Module 1DQ

Module 1 DQ 1
Though the article by Niess, Preparing Teachers to Teach Mathematics With Technology Preparing Teachers to Teach Mathematics With Technology, is directed toward teaching math using technology, it can also be used as a guide for other subject matter.  Teaching subjects and the use of technology when doing so is very important since technology is so prevalent in our society today.  What exactly should an education system teach with regard to technology use in the classroom?  How does one balance the technological knowledge base of students and keep pace with what a governing body demands to be taught in any given curriculum?  If one chooses to incorporate technology use into a lesson and in doing so extends the lesson length but teaches a valuable technology skill, is it justified?   These questions haunt me as I prepare lessons for my English classes.  I teach in a technological rich environment, thirty seats, and thirty computers with up to that number of students.  In an effort to assuage my own fears I have asked college students what technology skills they wish that had learned before entering.  Some say a more in depth knowledge of office productivity, communications, and problem solving software.  I have endeavored to include these into my mandated curriculum coverage in the following ways.  I use word processing software on a regular basis. This includes essay, short story, and journal writing.  A resent project is the SOAPSTONE annotation of an informational text using MS Word’s Insert comment function.  This aligns with the Augmentation SAMR model in which students use an electronic document to do all work and then submit electronically through EDMODO.  I have just received approval to use Weebly for student portfolios and plan on having students Submit key examples of their work to their own portfolio and have peer reviews be done as part of the assignment.  I plan on having peer students use sentence frames to help them properly comment on student assignments.
Another assignment I started incorporating last year was the use of Wikispaces as a group project venue.  The assignment could be done using MS PowerPoint but the Wiki is more dynamic allowing student groups to put together what amounts to an informational technology product.   Students are asked to research subtopic within a group setting with the goal of combining their research into a Wikiproject with multiple pages.  This assignment will also incorporate a peer comment component.  Both of these assignments are examples of how a teacher’s knowledge of curriculum and curriculum materials are integrating technology with learning.  The process is longer but more engaging to students
Thanks for reading,

                                      Frederick A. Daenitz