EDCT 203: Tech Plan

Technology Integration Plan

I plan to incorporate appropriate educational technologies in my classroom to teach Earth and Space Sciences to ninth and tenth graders. I intend for these technologies to help me identify the background and interests of my students as well at their instructional and resource needs. I also hope for my students to learn on a deeper level through the use of varied and interesting technological techniques. I must be sure to maintain equality and a sense of balance in the classroom. Technology can be an incredible aid for learning but can also create a divide between students with diverse social economic status and, therefore, access to computers; we will spend a few class periods in the school computer lab to ensure access for all students and to make the best use of valuable class time. Also, learning happens best by doing so I will be sure to impress upon my students the need to put technology aside and experience the natural world often.

My plan for the year is to use Wikis, online surveys, blogs, interactive PowerPoint lectures and quizzes, Podcasts, and Webquest in my classroom. I will first introduce my students to my Wiki page, to which I will post PowerPoints and other class materials as well as links to external resources for reference. Students can update the site with new information they find on our topics of focus. This will be a good procedural step to show my students what material we will be covering and how they are to access course materials when necessary. The entire first week of class will be devoted to familiarizing with the Wiki and taking personality surveys, learning style surveys, and pre-tests online with ‘Google forms’. Online surveys are useful to analyze the background knowledge, interests and capabilities of the students in my class. It would also be quite useful to administer pre-tests and post-tests online since such activities are, although very useful, repetitive and not directly educational. Pre and Post-tests can provide a means to assess achievement of my goals for each unit by comparing student knowledge on a subject prior to and after instruction.

After I have gotten to know my students I will know more specifically how to carry on but I plan to begin more structured lesson plans to teach standardized material. The first unit I will cover is Earth systems and surface features. At the end of a month long unit, my students will be able to, as indicated by the ODE Academic Content Standards, explain Earth’s system processes and explain the processes that move and shape Earth's surface. The first unit assignment will use ‘blogspot.com’. Student Blogs will be great for submitting assignments so that all students have access to each others’ knowledge and opinions. I will only assign detailed article summaries or opinionated assignments to prevent cheating. The first assignment will introduce our first unit and requires students to find current news about a geological event anywhere in the world. They must upload photos or maps of their location and summarize current happenings and research.

I will make PowerPoints for each week and will incorporate quiz questions. I must be sure to give each child a chance to answer each day. I will utilize PowerPoint lectures to teach more basic, introductory material and vocabulary to my students and by incorporating quiz questions I can not only monitor learning comprehension but also assign participation points per question to enhance attentiveness during lectures. I will compliment my weekly PowerPoint lectures with’ Audacity’ Podcasts, which are a great way to send parts of a lecture home with students. For lessons that are particularly challenging, a Podcast would be perfect for students to repeatedly listen to important concepts while completing homework assignments.

Each Friday I will administer a weekly comprehension quiz on paper. After we grade the quizzes in class and clarify any misunderstandings and difficulties, I will ask that my students complete a blog assignment where they address their incorrectly answered quiz questions as well as anything they would like me to clarify from the week’s lesson. I will modify my presentations based on overall weekly comprehension and online blog feedback. I also plan to assign regular comprehensive take-home essays, which can be posted on blogs, to induce a deeper level of thinking and understanding on a topic.

The second week into the year I will introduce my Webquest, which will address the intended standards and provide an additional means for student assessment. The Webquest will incorporate aspects from field trips we take or daily activities and laboratories. Webquest will be great to incorporate new elements each month for an extended semester project; by introducing my students to the Webquest early on, they will have the opportunity to access and work on the project throughout the lesson. For my first unit, the Webquest will require students to locate a geographical feature near their home. This could be a mountain, stream, lake, sedimentary rock, etc. If no geological features are easily accessible to a student, he or she can take advantage of ‘Google Earth’ to complete the project. After identification, students will describe what Earth processes occurred to result in the particular feature and they will make multiple visits to monitor changes and become familiarized with the ecosystems surrounding the feature.

I will document this process by saving all of my online creations and compiling them onto an RSS feed. This way, I will have access to work from myself and my students to show future employers. I will also keep detailed notes of how to create each online tool and take note of assessments to determine success.

4 Discussions

1) My grade for Assignment four is posted so I assume you found all of my posts.

2) An Insect's Perspective
one comment on the 'conclusion' page
one response on the 'process' page
one response on the 'task' page
one comment on 'evaluation' page

Four Seasons
one comment on 'evaluation' page
one response on the 'intro' page
one response on 'task' page
one comment on 'evaluation' page

Rosetta Stone
one comment on 'student presentations'
one comment on 'citations'
one comment on 'british team'

Review of Algebra
one response on 'introduction'
one response on 'task'
one comment on 'process'

3) 2 comments and 2 responses

4) 2 comments and 2 responses

There are more but these are all that I found.

EDCT 203: Assignment 3

For this assignment, we were to create an interactive and informative PowerPoint including quiz questions for comprehension assessment. My PowerPoint was a basic introduction to the skeletal system geared towards a tenth grade biology class. The concepts were very simple and in my classroom I would include much more information throughout the unit but the idea of an interactive PowerPoint is great and something I will absolutely utilize as an educator. Especially with science, media presentations are very helpful to convey the large amounts of factual knowledge that students are expected to understand. I could use these easily in a Biology, Chemistry, or Physics class. PowerPoint presentations can become tedious and boring and students' minds tend to wander. By incorporating questions throughout the presentation, students are kept in check and the teacher can make sure they are paying attention.

The process of incorporating a quiz in a PowerPoint presentation is surprisingly quite simple. Additional 'Correct' and 'Incorrect' slides must be added after each question and then internal hyperlinks formed between the answer choices and the appropriate 'correct' and 'incorrect' slides. Also, you add internal hyperlinks to the 'correct' and 'incorrect' slides to go to the next question or back to the original question, respectively.

EDCT 203: Assignment 2

After developing my Wiki-Space, I see that the site could be of excellent use to bring units of a lesson together is one place for students to comment on and update. I could potentially develop a very basic learning page and have an assignment for students to update the page with information they find about the topic. In general, it is a useful way to spread knowledge and have corrections or comments updated to the page directly from friends and colleagues who may have input.

In my science content area, I could post equations and instructions for chemistry or physics on my wiki space and have students add comments about specific troubles they may be having so I can address these complications in class. For a biology class I could add pages about different topics we are studying and have students add information as they see relevant. It would be useful for students to post what they are interested in learning about or what the need help with on a common space.

Regarding standards, today I modeled digital-age work and learning by utilizing a modern technology that my students can use in their own lives and using it in such a way that my students will be able to learn through interaction and communication based on specific topics.

EDCT 203: Assignment 12

a) Do you think technology can facilitate learning? Why and why not?

I think that technology can absolutely be utilized as a tool to facilitate learning, but certain steps must be taken to ensure that the benefits of technology use outweigh the negative effects. The internet brings immeasurable knowledge to an easily accessible central network, which can be great for obtaining necessary information at the click of a mouse but also takes the thought out of assignments for certain students. Some pupils abuse the wealth of knowledge and develop 'copy, paste' syndrome.

Some websites, such as DimDim, make collaborations between students fun and easy and hence facilitate involvement and contribution but teachers will, of course, encounter the same problems as with personal group work; some students carry the work load while others piggy-back their way to a good grade with very little effort.

The biggest issue I see with technology use is that it feeds the already widening achievement gap between  upper and lower class students. Children without access to technology will inevitably not do as well in a class that involves much technology use. And schools that are able to provide adequate computer labs and other technologies are often those attended by higher end students, leaving the poor computer-less students without support to improve their marketability in today's technological society.

b) What are the factors that affect our decisions on whether and how we will use a technology in our classes or not?

Factors that will affect my decision to use technology in my classroom are availability of technology, standards, lesson plan objectives, and student attitudes. If my students do not have regular access to efficient technology, I will not incorporate assignments that require at home involvement and I will always provide alternative assignments for my students who are not fortunate enough to live in a technologically savvy home. The standards I am required to address and my resulting lesson plans will also affect how I use technology in my classroom. Standards for high school science do not have a tendency to incorporate computer skills into the curriculum and I do not anticipate using much time teaching instructional technology lessons. Lastly, if I have a group of mature students who desire to learn and are actively involved in classroom lessons, I will be much more likely to incorporate fun lessons involving technology. If I have a group of unfocused students who do not understand how to properly use technology for productive purposed in school, I will have a much harder time including technology in my lesson plans.

Google Maps

Here is a map, made with google maps, showing some of the most memorable places in my life:
My Home Map

EDCT 203 Assignment 11

My podcast is intended for use the night before a Chemistry Lab. Hearing the explanation and steps prior to completing the in-class lab activity will reiterate concepts and aid in the students' overall understanding. The podcast would also be available for students to listen to while reading step-by-step details during lab. My students would be required to record observations and answer post-lab questions; the podcast provides basic information for these questions, but I would also provide further guidance in-class. I obtained my information from Ohio University's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry's Chem 123 Lab Manual.

The file is too large to upload on blogspot, so I uploaded the file to Blackboard.