Teaching with Technology Spotlight

Ms. Guerra shared some of her educational philosophy, methodology, and career goals.

“Technology is vital in today's changing world. Kids today embrace technology at home and at school and in their everyday lives. That is why teachers need to integrate new technology into their curriculum as much as possible. It is important for teachers to use technology in the classroom to introduce new concepts and explore new ways of thinking. In this way, teachers do not just engage students in their learning but also learn a new way of teaching.

This year I have been using the Promethean Activboard to introduce new lessons in math class. The students love the interaction between the board and the pen. I have seen kids light up when I use the board instead of the traditional overhead projector.

I often use the Activboard as a warm-up for an upcoming lesson or a reflection of the lesson after the lesson is completed. Most of the time the Activboard is used to enforce the lesson learned and not as the sole lesson itself. I use many supplemental resources that help the students understand the material such as cooperative groups activities, math games, and PowerPoint presentations.

This year my students will be using the Internet to play online math games and research new math concepts for research reports. On a daily basis, students will use the Promethean Activboard to explore new concepts.

I am in my last year of the University of Colorado Masters program in Instructional Technology. This is the internship phase of the program. I will continue to explore the use of the Activboard within my classroom and help other teachers at Deleon learn how to use it as well. My project this year includes a proposal, project goals, collaboration with other educators, and the creation of new activities.

My proposal is to explore the use of the Activboard and continue to integrate this technology into my curriculum. I will attend the Promethean Activboard trainings that are provided by the district and develop lessons that can be used throughout the year. For example, simple warm-up exercises that are typically written on the overhead can be created on the Activboard and used on a daily basis. I also plan to provide an in-service training session for teachers at Deleon who would like to learn this technology and integrate it into their teaching.

In order to gain the 60 hours that my internship requires, I will provide mini-lessons in my classroom (RM. 610) every Friday during my conference periods at 8:45am-9:25am, 1:20pm-2:00pm and after school between 4:00pm-4:45pm. Please feel free to drop by and experience this new and powerful technology!"

Mr. Shoe also shared some of the technology that he has integrated into his curriculum.

"It would be great if the students all had computers instead of textbooks and homework could be turned in by wireless connection. Having the computer grade the assignments would give teachers more time to teach and “send” back corrective assignments to help the students master the objectives. E-tests would also be real benefit for students and teachers.

Some of the Internet resources that Mr. Shoe uses with his classes are Yahoo, Google, Xanga.com, Playstation.com, EdHelper.com, TeacherWorks, SchoolFusion, and Discoveryschool.com.

EdHelper.com generates extra math assignments. I also put some links on SchoolFusion for the students to explore math on their own. (Tower of Hanoi game) Homework assignments are posted on SchoolFusion so that parents and students can see what is due the next day. Xanga.com is a free web-hosting site that I use to post math problems/puzzles for students to solve. Yahoo & Google are used to search for real life problems or ideas that involve mathematics. Playstation.com is a reference to the mathematics in video game animation. Teacher Works is a program that allows me to quickly create lesson plans for the year. Discoveryschool.com allows me to puzzles for students very quickly and easily.

My students will also use graphing calculators to display graphs and function tables. I will have the students create some PowerPoint presentations for geometry projects later this year.

I have a Masters of Education Administration degree, have attended a three-week training course on Geometer Sketch Pad, and I am able to teach students to solve the Rubik’s Cube. I also owned a comic book store in the early 90’s."

We thank Ms. Guerra and Mr. Shoe for their dedication in preparing our students for the challenges that they will face in our technology infused society.

* The Promethean Board is an interactive board used in conjunction with a projector. This board is mounted on a stand or a wall and used in teaching lessons. Teachers can control their computers, search the Internet, and write on the board using a special magnetic pen. Also, teachers can use the resources that come preloaded with the board's software, and manipulate them in a variety of ways to enhance lessons.