Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of the ipad.

Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of Ipads

Description/Experience

-They presented the ipad in the seminar this week, and how it can be used in the classroom.  The ipad can be used in the classroom for whole class practice or small group practice; depending on the amount of ipads available.  It can also be a reward for a student that has behavior issues.  Educational apps can be added to the ipad for students to practice skills learned on.  It is also a way to engage the students in a lesson and make the lesson more exciting.  If students are struggling to understand a concept or skill, they can use an app on the ipad to practice independently, and then the teacher can evaluate their work.  They showed us how an ipad can be used like a desktop or laptop  for activities or exams.

Application

First, provide some details regarding:

• Learners: The learners are a small group of first grade students that are struggling to understand the long a sound and words.
•  Learning outcomes: The learners will gain a better understanding of the long a sound and words.  They will be able to identify words that have a long a sound, and they will also be able to create their own words using the long a sound.  At the end of this activity, the students will be able to understand the long a sound/words while also identifying words and creating words that possess the long a sound.  They will be able to understand how to create the long a sound in words.
• Assessment: To assess the students understanding, I would first give a pre-test involving the long a sound.  Then, the students will complete the long a sound activity on the ipad.  After completing the activity, I will administer a post-test on the long a sound that is similar to the pre-test; therefore checking for improvement from the students or patterns they are missing.

Second, break down your activity into a timeline of planned events and procedures:

• The lesson will begin with the teacher reviewing the previously taught material of the long a sound in words.  Students will identify the long a words out of a list of words containing both long a and short a sounds as a class.  Then, the students will take a small pre-test of 5 to 7 questions.  This will take approximately 5 to 8 minutes.
• The students will then complete an activity using an app on the ipad in small groups.  This app will review long a sound/words.  The students will read a story using the app and select the long a words throughout the book. If the students pass up a long a word, the app will go back and read the word for them.  This will take around 10 minutes.
• When the group finishes the activity on the ipad and are waiting for the other groups to finish, they will work on a post-test.  The post-test is how the teacher will evaluate the learning and understanding that the students gained from the activity compared to the pre-test.
• If some students are still struggling and not understanding the long a sound concept, they will be given additional time on the ipad to work on app activities with the long a sound.

Reflection
Considering your learning activity described above, write a paragraph or two for each section below addressing the questions. It may be helpful to keep in mind the followings when reflecting:

1. How well the use of this technology may support your teaching strategies in this activity.
2. How effectively the use of this technology may enhance students' understanding of and learning from your particular content in this activity.

--Pedagogy-Content:

• I would first complete a full lesson on the long a sound/words.  I would show how the a makes the long a sound with help from his “buddy” silent e; a___e/a-consonant-e.  The students would be given different cards with pictures of words with either the long a or short a sound; they would have to distinguish which is the long a words.  Also, the students would complete the pre-test prior to completing the activity on the ipad. 
• Teaching in West Virginia, there are some students that bring their own culture and accents to school with them.  They learned to talk from their family and communities, and with their accents, some words might be pronounced differently.  I would try to correct the students’ pronunciation of words without offending them or their culture.  I would do this by explain it is great to have your own culture and accent; however, it is important to learn how to speak words correctly.  The students accents would concern me because it is important that they are able to correctly pronounce the long a words and distinguish them from short a words. 

--Technology-Pedagogy:

• The ipad would be used in my activity as a guided practice/independent practice tool.  The students would be able to practice their long a skills with the activity, and the teacher would be able to evaluate their progress. 
• I would use the ipad in small groups for guided or independent practice.  The students would have already learned the lesson on long a sounds, and then they would use the ipad to practice what they have learned.  The teacher would then evaluate the students’ guided/independent practice.  If the student is struggling with the content still, they would be given extra time on the ipad to practice their long a sound on another app. 
• Before using the ipads, I would teach a lesson on the care and responsibility when using the ipad.  The students would be expected to use them for school use only to only be on the app that is assigned.  If the student is not respecting the ipad or taking proper care of it, they could lose their ipad privileges.  If this happens, the student would complete their guided practice on worksheets until the next ipad lesson.

 
--Technology-Content:

• I would use the ipad to help keep the students engaged in the content while also being able to track the students’ progress throughout the activity.  Also, the students would be able to use different apps to practice their understanding of the long a sound.  If the ipad was not integrated into this activity, it would  be difficult to keep the students engaged in the activity or differentiate instruction.  With the ipad, the students can use different applications depending on their learning strategies and development. 
• The ipad would allow the students to use the apps to practice the content they learned in the lesson.  They would be able to identify the long a sound and also create their own long a words.  The ipad allows for differentiated instruction.  Depending on if the student is advanced, average, or below average in the content area, the app can be altered to their needs.  Also, the students can use different apps depending on their ability level. 

--Technology-Pedagogy-Content:

• I think the using the ipad in the activity would be effective because it keeps the students engaged in the activity, allows them to use technology and not normal worksheets, and allows the teacher to evaluate their progress and differentiate instruction. 
• The ipad would enhance the content by allowing the students to practice independently, and it would also allow for differentiated instruction.  Depending on the students ability level, the teacher can choose the app that is best suited for each students’ needs. 
• I would use direct instruction and differentiated instruction.  I would use direct instruction because the students need to know how to use the ipad and what is exactly expected of them.  I would use differentiated instruction with the ipad because each student has a different ability level and learns differently.  I could adjust the app to fit their ability level and to teach visually, auditory, or kinesthetically.