All elementary school subjects have the capability of being integrated. This helps the teacher teach multiple subjects in the limited amount of time available during the school day. It also helps students understand how subjects relate to each other and can help them apply real world situations to what they are learning in school. Technology is a subject that teachers are not only required to teach in their classrooms, but can be used as a tool to better students' content knowledge. There are many resources that are designed specifically for use as classroom technology, such as
Glogster and
Pixton. Other sources such as
Animoto are not designed just for school use, but are simple and useful for students' learning.
Social Studies is a great subject in which technology can be applied for multiple purposes. Students need a variety of resources to learn about Social Studies because it can be such a broad topic. In Kindergarten, students will be learning about themselves, the people in their families, their classmates' families, and children around the world. Students can use a wide variety of technology tools to retain important information in a fun and active way. In my
self and family unit, I used a number of tools in which students are either creating something, or using something I made, to learn more.
In my first lesson, students are encouraged to explore characteristics of themselves as well as important people in their lives. The students are to make an Animoto video containing five pictures about themselves and a short description about each one. Using videos is a great visual way to share with their classmates a little about themselves so they can get to know each other better. Animoto is great for primary grades because it focuses on the pictures so the students can share a lot of information without a lot of words.
I used Glogster for two lessons. Glogster is a great way to have students condense a lot of information in a short, descriptive, and visually appealing way. For example, students were to take information from an interview and post three facts that deemed most important into their Glogster.
I also created technology tools for my students to learn with in my unit. In one lesson they are going on a virtual field trip using PowerPoint to explore Chinese culture and customs. Although it takes a lot of teacher time and dedication to create the trip, students can enjoy learning at their own pace and re-visit the information as many times as they wish. They can also explore the field trip independently so it can be used as a station in the classroom.
The lessons I created that integrate technology are very appealing to the students. They are engaging and mostly require the students to think on their own and create something, which is a major component in Bloom's Taxonomy. I plan to use many of the tools I have already created as well as the programs I have had a chance to explore and master to better my students' understanding of a subject and keep them engaged and excited about learning. Using techonolgy will help students master the standards established by the state and help them become
21st Century learners.
