Monday, March 23, 2009

Technology Enhanced Lesson

I am planning on teaching my technology enhanced lesson this week, Wednesday. Last week I videotaped the play my class performed for all the other first grade classes. I burned the movie on a dvd. My lesson plan starts off with reading a book about a play to the students. I can't remember the title of the book but I do have it at the classroom already. Then I will show the students their class play by projecting it on the wall with an LCD projector. A laptop will be hooked up in which I will place the dvd. The students will watch their class play. After the video the students will write a journal entry; they will write about their favorite part of their class play and also what they enjoy most about plays in general. This lesson is a celebration lesson for the students to be proud of what they have accomplished. It will be fun for the students to watch themselves and see how their hardwork practicing for the play actually paid off.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Technology-ehanced lesson

An idea I have for my technology-enhanced lesson is a digital storytelling. My first grade class is putting on a play this Thursday for the other first grade classes. I would video record the class play. Then I would upload, edit, and add to the video using digital storytelling.

My lesson would start off by reading a story book about a play. Then the students would watch their class play on the wall projected from a LCD projector and laptop cart. Then the students would have a journal write about their favorite part of the class play and what they like most, in general, about plays.

The students would enjoy watching their class play and this would be a reward to them for working so hard on practicing and performing their play. This idea is manageable for my classroom because we have a laptop cart and LCD projector available to the class. I feel that this project would be fun and rewarding for the students.

However, I am waiting for parental approval to go ahead with this project. I need all parents to agree that the video recording of their child during the class play is okay. I would turn this project in on a dvd to ensure privacy of the students.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Classroom Technology Inventory

I discovered many things while completing my classroom technology inventory. I talked with my teacher about all the technology available to my elementary school. There are four televisions total that all the grades must share. There are two smart boards that also must be shared between all the grades. These smart boards must be checked out. I learned that each grade level has a technology set that includes a PC computer, VCR, DVD, and a projector. This set is only for teacher use. Usually the set remains in one of the classrooms of the grade level teachers. If another teacher in that same grade level needs to borrow the technology she simply has to ask to borrow it. I learned that the school does not have wireless internet yet, but it does have internet through cords. Computers in the classroom are mostly for teacher use; my classroom only has one computer on which my teacher keeps attendance and sends in the lunch count each day. There are no software programs for the students on the classroom computers. However, students have scheduled appointments to visit the school computer labs. There are two labs (internet and typing). There are only PCs found in the labs. Each lab has about 30-40 PCs.

I also learned that there are Waterford computers upstairs that contain special reading programs to assist lower and ESL students. These students work on the Waterford computers daily. I also learned that the classrooms have microphones and ceiling speakers. If a teacher has a weak voice or simply just chooses to use a microphone, her voice is then projected through the ceiling speakers.

My teacher told me that in the last four years the school has advanced in technology every year. She said all the equipment available to the school now was not available four years ago. Every passing school year adds new and exciting equipment for the school to use. The elementary schools are avidly entering the technology era!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009