Chapter 3 Developing Lessons with Technology

Chapter 3 Developing Lessons with Technology

Focus Question- What is meant by “lesson development using technology?”

                                                                                                  

Lesson development or planning normally including looking at learning goals of the time you’re planning for. Most teachers plan their lessons a week at a time.  Teachers create projects, PowerPoints’, or other creative ways to teach that subject.  There are three major elements of teaching lessons:

 1. Academic content or what to teach.

2. Teaching goals, methods, and procedures or how to teach.

3. Learning assessments or how to know what the students have learned. 

There are so many tools and resources to use when planning lessons with technology.  You could use podcasts or blogs like this one.  Teachers could use any of the interactive software. 

Tech Tool

QuizStar is an online test generator.  Teachers can use quiz star to make true and false questions, multiple choice, and short quiz options.  It is online based testing.  Students can access their accounts anywhere that has Internet connection. The teacher can also create different folders to keep the classes and test organized.  I think this software is very cool.  Another cool feature about QuizStar is that teachers can make the quizzes and get immediate feedback.   I see myself using QuizStar as a future teacher.

Summary

In chapter 3, the book talks about the different types of websites and technologies teachers use to plan lessons.  There are numerous recourses that could be incorporated into your daily teaching.  Being a teacher you have to be able to plan lessons that will not only teach the students but also keep them entertained and interested.  Incorporating technology into your lessons will help encourage the students to participate in the class. I am slowly starting the see the value in using technology into my lessons as a future teacher. 

Chapter 2 Transforming Learning with Unique, Powerful Technology

Transforming Learning with Unique, Powerful Technology- Chapter 2

Focus Question- How do students use technology for learning visually?

Being a visual learner as well as having visual acuity problems  I was drawn to this particular question.  Chapter two talks about the different possibly of creating a new more integrated classroom.  By using videos or multimedia presentations are just a few ways to incorporate the visual learners in the classroom.  Personally, I learn best when I can see a chart or presentation.  I can see how using videos or power points would be more helpful than a traditional lecture style class. Not only would the students would be able to participate in their own learning, they could also follow along with the lesson.  In many cases traditional lecture style classes are often hard to follow along or participate in.  Using these new forms of technology will increase the participation of the students. 

Tech Tool: Thinkmap Visual Thesaurus

This tech tool is another way for visual learners took look up words and definitions for words.  You type in the word and then a visual map pops up of all the words that go with your word as well as definitions of those words.  The website categorizes the different parts of speech.  Red for nouns, yellow for adjectives, green for verbs and purple for adverbs.  I really like this tech tool because it lays everything out in a neat organized form.

Summary and Conclusion

This chapter was a little bit better than the first one, but still a little overwhelming.  I think as a future teacher I would be more inclined to use the visuals of technology, such as videos from YouTube, or PowerPoint’s and Prezis.  Being a visual learner I think I would use more visual types of things.  Before I would have just wanted to make posters, but this chapter has given me new ideas about using technology to help and enhance the way visual learners learn.

Chapter 1 Becoming an e-teacher

Becoming an e-Teacher- Chapter One

Focus Question-How do new technologies create new opportunities for teaching and learning?    

Instead of more traditional learning environment, which includes textbooks, lectures, and worksheets, new technologies open up new opportunities to learn.  With these new opportunities students are engaged and actively interacting in their learning experiences.  As I reflect back on my own learning, I have been most successful in classes where I have been engaged and involved.  Last semester in one of my classes my professor assigned moral and social dilemma questions to the class.  He gave everyone a topic to research and prepare to debate.  We were to gather information on both sides of the topic.  Although we presented our research in class, I could have easily written a blog post or created a website to present my topic.  Comparing that class with many of my other classes where the teacher has read straight from the text book and then gave us paper pencil test to gage how much information we retained, I much prefer classes that I have some control over what I’m learning.

Tech Tools Links: 7 Things You Should Know About…

This website has lots of reviews of technology, applications and tools.  I found it to be very helpful.  In about two pages anyone can have a brief summary and description about the product.  In the link below is an example of the summaries. 

http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7027.pdf

Summary and Conclusion

I have never been the tech loving kid.  I use and like my IPhone and computer but I would not choose to blog or do digital things.  I much prefer hands on projects like scrapbooks and posters.  I worry that by introducing more technology to classrooms we risk losing the interpersonal relationships with our students.  Using technology can be a very solitary and individual activity and I have a hard time visualizing how it can be used in primary classrooms in a positive way.