Steven Bradbury

Target Audience:​ 8th grade

Tech Integration:​ Google Classroom and associated tools

TPACK Lesson Redesign

Original Lesson:

Objective:​ Students will begin to discuss the impact of technology by reading and using online
highlighting tools to outline key information.

Warmup​ [5 min] Students will log into the computer and go to the Typing.com app to practice
typing.

Procedures​ [45 min]

1. Students log into Google Classroom.
2. Students complete the discussion question: How does technology impact your life?
3. As students finish, they can return to the typing app and continue practicing.
4. After 5 minutes, the teacher will show all student responses. Teacher will ask students
to review the responses and look for common themes and any answers that resonate
with the students.
5. After 2 minutes to review answers, students will lead a discussion on what common
themes were present and if anything resonated with them. Teacher records responses
on the board.
6. Class discuss positive and negative impacts of technology. “Which did most of you
focus on for your discussion question?”
7. Teacher introduces an article by Wendell Berry: “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a
Computer.”
8. Teacher shares copy for each student through Google Classroom.
9. Students will search for two things:
a. Terms or phrases that need more explanation
b. Key arguments the author uses to support his viewpoint
10. Teacher models how to highlight text on a Google Doc. Teacher uses red for the
phrases and yellow for the arguments.

Assessment​ [15 min] Students read the article and highlight key parts:
Red - terms/phrases that need more explanation
Yellow - key arguments to support the author's view

Follow-up Lesson(s)​: Next class students will start with reviewing the highlights made in the
previous class. Students will be outlining the arguments made by Mr. Berry and collecting this
information in a graphic organizer. I will read actual replies to Mr. Berry’s essay. Students will
write their own response to his article from today’s perspective (the article was published in
1988).
Steven Bradbury
Target Audience:​ 8th grade
Tech Integration:​ Google Classroom and associated tools

Redesigned Lesson:

Objective:​ Students will evaluate technology’s influence on the individual and society and its
impact on the environment by debating arguments made in “Why I Am Not Going to Buy a
Computer” by Wendell Berry.

Day 1

Warmup​ [5 min] Students will log into Google Classroom and answer the discussion question:
How does technology impact your life?

Procedures​ [40 min]

1. After 5 minutes, the teacher will show all student responses. Teacher will ask students
to review the responses and look for common themes and any answers that resonate
with the students.
2. After 2 minutes to review answers, students will lead a discussion on what common
themes were present and if anything resonated with them. Teacher records responses
on a Google Doc. Teacher shares the Doc with the class.
3. With the shared Google Doc, the class begins to put the technology impacts into two
categories: positive and negative. “Which did most of you focus on for your discussion
question?” (My experience is that students tend to only think about the positive impact
technology brings.) As needed, the teacher will direct the discussion to include negative
impacts.
4. Teacher introduces an article by Wendell Berry (“Why I Am Not Going to Buy a
Computer”) and shares a copy with each student through Google Classroom. Students
will have the ability to annotate and edit their own copy.
5. Teacher encourages students to read with an open mind. The class will have multiple
reads of the same article over a few class periods.
6. For the first read, teacher will ask students to look for two key things:
a. Terms or phrases that need more explanation
b. Key arguments the author uses to support his viewpoint
7. The teacher models how to highlight text (in different colors) on a Google Doc (this is a
newer skill for many of the students). Teacher uses red for the phrases and yellow for
the arguments.
8. As students finish, they can add the arguments to the positive/negative chart started
earlier in class.
9. Students will share their highlighted Google Doc with their elbow buddy (person sitting
next to them). The elbow buddy will provide feedback on any highlights they are able to
comment on (clarifying any red highlights or resonating with yellow highlights).
10. Once most have finished, teacher will start a discussion to review any terms or phrases
that need more explanation (highlights in red).
Steven Bradbury
Target Audience:​ 8th grade
Tech Integration:​ Google Classroom and associated tools

Day 2

Warmup​ [5 min] Class will read the article again, but this time together as a class. The teacher
will ask, “On the second reading, did anything new jump out?”

Procedures​ [40 min]

1. Teacher will break the class into four teams. Two groups will assume the same stance
as Mr. Berry and will argue why we shouldn’t buy a computer (use computerized
technology as much as we do). The other two groups will argue against Mr. Berry’s
stance.
2. Each team will have a collaboration doc where they will compile their arguments.
Students may use points from the article, research other information (remembering to
cite their sources), or refer to the positive/negative list created on Day 1.
3. After 15 minutes of smaller group collaboration, the teams on the same side will join and
share their Google Doc in order to refine each other’s arguments. Teams will
collaboratively polish the arguments, then share with the opposing party.
4. The opposing party will formulate a rebuttal.
5. After 10 minutes of formulating a rebuttal, teams will put together a short document using
one of the Google Tools of their choice to display their main arguments - utilizing
graphics, images, words, etc.

Day 3

Warmup​ [5 min] Class will read the article again. “On the third reading, did anything new jump
out?”

Procedures​ [30 min]

1. Class will divide into the two sides and prepare for the debate by reviewing their
presentation document and their main arguments.
2. Each side will nominate a member to declare their arguments, and a member to rebut
the points from the opposing side.
3. The two teams will take turns
4. After both sides have gone, the class will debrief.
5. Students will answer this brief question on Answer Garden: In your opinion, what was
the most compelling argument (this could be either for or against)?
6. The class will review the answers and note trends.
7. Teacher asks, “Could this project have been done without the use of computers?”
Students will lead a discussion on what it could look like without computers. Teacher
asks, “What role did computers play in this assignment?” Finally, teacher asks, what
would Mr. Berry say about us using computers to complete this project?

Assessment​ [10 min] There will be ongoing assessment as students work in their groups to
complete the project. These will be in the form of check-ins and reviewing their collaborative
Steven Bradbury
Target Audience:​ 8th grade
Tech Integration:​ Google Classroom and associated tools

documents. After the debate and discussion are finished, students will answer the following
questions on a Google Form:
1. How might you now respond to Mr. Berry’s article,“Why I Am Not Going to Buy a
Computer.”
2. The article was published in 1988. Do you think Mr. Berry would have a different opinion
in 2017? Why or why not?
Steven Bradbury
Target Audience:​ 8th grade
Tech Integration:​ Google Classroom and associated tools

Reflection

When I originally created this lesson, I simply used Google Classroom as the tool to
convey my information because I was using Google Classroom at the time. Not a lot of thought
was put into picking an appropriate technology tool to maximize the education and technological
potential. Google Classroom and the Google tools associated with it have a variety of options
for students to use in order record notes, collaborate, make comments, and create visuals to be
shared. I decided to tap into more of these features rather than just focusing on the word
processing and highlighting.
The TPACK Model gave me a framework to put more creative and technological “meat”
on the original lesson. I decided to continue using the same technology tool, Google
Classroom. I was only scraping the surface, and not giving students more creative freedom.
When I looked closer at the pedagogy and the content focus, I was able to shape the use for my
technology tool. I decided to use a modified debate format to facilitate the research and
discussion on the content of technological impact. Google Classroom/Tools help with the
collaboration piece of the assignment. It allows students to collaborate without a lot of
movement of people and paper. I teach in a computer lab, and the space is not conducive for a
lot of movement. The Google tools we have for our students also have add ons that will help
read pages for students who may need this. This is helpful for my lower students and my ELL
population. The suite of productivity tools (Docs, Slides, Sheets, etc.) provide options for
students to choose and creatively present their arguments.
Planning three work days for this activity is ambitious, especially given my current
student population. When putting this into practice, I may need another day in order to allow
more room for creativity in the areas of researching arguments and developing their
presentation tool. With the original lesson, I provided a template in a Google Doc for students to
complete in order to share their responses to the article. I am purposely being more open in
what that outcome needs to look like in order to give the students more freedom and space for
creativity. This is stepping outside my comfort zone. However, I realize I need to expand my
use of technology, especially after looking at the TIM model, where I typically am at “Active
Adoption.” I desire to move further on this matrix, and incorporating the different technological
integration models has helped provide a framework to do it.