Emily Savage

Section 2

Pre block Student

1. Identify and describe 4 technologies available in the classroom where your Practicum is

taking place.

When I was volunteering in a second-grade classroom a couple of years ago, the students

were using iPads and Active Board. They used the iPads and Active Board for their math

activities. The teacher had them in different groups, some on iPads, some of the Active Board,

some using worksheets, and the rest doing a hands-on activity. The teacher would set a timer and

when it would go off they knew it was time to switch activities. I remember the bell had rung for

lunch and the students using the iPads for math games were having so much fun they didn’t want

to leave for lunch. The teacher also used a projector before the students started the activity so she

could explain what they were going to be doing before the students got started. While the

students were doing the activity, she did play some music as well for background noise. She

didn’t use a CD player but just Pandora. I would do that in the classroom as well. Maybe put on

some Beethoven or Frank Sinatra while the students are doing busy work to keep them focused.

2. Describe how the teacher, you are observing, uses the technology available in the

classroom.

The teacher used a lot of different technologies like the Active Board and the iPads for all

different subjects. The most I saw the iPad be used for was for math. She used the Active Board

for all of her subjects to teach off of.

3. In observing the school, as a whole, please identify and describe 4 technologies available

and how they are being used by teachers and staff.

 The teacher I worked with had me go to the copy room and make copies for her

classroom so the students can work on an assignment. A lot of teachers use Pinterest as well to

get ideas for different activities and different ways to set up the classroom. The teacher

I worked with said that Pinterest helped her out a lot. She also used the Active Board to help the

kids settle down after recess and lunch by turning on a kid's music video so they can dance and

get all of their energy out. This helped her later on in class because the kids were able to be calm

and pay attention to her better. This isn’t a technology but the teacher used books every day in

class. Normally in the morning, she would read a book to the students to get the day started. This

would help the students relax and get prepared to do work for the rest of the day.

4. Please give 2 examples describing how your supervising teacher uses assistive technology,

or other forms of technology, to instruct any ELL or Special Need students in his/her

classroom.

In the classroom worked in, the teacher assigned me to work with a student who had

special needs. I sat with him at a different desk and helped him if he ever got upset or frustrated.

When he would get too upset, we would send him over to his designated special needs teacher

and they would work out the problem with him.

For ELL students or students with special needs, the teacher would also use videos and pictures

to explain what she was teaching or what activities they were going to do. Depending on the

student, placing them in groups may also help them as well.

5. Identify and describe 3 technology tools you would like to incorporate into your own

classroom. (Examples: Tablets, Laptops, SmartBoard, Doc Cam, Ozobot, Sphero, OSMO,

etc.).

I would use the Active Board in all on my lesson plans, I think it’s a great way to

introduce an activity to your students, plus I can use it for every subject. I also would like to use

the iPads for math activities so the students can play math games. I’m hoping I’ll have enough

money to purchase some ozobots or osmos so the students can work on coding with the iPads as

well. The projector will be very helpful when I’m showing the students hands-on activities and

what to do.

6. Please list 3 apps or websites that you plan to use in your classroom.

I would use funbrain for math activities. The students would have fun with this app and I

could give them certain games to play that I know will help benefit them in the math that we are

currently learning. They can also play funbrain at home if they wanted to

I would use the Oregon trail game for history. I remember when I was in school and we

played that game and I learned a lot from it. I learned how hard it was for the people traveling at

that time and how they needed to spend their money correctly to survive. I would only use this if

we are learning about it in class.

For science, I would use Google earth so students can learn where different places are. I

want to have VR headsets for this so that way they can see close up what the rest of the world is

like.
7. Consider the importance of identifying language objectives in classroom assignments.

Please identify some examples of the language objectives, you have learned, that relate to

technology.

Technology in classrooms is a big deal these days and it should be present in all

classrooms. The biggest language objectives that I have learned through this class is coding. I

thought coding was something only adults knew how to do. But now kids are using math to learn

coding and they make it look easy. Coding can be used for many different things and students

need to understand that. Coding is so much more than creating a website or a video game, but it's

also making animations and controlling robots that every kid should be able to do.

8B. Please identify 1 of the 6, student-related ISTE standards, that you plan to implement

in your future classroom.

I would implement empowered learning into my classroom. It encourages students to use

technology to create something of their own and demonstrating that they know how to use the

technology correctly. I would have the students use ozobots for this and do the activity we did in

class. They would make a pathway with tape and then enter a code that would make their ozobot

follow the tape. I would have them record their code and the ozobot moving in the pathway to

see if they fully understand how to use ozobots and create codes that work.

9. Please describe how Student Voice plays a role in the elementary classroom. For

Example, what are some of the methods teachers use to discover a student's understanding

of a particular concept or subject?

I think when you want to test students on their knowledge, kahoot is a fun way to test

that. You can set up kahoot so the students have to type to answer questions. So by doing that,
they can put in their ideas and what they have learned. Another fun way to use student’s voice is

by having them create a green screen video about what they have learned. This way they are

creating a whole script about a subject and presenting it to the class. Students should always be

encouraged to share their opinions in class no matter what. Teachers should be giving students

the opportunity to participate in the discussion and encourage debate.

10. Take a few minutes to consider what you have learned this semester in the technology

course. Write a paragraph reflecting on your experience and how it has changed your

thinking about technology and its usefulness in the classroom. This is an open-ended

question, you may write about any topic you choose.

This semester I have learned so much. I didn't realize how many different technologies

that are being used in schools these days. When I was in elementary school, we only used

projectors and computer labs. Now kids are learning coding and using VR headsets. I’ve also

learned that there are hundreds of different apps that I can use in my classroom as well as have

my students use to improve their learning. A lot of the apps are directed towards ELL students

and students with special needs which I think will be very helpful when I start teaching my own

class. I know by the time I’m a teacher, I will be implementing a lot of these technologies that

we learned into my own classroom. I even had my mom buy Osmos for a family friend’s child.