Module 4 - Pros and Cons of Integrating Technology

Forget chalkboards - iPads are
where it's at in the classroom!

As teachers in the 21st century, we've all heard how important it is to incorporate technology into the classroom. Roblyer (2016) mentions "digital literacy" in Chapter 9 (specifically about English and language arts), which "refers to skills in using the information that technological devices carry, in addition to skills in using the devices themselves." (p. 422)

In this post, I will identify both advantages and disadvantages of using digital literacy skills to supplement English and language arts instruction, as well as several useful resources from Chapter 9.

Advantages of Integrating Technology

Uncle Sam is pro-technology
and thinks you should be too.

Roblyer (2016) bluntly states that "print-centric texts and the dominant mode in schools of communicating ideas through writing are important but no longer sufficient for learners." (p. 265) When it comes to English and language arts instruction, technology integration has a multitude of benefits.

Technology (such as mobile apps, websites, and word processing software) can be used to support word fluency and vocabulary development, comprehension and literacy development, and the writing process, among other skills. (p. 282) Technology can help differentiate learning for students and provide them with the repetitive practice they need. When students are allowed to use technology to enhance their learning, they become more motivated to be active participants in the learning process. 

Ted Hasselbring eloquently describes Five Reasons Readers Need Technology, a few of which I mentioned above. If you have any doubts about integrating technology into your language arts instruction, I highly encourage you to read Hasselbring's article!

Disadvantages of Integrating Technology

Some old-school practices
are still important!

On the flip side, some general disadvantages to integrating technology include potential access to inappropriate materials, the inability to identify quality web resources, and how easily students may get distracted by technology. (Navajocodetalkersadmin, 2015).

One main disadvantage of technology integration in regards to language arts instruction is the potential lack of writing practice to enhance fine motor skills in young children. This page from the Adventures in Learning website goes into detail about the importance of fine motor skills and gives advice on how to help children develop them.

Specific Activities, Programs, Etc. 

Below are several resources from Chapter 9 that I found useful:

• Scholastic Story Starters
• Zoho Writer
• Wordle
• Brainpop Games

That's all for this week - thanks for stopping by!

Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson.

Module 3 - Google Add-ons Galore!

Welcome back! This week's post is all about Google add-ons and extensions for classroom use. I'll be discussing 5 categories of tools (with examples for each). If you're unfamiliar with add-ons and extensions, check out the videos below!

Materials Generators

Materials generators "help teachers and students produce instructional materials on paper and online." (Roblyer, 2016, p. 141) These extensions are engaging and helpful for organizing information.

What could I be? Scan me!

• Lucidchart
• Lucidchart is a handy extension for creating graphic organizers.
• There are many templates to choose from and add to your Drive!
• The QR Code Extension
• This extension allows anyone to create a QR code from a website's URL.
• Teachers could use this with educational websites for students!

Testing & Grading Tools

Testing and grading tools "help teachers collect and track assessment information to measure student progress." (Roblyer, 2016, p. 141) These extensions are perfect for providing feedback and viewing statistics!

No more messy handwriting!

• Goobric 
• Designed to work alongside Doctopus
• Goobric lets teachers access scoring rubrics in the same tab as Google Documents being scored.
• It can automatically email rubrics to students.
• Flubaroo
• Flubaroo lets teachers grade and see average scores, frequently missed questions, and more!
• Similar to Goobric, it can email scores to students.

Graphics Tools

Graphics tools "allow manipulation of images to illustrate documents and Web pages." (Roblyer, 2016, p. 141) These extensions could be fun for students to flex their creativity in the classroom!

Clearly not this person's passion.

• PicMonkey
• PicMonkey is an extension that lets users edit images found online: add text, crop, rotate - lots of options.
• Teachers and students should consider using Creative Commons to find images.
• Copycat
• Copycat saves images and text from the internet and keeps a reference of the source.
• Saved information can be pasted into online editors like Google Docs.

Planning and Organizing Tools 

Planning and organizing tools "help teachers and students conceptualize, organize, and communicate their ideas." (Roblyer, 2016, p. 141) These extensions would help teachers and students keep assignments organized!

Teamwork makes the dream work!

• Doctopus
• Designed to work with Goobric
• Doctopus gives teachers control over assignment templates, automatically sending individuals or groups Google Doc assignments on their level. 
• I highly recommend checking out all the features!
• Linkclump
• Linkclump lets users open, copy, or bookmark multiple links on a webpage simultaneously.
• This would be helpful for online research projects!

Research & Reference Tools

Research and reference tools "let students look up information in electronic versions of encyclopedias, atlases, and dictionaries." (Roblyer, 2016, p. 141) Both extensions below would benefit students doing online research.

Not the best source for your research paper.

• EasyBib
• EasyBib is a toolbar extension that lets students automatically generate citations for websites.
• EasyBib offers advice on the credibility of the website being cited!
• Google Dictionary
• Google Dictionary is an extension that lets students double-click a word and see its definition.
• It also stores a history of defined words.

That's it from me! For more extension ideas, click here.

Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson.

Module 2 - The Wonderful World Wide Web

Long time, no see!

You might've noticed I've made some changes to my blog. I couldn't stand that the text refused to be left-aligned instead of centered; I'm much happier now! (Background from here - it's worth checking out!)

The second module of our technology class is focused on safely navigating, evaluating, and using the Internet in the classroom. In this post, I will be discussing ways you and your students can find quality information online, a couple of educational websites I like to use, and one way to keep your information secure online.



Search Engines & Web Navigation 

There are a few tips to finding quality information online. One of them is to look at what the URL ends with: .edu, .org, and .gov are typically going to be reliable websites.

In the textbook, Roblyer (2016) references "three guidelines for teaching students good searching skills:

"1. Do not give research assignments that can be done with a quick Google search. Make assignments that require a thoughtful search.
2. Teach students to search with keywords, rather than with questions.
3. Show them how they can use advanced search tools to narrow their searches." (pg. 184)


Website Evaluation
The video below references Kathy Schrock's The 5 W's of Web Site Evaluation (a one-page PDF, free for classroom use).

The 5 W's (Who, What, When, Where, Why) are familiar to students and would be easy to remember for evaluating websites. The PDF linked above would be handy placed near computers for students!

Favorite Professional Websites

Scholastic - Who doesn't love the book fair?

As it turns out, they do a lot more than just book fairs. Scholastic's website offers tons of resources for both teachers and parents. (The link provided takes you to the teacher resources - lesson materials, videos, activities and more! They even offer a list of websites for teachers.) 

In our textbook, Roblyer (2016) provided a checklist for evaluating websites, and Scholastic's website checks off basically everything: easy navigation, quality content, appropriate media, an appealing visual design, and information on how to contact the website's moderators. (pg. 198) 


PBS Learning Media - Like Scholastic, PBS Learning Media offers many resources for teachers. It gives you the ability to browse state and national education standards, as well as search for specific resources based on topic, grade level, subject, and format.

Based on Roblyer's (2016) checklist, PBS Learning Media is a quality website for many of the same reasons listed above for Scholastic: easy navigation, quality content, appropriate media, and an appealing visual design. (pg. 198)


Online Safety & Security

No, not that kind of cookie!

In the textbook, Roblyer (2016) talks about cookies, which "provide the server with information that can help personalize Web activity to your needs." (pg. 175) Basically, cookies collect information (such as browsing history) to make your online experience more personal (such as creating targeted advertisements). 

It sounds creepy, but they're also designed to be helpful; cookies are used to remember your login/profile information on websites, or to remember your location so websites can give you relevant information (such as local weather). Here are some suggestions about managing cookies on your computers and devices.

There you have it - I hope this information has been helpful! See you all for Module 3. 😉

Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson

Module 1 - Basic Three Software Tools

Hello again! This week, our technology class has been studying basic software tools and their uses in the classroom. In this post, I will be discussing the "basic three" tools: word processing, spreadsheet, and presentation software.

Throughout this post and future posts, I will be citing the textbook our class is using this semester: Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching (7th Ed.) by M.D. Roblyer.

Word Processing Software

Microsoft Word 2013 logo - Wikimedia Commons

Word processing software (think Microsoft Word or Google Docs) is described by Roblyer (2016) as the most frequently used of the three basic software tools. I love how easy it is to use due to its familiarity, and it tends to be my go-to software tool. As a teacher, I would use word processing software to communicate with parents by creating a welcome letter, weekly newsletters, and conference notification forms. For students, I might create activity sheets, create fill-in-the-blank notes or have them use word processing software themselves to practice writing skills. I already utilize it for writing lesson plans!

However, there are limitations to having young students use word processing software. According to Roblyer (2016), some argue that word processing software is causing students to focus less on handwriting skills, while others argue that the software is allowing students to express ideas that they would otherwise be unable to share at an early age, due to their limited handwriting skills. I feel that both sides have valid points, and in my future classroom I would emphasize that both handwriting skills and the use of word processing software are important.


Spreadsheet Software

Microsoft Excel - Wikimedia Commons

Spreadsheet software (think Microsoft Excel or Google Sheets) is personally my least favorite of the three basic software tools. However, that's purely because it's the tool I have the least experience with, which I'm trying not to let influence my understanding of its classroom usefulness! Roblyer (2016) suggests that as teachers, we could use spreadsheet software to manage grades or classroom budgets as the software is capable of doing calculations automatically and saves precious time. Students might also use spreadsheet software themselves to make tables and graphs for math and science (number of each color of M&M in a bag), and even social studies (compile data about two different countries including number of people, age ranges, and so on).

The main issue with using spreadsheet software is its functionality if you aren't already familiar with how it works. Roblyer (2016) mentions that it may make math more fun and exciting to those who don't like math, but it takes a lot of practice to get the hang of all its features before the fun can begin.


Presentation Software

How to Give an Awesome (PowerPoint) Presentation - Wienot Films

Presentation software (think Microsoft PowerPoint or Google Slides) is equally fun and frustrating because there are endless possibilities, but graphic design isn't everyone's passion. I would use presentation software to organize and emphasize the main points of a lesson, as well as to introduce myself to students and parents (parent night, open house) using pictures to go along with my spoken words.

I have learned in at least two separate classes recently how to properly create a presentation (more graphics, less words!) and that if you feel the need to include big blocks of text, you should use word processing software instead to create a document. Stop putting students to sleep with boring presentations!


Classroom Use - Chosen Software
I would choose word processing software above the other two types because of its many functional uses (creating lesson plans, communicating with parents, and having students practice writing skills) and because of my own familiarity and comfort in using it. Whatever word processing software you choose, it will typically come with tons of free templates built in to write letters, format papers (think MLA, APA), create resumes, foldables - the possibilities are endless, both for you and your students!

For example, I might use word processing software to do a writing lesson with upper-elementary students. The students would handwrite their "sloppy copy" and type the final product after editing.


Roblyer, M.D. (2016). Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching. New Jersey: Pearson.

Welcome!

Hello! My name is Betsy Schmidt, and I am an elementary education student at the University of Montevallo. I've created this blog as a project for a technology course I'm enrolled in. I believe that every child deserves a quality education, and I will do my best to give just that to my future students! 

A few things about me
This is my fourth year at the University of Montevallo. I have five dogs and two cats, and my favorite color is blue. I love to stay organized! I drink coffee every morning with one spoonful of sugar. I've worked with kindergartners in an after school care program for the last four years, and I have some prior blogging experience. Here's a word cloud I created:

Thanks for visiting my blog! ☺