Technology Reflection Assignment #2

Technology Reflection Assignment

Instructions

• Provide your answers for each section below by following the statements/instructions
• Delete all the instructional statements (including this section) except for the titles.
• Copy the entire document (including your answers) and past them onto your blog post with the following title “Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of [name of the technology]”
• Make sure that you're pasting your answers onto "Compose" view instead of "Edit Html". Setting the view to "Compose" (the right upper corner of the post) helps avoid possible formatting issues.

Description/Experience

            In last week’s Education 311 seminar, our class learned about the use of Ipads in elementary school classrooms. We were informed about the different types of programs, applications, and how the children used the Ipads. Our class was class was also shown many examples of student work, which involved the use of Ipads. When first hearing about children using Ipads, I was pretty hesitant of the idea; I did not think children were responsible enough to use the expensive device. After listening to how the Title 1 schoolteacher uses the technology my opinion began to change. The teacher made many convincing points and had a great amount of evidence that proved how Ipads could only help increase learning.

Application

            An instructional activity that would benefit ESL students would be a program that incorporates spelling and recognizing letters. Many of these children who are coming from different countries, have difficulty recognizing English letters. My teachers uses a similar home made game her room, but I feel the Ipad could be a more fun way for the children to learn.
First, provide some details regarding:

            The learners in this activity would be children from any age group. These children would also be very early on in there English language learning, since learning the alphabet is a beginning step.

            The learning in this activity would gain a better understanding of the alphabet. Many of these children are able to sing the alphabet song, but cannot recognize the letter on paper. At the end of this activity, depending on how many times practiced, the children should be able to recognize letters in random order as well as know the sounds they make.

            I think it would be very easy to see if the children acquired the learning outcomes. The mentor teacher could watch them see the game to see how accurate the students are with knowing the letter. My teacher many times uses games as way to assess the students. Using the Ipad can make the assessment less obvious, which puts less stress on the student.

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• The lesson would begin with the teacher using flashcards to reinforce the alphabet, to get an assessment of what the child knows as of beginning the lesson.
• After this warm up activity, the Ipad spelling program would be introduced to the student as practice.
• Once the student has practice on the program multiple times and seems to have an understanding of the information, during the next ESL pull out time, the student would be assessed on the same activity

Reflection
Considering your learning activity described above, write a paragraph or two for each section below addressing the questions. It may be helpful to keep in mind the followings when reflecting:

            I believe this technology could support my teacher’s activities in a very positive way.  The majority of the activities my teacher does in my class involved handmade games. Although these games of very affective, I have noticed the children sometimes get bored with some of the alphabet games, especially the older grades. The older children know all of this new technology or have at least heard or seen of it. I believe bringing in the Ipad could motivate the students to want to do well. In there eyes, using such a “cool” device might encourage more motivation and better understanding because the information is presented in student friendly ways.

            I believe the use of this technology can completely enhance the students understating of the subject from my activity. Because the knowledge is so basic and can sometimes get very repetitive, I believe the Ipad will be able to introduce the information in a fun way that will make the students want to play and learn. The Ipad in the children’s eyes is not a device used to learn, but will the right activity and program can transform the information in to new ways of learning.

--Pedagogy-Content:

            With the Ipad, I do not think there is much to do from the teacher’s part to make the information more comprehensible to the students. Because these programs are made for the use of children, the activities are designed to be understood by children. Also, from personal knowledge, the majority of the Ipad programs come with instructions. To add to that note, because the concept of the alphabet is so basic, I believe programs like these would be quite easy to understand; the scaffolding technique could also be used during this activity.

            I have some many problems when learning the alphabet among students from different countries. Many of the children I work with come from countries in the Middle East, African, and other countries that do not involve any of the English Alphabet. When they come to America, seeing all of these new letters can be very confusing. Another concern I see with the alphabet is that the children from the Middle East read from right to left, the opposite of how Americans read. This causes many problems from trying to form words. I would not be too worried about the student’s prior background to technology. Because ESL is one to one interactions with the students, the teacher can oversee the activity easily to make sure no problems are occurring.
--Technology-Pedagogy:

            The Ipad would be the main focal point of the activity. Learning the alphabet is a very basic idea, so using the Ipad would be an interesting way to recognize the letters as well as learn. This activity could be used with all different age groups with children who are beginning to learn English as a second language. I also believe this type of technology could be used in any kindergarten classroom who is also learning the alphabet.

            The activity used with the Ipad could be used in many ways. Firstly, I would use it as a way for the student to practice learning the alphabet. After noticing improvement, I believe you could also use this type of program to assess the student’s knowledge. I have learned from the ESL teacher that using a game as a way to assess students proves to be very successful. In a less stressful environment, the students do not feel pressure on them.

--Technology-Content:

            I believe the use of the Ipad would enhance the ways of learning in this activity greatly. Using the alphabet can be quite receptive and I have been able to see that the older children become bored with the same activities. Using the Ipad would be way to introduce and practice information that would interest the students. All students love to play with new technology. This could really encourage more motivation.

            With our without the Ipad, I believe the students would learn the alphabet. The activities my teacher has used without technology are very successful. I feel as thought using the Ipad could just be an added bonus to this classroom.  Like I have said previously, I believe the Ipad would just enhance learning and motivation.

--Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

            I believe using the technology could effectively enhance the teaching strategies. But I also believe with out with out technology, the information can be taught effectively by any teacher.

            I think using the Ipad would not enhance my teaching because learning the alphabet could be taught in a variety of ways. But I believe using the Ipad would enhance the students learning. When students are having fun with what they are learning, they are more likely to want to learn as well as retain the information.