Effective and Appropriate Uses of Education Technology in Science Classrooms by Karen E. Irving. This article was about using technolgy in the classroom with specific content areas(in this case, science) There are many different ways technology can be used to enhance student learning. One tip used was to instead of starting with technology then adding content, first sart with content then choose appropriate technology tools to teach with. This article also discussed some of the best ways to go about implementing the right technology into your lessons.
2. Discuss how your lesson plan does or does not exhibit characteristics of effective technology integration as outlined in the article. Be specific.
The technology lesson plan that was implemented during field did acutally follow some of the advice given in the article. We had chosen our content area which was social studies, then chose our topic, which was pre-revolutionary war, then chose an event, The Boston Massacre, then chose to teach that using a webquest. In the article it said, preservice teachers to identify useful electronic resources, connect those resources to content standards, design lessons that incorporate the resources, and practice teaching the lessons. I had that opportunity by creating my own technology rich lesson plan, complete with standards, technology tools, and had the chance to teach that lesson to a 5th grade class.
3. Describe the implementation of your lesson plan. What went well, what didn't, what did you learn from the experience, etc.My partner and I got the opportunity to work with a 5th grade class. For our technology rich lesson plan we chose to use a webquest. The webquest was based on the Boston Massacre. In the webquest, 3 different roles are assigned, the reporter, the editor, and the cartoonist. The students had worksheets given to them in the lab about their role and used the links to find their answers. After the students found their answers they returned to the classroom and created their article. There were some things in this lesson plan that did not go as well as I had hoped. Some of the links were very confusing and the instructions weren't clear. This caused a lot of confusion in the lab. A handful of students had no problem, so they helped us out by walking around and helping the other students with their worksheets. My partner were running from student to student trying to help them with the links and with the worksheet.
The next day, we decided to re-teach the lesson, using a primary source. We had the students get into groups according to their roles and share answers. The students then felt more confiednt when writing their articles. The students seemed to really enjoy writing their articles and created a great newspaper with their groups. So in the end the plan still worked out, we just had to add a little bit more instruction to make sure the students understood what actually happened in this event.
I learned a lot from doing this lesson plan. I realize now that we should have done the worksheets ourselves first so that we could have helped the students in a more timely manner. We also would have been able to add additional, clear instructions to the worksheets that would have guided to the students in finding the answers. This was a good lesson to learn. I need to be more prepared and in the future, I believe it would have been better to just create my own webquest on the subject.
I will still want to use technology in my classroom, because I feel that it is a great benefit to the students when they get to take charge of their own learning. Rather than use a text book or lecture it was a fun and beneficial way to help students learn. Even though the lesson did not go as I had hoped, I was able to address that by reviewing the subject and letting the students teach each other by sharing what they learned in answering the worksheets.
4. Identify one NETS standard for teachers for which this lesson plan demonstrates your growth as a teacher. Be specific about how this artifact corresponds with and shows your growth in that standard.
NETS-T standard 1 for teachers: 1. 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. In my technology rich lesson plan, I helped and inspired student learning by using a web quest on the Boston Massacre. I allowed students to be in charge of their learning and to find out about this event using this web quest. The students explored many sites with information about this event. They then were able to use their creativity and create a newspaper article with their groups, using the information they had found on the web quest.
5. Identify one NETS standard for students for which this lesson plan will help your students. Be specific about how this artifact corresponds with and helps your students grow in that standard.
NETS-T standard 1 for students is: Creativity and Innovation: Students demonstrate creative thinking, construct knowledge, and develop innovative products and processes using technology. This standard helped these 5th grade students grow in their use of technology by allowing them to search and learn infromation on their own, then they had the opportunity to create a newsarticle with their groups. Next time, this lesson could be enhanced and more standards could be met and help students learn even more.
6. Evaluate your progress regarding technology use over the course of this semester. How has this lesson plan changed your beliefs about technology use? Name two specific areas in which you still need to develop and cite some specific ways that you might improve in those areas.
I feel that I have really grown in my knowledge and use of technology. I have really enjoyed google docs and it is such a useful tool, especially for group projects. I feel like I get group work done 10 times faster than before. I also was surprised at myself with the big projects such as the Web Quest and the Digital Story. It's nice to know that I have those options available to me for future use and I feel that they would enhance my classroom and make it a great learning environment.
I probably could have had a better experience with using technology in the classroom, however I did learn a lot. I know some things that went well with the lesson, what didn't go well, and most importantly, what I can do next time to improve student learning.
My professional goals in teaching with technology include being more prepared in my lessons, especially when it involves the lab because they have such limited time. I would also like to continue practicing using technology. I feel that technology really can enrich the classroom, I just need to stick with it. It would have been very easy to be completely frightened away by the experience I had using technology in the classroom but I feel like next time I know more of what to expect and can plan accordingly. Another goal I have in using technology would to be more familiar with my options and spend the time in using them in my lessons. I may not be perfect at it, but each year I can add or enhance my lessons by using technology.
