Terri Miquel's Weblog

tmiquel — Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:15:18 +0000

Below is the documentation for my field project.

tmiquel — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 22:38:49 +0000

I feel that this field project was a success over all. The students really enjoyed using the handhelds in the classroom. Using Palm handhelds made it possible for the class to use technology without having to “share” or take turns. The way documents can be linked with the GoKnow software suite made it easy for students to keep track of multiple documents, and the portability of the Palms meant that they could be available any time / any place. The big lessons learned were – make sure you know the hardware and software so that troubleshooting is quick and easy or it can REALLY be disruptive. Also, take advantage of the students are good with technology – they can be a life-saving resource.

The project that I found most interesting was Trish’s use of Scratch to make mini tutorials for student use. I think that a teacher could develop a library of these over time, and have them available as a tool for providing extra support for students who need it or even “extension” lessons for students who need to be further challenged. It would be a big investment of time initially, but would then be available for future classes!

And the results are in . . .

tmiquel — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 02:31:38 +0000

The tests are done, and everyone did well, so I was relieved. I was nervous that if they didn’t do well the classroom teacher might feel that the technology interfered in some way. I asked the kids to write a short, informal response to the unit activities – what they liked/didn’t like, if they think the Palm handhelds made it easier or harder to organize/learn/share the information, etc. Almost all of their comments were positive – they loved using the Palm handhelds. There were a few “negative” comments, but mostly things like, “it was hard to learn to set up the keyboard,” etc. Skills types of things that would resolve themselves if the kids were using the Palms on a more regular basis and were more comfortable with them. I’ll be meeting with Miss L. to get her responses to the unit next week. I plan to use some of the students’ comments (and maybe Miss L.’s) in my final podcast. All in all I feel the unit was a success, although there are a few things I’d do differently.

Wrapping up the unit . . .

tmiquel — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 23:01:18 +0000

Not much to report on this week. We finished the unit, including the review game at the end. They’ll be taking their test on Tuesday. In the meantime, I’ll be asking the kids to write a short, informal response to the unit activities – what they liked/didn’t like, if they think the Palm handhelds made it easier or harder to organize/learn/share the information, etc. I hope to make audio recordings of some of the comments for my final podcast . . .

Field Project Continues

tmiquel — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 18:12:37 +0000

As we entered the second week of the field project I’ve noticed a couple of things about the integration of technology. First, the teacher needs to be really proficient with the tools. With the kids there are constantly little “problems” popping up and the teacher needs to be able to help resolve them very quickly or else he/she can lose control of the rest of the class while trying to troubleshoot one students tech issue. The better he/she knows the tools the easier it will be to quickly address any problems so that students can continue working and he/she can move on to the next problem! Secondly, there are always a few kids so enthralled by the technology that they want to “play” with the tools in their free time. Let them do it because they can then be a great resource for helping other students learn to troubleshoot their own problems! This has been really evident as the class I’ve been working with has begun using Palm handhelds in their classroom for this social studies project. Aready, several class “techies” have emerged and begun to provide support for the rest of the class. It’s exciting to watch!

First week of My Field Project

tmiquel — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 15:37:28 +0000

This week we started the “Regions of PA” project in fourth grade. It is fun being back in a regular classroom again, even though I’m only there to assist. The kids are enjoying the “Jigsaw” strategy with its home teams and expert groups – but there have been some personality conflicts while working together. Nothing serious, just the usual, “They’re not letting me do anything,” and “______ is being bossy!” stuff. We had to take some time to talk about compromising and taking turns, and using kind words! The kids have used the Palm handhelds before (in third grade) so they only needed a quick review of the basics before they started. They created the shell of their PicoMaps this week and they have started gathering facts about the region to either type in FreeWrite or draw in Sketchy. I hope that they will be ready to begin “linking” the documents to PicoMap by Tuesday. So far, they seem to be grasping what we’re doing. I hope the use PicoMap helps them to make “connections” between what they are learning and what they already know about Pennsylvania!

Reflection on Changes in Patterns of Technology Use

tmiquel — Sun, 21 Oct 2007 20:59:59 +0000

As I reflect on this week’s blog assignment, I find it difficult to really identify specific changes that have occured during this class – mostly because my thoughts, and ideas about technology and its use in schools has been slowly evolving since I entered the Instructional Technology program at Lehigh. I have to admit I used to think I was doing a pretty good job of integrating technology when I was a fourth grade teacher. Looking back now, I realize that although my students were using a lot of technology with me it mostly consisted of “end products” to show what they were learning or had learned. We used the Internet for research, and made a lot of PowerPoint slideshows. As I’ve moved through my courses here at Lehigh, I’ve begun to understand how important it is to use technology to support student learn by helping them to see and make connections, organize ideas, compare and contrast, and eventually to think more critically. Technology is one more tool that an educator can use to scaffold students’ learning so that every student can be sucessful.

This course has given me a better appreciation for the variety of tools that are out there – many of the presentations have been about tools I knew nothing (or little) about. Because of the understanding I gained through Alex’s presentation, I plan to further investigate the use of RSS feeds as a tool for my own use. Actually, I like the whole idea of the “Tools Presentations” and I’ve talked to my principal about doing something similar on a monthly basis so that our teachers can share about the technology tools/resources they have found to be useful and how they are using them. So often teachers feel like “I don’t have time to learn about every new thing out there,” but if they can see how specific technolgy is being used right in our own building they might be more willing to give it a try – especially if they know there is someone close by to walk them through the potential pitfalls!

tmiquel — Fri, 12 Oct 2007 16:42:22 +0000

I finally have a clear picture for my field project. A lot of the ideas I had will not work with the time frame Miss L has for this social studies unit, but we’ve compromised and come up with a plan. In order to facilitate the students’ learning about the five regions of Pennsylvania, we are going to use a “Jigsaw” instructional strategy. The class will be divided into three teams of five students. Each student on the team will select one region, and then meet with the corresponding members from the other teams to form an “expert group” for that region. They will gather, organize, and summarize the information about their region and prepare a concept map using PicoMap on their Palm handhelds. Using the PicoMap, they will then return to the home team to teach their teammates about their region, and learn about the other four regions. The team’s five PicoMaps will then be used to create one big concept map about the “5 Regions of PA.” They’ll use the Internet to gather some pictures to add to the map as well. The expert groups will “reconvene” to develop questions for a PowerPoint Jeopardy game and then input the questions and answers into the game template. this Jeopardy game will be used as a review for the entire class. We will begin this unit next week, and I’m looking forward to working with Miss L and her class!

tmiquel — Tue, 02 Oct 2007 17:35:35 +0000

The butterfly picture is of a female monarch that emerged in my classroom on October 2, 2007.

Field Project Progress – Standards to be Addressed

tmiquel — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 12:56:01 +0000

I have met with Miss L. and we have a pretty clear picture concerning the upcoming project. We will be guiding the class through an integrated project about the 5 geographic regions of Pennsylvania. We will include geographic features of the land, natural resources, use of the land features (for industry, recreation, etc.), and climate. Social Studies that may be addressed include:

7.1.3

A. Identify geographic tools and their uses.

B. Identify and locate places and regions.

7.2.3

A. Identify the physical characteristics of places and regions.

B. Identify the basic physical processes that affect the physical characteristics of places and regions.

7.3.3

A. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their population characteristics.

C. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their settlement characteristics.

· Types of settlements (e.g., villages, towns, suburbs, cities, metropolitan areas)

· Factors that affect where people settle (e.g., water, resources, transportation)

D. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their economic activities.

· Location factors in the spatial distribution of economic activities (e.g., market, transportation, workers, materials)

· Producers of consumer products and services (e.g., bread, pizza, television, shopping malls)

· Products of farms and factories at the local and regional level (e.g., mushrooms, milk, snack foods, furniture)

· Spatial distribution of resources

Non-renewable resources
Renewable resources
Flow resources (e.g., water power, wind power)

E. Identify the human characteristics of places and regions by their political activities.

· Type of political units (e.g., townships, boroughs, towns, cities, counties, states, countries (nation state))

· Political units in the local area

Technology Standards that may be addressed include:

1 Basic operations and concepts

· Students demonstrate a sound understanding of the nature and operation of technology systems.

· Students are proficient in the use of technology.

2 Social, ethical, and human issues

· Students practice responsible use of technology systems, information, and software.

· Students develop positive attitudes toward technology uses that support lifelong learning, collaboration, personal pursuits, and productivity.

3 Technology productivity tools

· Students use technology tools to enhance learning, increase productivity, and promote creativity.

· Students use productivity tools to collaborate in constructing technology-enhanced models, prepare publications, and produce other creative works.

4 Technology communications tools

· Students use a variety of media and formats to communicate information and ideas effectively to multiple audiences.

5 Technology research tools

· Students use technology to locate, evaluate, and collect information from a variety of sources.

· Students use technology tools to process data and report results.

· Students evaluate and select new information resources and technological innovations based on the appropriateness for specific tasks.