Integrating Technology in the Classroom - Pass Christian University

Integrating Technology in the Classroom In this professional development course for teachers, you'll learn the secrets of technology integration in the classroom, gaining the skills educators need to use tools such as wikis, podcasts, and blogs effectively. You'll discover simple ways to integrate technology to enhance your subject material and meet your course goals. We'll explore quick-and-easy, standards-based solutions for more interactive lesson plans, exciting WebQuests, and challenging assignments. We’ll also unleash the power of Web resources, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

You'll learn how to design your presentation station, identify kid-friendly Internet search tools, teach keyboarding and word processing, and develop standards-based, integrated lesson plans in reading, writing, science, math, social studies, music, and art. We'll delve into ways to reach special needs, GATE, and bilingual learners. Finally, we'll look at computer ethics and the future of technology in the classroom.

Whether you’re new to the integration process or already use emerging technologies in your classroom, this course is a must for all of today's teachers who often have to produce more and more in less and less time. By the end of our time together, you'll have a treasure of ideas for integrating all types of technology into your lesson plans across the curriculum!

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Syllabus:

All courses run for six weeks, with a two-week grace period at the end. Two lessons are released each week for the six-week duration of the course. You do not have to be present when the lesson is released, but you must complete each lesson within two weeks of its release.

A new section of each course starts on the second or third Wednesday of each month. If enrolling in a series of two or more courses, please be sure to space the start date for each course at least two months apart.

Week One

Wednesday - Lesson 01

Are you ready to unleash the power of technology in your classroom? Today's teachers face a lot of new challenges and daily decisions, and one of the most important choices is how to integrate a slew of new technology into the traditional classroom. In our first lesson, you'll learn the important differences between the traditional classroom and the technology-friendly one, and strike a balance with realistic integration plans in a way that enhances your basic educational objectives rather than detracting from them.

Friday - Lesson 02

If you don't yet have a teacher presentation station, or if yours needs a little updating, stay tuned for helpful tips on personalizing your station for maximum educational impact. Often seen as the core of the technology-friendly classroom, this presentation station is the gateway to bringing the high-tech world into a low-tech classroom. Now, here's the fun part. With this presentation station, you can quite easily facilitate classroom PowerPoint presentations, Web surfing for all to see, and interactive group activities that run off the computer and your imagination. Let me tell you: It's a big time-saver.

Week Two

Wednesday - Lesson 03

Do you know the safest way for your students to surf the Web? In this lesson, we'll explore student-friendly Internet search engines and directories that you can use to safeguard your students' online experience. We'll also take a look at the power of the bookmark to help you keep track of all the sites we'll visit in this course.

Friday - Lesson 04

Today, we’ll start with the basics: integrating keyboarding and word processing. In this lesson, we'll cover integrating keyboarding and word processing in your classroom. You’ll leave this lesson with great ideas to integrate these skills into your classroom. Have a little fun with these activities, and take a sneak peek at the future technologies to assist in writing in the classroom. There's some exciting technology on the horizon!

Week Three

Wednesday - Lesson 05

Today we’ll explore using blogs and reading technology integration in the classroom. If your classroom reading activities need a little spicing up, check out the world of interactive reading on the Internet. We'll discuss ways to pair new reading technology and traditional ELA standards. Capitalize on your students' fascination with new ways to read and try out some great reading sites and the activities that will extend them into your classroom. We'll end this lesson with another method that you can use to enhance your students' reading experience—get ready to learn how to create a class blog to supplement classroom book clubs.

Friday - Lesson 06

It’s time for wikis and writing technology integration. In this lesson, you'll learn how to locate best software, Internet sites, and classroom activities to help your students fall in love with the written word. We'll look at some of the ways you can integrate technology into your writing curriculum by looking at NCTE standards. We'll also look at writing software and Web sites that will give you a better idea of the boundless opportunity out there. When it comes to writing, the sky is truly the limit. We'll end today's lesson with a special treat—creating a classroom writing wiki, a Web site that anyone can edit.

Week Four

Wednesday - Lesson 07

Are you ready to learn about podcasting and science technology integration? This lesson is packed full of technology and classroom tips that you can use to excite your students about science and science fair projects. Today, we'll discuss the national science standards and look at some ways to meet them as you integrate technology. Next we'll explore some helpful and interactive science Web sites. Finally, we'll look at a science lesson that integrates technology, and we’ll end this lesson as we learn how to podcast science fair project observations.

Friday - Lesson 08

Today we’ll cover using Word and Excel as we integrate technology in our math lessons. It's never been easier to use technology to meet NCTM standards and bring your math lessons to life than it is right now! In this lesson, you'll discover fun Web sites and computer activities that will bring your math lessons up to speed so that you and your students can experience the pleasure of numbers all over again. Get ready to seamlessly integrate Word and Excel in your math lessons and chart your students’ successes.

Week Five

Wednesday - Lesson 09

In this lesson, we'll explore using PowerPoint and technology integration in the social studies classroom. Technology makes teaching social studies even easier, and with the wealth of resource information in this lesson, you'll soon be meeting the NCSS standards with creativity and a technological flair. Plus, you'll learn how to invent engaging social studies activities with the Microsoft Office applications already on your computer.

Friday - Lesson 10

Get ready to explore online museums, music downloads, and art and music technology integration. In today's lesson, we'll look at the importance of music and art individually, ways to use technology to meet national standards, fun technology expansion activities you can try with no investment, and great Web sites that can launch your classroom exploration of these subjects. We'll also talk about practical ways to integrate these subjects in the midst of funding shortages on your school's part. We'll end our lesson with some basic instruction for creating a Web page where you can display your classroom works of art.

Week Six

Wednesday - Lesson 11

It’s time to discover using Web Quests and technology with diverse learners. In this lesson, we'll explore using technology to meet the needs of special needs, GATE, and bilingual learners. Plus, we'll take a look at customized WebQuests that engage each group of students with different activities as a part of the same writing lesson that works great for differentiated instruction.

Friday - Lesson 12

In our last lesson, we'll look at the bigger picture of technology integration—keeping our students safe and keeping up with newer technology. Computer ethics are an important part of your overall integration plans, and it's dually important to know when technology will really enhance your instruction as opposed to when it's just technology for technology's sake. Finally, we'll take a sneak peak at some of the cutting edge tech tools like using a GPS for geocaching that may be coming soon to a classroom near you.

This course includes a knowledgeable and caring instructor who will guide you through your lessons, facilitate discussions, and answer your questions. The instructor for this course will be Robin Sellers.

Robin Sellers holds a current teaching license. She has a Master of Arts degree in English with a concentration in technical and professional communication and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English with a certification in secondary education. Since 1995, she has taught at the secondary and post-secondary level. She encourages creativity in her classroom, teaches traditional curriculum classes in a computer lab, and incorporates technology including the Internet in her lessons. She also develops and teaches online curriculum courses. In 2003, she began teaching continuing education courses for teachers.

Requirements:

Internet access, e-mail, and the Netscape or Firefox or Internet Explorer Web browser.

Student Reviews:

"Great class!! Lots of useful information that will translate to real world class activities and instruction. Clear, concise and thorough instruction. I'm very pleased."

"Great Class! Thanks for sharing so much useful information. I now feel more capable of addressing the needs of my school. Thank you!"

"I cannot believe how much I have gained confidence in using a variety of technology in the classroom (some I'd never even heard of before!). I am amazed by the wealth of ideas and Internet resources that I now have. Plus, I have access to websites that will keep me informed about developments in the future. I am inspired to do more creative activities and find it easier to brainstorm new ideas. I have already eagerly shared this new information with my colleagues."

"I feel like I have come out of the dark ages since starting your class. I have brought technology into my home and personal life. I went wireless, bought a laptop, and I'm teaching my better half how to surf the net. I'm still trying to figure out some of the basic things out, but I know I can do it. I want to thank you for making me feel more confident in using the computer in the classroom and in my daily life. You presented the parts of the machine to me and then gave me ways to incorporate this tool and what it has to offer into my classroom. I have a wonderful list of favorites my students or I can go to. It has been fun and lets me know I can still do this."

"I had a great time taking this course. It started out mostly as a way to keep my certification up to date and secondly as a means of keeping my teaching fresh. As I progressed through the course, it became mostly a way to freshen my teaching and secondly a way to keep certification up to date. This class offered some very valuable and helpful information and resources for encouraging me to make my classroom even more tech friendly than it already is. Thanks for the inspiration!"

"I have taken a previous course with Robin as the online instructor. I like her upbeat inspiration, encouraging words and her ideas to use in the classroom. I have used some of her suggestions with my students and they were interested in the material, as was I. I would take another course from her."

"I hope that more students choose to take this course. It has much valuable information and many suggestions. Thank you."

"Robin was an excellent instructor! I really felt like she was right there in front of me just having a conversation. I learned a lot and will definitely go the online route more often!"

"Thank you for all the wonderful information you shared with us. This was my first online class and I was nervous to get started. But, you made things clear and easy to follow. I will use many of the ideas in my classroom! Thanks again!"

"Thank you Robin! This was an awesome course. I look forward to recommending your courses to others."

"This class was fantastic!! I especially liked all the links to websites that will help me implement using technology in the classroom."

"This was an excellent course! It was very well written and organized. The information was provided in an easy flowing format! I would definitely recommend this course to another teaching professional! Thanks!"

"WOW!! I have learned so much from this course! I never knew integrating technology into the classroom could be so much fun! I look forward to having my own classroom next year and using as many of these great sites as possible. My 3 kids have enjoyed this as well because they have been my guinea pigs. My son has found fun sites where he can get extra practice on math facts and my daughters have visited wonderful sites to help improve their reading! I was feeling intimidated in the beginning because of my lack of computer knowledge. I now feel excited and ready to get started! I really enjoyed this course. Thank you!"

"This course was fun as well as informative and educational. I learned a lot about different aspects of using technology in the classroom. The instructor did a great job putting together the lessons and providing information and examples of how to use technology in the classroom. I would recommend this class to others."

"This is a great course and a well-informed teacher. I would recommend this course to anyone who has frequent need of a computer either at work or home. The writing was both informative and easy to read and the instructions were clear. I will enjoy using this information in a number of areas. Thank you."

"The class was great. It was easy to tell that the instructor knew a lot about the material she was teaching. She also had great technology resources to look at."

"Would highly recommend this class. Great resources and ideas to make technology improve the learning curve for students."