Chapter 11 - Teaching and Learning with Technology in Mathematics and Science Instruction (5th grade)

Over the years there has been a “war” between people in regard to how Math and Science classes are conducted. There are those that think that instruction should be mostly teacher-directed, and then those who support a more hands-on and student directed approach.

Advantages of Integrating Technology

There are many technology integration strategies that can be used by teachers for the subjects of Math and Science. Teachers can implement virtual manipulatives in Math to bridge the gap between abstract and concrete thinking and problems. Technology integration strategies for Math also include support for mathematical problem solving, and motivating skill building and practice. In Science, teachers can further support instruction by involving students in scientific inquiry through authentic online projects. Other technology integration strategies that offer support for Science instruction include engaging students in engineering topics through robotics and accessing Science information and tools. Two resources I discovered that proved to be valuable for integrating technology into Math and Science was Math Forum at Drexel-Ask Dr. Math and the Digital Library for Earth System Education.

*www.mathforum.org/dr/math

*www.dlese.org/library

Disadvantages of Integrating Technology

Many people feel that there are disadvantages of integrating technology in the classroom for instruction in Math and Science. These people who do not support integrating technology in Math argue that students will neglect to learn their basic multiplication facts because they will heavily rely on technology to provide the answers for them. People who are not in favor of integrating technology in Science lessons are against virtual lab experiments and feel that teacher should just stick to the standards and textbooks while teaching Science. A resource I found that clearly states the advantages and disadvantages of integrating technology in the classroom is called Technology as a Communication Tool Within the Education System.

*http://technoedu.weebly.com/advantages-and-disadvantages.html

Specific Activities, Programs, Etc.

The activities and programs I found useful from Chapter 11 include:

*Teaching students to use graphing calculators (improves students’ understanding of functions)

*Using interactive geometry software (students can create and manipulate geometric constructions)

*”Hands-on /Minds-on Science” (students learn by doing various experiments)

*Webcasts (students have the opportunity to interact and ask a scientist questions)

 

Module 5

Metric Measurement Conversions with King Henry

http://www.prometheanplanet.com/en-us/Resources/Item/55778/metric-measurement-conversions-with-king-henry#.Uytme_ldWSo

 

The flipchart Metric Measurement Conversions with King Henry can be used with a Promethean board and requires ActivInspire software. The flipchart allows the students to interact and learn by working the practice problems throughout the flipchart. Students will also be able to race against the clock to choose which symbol would complete which equation. The Magic Ink tool will be used to reveal all correct answers from the practice problems. Instructional software is used all throughout the flipchart, because it is full of skills, graphics, demonstrations, and information on metric conversions. The Metric Measurement Conversions with King Henry flipchart will engage the students through real-world situations and collaborations by having questions that ask the students to convert everyday items like fruit punch and converting a puppy’s weight. Technology can be matched to curriculum needs through using a flipchart like this one. Metric Conversions are introduced in 5^th grade Math classes all over the United States, and what better way to introduce a topic like this than through a Promethean board? This form of technology will allow topics like metric conversions to come to life for the students! Therefore, schools should consider budgeting yearly amounts for technology purchases for hardware such as the Promethean board. Software support tools such as material generators like whiteboard activity software can only further learning in the classroom! Even if a classroom did not have a Promethean or Smart board, the ActivInspire software could still be used by teachers and students on a laptop or desktop in the classroom. Web design software is also becoming huge in everyday classrooms. Teachers can create web-based lessons and webquests for students, but the class could also complete them together while in class! The ability for a Promethean board to display flipcharts like Metric Measurement Conversions with King Henry makes it clear that interactive whiteboards have endless possibilities!

Wikis, Widgets, and Web Based Lessons

Wiki

http://desbuffalo.wikispaces.com/home

The wiki above is one that is very similar to one that I would create for my class one day. The wiki’s home page displays the classroom values which are the “5 C’s: Care, Celebrate, Collaborate, Contribute, and Cooperate.” The wiki’s creator, Mrs. Koopman, gives the appropriate definitions of each of the “5 C’s” for the class and her wiki is extremely user friendly. The home page lists several questions about wikis, followed by answers to these questions so that students can have a clear understanding of what a “wiki” is and how it can be beneficial in the classroom. Also, the wiki has a “News” section where students can share their thoughts and discuss what they have been learning in class. Another feature included in this wiki is a “Student Wiki Discussion” section, which gives students the opportunity to share thoughts amongst their peers about a topic. I love everything this wiki has to offer!

Widget #1

I would use this widget, Quizlet, with my 5^th grade students while learning about the American Revolution. I could display the flashcards on the screen for the students, and easily click through the key terms as the class reads the definitions aloud as a whole. This widget is simple to use and allows the students to interactively learn important terms!

Widget #2

I would use this widget, YouTube, with my students while learning about the 13 original colonies and the American Revolution. The video is a rap with music that would grab the students’ attention and I believe they would enjoy it! I would use this widget to search for videos about the topics I am currently teaching my students to be able to provide another option for learning!

Web-based lesson

http://www.madsci.org/

The Mad Sci Network site gives students the ability to ask experts questions and gain access to credible information at the click of a mouse. This site falls into the category of electronic mentoring for students as far as the type of “web based activity.” MadSci has an easily accessible toolbar on the left hand side of the web page that can navigate students to their wanted destination. MadSci answers common questions in their MAD FAQS section like “Why is the sky blue?” and any other questions that students may have. The webpage is appealing to students and the teacher can direct students to a site like MadSci to gain trustworthy answers to everyday science questions!

URLs, Search Engines, and Criteria for Evaluating Web Pages

URLs

A URL, or uniform resource locator, is an internet address that provides the direct link to a website. In order to better understand what a URL is, students should become familiar with the three basic parts of a URL. Firstly, every URL begins with “http://” which stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol or “www” that stands for World Wide Web. Second, the middle portion of the URL is called the domain name and is an assigned label for the server in which you access. Lastly, the last three letters of the URL is called the domain designator. An example of a domain designator would be “.com” and these letters tell what kind of group owns the server. Therefore, a URL can tell students the server that they are connecting to, what kind of group owns that particular server, and can help students to easily navigate to websites on the internet.

Search Engines

Search engines are special searching programs designed to help locate things on the internet. There are many benefits of learning to use search engines, including being able to find better information on a topic. Some examples of major search engines include Google and Yahoo, which are widely used among students today. According to Roblyer and Doering, search engines can be used for subject index searches and keyword searches. If a student were to access Google, they would be entering a keyword or phrase and then Google would display pages or “hits” of websites whose URLs contain the word or phrase the student entered. Students will be able to find better information through deciding the appropriate keywords or phrases, which will narrow their searches, and as a result they can become successful at using search engines.

Favorite Web Site #1

The Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL) website, https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/, is extremely beneficial for both teachers and students. The Purdue OWL displays proper structure and organization because it is clear how to navigate to other features on the website from the home page. Also, the text is clear and the website has good visual design through the limited number of colors and fonts used. The Purdue OWL can assist writers on any level with how to format a research paper, how to create in-text citations, and tips on how to avoid plagiarism with “giving credit where credit is due.”

Favorite Web Site #2

Son of Citation Machine, http://citationmachine.net/index2.php, is a website that can be incredibly valuable to teachers and students. The organization of the site is clear, has a limited number of font colors, and a user can easily find the content they are looking for. The pages of Son of Citation Machine load quickly and it is effortless to maneuver around the site. The website can allow teachers and students to easily credit the information that they use through choosing the type of source and entering in the information they have on hand from the source (ex. book or article.) Once all information is entered, with a click of the mouse the citation is created and can be copied and pasted onto a Works Cited page.

Website Evaluation Video

ZohoShow: Instructional Design...All About Me

Hypermedia Tools for 21st Century Teaching

Commercial Hypermedia Product: Interactive storybooks

            Interactive storybooks are one of the most fascinating types of hypermedia products used by students today. Roblyer and Doering express, “Various studies have reported positive impact of interactive storybooks on children’s enjoyment of reading and development of reading skills.” (pg. 175)  Through my research of interactive storybooks, I found the website “Clifford The Big Red Dog Interactive Storybooks,” http://teacher.scholastic.com/clifford1/, to be extremely helpful and user friendly. As a child, I LOVED reading “Clifford The Big Red Dog,” and this website allows students to read stories about Clifford, play letter match games, sound match games, and concentration games. While waiting for the stories to load, students even have the option to play a game of “tic- tac-toe!”  Each page of the story has sound icons for the students to click on before the sentences are read to them. The very last sentence on the page gives students the option of choosing and clicking the last word of the sentence from the three different options provided. After the student chooses a word, the sentence is read again to them with their chosen word in the blank.

            The website “Clifford The Big Red Dog Interactive Storybooks” can be very useful in the classroom in a variety of different ways. Students that need extra help with phonics can benefit through playing the letter and sound match games. Also, students that are struggling with fluency can expand their reading skills through listening to the stories and being able to click on each sentence for it to be read to them as many times as needed. Lastly, “early finishers” can play the games and promote their reading abilities by using the variety of items that this website has to offer. J

Multimedia Authoring Tool: Virtual Environments

            Virtual environments or 3-D environments are now being used in many classrooms today. According to Roblyer and Doering, “Through various visual and tactile devices, VR can represent real or imaginary worlds in which the user interacts through multiple senses: a true multimedia environment.” (pg. 193) Students now have the ability to go on “virtual field trips” and look at 3-D models to be able to better learn abstract concepts. One virtual reality application is QTVR panoramas, which I found useful information on from the website, http://www.easypano.com/qtvr-authoring-software.html. QTVR panoramas can allow students to learn like they never have before by venturing to faraway lands, swimming under the ocean with sharks, and even visiting outer space! Virtual Environments can be used in the classroom with teaching any subject, as it allows the learning to come alive for the students!

 

 

Technology in the Classroom: Digital Media

"Basic Three" Software Tools

Word Processing Software

·         Word Processing is a software tool that saves time and enhances document appearance. According to Roblyer and Doering, Word Processing offers “high versatility and flexibility, it also is model-free instructional software.” (pg. 116). This software is used to create documents consisting of pages with text and graphics. As a teacher, I should consider using this software program because I have the ability to create beginning of the year newsletters, allow my students to produce assignments and illustrate stories, and also to better collaborate with other teachers. The issues with using this tool in education are: the debate over what age children should begin using Word Processing, the necessity to teach proper keyboarding skills, and the effects Word Processing has on the handwriting of the students.

 

Spreadsheet Software

·         Spreadsheet Software is a software tool that is designed to organize numerical data and is in widespread use in classrooms at all levels of education. Roblyer and Doering state, “A spreadsheet helps users manage numbers in the same way that word processing helps them manage words.” (pg. 122) As a teacher, I should consider using Spreadsheet Software because it can help students support mathematical problem solving and project their potential grades. The main issue with using this tool in education is that teachers have to first address some students’ “fear of math.” Teachers often have to allow extra time for their students to become comfortable with Spreadsheet Software before being able to implement it into the lesson.

 

Presentation Software

·         Presentation Software is a software tool that is designed to display different kinds of information. Roblyer and Doering express that Presentation Software “…was originally designed to accompany and support marketing presentation and business training and reports.” (pg. 128) As a teacher, I should use Presentation Software because it can help to organize thinking about a topic and allow for collaboration on presentations. A useful aspect of this software tool is how it allows for students to present their project work to the class. The issues with using Presentation Software in education include how this tool makes people focus on the slides rather than the message. Also, the issue of how Presentation Software impacts the style of teaching.

 

Classroom Use

·         Word Processing Software can be used in the classroom in a variety of different ways. One possible topic that a teacher may cover and could use this software tool is when he/she is teaching a Language Arts lesson on adjectives. The teacher could have the students create a flyer describing themselves with appropriate adjectives. This activity could be printed and displayed on the bulletin board and also used as a beginning of the year “ice breaker” activity. The activity can allow for the students to become better acquainted with one another. Along with adjectives the students can include: their favorite interests, if they have siblings, pets, and something they are looking forward to during the school year. J

My name is Leah Smith and I am an Elementary Education major at the University of Montevallo. Something interesting about myself would be that I have kissed a stingray in the Cayman Islands. I can also recite the alphabet ...backwards! In this course I hope to learn more about how to successfully incorporate technology into my future classroom. Words that comes to mind when I think of technology is unlimited and exciting!