Greater Than Calculators: Technology Integration for Lesson Plans

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This is a contribution by yourdegree.com

Greater Than Calculators: Technology Integration for Lesson Plans

Teachers are responsible for how students learn in addition to what they learn. For that reason, many educators see the importance of technology integration with lesson plans. With so much technology available, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by how to incorporate the most updated technology with lesson plans on ancient history, algebra and chemistry. However, if done correctly, teachers can reach out to their students and make their education more interesting. Since boredom is a common culprit of poor performance, exciting the student to learn is just one benefit of incorporating technology with lesson plans.  Even if your classroom lacks computers or other sophisticated devices, you can still provide ways for students to take advantage of technology to help with homework and create a better learning experience.

Going Online

Every college offers an online course, and it’s now becoming a requirement in some high schools that students have to take at least one online course. Since the Internet has become a revolutionary force for education, it’s important that middle school and high school teachers recognize that college professors often require students to conduct readings and turn in assignments over the Internet. You can post a reading online, ask students to conduct research using online databases or even ask students to fill out educational questionnaires for help with a research project. In one lesson plan, a teacher wanted students to write a research paper on three college majors that interested them. The teacher required them to use the online Occupational Outlook Handbook to find careers that matched these majors. In addition, students had to use two other online sources in addition to books and journals. Students learned how to use online databases, search functions and job websites that gave more information about majors that interested them and provided a beneficial future.

Apps for High School Kids

There are bigger and better applications coming out every month, and some of these apps are made specifically for high school students. Not only that, but students are using apps constantly, but they may not have tried to use it as part of a way to learn about geography or chemistry. Teachers can create a lesson plan that integrates app technology to make things more interesting. For example, you can create a lesson plan on learning the history and location of several countries through History Maps of the World. You can ask students to create a timeline that integrates the map feature, learning more about world history and incorporating some new technology. Other apps like CIA World Factbook can help with assignments about historical figures and places. Some other apps that would be great for lesson plans include iTranslate,  The Chemical Touch, and myComputer.

GPS and Science

For middle school and high school science teachers, there are plenty of ways to integrate lesson plans on earth science, environmental science, and geography using technology like GPS and the Earth Image Database. For example, you can create a lesson plan on searching for ice and snow, and not just in your backyard. The Earth Image Database records images through the Space Shuttle. You can use a GPS to locate these places on a world map. Students then create a table showing where they find the information and list a geographical location for the snow and ice. The lesson plan is designed to use devices and learn about weather, geography, satellite image techniques and understanding the world map.

Computer Help

By far, the quickest and easiest way to integrate technology with any lesson plan is through the computer. So many schools today have a computer lab. It’s important to use that computer lab to your advantage, showing students how to use different types of software and programming functions to learn more about technology. There are a variety of tools that you can introduce to students to spark their creativity, such as educational computer games or something like video editing software. Students can even gain a new hobby simply by learning about computer programming, graphic design software and audio creation software. The best way to use the computer is to assign a lesson that focuses on bringing out those individual interests in your students.

A Different Sort of Merit Pay

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There has been a lot of talk about “merit pay” for teachers. I’m not here to debate the idea but I can tell you it has existed for years. I know because I have received it. You might wonder just how much I got. Well, it hasn’t been monetary. I hope this post is a bit more colorful than bragging about incentive money. For me, merit pay comes through watching kids “get it.” Let me elaborate.

This is my audio visual desk where I do most of my teaching from. I also use a Mobi to travel around the classroom and control the laptop as well as the LCD projector remotely. These are all great tools but without a lesson plan strategy like EDI and a daily plan of what I plan to teach and assess, the fancy gadgets mean nothing. That’s why I treat every day as an achievable goal. I sketch out the focused objectives, aka standards, I will teach through explicit direct instruction, focusing mainly on guided practice. After I assess through the use of whiteboards, I can see who is getting it and who needs more guided help. At that point, the ones getting it, in theory 70% of the kids, go to independent practice while I take the struggling ones to the side where I have a large whiteboard and a kidney table.

As you can see, the “audio visual” equipment is not my primary tool for teaching. The most effective tool is knowing what they will learn and how they will show they know it. From there it is pretty much like washing clothes: Wash, dry, rinse, repeat. This is a simple vignette of what I and millions of teachers do every day. Sure, some do it differently than me but if you are true to your intrinsic values, you are always inventing, creating, revising. If you do it right, the kids advance. In my opinion, the thrill and satisfaction of that is the best “merit pay” of teaching.

Teaching Blog Safari 1-28-12

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This is part of a series where I share the best links I’ve run across based on teaching and education. This installment contains links regarding stress management, clutter management, free educational videos and a contest to win teaching Shakespeare materials. Grab your hat and hop in the Jeep and scroll down to read this teaching blog safari!

The Art of Planning a Teaching Week

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Every weekend, after the laundry and wrestling with the pool safety net, I am faced once again with the same professional challenge: making a weekly lesson plan schedule. The obvious reason for this is to have a backbone for the activities and learning that go on in my classroom all week. The other reason is to ensure to myself and others that I am not just “winging it” without a plan. Good teachers make weekly plans. I have been at this for 13 years and I won’t say I am a “good teacher” I will let others say that if they wish. I have found that making weekly plans yields the high score returns from my students. Finding the weaknesses of my students’ scores as well as the way I have taught up to this point is the goal of my weekend planning time. Here’s a very broad presentation of how I do it.

NOTE: In this field, while I seek only to help teachers from a peer-to-peer perspective, there are an abundance of snooty types who seek to criticize and devour ideas different from their own. I would like it known that this is a very personal sharing post and is certainly not meant to be perfect nor the “only” way one can prepare for a powerful week of teaching. For you to get something out of it, you may have to do a bit of “read between the lines.” having said that, I would not be as excited to share this with you were I not extremely excited about what I do and they way I do it in this particular situation. Thank you for having an open mind as you continue. Now for: “How to Make a Weekly Lesson Plan Schedule.”

I Start with a rolling cart. I put a minimum of books and TE’s I need into the rolling cart so I have the access I need at home on the weekend. You may not be sure what to bring. In that case, let me give you my choices as an example: a math TE, the district pacing guide, ELA curriculum (Mine is a PDF so is always at home with me), a Google Calendar printout from the week below (read about how I make the Google calendar printouts here), the state standards blueprint, the state standards released test questions, and finally a printout of my students’ most recent assessment scores.

I start with their assessment scores. 1) I identify the lowest standards and write them daily into the lessons. This is often called “backward mapping,” whatever they tested low in, teach again. 2) Then I find matching curriculum and write that into the Google Calendar lesson plan. The former is pretty simply since I have access to Oars.net. This is a great online program that aggregates assessment data for teachers. I can see in an instant what standards are high and need only be spiraled and I can also see the low stuff needing intervention. The way I go through my day teaching these lessons in in almost constant evolution. Having said that, watch for a post in the next week or two where I will share how the weekly lesson plan looks in a given teaching day. What do you think about my art of planning a teaching week? Have you anything to add? That would be great.

Monetary vs. Non Monetary Rewards in the Classroom

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Here’s another topic for my teacher journal and I hope to get some external input in the comments on it. In every class there should be some sort of rewards system. Kids are small adults and adults work for rewards, why shouldn’t they? Incidentally, have you heard that thieves are stealing credit cards from your wallet without even taking them out? Check out a rfid shielded wallet that protects from that sort of thing. In teaching, I have found the PC and mainstream way most teachers take is the way of monetary rewards. Kids follow the rules and get junk the teacher buys with her/his own money or other sources. There is a problem I see with this monetized rewards system. If kids do right to get a tangible physical reward, they will only do right when they can get a reward. This is a poor way to prepare kids for life because many times in life we are not rewarded monetarily for doing the right thing.

I prefer non monetary rewards. When I was a Pizza Hut manager, the trainers told us that people will do more for a compliment than they will for a slight raise. People want to be seen. Again, students are small people so why wouldn’t they behave the same way grownups do? Throughout the day, I make sure I am giving high fives and compliments when they are warranted. I don’t go out and buy a bunch of monetary “prizes” for my students. Once in a while I will buy my kids stuff but I keep this few and far between because I know training them to crave non-monetary rewards is a more suitable training for the world we all live and work in.

It’s possible I’m a little bitter because in 1997 something happened in my classroom that really changed me. I bought a small mechanized Harley Davidson motorcycle toy to give away at the end of the month. (I also regularly bought monetary rewards for my class at that time). The $40 toy was stolen off my desk and I never retrieved it. The kids never revealed who and how it was taken. I decided pretty soon after that event that it was not the best idea to have monetary rewards in the classroom. That’s my view, what do you think?

Teaching Your Students About Money Matters

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A guest post by Vanessa Lang

Teaching children about money is just as important as any other subject we cover in our classrooms. Whether these students are in kindergarten or their last semester of college, they should be given constant reminders about their personal finances, the importance of good credit, and many other financial topics. While this may be true, financial literacy seems to have taken a back burner in our education system. At a time when our economy is so poor, this should be just the opposite. We should be educating our students now more than ever about money if we want to prevent some of them from financial disaster in the future.

Start When They Are Young
The sooner children start to learn about proper money management, the more successful they will be with their finances. Normally, children learn their financial habits from their parents, but, as educators, we all know that parents don’t always set the best example. If a child sees their parents going into debt and making poor financial decisions, they will assume that it is the norm, and when it comes time to make their own financial decisions, they will follow their parents’ lead. We can stop this trend if we take the time to bring finance into our classrooms.

Get Their Attention
One of my favorite experiments done with children is the one where an adult places a marshmallow in front of a child and tells them that they can either eat it now or they can wait 15 minutes and have two marshmallows. It has been said that those children who are able to wait are going to be more successful in life. This can be said for a child’s knowledge of money and saving as well. If a child realizes that they can save their money to get something great later instead of buying something small now, they obviously know the value of a dollar and will probably be more financially successful.

One way you can get your students’ attention and teach them about money is through a point system. Give them fake money for whenever they make an accomplishment, like a good grade on a test or a good deed in the classroom, and let them save the money to buy items from a school store at the end of each month. Urge them to save for something big, but allow them to buy something small if they wish. Sometimes, the best lessons they can learn are through their own mistakes. If a student spends all of their money one month on small trinkets and then isn’t able to buy a stuffed animal at the end of the year, they may realize that saving their money is a better option.

More Advanced Topics
As students get older, they will need to be introduced to more advanced topics. Spending and saving wisely is great, but there is much more to financial success than that. In higher grades, students should start learning about loans, credit cards, and credit. If your students plan on going to college, they will probably have to take out a student loan. Far too many students don’t think about how they are going to pay off their student loans until it is too late. Students should understand that a deferred payment plan doesn’t mean that they will be able to put off those loan payments forever.

Credit cards are also an important subject, especially for teenagers. They watch movies and television shows where the characters use credit cards, and some may think that swiping that little plastic card means free money. This topic could also lead you into a discussion about credit ratings. Many students also don’t know what a bad credit rating can do to their future until it is too late. With your help, your students may never have to worry about being rejected for an apartment or a job because of their credit rating.

Vanessa Lang is an author who writes guest posts on the topics of business, marketing, credit cards, and personal finance. Additionally, she works for a website that focuses on educating readers about payday loans.

Blog Safari – Teaching 1-18-2012

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These are the best links I ran across in the past week or so based on teaching and education.

Preparing for Tests With Tests

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Whatever school or university you may teach at, there are benchmarks the school probably uses to measure academic progress.  In the state of California, there is a “standards test” that each child must take in April.  This tests provides valuable information to the state and local school systems, as well as the world, about how well our kids are progressing toward goals.  Because it is such a “high stakes” test, there is often a lot of anxiety shared by students and teachers about it.  I have found that using similar tests can help bring that anxiety down (you should have SOME anxiety as a teacher I think) and help familiarize the kids with the “giant” they will soon be facing.

I’ve been teaching since 1997 and I have seen many many test prep tools.  The best ones I have found in recent years are simply: other tests.  By modeling with the kids how to take tests you give them valuable skills you didn’t even know you had.  I recommend trying as a test prep tool in your next teaching day, a related test.  Get an overhead, document camera, or power point and project each question on the wall.  Go through all the processes you went through when taking your teaching exams.  The kids will love it and thank you later for sharing!  *Note: test prep will never replace extended vigorous teaching of a concept that include all the steps of a proven teaching-psychology based system like EDI. This post recommends its tip only after the normal teaching curriculum has been taught.  So, now … what do you think of preparing for tests with tests?

Financial Aid Options for Teachers

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Paying for schooling can be hard for aspiring teachers and teachers who are trying to continue their education. However, there are many different forms of aid available to help cover education costs. Here are some of the most commonly used financial aid options for teachers.

Student Loans

There are two fundamental types of student loans: those sponsored by the federal government and loans taken out through a private lending institution. There is a third alternative, peer-to-peer lending, which is becoming more popular each year. Before you decide on the type of loan that will work best for you it’s essential that you research the benefits and potential downside of each.

Federal Government Loans

Student loans taken out through the U.S. government are called Stafford loans or Perkins loans. The money comes directly from the United States Department of Education. If you qualify for a government loan, the money will come to you through a participating school. However, you must meet certain criteria before you’re considered eligible for a federal loan. The first thing that you need to do to qualify is to be enrolled in an accredited college or university. You can also qualify by enrolling in a trade, career, or technical school. As a general rule, Stafford loans don’t have to be paid back until after you graduate from college. However, if you leave school without earning a degree, it’s possibly that you could be required to start paying the loan back immediately. You will have to fill out an FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) and go through a review process before being accepted. Another federal loan program, the Perkins loan program, is need-based, and carries a fixed 5% interest rate throughout the length of the loan term, which normally runs for 10 years.

TEACH, a Federal Program

TEACH (Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education) is aimed at those who would like to teach at a public or private school for low-income families. It is a grant program designed to help defray the cost of receiving your teaching degree. To qualify, you must be willing to teach four full academic years out of the next eight at a school that encourages enrollment by low-income family members. This money is in the form of a grant, so it won’t have to be paid back unless you don’t meet their criteria. If you back out of the agreement, that money will become an unsubsidized student loan and the funds will need to be paid back, with interest. Part of the criteria for TEACH is that you must be willing to instruct low-income children in high demand subjects such as mathematics, foreign languages, reading, science, and special education. To be considered eligible for a TEACH Grant, you have to fill out the FAFSA. However, there is no need to prove that you have a financial need in order to be eligible.

Private Loans

A private loan is the type of loan you would get from a private financial institution, such as a bank or credit union. Money from a private loan need not be designated specifically for your college education, it is merely money loaned to you with the expectation that it will be repaid, with interest, at agreed upon terms. While the terms of a federal loan are pretty standard, the terms of a loan through a private lender can vary quite a bit. A private loan is almost always determined based upon your credit rating. If you have a good credit score, your interest rates can be fairly low. If you don’t have good credit, your rates could be very high–you may even be asked to provide a cosigner. The terms for a private student loan are left entirely up to the financial institution you’re dealing with–you either take it or leave it.

Peer-to-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is fast becoming a popular method of securing a student loan. Essentially it is a financial agreement between two parties–a financial lending institution is not normally involved–whereby one person borrows money from another. Once the terms are agreed to, the borrower is expected to repay the loan within a predetermined time frame–with interest. A peer-to-peer loan is a formal agreement, usually requiring the borrower to sign a contract laying out the terms of repayment. Most people that take out a peer-to-peer loan instead of borrowing from a bank or the government have a poor credit rating or low grades that aren’t high enough to qualify for a government loan.

Guest post from Karen Schweitzer. Karen writes about online schools for BestOnlineColleges.com.

Links to Lesson Plans and Teaching Tips

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Are you looking for online free resources such as lesson plans and maybe a little inspiration? This is a set of K-12 education related entries that includes everything from creating reading lesson plans to making cake in a coffee cup!  Thank you to the amazing visionaries who submitted their posts to this edition! I know any lesson plans that are inspired from these posts will be highly inspired!

Alvaro Fernandez presents Learning about Learning: an Interview with Joshua Waitzkin posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Enjoy a human brain in full display.”

Christina presents Classroom Blogging posted at Early Childhood Teacher, saying, “This blog is about how classroom blogging helps communicate with parents.”

Margaret Garcia presents Top 50 Blogs For Studying Africa posted at Online University Reviews.

OnlineCollege presents Walden, and 99 other Free Online Books posted at Universities and Colleges.

Sarah Scrafford presents 100 Open Courses About Urban Studies, Planning, and Life posted at Learn-gasm.

Christina presents Half Day Kindergarten vs. Full Day Kindergarten posted at Early Childhood Teacher.

Catherine Eagleson presents Learning with fun. posted at Crosswords For Fun, saying, “Homeschooling can be a challenge, particularly when it comes to finding resources and activities that will stimulate your child’s mental activity. Puzzles can be a great educational asset but are sometimes overlooked by parents as they seek ?educational? materials. Puzzles have long been favorite playthings for children and for this reason they are seem as toys rather than objects of skill and learning development.”

Kate presents Secrets of the Trade posted at Advice on Love, Life, and Everything Between, saying, “An elementary teacher’s secrets for parents”

pennyryder presents Good Teachers – Primary School posted at Teaching Challenges.

Amy@LiteracyLaunchpad presents The Hat – Lesson Reflection posted at Literacy Launchpad, saying, “A fun predicting lesson using Jan Brett’s The Hat”

Scott Palat presents 5 Steps to Balance Discipline with School Work. How You Can Make Homework Part of a Calm Evening! | posted at Colleen Palat.

Christina presents Google Maps posted at Early Childhood Teacher, saying, “This blog is about using Google Maps/technology in an Early Childhood classroom.”

Catherine Eagleson presents Hangman – A Great Word Game For All Ages! posted at Crosswords For Fun, saying, “Hangman is a word game that is very effective in the classroom. Students will find it interactive and perhaps even competitive. They will be having so much fun, they probably won’t even realize they are learning!”

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Musical Accord (Spoof Contract) posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Michelle Sweeney presents Chocolate Cake In A Mug – Orble posted at Michelle.

I hope these links have given you some motivation and inspiration to write and deliver dynamite lesson plans.