Technology Integration Plan

My technology integration project is for fifth grade and involves the students learning about the various biomes on Earth (tundra, taiga, desert, prairie, deciduous forest). To do this project, students will be using Google maps, personal blogs on Blogger, videos, and digital stories. Students will also be learning how to research using various print and electronic sources.

For this lesson, students will be divided into five groups of five and each group will be assigned to one of five biomes: tundra, taiga, prairie, deciduous forest, and desert. Within the groups, each member will be studying a different aspect of the biome: animals, plants, geology, weather, and astronomy. To help the students, I will create a Google Map for them that outlines where all five biomes are in North America. By using only North America, the map will be more relatable and much less overwhelming than looking at the biomes on a world map.

In doing research, the students will have several tools. The first two are Google Maps and Google Earth. As I just said, I will create a map outlining the biomes for the students, but they can also use the terrain setting on Google maps to look at the topography of their biome. Students can also use Google Earth to look more closely at where their biome is and what it looks like. From here, students will be using books provided in class and the Internet to research their part of their biome. Students must use both print and electronic resources and cross-check information before using it. This will help teach students the basics of how to do good research. As the students are researching, they will record their research on their student blog. This research can be in paragraphs or bullet points, but it must be in complete sentences, because I want the students to work on formal writing. Throughout the year, I will use student blogs on Blogger, so these will already be set up and the students will be familiar with them. Each student in a group is required to look at the research of their group members to get a better idea of their biome as a whole before beginning the final project. I am using blogs for this project, because they can be shared easily and because I can monitor each students' progress. It will be obvious to me if certain students are not participating equally in the group by looking at their research on the blog. This gives me one way of assessing students individually as opposed to assessing as a full group.

The final project can either be done as a video or digital story. Students can choose which kind of technology they want to use and can present their biome in any way using this technology. The final project must include all five aspects of the biome and all students in a group must participate in creating it. When the project is complete, all students will post their group project on their personal blog. Possible project ideas I would give the students are:

Digital Story: find pictures to represent biome, strictly present information/facts, make up a song/rap to go with the pictures, public service announcement, use writing and/or voice to present information on the digital story, save the biome!

Video: create a television show, public service announcement, interview "people from the biome", news show, save the biome!

I chose these two technologies for presenting information, because in my experience many students do not get to use them in school. They are a fun and visual way to present information and require the students to be creative and really understand the various aspects of the biome. It is also a more stress-free way of assessing the students, because it does not require them to get up in front of the class and speak. I think students will get a lot out of the biome project, because of the various types of new technology involved.

In doing this project, I want my students to learn more about their biome and about the biomes of the other groups. By focusing on a specific aspect of one biome, students will be able to do more in-depth research and gain a better understanding of their topic. Also, because each student has their own aspect of a biome and each group is responsible for a different biome, students will be teaching each other. Many times learning from someone your own age leads to better understanding of the topic at hand. Also, incorporating collaborative group work gets the students involved in their own learning and keeps them from getting board with mundane seat work. Many students learn better when they work with others, so including group work will strengthen the learning of the students.

Podcasting

https://www.msu.edu/~flackje1/geometryphotostory.wmv

https://www.msu.edu/~flackje1/geometryquizpodcast.mp3


These two lessons are both geometry-based and I would use them in fourth grade. These lessons can be backed up by this GLCE: Identify basic geometric shapes including isosceles, equilateral, and right triangles, and use their properties to solve problems (G.GS.04.02). The first lesson I would teach is about learning how to describe and draw geometric figures. This is a photostory where students describe and draw geometric figures to practice the proper names and apperance of each figure. The second lesson is a short quiz given through an audio podcast. This helps students see where they might still be struggling so they can review only what they do not know.

Teachers can use podcasting in a variety of ways. The main way I have seen podcasting used that I really like is to have students do news and radio reports about various topics. This type of activity teaches students about different subject areas like endangered species or sports and gives them the opportunity to present this information in a creative way. Audio podcasts such as these also give students practice speaking in either formal or informal ways. Teachers can also use podcasting the way I did: to present a lesson. While I do not think this is the best way to teach a lesson, it may be a good refresher for students as they are completing homework later on.

Properly Citing Images

Photo Attribution:

Original Image: "Vatican Museum Spiral Stairs"
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/74/202549889_5ac726093b.jpg
Author: nathangibbs

Released under an Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/deed.en

Before doing this assignment, I would have told the student to do the wrong thing. Usually what I do is search for images on google, copy and paste it where I need it, and include a link to the picture or website where the picture can be found. This is what I would have told the student to do. While this still gives some credit to the person who originally posted the picture, there is no way of being sure that the photo is allowed to be used and what kind, if any, license it has. Also, the picture may not even be the original; many times there is no way of knowing.

After doing this assignment, I know what to tell the student. I would tell her that the easiest way would be to search FlickrCC or CCSearch (I personally prefer FlickrCC). In doing this, she will know the images she is finding are the originals and that she has permission to use them. Then, I would have her cite the picture in the way I did above using the original title, image link, author, license type, and license link. I would have her embed the image and license links and also have the picture itself link back to the original page where she found the picture. While this takes a little longer than my previous method using google image search, it is a way to guarantee the original author gets the credit they deserve.

Digital Stories

For my digital story, I decided to make a video to share with my students as part of a unit. The hardest and most time consuming part of the whole project was finding pictures to use. While there are several pictures online on the topic of seasons, many were too complex and detailed for the level I want to teach this lesson at. Once I found the pictures I wanted, I was easily able to upload them onto VoiceThread. The rest of the process went smoothly and I am very satisfied with the product. This was a very easy-to-use software that I would definitely use later on in my teaching.

Digital stories can be used in a variety of ways in several subjects in school. The first way I thought of using it was to tell the story of a famous or historical person like Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa. I think talking about someone's life through a digital story would be very beneficial to students, because it is a meaningful way to hear about the life of an influential human being. Digital stories can also be used the way I chose: to present science information. I think seeing pictures along with hearing/reading captions is an excellent way to teach science concepts because it caters to auditory and visual learners. Also, many science concepts can be taught best with pictures, making story boards very useful. One way digital stories could be used in language arts is to summarize a book or story. Students could use pictures they find on the internet or pictures scanned in from the book to create a recap they could present to their classmates. This would help the students who read the book to understand it more thoroughly, because they are teaching it to someone else. It also gives the other students information about the book, possibly inspiring them to read it themselves. Finally, story boards can be used to display student work. Teachers could have students complete a project and present it on a story board. The students could then make a recording explaining their project, why they did it, and what they learned. Teachers could display this story board on a public blog in order for parents to see what their children have been doing at school.

Organizing the Internet

My first experience using technology to teach a lesson was last semester when I taught about earthquakes using a Powerpoint presentation. My fourth grade students had never seen anything like that before and were in awe when I brought up the presentation. This showed me how much students enjoy seeing and/or using new technologies to learn material in school. The lesson unit for sixth grade I created is about plate tectonics and involves using different websites, online activities, and student blogs to learn the information. The GLCEs and METS to back up this lesson are as follows:

E.SE.06.51-Explain plate tectonic movement and how the lithospheric plates move centimeters each year.

E.SE.06.53-Describe layers of the Earth as a lithosphere (crust and upper mantle), convecting mantle, and dense metallic core.

Social, Ethical, and Human Issues #9-Identify uses of technology to support communication with peers, family, or school personnel

Technology Productivity Tools #2-Use a variety of technology resources, including the internet, to increase learning and productivity

Technology Communication Tools #1-Use a variety of telecommunication tools (e.g., e-mail, discussion groups, IM, chat rooms, blogs, video-conferences, web conferences) or other online resources to collaborate interactively with peers, experts, and other audiences

In my delicious account, I saved 5 websites that I will use in my lesson unit. The tag bundle I used CEP 416: Plate Tectonics Unit. Within this tag bundle, I have three different tags: survey, earth, and plates.

The first website I will use on Monday is under the tag "Earth" and will help students review the layers of the earth. The game on the website is similar to Who Wants to be a Millionaire and requires the students to answer various questions about the layers of the earth. The students will perform this activity as a group in order to refresh their knowledge on the layers of the earth. For homework on Monday night, I will give each student a list of questions about plate tectonics. They will need to answer these questions themselves and also survey one other person not in our class. After they finish this activity, the students will post their results on their student blogs and read the blogs of others' to find similarities and differences in responses.

On Tuesday, the students will learn about oceanic and continental plates. I will use part of a website on the theory of plate tectonics to refresh my memory before teaching this lesson. I will also use information and pictures from the website and incorporate them into a Powerpoint presentation for my students. On this day, students will learn the differences in composition and density of the two kinds of plates, knowledge they will use in the rest of the unit.

On Wednesday, students will work in pairs or small groups on computers using an interactive resource called Mountain Maker, Earth Shaker. This technology allows students view the cross-section of the earth's crust and move the different plates. This allows students to see what happens at different kinds of plate boundaries.

The next day, I will facilitate an edible plates activity I found online. In this lesson, students will use frosting (mantle), a fruit roll-up (oceanic crust), and a graham cracker (continental crust) to create models of convergent, divergent, and transverse plate boundaries. This is a review of Wednesday's lesson and will allow me to see how much the students understand the concept of plate boundaries. It is a fun activity that can be eaten afterwards.

On Friday, we will discuss the survey results that each student posted on their blog. The students will look for common misconceptions about plate tectonics and explain why they are wrong. This will also allow the students to look at their previous answers and see how much they learned during the plate tectonics unit.

Map Mashup

View Larger Map

I would use this map with sixth graders to help them understand crops in the United States. This mashup shows the general regions where the five most highly produced crops in the United States are grown (corn, soybeans, hay, wheat, and cotton). In the descriptions there are descriptions, pictures, and links to help the students learn more about each kind of crop and how it is used. In using this in a classroom, I would divide my students into five groups leaving each group responsible for one crop. It would be up to the group to use the resources on the map and any additional resources they want to use to learn about their crop, where it is grown in the US, and how it is used. I would also have the students use their knowledge of US climate to determine what the optimum growth climate for each crop. For example, students could determine that cotton grows better in a hot, dry environment than the other crops do. This will help students learn about a new subject by incorporating prior knowledge.

Making the Internet Work for You

For the RSS assignment, I decided to find resources for parents who are looking for study tools their children can use. The first resource I found was a study skills blog with links to various tools like a speed reading checker, an online spelling bee for young learners, and some mental focusing techniques. This is an easy to navigate tool that is geared toward elementary schoolers, and it is an excellent resource to give parents to use with their children. The second resource I discovered is called Study Prof. This is a study resource for junior high and high school students that includes posts about estimating percents in your head, practicing vocabulary, and writing papers. The majority of this site is devoted to enhancing literacy skills to use in school and on tests. The third resource I found is called ESL Tutor and was created by a teacher who specializes in teaching ESL students. The blog features several links including conversation topics for ESL classrooms, idioms, and accent reduction and pronunciation tips. While this blog is aimed at ESL students, several of the resources can be altered for native English speakers.

In my future classroom, I would probably use RSS feeds to keep track of student work and to assist parents in finding various resources. If I teach in an upper elementary classroom, I would have each student create their own blogs where they would complete several assignments. The main assignments I would like the students to post on their blogs are podcasts where they find creative ways of broadcasting information on topics covered in class. For younger students, each child could take a turn broadcasting the weather report each day. When using RSS feeds for parents, I would give them access to their child's blogs to keep them updated on what they are doing in class. I would also provide study tools, book recommendations, behavioral management techniques, and other resources parents may ask me about. While I might use RSS feeds for professional development, most of the websites I have found in the past with excellent resources do not contain RSS feeds. However, if I do come across one that I like that uses RSS, I would definitely add it to my Google Reader.