Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Ipads

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience

In our previous seminar we learned about the use of Ipads in a current teacher’s classroom. The device is an electronic tablet that has access to numerous apps (applications) that can be used for instructional purposes in a classroom. The main use that I saw the teacher use this device for was with the use of individual reading and math lessons. Our presenter taught elementary students so she also showed us several games that can be used for educational instruction. One important question that our presenter left us with was, “should Ipads be used for rewards?” My answer to this question would be yes, they should be used for rewards because the students enjoy using them and this might push the students to work harder on their coursework so that they can use the Ipads. Also the Ipads are being used for educational purposes so the students are having fun while learning. 

Application

In my future teaching I plan on using Ipads as a form of instruction for my students. I am planning an activity for a middle school math class. The learners will be from the 7^th grade. This activity will consist of students learning their multiplication tables from an app on the Ipads by the name of Math Board. This app allows the students to actively participate in questions that are generated by this app. Along with the questions; this app allows the students to show all their work, (if needed) in a window to the left of the problems. The students can use their fingers to show their work and select their answers to the question. My form of assessment for this activity will be a quiz that I will post on the EdModo website, (this can be accessed on the Ipads) and the students will take this quiz the last five minutes of the class period. This will allow me to be able to see how well my students understand the material and will generate instant feedback.  At the end of this activity students should be able to compute the multiplication of the 2-12 times tables with ease.

Using my activity, my lesson will start with the introduction of Ipads to the students. After I have distributed the set of Ipads to each student I will begin with randomly asking the students to answer questions of multiplication. This will last for the first 5-10 minutes of class. Then after this is over I will explain to the students how to access the app that we will be using (Math Board.) Most of the students will probably know how this process will work from previous use of the Ipads but I will explain this anyways to make sure the students are all where they are supposed to be. Following the explanation the students will have 15-20 minutes to engage in this activity. After the activity is completed the students will be expected to take an individual assessment quiz on the EdModo website. This will allow me to approximate the effectiveness of my activity by evaluating the students understanding. This quiz will consist of ten multiplication problems drawn randomly from the sets of 2-12 times tables. The assessment should take the students no longer than five minutes to complete.  The students that finish this quiz early can start returning their Ipads to the designated area.

Reflection

Pedagogy-Content:

In this activity I will represent my content through examples that are provided at the beginning of the application on the Ipad. At the start of this program the students are presented with an example and demonstration on how this application works and how to answer the problems. Some students of different ages might find this activity boring and may not have the motivation that the students of this particular age would have. High school students may find this activity to be trivial. In this activity students should have background knowledge of the multiplication tables. One thing that would be of concern to me would be the students’ access to the Ipads outside of class. I feel that students of my PDS may not have the Ipads available to them outside of class. I think that the students will be highly motivated to participate in this activity because I feel that they would enjoy using the Ipads to learn.

Technology-Pedagogy:

The Ipads will be used as the basis for my activity. They will be the medium that presents the material to the students. The instructional purposes that this technology poses are that they give the students a form of practice and rehearsal of the multiplication tables so that the students will be able to store this information in their long-term memory more easily. Ipads will support my instruction by providing the students with the much-needed practice of the multiplication tables from 2-12. My teaching style that I would like to support with these Ipads would be a constructivist approach that will allow the students to discover these observations on their own. With this lesson the students will be working individually rather than cooperatively. My classroom strategy would usually be to have the students participate in cooperative learning but with this activity I want the students to work individually. I feel that they will take more away from the Math Board app by working individually.

Technology-Content:

This technology enhances the content by adding a factor of enjoyment into a lesson that is important for my student’s future. Without this technology this lesson may come off as a rather boring topic and the students may be more likely to forget the information than if they use the technology and enjoy the activity. The Ipads and the Math Board app will produce questions that will allow the students to practice their multiplication tables. This app also tells the student if he or she answered the question correctly. Without this technology students will be stuck to doing the same old paper and pencil activities.

Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

I think the content can be effectively taught using my teaching strategies with this activity because the students need a lot of practice in order to store this material and this activity allows the students to do this. With the selection of the Ipads my content will be enhanced by repeated practice and visual demonstrations that the application presents. My teaching style would lean more towards a hand-on approach in which the students take an active role in their learning (self regulated learner.) I would use this technology as a teacher aid, which will allow me to reinforce my content and lesson. 

Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of EdModo

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience

            The technology that we were presented with in last seminar was a website called EdModo. This website is similar to facebook. In this site teachers can log on and set up pages for each of their classes. Then the teacher invites students to participate in this site by giving the students a code that will direct them to the appropriate page. The teacher can also use this site to make assignments and the students can complete the assignments. The demonstrator said that once the assignments are completed the teacher can provide “instant feedback.”  I found this site to be very interesting and very useful for the students and teachers to use.

 

Application

            An activity that would make good use of this technology would be an interactive activity online. (I will make this activity as if I was going to use it at my PDS.) In this activity I will use a classroom set of Ipads and the EdModo website. After I get all of this set up I will start by assigning the work on the EdModo website. The students will use the ipads to complete the online worksheets and activities on the EdModo website in the last twenty minutes of each class. The students will have a new worksheet that they must complete every day at the end of class. What the students don’t get finished they will complete at home if they have access to a computer. I will be using this activity to teach multiplication tables to my seven grade math students. At the end of the week the students will have a quiz on the times tables of twos, threes, fours, and fives. The students should know how to complete all of the multiplications for each set of numbers.  I will know that my activity was effective if all students complete the activities and have a 75% or above on the quiz at the end of the week. I will use EdModo to post all the grades so that the students will be able to view their grades.

                  This activity will take place over a week span. The students will complete the worksheet on EdModo during the last twenty minutes of class. While the students are completeing the worksheet I will be walking around the class and helping students who have questions. After the students complete the activities and submit them on EdModo I will be grading them and posting the grades on EdModo. The students will have a new assignment on EdModo every day except Friday of that week. On Friday the students will take a quiz on the times tables that they have been working on that week. The quiz will be administered on EdModo as well and the grading will be done likewise. All work that the students will be completing will be on the EdModo website while working on the Ipads.

Reflection

Pedagogy-Content:

I will present this content by the use of bell ringers (activities that are completed at the start of every class.) With the use of the bell ringers I will be able to explore the students background knowledge and where they will need help. After I have evaluated where the students need help or don’t understand I can use examples of multiplication and demonstrations to present the material. Also since the students are completing the bell ringers they will start to memorize the multiplication tables in the process of writing them down. The students will also have examples of the problems that they will need to complete on EdModo. Each worksheet that the students will have to complete online will have at least one example on it.

Students that are older will have this knowledge already memorized and might not need to relearn this material. Some students of different backgrounds may be able to complete these activities with greater ease then those of separate backgrounds. This activity is designed for students that are beginning to learn the multiplication tables. This activity would not be a good activity or assessment for a high school student. This material would be review for the older students.

Technology:

With this site I can set up a different page for all of my classes. In this page I can post assignments for my students to complete. I can also post grades for the students. Also the students can personalize their page for their own liking and enjoyment. As the teacher I can also view every post or action that a student makes on this site. There is also the option of posting class discussion for questions that can be answered by other students or myself.

This site is very accessible to the students, all they will have to do is log in using their own id and password. If the students don’t know the website they can type it into a search engine and they will be led directly to the site. (If the students forget their passwords, EdModo has a feature that will allow me to reset that students password so they can access the site.) Students in modern society are very familiar with the internet so this site is very accessible. This website is also unblocked in every school so it can be used during school.

Technology-Pedagogy:

This technology will be used as the medium for which this activity will be presented. I will use EdModo to post my assignments so that all the students in my class can get on the website to complete the work. Also I will use the EdModo website to post my grading for the activities and assessment. This technology would changed how I would teach this material by I will be able to use more activities in order to make sure my students are learning the lesson. Also it will take all of the paperwork out of the grading process. This will help make the grading a faster process. In this activity I will have to adjust my classroom management to make sure that the students stay on task. I will have to keep the students attention so that they don’t start to play on the Ipads. I will have to keep them on task and working on the EdModo website. I will have a punishment set up for the students who disobey the rules for EdModo.

Technology-Content:

This technology would change the way in which my content is represented by making it more interactive for the students. Instead of the students having to listen to me talk in front of the class and writing on the board, they will be able to work on EdModo and I will still get the same point across. I can provide demonstrations or worked out problems on the EdModo websites. I can also post links to presentations or use other teachers ideas in order to present the information. (In EdModo I have the opportunity to join other groups of teachers and share ideas about teaching lessons and etc…) The students will also enjoy using this website because instead of using the traditional pencil and paper style worksheets I can allow them to complete their work online. The students will enjoy using the computer or some other device to complete their work. If the students enjoy what they are doing they are more likely to participate in that activity.

Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

            The content can be effectively taught through this website by using the appropriate work and demonstrations. I can provide specific examples of the problems that students are struggling with. With the selection of this technology I will be able to enhance what I am teaching because the students will enjoy what they are participating in. Also with this technology I have an unlimited access (the internet) to what I can teach. I can also chose any way in which I want to prepare this material that I want to present. One example would be make a prezi PowerPoint and post a link on EdModo for the students to use. I would choose a teaching strategy that will be interesting to my students in using this technology. I would use this technology in more of an assessment manner but I can also post a lesson on how to do the multiplication if the students are struggling. Like I stated earlier this technology allows me to choose any strategy imaginable to present this material.