Author: Ashley Eala

Welcome to my Portfolio of classroom technology resources I have learned about in my college course, Technology in Education. Over this course, we learned about a variety of online platforms that can be used by teachers to support student learning. This course taught me that there are so many different ways we can use the internet to educate students in fun, engaging ways. Below are a few resources that I enjoyed learning about and wanted to highlight. I encourage you to check them out, as well as the other online platforms within my portfolio. Happy learning/teaching!

Citations:

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

May 3, 2033

Dear former me,
It seems like only yesterday, I was at UP. It was the spring term, 2023.

So much has happened since then. It's crazy to think that a whole decade has passed. 10 years ago from today, or I guess your present, I was finishing up finals and getting ready to graduate with my Bachelors in Education and my teaching license (congratulations, by the way!). It's so weird to think that you're applying to jobs to be an Elementary teacher. I know it seems scary, but remember how exciting it will be to finally fulfill your dream of educating young minds. :)

Like you've experienced recently, the past 10 years have been an emotional rollercoaster. We've gone to a few different grades since joining the team (I won't tell you where though, that can be a surprise for you :) ). While it feels like the stress will never go away at times, this journey has overall felt so rewarding, and trust me when I say there's no greater feeling than seeing your students grow and eventually graduate. That's right, we had our first set of students GRADUATE high school. Isn't that insane to think about?! It was so nice to see them all grown up and talk to a few about what it was like to attend UP.

The memories and connections you will make over the next 10 years will be so so amazing. While it seems like your career and life could go down a million different paths, just know that whatever you choose will be the best choice for you in the moment, and will lead you down a great path.

Make sure you take care of yourself, enjoy the little things, and have the most amazing next 10 years!

Citations:

Photo by Kate Macate on Unsplash

By Ashley Eala, Chandler Marelich, and Justin Matsuura

This is a professional development lesson for educators to learn how to use Book Creator and Google Slides to assess students’ research on a specific topic within a teacher-decided field.

The main goal of this presentation is to give educators a range of assessment tools they can use with upper elementary to middle school students. Educators will learn how they can use two different online platforms as a way for students to present their learning and use various online research tools. These assessment tools will show educators how well students can gather information and sum up their findings into an organized presentation.

To help educators gain a better understanding of how to use Book Creator and Google Slides as an assessment, we created instructional examples for students using each online platform. The Book Creator assessment is an example of how 3rd graders can make a presentation on animals in Africa, and the Google Slides assessment is an example of how 5th graders can make a presentation on countries in Africa.

Animals of Africa Research Project

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

Google Slides: Countries in Africa Research Project

Book Creator and Google Slides are great tools for educators to use in their classroom. Students can share their work with educators, and students have the ability to express their creativity using these different formats for their presentation and built-in search tools for images. The research tools available to students to find information for their presentation, such as Kiddle and World Factbook, give students the ability to have more accessible and specific information for their topic.

Exit Ticket for Presentation Here

Citations:

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Co-Authors: Ashley Eala, Megan Livingston, Rachel Pettey

https://sites.google.com/view/fractionaction/home

Target: 4th Grade Math

Lesson Context: Introduction to Equivalent Fractions

Goal: I can define and compare equivalent fractions.

Citations:

Photo by Clayton Robbins on Unsplash

I created this book to introduce students to solstices and equinoxes, which became an idea after I was talking to students about seasons in my student teaching placement. Students understand that there are four different seasons, but they don’t necessarily understand why the seasons occur. Therefore, this book is intended to give them a little bit of background as to how Earth’s tilt and its positioning in relation to the sun affects season changes and why the hemispheres get opposite seasons. My target audience would be 4th grade, but 5th and possibly 3rd later in the year could also use this book.

Equinoxes and Solstices

Click to read this book, made with Book Creator

https://read.bookcreator.com

I found Book Creator to be a relatively easy site to use. I liked how there was a built-in image search and that there were layouts I could choose from for picture layouts and headings. Overall, I enjoyed using Book Creator and think it would be a great resource for students to use as well.

Citations:

Photo by Kristopher Roller on Unsplash

Google Forms is a great way to create assessments or engaging tasks for students. I think it’s a great tool to use because teachers can format them however they like, such as including different types of media and sections. I thought it was cool that you can format choices to go to specific pages rather than just go in numerical order. I think students would be able to understand how to use Google Forms, and since most of the schools I’ve been in use Google as their search platform, I think students would be able to access it easily.

Citations:

Photo by Susan Holt Simpson on Unsplash

I am from a place
that you can drive around in a single day,
where everyone knows everyone
from the mountains to the bay.

I am from the middle of the Pacific Ocean,
where beaches are the best spot
and the lowest average temperature
is still considered hot.

I am from an island
that people travel to by plane,
and where the sun shines
even in the pouring rain.

I am from a valley.
where trade winds roam,
many family gatherings are held,
and where I’ll always call home.

The app I used was Microsoft Sway. I liked this app because there was an image search feature so I could upload non-copyright images straight through the site. I found it a little difficult to design the images with the text how I wanted them, but there were lots of different suggestions from Sway. Overall, the site was easy to understand and use.

Hello 4th Grade Families!

Thank you for volunteering to come with us to Hoyt Arboretum this Thursday. The class is so excited to visit and see the nature they’ve been researching.

Here’s an outline of our time there (times are approximated):

• 9:30am: Please plan to meet us at the Visitor Center around 9:00am. You may meet us at the school first but you will need to drive on your own and meet us there. We will be listening to a Nature Educator tell us a little about the trail we’re going on as well as the safety protocols before hiking.
• 10:00am: We will begin our hike, which starts near the Stevens Pavilion. We will be dropping off students’ bags — make sure they take water bottles — before starting the fir trail (marked with triangles on the map). This will take about 45 minutes to an hour as the Nature Educator will be pointing out things along the way. Students will have a worksheet to take notes with — please make sure those around you are filling them out, and assist with any spelling/repeat questions when you can.
• 11:00am: We will be finishing the hike back at the Stevens Pavilion. Students will be asked to share some of their thoughts about the hike as well as some of the notes they took. Afterward, we will be eating lunch at the pavilion.
• 12:00pm: We will be returning to the Visitor Center after lunch to do a little recap with the Nature Educator.
• 12:30pm: We will plan to leave the Hoyt Arboretum around this time, 1:00pm at the latest. All students must return back to school to do another recap in the classroom and finish part two of their worksheets before turning them in. We welcome you to join us in the room if you’d like. Students will then be excused at the usual time.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out. We cannot wait to see you on Thursday — thank you again for volunteering!

Citations:

Photo by Engin Yapici on Unsplash

AI is an interesting tool to use for teaching. While it’s not a perfect tool, it gives good starting ideas for teachers to use when creating tests or activities. I asked ChatGPT to create an area and perimeter activity for 4th graders and this is what it gave me:

“Title: Measuring our Classroom

Objective: To practice finding the area and perimeter of rectangular shapes

Materials:

• Ruler or measuring tape
• Graph paper
• Pencil
• Calculator (optional)

Instructions:

1. Divide the class into pairs.
2. Give each pair a ruler or measuring tape and have them measure the length and width of different objects in the classroom (e.g. desks, whiteboards, windows, doors).
3. Have the students record their measurements on the graph paper, using squares to represent square units.
4. Once they have drawn the rectangle to scale, they should find the area of each rectangle by counting the number of squares inside.
5. Next, they should find the perimeter of each rectangle by adding up the lengths of all four sides.
6. Have each pair share their findings with the class, and write the answers on the board.
7. Finally, challenge the class to find the combined area and perimeter of multiple objects in the room.

Note: Be sure to emphasize that area is measured in square units and perimeter is measured in linear units.

This activity is a fun and hands-on way for 4th graders to learn about area and perimeter. By measuring objects in their own classroom, they will have a concrete understanding of these mathematical concepts.“

While this activity is similar to what I did with my own 4th graders, some things that the AI fails to take into account is how hard it would be for students to draw our what they measure to scale. I definitely agree that students should draw out rectangles to find perimeter and area, but drawing it to scale is too time-consuming and would take away from the main point of practicing finding perimeter and area.

Citations:

Photo by Monica Sedra on Unsplash

This lesson is for 4th and 5th graders and combines the subjects geography and ELA.

Students will start by reading part of a text about how mountains are formed.

The teacher will then generate with students a list of the key ideas for how mountains are formed, as well as a few examples or details of those ideas provided in the text.

Afterward, students will think about other mountains they know of that are not listed in the text. The teacher will create a list with students of these mountains.

Students will then get into small groups and do research to come up with two to three mountains from around the world that fit into the different categories of the key ideas discussed as a whole class (how mountains are formed).

Citations:

Photo by Rohit Tandon on Unsplash

Photo by Mark Tuzman on Unsplash

Photo by Karsten Winegeart on Unsplash

Photo by aditya anjagi on Unsplash

Photo by Andreas Gäbler on Unsplash

Photo by Bruce Irving on Unsplash