Technology Integration What is it? Technology integration is occurring if: teachers are trained in a full range of technology uses and in the determination of their appropriate roles and applications; teachers and students routinely turn to technology when needed (website creation and maintenance and online assessment); teachers and students are empowered and supported in carrying out those choices; A framework is in place that guides expectations for the independence of students in various ways, including the degree of student independence in deciding how and when to use technology in their learning activities. Under these conditions: allowing, encouraging, or requiring students to use word processing and presentation software in reports and displays; using presentation software and projection technology for teacher presentations; using computers for on-line testing and analysis of test results; Access for students with disabilities is addressed through special software, hardware, and other accommodations; Types of hardware on hand: computers, handheld devices, cameras, Internet service, telecom connections, one-way and two-way interactive video. Documentation: 1. Frequency of student participation in planning for uses of technology 2. Degree of student independence 3. Variety of uses & connection to curricular goals and objectives 5. Duality of goals - Learning tech skills as well as content 6. Frequency of use of technology per student in a day or week How can I use technology while teaching skills? Find district and internet sites that encourage the use of technology in combination with Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS). As long as the activities address the TEKS and have ways to measure student progress, teachers should be able to incorporate these types of sites into the curriculum. First, you try it and model, determining its relevance and importance. Example: Be World Wise is a neat site that combines student activities with sound, pictures, brain games, and ways to determine the curriculum level that is appropriate for different grade levels and Student Tiers. Follow along as you Explore the Ocean Realm and Environmental Investigations and available activities. For students who are learning about the ocean, this
integrates English skills (writing and reading), science (investigations), and knot tying (kinesthetic learners). Note how many different learning styles and modalities are used simultaneously while students participate. Plastics in the Water (under Teacher Resources/Curriculum) allows teachers to plan (background, objectives, materials needed, vocabulary, procedures, assessments, and further exploration). Look at the TEKS covered with this type of technology. Study the following TEKS to determine WHEN to use this site. http://www.internet4classrooms.com/links_grades_kindergarten_12/lesson_plans_technology_elementary _middle_school.htm Science, Grade 5: Fifth grade students continue to know how a system is a collection of processes that interact. They identify and describe examples of daily, weekly, lunar, and seasonal cycles including life cycles of plants and animals. They identify the significance of water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. They continue to study the physical properties of matter, the conduction and insulation of heat, electricity, and the production of sound. They observe and measure constant properties of everyday substances such as boiling points and melting points. They differentiate among forms of light, heat, electrical, and solar energy. They study reflection and refraction of light. They continue to learn about adaptation and the unique niche of some organisms in an ecosystem. They identify traits that are inherited in plants and animals. Students now interpret how landforms are the result of a combination of constructive and destructive forces. Past and present events that affect the future help students understand the formation of Earth s renewable, non-
renewable, and inexhaustible resources. Gravity, gravitational forces in the solar system, and the physical characteristics of the Earth, are also identified and compared. Social Studies, Grade 4 - Enduring Understanding: People adapt to and modify their environment Math, Grade 4 Problem solving, language and communication, connections within and outside mathematics, and formal and informal reasoning underlie all content areas in mathematics. Throughout mathematics in Grades 3-5, students use these processes together with technology and other mathematical tools such as manipulative materials to develop conceptual understanding and solve meaningful problems as they do mathematics. Underlying processes and mathematical tools. The student applies Grade 4 mathematics to solve problems connected to everyday experiences and activities in and outside of school. Throughout mathematics in Grades 3-5, students build a foundation of basic understandings in number, operation, and quantitative reasoning; patterns, relationships, and algebraic thinking; geometry and spatial reasoning; measurement; and probability and statistics. Students use algorithms for addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division as generalizations connected to concrete experiences; and they concretely develop basic concepts of fractions and decimals. Students use appropriate language and organizational structures such as tables and charts to represent and communicate relationships, make predictions, and solve problems. Students select and use formal language to describe their reasoning as they identify, compare, and classify two- or three dimensional geometric figures; and they use numbers, standard units, and measurement tools to describe and compare objects, make estimates, and solve application problems. Students organize data, choose an appropriate method to display the data, and interpret the data to make decisions and predictions and solve problems. Throughout mathematics in Grades 3-5, students develop numerical fluency with conceptual understanding and computational accuracy. Formative Assessment: How did you use the TEKS to determine WHEN to use this site? How will you sell this activity and technology to your mentor or principal? What do you have to know before planning its use? Is technology integration occurring? [A framework is in place that guides expectations for the independence of students in various ways, including the degree of student independence in deciding how and when to use technology in their learning activities.]
Next, we try it using the same process and assessment http://ericir.syr.edu/virtual/lessons 4 th grade Language Arts ~ process Skills ~ Singing with Apples Teams try it: Using one of the following sites, determine answers to the same questions and find the TEKS at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148. Prepare a short presentation to the class using the formative assessment rubric below: Math http://www.playkidsgames.com/games/mathfact/mathfact.htm Map Game http://www.integratelearning.org/lesson%20bank/i-learnplans.htm Science/Even Grass won t Grow http://www.integratelearning.org/lesson%20bank/rhodes/grass.pdf Monster Exchange - http://www.monsterexchange.org Becoming Human (Science) http://www.pbs.org/teachers/connect/resources/7454/preview Free lesson plans http://ericir.syr.edu/virtual/lessons Ways to Integrate Technology - Productivity Tools - http://www.hartnet.org/chow/integrate/pubpro/prod.html#spreadsheet
K-12 websites for teachers: http://www.hartnet.org/chow/integrate/www.htm Building a school website http://712educators.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/xj/ya&zti=1&sdn=712educators&cdn=educati on&tm=10&gps=95_166_1233_832&f=00&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3a//www.wigglebits. com Participatory webs: http://learningaloud.com/participatoryweb Yahoo Kids Study zone: http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/science-and-nature/the- Earth/Weather World Maps - Yahoo kids Study zone: http://kids.yahoo.com/directory/science-and- Nature/The-Earth/Weather Formative Assessment: How did you use the TEKS to determine WHEN to use this site? How will you sell this activity and technology to your mentor or principal? What do you have to know before planning its use? How is technology integration occurring? [A framework is in place that guides expectations for the independence of students in various ways, including the degree of student independence in deciding how and when to use technology in their learning activities]. Works Cited: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory: http://www.netc.org/images/pdf/tech.integration.pdf Texas Education Agency http://www.tea.state.tx.us/index2.aspx?id=6148 Websites credited. Lesson Planet must register http://www.lessonplanet.com/search?grade=all&keywords=project+based+learning+plan s&media=lesson&rating=3&search_type=narrow Participatory webs - http://learningaloud.com/participatoryweb