Final Thoughts

I've learned a lot from this short 1 unit class.  I enjoyed learning the technical aspects of how to post, embed, create a grade book with excel, and etc.  I also enjoyed learning about how to think outside the box in regards to technology and social networking for teaching students in the classroom as well as communicating with parents and colleagues.  I think technology is a great tool to use if used appropriately and in conjunction with traditional mediums.  I particularly like wordle.com , polleverywhere.com, surveymonkey.com, blogger, the smart board, and facebook.  I would like to try to use these tools in my classroom in the future as well as other ones that I may find.  I think it is very exciting to learn about new ways to potentially enhance my teaching for my students.  Finally, it was very helpful that the class was very hands on and we got to play around with a lot of different functions. 

Final Project - Menu

Health education is becoming increasingly more important due to the increase in obesity and diabetes among children and adults.  Healthy children also equals greater academic success as well as less absences in schools.  This lesson aims to teach kindergarten students how to become "health literate" by learning how to identify and create healthy breakfasts, healthy snacks, and physical activities.   

1. Standards
2. Content Instruction
3. Lesson Structure
4. Rubric & Assessment of Student Performance
5. Technology
6. Evaluation Survey

Final Project - Technology

A smart board, a powerpoint presentation, and youtube videos will be used by the teacher to present information and lessons to the students.  The students will use a smart board to communicate and show understanding of what they've learned about identifying and creating healthy breakfasts, snacks, and physical activities.  Technology enhances the project and lesson by making it interactive and flexible for the students.  Students can go up to the smart board and drag pictures around to create healthy breakfasts, snacks, and physical activities.  Powerpoint and youtube also provides additional visuals for students who are more visual learners.

Next: Evaluation Survey
Previous: Rubric & Assessment of Student Performance

Final Project - Lesson Structure

Week 1:

• A picture collage of various foods and activities will be on a smart board.  If students see anything on the collage that they had for breakfast or activities they've participated in the past week, they can volunteer to go up to the smart board and circle the picture(s).

• The teacher will give a brief power point presentation about the different components of the food pyramid including grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans, oils, fats and sugars, and exercise as mentioned in the content instruction section.  Limiting unhealthy and non-nutritious foods such as sugary cereal, bacon, cookies, chips, etc. as well as non-active activities such as watching television or playing video games will also be addressed.   

• The teacher will show a youtube video of various games and activities that promotes movement.  

• A picture of the new food pyramid along with the circled picture collage mentioned above, will be placed on a smart board.  As a class, we will drag the circled pictures of the different foods and activities into their place on the food pyramid.  The unhealthy and non-nutritious foods as well as non-active activities will also be addressed. 

• As a class, we will create a healthy breakfast, a healthy snack, and a healthy exercise routine for the day. A different picture collage of various foods and activities along with 2 empty plates and an empty box will be on a smartboard.  We will drag pictures from the picture collage onto the first empty plate to create a healthy breakfast, then to the second plate to create a healthy snack, and finally to the empty box to create a healthy exercise routine. 

• Each student will get a chance to create their own healthy breakfast, snack, or exercise routine on the smart board.

Each week:

• Each week as a class, we will compile a list on the smart board of foods and activities that students had for breakfast, for snack, and for activities they have participated in.

• Students will take turn going to the smart board and drag the items into their proper place on the food pyramid.

• The teacher will show a youtube video of a game that promotes movement that we can do as a class during recess or physical education time.
  

Next: Rubric & Assessment of Student Performance
Previous: Content Instruction

Final Project - Content Instruction

Students will learn about the different components of the new food pyramid in order to identify and create healthy and nutritious breakfasts, snacks, and physical activities.

The 5 food groups of the food pyramid:

• Grains (half should be whole grains): oatmeal, brown rice, bread, pasta, cereal, and tortillas.  
• Vegetables (go for dark green and orange colors): carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, spinach, and sweet potatoes.  
• Fruits (for juices, look for 100% juice): apples, orange, banana, grape, strawberry, and blueberry.  
• Milk (look for low fat or fat free): milk, yogurt, and cheese.  
• Meats and Beans (eat lean or low fat meats): chicken, turkey, fish, eggs, peanuts, and seeds.  

The food pyramid also includes: 

• Oils (not a food group but needed for good health): in fish, nuts, and cooking oils.
• Fats and Sugars:  limit solid fats and sugars including sugary cereal and juice.
• Exercise and Move (60 minutes a day):  walk, dance, bike, rollerblade, soccer, basketball, walk your dog, run, baseball, etc...

Next: Lesson Structure
Previous: Standards

Final Project - Standards

Kindergarten - Nutrition and Physical Activity
The following standards will be used to teach kindergarten students how to become "health literate".  

Content Standards (California Curriculum Standards)
1.1.N  Name a variety of healthy foods and explain why they are necessary for good health.
1.2.N  Identify a variety of healthy snacks.
1.3.N  Describe the benefits of being physically active.
1.4.N  Recognize the importance of a healthy breakfast.
5.1.N  Describe ways to participate regularly in active and enjoyable physical activities.
7.1.N  Select nutritious snacks.
7.2.N  Plan a nutritious breakfast.

Technology Standards
1.  Engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources.
2.  Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students’ conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
3.  Design or adapt relevant learning experiences that incorporate digital tools and resources to promote student learning and creativity.
4.  Develop technology-enriched learning environments that enable all students to pursue their individual curiosities and become active participants in setting their own educational goals, managing their own learning, and assessing their own progress.
5.  Communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.

Next: Content Instruction
Previous: Menu

Final Project - Rubric & Assessment of Student Performance

As my assessment of the students, each student will go up to the smart board and create their own healthy breakfast, snack, and exercise routine by dragging pictures of food and activities onto two empty plates and an empty box.

As my continued assessment each week, students will drag what they've had for breakfast, snack, and participated activities into their proper places on the food pyramid on the smart board.

Next: Technology
Previous: Lesson Structure

PowerPoint

This is a kindergarten lesson on power point about the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch).

Google Docs

This document is an outline of some ideas from a case study on how teachers can make their spoken language more understandable to ELL students. Some of the formatting was lost during the uploading and embedding process.

YouTube Video

Here's a YouTube video to introduce a shapes lesson for a kindergarten class.  I particularly like the part where a bunch of squares were made into a picture of an elephant.  Students can look for different shapes around the classroom and at home.  They can also make a picture out of different shapes.

Facebook

Since I already have a facebook account, I am familiar with some of its basic features.  It was relatively simple for me to join the class created group, upload a picture with accompanying comment, and adding a comment to a wall post.  They were also pretty user friendly.  To upload a picture, you click on the picture icon.  To comment on a post, you type in the "write a comment.." box.  There is a lot of content on one page so you do have to look and search for the prompts and icons.

It was a little more confusing to add and edit the document.  When we were all trying to add and edit the document around the same time in class, it appeared to create a problem.  It appeared some of our edits were not appearing on everyone's document.  If this was a real project, I would be concerned about student's edits and work being lost or not accounted for.  The document feature on facebook also appears similar to google docs.  However, it is nice to have the features of the document within facebook so students who are collaborating on a project on facebook can access and edit the document without having to open a new window and go through another platform.
 

Facebook & Privacy

I refused to open a facebook account when my friends had requested me to.  Eventually my husband created a facebook account for me.  I slowly warmed up to it and I'll go on it from time to time.  I always thought of facebook as just a social network.  It was interesting to learn that facebook can also be used in the classroom and for professional uses.

I think facebook could be another tool or option for teachers and students to use in the classroom.  A class or project group can be created so the work doesn't get mixed in with other content.  Facebook is somewhat interactive by allowing students to contribute content, upload pictures, and comment on each others' work.  Students can also work and add on to the group project without having to be in the same room.  Teachers and students can monitor each others' progress and contribution to the project page.  Additionally, most students will be familiar with facebook and would have at least heard of it.  For those who are not familiar with it will probably be excited and interested in working with it.  

One challenge I perceive is the organization of all the information that is put on facebook.  If a lot of students are contributing a lot of content on the page, some information may get lost or overlooked.  Another challenge is that some students may not have access to a computer and therefore cannot access facebook.  This may be the case for home and in the classroom.  Many of the classrooms I visited only had 1-3 computers in the class.  Futhermore, parents may not want or allow their children to have a facebook account, especially younger students.  Yet another challenge may be keeping students focused on the project and not getting distracted by other content on the page.  I find myself easily distracted by looking at friend's photos and postings while on facebook.  I also feel that if students are just sitting behind a computer and working on their part of the project, it takes away from group discussions and coming up with ideas together.

A facebook page can also be created for parents to communicate with each other and the teachers.  A community could be built on facebook.  Parents can also view their children's work if he or she completed and posted their assignment and project on facebook.  Parents can overcome the challenge of asking their child what they did or learned in school today, and getting the "nothing" or "I don't remember" response.  They can go on their class facebook page and see for themselves what they are doing and learning in school.  Parents also don't have to wait for conferences that only occur 2-3 times a year.  They can get regular updates on their child's progress and work.  There can also be a parents page or school community page to promote events and fundraisers.  Facebook can be a great way to keep the neighborhood community updated about what's going on in the school community.

Again, I think facebook could be another tool or option for teachers and students to use in the classroom; and for teachers, students and parents to build a bridge with each other and their community.  It may not be for all grades, classrooms, or neighborhood, but it could be great for some.

RSS Feeds

I really like the RSS feeds.  I never knew it existed until last night's class.  It is a great way to streamline information from the internet into one location.  It is better than trying to remember all my favorite sites or having a long list in my bookmarks.  I agree with many people that there is an overwhelming amount of information on the internet.  The RSS feed is a great tool to compile information from my favorite websites.

I subscribed to websites based on some personal interests and some on professional interests.  "Engage in professional growth and leadership" is one of the standards in the NETS for teachers.  RSS feed is a great way to stay updated on current news and research in the field.  However, the information is only as good and through as what I choose to subscribe to.  Therefore in order to stay on top of current and new information and research, I would still need to continually navigate through the overwhelming information and websites on the internet to add to my RSS feeds.  Additionally, in order to keep it streamlined and not overwhelmed with information, I would need to be careful and not subscribe to too many sites or stay subscribed to everything.  I need to unsubscribe to sites that no longer have relevant information or interest to me.  

ISTE Standards Reflection

My initial reaction to the ISTE National Education Technology Standards for Teachers was an overwhelming one.  I initially felt it was a lot to put on an already very full teacher's plate.  Although it sounds great, where would teacher's find the additional time to "participate in local and global learning communities to explore creative applications of technology..." or "evaluate and reflect on current research and professional practice on a regular basis..." or "design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments."  I know many teacher that are already burnt out from increasing class sizes, increasing diversity to include special needs and ELL students, and working through into their weekends.

However, on further thought, I realized that although it may seem like a lot of work to satisfy all the ISTE standards in the beginning, there are great potential benefits in the long run.  Once teachers become proficient in the technology, they can use it to help them tackle the larger class sizes and student diversity.  Many items on the ISTE standards are things teachers should be doing anyways, such as engaging students, promoting student reflection, and customizing and personalizing activities to meet students' diverse learning styles.  Technology is just another platform in which teachers can use to enhance their teaching.  If a teacher is able and willing to take some time, effort and commitment to learn the technology in the beginning, it can provide another platform for them as well as improve their organization and efficiency.

The ISTE standards ideally apply to all teachers at all levels, but on varying levels.  I see some of them applying less to lower grade students versus upper grade students.  Also, realistically, I think the ISTE standards will be more challenging for some teachers versus others.  Some people are just more technologically savvy than others.  It will also be more challenging for teachers who do not have as easy of an access to the technology as others.  However, I do think the ISTE standards apply to most teachers at most levels in varying degrees.

We need to accept that technology is here and is here to stay.  Therefore instead of ignoring or fighting it, we need to work with it and educate ourselves with it.  If teachers do not learn to embrace technology, the gap between teachers and students will increase because technology is a part of most students' life.  If students are not able to use technology in school, they will figure out a way to use it elsewhere.  The job of a teacher is to teach.  In our modern world of technology, "Model Digital-Age Work and Learning" and "Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility" is part of teaching in the 21st century.  Although it is challenging and difficult for many current teachers to learn a new skill (on top of an already very demanding job), it is important to somehow find the time and effort to do it or at least try to do it.  It is a challenge that teachers should take on and not run away from.  It is a part of professional growth and development.  No one ever said teaching is an easy job!

As a final thought, although I believe technology can be a great tool, I would also caution on the overuse or over reliance of it.  There is rarely just one way or one right answer to something.  Therefore, I believe in a variety of tools and methods.   

Essential Conditions

In the ideal world, all the essential conditions would be present in all schools.  Unfortunately, I do not think it is realistically present in all schools.  I also don't think they will all be present for a very long time.  However, I believe it is still good to have these essential conditions to strive towards.  If we don't have these essential conditions to guide us towards a goal and set the bar high, we would have no direction.

All the essential conditions are important to the success of implementing technology at schools.  Without one or two of the essential conditions, there would be a significant hole in the overall success.  A school may have a shared vision, implementation planning, and adequate funding but if it is lacking in skilled personnel or technical support, it will not succeed in "effectively leveraging technology for learning".  It will also not be successful if schools have skilled personnel, technical support, and adequate funding, but not a shared vision.  All the essential conditions rely on each other for overall success.      

It is very challenging for many schools to satisfy all the essential conditions.  Although it is challenging to keep up with the constant changing nature of technology, I believe technology can be very useful in the classroom and helpful with communication.  Therefore, it is beneficial for schools and teachers to learn how to use technology in their classrooms.  Schools should try to strive to eventually meet all the essential conditions, even if it's one at a time.

The essential conditions listed were not present at the school that I had recently visited.  There is no access to emerging technologies and there isn't adequate funding.  During my visits and observations, I did not witness the teacher using a lot of technology, especially emerging technology.  Although the teacher has a computer, she is not skilled or educated in using and practicing it to communicate with other teachers, her students, or their parents.  I also did not see any of the students using any type of technology in their class.  I did see a computer table with three very old looking computers.   

The teacher uses the "old fashion" overhead projectors and transparencies in her classroom.  She has heard about smart boards, but her school does not have funding for them.  She also doesn't believe that the school will receive enough funding for smart boards in the near future.  Although the teacher is interested and thinks it would be great to have one in her classroom.  At least this teacher is willing and wanting to learn and utilize new and emerging technology.  It is unfortunate that she has the desires but doesn't have the resources or equipment.