Teaching in a small rural school district and having access to the Internet and wireless laptops within my classroom, has given the children opportunities to participate in, or have access to material that they would not otherwise experience.
As a first grade teacher, I want to lay a strong foundation in technology skills and keep the excitement in their learning for a lifetime. The following is a list of some ways that I use technology to infuse instruction:
- Created a teacher web page that offers safe sites that parents and students can use at home. This web page is also used for many other instructional tools and to keep parents updated and informed.
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Watched and listened to portions of
Martin Luther King’s speech
, allowing whole group discussion on the netTrekker academic search engine .
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Took virtual tours of the
White House
so that children can view parts of the White House that are not accessible on tours.
-
Watched baby pandas
and other zoo animals throughout the world via a webcam, which allowed me discuss the habitat and behaviors of these animals. We also listened to sounds of animals that we normally do not get to hear.
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Visited a pumpkin patch for the purpose of the students to see how and where they grow instead of just seeing them at a store to purchase.
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Used several
WebQuests
for advanced instruction with units that have been taught within my Social Studies and Science curriculum.
-
Created
math worksheets
to instantly review concepts already taught, as well as create worksheets for a child’s specific learning level.
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Students read on-line
books
using interactive websites with headphones to help build their reading skills.
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They also used the valuable
starfall
website that has disposable workbooks that compliment it.
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Used the software package, Successmaker where students are given their own learning paths in Math and Reading.
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Viewed the
Veteran’s Memorial in Washington DC
(which cannot be found in Social Studies books.)
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Used word processing skills to type spelling words while allowing the students to become familiar with the keyboard.
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Made a powerpoint from digital pictures taken on our school fieldtrip so that the children always will have that as a memory. This is also used as a follow-up discussion and a great tool for the children to share with their parents.
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Used digital cameras that were awarded to me though an educational grant and used word processing to make classroom books. (a few of these books have been about themselves, seasons, opposites and describing objects.)
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Collected countless internet resources to allow me to design and enhance my lessons based on objectives and students’ learning abilities.
The use of technology in my classroom has allowed me to reach students that I might not ordinarily be able to reach. When you have children in your classroom that have varying abilities, you have an opportunity to go above the grade level that you teach and enrich and enhance what you are teaching them through the use of classroom centers.
I have had students involved with WebQuests that incorporate some higher order thinking skills that are 2-3 grade levels above what is being taught.
With technology, I have been able to track progress more efficiently so that I am able to catch students that are not making appropriate gains, and provide safety net instruction before it is too late.
I have been able to create leveled assignments that engage students at their instructional level, as well as having them highly engaged. This has allowed me to be more efficient with my time. It has also given me the opportunity to work one on one with students that have high need. For example, I had a child in my classroom that did not know what several
farm
,
zoo
,
ocean
, or
jungle
animals were, or
the sounds that they make. Through the use of the technology, I was able to search and locate some sites that showed pictures of these animals, as well as sound bytes of the animals so that this child had the opportunity to actually see and hear them.
Technology has made my life in the classroom more manageable and has allowed me to gain immediate access to information that could not be provided easily with local resources.
Finally, I am a Systems Operator (Sys-Op), where I assist others with technology in their classroom and a member of our district’s technology committee, where I help to infuse technology to other teachers.
I have found that technology has become an exciting tool for students’ learning in first grade. The end result is not only children becoming excited about learning technology, but computer literate children that are prepared to reach into the future side by side with technology.