TechnologY IN THE CLASSROOM

How I use Technology as an Educator:

Supporting Inclusive Teaching with Technology: Virtual Field Trips

By leveraging technology such as virtual field trips, I am aiming to create an inclusive learning environments that will cater to diverse student backgrounds, abilities, and interests. Virtual field trips offer a unique and engaging way to promote cultural understanding, foster empathy, and gain a better understanding of landmarks around the world. With this tool, I am able to have all students experience exploration of locations around the world, regardless of ability, without leaving the classroom. After a virtual tour of a location, I will facilitate a discussion where students share their thoughts, ask questions about what we explored, and connect their virtual experience to real-world concepts. 

How my Students Develop Digital Citizenship:

To promote digital literacy in early childhood, it is essential to ensure that students understand responsible behavior and safety when using technology. To effectively teach this throughout the year, students will have the opportunity to reflect on rules and responsibilities that they have when using technology at school. Before ever engaging with technology in the classroom, students will discuss how to use tech responsibly and, as a class, create a list of rules. With that list of rules, students will create a poster that will be put up in the classroom and will be reviewed every time we use technology for the remainder of the year. This activity allows students to be accountable for their own responsibilities as digital citizens, and engages students in discussion surrounding safe usage of technology. By engaging young students in activities that promote digital citizenship beginning in early childhood, I am able to help create a foundation for responsible technology usage, preparing students to navigate the digital landscape they will encounter in later years.

ISTE Standard for Students

Standard 1.2.b: Digital Citizen

Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including in social interactions online or when using networked devices.

How Students Learn with Technology in my Classroom:

Learning Computer Science

To promote computer science in early childhood, I will introduce students to basic computer science concepts through activities that target creativity and computational thinking. I will use various technology in the classroom that introduces the concept of coding. Some of these examples include the Cubetto, Sphero Indi, and coding apps. By using the Sphero Indi, students can engage in a hands-on activity that promote computational thinking, problem-solving, and creativity when arranging the course for the robot to follow. This is an engaging way that I can guide students to program the robot to move in different directions through the use of different colored blocks, which will foster an early understanding of sequencing and programming. Through interactive play with Sphero Indi, my students can develop foundational skills in computer science while exploring the exciting idea of coding in an approachable and accessible way.

Sphero Indi

ISTE Standard for Students

ISTE Standard 1.5.d: Algorithmic Thinking

Students understand how automation works and use algorithmic thinking to develop a sequence of steps to create and test automated solutions..

Inclusive Education with Technology

To teach the social justice standard of action to young students, it is essential to begin by teaching them the concept of empathy. For example, in an interactive activity, children would explore the keyboard on their tablets to find and discuss different emojis that represent scenarios that we read about. They would find emojis that relate to some of the emotions that we identify and feel, and share examples of examples that they can identify with related to that emotion. By incorporating activities that promote inclusion, diversity, and social justice, I am fostering a classroom environment where my students learn to respect themselves and each other's feelings.

ISTE Standard for Students

1.2.b Online Behavior

Students engage in positive, safe, legal and ethical behavior when using technology, including in social interactions online or when using networked devices.

Social Justice Standards

Action

16. Students will express empathy when people are excluded or mistreated because of their identities and concern when they themselves experience bias