The integration of technology into the classroom helps to create a meaningful and exciting 21st century learning environment for the students. When teachers use technology in their teaching, they are providing students with an opportunity to connect with the world around them. In this classroom, the teachers become facilitators of learning and the students are invited to take on a more active role in their education.
Children in today's world are accustomed to a more fast paced and technological world. By providing them with an education that takes advantage of new technology, they are put into a learning environment that is most meaningful and relevant to their own lives. There are many great programs and resources that can be used in the classroom to enhance the educational experience for both teachers and students.
Some great programs and resources include:
- Edmodo
- Glogster
- Pixton
- Classpress (or another student-friendly blogging site)
- Activinspire
- Animoto
- PBS Teachers
When presented with activities such as these, students are more engaged and motivated in the school setting. With activities such as these that are more relevant to students, they are more willing to participate because they can relate new information in a way that is familiar and enjoyable to them (instead of simply following a text book or completing worksheets).
While the integration of technology encourages students to be more engaged and excited about their learning, it also encourages them to think at a higher level than they might normally. In many cases, the students are involved with using technology to apply their knowledge in a creative or new way. This encourages students to think in innovative ways in order to fully demonstrate their knowledge instead of simply filling out a sheet of paper. While this is more enjoyable for students, it also ultimately asks students to demonstrate a higher level of thinking and comprehension.
What ways can technology be used in the classroom?
As the teacher, technology can be used as a more effective and engaging way to present information and content to students. This can be done through the use of virtual field trips, webquests, Glogsters, Activinspire, a class wiki and videos.
This provides a change from simply giving students information in the form of a textbook or lecture. Students can use technology to produce final products (individually or in small groups) that demonstrate their learning. This may be in the form of videos, blogs, Glogsters, etc. The class can also create projects that bring together every students' progress into one final end result (making class videos, updating class blogs, creating class books, updating a class wiki. The use of this technology in the classroom can also be a great way to maintain communication with families and keep parents involved with that is happening in the classroom.
Integrating Technology With First Graders
For my first grade classroom, I created a social studies unit on citizenship that integrates technology throughout the various lesson plans. In order to do this, I used a variety of programs and activities that utilize technology.
Ways that technology was integrated within the unit:
Glogster:
I created a Glogster on Rights and Responsibilities. This allowed students to get the idea of "researching" information in a format that is simplified and easy to use for first graders.
Pixton Comic:
When introducing the concept of the qualities of a good citizen, I created a Qualities of a Good Citizen Comic that showed examples of a student being a good citizen in their community. The students were then able to create their own comic square depicting themselves being a good citizen. This was not only an interesting way to present new information, but a great new way for students to express their thoughts.
Animoto:
During an introduction to leadership, students created an Animoto video in order to compile (and compare) their favorite superheroes to our "real-life" heroes (police officers, doctors, teachers, firefighters, etc). This is a fun and different way to brainstorm and collect information to make connections.
Virtual Field Trip:
In order to learn about leaders in the community, the students had the opportunity to take a virtual field trip to identify and visit leaders in our homes, schools, classrooms and community.
Blogs:
Students had the opportunity to Blog about their experiences twice in this unit. In one activity, students worked in small groups to act as leaders and solve a hypothetical problem they might encounter in their classroom. Once they reached a
reasonable solution to the problem, they blogged about it to others. In another activity, students engaged in a simple volunteer project around their school and used a simple blog to tell others about what they were doing. This is a great way to get students to write about something that is meaningful to them and learn the importance of communicating their ideas to others.
E-Book:
I created an E-Book for students about School rules, and what would happen if we did not have rules in our classroom. The E-Book incorporates audio to support students who need extra help with reading.
All of these ideas are great ways to use technology to get kids more involved with their learning. I will continue to use ideas such as these when planning instruction for the classroom. While first graders may need a little support when learning how to use the technology, the benefits for both teachers and students make it worthwhile.
