1.
Cassandra Catucci’s article “Best practices when using technology” has given me great insight into making technology comfortable in a teaching environment. I feel the three current practices that can be improved using technology are spicing it up, by keeping flexibility in mind and giving feedback. There are so many ways to use technology to make lessons more fun and interactive. Nowadays it is very hard to keep students engaged, by constantly keeping the lessons exciting using different types of technology it ensures the students will learn and be involved. Another current practice that can be used is keeping flexibility in mind. Sometimes issues may arise when teaching a lesson, always have a backup activity or lesson. Be open to adapting. This will ensure the students will learn regardless of mishaps. The final practice that can be improved through
the use of technology is by giving time for feedback. Always leave time for feedback. The students will value that you care about their feedback, and this will increase students'
enthusiasm for the course material. This feedback will also show if the lesson you taught is a lesson to keep teaching. 2.
There are three methods that I now use that impact learning and engagement. They are classroom culture, communicating the objectives, and encouraging collaboration. Utilizing technology in the classroom and showing my students I am comfortable using the technology is the major key to making the students feel comfortable. This ties into knowing how to use the technology inside and out. If I show the students, I know what I'm doing then the students will feel secure about using it as well. Communicating the objectives is a major key when using the chosen technology. Students can concentrate on the class and are more likely to feel driven to meet these goals when they know the objectives. For example, we just started using a program called Blooket. It’s a new game where you can steal money from other players (students) by answering questions. For example, last week the topic was fractions. The students were nervous at first because they did not know how to use the program. The teachers in the room learned the game inside out so they were able to explain it and help the students. The students ended up loving the game and they were learning so much without even realizing they were. This is
a prime example of using technology by communicating the objectives. The final one I use in the classroom a lot is encouraging collaboration. Collaboration is so important because it helps students interact with each other while using technology. This is a better way to learn because the students can get feedback from each other. In the classroom i work in we are constantly using collaboration.
3. The unit I am going to design in my digital classroom is learning how to write a persuasive
essay. First, we will learn how to write a thesis statement, then an introduction, then how to write
three supporting paragraphs, and a conclusion. We will use examples from previous students essays to help show how to write a persuasive essay. The state standards I will be using are 4W1:
