Samantha Jackson

Graduate Portfolio

Standard 5 Reflection:

EDET 620: Educational Technology: Applications, Applied Research, and Integration - Integrate

various instructional technologies to meet the needs of diverse learners in a variety of

educational settings. These technologies include productivity software (e.g., Word, Power

Point), interactive media (e.g., asynchronous threaded discussion sites, multiuser virtual

environments), instructional frameworks (e.g., web-based learning environments), devices (e.g.,

Smartboard, wireless mobile handhelds), applications, and assistive technologies (e.g.,

Wikispaces, Google Earth, educational podcasts) (NETS T 1, 2, & 3; TSIPS 8 VAC 20-25-30 A,

C, & G NAEYC Advanced Core Standard 4b, 4d, 5; NAGC-CEC 1:K7,3:S1,4:K2, 4:S7, 6:S2,

ACEI 3.1-3.4; NCTE 2.1, 3.6.2, 3.6.3; AAHPERD 2.3, 3.1, 7.2, 9.2, NCTM 6.1; NMSA K3.5,

K3.8; NACTE 5b, 5d; INTASC 3, 6)

Radford University

Fall 2022
 The class on Educational Technology is another class that is extremely beneficial to my

teaching profession. I started teaching during the pandemic and the use of technology in the

classroom has become a staple. I feel like this opened a lot of teachers' eyes to the benefits of

including more technology in the classroom. This class has been a fantastic model for how

teachers can use technology in the classroom, as well as virtually. Since technology has become

an integral part of education in the classroom, I chose two standards that I have been using from

this course in my own classes. The first standard I chose is that students should be able to;

“Integrate various instructional technologies to meet the needs of diverse learners in a variety of

educational settings.” I use this standard in my classes by incorporating online games into my

activities, utilizing station activities, and online discussion posts. At my school all the seventh-

grade students in my building are provided with their own Chromebook that they can utilize for

class and homework activities. This makes incorporating technology into my classes a lot easier

and not all schools have this ability.

The first way I incorporate instructional technology into my classroom is using online

games in my lesson plans. Online games are a fun way of getting students to practice vocabulary

and key ideas. The platforms I use the most are Gimkit and Blooket. These games are similar to

Kahoots, however there are different game modes and ways to gain points by answering

questions correctly. Having different game modes as options has helped keep students interested

when playing. I usually let them pick the game mode unless there is a specific game mode I

want to use for that lesson. I use these games as vocabulary practice or review games. These

game platforms involve a lot of repetition which is good for things like vocabulary. My course is

vocabulary heavy, so this is a fun way for my students to practice that they really enjoy. The

students are always excited when I say it is time to play a Gimkit or Blooket. There are also a lot
of ways I can customize my games, especially with Gimkit. In Gimkit, I can include questions

with audio for my students who need that as an I.E.P. or 504 accommodations. This also helps

my students who learn best when listening to something. I can also add pictures to help give my

students a visual or as an identification question. Incorporating games into my classes helps me

to connect with my students and their interests. I play some of the games with them and it helps

build a classroom community. This standard has reinforced the idea of using online games as a

tool in my classes because it is something that the students enjoy doing and they gain additional

practice with our content when playing the games.

Another way I incorporate technology into the classroom and meet the needs of my

diverse groups of students is by using podcasts in my classroom. I use this instructional

technology when I do station activities in my class. At this station I will have a podcast linked in

Canvas (our learning management system) that the students will access from their computers.

They will listen to the podcast and then answer questions while they listen, or there will be a

discussion post for the students to comment on. I try to switch it up for the students to make sure

it always feels a little bit different for them. When I use Podcasts, I make sure there is always a

transcript available on the website for my students. Some students need to read along to help

them stay focused. I also have students who are hard of hearing and benefit from having a

transcript to go with the podcast. Civics101 Shorts are one of my favorites because they have a

transcript available that goes along with the recording in real time. These episodes are also

shorter than most podcasts and run for 10-15 minutes. This timeline is best for my students and

keeping their attention. Using podcasts in my classroom has been a wonderful way to

incorporate technology into my classroom and meet the needs of my students who are auditory

learners.
 The final way I incorporate technology into my classroom is by using discussion posts in

my activities. I use discussion posts as warm-ups, station activities, or exit tickets. Our learning

management system has a feature that allows teachers to utilize discussion posts, like

Desire2Learn. Discussion posts are a great way to have students practice communicating online

while answering a class related question. My favorite way to use discussion posts is after we

watch CNN10 at the beginning of class. Students watch that day’s episode of CNN10 (Kid

appropriate news) and then type a post about what they found the most interesting. Then they

comment on another student's post and have a discussion. I have also used them periodically

throughout the year to ask fun class community building questions. These are usually silly

questions that help the students with getting to know each other or gives them something for the

class to bond over. In exit tickets, I use a topic from class and relate it to the real world and ask

them an open-ended question about the real-world event and how it relates to our class.

Discussion boards help me target my learners who are shy when we have classroom discussions

and do better when they can think before responding.

Incorporating technology into our classes is extremely important in the digital age we are

teaching in. The standard “Integrate various instructional technologies to meet the needs of

diverse learners in a variety of educational settings” from the class on Educational Technology

has been extremely beneficial for me and my students. Since we are teaching in an age where

students are using technology since they are infants, it is important to incorporate that in our

classrooms to help all our students succeed. We are also learning about how to incorporate

learning games in our classrooms. I am excited to try using more instructional games, like

Minecraft, in my class to help target all my students and give all of them a way to highlight their

learning in my class. Currently, I incorporate online games like Gimkit into my classes,
podcasts, and discussion posts to help target all my students' learning needs. Technology is not

going away and every year there is something new and better for teachers to utilize in the

classroom. I cannot wait to see how we can be inspired by technology in the classroom.