Engaging Students with Learning through Technology

Kindergarteners came to the computer lab for a science lesson involving light and sources of light. They used a website called Light and Dark to tell if an object provided light or not. At their computers, students used a template from Pixie to illustrate the size relationship between the sun, earth and moon. They had to find the stickers and resize them appropriately. The second template asked the students to find 5 stickers from the objects group that illustrated a source of light; then 5 stickers of objects that were not sources of light. Completed work was printed as a table tent.

First grade students focused on Famous Americans. These students composed a “report” on Famous Americans using a template in Clicker. At first students were given clues to read or listen to guess the famous American. Then they had to click on the word bubbles to “write” a sentence about that person. The correct sentence was also provided for students to use to support their writing and word choices.

Third grade students also used a template from Clicker, but for a Language Arts dictionary activity. Students were given a word and had to select the best choice of guide words from three choices. Once students finished this part of the lesson, they used a picture dictionary to check their work.

Second grade students worked with Pixie to review continents and oceans. Given a world map, students had to add the name for each location and move the name appropriately.

Fourth grade students worked on their local Language Arts assessment.

Fifth grade students worked on organizing information in VA Studies. Students created a mind map, starting with VA Studies and added each main topic for the different topics to be studied (such as Jamestown, the American Revolution, the Civil War, etc). For each topic, students will add details for the “who was involved: (Famous people), what was important about the event (causes and effects), etc. As SOL review time approaches, students will continue to add to the web, adding symbols and color for the different topics, helping students focus on one topic that they will turn into a digital story.

If you have any questions about these activities, please contact Mrs. Hingerty

Kindergarten students are reading and listening to the story “The Mitten” by Jan Brett.  To show comprehension, students used a template in Pixie to identify the order the animals appeared. Students then sorted pictures into groups that start with the letter “I” sound or not.

First grade students practiced using measuring skills and rulers. They learned how to copy and paste to use non standard measurement objects for lines. They also used a ruler to measure given objects and to find a sticker and make it the given length.

Third grade students began working on idenifying contributions of Famous Americans through the creation of trading cards. Students came to the lab with the name of a Famous American. They used a Word document with mixed up facts and learned how to highlight and copy the fact so they could paste it into the trading card file containing the name and picture of their Famous American. Completed files will be printed as a trading card so students can cut apart and share with others. Another class of third graders will show what they know about each Famous American by creating a blabber, using the website Blabberize. Check back soon for their Famous American blabbers!

Welcome to the New Year! A time of new resolutions, renewed energy, new perspectives. What better time to review and renew the purpose and focus of my blog?

My goal for this blog is to share technology integration ideas with teachers. Teachers can use these ideas to develop lessons using technology for student learning experiences. I will be posting my learning plans and examples of templates students may be using for lessons to each grade level page. I will also post final products created by students to the Birdneck Technology Center blog – so students, do your best and have your work published!

I will also be updating my blog weekly to let everyone know of the progress students are making with these lessons. This will keep everyone informed of what our students are doing using technology. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment. I”d love to hear from you!

Happy New Year to all!

Integrating technology into a classroom can be a frightening and overwhelming experience. “Where do I start?”, “What do I do?”, “What resources are available?” are questions many teachers ask when they embark upon this journey. I have worked in the field of educational techology for the previous 10 years (and counting!), with elementary students and their teachers and now with pre-service education students. It is my pleasure to share with you the resources I have gathered on my educational technology journey.