DISCUSSION 6 AM

Discuss how elementary teachers can integrate technology into their language arts classrooms. Share your personal plan for integrating technology.

RESPONSE BELOW

KIMBERLY

Elementary teachers can integrate technology into their language arts classrooms via Smart Boards, online resources, and PowerPoint presentations. For example, I teach a mini lesson for each lesson in the reading and writing workshops. My mini lessons are 10 minutes in length and I introduce the lesson via a PowerPoint presentation. This lesson supports the students’ understanding with assigned activities after the lesson. For instance, in the informational unit of study, students select a historical topic and then research their topic using their laptops or the student desk tops available in the classroom. Students research primary and secondary sources, take notes, and write their drafts on Word in Office 365. Students save their work in the Cloud allowing them access to their research on any device. This allows students to eliminate being tethered to one device. Another piece of technology that is extremely valuable is One Note. Students are required to read 40 minutes every night for daily homework. Students complete their reading logs on One Note as well as submit answers to assigned reading prompts. These daily assigned tasks are immediately accessible to the teacher via the class notebook. The teacher can provide feedback to the One Note submissions which is extremely valuable to the students. Also, a valuable tool when I teach a mini lesson is embedding a YouTube Read Aloud into PowerPoint. For example, when I am teaching a lesson on perspective in the narrative unit of study, I utilize the story “Voices in the Park” to demonstrate the 3 perspectives shared in the short story. The YouTube read aloud is helpful for students to gain understanding of the story as they analyze the perspectives gleaned from each of the characters. Furthermore, the students have access to the PowerPoints in Canvas and can review them if they need further explanations of the mini lesson. In addition, using IXL.com and commonlit.org to strengthen reading and writing skills are also very helpful. I assign daily language arts IXL activities aligned with the unit of study to build students’ skills. 

CHERYLE

A teacher's ability to engage students is boosted by a variety of learning technologies and tools because they make it easier for students to access a wealth of information and engaging activities (The Future of Education: Integrating Technology in the Classroom, n.d.). Computers, laptops, and tablets can be used by teachers to give students access to the internet so they can do research,visit educational websites and play educational games. Using smartboards in the classroom  allows students to collaborate in real-time on the display, and share notes on a class wiki or website while maintaining an engaging learning environment (The Future of Education: Integrating Technology in the Classroom, n.d.). One second grade teacher, at the school where I work, allowed her students to create music videos. She used her phone to tape the class. She then uploaded to her computer and the class was able to watch on the Smartboard. This was one of their English assignments. This was also a way that she assessed her students. Now I liked that idea. I would take that idea from that second grade teacher, and make videos, plays etc. This sounded like a fun way to integrate technology into the classroom.