3D Printing

I think the idea of 3D printing is something that is very exciting to many people, mainly because it is one of those technologies people thought of when imagining "futuristic" technology. That being said, I think it might be difficult to use in a classroom just because it is relatively new. It would be a great tool for printing out replicas and manipulative but with how long it takes to print a single item, it may not be very practical for a whole school. I imagine as it develops (like all technology) it will become easier and faster. It will be very exciting to see how it is used in schools as time goes on and the technology if 3D printing is refined.

TPACK Lesson Plan- Adjectives

Lesson Plan for TPACK integration

• Learners: 3^rd grade learning group.
• Learning outcomes: At the end of this activity students should be able to understand different kinds of adjectives, and how and where they function in a sentence.
• Assessment: Assessment will be done throughout the activity. Multiple points for review and practice are given in the presentation (distinguishing between nouns and adjectives, finding adjectives and the nouns they modify in writing). And a final assessment will be conducted informally when the student is finding adjectives on a smartboard game. The number of correct adjectives identified on the game will be recorded.

Break down of lesson:

• The lesson will begin by asking students what they know about adjectives. We will discuss as a class and come up with an overall definition of what we think adjectives are. This should take about 3 minutes.
• For about 10 minutes as a class we will go through the presentation. New and old information will be presented and connected. There will be points to stop to have students come and answer questions on the board and some activities will be done together. These activities will check for understanding and will further reiterate concepts presented.
• Following the presentation, students will come and play the adjective identification game on the smartboard. This will help students practice quickly identifying adjectives in a given sentence. Allow 2 minutes of play time for each student.

Reflection

--Pedagogical-Content:

• The strategies used in this lesson utilized all 3 modes of learning to help further develop student’s understanding. Verbal examples were given of adjectives that correlated with a specific picture. It gave examples of the different ways that adjectives can modify nouns that were familiar to the age group. There was also practice and examples for the placement of adjectives in a sentence as well as differentiating between nouns and adjectives. This activity also allowed students to share ideas with others, contribute to the class discussion, and self-practice with teacher guidance.
• I would go into this lesson with the pre-conception that students in the 3^rd grade have at least heard the word “adjective” and know that it has to do with writing. Some students who are more advanced may know that function it has in a sentence or what it modifies. These students will help start the lesson with discussion and help other students begin to develop an understanding of the topic before formal instruction is given.

--Technological-Pedagogical:

• In this activity technology serves to give a visual and auditory explanation of the concept. A concept is presented with pictures, then students can make inferences when seeing the two before the verbal answer or explanation is given. Technology also allows the students to interact as a class and an individual with the content. Students are able to mark and search for important points while getting automatic feedback from the material.
• Students would need to be kept actively thinking while others were coming up to the board to answer questions. A method could be to ask students to have an answer ready in their head if their classmate cannot answer the question, they can be called on at any point. Students might also be asked to write down answers on a piece of paper while others are answering. Or groups could be made to discuss the answers and groups come up together to answer on the board. These strategies would allow for all students to be active with the content even though they may not be actually interacting with the technology.
  
  

--Technological Pedagogical Content:

• Technology enhances the way content is presented by utilizing all 3 modes of learning. Students can hear the examples of adjectives and how they are used in a sentence. There are also visual representations of examples (number, descriptive, origin) given within the lesson. Many times, auditory support is given along with the visual aids. Kinesthetic practice is given when students are called to the board to identify adjectives as well as the nouns they modify. The practice given gives instant feedback to students when they choose the correct answer. The game app is a tool to support the pedagogy because the difficulty constantly changes with how well a student is doing with the identification. The game also uses a quick response method to help students work on naturally recognizing an adjective in a sentence.
• Without the technology component of this lesson, students would have less interaction with the material and the modes of learning would be limited. I could have the notes on a white board and still have visual and auditory instruction, but I do not believe it would reach students in the same way. The transition from concept to practice would also be less smooth, students may grow inattentive if the same material was given on paper or just on the board. Another element of the technology use that is not available otherwise is the sound effects and feedback given from the presentation. Students are accustomed to getting teacher feedback every day, but being able to get a different source of feedback is very beneficial and exciting to students. The practicing of the material would also be less interactive and would need to be done on paper.

TPACK and Unprepared Teachers

In an time of increased technology and the importance of technological knowledge, teachers are often under informed on how to best incorporate technology into their classrooms. Teacher education programs and school districts push the importance of using technology in the classroom, but that is often where the instruction ends. Many are left to navigate the incorporation themselves with little to no explicit instruction on how to use technology to best serve their students. Most technology now being used in classrooms incorporate content and technological knowledge, but are missing important pedagogical knowledge. Teachers are so concerned with creating a technology rich curriculum and getting students to interact with as much technology as possible that they are forgoing important pedagogical instruction. This research ties into the article discussing the struggles of new teachers in the sense that teachers are often left to fend for themselves after graduation. While there are professional development opportunities available, there are little to no everyday resources for teachers to turn to when curriculum help is needed.

Observation Guide

Date: September 2, 2015

Location: Library

Lesson Topic: Picture Books

    3.   Teacher’s incorporation of Technology:

●‧What technology(ies) is the teacher incorporating in the lesson? Powerpoint shown on smartboard.

●‧How is the teacher incorporating these technologies?

She is using the smartboard to display powerpoint and outlines over the material.

●‧What are the benefits and drawbacks for the teacher related to using the technology(ies)?

She is dependent on the technology to teach us instead of engaging student’s herself. But it is easier to take notes if it’s shown on the board.

●‧Are there any other Technology tools that the mentor teacher could address?

No, does not fit into curriculum.

        6.   Reflection

●‧How did incorporating this instructional technology(ies) help the students to learn? How effective was it? Explain your answer.

It was not necessary to facilitate learning, just supported the discussion in class.

Technology Reflection

 The three articles all discussed the increased presence of technology in both education and everyday life. As a future teacher, I understand the need for myself and my students to be technologically literate to thrive in today's world. But I am also anxious about the dependency that students will likely develop in a technology saturated classroom. Growing up I cannot recall spending much time on a computer in school unless I was in computer class learning how to use Microsoft Office applications, it was not until college that I saw my first Smart Board or participated in my first interactive technology lesson. Even with such a late introduction to technology and all of it's uses, I still find myself effortlessly spending hours inside on my computer. If students are launched into a world where technology solves every problem and accomplishes every little task for them, what will their future hold? Things like digital textbooks, interactive lessons, and class websites are great learning tools to use in a classroom. Technology is wonderful in moderation, but there are essential  skills like critical thinking and communication that simply cannot be developed if a student's face is stuck to a screen all day. We as educators are doing a disservice to our students if we create an attitude of dependence on technology. Einstein feared the day that technology surpassed human interaction, and that trend is starting to appear in our own generation. Making students rely on technology any further than we already do will create an era of uninvolved idiots.