Technology in the Classroom

My first lesson plan involving technology actually served as an extension to a prior lesson I had taught. The lesson preceding my technology lesson consisted of teaching students how to write a basic message to their parents/guardians, which would be shown to their parents/guardians during Parent-Teacher conferences. Once the students had completed their messages, I instructed them that while we were in the computer lab, they were to create a picture, using Kid Pix, that relates to the content of their messages. For example, if a student wrote about a class party, I would expect that student to create their own picture that represented the class party in his/her own eyes. After a half an hour of computer lab time had passed, I quickly printed off each student's picture and brought them to class. Using the flex camera in the classroom, I invited each student to come up and present his/her picture, if he/she so desired, (I left that option open for anyone who was especially shy, or who did not want to display his/her picture). One by one, the students came up to the flex camera to display and explain the various parts of their picture. As they walked up to the front of the room, I gave them ideas of things they could clarify, like: who was in their picture, why they chose to use certain colors, and what exactly they drew. In carrying out this lesson plan I was pleased to find that the students were highly engaged and excited to complete the task I had assigned. Their pictures turned out amazing and it was fun to hear their individualized explanations for how and why they created their pictures.

Possible Lesson Plan

In collaborating with my cooperating teacher, I have discovered that the students are currently learning about different types of weather. As we planned and discussed, I immediately thought of using Garageband to compile a number of mp3 clips of different weather sounds, (like thunder, rain, and wind) and space them out in 15 second intervals. I would then export my final project to iTunes, where I could use the clip to play during an activity that follows a discussion/instruction on the various types of weather. After the discussion, each of the students would be handed a worksheet that presents a number of labeled pictures of weather in one column that is adjacent to another column comprised of blank lines. As students hear each sound from the clip I have created, they will write a number "1" next to the labeled picture that best represents the sound they heard, a number "2" next to the labeled picture that best represents the second sound they heard, and so on. After all the sounds have been played, we will go over the worksheet as a class.

Technology Inventory for Jordan Ridge

Today my co-teaching partner and I explored Jordan Elementary School in search of the technology that was available both inside the classroom and throughout the school. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this particular elementary school was very well equipped. In each classroom, you will find a projector, a flex camera, a television with VHS capabilities hung in one of the corners of the room, and at least one computer. Furthermore, there is a computer lab with 32 Macintosh computers available for class use. This is an extremely useful asset to the school because it provides students with the opportunity to become more familiar with computers and creative software programs designed for elementary students. Additionally, since the school can afford classes to have rotational computer lab time, students are exposed to exciting programs that are both educational and fun to work on. As I observed my first grade class, I was amazed at the procedures they were taught to use while in the lab, such as using bookmarks on the Safari web browser and computer key shortcuts to exit out of programs. I wish this area of the curriculum was a part of my education growing up!

Adjacent to this computer lab is the school's media center. As we talked with one of the workers, she informed us that there were many other technological aids, such as digital camcorders, cameras, flex cams, projectors, and televisions with DVD capabilities, that teachers could check out. She invited us to explore the other cabinets of the media center to help us with our technology inventory and we were excited to find two GeoSafari Jr. games, AlphaSmart keyboards, sketch projectors, and other cool hardware! This exploration was extremely informative because it gave my partner and I an idea of the technology that is available to us to implement in our future lesson plans.

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1.England	Students will research and draw pictures of at least three goods that were initially gathered from European markets to be placed on the ship sailing for its next destination: Africa. They will also create a map of the first leg of the journey.	Images of ports throughout Europe with an accompanying paragraph describing the numerous European ports, especially those originating in England.
2.West Africa	Students will research what goods from Europe were exchanged for when the European ships reached West Africa. They will then create currency by drawing each good on a 3X5 card and giving each good a specific value (previously assigned). In groups, they will briefly recreate the trading market by using their "goods currency" to trade with other group members in order to achieve a certain good that they were previously assigned to attain. Using the map they created in the first activity, they will then draw the route of the second leg of the journey.	Images of slave traders and auctions of goods in West Africa along with a brief synopsis of the tragedy slave families were put through as they were sold from their families.
3.Caribbean	Students will calculate the overall sum of the distances between West Africa and the Caribbean and from the Caribbean to the Americas. They will then include this third leg of the route on their drawn out maps.	Images of the crammed slave ships along with a description of the poor conditions the slaves had to endure on the ship.
4.Rhode Island	Students will research and make a graphic organizer that includes the different goods sent out from each of the American colonies to be traded in Europe. They will also research and calculate the entire length of time, in months and days, it took one ship to complete the entire trade route. Lastly, they will draw the final leg of the route on the maps they initially drew.	An image of the ship being prepared for its third and final leg home, Europe, accompanied by a brief overview of the kind of maintenance and labor that was required to get the ships ready for the last leg of the trade route.

TPACK for Virtual Tour

This particular project will fulfill Utah's Core Curriculum for Fifth Grade Social Studies. More specifically, it covers Standard 1, Objective 3, a. which states: "Students will understand how the exploration and colonization of North America transformed human history,assess the global impact of cultural and economic diffusion as a result of colonization, and describe the cultural and economic impacts that occurred as a result of trade between North America and other markets (e.g., arts, language, ideas, the beginning and expansion of the slave trade, new agricultural markets)."

The technology that will be introduced and applied is the software program called Google Earth. With the aid of computers, each student will have the opportunity to view a virtual tour of the slave trade that occurred during the establishment of the 13 colonies. At designated spots located on the tour, each student will be asked to accomplish a specific task, activity, calculation, or answer a research question. These activities will be designed so that students learn first-hand about the slave trade, its routes, goods, and ports.

In terms of pedagogy, this virtual tour provides students with an opportunity to interact with technology, engage in personal research, and gain a more accurate scope of the distances between the global markets of that time. Furthermore, this activity helps students to focus on how the economy of the time influenced the colonies' financial stability.

Digital Storytelling Project

TPACK

For this project, I have focused on implementing and fulfilling a few objectives from UEN for the Language Arts Core Curriculum for the third grade.  For example, Standard 1 Objective 2 states that children will, "Develop language through viewing media and presenting."  It is my hope that a project similar to the one I will create will serve as an example for students as they strive to discover language arts through multimedia software.  Standard 5 Objective 2 states that students will develop reading fluency to read aloud grade level text effortlessly without hesitation." Through projects similar to this one, I would have students choose a grade-level appropriate poem or prose to implement, via narration, in their final multimedia project.  This exercise will encourage students to practice their fluency in reading and speaking since they are aware that their final project, including their narration, will be heard by the rest of the class.  Lastly, Standard 8 Objective 6 (f. and g.) states that students will, "Share writing with others using illustrations, graphs, and/or charts to add meaning," and "Publish 4-6 individual projects."  This type of project can count towards students' overall portfolio of projects and also provides an opportunity for students to share their illustrations, and other forms of artistry to their fellow students.

The technology that will be incorporated includes anywhere from computers, to media software, to digital and video cameras, to microphones, etc.

As for pedagogy, this project, and others similar to it, allow students to discover a variety of technology as well as learn how to implement it in a final project.  Furthermore, after completing a project of their own, students' confidence increases, contributing to their overall self-esteem.