Fall

13

Technology Integration and Enrichment Final Paper

EDU 370
By: Stevy Rood

Contextual Factors
I am an intern at a small, rural Montana school where grades K-12 are provided. The community is very supportive of the school and is quite involved in all its activities ranging from sports to academics. I will be working once a week with the middle school students (grades 5-8) that attend the after school program. During this time I will be branching of their geography lessons in their social studies class on European countries. The students will have the opportunity to become an expert on one European country through the process of creating a digital story. For this academic adventure I will need a computer lab where each student has his or her own computer. The computers must have access to the Internet and have the program, iMovie on them.

Background Research
Digital storytelling goes beyond the paper/pencil approach to portraying ones knowledge of a subject area. It embodies students in critical thinking and problem solving. Robin Bernard states in her article about the power of digital storytelling that by actively participating in developing a digital story, students develop enhanced communication skills as they learn to conduct research on a topic, ask questions, organize their ideas, express opinions, and construct meaningful narratives. (Bernard, 2008) By using digital storytelling students are the ones constructing the knowledge they learn, which will only lead to an enriched learning environment. This idea is further supported in an article in the journal, Developmental Education. It states that digital storytelling has found to be a multidimensional approach to learning since skills in critical reading, critical thinking, oral communication, written communication, and technology are all practiced intensely. (Kay Gregory, 2009) Bernard also touches on the fact that digital storytelling can serve as a hook that grabs students attention and increases their interest in exploring new ideas. (Bernard, 2008) This plays into ARCS motivation model in that is serves as an attention factor by arousing the students. Students also need to be literate in the 21st century technology skills to prepare them for the real world. Bernard states that, Digital storytelling can be a potent learning experience that encompasses much of what society hopes that students

will know and be able to perform in the 21st century. (Bernard, 2008) Students need to be familiar with technologies and be able to do them. The article form the Developmental Education journal states how time spent on these projects can yield substantial return in mastery of the 21st century skills. (Kay Gregory, 2009)

Activity Plan
Montana Content Standards Social Studies Standard 1: Students access, synthesize, and evaluate information to communicate and apply social studies knowledge to real world situation. Social Studies Standard 3: Students apply geographic knowledge and skills (e.g., location, place, human/environment interactions, movement, and regions). Technology Standard 1: The student will use digital tools and resources for problem solving and decision making Technology Standard 3: The student will apply digital tools and skills with creativity and innovation to express his/herself, construct knowledge, and develop products and processes. Technology Standard 4: The student will possess a functional understanding of technology concepts and operations. Learning Objectives Students will further their knowledge of a certain European country by researching that country on the Internet. Students will be able to affectively use iMovie. Students will be able to create a virtual tour of a European country through a digital story. Students will be able to cite the photos they used in their digital story. Evidence of Learning Pre-assessment: There will be a group discussion on iMovie and if anyone has ever used it. Formative Assessment: Students will be required to continually report to me what country they are doing their digital story on, where they are getting their sources, and how the information on the country is going to be portrayed. Summative Assessment: Students will present their digital story to the whole class. Learning Activities Students will start by becoming familiar with iMovie and how it works.

They will then pick what European country they want to do their digital story on, making sure that every student picks a different country. The students will then do research on that country via the Internet. They will collect facts about the country, pictures, and so on. The students will be required to cite where they got these resources as they go along. They will become experts on their country. The students will then develop their digital story through iMovie. This process will be fairly open-ended in that they can include whatever information they think is interesting. They will put their photos in the story and can either write facts about the country in text or record their own voice saying the facts. They are welcome to add music to the story and are encouraged to make it as fun and interesting as possible. When all the students are done they will present their digital stories to the class. Technology Integration Computers: Understanding how to use computers is essential for everyone. We use them so often to our everyday lives that students need to be taught how to affectively use them. We will continually use computers throughout this through researching on the Internet and using the iMovie software provided on Mac computers. IMovie: Students will become familiar with iMovie through this activity. They will learn how to affectively use it in order to portray their knowledge. IMovie allows students to express themselves and become personally involved with the content at hand making it seem more relevant and exciting. IMovie also allows students to practice presenting their work to their peers and teacher, which helps them work on their communication skills.

Technology Integration Rational

I want the students that I am working with to become accustomed to iMovie and be able to produce a useful digital story. Students should be able to express themselves and this is possible through implementing digital storytelling into the already established curriculum. The students will be asked to research a specific country in Europe. These students will be studying the European countries at this time in their Social studies class. They will have prior knowledge about the countries but his activity will allow them to expand that knowledge. Through technology the students will be able to do research on computers and then develop their iMovie presentation that will demonstrate their knowledge on their country.

Thus I have designed this lesson to only aid in the understanding of the European countries. This project will not be busy work but will be productive in expanding their knowledge of both European countries and the use of computers and iMovie. There are all sorts of advantages when it comes to using technology in the classroom. Students are engaged in a more constructivism way of learning. The classroom becomes student-focused instead of teacher-focused, making the overall atmosphere inviting and exciting for all students. Through allowing students to develop their own knowledge about a country they will become more engaged in the process and be more apt to learn. Technology also provides a way of motivating the students because it is new, innovative, and serves as a hook for students. Students also began to take pride in their work, thus they will strive to learn all they can about a certain country and then develop and amazing digital story for their peers to see. Technology also provides a sense of relevancy for the students in that it is the 21st century and technology is all around us so students will feel like they are actually doing something productive while working with iMovie. All content should be taught in a way that engages students and I believe that I am doing this with this lesson. Students arent just passively listening to me talk about European countries but they are actively participating in the learning, which is how every subject and lesson should be taught and educators can accomplish this through technology. Students need this interaction with content to make it personal and affective. The students will have a piece of work that they have made their own, that they have personalized, and they are proud of it. This is how students should feel about all aspects of their learning. Technology allows students to become personal with the content and allows them organize the information in a way that works for them. This is way technology should be used in every content area, it truly increases student learning and improves the overall classroom environment.

Works Cited
Bernard, R. R. (2008). Digital Storytelling: A Powerful Technology Tool for the 21st Century Classroom. Theory Into Practice . Kay Gregory, J. S. (2009). Techtalk: Digital Storytelling and Developmental Education. Developmental Education , 42-43.