It has been a long semester full of learning, lesson plans, and growth. The following lesson plans are ones created with new technology tools in mind! You could find lessons for a variety of subjects showcasing different tools you may use!
This was my very first lesson plan made on EdTech! It features special imaging that allows you to slide over and compare two images and collage of other imaging. It features a great writing warm up to get students hands moving and brains working. It also features a discussion prompt as students share what they notice and wonder.
This lesson features a Google Jamboard for students to use as they compare and contrast two different Cinderella stories. This lesson is great for students’ to practice their analyzation of text.
This lesson plan uses Book Creator to help build classroom community! This SEL lesson brings social emotional learning and writing together as students create pages to celebrate their own and their classmate’s good qualities!
This was my most recent lesson plan built in this class. It features a Google Site that allows students to explore and quiz themselves on common polygons!
These different posts allow you too see my growth throughout the course as I become more familiar with the WordPress platform and a variety of lesssons to use with a third-grade class! If you’d like a look at more or similar lessons check out some of my other posts such as…
A tool that can be very under utilized in creating community in the classroom, is technology. This year, in Covid times, teachers had to rely on tech to not only add to creating their classroom community, but rely on it to create their whole community. This semester I worked on making posts that can be outreach to student interests (Cooking recipes and reading through overdrive), as well as creating a space for them to get to know me (10 Things to do Before I Die), and a space for me to get to know them (Getting to know you). I also focused a lot of energy on creating a class website that could be used by students and parents to stay up to date on various things. Below are my posts that worked to build a community in the classroom, enjoy!
This semester has seen growth in a variety of areas, one of those being my skill with various technological tools and gadgets I may need in the future. Below we will celebrate some particular posts from the last bit that I feel represent and solidify my progress in this course, as well as discuss technological skill that I feel wasn’t contained in any particular exercise.
Posts:
This post was modeled off of a lesson that I had Geometry Students try before they had been introduced to the technical definitions of congruence and similarity. I enjoyed the learning and creativity it gave students the chance to access as the they get to navigate themselves through this lesson.
This is another post I feel particularly represents my unique ability to blend technological skill and mathematical ability. Students were asked to “tour” downtown Portland and the surrounding suburbs while also calculating various mathematical facts to enhance their journey. This ranged from bills and tips from eating lunch, to how much gas money each student would owe depending on the milage they got.
This semester has been outside of the norm for several reasons. For one school was yet again full price, and yet nothing happened physically? Still trying to work out the math on that one and I have a feeling I may be stumped on that for a long time. I also made the decision to move back home and let me tell you; doing College from your childhood bedroom does have its advantages. That would be not having to pay rent. And thats about it I think. However it took place, I am very proud to say that I have almost finished up 4 years of an experience like nothing else. If I could do it again admittedly I probably would have done something with less of a ~hey go make the biggest financial decision (or mistake) of your life at the age of 18 because all of the adults around you think its a good idea~ type aura too it, but nevertheless we are here with skills that I would not have been able to get anywhere else.
Mathematically speaking I truly did not think I would be here. Math has always been on the back of my mind as something that I had enjoyed in the past but had never been seen as a tangible career choice until I took it to College and decided to run with it. Math in College taught me valuable lessons both in doing math and how it should be taught. To be frank I learned more about educating and empowering through math from the Mathematics department than I did from the School of Education. As someone who was drawn to the University of Portland because of its Education program, I was pleasantly surprised with the role models both in mathematical thinking and life choices I found within the Math department, and gravitated towards it.
Now while all of this was happening, I was also evaluating my career choice as an educator. I knew I wanted to educate in the mold of the many high school teachers and college professors that I had been influenced with, however I found I got my best experience through the School of Education through my field experience in the classroom. Once there I was able to hone my skills as someone who’s main goal was to foster inquisitive and curious learners with a drive to succeed. During my time in schools around the Portland area was when I felt the most effective in learning and growing as an Instructor.
Teaching over the years has become increasingly digital. Students are almost always expected to have some sort of device or internet access at school and at home. As teachers, it is important that we grow with technology and understand the different ways we can use technology while also still including students in their own education.
Over the time of this course, I have tried to create lessons or activities that allow students to participate in their learning at their own pace or ability. It is important that students are a part of their own learning because it allows the teacher and students to work together in a warm environment wherein students are actually excited to learn and do different learning activities.
Over the time of this course, I have tried to create lessons or activities that allow students to participate in their learning at their own pace or ability. It is important that students are a part of their own learning because it allows the teacher and students to work together in a warm environment wherein students are actually excited to learn and do different learning activities.
This course has also showed me the value of adaptability of different lessons. Teaching is never static; there is constant reworking of lessons or information. My lessons and activities posts include different ways that the lesson/activity can be adapted by teachers to fit whatever situation they may want to use the lesson/activity for. It is important for teachers to go with the flow and adapt their lessons to fit the students they are teaching, especially in an increasingly digital world where students have varying degrees of knowledge of technology use.
Below, I’ve included some lessons and activities that I feel show this type of work I have done with technology:
The activity for this lesson allows students the opportunity to choose if they would like to be tested on Sparta or Athens. Differentiated learning is important to me because students should be allowed to share what they have learn in a way that does not reflect on what they may have missed on during lessons. The quiz allows students to have agency over what they want to show me what they can do which helps to create an environment where students are actually a part of their own learning. This lesson, of course, can be adapted differently and the quiz can be changed to fit whatever may be necessary for a teacher in the moment. The test sections themselves can be divided and one can be made into extra credit for students that really want to show the teacher what they have learned.
This lesson provides students space to explore land acquisition in the United States in the nineteenth century. Students can use a google map activity, designed my myself, to see how the United States changed over the course of 50 years. Like with my other posts, the lesson can be adapted differently to include project elements wherein students add information to the map based off their research.
This lesson allows students to explore the topic at their own pace. Students learn differently from one another and it is important that students be allowed to learn at their own reasonable pace. The website I created for this activity allows for students to go through different components of the lesson at their own pace and it includes different review sections for students before a small quiz that students take to show their comprehension.
This journey began long ago and started with some rather odd beginnings, but somehow this is where it all ended up. Me, Adamm White Eagle Creel, becoming an elementary school teacher!
Who could have thought, that a 40 year old former Army soldier and former long haul trucker could become a rad teacher? Well, I mean I did, and had to struggle to get here, but it was worth it!
Along the way I learned a few new tricks to enhance my teaching potential, and incorporate technology into the mix. I would like to showcase some of that here:
Just like with Star Wars the sequel is the best of the trilogy (to be clear, that is the original trilogy) this is a great mini lesson that I made thinking of a 3rd grade classroom trying to help Maya, who is NOT a fictitious bird, rather she is my support parrot. Over zoom classes she has been constantly on my shoulder and it was only fitting that students learned more about her, so I set up a 3 part series about her. This part uses maps to show where Quaker Parrots come from. And sadly, where they are banned as pets in the US.
Summertime road trips, what isn’t to love? As a former long haul truck driver I have driven all across the US, so I thought a lesson to label the states would be fun. So I put together a Jamboard activity to let students see how well they could do labeling the states on a blank map. The hardest part was making so many little sticky notes to move around, but the end result was worth it in my opinion.
This lesson was basic for a reason, but I think it does the job well. When learning new concepts having the different colors for things adds layers to the understanding. With the vocabulary words highlighted in the same colors used in the activity this was less done to make things “easy” and more done to build scaffolding to increase understanding. I attempted to use the colors closest associated with the words. There is also an option to print the sheet and color it in! See, learning can be fun!
I love to teach people new things, and learn new things. I am just sorry that I didn’t become a teacher earlier so I could help some people that really needed it:
Enhancing student learning using technology has always been an interest of mine. Over the past semester, I have been introduced to many new tools to add to my teaching toolbox. In this class, I have been able to improve my skill in adding technology to my methods of teaching math. I have been challenged to design lesson plans that enhance student learning and seek to challenge students to use higher-order thinking using useful technology. Furthermore, I have been able to envision lessons that introduce math topics in a way that is applicable and relatable to their own lives.
This past year has also been a challenge with envisioning using new tools to keep up the quality of student learning with the limitations of teaching online. Many of the technologies I have learned about are great tools for teaching new topics and assigning work online. I have been able to design work that adds visual elements to learning while challenges students. I have also been able to use tools that will give students individualized feedback and allows students to be creative and design their own projects.
While I may be a bit outside of the educational sector due to my main focus of study being within the field of biochemistry and french (and not education itself), I am still fascinated with the act of teaching and the best way to go about doing so. As a student and peer educator, I am always open to new ways of learning and sharing those processes with others. Through this class, I have been able to gain invaluable skills in using and applying digital tools. Some of these I have even started using for other courses.
In this ever-increasingly digital era, it is important to be familiar with digital tools, like those utilized by this course. While I have had practice with some of these tools, there were others of which I had never even heard. Over the course of this semester, I was able to explore these tools and gain confidence in my use of them. Previously, I would have described my understanding and use of technology as “beginner” or at best a “working-relationship”. Now, I consider myself closer to “novice”.
In my projects, I attempted to apply the digital tools investigated to theoretical lessons related to chemistry. The following works are ones I am particularly proud of and I believe show how I have improved my abilities in the digital world.
The first I’d like to showcase is the Google Site I made on acid-base chemistry. Through this site, students are given introductory and concluding activities, a general knowledge of acid-base chemistry, as well as a brief mention on the applications of such chemistry in the “real world”. Many fun (educational) videos are included too. I am rather pleased with this post due to how well all of the information in parsed out in small bits, making it easier to digest.
Creating “Solutions: How Basic Are They?” made me feel the most like a teacher. As a peer educator in Chemistry, I get questions all the time about calculating pH for a given solution. This post allows me to answer those questions with ease. This resource emphasizes active learning while also allowing the student to tailor it to his/her needs. I am rather proud of it because it utilizes two (or three if you count WordPress itself) digital tools: Jamboard, which was introduced in a previous lesson, and Loom, which was the main focus of this lesson. This activity asks students to watch mini “lecture” videos (recorded via Loom) regarding the calculation of the pH of a solution and then apply that knowledge to practice problems. They can then check their answers by watching the corresponding solution video for each problem. If the students don’t understand where they went wrong, they are asked to refer back to the videos or even a Google Site containing information on acids and bases (which is found in a previous WordPress post).
Finally, I’d like to highlight the book I made through Book Creator. I had so much fun writing and creating “Aqua& Fina: A Tale of Chemical Adventure”. Chemistry tends to be viewed in a negative light. I thought a story might help change that perception (because who doesn’t love a good story?). I hope this would be used in a classroom as a model for a project where students come up with their own fun illustrations explaining a chemistry topic. However, it can also serve as a way for students to think critically about the chemistry they have learned through the discussion questions provided while at the same time adding a little more fun to the subject.
I believe technology is a vital tool that can unlock so many new possibilities, especially within the classroom. This is evident by the increasing omnipresence of technology in the student experience. This past year in distance learning has truly put technology to the test. While it is an incredible testament to the modern era that classes were able to continue virtually, learning based entirely in technology was not without its severe challenges. From Zoom fatigue, to blue-light induced headaches, to the endless distractions of the Internet during online classes, it is clear that technology in education has its limits. Too much of a good thing can, indeed, be a bad thing.
Therefore, it is vital that educators are intentional about the types and frequency of technological tools used in the classroom. My belief is that technology should not be used to simply replace traditional educational tools, but it ought to expand beyond previous capabilities to create new opportunities for student growth. With this philosophy in mind, the posts that make up my portfolio each use technological tools to extend beyond the restraints of traditional in-person tools in order to more effectively teach key Social Studies concepts.
First, my post “A Supply and Demand Story: Differentiated Google Form” allows students to choose their own adventure in setting up a shop, and the online format provides them with immediate feedback to their answers and corresponding resources. Google Forms allows me to automatically differentiate my content based on the interests and needs of each individual learner, which would be an otherwise very challenging task to do in real time.
Another of my posts, which is entitled “Visualizing A Holocaust Survivor’s Journey,” connects abstract names and ideas to specific places on a map through the use of Google MyMaps. When discussing history (especially World History) it is often difficult for student to connect abstract concepts or facts to the actual, concrete places they took place. Students follow the journey of Jakob Blakinsky, a Jewish survivor of the Holocaust, as he was moved to various concentration and labor camps. Discussion questions and additional resources accompany each location on the map, providing students with a clearer picture of important historical concepts.
Lastly, my post entitled “Unsung Stories of WWII” uses Google Sites as a central hub to encapsulate several different technological tools that expand learning. This technology allows students to engage with the content in real time, both individually and collaboratively. It provides them with links internet resources and multi-media videos to appeal to different types of learners, and it also includes a Google Form that elicits quick responses to gauge student understandings. In these ways, the online format of this lesson on Google Sites expands beyond the capabilities of a paper-and-pencil lesson.
When deciding to pursue Elementary Education with an emphasis on English as a Second Language (ESL), I knew that I wanted to impact the lives of my students. I can see myself as a young student, a child of Filipino immigrant parents, in the students in my future classroom, and it brings me joy to see them grow, especially knowing that I can aid them to my best of my ability. In my ED 424 class, we focused on ways we can utilize technology to create fun and easy ways students can learn online. Learning to teach during a pandemic has been difficult, but this class opened up so many applications that are kid friendly and are up to date with the growing technology. Some of the lessons using technologies I learned in this class are listed below:
This lesson utilizes WordPress as a lesson to teach short and long vowel sounds to both English learners and general education students. This application emphasizes the use of visuals in order to understand vowels and their sounds that correspond with the picture. This was a simple lesson that is easy to follow along at any grade level.
This lesson utilized Jamboard, a new application that is becoming popular within elementary and public schools, for it being almost an elevated Google Drawings. In my classroom, Jamboard would be an application that would be used frequently because of it’s versatility. In my lesson, students would open up Jamboard in the start of every math block and complete several ways to count the daily number given. For example, there are tally marks, blocks, a number line, etc. that students would use as a warm-up for the unit lesson for the day.
This activity uses Google Drawings as a fun way to let student’s creativity run wild. This would be a seasonal activity where the students would have to create their own snowman for display in the classroom. Students are able to choose from a variety of different components that make up a snowman (eyes, carrot nose, scarf, twig arms, etc.) Students are able to showcase their individual styles while also having a blast.
This activity is geared more towards upper level grades such as third to fifth grade. This Morning Check-in utilizes Google forms. This can be used both remotely and in person, where the first thing students do when they log on is fill out this form. This is a perfect way for students to assess their wellbeing and progress in class, as well as for teachers to keep an eye on their students. This allows for a private way students can reach out to their students when obstacles come their way. Teachers are able to keep track of their student’s feeling and mental health that isn’t outwardly expressed.
This activity is also meant for third to fifth graders, as MyMaps or Google Maps are more on the advanced level to use. This activity could be perfect in an ESL classroom where many different culture are put together in one room. This activity allows the students to locate where their family is from and to do some research about their culture and ethnicity. This is a perfect way for students to have a good social studies lesson blended in with some culturally responsive self discovery.
This lessons incorporates videos of different strategies to complete an addition equation. This could be utilized in a remote classroom by giving the students a way to refer back to our lessons, and a way for parents to keep up with the content their child is learning so they could aid them if they need help.
This lesson makes learning colors for Newcomers or new English learners fun and easy. It includes a voiceover for students that have a hard time reading, and could understand better through hearing instead. This book could be used remotely, and through all age levels, for the visuals are relative to any culture or age group.
My number one goal as an educator is to create a safe, fun, engaging, and inclusive community. I kept these goals in mind as I created my assignments for ED 424. Throughout this semester, this class has helped me realize that technology is an excellent way to make sure every student is getting the support and resources they need to succeed. We can have voice-to-text, we can have the computer read out to our kids, our students can record their answers instead of writing them down…. the possibilities truly are endless. Below, are some of the activities I designed in my ED Tech class that I believe would promote acceptance and equal opportunity for all. I look forward to using these tools, and many others as I step into my own classroom someday!
This is an assignment made through Book Creator to describe classroom policies, protocols, and guidelines. An intentional effort was made to showcase a variety of diverse communities. (Race, Religion, Sexuality, Gender, Disabilities, etc)
In my future classroom, I hope to have an Inside Out themed classroom inspired by Disney Pixar’s film. Social Emotional skills is an incredibly important skill for out students to have. Not only do they need to understand and value their own emotions, but they ought to learn to recognize the emotions of those around them as well.
This screencast assignment describes the students homework: to read “Tú Puedes.” This is a wonderful book featuring a young boy in a wheel chair who, despite all odds, joins the basketball team as his school.
This assignment allows students to Create their own Journey, in a sense, as they travel through Spain. They can decide which sites to see, what food to eat, tand how they want to spend their day in general!
Make learning hands-on and culturally relevant. This lesson helps students find a reason to learn a foreign language. Hopefully, it will also spark a sense of wanderlust and encourage students to research other cultures and hopefully have a desire to see these locations with their own eyes one day.
Featured Image: https://unsplash.com/photos/Kn_l9o5220Y
As a current Middle School Math teacher, teaching during a Pandemic, technology has presented itself to be a way to reach new heights in the education world. Google Slide versions of games based off the most popular middle school game allowed me to reach student’s who often sat with their cameras off. Peardeck allowed me to differentiate my instruction during every lesson so I could reach the needs of all students. Loom opened up a whole new set of possibilities to for ways to help my students understand the “WHY” behind the concepts and procedures in math. I was able to use so many different types of technology to better my teaching practice, be a more culturally responsive teacher and focus on the social and emotional learning for each of my students as I grew their math skills.
Although this year was challenging, I would not have learned so much about the different ways technology allows me to reach a greater population of learners. Looking back on this year, I used to think technology was a distraction or could just be used to supplement a lesson. Now I am able to see how technology can be used to enhance a lesson and reach more types of learners.
Although, many of us can’t wait for the day where we are doing school back in-person (and yes, we are getting there), I am excited to continue using the technology skills I have learned this year in my classroom in the future.
Below are just some of the ways I have integrated technology into my teaching practice!
Use Google Sites to help students and families get to know a little bit more about you as an educator! Click below to see mine.
Welcome to my portfolio of all the work I have done throughout this class. I have learned so much about different tools and websites to use in my classroom. I look forward to using many of my posts and others in my classes to better my future students. It is so amazing to me to think of all the websites and apps that have helped teachers this past year with the pandemic to engage students as much as they can online. This has been a crazy busy spring semester, but I have some amazing people in this class and leave with such a great knowledge of teaching resources! In this post I will highlight some of my favorite activities we did in this class.
Screencast Assignment
I had been wanting to learn how to record my screen and since we learned about screencast I have used it in some of my lesson plans for my different classes. For this assignment I recorded myself reading the book Are You My Mother which was my childhood favorite!
I enjoyed creating a habitats lesson for students using Google Earth! It is a great tool to use to make virtual field trips for students or looking at specific places.
For this assignment I created a Google Site for parents or students to use so they can have access to classroom resources. It also allows for other teachers to use some resources on the website for their own classes and even to connect with me. I also include a list of my classroom library books!
