Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Ipads

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience
The technology presented to us in the last seminar was the Ipad.  Ipads are touchscreen tablet computers that can be used to do many things including surfing the internet, reading books, listening to music, and playing games.  On the Ipad, one has the ability to download many applications, which are programs that can be used for different things.  From this presentation, I learned that there are many educational applications, which means that the Ipad can be a very beneficial tool in the classroom if used properly and with the supervision and help of a teacher. 

Application
I designed this activity with my first grade class at my PDS in mind, but it can be modified and used for almost any elementary school class.  This activity involves the use of the “Scrabble” app, which is just like the classic board game.  The app gives you the option of playing someone else who has the app on their Ipad or IPhone, or you can just pass the Ipad back and forth and play with someone who is next to you.  At the end of this activity, students will be more comfortable with their spelling words for that week. 

Each week my class, as well as most classes, gets a list of ten spelling words.  They do a worksheet using the words and then have to write sentences using each one of them.  After completing those assignments, the students can each partner up with a classmate who has also finished.  Together they can play a game of Scrabble using the app and try to use as many of their spelling words as possible in it.  The teacher could give out some sort of prize or extra credit for every spelling word used.  She could also have them incorporate any other vocabulary would that she wants them to know and be comfortable with.  The teacher would know that the activity is effective by how well the students do in the game and how many spelling words each student uses.

Reflection

--Pedagogy-Content:

I think that some students might come into this activity thinking that Scrabble is too hard for them if they are not good spellers.  I believe that most of them will be comfortable with using the Ipads, but some of them might not be so it is good that they will have a partner there to help them.  The students will have gone over the words and should know them well by the time they do this activity, so none of them should be too uncomfortable and should be successful in playing the game. 

--Technology-Pedagogy:

The technology used in this activity is used as a tool to increase the students’ understanding and familiarity with their spelling words as well as other words that they are able to spell.  The teacher will need to keep a watchful eye over the students as they are playing this game in pairs, to make sure that the Ipads are being used in the proper way.  The teacher will also need to make sure that there is no arguing or problems among students as they play the game.

--Technology-Content:

This technology enhances the content because it will help the students become more familiar with their spelling words and increase their ability to spell them.  Without this technology, the students might not know the words as well and they might have to do other worksheets or something to get the same amount of practice.

--Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

The technology in this activity is used more as a tool to increase the students’ familiarity with certain words.  It also causes them to really think and come up with other words that they know, because they are obviously not going to be able to play one of their spelling words on every single turn. 

Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Edmodo

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience

The technology demonstrated in the last seminar was a tool called Edmodo.  It is a free social networking site that can be used by both teachers and students for educational purposes.  Each student makes their own profile and when the teacher posts an assignment for them, they can post their completed assignment onto the site to be looked over and graded by the teacher.  Students are also able to help each other out by answering questions posted by their classmates.   Teachers also have the ability to reward badges to students who do a good job on their assignments.  If I was teaching middle school, I would definitely consider using this technology because I feel like it is something that students can actually enjoy.  I also like that they can post questions and help each other out if someone is having trouble with an assignment.

Application

I have been placed in a first grade classroom, so doing any activity or assignment using Edmodo would be somewhat difficult and each student would need help.  I think that the best way to use this technology would be to have an activity for the students to complete at home so that they can have the help of their parents since many of them are not able to spell, type, or use a computer on their own.  Unfortunately many parents do not have too much time to help their children so I think it would be best if it was a math activity.  This way the children would only have to type numbers and would not require as much help from their parents once they got onto the website.  There is a first grade math objective that states students must learn to “round any two-digit number to the nearest 10.”  The teacher would first spend about half an hour or so teaching the students about rounding numbers to the nearest 10.  She could also do several example problems with the class to make sure that they understand the concept.  Then for homework that night, the children could go onto Edmodo with their parents and complete a worksheet that the teacher has posted.  The worksheet could have several numbers that must be rounded to the nearest 10 on it and a place for the children to type in their answers.  They could then post their completed worksheet onto Edmodo to be graded by their teacher.  The effectiveness of this activity would be determined by the grade that the students receive on the assignment.

Reflection

Pedagogy-Content:

In order to help students, the teacher can post example problems to remind them of the content that they had learned earlier that day.  They will be forced to build upon their previous knowledge about numbers and counting and use it in order to round and complete the assignment.  However, the teacher would still need to make sure that she went over the content well enough to be sure that all of the students are capable of completing the activity on their own.

Technology:

Edmodo is helpful because it connects students with their classmates as well as their teacher even when they are at home.  This technology is easily accessible to anyone with access to the internet.  Once you are taught how to use it, it is easy to use and understand especially for students today because it is similar to Facebook, which is something that most students in middle school and older are familiar with.  It is also easy for students to see the assignments that their teacher has posted, complete them, and then turn them in on the website.

Technology-Pedagogy:

In my activity, Edmodo was used as more of a tool to review concepts that the students had been taught in school that day.  It would not really change the way the activity was taught, but it would make it easier for both the students and the teacher.  For example, the students are not able to lose their assignment like they would if the teacher had printed out a worksheet for them to complete.  The teacher must monitor what is going on and what students are saying on Edmodo to ensure that they are not misusing it.

Technology-Content:

Since the assignment will be posted on the internet, the teacher also has the ability to post helpful tools for students to use along with it.  If she finds a helpful website that is about rounding, she can post a link to it on Edmodo.  This would assist students having trouble with their assignment or just remind the students of what they had learned earlier that day if they had forgotten.  Hopefully these additional tools would help the students understand the content even more than they would if the teacher had just given them a worksheet to complete for homework.

Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

As long as the students become familiar with Edmodo and learn how to use it properly, they can benefit a lot out of it.  The teacher could make it a regular occurrence that when they learn a new concept, she can post helpful review worksheets in order to give them more practice and ensure that they understand the concepts.  She can also post tools and other websites in order to help the children who are having problems.  In a lower grade, like first grade, I think this technology is most appropriate for reviewing and practicing, but in older grades it can be used as a tool to have students explore new concepts before they are taught them.