Technology Reflection Assignment
Description/Experience
The technology demonstration presented in the last seminar was the use of EdModo. My takeaway from this demonstration is that it is a wonderful way to get engaged with your students rather than in the classroom or on Edline. EdModo is a great communication website, much like Facebook, rather in an educational setting. The teacher is able to make a group and invite all of her students to be in it and from there, she posts assignments that the students must turn in via the internet. It is also a great website because you can interact with teachers from all over and ask for help and ideas for future lessons.
Application
My class for this semester is a Kindergarten classroom. It would be very difficult for students to be able to do this on their own so they would most definitely need adult supervision/aide. Recently, my students have been learning about the alphabet/sounds of the letters of the alphabet. I could use Edmodo and post random pictures and have them tell their parents what letter the picture starts with and have the parents type in the letter that the students responded with, or have the parents aide the students in typing their own responses. The learning outcomes would be obviously to get the students engaged in alphabet letters and sounds and get them engaged in using a keyboard. The age group for this website, in my personal opinion, should be for middle school and up. However, since we must apply it to our current classroom, the lesson I used is targeted toward Kindergarteners. I would know that the students acquired the learning outcomes by posting back (responding) to the pictures that I posted. I would know that my activity was effective from parent feedback and talking about it in class the day after they completed the activity.
-Students will log onto EdModo with the help of their parents
-Students (Parents) will click on the group they are to enter and look at each picture posted.
-Students will respond to each picture posted to the website (ex: picture of an apple; they will respond with the letter A)
-After students complete writing all of their letters, they will submit their work.
-Students will log out of Edmodo.
-I will leave comments for parents to look over so they know the letters the students need extra help on and encourage the parents to help them.
-I will then talk with the students about their Edmodo assignment the next day.
Reflection
Pedagogy-Content
It would be rather difficult to represent actual EdModo to students without the help of their parents. If I were to represent the content in the classroom, I would use the Smart Board so the students would be able to see what we were using. I’m not so sure that they would comprehend the actual concept of EdModo, considering their age, but if I posted an example of a picture (such as a peanut) and asked them to tell me what letter peanut started with, I would explain to them that this is how we were going to use EdModo for this assignment. After explaining what we are going to do, I would call on each student to come to the keyboard and find where the letter“p” was so they are introduced to the keyboard.
Some preconceptions that students of this age bring when learning this content is they may feel that this is a fun, new approach to learning. They may also feel upset that they will have to do extra work at home, or they may feel that their parents are going to do the work for them since it will be done at home.
Technology
A major function of this technology is to provide different means of engagement for students. For example, the Kindergarten students are not used to working with computers all too often, although they are introduced to them and use the computer lab periodically, they are probably not used to using them frequently at home. Another major function is to introduce the students to a website, although kid-friendly, that is not very Kindergarten oriented.
As far as accessibility, EdModo is easy to find. You simply go to Google.com and type in EdModo and create an account. The students’ parents would obviously have to create their child’s account, but it is very accessible. Once you are signed into EdModo, it seems very self-explanatory and easy to maneuver.
Technology-Pedagogy:
The technology would be used by going to the EdModo website, creating an account, and accessing the assignment. Using the technology would change the way I teach this activity by using the computer, rather than a picture board in class. It would be less hands-on, because I would have used a board where you physically inserted pictures under the letters they started with. The different classroom management strategies I would need to consider when using EdModo would be teaching the children how to properly use a computer and how to use the computer safely.
Technology-Content:
As stated above, this technology would change the way content is represented in my activity by allowing students to use a keyboard, rather than use a picture board. This technology would change the way students practiced the alphabet by encouraging them to find the letters of the alphabet on the keyboard. By introducing EdModo to the Kindergarteners, we would also be introducing them to the aspects of the computer. They will be able to search for the letters on the keyboard and that will deepen their knowledge of letters by reassuring them they know what to look for. (example, finding the “p” for the peanut, they would have to remember what a “p” looked like in order to get it correct on the activity.)
Technology-Pedagogy-Content:
The content would be effectively taught by using appropriate pedagogies and this technology by allowing the students to practice their skills of the alphabet and allowing them to explore the technological aspects of the EdModo world. The selection of EdModo would enhance the content of the letters of the alphabet and how to teach it by providing alternative ways for the students to learn rather than just in the classroom. It shows them that they can learn outside of school I would choose the teaching strategies of working with computers before assigning the students with EdModo assignments.
