and moon in a short period of time. Students don't have to go outside, they can see what they wouldn't see otherwise and the big picture comes together quickly. Because the content is so precise and compact, learning will be more efficient, leaving less room for misunderstanding. What an amazing way to learn this content--to see what's happening in space with the teachers model and being able to connect that with the movement of the sun and the moon across the sky. This connection will make the learning session much more powerful.

What is the technology you'll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?

Stellarium is a good fit for the pedagogy because we want our students to learn this content with building activity types. We want our lesson to have a constructivist theme where our students can explore and build their own knowledge. Stellarium allows for students to do their own manipulations. It lets them see an amazing representation of the the movement of the sun and moon across the sky in a time, place, and at a speed, they can choose.

How would you describe the representation of the content produced by the technology you use in your science activity and in what way would it help students better understand the objective you are aiming to teach?

Perhaps it will sound repetitive when I say that students will better understand the objective by having a visual, multimodal representation of the content we intend to teach. The representation of the content is deep, clear and concise. Students are instructed on the scientific reasons behind the 24-hour night and day period. The teacher models in front of the class. Then, students get to explore and discover for themselves. Students get to do the manipulations. They get to teach themselves. Their learning experience is interactive and they are fully engaged because they are conducting their own learning experience. The content specifically stresses the movement of the sun and moon through the sky and the 24-hour cycle. What better way to teach this content than by showing the MOVEMENT of these bodies through the sky? That is an experience students can't get from lecture or a textbook.