Examples of Technology in the Classroom

Assistive Technology in the Classroom

The teacher stands at the front of the classroom and begins to teach her lesson. Every student sits quietly, some students sit upright with their eyes on the teacher, some students lay their heads heavily on their desks while the rest fidget in their desk. After the lesson is over, how many students will have processed the information? Year after year, this scenario is seen inside many classrooms and only the select students who sat quietly with their eyes on the teacher really learned something. The rest of the students have been left in the dust because they appear to be rude and disobedient as they lay their heads on the desk. However, these students are not necessarily disrespectful, they may just learn differently. Luckily, with new technology, there is an opportunity for teachers to tap into the interests of these other students. Technology enables teachers to reach out to a larger number of students with different learning styles.

The three principles of Universal Design for Learning or UDL are geared toward these learning differences within every child. For instance, the universal curriculum offers students multiple means of representation, multiple means of expression, and multiple means of engagement (What is Universal Design for Learning?) This program recognizes the fact that students have a lack of interest in learning at school which can be a cause of many different problems. A student may have a physical or social learning disability; a student may suffer from a broken home life causing him or her to act up in school; or there may be a number of barriers that prevents a child from learning. Thus, the universal curriculum allows teachers to take their classroom of students with a variety of difficulties and successfully teach them in a way that best fits their needs. (What is Universal Design for Learning?)

In the same way, Congress amended a Rehabilitation Act in 1998 to achieve the same goals as the UDL. Under section 508, new technology had to be created to assist people with disabilities in order to provide them with the same possibilities as other people. Technology provided information that was not accessible to people with disabilities left them at a disadvantage and prevented them from having the same opportunities. Thus, an act was passed to change this inequality (Section 508). This new technology would also play a huge role in the classroom.

There are many different types of assistive technology that have made the classrooms more inclusive and I hope to use some of them in my own classroom after I graduate. For instance, Start to Finish books would be a great way to assist students who are struggling with their reading. These books would allow the students to hear the words read to them while reading along with it. Many times, struggling readers have been sent to the resource room to practice reading with a teacher. Not only does this take the student out of the classroom but the student may get frustrated and bored when they try practice their reading on their own. Listening to the book on tape or CD allows the book to be brought alive for the student and it may encourage them in their quest on learning how to read. These Start to Finish books would not only benefit the struggling readers, but the whole class would profit from using them. These books would enhance their listening ability and help build their vocabulary.

The Tango device would also be a great way to include students in the classroom. Students who have difficulty writing or creating sentences would benefit from using this device. No longer would they be behind in their work because they struggle with writing, but the device would give them assistance. Thus, all the students would be writing at the same time, the only difference would be the way they are writing. Some students would be writing with paper and pencils while others would be using the Tango device.

The other two examples of technologies that would allow my classroom to be more inclusive would both be used when students go to the computer lab. First, since some smaller students may have difficulty using the small keys on the keyboards, the Big Keys would be very beneficial for them. This keyboard would show the essential keys that the student needs to use to write a paper or complete an assignment.

Lastly, a screen magnifier would also be very useful for students when they use the computer. The screen magnifier is a software program that would enlarge the content on the computer screen (Screen Magnifier). Not only would students who have visual impairments benefit from this technology, but many other students would also benefit from this tool because they would not have to strain their eyes as much.

I have learned that assistive technology is not only made for students who struggle with a specific disability. Many students would grasp concepts much better if they had a variety of options when learning a lesson. Younger children would benefit from larger keys and larger content on a computer screen and, as I mentioned previously, all students would benefit from Start to Finish books as well. I hope to have a variety of technology options for my students when I have a classroom of my very own because I want to do everything in my power to help my students succeed. I could not bare the burden of a student falling behind because the right technology was not available for him or her to use.

Brainstorming Science Unit Ideas

1.) The first idea that I had for a science unit was all about weather. This unit would be designed for grades Pre-K – 2nd but more specifically I would write it for first graders. This unit would expose students to the effects of temperature during the seasons and how people, animals and plants are affected as well.
2.) The next idea I had was to do a unit on life cycles. Earlier I wrote a lesson on plants and I was going to use that as my start of point for a two week unit on what a seed needs to grow and the specific stages that the plants goes through.
3.) I also thought of doing a unit on the planets for fifth grade. I would allow the students to have a choice on a project that would like to do to portray the order of the planets. We would discuss the sizes of the particular planets and the importance of the sun.
4.) A unit that I want to write would be on the environment because that is the section that my class is working on right now. Thus, I would be able to teach students the importance of recycling and reusing materials. I would also focus on how students can take action to help make a positive impact on the environment.
5.) The last unit idea I thought would be interesting would be a unit on the properties of materials. For instance, I would be able to do an experiment that involved the different states of water and allow the students to participate in heating and cooling off the liquid. I could also have the students write about the observations that they make during a series of experiments.


The project that I think I want to do is number four. Since the first grade students at Mallett are working on this unit right now, I want to be able to help my teacher by coming up with activities that we can do together. In addition, I am not well informed on the environment or recycling so this would be a great way for me to learn different ways on how I can make a difference in recycling. Although it is wintertime and it would be hard for the Mallett students to go outside, I could design my unit for the spring or fall where I could take my future students out and help pick up trash in the environment. Thus, this unit would be a community based unit.

Blog B: Podcasting

Blog B :

I listened to a total of three podcasts to add up to about 20 minutes. The first two podcasts were made by junior high school students in the classroom while the last one was created by a high school history teacher who became very famous for it.

1.) Edgar Allan Poe

I found this first podcast on a site known as Podcast Central under the heading “Celebrating a Birthday.” The Students in Mrs. Kaplan’s eighth grade class did a study on Edgar Allan Poe and to honor his birthday on January 19, a group of approximately six students put together a podcast all about him. First, the narrator describes the sad life of Edgar Allan Poe by stating that Poe lost his mother at a young age and his work never made him money. Thus, he died two years after his wife, “penniless and alone” (Narrator of the podcast). Next, a few students read some of his work and the narrator does a short analysis on the piece of writing. There is eerie music playing during the podcast which sets the mood of the topic. This podcast is a creative way for students to show how much they learned about Poe. There were just a few questions that popped into my mind while this podcast was playing. If the entire class did a study on Poe, what did the other children do to show that they learned the information as well? Did another small group of five or six students create a podcast?

This podcast is an example of how students can creatively share research that they do rather than strictly writing a paper which is beneficial for many students who struggle with writing because they can dab into their creative side.

2.) Hurricane Katrina

This podcast was also created by an eighth grade class as a language arts assignment and it was very powerful. These students recognized the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina and they actively took part in supporting the victims of this huge devastation by providing the contact information for all the organizations and charities that are supporting the men, women and children who were truly affected by the storm. The students used this podcast as an opportunity to spread the information to those who may not know how they may help the families. This is a starting point for many people and the organizations must have greatly appreciated the work and research that these students did in order to create this podcast. I really like how a podcast can be used to reach out to thousands of people in need just by sending out information online.

This is a different type of podcast because it is used by the eighth grade class, but it created for the benefit of the victims and it helps to publicize the organizations. I think this is a great use of a podcast.

3.) History Teacher Becomes Podcast Celebrity

I chose this last podcast because it was interesting to me how it was used. A high school history teacher went from teaching in the classroom to teaching around the world simply by posting his lectures on a podcast. The news article write up on this podcast stated that about 140,000 listeners heard it (New York Times ). This teacher, Lars Brownworth, loves studying Byzantine History so he created podcasts that summarized his research. There were many podcasts that he posted but I chose to listen to his introduction which is over ten minutes long. The lecture is interesting and I like how he describes that history has to be seen through the eyes of the major people at that time. For instance, he stated that we would probably not know about the Reformation if it weren’t for Martin Luther King Jr. because we study his life and see the major events that took place during his lifetime.

This last podcast is an example of how teachers can use it in the classroom. A woman I play volleyball with said he posted podcast lectures online for her students to listen to when classes were canceled due to the weather. I can see how teachers can benefit from this because they could post a podcast and ask for feedback from other teachers around the world.

After viewing these three podcasts, I was able to get a sense of how they can be used to enhance teaching in the classroom. Out of the three types of podcasts that I listened to, my favorite one was the podcast created for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Not only are the students staying tuned to the current news, but they are reaching out in love to help out those who were hit hard by the storm. I think teachers can play a huge role in encouraging children to think about others and this type of podcast is just one way teacher can do that. Podcasting seems very new and I still have many questions about how to get the whole class involved. There are many activities that could use podcasting, but I wonder if I would be able to figure out which activities would be best for the students and their learning.

Podcasts can be very beneficial when used in the classroom because it can greatly enhance literacy instruction by teaching the students to read loud and clear. The students will want their voice to be smooth when they hear it on the podcast because it is more professional. In addition, most children are scared of public speaking so they try everything to avoid it and podcasts will help students to still practice public speaking. Instead of presenting in front of the class, they will be speaking into a microphone.


There are many activities where podcasting could be used in my first grade practicum classroom. First, I could have the students read their own narrative stories aloud which will help them practice their verbal skills. Second, I could have each student read a fact over the podcast about a particular subject that they are studying such as Maine. Next, I would have the students draw a picture to go along with their fact and the final result would be a factual podcast. Third, I could have the students read a book of their choice into the podcast and teach them about expression when reading. Fourth, I could have the students write a song and sing it into the podcast and then we could make a CD of all the students songs. The last idea I have, is one that I thought of for my language arts lesson plan. I would have each student choose a spelling rule such as long and short vowels and then I would have them state the rule into the podcast. I would also make sure they give examples of words that follow the rule. Finally, I would compile all the rules from the students and we would listened to the podcast as a class. At the end of each rule, the students would have to call out additional examples of words that follow the rule. This would teach all of the students the rules of spelling.

Language Arts: Themes and Ideas

1.) I would like to create a first grade unit which would explore the importance of French culture in Maine. Currently, the students are studying the language of French and I would like to design a unit which branches out to describe why French is so important here in Maine. For instance, Canada is our neighboring country and many citizens of Maine have lived in Canada or they have relatives or ancestors from that area. Thus, through this unit, I hope to intertwine the learning of French with the study of the culture. Throughout this unit, I would have the students communicating with French-speaking first grade students in Canada in order to find out about the culture. At the end, the students would write an informational paper which would include all the facts that they learned about the language and culture of French in Maine.

2.) My second idea for designing a first grade unit would be based on Dr. Seuss’ birthday. I would design a unit that has the students focus on the style of writing that Dr. Seuss creates. The students would be learning the importance of rhyming words and by the end, I would have students creating their own poems which would be typed up and assembled into a book of poems which honors Dr. Seuss birthday. Not only would the students be practicing their reading skills with the fun variety of Dr. Seuss books, but they would also be learning the importance of words which can be put together in different ways to create a certain style such as rhyming.

3.) Since fairy tales are very common to young children, I want to design a unit which focuses on the retelling of tales by using technology. I would have the students create a podcast by recording their voices as they retold fairy tales stories. Since the students would also be acting out the play and performing it in front of the class, pictures would be taken to go along with their recorded voices. Thus, the end result would be a slide show which would teach the students how to use technology while practicing reading aloud and retelling of stories.

4.) Since it is important for students to know the different types of jobs that people have, I would like to design a unit which allows students to research the different aspects of a job. Thus, I would have the students interview their parents or a person of their choice to find out what their job entails. Throughout the unit, adults would be asked to speak in the classroom about their job. The end product would be a published dictionary of the different jobs that people have. In addition, students will present the jobs that they researched in front of the class and they will be graded on the presentation.

5.) Another unit idea that I have would focus on comparing narrative and persuasion texts. I would have students choose their favorite hobby and write all the ideas of why they like that hobby. Next, the students would have to use a variety of tactics to either persuade students to try this particular hobby or create a narrative which involves this hobby. In the end, the students would have to make a claymation video of the hobby with a recording to go along with the video. An essay would be turned in as well. The students would present their claymation videos to the class and the rest of the students would have to determine if the videos are persuasive or narrative.

Mixed Emotions on Technology in the Classroom

Technology can be used for good and it can be used for bad. There are many ways that it does and will enhance the classroom. For example, drawing parents directly into the classroom through posting lessons and homework online is a great way for teachers to connect with the parents and the parents to stay informed with their child's schoolwork. There are also many other positive traits to technology such as the computer which is used for writing papers, researching, power point presentations and so much more.
I have mixed emotions about it because there are negative aspects to technology as well. Facebook and myspace can distract students from their work. In general, technology is a great tool and it is up to the students, teachers and parents to choose to use it for good.

Positive outlook on Technology

Before I reviewed the links for homework, I tried to make an assumption of what I would be seeing. I assumed that the links would explain the dangers of technology. I made this judgment based on previous speeches I have heard from teachers, parents and media on the subject of technology. These subjects include facebook, email, online pictures, music and much more and the message that I have always gotten is very negative. Even at the start of the first video clip, as I read the statistics, I thought that the video’s intention was to compare how much time we spend doing homework verse how much time we are relaxing while watching TV, viewing facebook and talking on the cell phone. I clearly thought it was a negative outlook on technology. At the very end, I realized that the point of the video was to explain how technology could “save us” in the future. Not only was this site in favor of technology, but the links afterwards were also making suggestions on how to incorporate technology in the classrooms.

I think that it is a great idea for teachers to incorporate the computer and other forms of technology in order to directly connect with their students. Times have changed, as technology has been developed, so the teaching styles must change in order to keep up. For example, as Mike Muir was describing, pen, paper and typewriters are the old fashion way of completing a paper. Teachers had to keep in mind that revision for a paper would take much longer than the average student today. With the computer, files are saved and only small corrections are made very easily. Thus, teachers had to quickly adjust homework assignments given this step forward in technology. My favorite video clip was the second video. I felt that it had a lot of hidden parallelism within it. I noticed that when the video stressed the benefits of the computer over the use of writing, the speed of the video sped up. Not only did the video show an image of typing text, but it also used the motion of the video to further make a point. In addition, I found it interesting that I teach the computer every time I tag and post a photo. I never thought of this process as beneficial to the machine. To me, this was both frightening and amazing.
Overall, it is very important for me to keep an open mind as I step into a world of teaching. The teaching that I have had in the past as well as the teaching I have now, will continue to change. As the third video stressed, it is important to “engage the students, not enrage them.” By taking away all forms of technology from the students and banning it from my classroom, in some ways, I will loose their interest and their focus. Therefore, I will not be beneficial to the students. I have to be ready to adapt new teaching styles in my future classroom.

My first day!

It's me, Jenna!

This is my very first day using this new blog which I created for practicum. I am so excited. I'm a little nervous as well. Not about this blog, but about practicum. Don't get me wrong, it sounds like everything I dreamed it would be, but I sometimes just wonder...wonder if I can do all that is expected, if I can be the teacher that I hope to be...

That's about it. I will definately be back.