Lesson Plan Supplemental Materials

In this lesson I address a first-grade math standard regarding telling time. Ohio 1.MD.B.3 States that student should be able to tell and write time in hours and half-hours using analog and digital clocks. After this lesson unit, students will have learned the attributes or parts of a clock and how to use analog and digital clocks to tell time to the hour and half hour.

This lesson also includes three technology components. A PowerPoint Online Broadcast that is designed to be a game that reinforces student's ability to tell time to the hour and half hour. In the beginning of the presentation, students simply recite the times (24hrs) on the digital clocks. Later, In the presentation, they have to select the correct digital that matches the time on each analog clock. 

Go to link for a live Broadcast of Mrs. Blacks Clock Game.
Go to link for the same game in Scribd Mrs. Black's Clock Game

I also created a component through Classtools.net.  It is a scavenger hunt using QR codes. The QR code would be placed around the classroom and students would scan them with their iPad cameras to answer the questions embedded in the QR codes. The questions are simply term matches for time telling vocabulary.

Go to link for the Telling Time QR code Scavenger hunt http://goo.gl/myspoE

My third component is a Plickers app component.  It is a short assessment of the standards I addressed in this lesson.  The plickers app assigns students with answer cards  that I print out.  As the questions are presented on SmartBoard, students can hold up the correct the answer codes that I scan with my smart phone.  The app scores and extrapolates the answer by class and by individual student.
The Plickers app does not allow me to provide a link to my questions, answers and grade reports, however, I screenshoted the various user interfaces to give you a general idea of how the app works,

Go to link for Plickers app  http://www.plickers.com Plickers App 
Go to link for my Plickers Game Google Drive copies of Plickers Screenshots

My Technology Lesson Plan

Standards Based Tech-Lesson Plan: Learning to Tell time

Picmonkey

Picmonkey is a free photo editing app that allows the user to upload an image and begin editing without a user account.  This made the process much smoother to me, eliminating the process of entering my profile information and email address then waiting for a confirmation email so that I can then login. Picmonkey lets me hit the ground running.  I was able to use all the standard editing tools you’d expect from such a website without downloading apps and registering.  I really do like the app for classroom application.  Such as creating paper/worksheet activities with timely designs and graphics or simply creating cute holiday portraits with adjustments for seasonal projects.

I decided to take a photo of myself and create some fairy-esque graphics.

QR Code

<img src="http://api.qrserver.com/v1/create-qr-code/?color=000000&amp;bgcolor=FFFFFF&amp;data=http%3A%2F%2Ftechnicallyiteach.blogspot.com%2F&amp;qzone=1&amp;margin=0&amp;size=400x400&amp;ecc=L" alt="qr code" />

This QR code was created at goqr.me 

Pinterest in the Classroom

What I learned from using PINTEREST as an educator…

 I have used Pinterest as an educator for many years.  I have multiple boards and over 800 pins of varying content including education. I enjoy the time-saving features other educators share such as lessons, organizational tips and skills-building activities.  Teaching and planning takes so much time and effort to do effectively.  It is nice to be able to open an app and cherry pick from a list of things other teachers have already found success with.  I also learned how to add a Pinterest gadget to a blog, something I’ve never done before. This is very useful since I have always wanted to delve into the educational blog or mommy blog world.

How I will utilize PINTEREST as a teacher…

I will continue to use Pinterest as a valuable resource for organizing my teaching ideas, inspiration for fun projects as well as sharing my own effective teaching ideas.  There are many educators who I follow on original Pinterest account such as “The Moffatt Girls” and “Kathy Schrock” who have loads of printable, crafts and activity ideas on their boards. There are many book suggestions for accompanying lessons of specific content such as poetry, sight words and alliteration.

Strengths of PINTEREST…

Simplicity is Pinterest’s greatest strength.  It is easy to use for even the older crowd who are less technically inclined. My mother in law uses it and that’s saying something!  Also, it provides a space for people to explore their passions. Pinterest keeps those passions alive by feeding them with more pins daily. Volume is another of Pinterest’s great strengths.  Pinterest has over million active users and the number of pins grows by 75% annually. According to Quora.com, there are 50 billion pins and 1 billion boards as of recent 2015 data. That’s a lot of pinning!  It is no wonder that when I go to Pinterest to find a teaching tool of any type, I rarely come away emptyhanded.  Not to mention how visually appealing Pinterest has been designed.  Nearly any search for content whatsoever will yield numerous graphic images with information of your interest…you barely have to read!

The challenges of PINTEREST…

Of course with any app there are challenges, Pinterest is no exception. Pinterest has a narrow demographic.  Most women in the 25-34 age range and over a third in the $100,000 income bracket. If you are using it for classroom purposes, you must keep in mind that it is not appealing to the younger crowd.  Its largest audience base is in the 25-45 age range.  I think teachers and moms are an easy draw but using it as an app in the younger demographic would work if the activity or assignment requires its usage.  Just don’t expect them to make it an app they use in their own leisure after the assignment is completed. Also, Pinterest pinning does not lead to engagement on a conversational level.  People do not interact with one another as much as they do on Facebook and Instagram.  If student interaction is your driving point, look elsewhere.

Reflections on PINTEREST…

Pinterest is addicting!  It constantly feeds you pins similar to the interest of your previous searches and leads you on a rabbit trail. Nevermind that you may have opened the app for a reason completely different from your previous pins or searches.  This is why my boards grew exponentially as soon as I joined the site.  From a teacher perspective, I do not suggest openly searching while students watch. There are quite a few inappropriate pins that have shown up that are often irrelevant to my search. Some users tag their pins with common terms just to get hits on their inappropriate boards/pins. Instead of openly searching in front of students, pre-pin unto boards and go directly to the boards in your teacher account.

Khan/Koller Review

Khan 

How I Envision Using the Khan Academy for Personal Needs…

Upon visiting the Khan Academy site, I realized that it was something I could have used when I had difficulty in my statistics class back while working on my Adult Education & Distance Learning Degree.  This would have been useful because Khan examples in a handwritten format in a very easy, step by step format with a conversational tone. My instructor could not provide assistance in the same format and style. I will use the Khan Academy to give my own children supplemental support in their academic areas.  I will be pursuing this site more for my own edification as well.  I love learning and improving myself is a lifelong goal of mine.

Encouraging Student Utilization of Khan Academy

As I read the article I found myself thinking of concepts I’ve taught in the past as well as students I taught in the past. Which Khan lessons could my third graders have benefited from? My fifth graders?  In the past I had students that I may have failed to challenge while I was beleaguered with helping students who were behind or struggling.

Ease of Use and Efficacy of Khan Academy as a Learning Resource

I completed a short Chemistry of Life skill check on Atoms and the Periodic table. This skill check was purposed to give me an idea of my prior knowledge of the topic.  While it revealed that I remember very little about my high school chemistry lessons, I did like the way I was given multiple hints and clues to inform my selection from the multiple choices. I did find this lesson easy to follow and learn from and I think I will continue this entire section when I have more time. 

Khan’s Speculation of Future Reliance on Online Credentialing/Making Learning More Accessible

It would be difficult to say he is wrong about our future reliance on online credentialing as I type my constructed response answer to a question posed in my distance learning course.  More and more students, employers and organizations are choosing this modality as a way to complete degree programs, train employees, or get certifications in their career field.  This modality offers more choices for the homebound, the disabled and for those in the far reaches of the globe who would not otherwise have access to coursework such as this.

Koller

Coursera Offerings I found personally Interesting

Amongst Coursera’s plethora of topics, I found the Personal Development Courses to be the most interesting. I was most interested in the Virtual Teacher 5-course Specialization because it could enhance my training as a Distance Learning Instructor or enhance my resume  for my interest in Adjunct professor positions. There are also courses in Strategic self-marketing and Personal Branding this cadre could help me brand myself as an educational professional as well as a blogger in the education.

Does Columbus State accept Coursera transfer credits?

Columbus State Community College does not accept Coursera transfer credits since Coursera isn’t regionally accredited. However, CSCC does offer a link on their website to those interested in courses with the organization.  A quick search from the CSCC homepage search box will lead you to the Coursera site.

How Coursera courses Compare as Challenging and Interesting Options

Coursera courses appear to be just as challenging as courses I’ve had before or even more challenging. The fact that Ivy League universities and the like are offering courses via Coursera does give me the impression that the courses offered will have more “meat” in their content than courses I have taken in the past. These universities are known for their rigorous curricula.

MOOCs (massive open online courses) as the "wave of the future".

Since MOOC’s are have emerged as a popular modality, due to their free access I can perceive that this trend will continue to grow exponentially to expand to include more resources, and more educational institutions.

MOOCs Changing the Way Students receive their education

A student like myself would be remiss in not considering MOOC’s as a valid resource in future educational endeavors.  Before I hand over my hard-earning cash, earmarked for continuing education I will weigh the advantages of choosing a coursework in a MOOC such as Coursera, Udacity and edX. This is especially true given the emergence of MOOC’s for credit through various educational institutions.

Exploring Standards Based Lesson Plans

It’s a Perfect Fit---Part I

Getting into Shapes

A Class Over Time (Geometry)

http://www-tc.pbs.org/teachers/mathline/lessonplans/pdf/esmp/perfectfit.pdf

Lesson Description

This PreK-2 math lesson plan involves geometry. During this lesson, students are expected to be able to visualize a geometric shape after it is shown to them briefly and reproduce the image on the table using the tiles provided.   (See Fig. A)

 Fig. A

They gain more practice recognizing shapes as they survey the room for objects in order to describe their shapes. Next, the learners, compare and contrast their shapes with the shapes of other students after they cut them out from the shape cards. (See Fig. B) 

Fig. B

In a cooperative activity, the students pair up for a classifying task where they group the shapes according to their attributes.  The students are then asked to explain and describe the reasons for their classifications.  This questioning takes the task to higher order thinking and reasoning skills. In conclusion of the lesson, the children are given more copies of the Shape cards to classify at home. (See Fig. C and D)

Fig.C

Fig.D

  

Common Core Standards of This Lesson

Kindergarten

Geometry

Analyze, compare, create, and compose shapes.

K.G.B.5 

Analyze and compare two- and three-dimensional shapes, in different sizes and orientations, using informal language to describe their similarities, differences, parts (e.g., number of sides and vertices (“corners”) and other attributes (e.g., having sides of equal length).

Grade 1 Geometry

Reason with shapes and their attributes.

1.G.A.1 

Distinguish between defining attributes (e.g., triangles are closed and three-sided) versus non-defining attributes (e.g., color, orientation, overall size); build and draw shapes to possess defining attributes.

Meeting the Standards in This Lesson

Throughout this lesson, the learners were comparing and contrasting their shapes with the shapes of their classmates and teacher.   Analyzing the structure of shapes in their environments.  In a whole group activity, the teacher had the students create a mock-up of an image flashed briefly before them.

In a cooperative task, the students were asked to classify the attributes of the shapes and describe/explain their classifications.  Within this lesson all of the above Common Core Standards were met through whole group, cooperative and independent tasks.

Implementing this Lesson

Most of this lesson was geared towards the visual learner.  A student with poor spatial reasoning skills would do poorly with the beginning where they used tiles to reproduce the shape that the teacher briefly displayed.  I believe that in my own classroom I would need to do this portion of the lesson in small groups so as to provide more assistant with those who are more inclined to auditory learning.

I appreciate the way the kids were allowed to observe their surroundings to find shapes in their environment.  I would have taken this opportunity to allow the students to leave their seats to observe shape attributes around the room and burn some energy during the lesson.  The portion where the students were to create a picture with their shapes and write a story about them seems a bit daunting on this grade level but of course, inventive spelling and mistakes in grammar and mechanics would be apropos since this isn’t a language arts lesson and the children are likely beginning or emerging in literacy and writing skills.