The first project I completed was a lesson plan for an English language arts unit. I used a sixth grade class for my scenario. I used the DID model which I found helpful for making sure that I was focusing my attention on the learners throughout the project. In my lesson plan, I added some rationale for why I chose what I did for these students. This is a task that aligns with National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, so I was impressed DID included this in the model.
For this project, I simply created a Word document. I think the Office products are probably one of the most widely used in schools today. However, I realized from reading the chapter that there are good reasons for that and maybe a few that we should question. For one thing, products like the Office Suite have multiple uses. Not only can the teacher use them to create instructional materials or perform administrative tasks, but the students can also use the programs to complete assignments and show their work. One thing I did not think about before reading this chapter though is the fact that teachers seldom have a choice in the software that is provided to them. One way to remedy that problem is to find free online tools, and that is what we used for the other projects.
Next, I created a survey using Google Forms. I liked the ease of using this program. The survey came together quickly, and I had a lot of options for how the questions were laid out. I realized after taking my colleagues’ surveys that I did not use all of the question types. I guess I did not realize some of the options were available, but it was good to see them in their surveys because now I will be able to include them in the future. This program did take me a little longer to acclimate to because it did not share the same features as some of the others. For example, In Google Docs you can click share under the file menu, but in forms you have to click send. I didn’t realize it was basically the same thing. I had some trouble setting the permissions properly, but my colleagues helped me figure it out.
After creating my survey, I worked on using Google Docs and Slides. These programs are very similar to their Microsoft counterparts. However, I did find Slides to be less functional than PowerPoint. That is somewhat made up for by the fact that collaboration is easier in Slides, but there is no text wrapping feature, so the images had to be “wrapped” by strategically placing text boxes. Google Docs is almost no different than Word. In fact, I created my Doc in Word first, just because I wanted to test how well it would convert. I was not very happy with how it copied and pasted into the document.. I had to make several formatting adjustments. It was pretty straightforward though.
Google Sheets was the final program I used to create a gradebook. I was a little scared going in to try this. I have a lot of experience with Excel and I have not had a lot of success with Apple’s Numbers. However Sheets was very easy to use. I was even able to use the average function to create an average for each student. The charts were very easy to create as well. I did not have to consult any help screens which to me equates to a very intuitive program. I don’t think I would use it as an actual gradebook, but it is nice to find an alternative to Excel that is free.
The chapter covered online tools for the classroom as well. I think the programs we used for these projects worked very well. I might choose something like Emaze for presentations over Slides, but overall the rest were good. I would have really liked to be able to try putting all of this into Google Classroom. Google Classroom is a class management system. I attended a conference sesson last week about this program, and I think for the project we are creating it would be a great way to organize all of the projects we are creating. In my own classroom, I do not have use for Classroom, but I would still like to try something like it.
Finally, the chapter closed with some of the challenges faced when using software in the classroom. As I shared above, choice can be a challenge. Educators must keep an open dialog with their technology department about what they are using and why. When presented with good evidence of why one program is preferred over another, a good leader will at least give it some consideration. Another challenge mentioned was changes. I know I have had problems in the past when software was updated and it seemed like I had to learn to use it all over again. Most good designers implement changes slowly to allow users to become accustomed to them, but sometimes additional training may be necessary. This must be considered in advance of new software purchases. One challenge that wasn’t specifically mentioned, but that I find happening in my experience is issues with time. Sometimes it seems like a new software program is released on the hour. It is difficult for an educator to keep up with the latest and greatest. I feel like collaborating often with colleagues is a good way to keep track of good software. The projects that we completed here are good examples of that in action.
My projects:
Technology Survey
Homework Assignments
Research Presentation- Google Slides
Gradebook
lesson_plan.docx |