Integrating Technology

As an aspiring educator in the twenty-first century, I have come to realize that technology is an integral part of education. The world of technology is vast and ever-expanding, and now, more than ever, teachers need to prepare their students for a world that is reliant on technology. Teachers who are well informed of the newest technologies and integrate them into their classrooms are best serving their students. It is essential that educators become fluent in the newest and most effective technologies so that they can integrate them into their lessons and also relate to the world that their students live in. 

The integration of technology offers unique opportunities for teachers and students alike. Using technology in the social studies classroom allows students to understand and experience the world in a new way. Social Studies helps students to become citizens of the world and to form a  global understanding. Technology allows teachers to bring the outside world into the classroom. Through technology, students are able to see foreign places, communicate with people around the world, and explore historic sites. The internet allows teachers access to countless primary sources to enrich study. With the help of technology, there are endless possibilities for showing our students a world that exceeds far beyond their own.

There are countless ways to incorporate technology into any unit of study. In the third grade, students study maps and globes as a part of their Social Studies curriculum. Here are several ways to incorporate technology into a unit involving maps and globes.

WebQuests: WebQuests provide students with the opportunity to acquire information on their own. They can explore any community or landmark around the world; past or present. Students navigate the internet by following multiple links, at their own pace. These links have been provided by the teacher, which assures the students are only viewing secure and relevant sites.

Brochures/Advertisements: Students can create brochures or advertisements  in a number of ways. Using programs such as Microsoft Publisher or Glogster, students can practice selling a product or location in an engaging and creative way. These programs allow students to combine written information with relevant pictures, charts, or diagrams to display and organize their knowledge.

Digital Cameras: Digital cameras are an exciting and practical technological resource for the classroom. They are a great resource to bring the outside world into the classroom. Students can use cameras to go on scavenger hunts and capture images that relate to the unit of study.  

Blogs: Blogs are a great way for both students and teachers to communicate with people around the world while developing writing skills. Students are able to respond to teacher prompts or other blog posts pertaining to the curriculum.  

Pen Pals: Students are now able to connect with pen pals online. Instead of writing letters, emails can be sent back and forth instantly. This allows students to learn about a different country being studied from a pee who is an expert on their own culture.

Although technology allows students to acquire and express their knowledge in a variety of ways, schools are not always equipped to provide students with these experiences. Integrating technology across the curriculum is important; however, it is not always possible. In my third grade classroom, the only technologies available are an overhead projector and two computers. There is also only one computer lab which is shared with the entire school. Unfortunately, many of these wonderful learning experiences are not feasible in all classrooms.

Technology will undoubtedly continue to change the way  classrooms operate. According to the U.S. Department of Education, technology allows students access to different types of information that they could not otherwise find in their classrooms. It allows them to become more independent in their research and versatile in the way they present their work. By familiarizing our students with technology in the classroom, we are ultimately preparing them for a competitive and more effective workforce.

PBS Teachers in the Third Grade

What is PBS Teachers?

PBS Teachers is an essential resource for the twenty-first century classroom. The website is an amazing tool for both novice and veteran teachers.  This website is completely free and the educational programs are accessible to anyone. PBS Teachers is an exceptional resource for teachers in any grade level or subject area. It provides educators with an abundance of lesson plans to use in the K-12 setting. These lessons can be easily accessed at the PBS Teachers homepage. Lessons and activities can be adapted in any state or school district, as they align with the national curriculum standards. The website is organized by different grade levels. When you are looking for useful resources, you simply select the grade level you are teaching. Every grade offers endless activities, lessons, and resources in six different subject areas including:

• Arts and Literature
• Health and Fitness
• Math
• Science
• Social Studies
• Library Media

Enrich Your Units

Naviagte your way to the third grade social studies link! There are many helpful resources for your “Maps and Globes” unit. For instance, by selecting the Cultural Studies links, you will find different activities and lesson plans that will enrich your global studies curriculum. There is also a geography link available. By changing the resource filter you can find narrow your search to articles, audio, videos, or resource sets. There are even links to different online activities for students to complete in the classroom.

Once you have sorted through the multitude of classroom resources, the site offers an online discussion forum. Teachers post various classroom activities for others to try and then provide feedback about how it worked in their classrooms. It gives teachers the opportunity to take part in a professional learning community that stretches across the United States. Teachers can learn what their colleagues are doing in their classrooms and offer advice about what worked and what could be improved upon.

 

The Future of PBS Teachers  

PBS Teachers Connect is a new and exciting feature offered by PBS. It is a social network that creates a country wide learning community. PBS Teachers connect facilitates online collaboration amongst educators. Using technologies such as blogs, teachers are able to share ideas and form online groups with teachers who support their theories and practices. The PBS Teachers Connect community encourages communication amongst colleagues and provides information on how to best implement digital media and technology in the classroom. By utilizing the resources this website offers, educators can integrate twenty-first century skills in their classrooms.

What is a Map

Read this comic to learn about the different features of maps. When your done, follow the directions to create a map of your bedroom. Enjoy!

Formative Assessment in the Elementary Classroom

What is formative assessment?

Assessments are used to determine what students have learned following a period of instruction. This traditional type of assessment or, “assessment of learning,” helps an instructor to see whether or not students are meeting standards set up by the state, district, or teacher. The trouble with this kind of assessment, known as summative assessment, is that it only measures what has been learned at the end of a unit. It does not allow a teacher to track student progress or understanding along the way. By the time these tests have been administered, it is too late for a teacher to alter instruction and offer additional support when necessary.

Formative assessments, on the other hand focus on “assessment for learning.” This method of assessment supports students and teachers during the process of learning. These assessments are not necessarily lengthy or formal. They can be administered in a variety of ways including a purposeful homework assignment. Formative assessments provide multiple opportunities for teachers to track student progress along the way. Once a teacher has collected data that reflects student understanding, they are able to see where their students are and where they need to be in order to determine their next instructional steps. Students also benefit from this type of instruction as they are provided with useful feedback that will improve their learning. 

If we understand these benefits, why aren’t formative assessments common practice?

Teachers fear that they do not have enough time to assess their students as they learn. This fear often encourages teachers to move quickly through material and shove as much information into the day as possible. However, this overwhelming amount of information leads to a less meaningful understanding and as a result, less learning. Students need to be provided with time each day to reflect upon their learning, receive feedback from teachers about how to make improvements, and interact with topics to develop their schemas. Without formative assessments, students will not maintain most of the information given to them in class. 

What are some examples of formative assessments?

There are many ways to make time for formative assessments in the third grade classroom throughout the school day. Not every assessment needs to be lengthy and time consuming. Their impacts on instruction are well worth the extra time. Here as some examples of useful formative assessments…

·         Listen in on student partner conversations to quickly identify misconceptions.

·         Allow student to reflect on what they have taken from a lesson in order to deepen their understandings.

·         Have students fill out a graphic organizer to organize new information and make connections to what they already know.

·         Give students the opportunity to represent information visually to increase memory, make connections, and account for diverse learning styles.

·         Ask students to work collaboratively in order to demonstrate their own knowledge and deepen their understanding as they learn from others.

·         Use “exit cards” to summarize what students have learned at the end of a lesson.

A third grade educator can incorporate a variety of these assessments into units, giving them a better understanding of student progress. Using more than one type of assessment allows teachers to view students through a “multiple-measure assessment window” and provides useful information about what is being learned in the classroom, how students are evolving, and how you can assist them in their learning.

What’s Next?

"Informative assessment isn't an end in itself, but the beginning of better instruction" -Carol Ann Tomlinson- Once you have gathered data on your learners, you must use the information in order to inform your next instructional steps. This data will tell you who is in need of the most attention, which students need to be challenged more, and which areas need to be readdressed. The challenge is to approach the same material in a different way to provide a new way for students to form an understanding. Formative assessments allow us to better understand our students and their individual needs. They assist teachers in becoming reflective decision makers and serve to enrich classroom curriculum.