Technology for Education

 The Purpose: For this website, the main goal or purpose is to allow teachers and other educators get an inside peek into new philosophies regarding technology use in the classroom. On this website, you will be able to explore my own personal philosophy and other data that helps you understand why the utilization of technology is so important in the classroom.

 

My Personal Philosophy: I am 25, and I was graduating high school when the technology wave hit schools. The way I see it, technology is going to continue to grow, and we have to grow with it. Should another pandemic, like COVID-19, hit the world again, then students will have access to technology to allow them to participate in remote learning once again. The more students familiarize themselves with technology, the more open they are to new ideas and ways of learning and receiving information. 

 

Equitable Use: Regardless of race, gender, social background, age, or physical ability, all students have access to technology and information.

Ethical Use: Means that students use technology in an honest way, careful to avoid anything that will result in the revoking of their internet use. 

Social Responsibility: Encouraging respectful dialogue, interactions, and utilization of online forums; if you would not say it in the classroom, do not say it online!

 

 

 

 

Three Different Resources and How They are Utilized

1.       EdSurge: Constantly update and inform teachers, educators, and students about the everchanging world of technology; They do podcasts and send out newsletters for students and educators to stay up to date on what is new in the world of edtech.

2.       Learning Assembly: By having educators and technology innovators work together, new ideas about up to date technology and how to produce them are brought up; By doing this, teachers are able to keep up with what technology may be the most beneficial to their class.

3.       Kathy Schrock: Kathy does professional workshops, blogs, tweets, and other forms of communication to keep everyone up to date with technology; Edtech is her passion, so she formed her own ways of keeping others informed.

 

Two Methods or Strategies for Integrating Educational Technology

1.       Blended Learning: Students will use both face-to-face and technology based learning. By having students in an environment where both ideas of teaching are present and utilized, it allows them to explore more ways to learn as well as allow them to gain confidence. For example, I could show students how to do research for a presentation on their favorite Disney book using the actual books to gather information. After they are familiar with this concept, I would show them how to being researching using Google or other online libraries, thus allowing them full confidence and competence in both areas.

2.       Station Learning: Station learning is a great way to integrate technology into the classroom. For example, I would set up three stations so students could solve a math problem, such as 5x+25=45. One station would have just paper and pencil, one station would have a calculator only, and the third station would have pencil, paper, and their calculator. This allows students to learn how to work out a math problem both with and without technology.

Assessing Students and Their Abilities to Utilize Technology

Grade Level & Subject Area: 3^rd Grade US History

State Standard: 3.H.1 Understand how various people and historical events have shaped local communities. 3.H.1.3 Use primary and secondary sources to compare multiple interpretations of various historical symbols and events in local communities.

Tech Tool: Students will visit the website, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/index.cfm, and choose one of the subjects that are linked on this page. When students have their subject in hand, they will use information collected from their article in order to prepare a PowerPoint presentation. The students will learn how their event or figure shaped US History while they also learn how to use research technology.

Informal Assessment: I will use Google Forms to create a one question survey based on what the students learned after they did their research and presented their PowerPoints to the class. The one question will be open ended and will have no right or wrong answers. This will allow me to ensure students are paying attention in class as well as getting to know how to use other technology to keep up with what they have learned.

Summative Assessment: Unlike the survey on Google Forms, students will use Google Forms to take a 10 question quiz. The questions will include questions about their PowerPoint presentation, what they have learned through online technology research, and what they learned about their historical event or figure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Educational Technology Tools to Support Self-Directedness and Independent Learning

1.       Quizlet: Quizlet offers a variety of learning tools such as flashcards, asteroids, and one where students connect the word to the definition. This allows the students to get their brains working and allows them to, in a way, teach themselves and be independent during study time and learning time. It also allows the students to learn in a fun, creative way.

2.       Kahoot: Kahoot is a fun way to let students show off what they know. The game is designed for educators to put in questions and let their students choose corresponding answers on their phone or tablet. This is one of the most utilized tools for teachers.

Examples of Assistive Technology:

1.       Wheelchairs: Students with disabilities that do not allow them to use their lower bodies or their legs, or other unforeseen circumstances, may require a wheelchair. Some of the modern wheelchairs have a navigational stick on them so that the students can control where they want to go. This is a technology that is everchanging, and it is beneficial to all students that need it.

2.       Apps that Read Texts Aloud: Whatever the situation may be some students are unable to speak out loud. For example, if the student has a disability that does not allow them to speak, then they can type in the answer for a question and the app would read it out loud to the teacher and the class. This type of technology would allow students to feel as if they are actively participating in the class.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Work Cited:

We are edsurge. EdSurge. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://www.edsurge.com/about

About Us. Learning Assembly. (2017, July 10). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://learningassembly.org/learning-networks/

About. Kathy Schrock. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://www.kathyschrock.net/about.html

Meet the influencer: Kathy Schrock. Literacy Beat. (2016, March 20). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://literacybeat.com/2016/03/20/meet-the-influencer-kathy-schrock/

Blended learning with station rotations. Creative Educator. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://creativeeducator.tech4learning.com/2016/articles/blended-learning-with-station-rotations

Digital history. UH. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/index.cfm

Google. (n.d.). Google forms: Sign-in. Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://docs.google.com/forms/u/0/?tgif=d

Kahoot! (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://kahoot.it/

Learning tools, flashcards, and Textbook Solutions | quizlet. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://quizlet.com/

Quick reference guide - NC DPI. (n.d.). Retrieved August 19, 2022, from https://www.dpi.nc.gov/media/7138/open