"Technology Reflection: Instructional Use of SmartBoard”

Technology Reflection Assignment

Description/Experience

In my last seminar, the smartboard was presented to us and explained the best way to incorporate it into our classroom. He was able to show use different formats, activates, and games for all ages. A fellow student was able to go up and demonstrate how simple it is to use the white board and click form page to page with the electronic pen. I liked the handheld board that he used that would allow teachers to be able to walk around the classroom while still writing on the board. After the presentation concluded, we were able to go on and explore some different activities on a website he provided. This allowed us to look at activities that applied to our specific content area and we were able to explore fun games and activities while learning how to use the smartboard. My table did an activity practicing shapes. We had to learn the different ways to manipulate the shapes in the activity.

Application
In my PDS, they are working on shapes. They are learning the names of shapes, number of sides, number of corners, and how they can be arranged to make other shapes. The activity supplies a picture and you have to fit shapes together to fill the picture perfectly. I thought the activity we did with manipulating the shapes would work wonderful in my first grade classroom. I think this would be a great activity to do during station time, where 2-3 students can work at the smart board at one time. They can help each other and learn together.

• Learners: First graders would gain the most from this exercise. This activity would be set for a younger elementary based class that is being introduced to shapes or this could be a great practice review activity before a test or standardized testing in the spring.
• Learning outcomes: Through this activity, students will become more comfortable with shapes, be able to recognize them, and manipulate them. While being able to explore them on the board, they will easily be able to understand them on a worksheet or test. At the end of this activity, students will more easily recognize that a triangle has 3 sides and 6 triangles will make a hexagon. They will not necessarily memorize this information, but become more comfortable with findings answers such as those.
• Assessment: You could determine whether you activity is effective by administering a worksheet or test. Also, if time allows, observing students during this activity will give a teacher an idea of how effective it might be. With many activities dealing with the Smart board and other technologies, observation is the best way to understand your students.

Lesson Procedure

• First, the class should be introduced to the Smart board. A teacher should already have the activity up on the screen and just show them how to use the pen to manipulate the shapes. Also, show the different areas of the screen they can click on to get new pictures or shapes.
• Next the class will divide up into their stations. As mentioned before, this activity will be best with only 3 students, because the area around the board will get too crowded and students will not have a turn to work with the shapes.
• Student should be given approximately 15 minutes at the station. That gives 5 minutes to each student individual; however, most students will tend to work together. If they get stumped on a particular shape, one of their peers can offer their perspective to help them out and solve the puzzle.
• A teacher should also be observing her class, but it is a good idea to make sure every student is having a fair chance at using the Smart board and not struggling through the activity. If they are, it is the teachers responsibility to go over and help them through it. The idea of stations is for students to work independently, but sometimes, especially with technology, students need some help.
• After 15 minutes, switch and let new students take a turn!

Reflection
            The use of the smart board is to provide supplemental material to a lesson. A teacher will explain the shapes, using examples and drawings. This will be used as a form of practice. The students can do practices like this at their desk individually with physical shape blocks. However, this technology is a great way for students to get instant feedback on their performance so they know they are connecting the shapes correctly. Teaching strategies are so important when learning math concepts and they need to be taught in detail so students feel comfortable completing such assignments on the Smart board. As mentioned before, this activity will be used as a drill-and-practice method to teaching and understanding shapes.

This type of technology will enhance student’s understanding of shapes because they will be practice using them where they have control. The students have complete control over where they place each shape or which shape they will try to use. This can help their understanding and learning as they become comfortable with each shape they create. The Smart board puts a fun twist on the idea of practicing shapes and can really help the student have a better understanding of each shape and how to manipulate it.

--Pedagogical-Content:

• The activity uses drill-and-practice, illustrations, self-guided learning, and group work.  I think all of these are very important when learning new concepts. The students can learn from one another, look at pictures as examples, and explore their own thoughts so they have a better understanding. They can move different triangles around or try to make a square fit inside a hexagon. With self-guided learning, students can become more comfortable with whatever concept they are learning, in this case shapes.  I think that between practice working with shapes, working in peers, and exploring topics as individuals, students have a much greater chance of understanding the concept better because they are able to develop that understanding at their own rate, in their own way. By doing this activity during stations, there is no time limit on when they have to be done. They just explore shapes on the Smart board to develop a better understanding.

• When concerning dealing with shapes, many students probably believe they know everything there is to know. That is not true at all because even as adults, you never stop learning. For example, the average person probably does not know that 6 triangles make up a hexagon. If students can understand complicated problems such as those, then taking a test on shapes should be no problem. It is best, as a teacher, to ask challenging questions such as those, to make sure students stay interested and have motivation to learn about and practice shapes. I would not be concerned with student’s prior knowledge because it can help them advance their understanding of shapes.

--Technological-Pedagogical:

• The main instructional strategy this technology would serve would be practice. The Smartboard can supply a great way for students to practice using their shapes, where they can develop a more clear understanding. The only difference in teaching is I would make sure I would explain everything thoroughly and not give much time for exploration. This activity provides that aspect. A teacher needs to make sure that their student understands the concept of putting shapes together to form other shapes. That way the student can get the maximum amount of knowledge out of this activity.
• In my classroom, I would do this activity during a station time when every student is independently working on a different activity. As a teacher, they would be responsible for making sure everyone is on task and actively participating in what they need to. For this activity, most students should be able to work independently and  a teacher just needs to do some checking to make sure everyone is staying on task. Station time is less structured in terms of the whole-class being together and gives students time to practice concepts for math, reading, or writing.

--Technological Pedagogical Content:

• This technology does a great way of providing students with pictures, analogies, and demonstrations. For example, they can provide comparing techniques for shapes and real life objects, like a Smart board is in the shape of a square. This can help students develop a better understanding of each shape. The activity also provides pictures and demonstrations for putting different shapes together to form a new shape. For example, they Smart board can give an outline of a common object like dog, and a student would have to manipulate shapes to fit the picture and outline. This allows them to develop good “guess and check’ skills. This technology gives students a great way to develop their own unique understanding through working with the shapes and pictures.
• Without the use of the Smartboard, students would not be as motivated to practice their shapes. Students get much more excited about math and other subjects when they get to move around out of their seat and work with technology or a hands-on activity. This allows them to learn at their own pace, that a general classroom setting with a worksheet and pencil would not allow. Also, with this technology, students can go beyond just the concepts learned in the classroom but this allows them to develop more complex thoughts and a deeper understanding. For example, they might create an imaginary building or figure easily while using the Smartboard shapes that they would not be able to do without it. The Smart board is such a great tool that allows students to gain a great understanding of shapes.