Thursday, October 27, 2011

Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of iPads

Technology Reflection Assignment


Description/Experience

The technology demonstrated during the last seminar was the technology and applications used with the iPad. This was really interesting because as technology changes, so does the learning style of the student. All the students are more enthusiastic to learn when using technology because they are learning in different ways other than a lecture. My peers around me felt that students would learn a lot off of the iPad because it is a popular piece of technology that would be a great tool to reinforce the content being learned through the apps.

Application

The learners for my activity would be geared towards Elementary students around the age of first grade because they are the most technologically advanced compared to when I was a student in first grade. The age group is approximately six and seven years old. The learners will gain the understanding and comprehension of the vocabulary words used during a story they are reading during a Language Arts class. At the end of this activity, students will be able to understand the definition of the words used in the story. I will assess the students by giving them a short quiz at the end of the week. I could also assess by asking what each word meant as the class reads through the story. I will know my activity is effective when students answer the questions correctly.

The lesson will begin with introducing the story to the students. I will then hand out the list of vocabulary to the students and discuss the words to see if they already know what they mean. Then I will show the students an application on the iPad called flashcards. The students will already have the vocabulary for the unit in the application. The students will go through the flashcards for the next twenty minutes quizzing themselves on the definition. After that is done, I will pull up a game that matches the definition with the word and pictures. Following the activity, I will read through the story and ask comprehension questions when the vocabulary word comes up. As the other students finish the activity, I will have the students begin their homework, which will be create a story using all of the vocabulary terms and drawing coordinating pictures.

Reflection

The use of this technology may support my teaching strategies in this activity because the students will be actively going through and touching the screen to get a better understanding of the definition. The game will also make it fun for the student because they won’t see it as a lecture, or worksheet. The students will enjoy the touch screen and activities that go on the iPad.

The effective use of the technology may enhance the students’ understanding of the vocabulary because they are not just writing down the definition. They are doing the hands on activity with a popular device that can even be used at home. The students can use this technique on their own iPads at home to study for the weekly vocabulary quizzes the teacher distributes.

--Pedagogy-Content:

I would represent the content by using the words in sentences and explaining the definition as the class reads through the story. I will also have pictures with the word on it to help enhance their understanding. For example, if the word were apple, I would have an apple and the word on the same side of the flashcard on the iPad.

Students of different ages can also use this conception because it can be used to learn any word and study for a definition based quiz or test. I would not really be concerned with any prior knowledge of the students because they would be motivated to use the technology device to learn their words, even if they already knew the words. The only issue would be if the student does not have the iPad at home, he or she can not use this technique to study outside of the school.


--Technology-Pedagogy:

The technology would be used in my activity to help the students comprehend the words and get a better understanding. The main instructional purpose that it would serve would be to allow the student to understand the story as a whole when coming across the new terms.

My technology use would support the way I teach this activity because it would go beyond just lecturing and having the students write down the definition mindlessly. They would be doing hands-on activities utilizing the iPad. For example, the students will be touching the screen to match the term with the definition instead of writing it down word for word. The different classroom management strategies I would need to consider would be if there were rough play, the iPad’s could be broken. I would have to make sure the students understood that this was an option and if the rules were broken, the iPads would not be used during class anymore.


--Technology-Content:

The technology enhances the way the content is being represented because it is not just straight definitions. It will give examples and illustrations during the game. The iPad will enhance the way students practice because if they own an ipad they will be able to use the flashcards on their own to practice the definitions. The students will be thinking about the definition and matching it with the words during the game.


--Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

I think the content can be effectively taught by teaching strategies in this activity because the students will be excited to use the iPad. The iPad is just another way to show the students that learning can be used in and out of the classroom. This will enhance what I teach because I will be able to help the students if they have questions individually. I will also be able to show the students how to complete the activity as a useful resource for studying. I would choose my teaching strategies that suit well to teaching content with this technology as an application process of games. The games will be fun, but not busy work. It will

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Edmoto and Prezi

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience

In our last seminar, the presenter was from Clay-Batelle High School in West Virginia. She presented to us a social network called Edmoto, which is similar to facebook. She showed us that we could post assignment and anything school related on this site. We could also manage what the students are doing/saying and even give them automatic feedback on assignments that they can also turn in on this site. Edmoto is a great tool to get other resources from other teachers. The website is also a great tool for the students to work together online and ask questions when they are at home. We also learned and used Prezi. Prezi is just like powerpoint. This is a great tool for teachers to use because it is all-online and no hard drive is needed to transport the information. It is also a fun tool to use because of the effects that come with the program including different templates, zooming presentation editor, and more. The peers around me all thought these tools were awesome and that would be very useful once we begin teaching. Edmoto and Prezi will definitely be useful for me as a future teacher to incorporate into the classroom especially Prezi as it will be a different way and interesting way to present information.

Application

An instructional activity that could be used in the classroom using Edmoto would be for posting notes with the assignment. The learning outcome would be the students could look back and see what the days main points during the lecture were and also have help while doing their homework through the Internet. The age group this is directed to would be any age level from grade two to twelve. I would assess the students by having an unannounced quiz in class following submitting the assignment the night before to ensure that the activity was effective. This will show if the students actually learned from doing this assignment online, or just wrote down answers and moved on.

In the third grade class, I would first present the notes about the different types of nouns (common nouns and proper nouns). Then I would post those exact notes online to the Edmoto class page. I would then post their assignment full of questions and sentences that would enhance their understanding and have them answer the questions and submit them that night. I would also post a website that could help answer any final questions. Once the class submitted their assignment, the following day I would create a short unannounced pop quiz and assess their knowledge on common nouns and proper nouns.

Reflection

Pedagogy-Content:

I would present the information through power point or prezi, and then include demonstrations on how to figure out which noun is common and proper. I would include many examples and have the students do examples with me. I would also ask questions to make sure the students comprehended the information. The students will be excited and motivated to learn because Edmoto is similar to facebook, which is a very common social networking site in today’s day in age. The students will want to participate and be ready to learn.

Technology:

The students can be put into a class by making an account and receiving a classroom code. There will be small activities for the students to do so they can get accustomed to the program. The accessibility would be easy because the teacher can email the link out or the students can google the website.

Technology-Pedagogy:

The technology will be used the entire time because the students will be turning in their assignments through Edmoto and also receiving their assignments through the class page on Edmoto. The technology could change the way I teach because I won’t have to spend time handing out the assignment, which can sometimes take a long time. I will also be saving paper and will have the lecture notes online ready for the studnets’ use in event they missed something during class. The students may feel it is not necessary to pay attention in class if everything is online that night. I would have to make sure that I only post the main points and not every detail online so the students still pay attention during the lesson. The students will also have a pop quiz the next day so that they pay attention during the online lecture too.

Technology-Content:

This technology changes the way the content is represented because it is not a demonstration, or an explanation. Instead the information is only examples. The technology would be an additional practice outside of class and will also have extra resources to help enhance the comprehension of the content.

Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

The content would be effectively taught because the technology would be an additional site for comprehension and example practice for proper nouns and common nouns. It will also give the students interaction with other students to enhance their understanding. The technology would enhance what to teach by teaching main points in a more interesting way and how to teach by teaching in a variety of ways. I would chose my teaching strategy by picking multiple types of technology that would all relate to one another and to reach out to different types of learners.