2.1 Content Standards & Student Technology Standards
Candidates model and facilitate the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences aligned with student content standards and student technology standards. (PSC 2.1/ISTE 2a)
Artifact: Internet Lesson Plan
Reflection:
During the spring of 2015, I designed and implemented a lesson plan focusing on the ecosystem of Mill Creek as a project for ITEC 7430: Internet Tools in the Classroom. The lesson plan is one I designed in hopes of connecting field research work I was conducting with my students, and two other classrooms, to enhanced learning through the use of technology. Throughout the school year my students worked hard to collect data about the fish population in our nearby creek by conducting monthly experiments where fish were trapped and tagged for identification purposes. This lesson was created as a culminating project for the end of the year to connect the research data with the larger picture of the local ecosystem which is one of the main 7th grade life science standards. The students used research skills and Creative Commons to create digital food webs of the Mill Creek ecosystem and then worked with a partner to communicate and collaborate to create digital presentations that included the use of a voice recording tool such as Voki to demonstrate their understanding of the content standards. My contribution for this artifact was the sole design and creation of the lesson as well as the implementation in my classroom and assisting my coworkers in implementing the lesson in their classrooms as well.
Standard 2.1 focuses on modeling and facilitating the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences aligned with student content and technology standards. This lesson plan clearly shows how I worked to design a project that infused both the student content standards for life science with the student technology standards offered by ISTE. This technology-enhanced learning experience is one that I then spent six days implementing with my students. After sharing my results with my colleagues and observing the interest that it created, I worked with them to model and facilitate the implementation of the lesson in their classrooms as well. This was a slightly more difficult process because their students were not as comfortable using technology in the classroom as my students were, but I feel the results were even greater because of this fact. Working with each group of students to integrate content standards and technology standards enhanced the authentic research that had already been completed and seemed to make the content come to life even more than it has with previous classes who only focused on the content standards.
The design and implementation of this lesson allowed me to take an ongoing project where my students had been collecting data on fish collected in our local creek and use technology to enhance their learning. Before my work with this degree program, I never paid attention to technology standards, and realistically, would not have known they even existed if it weren’t for there being a technology classroom across the hall from where I teach. This lesson is a good example of how I have learned to seamlessly blend and integrate the content and technology standards into most activities in my classroom. Not only am I more aware of the technology standards, but my students are now also able to recognize them and see examples of how they can be applied in content classes, not just technology classes. Looking back on the creation of this lesson plan, I would go back and include my science colleagues on the design process of the lesson since it was implemented in their classrooms as well. This would have built a stronger cognitive connection for them as they strive to design and create their own lessons that integrate content and technology standards.
The impact of this artifact can be seen through the professional development of two of my colleagues who have been working alongside me to complete our field research this year for science. They have an interest in technology, but it is not their strength. I was able to use this project as a means to share ways of incorporating the technology while enhancing the current learning by connecting content standards to the technology standards. This opened conversations on how we could begin using technology to collect and organize data from our research from the beginning of the process in the future. Observing the amount of technology being effectively used in not only my classroom, but other 7th grade life science classrooms as well can assess this. The impact can also be assessed in the future use and integration of technology standards in the science classroom.
During the spring of 2015, I designed and implemented a lesson plan focusing on the ecosystem of Mill Creek as a project for ITEC 7430: Internet Tools in the Classroom. The lesson plan is one I designed in hopes of connecting field research work I was conducting with my students, and two other classrooms, to enhanced learning through the use of technology. Throughout the school year my students worked hard to collect data about the fish population in our nearby creek by conducting monthly experiments where fish were trapped and tagged for identification purposes. This lesson was created as a culminating project for the end of the year to connect the research data with the larger picture of the local ecosystem which is one of the main 7th grade life science standards. The students used research skills and Creative Commons to create digital food webs of the Mill Creek ecosystem and then worked with a partner to communicate and collaborate to create digital presentations that included the use of a voice recording tool such as Voki to demonstrate their understanding of the content standards. My contribution for this artifact was the sole design and creation of the lesson as well as the implementation in my classroom and assisting my coworkers in implementing the lesson in their classrooms as well.
Standard 2.1 focuses on modeling and facilitating the design and implementation of technology-enhanced learning experiences aligned with student content and technology standards. This lesson plan clearly shows how I worked to design a project that infused both the student content standards for life science with the student technology standards offered by ISTE. This technology-enhanced learning experience is one that I then spent six days implementing with my students. After sharing my results with my colleagues and observing the interest that it created, I worked with them to model and facilitate the implementation of the lesson in their classrooms as well. This was a slightly more difficult process because their students were not as comfortable using technology in the classroom as my students were, but I feel the results were even greater because of this fact. Working with each group of students to integrate content standards and technology standards enhanced the authentic research that had already been completed and seemed to make the content come to life even more than it has with previous classes who only focused on the content standards.
The design and implementation of this lesson allowed me to take an ongoing project where my students had been collecting data on fish collected in our local creek and use technology to enhance their learning. Before my work with this degree program, I never paid attention to technology standards, and realistically, would not have known they even existed if it weren’t for there being a technology classroom across the hall from where I teach. This lesson is a good example of how I have learned to seamlessly blend and integrate the content and technology standards into most activities in my classroom. Not only am I more aware of the technology standards, but my students are now also able to recognize them and see examples of how they can be applied in content classes, not just technology classes. Looking back on the creation of this lesson plan, I would go back and include my science colleagues on the design process of the lesson since it was implemented in their classrooms as well. This would have built a stronger cognitive connection for them as they strive to design and create their own lessons that integrate content and technology standards.
The impact of this artifact can be seen through the professional development of two of my colleagues who have been working alongside me to complete our field research this year for science. They have an interest in technology, but it is not their strength. I was able to use this project as a means to share ways of incorporating the technology while enhancing the current learning by connecting content standards to the technology standards. This opened conversations on how we could begin using technology to collect and organize data from our research from the beginning of the process in the future. Observing the amount of technology being effectively used in not only my classroom, but other 7th grade life science classrooms as well can assess this. The impact can also be assessed in the future use and integration of technology standards in the science classroom.