Author: Anna Wanner

We live in a world that’s constantly changing. The world today is noticeably different from the world just five years ago. While many parts of the world and society have evolved, technology provides one of the more evident records of the changes we’ve seen. With more schools becoming one-to-one or having classroom sets of ChromeBooks and iPads, knowing how to effectively implement and utilize technology into lessons is a valuable skill. Current events affirm the value of technology in the world of education. I think technology also holds value when instruction is in-person. EdTech Methods gave me the opportunity to explore the many ways that technology might support and enhance content and instruction. Of the different tools we explored, two of my favorites were Google Sites and Screencasts.

Google Sites

One of my favorite tools to use was Google Sites. I think Google Sites is especially helpful in organizing a lot of content in a format that is easy to navigate. It can be very useful if the teacher cannot be there in person (absent, online school, snow day).

Write On 4th Graders!

Beauty and the What?

Screencasts

I also really liked using screencasts. I think screencasts and lecture capture tools can be very helpful! Like Google Sites, I think they can be especially useful if the teacher is not able to be present for a lesson.

Why Did They Change Math?

My biggest takeaway from creating educational material with these different technologies is that there are so many ways to share content. Just as I have my favorites, my students will likely have a variety of applications or programs that they would prefer to use to share their work and learn material. Technology provides so many possibilities and ways to enhance lessons and engage students. As the world continues to change, I know there will be more applications and programs for me to learn and experiment with. I strive to be an educator that will implement technology to enhance learning experiences and engage students. At the same time, I think it can be valuable to take a step away from the digital world and be in the moment engaging in face to face conversations with students and encouraging students to engage with one another in person. My goal as an educator in an ever-changing and technology- driven world is to find the balance between interacting with technology and the people right next to us.

Featured Image by sergio souza on Unsplash

For my final project, I created a lesson using Google Sites. This lesson is for second grade and has students compare and contrast fairytales by specifically looking at the character of the beast. It addresses the following two standards: 

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.7

Use information gained from the illustrations and words in a print or digital text to demonstrate understanding of its characters, setting, or plot.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.2.9

Compare and contrast two or more versions of the same story (e.g., Cinderella stories) by different authors or from different cultures.

The use of technology in this lesson enhances the learning goals by providing a space for students to visually compare and contrast animals that are seen as “beasts.” Simply saying the word “beast” or “serpent” will conjure a different image for different students based on their experiences and the context that they have heard those terms used in. By searching each of those words and sharing the images I found, the class has a visual common ground to discuss from. Whether they might classify those animals as beasts or not, seeing that someone linked the concept of “beast” to that animal can provide space for discussion and learning about other people’s understandings and how that might influence the creation of a character in a fairytale. 

I chose to use Google Sites as my platform for this lesson because it allowed for the necessary content to be organized. All the necessary resources and instructions for teaching this lesson can be found on the website. The website itself is designed as the lesson and the lesson plan with everything the teacher needs visible on the website or accessible via hyperlinks and embedded video. I created this website with the idea that I would teach with it and use the website as an instructional aid. However, this website could easily be transformed into an online learning experience for students to complete at home should there be inclement weather conditions or if I were teaching right now in this time of quarantine. The use of Google Sites also made it very easy to link my additional resources (websites, Google Docs, Google Slides, and EdPuzzle). In addition to the practicality of Google Sites, incorporating Google Slides as an additional technology piece allows for a fun and different way for students to be creative in designing a creature to play the “beast” in their own version of the story. At the same time, I would leave open the option to draw their beast by hand (and then I would help them upload a picture) so that my students can create and share their beast character in the way best suited to them!

One of the writing standards for second grade (CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.2.1) requires that students write an opinion piece in which they introduce their opinion, support their opinion with reasons, and provide a concluding statement. Rather than having them write a paragraph or essay, I think it would be fun for them to work toward this standard by writing a book about one of their dreams! Whether it’s their dream job or a fun experience they dream about having or their dream to be on a sports team or whatever dream they decide they want to share, they would share that dream by making a book. They would introduce their dream (opinion), then talk about why they have that dream or what inspired them, and finally conclude their book with a final statement about their dream (opinion). I would use this activity toward the start of the school year we can all learn a little more about one another and grow in our class community! I created the following example about my own dream to be a teacher that I would share with my students.

Featured Image by Randy Tarampi on Unsplash

By Claire Nelson and Anna Wanner

We compared Padlet and Bubbl.us as tools for mind-mapping. In general, Padlet is very user friendly. Padlet has a variety of templates to start your mind map from, in addition to a blank page, so you can organize your thoughts in your own creative way. Padlet has a collaborative feature where you can add people and they can leave comments and their own post it notes on the Padlet. This could be beneficial for distance learning. Bubbl.us is also user friendly and provides a collaborative feature (however, you have to pay for this feature). It is easy to create and add to your mind map and has keyboard shortcuts and the option to undo/redo.

We prefer Bubbl.us because we feel that it is easier to stay organized in a less cluttered fashion. The free version of Bubbl.us allows you to sort your mind maps into different folders after they have been created. Padlet also has this feature but you have to pay for it. As you add more content, Padlet grows in length; whereas with Bubbl.us, you can add content in multiple directions. This is a personal preference because both us like to organize our thoughts in a non-vertical way. Bubbl.us could be provided to students as a note-taking tool, specifically in history classes where it can often be hard to see how all the events connect. Bubbl.us allows you to connect any two bubbles together which would be helpful in seeing the complex connections of historical events.

Featured Image by Biljana Jovanovic from Pixabay

As the title suggests, weather is EVERYWHERE. And as such, it is important for kids to learn about! This video would provide one of the learning stations in a group of learning stations about weather and climate. The question features in this video are mainly designed to gain an idea of students initial thoughts and see how they might apply the information that they’ve already learned to make a prediction. This video was designed for 2nd or 3rd grade.

Featured Image by OpenIcons from Pixabay

It’s pretty common for a child to bring their math homework to their parents for help and receive an answer that is along the lines of “Why did they change math?!” With that in mind, I made a video for parents whose kids are learning the different methods of double-digit by double-digit multiplication. This video outlines the box and lattice methods so that parents can help their child with their math homework questions.

I think screencasts are a fun way to communicate content! I also think that they would be a really useful tool to use when needing to communicate content online because it provides some form of instruction that isn’t just reading.

Featured Image by Pexels from Pixabay

Using Adobe Spark, I made a sample video summary of everything a class did during the school year. I think it’d be a fun way for students to see everything they’ve learned and accomplished. Adobe Spark makes this type of video very easy to create. However, it seems to run slowly on older computers with older versions of internet browsers.

Featured Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

I’m from Oregon 

I’m from summer days outside full of yard work and fun

I’m from winter days with a book by the fire 

I’m from nights full of games

I’m from family beach days

I’m from enjoying every sunset

I’m from loving the outdoors

I’m from faith and hope

Adobe Spark Page is fun and user friendly! I think it could be a fun way for older students to share where they come from. And I think the teacher could compile one for the whole class based on what students shared about where they come from. I think however you use it, I’d recommend thinking through what content you want to put on the page and in what order. I found this to make my first time using it quick and trouble free. I definitely would like to brainstorm ways to implement it into my lesson plans and student projects.

Featured Image by Elena Kuchko on Unsplash

Interactive Writer’s Workshop by Claire Nelson and Anna Wanner

This website was designed to aid 4th grade students along every step of the writing process – from brainstorming to creating their final draft. By the end of this workshop students will be able to confidently approach the writing process, by engaging in self-reflection both at the beginning and the end of the workshop, as well as participating in a variety of activities along the way. In addition, the post assessment provides a space for students to provide feedback on how helpful this workshop was so that the teacher can collect data on the effectiveness of their instruction. Furthermore, the teacher asks for any ideas for improvement to better this workshop experience.

Our hope for this tool is that students will have a resource that they can reference back to it whenever they get a new writing assignment and need support in any or all areas of the writing process!

Featured Image by David Schwarzenberg from Pixabay

This google form was designed as a pre-assessment for a kindergarten science lesson on animals and plants. The lesson is based off of the following Oregon Standard: K-LS1-1 – Use observations to describe patterns of what plants and animals (including humans) need to survive. In line with the standard, this pre-assessment addresses what animals and plants need to survive. This form gives the teacher information on what students already know prior to this lesson so that they can adjust and differentiate the lesson accordingly. For instance if the whole class already knows what plants and animals need to survive, then the lesson can change into a discussion comparing the two. If there’s a lot of variation in what students know, the teacher can set up learning centers with different activities.

Ideally, this pre-assessment would be given in a 1:1 environment at the start of the lesson so that the teacher could see where all their students are at. However, with some planning, this pre-assessment could be incorporated into learning centers prior to the science lesson so that the teacher still gathers the data on what students know and adjust the lesson accordingly. One thing to keep in mind if this pre-assessment is given during learning centers is that the assessment does not have audio for the questions. Since many kindergartners cannot read the directions for the questions, the teacher can either explain what the students will do when they reach that learning center, facilitate that learning center themselves, or have an adult volunteer/faculty member assist students at that learning center. If the pre-assessment is given in a 1:1 environment, the teacher can explain the directions for each question and answer questions as the students take the quiz.

Image Credits:

Photo by Christopher Rusev on Unsplash

Photo by Chanan Greenblatt on Unsplash

Image by Selling of my photos with StockAgencies is not permitted from Pixabay

*Note: Click the icon in the upper left corner to filter the different layers. Select the Expectations and unselect the Overview to view the information for the students. Doing the opposite will show the information for the chaperones.

This map is designed as a preview to a field trip for kindergartners. The map consists of two layers, one for the students and one for the parents. The layer labeled field trip expectations contains information for the teacher to share with the students. I would use this layer of the map as part of a lesson in field trip expectations prior to the trip. The information on this layer outlines what behavior is appropriate for the field trip and emphasizes that these expectations are to keep them safe. It will also give the students an idea of what our field trip to the zoo would look like in terms of transportation and a schedule. The other layer of the map is for the chaperones with details regarding their responsibilities as a chaperone and the details of our transportation.

In thinking through this map, I really like the feature of different layers so that you can filter different information. Since I want to give different information for the same location, this feature allows me to view the different information by selecting only one layer. I also think this tool is very helpful for this type of a map because I can share it with the chaperones so that they have access to it on their phones and can reference it as needed. It was somewhat time consuming to make, but with practice I think the process will go quicker. And I think, especially in terms of a kindergarten field trip, the time put in would be worth a smooth field trip.

Featured Image: Photo by H W on Unsplash

By Anna Wanner and Claire Nelson

This lesson is designed for students in grades 3-5 to help them practice making inferences. The lesson puts the students in the role of a detective on the hunt for clues to solve a mystery. The students are able to go with their initial inference and explore further, while also giving them the option to change their mind when they gather more information. These slides are designed to encourage the students to infer and alter those inferences as they gather new information. This could be done as a whole group lesson, as a station in learning centers, or even individually if every student had access to a personal device.

Featured Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay