Technology Integrated Lesson

Since getting my SMART board last year and the projector, it has opened up my class to a whole new world of technology. I feel I am only scratching the surface on integrating technology in my classroom. It is very hard for me to pinpoint the best lesson I have done when I used technology because I use technology throughout my whole day. What I mostly use technology for is to make my lesson more hands-on and visual for my students. For Social Studies, Reading, and Math, I pull in websites for students to explore right on the SMART board and they can get more information on a topic. Websites are a great way also to clarify any confusion that students have on the topic. However, sometimes navigating websites and finding things are hard to do and many times I haven't found the right information I want to show my students. So to modify and change the use of websites for next time, I would make sure I bookmark the actual page I want students to look at and link it in with my SMART lessons. I also use Discovery Education video streaming in all of my subjects. This is a great way to integrate technology in the classroom because it gives the students another perspective and is a great visual for those students who are visual learners. My students get really engaged in the video clips because they are so used to watching movies, tv, etc. I need to remember to put the videos into the Smart player so it can become interactive. I often forget to do it and run out of time and need to use the player more consistently. I also use the SMART board and the internet to teach vocabulary words. It is so easy to go on the internet or the SMART board and find a picture of the word you want the students to learn about. Some ways that I am planning to use more technology in my classroom this year is to use the Senteo response systems. I think that will take student participation in my class to a whole new level and they will be very engaged in their learning because to them it will feel like they are playing a video game, which so many love doing. Also, I would like to learn more about Podcasting and creating a classroom website. I think it would be very beneficial for my students and parents to be able to find information about my class on a classroom website.