Technology is an amazing tool and used correctly can engage every type of student. I was lucky enough to be with a master teacher this semester who was very tech savvy. It allowed for us to integrate tech into almost all of our subjects.
This class has been lovely but for someone who is very tech proficient, it was a little boring. I wish there was an advanced class and a beginner class. Many times I wanted to pound my head on the table because we couldn't move on because of a simple task that someone who is not tech savvy was struggling on. I wish it would have been a go for it, and if you need instruction you can listen, if not just finish todays assignment and get home at a decent time!
I love excel and luckily got a lot of training as a paralegal on excel, but it would have been nice to go even deeper into the codes and formulas. It would have also been nice to have a class on reliable teacher resources on the internet. I feel a lot of times websites are just thrown out there and most teachers don't hear it or completely miss the fact that it can be a great site. Even if it was just making a list with active links of great teacher websites (i.e. teacher tube, enchanted learning).
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Final Project Menu
GOLD RUSH TECHNOLOGY LESSONS
This final project is about incorporating technology into a Gold Rush unit.
This final project is about incorporating technology into a Gold Rush unit.
Technology Utilized
Students will use technology throughout this unit, in the lesson the students will be watching a YouTube Video, playing the Oregon Trail and making their own Podcasts on the Macs in the classroom and computer lab using Garageband.
Students will be able to hear their podcasts on the classroom blog (just as my master teacher posted them). They will be able to hear each others podcasts. Students are also given the opportunity to have their groups podcasts burned onto a CD, if they bring one into the class.
Technology enhances this unit because it makes the students interact, as actual Pioneers and Miners. It allows them to fully understand what had happened during that time. Students learn better if they are interested in the subject and by integrating a game and a fun podcast, students are very involved in the learning process (if they know it or not!).
Project Menu
Students will be able to hear their podcasts on the classroom blog (just as my master teacher posted them). They will be able to hear each others podcasts. Students are also given the opportunity to have their groups podcasts burned onto a CD, if they bring one into the class.
Technology enhances this unit because it makes the students interact, as actual Pioneers and Miners. It allows them to fully understand what had happened during that time. Students learn better if they are interested in the subject and by integrating a game and a fun podcast, students are very involved in the learning process (if they know it or not!).
Project Menu
Assessment of Student Performance
Students will be assessed by informal assessments during Computer Lab time. I will be watching the students to ensure they are on task and playing the game.
Miner Journals and Oregon Trail Journals
Students will get a 1, 2 or 3 for their journal entries after playing the game and for their miner entries
Grade of a 1= Very Little Effort, few sentences, not answering what was asked
Grade of a 2= Good Effort, almost all questions have been answered and Oregon Trail entries are complete
Grade of a 3= Very Good Effort, all questions answered and entries are complete
- Graded per entry
Podcasts
For the Podcasts, each group will get 5 points per Podcast, so 20 points total. Students either receive all 5 or receive a 0 depending on if they do the podcast. Students will not be allowed to upload podcast if they are not prepared. Teacher has final say on if the podcast gets uploaded or not.
The assessments will help me understand if students are understanding the hardships of the journey to California.
Project Menu
Next: Techonology Utilized
Miner Journals and Oregon Trail Journals
Students will get a 1, 2 or 3 for their journal entries after playing the game and for their miner entries
Grade of a 1= Very Little Effort, few sentences, not answering what was asked
Grade of a 2= Good Effort, almost all questions have been answered and Oregon Trail entries are complete
Grade of a 3= Very Good Effort, all questions answered and entries are complete
- Graded per entry
Podcasts
For the Podcasts, each group will get 5 points per Podcast, so 20 points total. Students either receive all 5 or receive a 0 depending on if they do the podcast. Students will not be allowed to upload podcast if they are not prepared. Teacher has final say on if the podcast gets uploaded or not.
The assessments will help me understand if students are understanding the hardships of the journey to California.
Project Menu
Next: Techonology Utilized
Lesson Structure
This lesson is one lesson of a whole Gold Rush unit. It is from the week of learning about the routes taken to get to the Gold Rush. Here is the break down of the lesson.
Students- In Class (12:50-1:00)
Prior to Computer lab students will watch a video about the overland trail and the difficulties on it. This video was a report done by a student. While watching the video, students must write down 3 terms that they heard that they want to research more about.
Students- Computer Lab time (Tuesdays 1-1:45)
All students computers have 5th Edition Oregon Trail Game downloaded (Oregon Trail 5th Edition- Amazon).
Students will be given rules before they start to play. They must create a whole family and save after each day. They will have 3 Computer time classes to complete their journey. They are not allowed to reload if something happens to their characters.
After Computer lab, students will write at least on paragraph of what happened to their wagon train, how far they got and what they are expecting for the rest of the journey (they should note their supplies and how they will be replenishing their supplies).
In Class (1:45-2:30)
Students begin their Miner Diary project and podcast. In this project students will be grouped in groups of 4-5 students and are to be considered a wagon. They will have 15 minutes to discuss their first journal entry. Students are to make up their Pioneer name and write it on their journal. The students will be writing answers to the following questions:
Journal Entry 1- Leaving for California
1) Which Route did you choose to go to California
2) Where did you start from?
3) When did you start your journey?
4) Did you leave your family or has your family travelled with you?
5) What hardships are you worried about before you begin your journey?
Writing will be for 20 minutes, students will then prepare for their podcasts. Students will have 4 journal entries total over a 3 week process ( to hear the most recent classes podcasts you can hear them here: Ms. Taylor's 4th Grade Podcasts)
Rules for a Podcast:
1. Each student will say their miner name and one part of the Journal Entry
2. Students must practice what they are going to say
3. Students should also practice fluency in the group and have nice transitions.
Project Menu
Next: Assessment of Student Performance
Students- In Class (12:50-1:00)
Prior to Computer lab students will watch a video about the overland trail and the difficulties on it. This video was a report done by a student. While watching the video, students must write down 3 terms that they heard that they want to research more about.
Students- Computer Lab time (Tuesdays 1-1:45)
All students computers have 5th Edition Oregon Trail Game downloaded (Oregon Trail 5th Edition- Amazon).
Students will be given rules before they start to play. They must create a whole family and save after each day. They will have 3 Computer time classes to complete their journey. They are not allowed to reload if something happens to their characters.
After Computer lab, students will write at least on paragraph of what happened to their wagon train, how far they got and what they are expecting for the rest of the journey (they should note their supplies and how they will be replenishing their supplies).
In Class (1:45-2:30)
Students begin their Miner Diary project and podcast. In this project students will be grouped in groups of 4-5 students and are to be considered a wagon. They will have 15 minutes to discuss their first journal entry. Students are to make up their Pioneer name and write it on their journal. The students will be writing answers to the following questions:
Journal Entry 1- Leaving for California
1) Which Route did you choose to go to California
2) Where did you start from?
3) When did you start your journey?
4) Did you leave your family or has your family travelled with you?
5) What hardships are you worried about before you begin your journey?
Writing will be for 20 minutes, students will then prepare for their podcasts. Students will have 4 journal entries total over a 3 week process ( to hear the most recent classes podcasts you can hear them here: Ms. Taylor's 4th Grade Podcasts)
Rules for a Podcast:
1. Each student will say their miner name and one part of the Journal Entry
2. Students must practice what they are going to say
3. Students should also practice fluency in the group and have nice transitions.
Project Menu
Next: Assessment of Student Performance
Content Instruction
Project Goal: Students will understand the events of the California Gold Rush along with understanding the economic and social interactions during the Gold Rush. This project will have students interacting with technology and each other to have a further understanding of what happened during the years of the Gold Rush. Students will be able to understand how 49ers travelled to California and the difficulties that they faced along their journey. Students will also be able to understand the complexity of gold mining and the social interactions of a mining town. Technology will be implemented in all aspects of the unit to help further facilitate learning.
Project Menu
Next: Lesson Structure
Project Menu
Next: Lesson Structure
Content Standards
4.3 Students explain the economic, social, and political life in California from the establishment of the Bear Flag Republic through the Mexican-American War, the Gold Rush, and the granting of statehood.
2. Compare how and why people traveled to California and the routes they traveled (e.g., James Beckwourth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, Pio Pico).
3. Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).
This lesson is concentrated on the gold rush, students will be learning how the 49ers travelled to California through exploring the links on a website about the overland trail and watching a video along with reading and interacting in their own classroom mining town.
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
Next: Content Instruction
2. Compare how and why people traveled to California and the routes they traveled (e.g., James Beckwourth, John Bidwell, John C. Fremont, Pio Pico).
3. Analyze the effects of the Gold Rush on settlements, daily life, politics, and the physical environment (e.g., using biographies of John Sutter, Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo, Louise Clapp).
This lesson is concentrated on the gold rush, students will be learning how the 49ers travelled to California through exploring the links on a website about the overland trail and watching a video along with reading and interacting in their own classroom mining town.
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity: Teachers use their knowledge of subject matter, teaching and learning, and technology to facilitate experiences that advance student learning, creativity, and innovation in both face-to-face and virtual environments. Teachers:
Project Menu
a. promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness. b. engage students in exploring real-world issues and solving authentic problems using digital tools and resources. c. promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes. d. model collaborative knowledge construction by engaging in learning with students, colleagues, and others in face-to-face and virtual environments.
Next: Content Instruction
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