Chapter 12 Week 3 Cathy Ziebarth

Title: Designing, Implementing and Reflecting on Instruction with Technology

3 ideas of learning –This chapter reinforced the importance of effective lesson planning and preparation. The use of technology may require even more planning as the focus is no longer teacher centered and using technology requires the ability of the teacher to be flexible, plan for the unexpected and be able to troubleshoot difficulties. Another idea that was reinforced was the need to practice using technology. Adults tend to be more reserved and tentative when it comes to using new technology, however students will click the mouse, try it out just to see what happens with little regard for potential problems, and all this will probably occur well before directions have been given. It is important to anticipate and think like a student. What do they need to complete the task, and what will they do that could cause a problem? By practicing a planned lesson with technology it has a greater chance of success. The last thought was the lesson is not complete until the teacher has evaluated the effectiveness. I have the opportunity to redo a lesson a couple hours later, so it is imperative that I reflect and make changes. In addition to evaluating the concepts taught, it is equally important to evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of technology. Frustrations can occur when implementing technology; planning, practice and evaluating can alleviate some of those frustrations and build successful lessons and increased confidence regarding technology implementation.

2 ideas for integrating technology Since I use technology daily, I am not as concerned with infusing it into my lessons, but was reminded that I need to evaluate at what level I am having students achieve those objectives. For example when I begin a new lesson and demonstrate a technology, my first objective may be for students to remember the steps and understand how to implement. As we progress I need to make sure that using technology gives students the opportunity to evaluate and create. A second idea is to stream line the implementation of technology for teachers. When I work with teachers and they get frustrated because technology doesn’t work, I need to make sure as much as possible that hardware is up to speed and working. I must anticipate what could go wrong as we do with students, and evaluate and reflect how we are using technology to improve my interactions with teachers and provide opportunities for success.

One main concern about integrating technology

A very detailed lesson plan on Avogadro’s number is included in Chapter 12, page 268. My first thought was—are you kidding? While I believe it is very important to have a plan and be well prepared, what teacher would possibly have the time to write such a detailed plan that would list a time frame of 1.2 minutes. Seriously--- someone would time an introduction to 1.2 minutes? I believe in planning and planning for the unexpected. Probably Mr. Porter’s lesson would be very successful and he has an amazing detailed plan, but I am concerned that a beginning teacher would think it necessary to have such a plan to effectively infuse technology into a lesson. This is not a realistic representation of the lesson plans of “real” teachers who may have 6 different subjects and three different grade levels to teach in one day.