Teaching with Technology Philosophy
Teaching with technology is an exciting new facet of education that promises to provide endless possibilities for enhancing learning in the future! In our class, we will use Study Island to achieve and master the Florida state standards for sixth-grade language arts. Each Study Island unit expands upon what we're learning in class and gives students multiple attempts to improve their score.
In addition to using Study Island, we will have weekly access to a set of tablets and the computer lab. With the use of computers and tablets, we will conduct research using credible websites. The students will work on determining what makes a website credible and compare and contrast different sites. We will then use that information to write informative and/or persuasive essays.
Lastly, I am excited to introduce students who have not used word processing software before to the wonderful world of online drafting and editing. Together we will experiment with Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and Grammarly to decide which option is our favorite for writing. We may even try editing or be adding comments too!
Teaching with Technology Code of Conduct
With great power, comes great responsibility. It is imperative that students follow a few important rules to ensure that they stay safe on the internet.
Here is our technology code of conduct:
1. I will not give out my personal information on the internet. This includes my first and last name, address, phone number, email, and school location.
2. I will use the computers for academic purposes only. Absolutely NO Facebook!
3. I agree not to visit any websites that could contain vulgar or offensive content.
4. I will not save or download anything on a shared computer.
5. If I am unsure about a website, I will ask an adult.
Each student will be assigned a computer or tablet by number. During computer time, I will closely monitor the students to make sure they are working on our task. If I observe anyone breaking the code of conduct, their computer privileges will be revoked for a time decided by me. Students may earn back computer privileges but must write a paragraph explaining why it is important to follow the specific rule they broke.
Technology Resources
http://www.studyisland.com/ - Website for weekly online homework assignments.
https://www.brainpop.com/ - Customizable lessons on subjects from basic grammar to famous authors.
https://newsela.com/ - Informative reading on a variety of subjects. #STEM
https://www.grammarly.com/ - Editing software that will do basic editing, and check for run-on sentences, fragments, subject-verb agreement, and much, much more.
https://www.goodreads.com/ - Students can read & write book reviews.
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/purdue_owl.html - An excellent resource to get quick answers on MLA and other types of formatting.
https://www.quill.org/ - Another editing website I am less familiar with but may be worth exploring.