Tool #9: Incorporating Classroom-Based Devices as Tools for Learning

STUDENTS AND TECHNOLOGY

1. Why do you think it is important to tie the technology to the objective?

Plain and simple, I think technology adds an interesting aspect to any lesson other than straight instruction. It also gives students chances to show their creativity.

2.Why should we hold students accountable for the stations/centers?

Doing projects is all fine and dandy, but the real reason, I feel projects should be used for, are to give the students another option to convey their knowledge other than traditional tests but also make sure they are learning during the process.

3. Visit 2 of the applicable links to interactive websites for your content/grade level. Which sites did you like. How could you use them as stations? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?

First I visited Tools for 21st Century Learning, https://tsapp.springbranchisd.com/web20tools/detail.aspx?tool_id=553. I was interested in the forces app which could be used along with a forces calculation app. Then at the end of class, have the students take a short quiz from similar questions from the apps to see how much they retained.

Next, I visited Interactive, http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/activities/BarGraph/ . My students struggle with how to read bar graphs and line graphs and how to plot on both. This would give them extra practice on how to read graphs as well as having an app for plotting line graphs. Then as earlier stated, have the students take a short quiz from similar questions from the apps to see how much they retained.

4. List two to three apps you found for the iPod Touch/iPad that you can use in your classroom. What do you see that station looking like? How can you hold the students accountable for their time in these stations?

I really liked the one decimal subtraction game. My students have a hard time with addition and subtraction of numbers with decimals. I could use this in a station when working with reading graphs, thermometers or scales. http://www.iboard.co.uk/skill-builders/mental-calculations/subtraction-one-decimal-place-7-9 . Then at the end of the lab have some questions with adding and subtracting decimals, while reading different lab instruments and see how well they do.

Another app that I really liked was the Planet App on the Thinkfinity website. It lets the student travel through outerspace and gives them details/descriptions of what they are looking at. This could be used during our planet project and they could retrieve information about their assigned planet from this website as well as others.http://sciencenetlinks.com/tools/planets-app/

5. What about other ways to use the iPod Touch/iPad? Share another way you can see your students using the device as a station.

I could see this device as a way to create movies for their projects. Just another way to express themselves.