Author: Madi Ohashi

What did you learn about the intersection of technology and instruction? What was your progress on becoming a “tech-savvy” teacher?

Throughout this course I was able to learn how prevalent and important the intersection of technology and instruction is. The use of technology is increasing as new apps and devices are being created. I was able to see that technology can enhance education by creating interactive activities. Before coming to this course, I was able to navigate my Macbook pretty well, so I considered myself to be somewhat “tech savvy”. However, I am now realizing that being able to use my Apple devices does not necessarily make me a “tech savvy ” teacher. I was able to learn about new apps created for educators, and on top of that, learn what I could do with apps that I had prior knowledge about. I can now say that I am further along my journey to becoming a “tech savvy” teacher!

This class was driven by mini-projects instead of tests and papers. How did you respond? What does that tell you about student motivation?

I personally really enjoyed the layout of the class. I think I thrive and learn best by doing hands on activities rather than writing out papers. Especially for a tech class, I thought it was very beneficial to make mini-projects and use the applications we were talking about, rather than write a paper on it. Using mini projects rather than papers can really test a students’ motivation. Tests and papers are extrinsic motivators as I know personally, that I’m driven by a grade. Although our mini projects are graded, in order to really create a good project we needed to have intrinsic motivation. We were asked to create a lesson from each application and there were many times where I could’ve done a simple, basic lesson. However, I found myself really getting into each mini project we were assigned. I think this process really showed the differences in student motivation!

by Madi Ohashi and Lauryn Nakashima

Access to our presentation/site:

For our final project, we decided to do a lesson on Go, Slow, and Whoa foods. The target audience for our presentation is 3rd graders. After our lesson is completed, we want the students to have a basic understanding of these specific food groups. We want them to know what foods are good to eat and which are not. Through creating a Google Slide, they will learn more in depth about the food group assigned to them. They will be able to view the other students work on a Padlet. We created a Google Site (link below) where they can find the information and a Padlet for students to upload their Google Slides on. These three programs will aid students learning by allowing students to access the online information, gather and organize their content, and then present and share their learning to their classmates. The use of the technology makes it all very accessible for the teacher, students, and outside members. We hope you enjoy our final project!

I really enjoyed using Edpuzzle to make a lesson on George Washington. I found it pretty easy to insert my quiz questions. I also really enjoyed how the video stops and the questions pop up. I liked how you could crop the video to the length that you wanted it. I could really see myself using this application in my future classes.

by Madi Ohashi and Lauryn Nakashima

To make this Draw Our Life video, we used our iPhones to record a video of us drawing the images that we needed in order to make this video. We then got the video onto our computer and used Quicktime to record our audio. We put our audio and video together in iMovie to make this clip.

We thought it was very fun to do this assignment; however, it took a lot of planning in order to make this video. It also took a lot of time to make, because you needed to make sure each clip was perfect. Even though it was a little difficult and time consuming, we can see ourselves or our students using these applications to make videos for assignments or projects in the classroom.

Attached is the ThingLink I made about the water cycle. I thought this app made it really easy to display the different parts of the water cycle. This app was very easy to use and it took me 10 minutes to make. I really enjoyed the clean crisp look of my ThingLink.

I can see myself using this application to make interactive photos for my lessons. I loved how I could customize the dots to show the sequence of the water cycle. I think this would be great for a social science or science lesson!

In this post, I am comparing Microsoft Sway and Adobe Spark Page. I made an Adobe Spark Page to share my summer trip to Japan!

I personally really enjoyed using Adobe Spark Page way more than using Microsoft Sway. I found it way easier to use and I was able to make my assignment very quickly. I felt that it was much easier to navigate. The layout was very simple and clean however, the transitions in Microsoft Sway were unique. I will definitely use Adobe Spark Page in my classroom.

This is my Microsoft Sway assignment describing where I’m from. I enjoyed using this app to put together photos of my own and from the app to make this slideshow. I found this app a little hard to use just because it was hard to personalize and move around the text. Besides this, I found this app to be a cool way to exhibit information. I can see myself using this in the classroom!

For this assignment, I used the video/animation app, Toontastic. I had such a fun time using their premade sets, characters and layout. I really enjoyed how easy this app was to use. I used this app to do a read aloud of the Goldilocks and the Three Bears. It was pretty easy to use this app and I made use of the voiceover to tell the story. Although my retell is not all that great, I definitely can see myself using this in the future. I can incorporate lessons, stories, and other video ideas using Toontastic.

I made a Padlet for my future classroom. I made a shelf format Padlet for students to input information about themselves. Students can easily add information about themselves from the given prompts. I used celebrities to make examples of how students should input their information. Each student can then press the ‘add column’ button and add their own information. As student’s information slowly start to come in it will line up and people can see facts about their classmates in one document.

I can see myself using Padlet in the future, because it was very easy to use and read from. I really enjoyed learning all about Padlet!

by Madi Ohashi and Lauryn Nakashima

We used Google sites to showcase our work thus far. All of our work is accessible on this website. We added three HyperDoc lessons, MyMaps, MySlides, and a Youtube video. We found Google sites to be easy to use and we will be using this in the future when we become teachers.

This is a MyMaps to show the top natural disasters in the US. This would be used for older grades to educate students on where the natural disasters are. On each location, students can press of the location and find links, videos, and information on each disaster. I also think students can see geographically where many of the natural disasters happen. For instance, hurricanes are on the coast and tornados are inland.

post by Madi Ohashi and Makamae Nottage

We created this lesson for 3rd graders as a pre test about the states and their locations. In this lesson, the students are asked to recognize the location of the specified states on a blank map. Students would only be tested on a few states to assess their knowledge. Then, the teacher would lead an activity about the states and eventually go over all 50 states. This quiz could be altered for every grade level by switching from states to capitals, cities, or landmarks. The post we created is for a starting point of understanding states, and over time students will begin to learn more about the states and be able to take other similar pretests about other aspects of the states.