Final Technology Project

1st Grade Writing and Technology Project
NETS For Students:
Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
NETS For Teachers:
Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments

Students will be graded on how well they follow instructions, essentially. The NETS for students will be accomplished in this project because students are thinking creatively to create these paragraphs. They will use knowledge from their own work and the work of others to develop a product, which will be their wordle. The teacher will facilitate experiences that advance student learning and creativity in a face-to-face environment for the portion of the project when students are working together to create paragraphs. The wordle is a virtual activity that advances student learning. Students are using many EALR’s and GLE’s for writing in this project.
1. The student understands and uses a writing process.
1.1 Prewrites to generate ideas and plan writing.
1.3 Revises to improve text.
1.4 Edits text.
3. The student writes clearly and effectively.
3.3 Knows and applies writing conventions appropriate for the grade level.
4. The student analyzes and evaluates the effectiveness of written work.
4.1 Analyzes and evaluates others’ and own writing.
Tech Project Plan
1. Students will write five sentences about why they like winter.
2. Students will identify and underline all of the nouns in their paragraph.
3. Students will be paired off and will edit one another's work.
4. Students will turn their five sentences in to the teacher to be looked over once more.
5. Students will create a finished project from template in wiki that has a hand-drawn picture in the top box and a typed paragraph (their 5 sentences) in the bottom half of the page. They will use Microsoft Word to complete this assignment. Students may use whatever font they desire. All the nouns in their paragraph must be underlined.
6. The class will create a wordle document together using all the nouns from students' paragraphs.

Comments

Angela-Technology Project
Stephanie-Reflection #9
Peter- Reflection#11
Jodie- Week 14 Reflection
Drew-Reflection 9

End of Semester Reflection

This semester, I have learned so much regarding technology! To begin with the basics, I learned how to operate a SmartBoard and a document camera, two things I was terrified of when the semester began. But more than that, I learned that technology is important. When it is incorporated into the curriculum in a thoughtful and constructive manner, it engages students and gets them involved in their learning! At the beginning of the semester I felt strongly that technology was scary and difficult to incorporate into lessons, and that it took away from education. Which it can if used incorrectly. But when used correctly, education is an important educational tool.


Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

I incorporated my NETS for teachers into my lesson plans and final project well. I created projects that allow the teacher to experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments.

Creativity and Innovation
Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

The projects I created for students to complete allow them to do just this: demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.
I will carry on the NETS for students and teachers into my curriculum when I become a teacher. They are a useful tool for identifying whether technology is being used as a tool or becoming a hindrence to learning.

Reflection #12

http://faculty.tamu-commerce.edu/espinoza/s/ellis-b-657.html

I enjoyed browsing the links on this site that go to different online magazines, experiment ideas, museums, online organizations and programs, and links where students can ask a real-life scientist questions! Using this site as a resource gives the teacher an opportunity to allow students to participate in their learning and it makes learning fun! Students will love hearing back from a real life scientist, and looking at other students' experiments for ideas for their own!

Reflection #11

http://www.edzone.net/~mwestern/elemath.html

I decided to share this website because it shares a bunch of different ways to incorporate technology into elementary math, from computer games to online flashcards, to class projects. Often times math is a least favorite subject of students and teachers, and if teachers can incorporate fun and engaging learning tools for students, students will learn better.

Reflection #10

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/schools/tweeting-vs-reading-the-row-over-technology-in-primary-schools-1659591.html

I found this article to be very interesting. The idea of teaching technology to elementary school students surely has both pros and cons. Teaching students about Twitter and allowing them access to handheld technology can help their research and self-expression skills, but at what expense? Will students stop reading books for fun in favor of picking up a phone or laptop and browsing the internet? The article also points out that children are not instinctually digital natives, a matter that is debateable. As teachers, we must figure out what the balance is between incorporating technology into the curriculum and over-using it at students' expense.

Reflection #9

The other day in class Chelsea shared a story about a little girl. Her mom asked the daughter what time it was, and the child said, "I don't know, I don't have an iphone with me." The story was cute, but it made me think...this is the ugly side of the rapid technological advances we are seeing in society today. Skills such as learning to tell time, and even learning to read and write could become less important as time goes on, and eventually some of these things may not be valued by the educational system at all. Students are typing much more than hand writing things, and it is rare to see a house without a digital clock. Now I realize it is unlikely teachers will ever stop teaching students how to read and write, but what about telling time? Will there come a day when no one really finds that skill useful, when a clock without a digital display becomes an out-dated, out-of-use antique? It is important to keep up with the advances of technology, and to teach using technology. But at what point does technology begin to take away valuable aspects of education?

Reflection #8

The child in the Ted Talks video completely blew my mind. Here is another example where a child does something with technology that I would never dream someone in sixth grade could accomplish. In this instance, however, I believe I am not alone in being shocked. The thing is, now this child is passing on his knowledge to other kids, and soon no one will think twice about a 3rd, 2nd, even a 1st grader creating apps for the ipad. If at all financially possible, more schools should create programs that give children an avenue for learning more about technology and physically creating things. This is a wonderful way to get students excited about learning!

Reflection #7

It really is amazing how much more children know today about technology, and how quickly they catch on. The other day I was babysitting Jodee's son Grayson, who is just beginning to learn how to read. We were watching legoland movies on my laptop and without being able to read any of the text on the screen, he was able to completely navigate the page without any of my help. He figured out how to make the screen full screen, moved back and forth between the home page and video pages...he just figured it out. Students today can do far more than I personally would expect, even young students. This means 1) I need to constantly be up on new and upcoming technology and
2) I need to be sure not to underestimate the abilities of my students.

Tech Project Plan

1. Students will write five sentences about why they like winter.
2. Students will identify and underline all of the nouns in their paragraph.
3. Students will be paired off and will edit one another's work.
4. Students will turn their five sentences in to the teacher to be looked over once more.
5. Students will create a finished project from template in wiki that has a hand-drawn picture in the top box and a typed paragraph (their 5 sentences) in the bottom half of the page. They will use Microsoft Word to complete this assignment. Students may use whatever font they desire. All the nouns in their paragraph must be underlined.
6. The class will create a wordle document together using all the nouns from students' paragraphs.

Week 14

I found an article called ‘Classroom Technology for the Future’ on meetingtomorrow.com. It discussed 4 major technological tools that are being used in the classroom now and will continue to evolve to be used in the future. These include: computers, projectors, elmos and smart boards. This article was helpful because before reading it I did not know what an Elmo was. Now I do : )

Week 13

In Word, I use the editing tools, header and footer, different fonts, the page layout tools on a regular basis. I don’t use Powerpoint a whole lot. When I do, it’s just the basics. I create different slides with different layouts. In excel, I use the Insert tools to insert cells and delete tool to delete cells. To have my kids learn and use Word, Excel or Powerpoint, I could have them create a multi-colored, multi font paragraph using sentences constructed in class. I could have them create a powerpoint show about their favorite things, for a show and tell sort of presentation. For excel, I could have them log their physical activity/exercise over a month.

Week 12

5,000 students and 120 teachers from a broad range of schools participated in a study conducted by Dr. Marzano about the effects of technology in education. The study found that achievement is, on average, 16 percentage points higher in classrooms that use interactive learning technology than those that do not. It was two years long and consisted of half of the classrooms being equipped with a smart board, and half without. Those that integrated the smart board into the lesson were more successful than those classes that did not.

Week 11

http://1stgradelearningstars.blogspot.com/2011/04/dino-color-by-numbers.html?showComment=1320800807693#c4333744010029481659

I am doing a math lesson for first grade for my Instructional Design. This teacher's color by number picture gave me a great idea for a worksheet for my lesson. Hopefully my comment helped other teachers/parents/people in general think of ways they could incorporate a similar worksheet into a lesson for their students or children.

Assignment 4 Part I

Week 8

18 October, 2011
Alphabet falls is an adorable game on pbskids.org. It is designed to help kids practice their alphabet skills, so it would probably be best for kindergarten-aged kids. It makes noise and is cololrful, which they would love.

Week 9

"Caught on Video" had a lot of very good points. It is a whole lot easier to track students' understanding and progress in video form than by a simple letter grade. I'm not sure I agree with doing away with the current grading system. But I think videos can be a great tool in addition to grades for students to learn and show their peers and parents what they have and are learning in class.

Reflection #6

Chelsea shared this website yesterday in Instructional design:

edc448uri.wikispaces.com/file/view/40_ways_to_leave_a_lesson.pdf

I have found it incredibly helpful for that class, and will use it in the future as a teacher. Often times, when we have finished a lesson, we struggle with how to wrap it all up. I know as a student many times teachers didn't really close up a lesson, or did so in the same repetitive, corny way day after day. I don't want to be one of those teachers. I want to keep students engaged and on their toes and I think some of these closure ideas will help me to do so.

Reflection #5

Technology is very useful in the classroom. However, there should always be a plan B. For example, one of my professors graciously created a powerpoint slideshow for every lecture he gives. He did this so that the students in class wouldn't have to purchase a textbook, because the textbook was expensive. Anyway, one day the projector was not working and he had to cancel class. His teaching style is very beneficial to students, but without a plan B we missed out on being tested on a whole class period's worth of notes.

Reflection #4

Miss Gehrke uses a random name selector to call on students sometimes. It is so brilliant! I did not know they existed. This way things are fair and she can not be called out for favoring students. Plus it just looks cool. She did a give-away of small prizes as a reward the other day in class. Students got so excited and cheered for their classmates when they won a prize. As a teacher, this random name selector would also be good for checking for understanding. The teacher could use it to call on students to answer questions. Students won't feel he/she is "calling them out" that way, because it's random!

Reflection #3

The teacher I help out for the AVID program uses a smart board for everything! She never uses the white board underneath. Every day when students come in they sit down and the schedule for the day is up on the smart board. If Miss Gehrke needs to make any adjustments to the schedule she picks up the pen and adds it on. It seems to be effective. Students know the routine, which helps as well, and they love to come up to the SmartBoard and add things in when Miss Gehrke asks them to do so.

Reflection #2

In Instructional Design we learned how to use the document camera. I had never used one prior so it took me a little while, but I realized how useful one of those can be in the classroom. Now I feel comfortable enough with them to use one! They are quite helpful when trying to show students something specific on a handout, or when reading through something with students. I know it helps me to see what the professor is reading from, as I learn visually.

Reflection #1

I observed a teacher using a smartboard in a 4th grade classroom. It was for a math lesson. She had the students come up and solve problems on it. Most students were engaged in the lesson and I learned how to use a few more tools. Once the smartboard lesson ended and students were to work on worksheets in their math groups, the majority of students very quickly began talking about other things amongst themselves and most students were off task. This makes me think about how I will run my classroom as a teacher. It's important to incorporate technology because that often captivates the students' attention. However, there should be a balance. Everything can't be taught using technology and teachers should not use technology as a crutch.

Blogs I Commented On

These are the blogs I thoughtfully and insightfully commented on:

Jodie-Reflection 6
Drew-Reflection 6
Peter-Week 9
Beth-Reflection 6
Chelsea-Reflection 7
Jodee-Reading Games
Kyle-Reflection 3
Stephanie-Reflection 5
Cassie-Reflection 6
Angela-Reflection 4

Glog for realsies

Glog

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NETS

September 8, 2011

NETS For Students:

Creativity and Innovation
	Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology.

NETS For Teachers:

Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

September 11, 2011

                Prensky made a lot of very good points in his article. Education is taking a turn, and as someone who is much closer to the Digital Natives side of things, I can agree. It is a lot easier for me to learn from a movie or podcast than a professor lecturing. Any time you can combine visual teaching with audio will help catch more of the students' attention as well. 

Scenario

Elementary, 15 students, 3 gifted program, 2 SPED, one with Autism. Available tech: Access to a cart with 30 laptops, shared with one other classroom, Document camera, Flip video camera available for checkout from library.

My First Blog

My First Blog

I think technology can be used as a great tool to enhance student learning in the classroom. However, I am both technologically impaired and old-fashioned. The idea of using a lot of technology in my classroom when I become a teacher worries me, especially because I plan on teaching young children. I read about an elementary school teacher who did not allow any handwriting in his class; everything was to be typed. His doing away with handwritten work, to me seems to put his students at a disadvantage. I recognize that in today's world technology is ever-evolving, and children now-a-days are quite tech savvy, but I worry that over-using technology in class puts students at a disadvantage. I hope to learn to use technology in class in a way that enhances learning.

Blog #5: Smartboards

I learned how to operate a smart board. Before this lesson, I knew nothing. So today I learned how to drag things and how to use the crazy-colored pen.  I was very overwhelmed when first introduced to the smartboard but now it’s so fun and I appreciate its importance in the classroom.

            My lesson is a math lesson for a first grade class. Using gumballs, the students will help solve number problems. I will use the dragging tool as well as the crazy colored marker, calling on students to solve number problems. http://exchange.smarttech.com/details.html?id=dd26d41d-fa67-484f-acd1-56b1e991a5f5

            Activboards are quite similar to smartboards but have more features. Also you can draw without the pen, a feature I really appreciate. An article published after the second round of activboards came out states, “The long-term use of interactive whiteboards (i.e. for more than two years) improves the engagement of pupils through the use of high quality still and moving visuals, sound and interaction and increases the dialogue between teachers and pupils.” I agree! I can totally see how students would be more engaged with the use of an activboard. The article mentions that you can use an “ELMO” with the activboard. What is an ELMO?

www.prometheanworld.com/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.5181 -

Blog #6: Generation I.M.

October 4, 2011

Prior to reading this article, I knew that children today enjoy using technology. So the fact that children ages 8 to 18 use 6.5 hours outside of school using media per day did not come as too much of a shock to me. However, I was very surprised to learn that over half of preschoolers use a computer. I want to teach kindergarten and figured I could get away with using little technology in the classroom. That appears to not be possible now. I would use technology in a science classroom by having students, after every chapter completed, do a review involving media. They could make a blog post, create a podcast, or a video.