Tara Juliano
The Use of Technology in School
17,
CIEE: 605
Due:
Having been built
in 2004, School 17 in
There is a wealth of software programs being used in our school, as well as technology-integrated lessons. Some examples of the programs we have available on all computers in the school are Accelerated Reader, Fitnessgram, Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Publisher, Access, and Infopath, Scott Foresman Science practice, Inspiration, Type to Learn, SuccessMaker, and Ultimate Writing.
One of the software programs frequently used in our school as well as among the district is Accelerated Reader, created by Renaissance Learning. This program is installed on every computer so students can access it from any computer in the building. The Accelerated Reader program provides a fun, technological way of reading in school and at home. Certain books, marked with a sticker in the media center and in our classroom library, have a five or ten question quiz that go along with them. After reading the book, the student can log in, take the quiz, and print his/her results. The program keeps track of the points students are earning, as each book has a point value based on difficulty. The media specialist tallies the points every 2 months, and the students with more than ten points are rewarded with a Pizza Hut gift certificate. Because the list of Accelerated Reader books is so long, every teacher in the school was given a copy of the list, in order to update the classroom libraries. Our school is constantly purchasing new quizzes and updating the media center database.
The
Accelerated Reader program fits nicely into the cognitive learning
process. The quizzes are forcing the
students to draw on the prior experience of the book and their lives to make
inferences and conclusions. The program
also allows the teacher to see what reading level the student is on. This helps the teacher to level the students
into guided reading groups. “By building
on the child's experiences and providing moderately challenging tasks teachers
can provide the 'intellectual scaffolding' to help children learn and progress
through the different stages of development.” (
The constructivist theory, where learning is based on a combination of new ideas mixed with previously learned ideas, is in constant motion in every classroom. There is some prior knowledge expected for every lesson taught. One technological tool I use to assist with the constructivist theory is the smartboard. This interactive whiteboard helps the students make the learning their own, and makes the students feel as if they are taking part in the discovery of these new concepts. I use the smartboard to assist with science experiments for example. The students are conducting their own experiments in their cooperative groups, and I am simply keeping track of some results on the smartboard. After they have completed the task, they can look to the smartboard to see what they have discovered on their own.
Another helpful tool of the smartboard is that it is also connected to the internet. At any time, we as a class can access the internet to aide in our discovery. New vocabulary is an example of when we might need the internet, amongst many other research topics. When beginning a new story or novel in reading, we must first understand some of the more difficult words we may come across. We can use the smartboard to access a dictionary website and give us a complete definition of the words. The students then put the definitions in their own words so they are easy to understand and remember. In this process, the students are using their prior knowledge of a word integrated with their new discovery to create a definition they can understand and refer back to as we are reading.
The behavioral approach, created by B. F. Skinner and other behavioral theorists, is defined as the observable cause and effect relationship. A website states, “Successful leadership is based in definable, learnable behavior.” (Behavioral Theory, 2002). The teacher is ultimately responsible for the behavior of the students in the classroom. Most teachers, as I have, set up a system of rewards and consequences. In teaching third grade, most of the rewards are immediate. The students respond best to immediate feedback.
A computer program
used widely and very often in
During the SuccessMaker program, the students will see immediate feedback. If a problem is given and the student gives the correct answer, a blue ribbon appears on the screen with words such as, “Great Job” or “Well Done”. The student would then continue to the next problem. If the student answers the question incorrectly, the program begins teaching. Each computer is equipped with a set of headphones. The program with speak to the child and show the student the steps to finding the correct answer. The software will break down problems to make it easier for the student to understand. A few problems later, the computer will give a problem similar to the one the student recently answered incorrectly. The program keeps track of all this and when a student grasps the concept fully, the software will count that skill as mastered. In order to move up in the program, the student must master skills on the current grade level. All of this is in the printable reports, accessible by teachers and administrators.
There are many other technology based lessons being performed in classrooms daily. Accelerated Reader, Smartboard, and SuccessMaker are only a few I use on a daily basis with my students. The learning approach that goes along with the programs can differentiate based on the planned outcome and the use of the software. Overall, our school is very technologically advanced and the students are extremely fortunate to have all of this in their grasp.
Resources
Conway, J. (1997). Educational technology's effect on models of instruction.
Retrieved
http://copland.udel.edu/~jconway/EDST666.htm.
Google, (2002). Behavioral Theory. Retrieved
Web site:
http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/behavioral_theory.htm.