Final Reflection

Final Reflection 

Through learning about technology integration, I have come to the conclusion that it is important to students and teachers. We need to allow and give our students the opportunity to use tools and their resources to help them. When students are able to use their resources they are better able to achieve and succeed. If teachers integrate technology into their teaching, students can be more creative and use that creativity to create digital products. Throughout this semester, I have changed my mind about integrating technology into a classroom because I hadn't been exposed to very much of it before. Before the semester started, I didn't really have a very good relationship with educational technology because I struggle when I can get it to work, but through learning in this class, that changed. I have learned that when we integrate technology into our class, students will be able to learn and interact with the material, making it more memorable. 

Throughout the semester, I learned about a bunch of different ways that I can integrate technology into a classroom. I think that it is very beneficial to give students projects that they can create through different technological resources. In my future classroom, I would like to have the opportunity to use Finch robots, they were so much fun to use and I think that students would learn quite a bit from them. Students should also be taught about different online tools that they can use. Some that I have really enjoyed are Poplet, Symbaloo,  and Google websites. I think that we need to integrate technology into our classrooms because it leads to a more enriched and better overall teaching experience. 

UDL Engagement

UDL Engagement

WebQuest will help students in many different ways, they can be teach students new or already known information that will help them.  It is a great way to get students minds working and focused on the task that they are doing. Students are able to work on the computer and learn about different educational information that is helpful to them. They are also able to learn how to better navigate the internet, using it in good and constructive ways that will help with their understanding. WebQuests are also a different than traditional way to get students to critical think the questions are posed to students in a way that makes them really think. WebQuests are a great way to get students motivated, get them thinking and make them think more critically. 

I would like to use WebQuests in my classroom with my future students because I think that it is a great way to help teach information and they are also able to learn at their own pace. I would like to create my own WebQuests, as well as using other peoples WebQuests because that would be very helpful and a great use of my resources as a teacher. I would like to incorporate this into my teaching and I think that students would really benefit from that integration. This is empowering for students because it is a way for them to work relatively on their own and they are able to think critically without having to feel pressured to come up with ideas in front of all their peers. I think that it will help students to be able to do their work better and more thoroughly.
http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/webquests/index_sub3.html

Why Coding?

Why Coding? 

Coding can be integrated into teaching in many different ways, it can be used for any subject, especially science and social studies. The first step in integrating coding into your classroom is making sure that students know what they are doing and that you trust them with these tasks. Students that are given the chance to learn about coding robots are able to use their knowledge and creativity to create something new and exciting each and every time. Coding needs to be introduced to students in a fun and exciting way in order for the students to enjoy the process. I would integrate coding like we did in class where we first made an animal with the finch robot and then we just the hummingbird robot to make something that moved. Students would love the process of learning and creating with coding and different required subjects. 

Coding is great for students because it allows them to use their creativity and stretch their decision making skills. Students use their creativity when creating the outside shell of the coding robots and then they use their decision making skills to do the coding part where they have to decide how they want their robot to move. I would like to use coding in my classroom because students will enjoy every moment of this process. Students can use different materials to create different aspects of the robot and students will really enjoy having that freedom. Coding in my classroom would be a great way to assess how and what students have learned, it is a great non-intimidating way of testing students knowledge. I think that coding would be great to have in a classroom and students will definitely enjoy it.

To find out more information:
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/add-coding-elementary-curriculum-now-matt-harrell

UDL Action & Expression (Summative)

UDL Action and Expression (Summative)

Using Finch Robots when teaching would be fun and interesting for students of all ages. How I would integrate Finch Robots into my teaching would be to have students learn about what the robot does and then give them a demonstration on how to make them work. Once students are taught the basic steps of the process of getting it to work they will be able to do it on their own or in partnerships. I liked the activity that we did in class where we made these into different animals found in Utah. This robot could be used for anything really, it could help with angles (when it turns), you could use it on a number line in math, there are so many possibilities. I would make using these robots a usual thing, have students use them often for different subjects so that they can master the controls and have fun interactive assessments so I can see what they learned.

As a future teacher, my goal with regard to the Finch Robots is that students have fun learning with them. Students will have another avenue to show what they have learned, they can present and talk through the robot. I would like my future students to be able to use these often because they are so versatile that they can be used for many different subjects. This is great with empowered learning because when students are able to not only be creative, but create something themselves they will learn more than they normally would. I also think that when students are given the opportunity to show what they know and learn through different ways they are able to feel more confident in what they have created and confident in themselves.
https://finchrobot.com/teaching/grades-k-5 

UDL Action and Expression (Formative)

UDL Action and Expression (Formative)

How Principle 2: Action and Expression can be effectively integrated into teaching is through making formative assessments interactive and interesting for students. It is also very important to remember that there are so many different types of learners and I need to be diverse in the way that I teach my future students so that they can effectively show us what they know. I would also like to integrate formative assessments by showing the students how fun it can be to create things to show what you know, it would be wonderful to model or "figure" out how the tools work, as a class, so we are all learning together.

Principle 2 will help my students because they will be more enthusiastic to show me what they have learned if they are enjoying the formative assessments that they are doing. It would also help my students to be able to choose from a few different types of tools to show me what they have learned, I think that giving students a bit of restricted freedom, by having a few different options will help them as well. I would choose about 4 different options and then my students can have a choice between the 4. By giving a variety of ideas or tools they will be able to create a project they would enjoy. I could also have the students vote together as a class on a tool that they would like to use. My goals in regard to this topic is that I will be able to create a classroom where my students know that assessments don't have to be scary tests, but that they can be really fun activities and projects that they will enjoy. 

http://castprofessionallearning.org/project/top-10-udl-tips-for-assessment/

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle2

UDL Representation

UDL Representation

Universal Design for Learning Principle 1: Multiple means of Representation 

This principle can be integrated into my teaching similarly to the project that we created in class. It means that I need to give my students different forms of representation that  will help them to do their best. It can and should be integrated through making and using videos or other forms of media that have text, visual aspects, and or sound. I would also like to be able to give my students information in multiple ways that will make sense to all my students. Students should be given the best chance at succeeding and this is a great way to help them along to that process. 

This principle will help my student because they will be able to learn in different ways that they can understand. Representing information differently is important because every child will learn in a different way and a great teacher should be teaching to help all children to learn their best. As a teacher, my goals regarding this topic is that I will teach using different types of representation so that my students will be able to succeed. I would like to also integrate representation into my teaching because it will enrich the whole school experience. 

http://www.udlcenter.org/aboutudl/udlguidelines/principle1

Digital Citizenship

Digital Citizenship 

1. Why is it important to teach about digital citizenship? 

It is important to teach digital citizenship because with technology being such a big part of education students need to understand that being responsible digitally is just as important as being responsible in person. Often times people think that what they put on the internet doesn't matter or that it's okay to put mean and hurtful things about other people, which is never the case and students should be taught that. Being a digital citizen also means that credit is given to the person that produced the information that you use. This is important because if you don't give credit where credit is due, you are essentially stealing. It is also important because children need to be taught how to use the internet safely to protect themselves and others. Teaching children about the importance of keeping their information safe is something that they will use throughout their lives. Digital citizenship is vitally important in a classroom because students will learn how important it is to give credit, treat each other with respect, and keep themselves safe. 

2. How might you teach digital citizenship in an elementary classroom? 

I think that it would be beneficial to relate how they are supposed to act in their community, to how they should act in their digital community. I would start by asking my students what they think their responsibilities are as members of the community that they live in. Following that question, I would ask them what their responsibilities are as a part of a digital community. The answers that my students give, should be very similar for both questions. I think that linking those two different types of community will help them to see how important being a good digital citizen is to them individually and as a whole. I would also ask them questions and possibly have an activity about stealing. This activity would help teach them that not giving credit to the sources that they use is a form of stealing. When teaching about being safe on the internet, it is important to tell the students how to be safe without scaring them too much that they will be afraid to use it. Doing an activity where the students are able to see how easy it would be for someone to steal their information if they aren't safe and keeping their information private. It is also be important to teach about digital citizenship on a continuing basis, so they don't forget the importance of it. 

Works Cited: 

https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=50&category=ISTE-Connects-blog&article=3-ways-to-weave-digital-citizenship-into-your-curriculum

https://www.iste.org/explore/articleDetail?articleid=242 

https://globaldigitalcitizen.org/5-reasons-teaching-digital-citizenship