Monday, February 13, 2012

3 Simple Ways to Incorporate Technology into your Classroom


This is a guest blog from Megan Anderson, a Kindergarten teacher at Red Lion Area School District. We would love to hear about your newest technology discoveries and how you apply them to your classroom.

If you’re like me, you love technology and anything related to it. But when it comes to applying it in your classroom… You have no idea where to start! Yep, that was me about 4 weeks ago. I had all these great resources at my fingertips and just didn’t know it. It was overwhelming! If you’re looking for three quick and easy resources to use in your classroom, try youtube, twitter and blogs. Let’s take a look at each.

1.Youtube Youtube can be used for so much more than looking at the latest viral video or checking out cool Superbowl commercials that you missed! There are many educational videos out there and also how-to’s. I searched all over the internet looking for a Groundhog Day video and found everything I needed on Youtube. You can tell a child how the groundhog will come out of its hole and might see his shadow or might not. Until they see it for themselves, it won’t make as much sense. This is where Youtube comes in handy! You can show your kiddos what you are talking about and give it real meaning allowing them to make those important connections.

2.Twitter It seems most every young person you meet has a facebook or twitter account. Let’s take what they already use and turn it into something educational. In the past teachers would assign a reading passage and have students write a summary (using paper and pencils!). Instead of writing the answers on paper, you can have your students tweet (that’s the twitter word for writing a message) a response back to you! Let’s face it, they always have their phones attached to their hip and we know most of these phones have Internet capabilities. The neat thing about it, you need to be concise and synthesize information because you only have 140 characters to form your answer. There is some higher-level thinking!

3.Blogs My eyes were opened to blogs last year. I had a student teacher that kept talking about blogs. Finally I said to her, “What are you talking about? What is a blog?” A blog is basically an online journal that is available on the web. It can be updated daily, weekly, monthly, or whenever it suites the “blogger” (the owner of the blog). As an educator, I am always looking for new and creative ideas. There are so many wonderful blogs that are specific to grade levels and content areas. You can find everything you need from math, to science to social skills! And, instead of recreating the wheel, there are many materials created by other teachers for your use. Give it a try. Click here to go to Google’s blog search. It only searches blogs! Happy searching!

See, that wasn’t too bad was it! Now, where’s that easy button?

7 comments:

  1. I think you really hit the nail on the head by saying "where to start?!" There are so many great technology tools - you just have to figure out what works for you the best and how you would like to incorporate them. Kudos for you for acquiring so many technology features that are seamlessly added to your curriculum. I think sometimes individuals add technology just for the sake of having it, but you have illustrated how to incorporate it with a purpose!

    Katlyn

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  2. Great ideas- I especially love the idea about finding the Groundhog Day video on YouTube. Having taught Kindergarten for 8 years, I know how much the kids LOVE to watch videos & when you can show them something like that (educational & they don't even know it!) well that's even better yet! I'm going to give the Blog a try as well- using it as an "interactive newsletter" of sorts to keep the parents abreast of what's going on in the art room. Great job!

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  3. I think you picked 3 of the most important and easy to access tech skills that we can all incorporate into our classrooms.

    I think educators forget how simple YouTube videos are to find and how helpful they can be to supplement a "not so fun" lesson and turn it into a very engaging lesson.

    Twitter has a world of possibilities! I like how Twitter opens up the communication world between teachers, students, and parents.

    and BLOGS! The newest craze :) It is neat to see all the different ideas incorporated with blogging!

    Nice Job!
    Kristin

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  4. I must say I was in the same boat, I did not realize how many cool and new resources were just at the tip of my fingers! Since starting this class I have been using a lot of videos to introduce new topics or to just show students a visual about what we are learning!

    You really had some great ideas! Great job!

    Kristin D.

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  5. Wowie wow wow! I love your detailed explanations of a tweet and your example of how experienced teachers can learn from student teachers. Youtube in the #2 search engine with thousands of new videos added daily. Not only are you now "cool" but you are also teaching students at a young age how to become digitally literate!

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  6. I love that you included youtube. One of the most simple things that you can do to make things interesting for students. I started using it in class when I played German songs for students as a tool to help them understand the lyrics. Overtime, I occassionally show them commericials or fun shorts to help get them excited about language learning.

    One side note that shocked me the other day- I told students I wanted a summary or "tweet" of the information we were reading and they didn't know what a tweet was! I wasn't aware that students in my district would be so clueless about something you hear so much about. Maybe its just working with middle schoolers, but it was definitely an eye opener about how much students can still learn about technology.
    Joanna

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  7. I have also started using YouTube as a resource in my classroom, and my students really love it! They appear much more engaged in lessons when I use technology. YouTube vidoes are something that ALL of my students already knew about and enjoy on their own time, so it really makes sense to show them it can be educational too.

    I think it is awesome that you have started a blog with your kindergarten classroom. Do your students have input into what goes on it? Just curious.

    Katie

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