Technology Matrix

Jessica ViningEDU 521

Lesson Planning Matrix

CT Standards Whole Group Small Group Independent Learning/Centers

Project Based Learning

Science Youtube Speed Up Tools

Filamentality Music Creating and Editing Tools

Social Studies Interactive Whiteboard

Augmented Reality Tools

GPS/Google Earth

Mapping Tools

Math Clickers Survey Creation Tools

Spreadsheets Data Visualization Tools

Language Arts

Audio Books Textual

Analysis Speech to Text Tools/Text to Speech Tools

Podcasting

CT Science Standard Grade 5, Content Standard 5.1: Sound and

light are forms of energy; TSSBAT describe how sound is transmitted, reflected and/or absorbed by different materials.

CT Social Studies Standard Grade 6, Standard1.4: Demonstrate an

understanding of geographical space and place; TSSBAT locate and describe specific places on a map using latitude and longitude.

CT Math Standard Grade 5, Content Standard 4.2.a: Analyze

data sets to form hypotheses and make predictions; TSSBAT examine different data collection methods and their effects.

CT Language Arts Standard Grade 4, Content Standard 4.2 a: TSSBAT

use sentence patterns typical of spoken and written language to produce text.

Science Filamentality I will use a filamentality on sound waves as energy in order to provide students with supplemental

knowledge on the characteristics of sound waves via the internet as opposed to lecture or reading from a text book.

A filamentality is essentially a tool that easily allows you to create a webquest for your students on any topic you desire. Your job is to simply fill in the blanks in the template; locate appropriate source sites, create a few questions, and the website does the rest. The technology will be used in the lesson to create a webquest in which students will be asked to answer questions on the topic with information found on teacher provided websites. This is a useful tool because as a teacher you can be sure that the information and sources that the students are using are accurate and legitimate. In addition to this, since the students are essentially on an internet scavenger hunt for information, they are more likely to be engaged in the lesson.

During the lesson, the teacher can assess student understanding by circulating around the classroom and observing, asking questions, or simply listening to the students as they perform this task. Informal assessment such as this will allow the teacher the insight they need to assess whether or not the students are understanding the material DURING the activity.

To assess student understanding at the end of the lesson, the teacher will collect the worksheets that were handed out along with the filamentality instructional sheet. By reading and correcting student answer sheets, the teacher can formally assess whether or not the students were able to pick out the correct information from the provided websites.

Science Youtube Using youtube for whole class instruction when teaching about sound waves is a

great way to give the students an idea of how sound waves ‘look’, and what they are actually capable of. There are, of course, other experiments that as a teacher I would attempt to do with the whole class so that they could see first hand that sound waves are a form of energy, but finding video clips of experiments that I would not be able to perform in the classroom would both help them to better understand the information as well as motivate them to learn about it.

In order to assess student understanding during the lesson, the teacher would obviously have to supplement the youtube video(s) with some other form of information. By combining traditional teaching/learning methods with video, the students are able to gain a better understanding of the material. The teacher could then ask thought provoking questions in order to gauge student understanding.

In order to assess student understanding after the lesson, it is possible that the teacher could ask students to design their own experiment to observe sound waves, reminding them to think back to the videos that they had watched as well as any experiments that were performed in class.

Science Speed-Up Tools According to Prensky, there are tools available that allow users to speed up and slow

down an audio or video file. While he suggests using these tools to aid comprehension in students that are auditory learners, I thought that using these tools as a way to allow science students to play with sound waves was clever. Students can adjust the speed of an audio file (perhaps one they themselves create!), and observe the changes to the sound wave.

In order to assess student understanding during the lesson, I would include a worksheet that gave the students a few specific instructions on their speed adjustment, and ask them to draw the sound wave after each change. In this way, you can ensure that students are actually observing, not simply playing with the technology. Once they have completed the required tasks, then they can play with the software and see what new things they can do!

To assess student understanding after the lesson, the teacher can informally assess by asking students to orally describe the ways in which they altered the audio files, and how the size and shape of the original sound wave reacted to each alteration.

Science Music Creating and Editing Tools I think that by having the students create some kind of audio file (it doesn’t

necessarily have to be music!) you are able to really engage the students in the science lesson. The use of recording and editing tools allow the students to see a visual representation of the sound waves they have created, and also encourages them to play around with sound; they can alter speed, pitch, and tone.

Since this is meant to be a project, the teacher would assess student understanding by having progress monitoring meetings with each student as they worked on the assignment. Passing out a rubric with the assignment ensures that students know what is expected of them.

To assess student understanding once the assignment is completed, the teacher could ask students to write about their experience in completing the project; why they altered or edited their audio file the way they did, how certain parts of their audio file would look when visually represented and why, etc.

Social Studies Interactive Whiteboard I would use the interactive whiteboard with the whole class for this lesson

in order to pre-assess student understanding of geography. By providing students with a blank map of the world and asking students to correctly identify continents, countries, and other landmarks, I would actively engage students in the lesson.

As I mentioned before, I would use this tool as a method of pre-assessing student understanding of basic geography. The assessment is built into the activity as is.

Once the unit on basic geography has ended, I might again use the same blank templates to give students a second chance at working on the interactive whiteboard. By allowing them to place continents in the correct area, indentify countries, and label landmarks, again the teacher can informally assess simply via observation.

Social Studies Augmented Reality Tools In his book, Prensky states that augmented reality tools are essentially

images that have information superimposed on them. They combine GPS technology with 3D geographic coordinates. By using augmented reality tools within the classroom, students can learn factual information about world landmarks, such as Mt. Everest, by simply observing a superimposed photo.

In order to assess student understanding during the lesson, the teacher could pass out a worksheet that the students would be asked to complete as they looked at the images of augmented reality.

In order to assess student understanding after the lesson, the teacher could assign each student a landmark and ask them to name at least one important fact that they would choose to superimpose on the image of that landmark; for example, the Nile River is 4184 miles long.

Social Studies GPS/Google Earth For this lesson, I would actually ask students to use Google Earth in

tandem with a traditional atlas, so that they could gain an understanding of how differently we are able to observe the size and shape of the earth and its landmarks via technology.

To assess student understanding during this lesson, I would give students a list of world landmarks to look up in both Google Earth and in a traditional atlas. I would ask them to describe the area (desert, forest, etc) and explain how they were able to determine the characteristics of the area using both tools.

To assess student understanding after the lesson, I would give each student a mystery location (latitude and longitude), and ask them to determine the characteristics of that area using the knowledge they gained from using Google Earth and the atlas. Once they have made a hypothesis, they would research their mystery location using those tools and self check their own predictions.

Social Studies Mapping Tools I think that asking students to create a map of an area of their

choice using mapping tools is an excellent project in order to determine student understanding of maps and the physical attributes of the world they live in.

Again, in order to assess student understanding during the time the project is being created, the teacher should hand out a rubric and have scheduled progress monitoring meetings with students to ensure that they are aware of what is expected of them.

To assess student understanding of the standard once the project is over, have students present their maps in front of the class, and explain the geography of their area, how the latitude and longitude affect the area, and why they designed their map they way they did.

Math Clickers Using clickers for whole group instruction is a great way to introduce to

students the idea of collecting data, which of course is the first step towards visually representing data. If a teacher does not have the usually required interactive whiteboard to go with the clicker technology, they can always set up an online survey to collect the necessary data, but clickers are much more instant.

To assess student understanding during the lesson, the teacher could ask for student input as to what sorts of data they should be collecting. Perhaps if it is around the beginning of winter, the students may want to survey the class on favorite winter activities.

To assess student understanding after the lesson, the teacher should assign students the task of creating their own survey question that they would use to collect their own data.

Math Survey Creation Tools Using this technology in small groups further allows students to explore

and understand the many methods by which we are able to collect and view data. Small groups will be able to come up with their own survey questions, host the survey online, and visually represent their results.

The teacher can assess student understanding during this activity by simply monitoring students as they go through the process. The teacher can approve survey questions, assist in setting up the online survey, and give suggestions as to how the students may want to visually represent the data.

The teacher can assess student understanding after the lesson by having students present their data to the class. Students will share their survey questions, the results, and their chosen method of visual representation.

Math Spreadsheets Prensky states that spreadsheets are a powerful tool, and the ability to

make one is a very valuable skill that all partnering teachers and students should know. Having students use spreadsheets as a means of collecting and keeping data is the most basic way to introduce this technology, which is why I would include it as a part of a data tracking math unit.

Teachers can assess student understanding during the lesson by making themselves available to students as they complete the task. If it is the first time students have encountered this technology, it is important that you offer them support in figuring out the mechanics of the software if and when they ask for it.

Teachers can assess student understanding after the lesson by having them create a spreadsheet from data they have collected themselves.

Math Data Visualization Tools Prensky states that there are several websites that students can access in

order to visually represent a large amount of data. To use these effectively, I think a long term project would be best. Asking students to collect some sort of data over a long period of time (i.e. the weather for an entire marking period) and then use a data visualization tool would be great for such a project.

The teacher can assess student understanding during the time the project is being created, the teacher should hand out a rubric and have scheduled progress monitoring meetings with students to ensure that they are aware of what is expected of them.

To assess student understanding of the standard once the project is over, have students present their data in front of the class. They can explain what kind of data they collected, the length of time they collected it, the results of their data, how the represented it, and why they chose their specific topic and method of representation.

Language Arts Audio Books I would use an audio book in tandem with the physical text during a

language arts unit in order to introduce the idea of writing with style that matches that of spoken word. By both seeing and hearing the words of the author, students can begin to think about how words can be crafted.

By using an audio book along with a whole class text, the teacher can gauge student understanding by asking students thought provoking questions about the text; more specifically, about the flow of the text, word choice, and perhaps use of dialogue.

To assess student understanding after the lesson, the teacher could assign a written to spoken word project, like the one I will propose at the end of the language arts section of this matrix.

Language Arts Textual Analysis I would have students use textual analysis tools to check things such as

vocabulary level, word frequency, and style in both their writing as well as the writing of a chosen author. Students could even do a side by side analysis of their own writing to that of another student. Having students perform this task would allow them to see their writing in a more objective manner.

To check for student understanding during this lesson, I would ask students about what shortcomings they felt their writing had before textual analysis, and check in on them as they performed the comparisons.

To check for student understanding after the lesson, I would ask students what the textual analysis revealed about their writing, and whether or not they think the analysis was accurate, and what steps they could take to improve their writing.

Language Arts Speech to Text/Text to Speech Tools I would ask students to use speech to text and text to speech tools in order

for them to understand that when we are writing, it is just as important that the words sound good orally as well as on paper. Having them convert text to speech and vice versa allows them to see how important it is that what is spoken and written should be able to convert seamlessly from one format to the other.

To assess student understanding during this lesson, the teacher could give the students text and oral statements that easily convert from one format to the other, and some that do not. By asking thought provoking questions to the students as they perform the task, the teacher can assess understanding.

To assess student understanding once the lesson is over, the teacher could follow up with the project that is proposed at the end of the technology matrix.

Language Arts Podcasting As a project to finish up the standard of writing with sentence patterns that

work in both written and spoken word, I would ask students to produce a piece of written work, and then make a recording of themselves reading that piece of work; a podcast, but essentially an audio ‘book’ that they themselves have written.

The teacher can assess student understanding during the time the project is being created, the teacher should hand out a rubric and have scheduled progress monitoring meetings with students to ensure that they are aware of what is expected of them.

To assess student understanding once the project is finished, the students will be asked to play their podcast for the class, Of course, the teacher will listen to the podcast and pinpoint specific sentences which show that the student understands how spoken and written word are meant to flow.