When teachers use technology in the classroom, it enhances student enthusiasm and participation, and generates insightful questions from the students.

For our American Album unit, I took my students on virtual tours of historical landmarks in the United States. One of the places that we “visited” was Mount Rushmore. Rather than simply reading a book about the famous monument, I projected a Power Point presentation for students to view photographs. I then read corresponding information for each picture aloud like a tour guide. I began the lesson with Google Earth, taking the students on a simulated plane ride from State College to Mount Rushmore. This hook captivated the students, and I was able to hold their attention for the remainder of the lesson. At the end of the lesson, more students than usual participated in the discussion about what they learned, and many asked insightful questions about Mount Rushmore. As they asked questions, I was able to use the Internet to search for answers or show them pictures that would enhance their learning. Overall, the class seemed highly engrossed in the lesson, and demonstrated a high retention of knowledge about Mount Rushmore in their responses during the discussion.

In general, my students were much more involved in this Social Studies lesson in comparison to other lessons. They were in awe during the Google Earth segment, and asked many questions about the location of Mount Rushmore and South Dakota. As I read through my information about the monument, students shared their thoughts and opinions, and constantly raised their hands to inquire more about how it was built, or what was going on in each photograph. During the lesson, I noticed a general buzz of excitement and felt that the students were very eager to participate in the discussion.  This lesson is evidence of how the technology caused my students to generate more questions and participate more in the discussion.

At the beginning of the unit on wetlands, Mrs. Stanton and I asked the students to draw what they think a wetland looks like and what kinds of plants and animals might live there. They completed this activity on paper and showed what they thought they already knew about wetlands. Because I did not think this was an accurate representation of their preconceptions about wetlands, I decided to do a follow-up lesson in the computer lab where students could sort different plants and animals into the two categories: Lives in a Wetland/Does not live in a wetland. Using Kid Pix, I made an activity with those two categories and many different pictures of plants and animals. I had the file uploaded onto all of the computers in the lab, and then each student went into the file and used the cut and drag tool to sort the pictures into the appropriate category.

This lesson went much better than the first pre-assessment because it caused the students to think more about what they know about wetlands. It generated multitudes of questions from students about the different animals and plants in the pictures, as they tried to figure out if they lived in a wetland or not. All of the students were highly engaged in the lesson, and completed the assignment in a timely manner. This showed a contrast from the first pre-assessment because many of the students did not complete their work on time the first time around. I believe the technology helped to motivate the students, as they showed a high level of interest in the lesson and asked many more questions about wetlands as they worked.