Tech Classroom

It is amazing to me how little some schools have available technology, and how desperately they need those technologies. My teacher would love to have a projector in her classroom to help assist her in teaching. Students are so advanced these days that they almost need technology to stimulate their understanding of a topic. They get excited when you bring out the projector, use the TV, or use the computers that it makes them want to learn the material.
I discovered this week that computers are a great way to help students learn. This last week my class was able to go into the computer lab for writing. They were so excited to use the computers. They were able to complete the assignment faster and more effectively then if they just did it by hand in the classroom. They were so excited to type and print their individual projects.
I learned so much about the importance of technology in the classroom. If you have it, it is a great teaching tool.

Revolutionary War

http://sites.google.com/site/lexyreber/lexy-files

Grade 5 Standard 2 objective 2a
Plot a time line of the key events of the Revolutionary War.

Pedagogy:
The lesson focus is mainly on observation and analysis of new information. As the students watch and participate in the tour of the major battle locations of the Revolutionary war they will come across lots of new information, students will be required to analyze what they are learning and apply it in various forms such as journal entries and short stories. These activities are a good way to get students to be actively engaged in the learning process; while some things will be directly taught the students will also be required to search out and discover some things on their own. As the students complete the tour and work on the activities at each site, they will also fill in their own timeline of the key events/battles that occurred during the war. This pedagogy works well with the content as the students will be working actively to learn about each of the battles and then they will be able to meet the core standard by creating their own timeline.

Technology:
We will be using Google Earth to create and present a tour of the locations of the main battles of the Revolutionary War. This technology works well for the lesson being taught as it allows the students to explore the different locations without having to actually go there. Students will be able to visualize what it is like at each of these locations as well as get an idea of where each battle location is in relation to the others. This also works well with the content as the battle locations will be visited in chronological order during the tour.

Digital Storytelling

Storyboard

What is the content you’ll be using in your lesson?
For this lesson I decided to take an old English folk song and turn it into a storybook using creative thinking and modern technology. I have geared it for a second grade class and have chosen 2 standards and objectives that help focus my lesson.

Standard 1 objective 2b Use a variety of formats (e.g., drama, sharing of books and personal writings, choral readings, informational reports, retelling experiences, and stories in sequence) in presenting with various forms of media (e.g., pictures, posters, charts, ads, newspapers).

Standard 8 objective 6f Share writing with others using illustrations, graphs, and/or charts to add meaning.

What is the pedagogy you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content?
The pedagogy I am using is that of storytelling, personal interpretation of a text, and hands on creating and learning. Through this assignment I want my students to see and understand that taking an old text, or song in this case, and adding your own spin to it can be fun and exciting. I want my students to know that they can add their own spin on any text. This fits in well with my content because it will help students understand that there are different ways to present a book. It will also give them a hands on feel of books, and how to add meaning to them with illustrations.

What is the technology you’ll be using and why is it a good fit with the content and pedagogy?
I will be using digital storytelling to help me with this lesson. This fits in well with my content because it focuses on using a different form of media to express a story. We are taking a book and showing kids how to share them through a digital media. This technology also works great with standard 8 because we are using music, and pictures to add meaning to a text. Digital storytelling is also a great media tool when working with the pedagogy that I have chosen for this lesson. It will help me demonstrate to my students just how exciting old stories told in a new way can be modernized and exciting with the help of technology.