Description/Experience
In one paragraph, briefly describe the technology demonstration presented in the last seminar. Tell us about your takeaways from the demonstration or in-class discussions with your peers.
In one paragraph, briefly describe the technology demonstration presented in the last seminar. Tell us about your takeaways from the demonstration or in-class discussions with your peers.
In my previous seminar, we met with Mr. Graham, and he showed us how smart boards (or white boards) can be integrated into the classroom. He showed us a website called portaportal.com that has activities that are used directly with the smart board and are beneficial to that certain grade level. I found the websites Mr. Graham presented to be very easy to navigate through, but also very educational as well. I really enjoyed this seminar.
Application
Application
- Learners: My learners would be my first grade classroom that I am placed with each week. The activities used on the white board are designed for five and six year olds.
- Learning outcomes: At the end of this activity, students will be able to read fluently for their grade level. They will have a better understanding of how letters of the alphabet form sounds and how these sounds form to make words.
- Assessment: How would you know that students acquire the learning outcomes? How would you know that your activity is effective? The activity allows the students to control which word is being read and the pace the sentence is being read at. Therefore, if the student is struggling on a certain word, they can repeat that word over and over until they can say it completely on their own. Once eat student has had a chance to use the technology, they can be tested on their verbal reading skills out loud, individually.
- The lesson would begin with introducing the students to the smart board, and also introducing the activity that is already set up on the white board. As the teacher, I will go through the activity once, as the entire class sits on the carpet, around the whiteboard.
- The students would then spend the next 10 minutes taking turns in going up to the white board, while everyone sits around and watches them read the online story out loud to the class. The class follows up by then reading each sentence aloud, while I sit there and listen.
- Following this exploration the students would be given a handout of a few sentences. I would then randomly call on a student to read a certain line. (These sentences would be much like the sentences that were just read from the whiteboard) This will ensure that I know each of the students understood what was being presented to them on the smart board.
Reflection
--Pedagogical-Content:
Your pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of teaching strategies that are specific to a content area. That is the knowledge about choosing appropriate pedagogies for teaching a particular content Example: Using drill-and-practice to teach letter sounds. This strategy however may not necessarily be effective for other reading activities because words are completely different then sounds. |
- This learning is self-guided, because the children are going at their own pace at the white board. If they understand a word completely, then they can move on to the next word. This is also is considered drill and practice learning because they are practicing their comprehension of words out loud, making sure they are saying the words just as the computer is.
- Many students at the first grade level know how to say many words. The problem is, they do not recognize the words when they are written in front of them. This acts as a problem because children then begin to simply guess what the words in front of them are saying, instead of sounding the word out, based on the sounds that each letter of the word makes. Seeing a word, and sounding it out for sound, is the hardest concept for students to grasp. Once this concept is understood, it is now just a matter of practicing the reading in order to become a fluent reader.
--Technological-Pedagogical:
Your technological pedagogical knowledge refers to your understanding of technologies for particular learning tasks, your ability to choose technologies based on its fitness, your knowledge of pedagogical strategies, and your ability to apply those strategies for use of technologies Example: Selecting the whiteboard for facilitating student generated learning. Whiteboard here is the technology that supports the main pedagogy-group sounds/reading. |
In the previous section, you talked about your instructional strategies. Keeping these strategies you stated in mind, now tell us how the technology is used in your activity. Specifically:
- Since teaching sounds of words can become difficult to do to an entire class, having the students physically touch the word on the smart board, they are having trouble with is great way for them to figure out instantly what that word says. The smart board allows the students to see, and hear each word that makes up the sentence. It also provides an illustration in case the students are completely lost as to what the word means.
An example from this activity is cat in the hat. The sentence appears on the screen, and the student can touch each word on the smart board, and it sounds that word out by letter. The smart board highlights and enlarges each letter as it is being announced, so the student can see that letter and know what sound it is making.
- In doing this activity, time is definitely going to be a factor. The reason being is because many students are going to struggle with the words as they are being read, and may have to repeat the same sentence a few times before they have an understanding of what each word says. This can be time consuming and is something that has to be monitored while this activity is going on.
--Technological Pedagogical Content:
Your technological pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of how teaching and learning from content may change when technology used and is our knowledge about selecting technologies that suits, support, and enhances teaching strategies and learning activities in your particular content area. It is your understanding of teaching strategies to effectively teach the particular content and help student conceptual difficulties in this content by meaningfully incorporating technologies. Example: Using word recognition on the Whiteboard as a means to aid students memorize words and letter sounds in language learning. Whiteboard is chosen as a tool to support the pedagogy around instant feedback, quick repetition, and individualized learning. These are some effective strategies used in language learning content area. |
Now, let’s focus on the content you’re teaching in your activity. Think about your decisions to incorporate this technology and the teaching strategies in relation to your particular content area. Tell us specifically about:
- How would using this technology enhance the way the content is represented in your activity (e.g. demonstrations, explanations, examples, illustrations, analogies, and etc.)? That is why you think the selection and the pedagogical use of this technology may enhance what you teach (the content in your activity). Give specific examples from your activity to support your answer and keep in mind the learning objectives that you stated previously.
- In prior experience with observations in the first grade classroom, students become disengaged when the teacher is walking around the room and the children are trying to read aloud to their entire class, especially if the student is struggling with sounding a word out or knowing what the sound of the word is overall. In using the technology, the student is able to read a story on their own to their classmates still, but if they stumble upon a word they are unsure of, they can simply touch the white board and it will read that word aloud. Sounding out each letter and then reading that word as a whole.
