Technology with Young Children

After watching the three videos of real lesson plans for young children that include technology, it sparked my own ideas of how to use resources in my own lessons. For my practicum experience I am assigned to a first grade class and I found that these videos gave me some great accessible ideas about what I really can expect from these students. The biggest thing I learned from these videos is that students are more capable and excited to learn and use technology than I think we are aware. There are even simple ways that we can include technology, whether it is creating a class book of pictures we draw ourselves or downloading pictures we take ourselves from our surroundings.
I also liked that these videos showed that technology can be used in a variety of lesson types and curriculum areas. When I initially think of using technology myself I think of how it was used in my school experience, with researching and putting together factual reports. I loved that these videos showed that the use of technology can make lessons more engaging, fun, and lasting to young students. What I learned most from this assignment is that there is always room for technology and it can be used in many different ways to help students become successful.

Technology in the Classroom

As I started researching the technology available to teachers in the school I was impressed by the amount of technology that is used on a daily basis. My classroom teacher uses technology everyday in her classroom, while she uses simple means it is still great exposure for the students. I am in a first grade class and they visit the computer lab for special time once a week for 35 minutes a day. The classroom has a general projector that is used multiple times a day which is very helpful for the students for the added model/exposure to reading and writing. There is one computer in the room and a cd/tape player that the students use for their independent center work. I liked the chance to see resources in an elementary setting, and I can see first hand how influential including even simple technology can be. I also completed part 1 (midterm evaluation) and part 2 (informed consent) of this week's assignment.

Reflection on Virtual Tour

For other examples of tours I went through Leah Barker, Kaitlin Tingey, and Lauryn Paul's tours. Each one of them had a very unique and creative idea, using tools I hadnt even considered.
This assignment took me awhile to complete but over the course of the journey I learned a great deal and discovered many new ways to incorporate technology into the classroom. Some of the upsides of using a tour like this is that you can go into more detail, you can see things in 3D that otherwise you wouldnt, it is a quicker and more engaging way to cover a great deal of information, and it familiarizes children with technology. As far as downsides, I found that creating the tour took time and could get complicated. With more experience and practice though I am sure that these concerns would decrease. The positive outcomes of this activity and gaining this knowledge outweigh the negatives.

Virtual Tour on Environments

Here is a link to my Virtual Tour on Utah Environments.

Virtual Tour Plan

For my virtual tour I chose to teach a 4th grade science standard. This is standard number 5 objective 1 that discusses the different environments in Utah and their characteristics. I chose to visit 4 different environments and compare them using google earth tools. I felt this standard was appropriate for this type of lesson because I can view the places more in depth, survey the surrounding area, measure length and width and elevation easily, and zoom into see details. By using an online source like this students can also easily research additional information that they wish. This is an easy and fun way to explore the state of Utah.

Virtual Tour Plan chart

Location	Activity Description	Google Earth content
1.Pariette Wetlands	Look at the pictures provided, scan the area 360 degrees. Identify the river that feeds the wetlands. Measure how large the wetlands are;length and width. Record the temperature and conditions in the area.	Images Ruler tool Conditions layer Terrain layer Border and labels layer
2.Wasatch Cache National Forest	Look at the pictures available with the Panoramio layer, scan the area 360 degrees to identify characteristics. Record the temperature and conditions in the area. Randomly pick 6 places in the forest and record the elevation that you find.	Panoramio layer Conditions layer Terrain layer Elevation
3.Escalante Desert	Look at the pictures, scan the area 360 degrees to identify characteristics. (zoom out to compare to surroundings) Record the temperature and conditions in the area. Read the wikipedia information and find at least 3 interesting facts.	Images Wikipedia layer Conditions layer Terrain layer
4.Abajo Mountains	Look at the pictures, scan the area 360 degrees to identify characteristics. Record the temperature and conditions in the area. Using the Wikipedia information find another name for the mountains and which states you can view from them. Also pick 8 points and compare the elevation.	Terrain layer Elevation Conditions layer Wikipedia layer