Crisostomo,+Cassandra

//Final Exam//

I believe that technology should be an important part of teaching the curriculum to students. I have learned about several programs and devices that take the required curriculum, and present the material in fun and interactive ways for students. The computers will be beneficial to introduce programs to the students. It would be helpful to have it broadcasted on a smart board or overhead device of some kind so that I can have power point presentations to show to the students, as well as any websites that might be beneficial to enhance their learning and increase student involvement. I have made power point presentations in the past that were interactive with the students by including games which informally assessed the students, and I have found through my experiences with them that they are very engaging and successful. Another online resource I have used before is called Glogster. It is a website where children can make interactive posters to present information they have learned about in class, to their peers. I have found that it really gets children interested in the material because they are in control of the information, and they are most likely to retain the information because they are expected to present it. Another program online that could be used as a presentation tool is Voki. It is a program where the students can make a cartoon person, then record a speech using their own voice to align with the character’s mouth movements. It is another way the children can present a topic to the class, and it can be an alternative for the children who are otherwise shy when it comes to speaking publicly in front of their peers. These are several ways in which a computer screen adapter (ELMO) could be beneficial.

As far as hardware goes, tools such as overhead projectors, ELMO projectors, and smart boards would be very beneficial to the classroom. Overhead projectors allow students to see copies of the worksheet expanded onto the screen. They are able to come up to the overhead and write on the slides, doing some of the problems as a class if the teacher desires, for example during a math lesson. ELMO projectors work in the same manner, without making slide copies of the worksheets, but rather putting the sheets directly onto the overhead. The ELMO projector can also be switched over to the computer, so the websites and projectors can be presented in front of the class on the board in the front of the room. Smart boards are a fun new way to teach as well. Children can come directly up to the board, write on a word document, high light their favorite parts in interactive storybooks, fill out worksheets as a class, etc. There are also many online educational games that could be played as a class, and the children could come up to the board when it is their turn, whereas the rest of the class can still be engaged.


 * My response has only become more in-depth since the beginning of the year, but my basic beliefs that technology is important in teaching is the same. I now know a lot more tools and programs that I didn’t know about before. I still don’t know too much about how to use the smart board, but now I know about some of the features it has and how it can be used in the classroom. I still feel that it will increase interest in the students. Most students today go home and stay on the computer for hours as a hobby, so by having the children use interactive educational games on the smart boards and computers, we are appealing to their interests and it makes learning fun for them. The more learning appeals to their affective system, according to UDL, the more they will remember the information because they make it relevant.**

//Lesson Plan://