Technology lesson plans

Here are my three lesson plans!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_3hjh6tpsg

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_4hcd8hkhn

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dfqd3d5q_5dszjzjgt

Week 10 - InTime Videobase

One of a young child's favorite activites is drawing and it is often a great tool in learning - used to enhance many lessons. I had not thought before these movies that the drawing and art can be done using technology. Whether it is drawing using a computer, using KidPix or uploading pictures, students can use this art past just turning in a piece of paper. One advantage to using technology in the art is that it is easily accessible to young students. One of the videos showed kindergarteners enjoying using technology to draw. Another advantage is that it can be made into a slide show and shown to the whole class. The other videos showed how they can be encorporated into research - whether the student makes a research presentation or simply to compare the pictures with the information on the internet. One of the most important reasons is that the students love it - you could see from the videos how much fun they were having and that helps to enhance their learning.

Technology in my classroom

In the first grade classroom that I am in, there is not a lot of technology that the students have access to. There are two computers in the classroom, but I have only ever seen the teacher use them. The only time the students have used technology is when they watched part of a movie once, used the smart board for making words and once a group used an electronic math math (a game for the students to touch the number they hear called). Out of all the time I have been there, these things have only been a very small portion of the time. Outside of the classroom however, the students have access to a lot of technology. There are times almost everyday when the students have a chance to do work on computers in one of the many computer labs. The teachers has access to more technology also, many of the teachers simply don't utilize these resources.

I completed the midcourse evaluation and the informed consent.

Science Challenge PLE

I was able to watch the Voice Thread of Lauryn Paul, Leah Barker and Kaitlin Tingey. It was neat to see three completely different projects using probes and Stellarium. Using these technologies takes away many of the inevitable problems that comes with normal observation - things like weather that you can't control, PH strips all over the room, etc.

Doing these science experiments using technology makes it easy enough for all students to use and less of a hassle for the teacher. Plus, everything can be done in the classroom at any time of the day and year! It also allows for class to be facilitated easily in groups so that all students have the opportunity to explore and they also have the opportunity to collaborate. These experiments also follow the Utah Core Curriculum, so the technology is a good investment as they can be used year after year!

Force Plate Science

Here is the voice thread of my science project. (as a side note, make sure to read the text comments by my picture for each slide as well for further reasons why this is a great tool!)

Probes!

According to the Utah Core Standards for 5th grade science, the students must learn that matter is neither created nor destroyed (Objective 1 Describe that matter is neither created nor destroyed even though it may undergo change.
a.Compare the total weight of an object to the weight of its individual parts after being disassembled)
To teach this objective, I will have students use the force plate sensor probe to measure how much force an object give when it is assembled and when it is disassembled.

*The content knowledge being taught is that matter will not be created nor destroyed by showing that the total weight of an object does not change when it is disassembled.
*The pedagogy is hands on experience/experimenting. It is a good fit with the content as science is best taught when hands-on (science as a profession is only done this way, so students feel like scientists and things are better remembered when it is done themselves instead of just being told by the teacher)
*The technology being used is a probe for testing the force/weight exerted by the object and the computer to calculate/graph the force. It is a good fit as students will be able to instantly see that the amount of force exerted by the object is not changed when disassembled.

Tours, tours and more tours!

I really had a fun time watching the tours that others made - it helped me realize more of the cool things one could use the tool for. I was able to go through Daren's tour of religious buildings, Lauryn's tour of communities and Kellie's tour of volcanos. Each used the same tool to do very different things!
Google Earth will be a great tool to use in my classroom as it allows further exploration into the topics studied in class. Not only will they hear the facts that I teach, but they will be able to gather facts for themselves as they look at pictures, the terrain, etc. and they facts that others have posted in reation to the location. It will also help the children remember what they are learning. Espcially for visual learners like myself, a picture helps me learn the information, and especially helps me when I need to recall the information. The only problems with using Google Earth are that in some situations, not all of the children have the ability to see the tour (whether it be that there is not a projector to make it big enough or not enough computers for all to see it on). Also, if students are taking the tour by themselves, it will take time to instruct them on how to use this tool.