Friday, April 17, 2015

Emerging Technologies for Instruction- Inspiration



Emerging Technologies for Instruction Assignment
Find 3 examples of lesson plans or activities which incorporate technology and/or media that are examples that are appropriate for your subject and audience. These can be ideas you hear about from talking with colleagues, things you read about in articles, ideas posted on the Web, etc.


1. Activity Using Biteslide 

Recommended audience
From Intermediate to High School students
Topics that would be appropriate for lesson plan or activity
Social Studies, World Geography, Cultural Studies, Countries of the World, etc.
General description of the lesson plan or activity
Creating Travel Journals
The lesson highlighted here, uses a free online tool known as Biteslide. It that allows users to create interesting, creative presentations using slidebooks . This lesson idea can be adapted or modified to incorporate different elements important to the topic being studied by the students. According to the website, the general idea behind this lesson is that “students will use Biteslide to create “road maps” or “travel journals” that help  students review special places they have learned about while also increasing their contact with the cultures, histories, and people they have learned about in their textbooks”. Students can work in a group setting or individually to create presentations highlighting “different geographical locations that they have learned about in their classroom”. Teachers can provide students with questions that will guide them in “pursuing decent and relative information” for the country or related element they are exploring.  Students can obtain information from a variety of resources, but effort should be made to ensure that students understand how to properly cite sources and credit photographs used in their presentations.  This lesson suggests that this project be worked on throughout the year, but the time frame could be adjusted at the teacher’s discretion. When the students have completed their “travel journals” or slidebooks, they can present them online or in print format. 
Modifications for ESL and special needs students are also suggested with this lesson plan.

                                                                                Source: Lesson Plan by Kathryn Rose,
                posted to the Biteslide blog on Dec. 20, 2013.                                 http:www.biteslide.com/blog/category/lesson-plans.com


Weblink to lesson plan or activity, if applicable.

Why do you think this lesson plan or activity will enhance your teaching and/or your students’ learning?
I believe that this lesson/activity can enhance my teaching, as well as my students learning because it affords them the opportunity to further explore concepts outside of the traditional textbook and creatively present their discoveries to their peers. Rather than simply reading information about other countries from a particular textbook, students can research various aspects of those countries using a variety of resources and media. Whether it is through selected print materials, websites, videos, etc. students can learn more about the places discussed in class and construct visual presentations that will assist them in developing a better understanding of the material.  Also, this activity allows me the opportunity to teach my students about proper documentation of resources that they use. I also helps them to develop and practice their presentations skills, especially if they are asked to present their findings in front of their peers.

2. Activity Using Storyboardthat

Recommended audience
Students in Grades 6th-12th.
Topics that would be appropriate for lesson plan or activity
American Independence, Study of the 13 Colonies, Formation of the United States, etc.
General description of the lesson plan or activity
Creating a Storyboard that Outlines How the 13 Colonies became States
This activity involves using the website storyboardthat.com to easily create storyboards that illustrate important concepts/events in United States history. With this activity, the teacher begins by introducing the events in history that surrounded the American Revolution and the creation of the United States. Students are then tasked with using the website to “create a storyboard that acts as a timeline for the first 13 colonies”. In the storyboards, students are asked to include “details of how the states were formed”. This lesson also contains suggestions for events to be included in the students’ storyboards about “how the colonies became states”. These topics include: when “the First Continental Congress is established”, when “Congress became a governing body”, when “war was declared”, and when “the War was won and colonial government ended”. Students could also design separate storyboards to illustrate the events that occurred during this timeframe. Once students have finished creating their storyboards, they could add to their initial creation throughout the school year as they learn about how the United States expanded from the original 13 colonies to the 50 states. This lesson can also be adapted or modified for different events in United States or World History.
Source: The Formation of a Country lesson from storyboardthat.com

Weblink to lesson plan or activity, if applicable

Why do you think this lesson plan or activity will enhance your teaching and/or your students’ learning?
I think that this activity will enhance my teaching and my students’ learning because it will allow them to creatively illustrate their understanding of the events in history that led to the formation of the United States of America. Many times, it can be challenging for teachers to make learning history and discussing historical events more interesting for students than simply reading the information from a traditional textbook. The drag and drop interface of the website makes it an easy resource for students to learn to use. Due to the fact that the storyboard format is confined to a certain number of cells, students are tasked with using critical thinking skills to determine what information is most important to include in their storyboards in order to accurately portray the events being highlighted. In addition, this lesson helps students to improve their writing and typing skills. With numerous graphics available and the ability to upload images, this website allows students endless creative options to demonstrate their understanding of the historic events being studied. With the popularity of graphic novels among students today, this activity is something that I believe students will enjoy creating, as well as sharing with other students.

3. Activity using FreeRice.com

Recommended audience
Students in Grades 5th-7th.
Topics that would be appropriate for lesson plan or activity
Social Studies, Geography, Flags of the World, World Hunger, Cultural Studies, Countries of the World
General description of the lesson plan or activity
Flags of the World Game on freerice.com
In this lesson, students will play the online “Flags of the World” game on freerice.com. This website is maintained by the World Food Program and for every correct answer to a question in the game, 10 grains of rice will be donated to feed hungry people around the globe. According to the lesson plan, “students will complete a profile of a country where the World Food Program operates, choosing from the first 10 flags they correctly identify while playing Flags of the World”. Once the student has completed the basic profile, they will write a report about the country that includes “the reasons food assistance is needed” and how the World Food Program is helping. The aim of this lesson is for students to learn the locations of the countries, as well as their “economic profiles”. In addition, students can gain an awareness and better understanding of world hunger issues and the efforts being made to fight hunger globally. 

Source: The 6degrees of FreeRice.com website


Weblink to lesson plan or activity, if applicable
Flags of the World-Lesson Plan

Why do you think this lesson plan or activity will enhance your teaching and/or your students’ learning?
I believe that this lesson will certainly enhance my teaching, as well as my students’ learning due to the fact that this activity raises student awareness of geography, cultural differences, and world hunger issues.  One of the greatest things about this lesson is the fact that by just playing the Flags of the World game on freerice.com, students can play a small part in helping to combat world hunger. For every correct answer in the online game, the World Food Program will donate 10 grains of rice to help feed hungry individuals around the globe. I like the fact that, as a teacher, I can incorporate the use of this website and help my students understand how even small actions can help make a difference in the lives of others. In addition to this aspect of the lesson, I like the idea of students being able to research other countries as they gain a better understanding of world geography and global issues. I feel it is important that students have an awareness of the world around them and lessons like this encourage students to learn more about areas outside of their daily surroundings.






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