My definition of instructional technology is the integration of technology into daily lesson plans so that the entire core curriculum is enhanced, reinforced and sometimes provides initial instruction. Examples would be Orchard- a software program that teaches or reinforces the math, reading and science curriculum. As you teach time in the classroom, students can go to the lab and play an interactive time game. The program offers activities that reinforce grammar, writing, reading and science. It is a truly wonderful program, which spans the K-12curriculium. There are also many internet sites available to further instruction that is appropriate for students, such as starfall.com and harcourtmath.com. I worked in a K-5 computer lab as a TA for 3 ½ years, however, there was no teacher in there with me. I ran an Orchard, K-8 lab for a year. I created my own lesson plans. Second graders had to create a timeline of their life. They normally completed a poster. We planned a parent involvement night where the students brought in pictures, which we helped them scan into the computer and the parents helped them import the pictures into the Timeliner program. They typed a line about the picture and we printed them out. It was an educational experience for both the parents and the students. Fifth graders completed a unit on poetry. They wrote their poems in class and for homework. When they came to the lab, they brought their graded poems, then typed, and printed them for the teacher. She graded the printed version and we made corrections. In art class, they illustrated their poems. We scanned the illustrations into the computer. At the end of the unit, we printed the poems and illustrations on special paper and sent them to a book company, which bound a free hardback book for each student. For Latin American Month we paired a second grader and a seventh grader and had them conduct research on an assigned Latin American. Together they created 5 ½ x 5 ½ slides in PowerPoint. We printed the slides and glued them to a 6 x 6 box, which were displayed in the Media center. I used that same template to create class quilts for grades 3-5. The students used a digital camera, took pictures of other classmates and uploaded them to the computers. Students placed his or her picture and four words that described them on a slide. We glued them together to form the quilt, which was presented to the teacher to hang in the classroom or hallway. The quilt helped to create a learning community with each class. Third graders had to pretend to be on vacation and create a postcard in publisher, writing a note home to mom as part of their writing curriculum.
I truly love technology and I love to see the kids get excited about learning while using the computer.
5 comments:
I love the way you integrated all of the core subjects and technology so seamlessly.
I like how you started right out stressing the integration of the technology and the content.
You touched on a very good point about instructional technology that reinforces other lessons (grammar, writing, etc.) At our school, we have implemented a program called Writing Across the Curriculum that utilizes the same concept so that no matter the subject, the student will learn to write correctly.
I really like the word integration in your definition. For the longest time I thought technology had to be the center focus of a lesson. Once I realized that it could be integrated into what I already do and enhance my instruction it opened up a whole new world. Your explanations of your work in the computer lab are great examples of this.
You asked on my blog if I geocahed. I have only actually done it twice. Once when a teammate had a grant to get GPS devices and let me borrow them for my class-and once in a school training. We only have one class set of GPS devices for the county--so they are tough to get. I think they are a great way to get kids excited about learning and using technology though!
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