Chapter 6 Technology Integration Workshop

Chapter 6 focused on online tools and their integration into the classroom. These tools include apps, blogs, videos, and wikis to name a few. These tool can be extremely helpful and make classroom life easier. Given the proper access to these tools, such as having a computer or tablet in the classroom, these tools can help enhance learning through new and innovative ways.

1.Blog based lesson
This lesson is an introduction to blogging and how students can use blogs as a tool in the classroom.

2.Facebook based lesson
In this lesson, the teacher used facebook profiles to recreate characters in literature. The profiles were created to match the personality of each character and interact with each other over social media.

3. Twitter based lesson
This teacher tweets clues about historical figures or events and the students have to guess the answer

For a lesson, the students could be assigned a country to "travel" to. During their travels, they have to blog about their experiences. These blogs could talk about topics such as the language, cuisine, traditions, landmarks, facts about the country, and pictures to accompany their posts. The students would be given a list of required blog posts to ensure each of the components of the culture was explained and a rubric outlining the expectations of each blog post and the overall presentation of the blog. During these posts, classmates will comment about what is similar and different from the country that each student traveled to. This lesson will incorporate social studies and technology in an interactive way and have students think about other cultures from a first hand experience.

Part 2- Implementing the TIP model

The advantage of using the technology is that there can be many components integrated into a working document. Adding pictures, video, commentary and conversation into a document that is constantly changing engages students in the lesson and promotes conversation. The students also gain a deeper understanding about a foreign culture. Blogging is a very personal form of work. The skills needed to blog are basic typing and design skills. The program is easy to use as long as the students have computers and internet access.

The objectives of the lesson are to create a blog explaining the culture of another country. Through the blog, the students will demonstrate their knowledge through a written document. Students will also demonstrate their word processing and conversation skills. The assessment will be based on the blog itself, looking at the design and content. The blog will be graded through a rubric based assessment. The learning environment could either be in the classroom or at home depending on the timeline for the project. The students could work independently during instructional time or free time in the classroom.

The evaluation of the blog will be based on a rubric. The students will also be given a google based survey outlining their experiences that will also be posted in their blog to share their experience and comment on their peers assessments. The teacher could then decide to continue the process of blogging or change the experience

Grade: 5-12
Content Area: Social studies
Topic: foreign countries
Technology used: Blog
ISTE standard: Students critically curate a variety of resources using digital tools to construct knowledge, produce creative artifacts and make meaningful learning experiences for themselves and others.