Educational Technology Tools

 

 Part One

Technology is something that has always been a part of the learning setting. This is among the assets that are utilized by instructors to help simplify student learning. In the current periods, technology has radically improved, giving teachers more chances to utilize technology to improve their teaching. Technological devices have become more influential with manufacture of more varieties that connect to the internet faster. The internet helps these devices to link students to one another in the classrooms and all-round the globe. These devices have changed teaching space; learning with the use of technology has become an important in the learning structure in the present day. Some of the technological tools that are important in enhancing student learning include; smart board, flipgrid and popplet.

Popplet        

Popplet is an application that is modest and very easy to use by students at all levels. The application aids students to progress their writing, remembrance and managerial skills. It can assist them to work together with others, understand multifaceted concepts and realize new links between numerous concepts.  Popplet operate using a sequence of cubes which are connected together by an arrow suitably named the ‘linker’ (Atherton, 2018). The operators of this app have altered choices when it comes to deciding how each of the cubes will be completed with content. They can either exploit a draw tool to highlight significant concepts or use a colour tool to help categorise the interrelated content (Atherton, 2018). Users can also use images and label them using the text implement. As the operators allocate concepts into the cubes, they advance their writing skills because they have to figure out the correct words to use in order to communicate their message using few words.

 Using popplet helps the students to learn the skill of organization because they have to figure out when to use a graph, a picture or a chart among other visuals for added explanations. The operators can use the draw or colour implements to highlight important words which will help them to learn new vocabularies (Atherton, 2018).  This app is particularly interesting and effective for students with special needs like students with autism because of its multipurpose element which has a user friendly interface. People with autism have problems with organization of their thoughts and executing functional skills. Through popplet, teachers can assist these learners to understand concepts much better by grouping them appropriately (Atherton, 2018). The use of pictures for additional clarifications helps the learners to remember learnt concepts much better.

An example of a popplet

http://blog.popplet.com/dr-popplet-health-happiness-and-well-being/

Flipgrid

This is a video chat platform that offers students and teachers an opportunity to record themselves on video as they debate on class work. Teachers are able to use flipgrid in many ways to comprehend the student familiarity level and the areas that they need assistance (Green & Green, 2018). The teachers in most cases just upload questions that require to be discussed and the students react to the questions by posting video answers. Flipgrid assist learners to self-reflect, learn from one another and equate their learning with that of their friends which essentially places them in a metacognition state (Green & Green, 2018). Flipgrid forms a room for all scholars to join in particularly those that are normally shy to participate in the classroom. With Flipgrid, these students can use filters instead of their own faces when they post their responses. These video responses help students to improve their thinking, listening and also communication skills which are all required during the response process.

An image of a sample flipgrid in Use

https://techiemusings.files.wordpress.com/2017/03/screen-shot-2017-03-01-at-4-25-25-pm.png?w=551

Smart board

This is a collaborative white board, which are an improvement of the out-dated blackboards. These collaborative boards have assisted in modifying the old-fashioned classroom into an entertaining learning setting. The boards are normally linked to a computer and function with a projector (Stanojević & Ranđelović, 2018). The boards are touch screens which let the teacher to transfer things all over the board using their fingers. The boards which are white can also be written on using different coloured pens which makes learning colourful and fun.

Smart Boards are collaborative in nature which allows diverse media elements including; photos, maps, games and video to be presented (Stanojević & Ranđelović, 2018). All these implements significantly help to magnify the nature of learning aspects, which makes learning livelier. Smart Boards also give every learner an opportunity to participate and contribute in class discussions through their devices and they are able to receive immediate feedback.

An image showing a Smart Board in use in a classroom

http://thebmef.net/images/stories/SmartBoards/smartboard2.jpg

 

 

 

 

Part Two

The first lesson will be on sounds, the first thing to understand when teaching sounds is to focus on the sounds and not the letters. The learners need to understand different sounds in a word rather than memorize the letters. Through the use of smart boards, the learners will be introduced to sound /h/ where a table with various words that have the sound /h/ will be presented to the learners. The teacher will help the students to pronounce the words, helping them find the sound /h/ in the words. The teacher will them ask students to come up with other words that have /h/ sounds which the teacher will write on the board. The students with the help of the teacher will highlight the /h/ sounds in the words using a red colour in the smart board icons, to help them remember and understand better. At the end of the lesson the teacher will post and share an assignment link with the students through the smart board which they will complete at their free time.

The second lesson will be about reading and critical thinking. The teacher will use the smart board to post a narrative story to the class; the teacher will request various students to read the story aloud as the other students listen. As the students read the story, they will correct any pronunciation mistakes made by the readers which will help improve on pronunciation skills. After reading the story, the teacher will post some interactive questions on the smart board that the students that will discuss in groups of four. They will then present their answers by sending them to a link provided by the teacher after which they will get immediate feedback.

The third lesson will be on parts of speech, specifically nouns. The teacher will begin by posting various words on the smart board where she will ask the students to describe them. The teacher will then define and explain nouns to the students and explain to them why the words posted are nouns. The teacher will post and explain different types of nouns, using the examples given on the board to show the various classifications of nouns. The teacher will then ask students to use the popplet app to write down different types of nouns and give new examples for each category of noun given in the popplet. The students will requested to ensure that they post a picture against the nouns that they come up with. This exercise will help them remember what nouns are and different types of nouns.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Atherton, P. J. (2018). 50 Ways to use technology enhanced learning in the classroom:

            practical strategies for teaching. Los Angeles: Learning Matters.

Green, T., & Green, J. (2018). Flipgrid: Adding Voice and Video to Online Discussions.

TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 62(1), 128–130. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-017-0241-x

" Interactive SMART Board:  Integrating Technology (Virtual Tour)," located on YouTube.

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZUH2lnnI7SI

Stanojević, L., & Ranđelović, M. (2018). The Effect of Web-Based Classroom Response

System on Students Learning Outcomes: Results from Programming Course. Megatrend Review, 15(2), 213–232. https://doi.org/10.5937/MegRev1802213S