Reflection 4

Lesson Plan for TPACK integration

Application
Describe an instructional activity (e.g. part of a lesson plan) where you can incorporate this technology. Consider an activity that can be conducted in 15-20 minutes.

First, provide some details regarding:

• Learners: Who are your learners? What learner/age group should this activity be designed for?

Since I am going to become an ag teacher my learners would be those students who are interested in agriculture. These students are eight thru twelfth so their ability to use Edmodo should be very easy.

• Learning outcomes: What will learners gain through this activity? Be specific regarding the focus of content. You should be able state something like: “At the end of this activity, students will be able to…”

Edmodo allows the students to search and save new articles, take quizzes and do their assignments all in one place, on Edmodo. At the end of each activity the students should gain more knowledge about agriculture subjects by using Edmodo.

• Assessment: How would you know that students acquire the learning outcomes? How would you know that your activity is effective?

Edmodo is designed to upload each student’s grades at the end of each quiz or assignment to a grade book. This allows the teacher to go to the gradebook on Edmodo and see how the students are progressing.

Second, break down your activity into a timeline of planned events and procedures. Here you should describe what students and the teacher will be doing chronologically during the activity. Below is one of the good examples from previous reflections:

• First I will introduce Edmodo to my students and do a quick tutorial of the website.
• My students will then take the time to do any assignments that I have uploaded on Edmodo, just to get the feel of things.
• The students will then stay on Edmodo and search for an agriculture activity on spotlight and must share with the class why they chose this activity, and how it would help the class.

Reflection
Considering your learning activity described above, write two paragraphs or three 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.

The use of Edmodo’s technology is very helpful with teaching activities. I would teach a lesson over a subject within agriculture using the technology of the smart board. After the teaching lesson is finished the students could then log onto their Edmodo accounts and must complete an assignment and a quiz.

The use of this technology makes it much easier to have more time during class to teach students. Also students tend to lose their papers, this way they don’t worry about keeping up with folders and such, they shouldn’t have any excuses about not being able to finish an assignment. Also the kids will do their homework, because the parents can create their own account to keep up with their kids work.

--Pedagogical-Content:

Your pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of teaching strategies that are specific to a content area. That is the knowledge about choosing appropriate pedagogies for teaching a particular content Example: Using drill-and-practice to teach math problem solving. This strategy however may not necessarily be effective for other content areas.

Now, forget about the technology for a while…..Just tells us about your teaching strategies that you employ in your activity (e.g., analogies, demonstrations, illustrations, examples, explanations, group work, drill-practice, simulations, role-play, lecturing, self-guided learning, inquiry-based learning, problem based learning or etc). Specifically:

• What are your strategies and why do you think your strategies are appropriate to teaching this specific content?  What makes you believe it would help your students comprehend this particular content? Give specific examples from your described activity.
• What would be some conceptions and pre-conceptions that students of different ages and backgrounds bring with them when learning this particular content? What would you be concerned about students' prior knowledge, experiences, motivation? Again focus on the content and your teaching strategy, not the technology!

My strategy is for this learning experience using Edmodo to be fun and easy, and not like a normal class. This gives the students the opportunity to advance their knowledge in agriculture by the use of technology to do their assignments. Using Edmodo gives the teacher a more time to lecture and more one on one learning experiences with the teacher.

--Technological-Pedagogical:

Your technological pedagogical knowledge refers to your understanding of technologies for particular learning tasks, your ability to choose technologies based on its fitness, your knowledge of pedagogical strategies, and your ability to apply those strategies for use of technologies Example: Selecting Edmodo/facebook for facilitating student generated debate. Edmodo here is the technology that supports the main pedagogy-group discussion/debate.

In the previous section, you talked about your instructional strategies. Keeping these strategies you stated in mind, now tell us how the technology is used in your activity.  Specifically:

• What main instructional strategies would this technology use serve in your activity? How would using the technology support the way you teach this activity? Please give examples and be specific to your described activity. Think about your main teaching strategies that this technology would support.
• What different classroom management strategies you might need to consider when using this technology in the activity? Give examples and be specific to your described activity.

Without the use of technology we would have a harder time as teachers trying to teach the students at their own individual pace. Technology as for the use of the smart boards allows the students to follow along with a visual instead of having to obtain the knowledge through listening. I would lecture using a power point slide then upload that power point to Edmodo so the students can reflect back the lecture as often as they needed.

--Technological Pedagogical Content:

Your technological pedagogical content knowledge refers to your understanding of how teaching and learning from content may change when technology used and is our knowledge about selecting technologies that suits, support, and enhances teaching strategies and learning activities in your particular content area. It is your understanding of teaching strategies to effectively teach the particular content and help student conceptual difficulties in this content by meaningfully incorporating technologies. Example: Using a flash card app on iPad as a means to aid students memorize words and definitions in language learning. iPad app is here chosen as a tool to support the pedagogy around instant feedback, quick repetition, and individualized learning. These are some of the strategies used in language learning content area.

Now, let’s focus on the content you’re teaching in your activity. Think about your decisions to incorporate this technology and the teaching strategies in relation to your particular content area. Tell us specifically about:

• How would using this technology enhance the way the content is represented in your activity (e.g. demonstrations, explanations, examples, illustrations, analogies, and etc.)? That is why you think the selection and the pedagogical use of this technology may enhance what you teach (the content in your activity). Give specific examples from your activity to support your answer and keep in mind the learning objectives that you stated previously. 
• In what different ways students practice or understand the content in your activity that would otherwise not be possible without the use of the technology? In addition to motivational benefits, what else can students do with this technology as they are learning the content?

Without the use of technology the students would begin to lose focus and stop paying attention to the teacher during the lecture. Technology can bring each student closer together by using the smart boards to play educational games that each student can participate in. I believe that if you don’t involve the students into your lecture and make the learning process fun for them. That they will begin to slack off and not care about the topic being taught to them.