For my technology integration plan, I am going to utilize technologies learned in EDCT 203 to enhance the learning of my students. Since I am working with Kindergartners, I need to make the technology for the children age appropriate and easy to use. I plan to send out a survey via Google Survey to parents and students. Parents will then respond to the survey telling what they want their children to learn, what the children themselves want to learn and interests of the children. Then once I have the survey results in, I will make interactive power points in math, science and reading that parallel the interests of the students so that they can learn in a way that is unique to them. I will also make a class wiki so that these interactive power points can be uploaded and utilized at home. The wiki will also have links to other reading, science and math activities to help my students learn. I want to use these technologies because I feel that they are in the best interest of my students. By having parents fill out a survey, I can find out what my students like. Then once I know what they like, I will use these ideas to make the interactive power points. Children learn best when they are learning via something they have an interest in. I also want to make a class wiki so that children can learn while they are at home, not just at school.
My plan for integration process is to make this a year-long process. I want to keep my students interested in what they are doing by evolving my lesson plans about what they want to learn. An example of this would be a little boy who loves dinosaurs. I would make a math lesson plan or a reading lesson plan that is about dinosaurs. This way my students will always have an interest in what they are learning. I plan on using only one specific type of technology with my students and that will be the interactive power point. I only want to use one because these students are still very young. As a teacher, I have to keep the best interest of my students in mind, and not overwhelming them with technology is in their best interest. I really like the idea of sending out a survey to parents to find out about what their children like and are interested in. Parents know their children the best and have the best grasp on what they like and don’t like. As a teacher, if I can figure out what a child likes, that makes the learning process for them and me so much easier!
I will access my success of these children in reading, math and science by doing informal testing. I will have pre-lesson plan questions, questions during the unit and questions asked after the unit. I will ask children questions about the unit before they start the unit and I will ask them the same questions after the unit. If children can expand on their answers and add more to it, I would say that is a success. It is hard to measure the learning capacity of young children because they are always changing and learning. I feel that this is the best way to assess young children. It is not appropriate to do formal testing on young children because they are not developmentally able to sit and take a test. I will document this process for future employers by keeping documentation of before, during and after test questions. This will show the progress made by my students and will show some of my teaching abilities at the same time. I feel that this is the best way to integrate technology into a classroom and to assist in the learning of young children.
