I'll be honest. When I walked into the first day of my Teaching with Technology class I assumed that I had no place there because I had seen and used "it all". For instance, at home I am the technology guru between my two parents, and I figured if I can do that, this class should be a breeze!
Not the case.
There are so many avenues to be explored when teaching with technology. It's not just about learning how to use a SMARTboard or which websites have the best interactive games, but so much more than that. Here are just a few ways that I have been inspired to use technology in my classrooms:
1. Blogs are the writing journals of the twenty-first century! If I ever get the opportunity to work with a junior/intermediate grade level class, I plan to eliminate paper style journals and have students reflect and respond on a personalized blog. I believe print journals are important for the younger primary grades as it gives students an opportunity to practice writing conventions (using punctuation, capitalization, how to form a proper sentence). Also, it is unrealistic to assume students that young are able to use computer technology to communicate their ideas (learning to type is a skill as well remember!) But for the J/I learners, I believe blogs are a really neat way to do daily/weekly journals. Of course, there are logistics to keep in mind, such as privacy, digital footprints, and the teacher acquiring all logins in order to monitor and appropriately assess all work.
2. Online scavenger hunts are a fantastic idea! Though there is evidently a lot of preparation required from the teacher, it allows students to essentially work independently or in small groups to follow the steps and links in their scavenger hunt to find answers on their own, conduct their own research and practice strategies that enable them to master their critical analysis skills by analyzing what they find online.
3. Scoop.It is actually a tool that I just became familiar with today, and I would love to use it as a culminating task. Essentially the program enables users to organize their thoughts and research online for one subject in particular, where they can easily access it to create their own website to share their information. For example, if you were interested in Jack Russell Terriers and had both personal and online resources that you have collected, Scoop.It will help you organize, re-arrange and display information in your own website. I think is a great alternative way for students to collect, organize and present information throughout a unit of study, versus writing an essay or giving a report. Students can create and personalize their own website and have unlimited flexibility on how they decide to share their information.
4. Yoki. What's that you ask? Yokis are talking avatars that can be used in more ways than you may think.
- Students can record themselves and create an avatar that looks just like them as study preparation (reading the information out and hearing it played back are great memorization tools)
- Students who are terrified of public speaking may decide to pre-record their speech through an avatar and simply present the materials while the Yoki speaks for them. It is not the speaking that makes the information relevant, it's the content.
- Teachers can have Yoki's too! Teachers can post their avatar on the class/school website, as information for parents on the goings on in the classroom, or as a resource tool for students with that night's homework/things to remember (for those forgetful students like me!)
5. PhotoPeach takes storytelling to a whole other level. I particularly liked the "spiral" option rather than the regular slideshow version, mainly because without sound, it looks just like a slowed down motion picture. Students can create their own story to read aloud to their classmates while the slideshow they have created plays behind them with pictures that compliment the story. With there being no sound or text, it isn't as distracting and it's up to the student to be an effective storyteller, not the technology, which in this case is just being used as a tool or support.
I've learned that to use technology in teaching you are not hiding behind a fancy light show or constant string of YouTube clips to try and take student's attention away from the fact that they are learning anything, but rather enhancing your lessons with relevant and supportive technological materials that promote student strategy building and creativity.
So get out there and be techtacular!
A
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Live as One
I thought I'd give everyone a glance into my HIGHLY ANTICIPATED graduation trip ......
169 days to go until the 2012 summer Olympic games commence in London, England, and I cannot wait any longer!
The Olympic games are seen as the world's foremost sports competition where up to two-hundred nations come to compete on one stage, with the whole world watching. It is an electricity felt around the world, where for three weeks every man, woman and country are placed on a level playing field, and we stand united.
I believe this attitude is integral in education as well, and so does the Olympic committee! London 2012 has a section on their website dedicated to educators using the games in order to enhance their classrooms and build healthy, culturally educated and confident students. Get Set is the official educational programme of the games to help teachers find resources, ideas and opportunities to make the most out of the games in their classroom. The resources section in particular narrows down your search for the perfect lesson plan or teaching strategy. Categories include:
- age of students
- content type (interactive games, case studies, fact sheet, project ideas, assembly ideas, activity sheets)
- themes (healthy active lifestyles, numeracy, culture, internationalism, leadership, PE and sport, literacy)
Here are just a few examples that I was able to find that relate directly to various strands in the Ontario curriculum:
Health and Physical Education
Physical Education (Daily Physical Activity) - Lead your own Olympic warm-up
(Active Participation: Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six)
(Physical Fitness: Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six)
Healthy Living - SmallSteps4Life program
(Understanding Health Concepts: Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six)
(Making Healthy Choices: Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six)
(Making Connections for Healthy Living: Grade One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six)
Literacy (Language Arts)
Writing/Making connections (Grades Three-Five) - Does you school share the same values as the Olympic games?
Numeracy (Mathematics)
Data Management (Grade Three and Four) - Keeping track of the athlete's scores
Number Sense and Numeration (Grade One and Two) - Countdown until the games begin!
Social Studies
Geography - Where is the Olympic flame going?
(Canada and World Connections: Grade 6 – Canada’s Links to the World)
Citizenship, communication and collaboration
(Heritage and Citizenship: Grade 1 – Relationships, Rules, and Responsibilities)
(Heritage and Citizenship: Grade 2 – Traditions and Celebrations)
You or even one of the students in your next block may not be richer or have the best opportunities than the next person, but we all come from somewhere, and the Olympic games give everyone a chance to be proud of that place, and all that it stands for. Encourage the games in your classroom! I'll be wearing my red and white as proud as a peacock come late July.
A
Olympic Logo Image. (2012). [Online Image]. Retrieved from:
http://www.london2012.com/
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Time to Play [learn]!
Me again!
After previously teaching grade one in my last practicum block, it made me wish that I could just stay six years old forever. All of the work my students were exposed to was fun, interactive, and engaging. Too bad I can't say the same for my four year honours undergraduate program. Where is there a rule that says learning must become boring as you mature? Who was it said that we are all kids at heart? I certainly am.
A resource that I frequently used in my block was Math Playground because it gives you countless games, activities and interactive learning options that covers all the primary/junior grades. Even better? Math Playground offers activities for all five of the mathematic strands (Number Sense and Numeration, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning and Algebra and Data Management and Probability).
A personal teaching favourite concept of mine is graphs, which fall under the Data Management and Probability strand of the Ontario curriculum. Grade ones are learning math using "non-standard units of measure", meaning basically that they use physical exemplars as benchmarks, rather than numerals and equations. An example of this in measurement would be "it takes three chalk brush lengths to measure my arm" or "the tissue box is heavier than a piece of chart paper even though the chart paper is larger". With this in mind, students represent their data collection skills in pictographs, where data is represented by pictures rather than numerals.
As promised, there is really great activity on Math Playground that deals specifically with recording data with tally charts and picture graphs. Here, students are shown either various pictures or a word problems and are asked to organize their pictures and choose the appropriate graphic representation.
The data management and probability expectations this activity covers are:
Overall
1. Collect and organize categorical primary dad and display the data using concrete graphic pictographs, without regard to the order of labels on the horizontal axis
2. Read and describe primary data presented in concerts graphs and pictographs
Specific
1.1 Demonstrate an ability to organize objects into categories by sorting and classifying objects using one attribute (e.g. colour, size) and by describing informal sorting experiences (e.g. helping to put away groceries)
1.2 Collect and organize primary data (e.g. data collected by the class) that is categorical (i.e. that can be organized into categories based on qualities such as colour or hobby), and display the data using one-to-one correspondence, prepared templates of concrete graphs and pictographs (with titles and labels), and a variety of recording methods (e.g. arranging objects, placing stickers, making tally marks)
2.1 Read primary data presented in concrete graphs and pictographs, and describe the data using comparative language (e.g. more students chose the summer than winder as their single favourite season)
2.2. Pose and answer questions about collected data
Moral of this story: it's time to make learning fun again, for all ages, the way it was supposed to be!
A
After previously teaching grade one in my last practicum block, it made me wish that I could just stay six years old forever. All of the work my students were exposed to was fun, interactive, and engaging. Too bad I can't say the same for my four year honours undergraduate program. Where is there a rule that says learning must become boring as you mature? Who was it said that we are all kids at heart? I certainly am.
A resource that I frequently used in my block was Math Playground because it gives you countless games, activities and interactive learning options that covers all the primary/junior grades. Even better? Math Playground offers activities for all five of the mathematic strands (Number Sense and Numeration, Measurement, Geometry and Spatial Sense, Patterning and Algebra and Data Management and Probability).
A personal teaching favourite concept of mine is graphs, which fall under the Data Management and Probability strand of the Ontario curriculum. Grade ones are learning math using "non-standard units of measure", meaning basically that they use physical exemplars as benchmarks, rather than numerals and equations. An example of this in measurement would be "it takes three chalk brush lengths to measure my arm" or "the tissue box is heavier than a piece of chart paper even though the chart paper is larger". With this in mind, students represent their data collection skills in pictographs, where data is represented by pictures rather than numerals.
As promised, there is really great activity on Math Playground that deals specifically with recording data with tally charts and picture graphs. Here, students are shown either various pictures or a word problems and are asked to organize their pictures and choose the appropriate graphic representation.
The data management and probability expectations this activity covers are:
Overall
1. Collect and organize categorical primary dad and display the data using concrete graphic pictographs, without regard to the order of labels on the horizontal axis
2. Read and describe primary data presented in concerts graphs and pictographs
Specific
1.1 Demonstrate an ability to organize objects into categories by sorting and classifying objects using one attribute (e.g. colour, size) and by describing informal sorting experiences (e.g. helping to put away groceries)
1.2 Collect and organize primary data (e.g. data collected by the class) that is categorical (i.e. that can be organized into categories based on qualities such as colour or hobby), and display the data using one-to-one correspondence, prepared templates of concrete graphs and pictographs (with titles and labels), and a variety of recording methods (e.g. arranging objects, placing stickers, making tally marks)
2.1 Read primary data presented in concrete graphs and pictographs, and describe the data using comparative language (e.g. more students chose the summer than winder as their single favourite season)
2.2. Pose and answer questions about collected data
Moral of this story: it's time to make learning fun again, for all ages, the way it was supposed to be!
A
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