Professional E-portfolio
Brittany Kappenmacher
Philosophy of Instructional Technology in Teaching and Learning
Our society is constantly being influenced by technology and I believe it is crucial to use technology to enhance learning and teaching. Technology is becoming a part of everyday life, at every moment you can be connected to the online world through computers, laptops, i-Pads, phones, and tablets. All of this technology has become an important means of communication therefore it would seem necessary to incorporate them into teaching to engage the learner. Computers and other technology resources are often used for educational games, drill-and-practice activities, presentation of content, or tutorials that relate to the teacher’s lesson. The idea of technology merely as a method for presentation needs to shift and students need to use the computers, tablets, and other resources as tools to solve problems and construct meaning. Students need to be “active” learners and in my classroom I hope to establish a learning environment in which students are able to discover and use the technology as an inquiry tool. My role as a teacher will be to facilitate the learning for the students and design strategies and lessons that allow students to be actively engaged in the learning process through the use of technology.
It is my goal that when students leave my classroom they would have gained the skills that will facilitate their success in the competitive work field when they graduate. In all jobs technology is now used for word processing, email, Internet, databases, and creating spreadsheets. In order to be successful using these resources I need to provide my students with the foundational skills to use them and the opportunities to experience them.
Technology will link my classroom to the outside world and allow learning to be extended beyond the four classroom walls. Students will be able to connect with other schools, communities, and people from around the globe. They will be able to research information and share it with others through blog websites such as Kidblog. My students will be able to share their work and collaborate with their peers and others in the learning community to enhance and deepen their understanding. The computers will allow students to work cooperatively on projects but also to provide feedback, allow the acceptance of other opinions, and learn from one another. Technology will also help parents to be involved in my classroom and create a partnership. I will use different resources to create newsletters and upload them to my classroom website. I can provide websites for parents and tips to help their students at home who may be struggling or provide materials to extend learning.
I plan to use technology to allow students to self- assess their own learning. My students will be able to create an e-portfolio that will document their growth from the beginning of the year to the time they leave. They will be able to upload assignments and projects that they were most proud of and other work samples. Students will be able to review their work and see what they did well and what areas that needed to be improved on were.
Technology will change the face of education by allowing for new ways of expression and presentation. Students will be more motivated and interested in the lessons when using technology and it will be a source of active engagement. I plan to integrate technology into my classroom instruction as an integral part that fits seamlessly into the curriculum and is used in useful and meaningful ways that benefit the student’s educational experience. I want my students to be able to use technology to enhance their learning and apply the skills they learned in their everyday life.
Personal Professional Development Plan
Here is a link to my Personal Professional Development Plan. My plan details how I will utilize my degree in Instructional Technology from NYIT for my future goal of being an expert in implementing technology into my classroom instruction. In my plan I detail professional organizations I will join, professional development courses I plan on enrolling in and completing. As well as webinars that interest me and will benefit me in my future career path.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c5guvk7qrhkbp8c/personal%20development%20plan.docx
Evidence of Uses of Technology in Teaching Practices:
Student Artifacts
Animal Adaptation Project:
To the left is a picture of a presentation created by a former third grade student. The task was to create a Keynote presentation on a specific animal of their choice. Students would then research and explain the animal's different adaptations that allowed them to survive in their environment using e-books. Students would answer the question "What key features does the animal have that allow it survive in its natural habitat? How is this feature an adaptation?" in their presentation.
Below is the link to the student's presentation and link to the lesson plan.
Presentation:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/q9auvqnxd0pk7sn/skunk%20keynote.mov
Lesson Plan:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/3kcxyycqef9583j/reading%20lesson.docx
Below are links and pictures for a fluency project that I did with my former third grade students. The goal of the project was for student's to self-assess their own fluency and expression. Students discussed with teachers their reading level and then set an end of the year goal. From the video students were going to look to see what they could do to improve their reading fluency and expression, and see what mistakes they were making. For example some students after realized they got many simple sight words incorrect while others realized that they needed to go back and re-read if what they read did not make sense.
Students used Photobooth to take pictures of the book they were reading. They then recorded themselves using iMovie. We edited the movies using Garage band.
Fluency Videos:
I worked on a unit on racism and discrimination with my third grade students. For this unit students had to research a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement. Students were able to use a variety of resources to gather information: books, e-books, and websites. After conducting their research students worked on writing a biography about their key figure. When students finished drafting their pieces they published their works using Pages. Students had a choice to create the biography in a report format or a brochure.
Here are some examples:
Martin Luther King Jr.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dl0y1a1nhgs22k8/Biography%20on%20Martin%20Luther%20King%20Jr.pdf
Ruby Bridges
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8vh2cixbae9urzn/Ruby%20Bridges%20Biography.pdf
The third grade students at my former elementary school, Kaimiloa all took part in a goods and service fair. The students were able to form their own groups and create a business. This project had many components that culminated in the fair. When students created their business they had to determine what product or service they wanted to sell. After doing that they had to create a logo for their business and a "how- to" writing piece for the good or service. Students then had to mass produce the product for the fair. When products were created students then created a commercial to sell their product and a catchy jingle to engage the viewer. Before the fair all the classes watched the video to decide how they were going to use the fake money they had earned that quarter to reinforce positive behavior. At the fair students learned about supply and demand and had chances to raise and drop the prices of their products. Students then self-reflected on the whole process and figured out what went well and what they maybe needed to change.
Technology was incorporated throughout this unit. Students used Photobooth, iMovie, and Garage Band to create their infomercials and jingles. Students also put their self-reflection on their e-portfolios and included pictures from the fair.
Here are some examples of the jingles that the students created for the fair along with pictures of the fair.
Golden Tigers Group (product- necklaces)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wsomzppxtudkzj0/goldentigerinfo.m4a
The Smash (service- car game)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y4tnb36kibvuqlf/The%20smashinfo.m4a
Sonic Stars (product - Robot/ Sonic cards and Hello Kitty Puzzles)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vn2aoioatixvoi3/Sonic%20Stars%20Commercial.mov
My current first grade students at Maple Hill Elementary School are working on publishing their "How to" books using Story Jumper. The program is allowing students to publish their works using a digital tool and providing them experiences with typing, inserting pictures, textbooks, and other editing skills.
Here is the link to the website:
I hope to upload student stories when they finish publishing them.
Teacher Created Artifacts:
Fluency Unit:
This unit plan incorporates technology to support students' content learning and new literacy practices in the classroom. I chose a fluency lesson to integrate technology into. Students will use Voki to record themselves reading a passage on their guided reading level. They will listen to their reading and assess their fluency and expression using a rubric. When working on this lesson I went back and redesigned it with the performance task in mind and all the mini-lessons I would need to teach to get students to that end goal.
Click on the link below to go to my lesson plan created using Smore.
Writing Lesson Plan:
The focus of the writing lesson plan is creating informational "how-to" books using a digital tool: Story Jumper.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/raegq1etuzneyc9/writing%20lesson.docx
Reviews of Educational Resources:
Below are presentations of two educational resources that I reviewed. I looked at the resources to see how each website supports student learning, the grade levels served, differentiation, standards addressed, and content available.
Digital Passport:
http://prezi.com/w_xlqlm80ieh/digital-passport/
Biblionasium:
http://prezi.com/ag-ycumotnyh/biblionasium/
Here is a link below to a video that I created explaining the benefits of using the website Kidblog. Kidblog is a website that allows students the ability to blog in a safe environment and collaborate with one another and share their opinions on their blog.
Evaluation Tools:
Human Impact on Water Quality:
After reading the article "Human Impact on Water Quality" by Hui-Yin Hsu and Shian-Kwei Wang I had to use the Backwards Design Lesson Template to identify and list the "desired results", "acceptable evidence" and "learning activities" for lessons that would allow students to conduct inquiry activities with cyber databases and ICTs. After this I had to create a rubric to assess students on the performance task.
Here is a link to the article:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/12782930/water%20quality.pdf
Here is a link to the Backwards Design Lesson Template:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/syxghcd5bf132jj/human%20impact%20on%20water%20quality.docx
Here is a link to the rubric that was created using Rubistar:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/rs0s8yczursnghu/Rubric.xl
Culture Day Presentation:
My third grade students worked on a unit on cultural awareness and diversity. We discussed community and how our community was very diverse. Students were invited to bring a cultural dish or game into school that was important to their family. Students presented it to the class and were videoed. After students used the rubric below to assess themselves.
Here is a link to a Cultural Day video:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/ekap0g74im3n001/John%20Anthony%20culture%20day.mov
Here is the link to the rubric that students used to assess their own listening and speaking and that I used with my co-teacher to assess students.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/vosdij10wm2oevr/cultural%20day%20rubric.doc