Final Project: Technology Integration Plan

The lesson plan I choose for my final project covers goals and topics such as new vocabulary regarding transportation, the ability to say various ways that students can use to get to different places; in and out of the city, and grammatical points like the verb “ir” and personal pronouns and overall an elaboration of a brochure utilizing all the information learned though out the lesson.  Although the lesson was simple and easy to understand, I had to make some modifications and add technology to it.  Note: The grammar section of this lesson has already been taught previously.

The integration Matrix is put together in a way that all the columns and rows align together to create a more effectively and efficient lesson plan integrating technology.   The first row of the matrix covers the access of the lesson and how will students be able to retain and learn new information. This is a very important part of the lesson because here is where the teacher has a more active role and is required to make the students grasp the information better.  The teacher will begin the lesson by proving a power point presentation that will cover all new vocabulary. The teacher then will use the projector to check for understanding by asking students to identify the types of transportation that are used in Spanish countries. Here the standard 7.1.NH.A.1 aligns evenly with the strategies and technologies because students are to be able to recognize cultural words using electronic sources. The NETS-S covers creativity and innovation in a way where students will be able to apply existing knowledge to generate new ideas, products and processes.

            The second row of the matrix covers the analyses part. This is the part of the lesson where students are entitled to critically think and problem solving in a way that they will use effectively what they have been  lectured at the beginning of the lesson. In this Part of the lesson the teacher will re enforce the material learned the class before regarding the grammatical point of the verb “ir” (to go). After using Q&A and making sure that the students understand the new vocabulary and the use of the verb “ir”, she then asked the student to write 2 sentences that indicate a method of transportation and the use of the verb tense. Students will then have to share their work through the projector. This activity covers the standard 7.1.NH.C.5 in which students will write and tell about cultural products. The NETS-S IV is placed here because students are critically thinking and making decisions of their own in order to problem solve.

            The third row of the matrix is the part where the teacher evaluates and assesses the students. In this part of the lesson, the teacher will show once again the power point and Q&A students about the different categories of transportation. Students will then use the computer to research a place they will like to travel. Here, they will have to gather information on what they have learned already in order to create the final project. Students are to print the images of transportation selected. Besides gathering information that will be used to create the brochure, they will be asked to evaluate each other and check for understanding. The brochure will have to include a paragraph explaining the reason why they have chosen that destination and the type of transportation to then be able to present in front of the classroom. This project will be done in groups but each member of the group will then have to present a piece of the brochure in the target language.

            The fourth row covers the production of the actual brochure. Here, students will use the computer to work in groups and elaborate the final project assignment. The standard 7.1NH.C.2 states that students will be able to create a brief message using unfamiliar vocabulary orally or in writing. Group collaboration will be needed in order to full fill this standard. Additionally students will met the NETS-S that covers the creativity and innovation ability of student using technology in an effectively and productive way.

            Lastly, the fifth and final row covers the communication of the final project. After creating the brochure in the computer, students will then print and share through the projector their final projects. The standard 7.1NH.C.1 states that students will recombine basic information related to self and targeted themes to create a multimedia- rich presentation.  Here the students will have the option to either create a brochure and share through the projector in front of class or create a virtual power point presentation of their brochure. The teacher will participate by asking questions to the students.  The main goal of this lesson is to be able to communicate in the target language using technology in an effective and productive way. Students are asked to use their creativity and innovation to create a final product that will show what their learning outcome will be. 

Interactivity #5: Integrating Technology and Curriculum

For this interactivity I interviewed a third and fourth grade Basic Skills elementary school teacher. She currently teaches math and reading in the New Brunswick school district in New Jersey. She has already been working at this school for over a year and has been out in the field for four years now. She shared with me that she uses instructional technology in her classroom at least twice per week. During her lessons she usually uses power point, video, audio recordings, projectors, and smart boards to support her teaching. Before I emailed her with my questions, we spoke on the phone and I told her a little about my reasons of conducting this interview and about our class. She shared a little about her experiences when integrating technology into her lesson plans.

 When I told her the interview was based on the National Educational Technology Standards for Students (NETS-S) and the National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers (NETS-T), she seemed to have an idea about what I was talking about, but at the same time she seemed confused.  Therefore, I provided her with a copy of her standards as a reference for her to use. Throughout her responses she stated that the only reason she was familiar with the NETS-S and the NETS-T was because she had actually taken the same course at Kean university as an undergraduate. In fact, she said that the only time she has really gone into depth about these standards was mainly when she was still enrolled in college. She feels that it is very unfortunate that she can’t remember much about these standards and how to integrate them in her lessons.  She was impressed herself about the lack of information and knowledge her school has about these standards. Additionally, she also shared with me that much of her colleagues do not know either and that she was actually going to provide them with a copy of these standards.

New Brunswick school district and in particular the school where  my interviewer works use technologies such as I pads, computers, smart boards, language labs, video, audio recorders, power point and others to increase students proficiency and media literacy. After exchanging a few emails, she gave her opinion on the use of instructional technology in the classroom and expressed to me that she feels that it is essential in the process of learning and gaining media literacy. Moreover, she shared that in the future she would like to be able to find links between the general standards her school tells her to use with the NETS-S and the NETS-T. This relation between both will help her ensure and reinforce a successful way of teaching and integrating technology into the curriculum. She felt that as an educator even if the school you’re working for doesn’t implement the NETS-S and the NETS-T, it is important to be able to recognize them and have knowledge about them. 

           Lastly, as a future educator I plan to use and implement these technology standards that will help me construct better lesson plans that include instructional technology. Based on my interview and a few other teachers I have had a chance to talk to, It is very clear that not many of these teachers use or have knowledge about the NETS-S and the NETS-T. In my opinion, the best way to get informed is by asking questions. Perhaps when applying for a teaching position we might want to question about what standards are used in that school district. I have had the chance to learn how important the uses of instructional technology in lessons. Therefore, after graduating from Montclair State University I hope to come across with educators that use and are informed about what the NETS-S/NETS-T is and how they are used.


Google Spread Sheet

Music for Learning the Spanish Language

Over the weekend,I came across this really fun and interesting  website as I was doing a little research for new materials to incorporate in my lesson plans this semester. This website offered different songs to learn Spanish. I really liked this website because it aligned the different topics to teach with their respective songs. I also  found it very useful when I wanted to include an introductory song to my lesson plan that was related with the topic chosen for the unit plan.I will sure be using this website often in the future!


Music for learning the Spanish language
Spanish Songs

Bringing up a Young Reader on E-books

      After reading the New York Times website I came across a really interesting article in the Education section that caught my attention and I immediately was able to link it to our class. "Bringing up a Young Reader on E-books" published  by Thomas J. Fitzgerald on March 28, 2012 touches topics like the integration of e-readers and iPad into the students learning experience and the positive and negative sides of using e-readers and iPad rather than traditional books.  I totally agree with all  of the articles arguments, I think it is important for young students to start getting in touch with technology through out their learning process. This opens up to  different abilities that the student might have. Many people argue that e- readers like the nook should not be a replacement for kids to use traditional books. Others say that children need motivation to read, which is found when using theses electronic devices said a teacher in the article. As much as I think traditional  books should always be used , I feel that technology is growing so fast that eventually we will not be using traditional books as much as before. 

Interactivity #4: The Pedagogical uses of Technology

After spending time researching for a lesson plan that includes technology, I came across one that caught my attention for several reasons. First, I liked the fact that the lesson plan was based on culture, which allows the acquisition of a new language to be more enjoyable and understandable. The lesson plan was well organized and in fact it even included the accommodations for the lesson. Since this lesson plan is designed for an advanced level student, the use of technology seemed to play an important role during the lesson. Students were asked to elaborate a media presentation by choosing a specific country of origin based on the vocabulary and information learned in previous classes. The technology here was used to reinforce the content. In this case, with the use of the overhead projector and transparencies provided.

In my opinion, I feel that the main goal of this lesson plan is to get students to understand and use the vocabulary to construct a media presentation using their laptops. Besides this project being a group assignment, each student will be responsible for a piece of the final work that will be aligned with the standards shown in my spread sheet. In order for students to understand the vocabulary, I feel that it is necessary that the teacher adds to the lesson an overhead projector for them to visually see the pictures and the correct spelling if the words to facilitate the research for their media production. The strategies used in the lesson plan were well developed and I didn’t seem to find many gaps besides adding the overhead projector to increase the understanding of the content and the vocabulary used throughout the lesson.

Lesson Plan

Google SpreadSheet

Interactivity #3 : Generating a State of Art Iventory

Learning a new language can be very difficult and challenging for kids. Most students do not feel motivated to learn if it doesn't involve exciting and well organized lesson plans. Students want to be able to learn in a didactic and fun way, such as working with technology in the classroom as a great way to promote active and fun learning. Having students use computers or audio recorders in foreign language labs can increase the communication in the target language and allow them to be more engaged in learning and with their classmates.
            After gathering all the different technologies and creating the inventory, I have noticed that there are many technologies I would consider incorporating into the Spanish curriculum. For example, I would consider using foreign language TV channels, youtube, music video and songs, pronunciation tools and vocabulary activities because I consider all these being a critical part of a didactic and fun learning environment. Involving music and art can also be a very effective way to have students get in touch with culture. I would love to use Virtual Environments such as second life, where perhaps students from the US can keep in touch with students from Spain or other Latin American countries. This way both groups can be part of sharing cultural ideas that will help them strengthen their language skills and make learning a lot more interesting.
            As for assessment, I think any of the dynamic websites would be great to use because not only are students practicing what they are learning in class but they are also making the best out of that experience by being able to spend time in the foreign language labs and use the computers and audio recorders. Even though most of theses technologies can tempt students to wander away from the material, they can still be helpful in stimulating and motivating students to learn.

"Computers in Language Labs stimulate the learning process of even the youngest minds"