Beverly's Academic World: Technology Adoption in Schools

Friday, May 20, 2011

Technology Adoption in Schools

As a middle school teacher who has been teaching for 10 years, I have noticed an increase in the amount of technology in the classroom. I have had the wonderful opportunity to be exposed to a wide variety of technology for the classroom. However, I know that is not the case in all districts. However with the rapid advancement of technology, schools have not been able to keep up with it.

Unfortunately, there have been some barriers for me in integrating technology effectively in my classroom. The main barriers I have experienced have been due to the lack of training and time needed to effectively incorporate the technology I have in my classroom. This barrier is more of a teacher related (me) one as opposed to a resource one. Our district has been hit with budget cuts, we have been fortunate that it has not affected our access to technology. Although I have been very fortunate in the amount of technology I have access to, I have not always had adequate time to find ways to integrate it all. Part of it has to do with trying to balance work and school. Oftentimes, I have had to teach myself how to use it for my grade level and content.

1 comment:

Joanne GilbreathMay 27, 2011 at 12:33 AM
Hi Beverly,

Great job on your blog. Thank you!

Don't be too hard on yourself about learning to integrate tech tools into your instructional day. What we need most when learning something new is TIME. And teachers just don't have a lot of that of regular classroom duties.

I hope this class will give you the opportunity for the key to successful technology learning: play time. The fact that you are learning new skills in the context of your classroom will be very meaningful. Please take some time just to mess around with everything.

It doesn't sound good to tell parents (and politicians) that we need play time to learn new tools and skills, but it really is the key to integration.

Congrats on being close to your degree completion. Well done!
Joanne
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Lesson Plan Summaries

Lesson Plan #1: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to demonstrate their knowledge of 3-D figures. Students will do this by drawing and identifying the shape when a 2-D shape is rotated and translated through space. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Pre-assessment, 2) Direct Instruction-the class will be broken down into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through stations. In the first station, students will rotate 2-D shapes on straws and draw and identify the 3-D shape formed. The next station includes students translating 2-D shapes through moon sand and drawing and identifying the 3-D shape formed. In the 3rd station, students will explore 3-D shapes further on the following website: http://www.learner.org/interactives/geometry/3d_pyramids.html. Students will then log onto their blogs and answer the following question: Which activity did you enjoy and most and why? Students will be assessed in a variety of ways. First, the pre-assessment will be an Anticipation Guide in which they will answer a series of questions. Throughout the lesson, they will fill in a graphic organizer for their rotations and translations. For the post-assessment, students will fill out the Anticipation Guide again.

Lesson Plan #2: The goal/objective of this lesson is for students to add integers using counters, number lines, technology, and the rule. The procedures for this lesson include students taking a Pre-assessment over adding integers. Next, students will be divided into 6 groups of 4 and rotate through 3 stations. In the first station, students will explore adding integers with red and black counters. They will see if they are able to come up with the rule for adding integers. In the second station, students will use number lines to explore adding integers. They will see if the rule they came up with in the 1st station also works in the 2nd station. At the 3rd station, students will continue exploring adding integers by using the following website: www.explorelearning.com/. Students will then log into their blog and explain how to use counters, number lines, and the rule to add integers. Students must include diagrams. The assessments include students taking a pre-test, using the counters, number lines, and rules to add integers, and creating a SmartBoard page and presenting it to the class.

Plan #3: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to find the prime factorization of a whole number using the factor tree and upside-down division methods. The procedure for this lesson was for students to complete Prime Factorization WebQuest (included in the WebQuest links). In the WebQuest, students watched videos and read summaries of how to use the factor tree and upside-down division methods to find the prime factorization of whole numbers. Students kept tracked of what they learned which will be used in designing their final project. The assessments throughout the lesson include taking notes on how to use the factor tree and upside down division methods in order to find the prime factorziation of whole numbers. Students will then use that informatin to choose one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, rap, poem, song, or a storyboard. Students will present their projects to the class.

Lesson Plan #4: The objective/goal of this lesson is for students to create an online animation to show what they learned over the course of the school year. The procedures for this lesson include: 1) Students creating an ABC book (using Word) to define and show an example of the vocabulary words they learned in the 7th grade. 2) Students will then use the site www.exploretree.org.uk/explore/?notice=new_user to create graphic organizers for their vocabulary words. 3) Students will use either of these sites: http://goanimate.com/studio or http://www.xtranormal.com/ to create an online animation. The animation must include a topic/unit covered in the 7th grade, define key vocabulary terms and pictures, explain how to solve at least 3 problems, and give example problems for others to solve. Students will then post a link to their animations on their blogs. The assessments for this lesson include the ABC book and the animation (which will be graded using a rubric).

WebQuest Links

1) Prime Factorization -This WebQuest has students exploring how to find the prime factorization of whole numbers using the factor tree and upside down division methods. Students are then given the choice of presenting what they learned by choosing one of the following activities: PowerPoint presentation, comic strip, storyboards, creating a rap, poem, or song, or creating another method to find the prime factorization of a number.

2) Graphs - This WebQuest has students exploring various types of graphs (bar, line, histogram, line plot, box and whisker plot, scatterplot, circle, and pictograph). Students have to define, explain when best to use, and draw an example of each graph and create a foldable with this information. This page also includes the Hangman Game and a Quiz.