In the article “Using
Technology in the Classroom,” sixth grade science teacher Stephanie Boles lists
several strategies and examples of how she has incorporated technology into her
classroom. One suggestion that Boles
(2011) provides for integrating technology is allowing students to use personal
media players in order for “students to listen to lessons, take quizzes, and
create their own review lessons” (p. 41).
Students are allowed to work in groups to create review-lesson podcasts
that they can upload to programs such as iMovie and publish to the class web page
(Boles, 2011, p. 4). Students may then
use their personal media players to review these lessons.
Another technique that Boles uses to
incorporate technology into her classroom is using the Internet to access
online textbooks and science websites. Boles
(2011) claims that the animation included on these sites “make concepts clearer
to students . . .” (p. 39). She
concludes that these sites enable her students to learn “high-level vocabulary”
and, in turn, the students use the vocabulary in their conversations with one
another (Boles, 2011, p. 40). Students
using and practicing content vocabulary in discussion will help deepen their
understanding during the learning process.
Boles also uses remote polling
devices during her lessons to allow for student interaction. By incorporating these devices, she is able
to ask questions and allow the students to answer anonymously (Boles, 2011, p.
42). While Boles (2011) can view the
students’ individual answers, the students can only view a “graph that appears
showing how many students chose each answer” (p. 42). This enables the teacher to then check for
understanding and clarify as needed.
This article has provided me with
several strategies for embracing and incorporating more technology into my
classroom and future library. One
strategy that I intend to take advantage of is the use of online
textbooks. My school district recently
purchased new math textbooks and, through this adoption, teachers and students
now have the ability to access the textbook online as well as other resources
such as games, journals, handouts, etc.
Unfortunately, I have not been able to explore all of the online
resources provided with the new textbooks due to time constraints. However, this article made me realize the
value of allowing the students to hear content information and vocabulary
through online textbooks and the animations they provide. I also plan to incorporate more remote
polling into my lessons so that I can check for student understanding. I have learned about many different apps that
allow teachers and students to interact during lessons such as this, but I have
never been able to implement this strategy into my classroom due to limited
number of iPads. Perhaps I could use this
strategy during small group lessons or allow the students to work with a
partner. However, if I allow students to
work with a partner I will need to ensure that they are working as a team to
answer the questions rather than just one individual. Implementing online resources and polling
devices within a classroom/library will aid in extending and enhancing the
learning process.
Reference
Boles, S.R. (2011). Using technology in the classroom. Science Scope, 41(9), 39-43.
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