Using+an+Innovative+Technology+in+the+Classroom

An Individual Project
= 8th Grade Geometry Unit Review  =

Rationale ( Lesson Plan #1 - Mimio Pad)
Lesson Plan #1 deals with an 8th grade math class working on a review guide filled with "I can" statements, which are the objectives, over their Geometry unit. The technology I choose for Lesson Plan #1 is a Mimio Pad because of it's ease of use and how students can work at their desk, but their work shows up on the front board for all to see and comment on. Also, you can move around the room and monitor behavior very easily while also still grabing all students attention because what you are talking about is showing up on the front white board even though you are not up front. It is a simple way to get all students involved and make sure they understand the material covered in the unit before the summative test.

1. A brief description of the lesson plan
This lesson plan is designed to get all students involved an engaged while checking for understanding. The basic overview of the lesson is to break the students up into seven different groups. Each group would have their own Mimio Pad which can be hooked up to one single computer located in the front of the room. Then as a review I would show a question from a word document like, what is the volume of this cone, that I already created which includes the I can statement of, I can calculate the volume of a 3-D shape, along with a picture. The students would need to work out the porblem on their pad and come up with an answer. When each group is finished and has an answer, we could look up front and all seven responses would be shown. We could check and see if everyone had the same answer or go through each answer until we found a step that may not be right. This would then allow for collaboration not just within a group, but between the whole class based on the process in which you find the answer to a problem. Once we were finished with that one step we could save the work for that problem so we are able to come back to it later and then move on to the next question making sure everyone can say "I can calculate the volume of a 3-D shape," like a cone. Then we would do each one of the objectives, just like above, before moving onto the test.

2. The technology and resources involved
The technology and resources involved include a projector, laptop computer, Microsoft Word, Mimio software, (7) Mimio Pad tablets with stylus, and software, and a network for internet related sites for the class lessons.

3. What skills, knowledge, and pedagogy are required of teachers
This skills, knowledge, and pedagogy required of teachers would be a basic understanding of technology. This Mimio Pad is a pretty simple tool to utilize and comes with easy to use software. As long as the teacher has the skills to make an assignment on a Word Document where they can insert pictures and photos they should be pretty much fine. In order to plug in the Mimio Pads they just need to know where to put in a thumb drive in the computer and show the students how to use a stylus for writing on the Pad. As for their teaching style, they may need to adjust and not do the "teaching" all the time, but let the students play around with the material and try to teach themselves the concepts before you just give them the reasons why or the formula. I feel these pads would be great for review; the students can truly show you if they know the material or not and they can then explain to each other why they feel their group is right or wrong with everyone being able to view their work at once up front. In essence the students are doing most of the work, you are just guiding them to make sure they have the correct answer in the end.

4. What prior skills and knowledge are required of the students
Students do not really need any prior knowledge or skills in order to work with the Mimio Pad. If they have a knowledge of the internet and different computer programs like Microsoft Word and Excel they should be alright. The rest they would quickly be able to understand just by playing with the product while they go. However, a quick little demonstration by the teacher is never a bad option either :)

5. What are the students asked to do exactly (product or process)
The students in this lesson are asked to use group collaboration with all students participating in the review process. Each member of the group would help to answer the question at hand and be able to express their ideas and how to solve each problem. Furthermore, they would all take turns in their group answering a question utilizing the Mimio Pad. Then, after each group completes a question, all 7 responses on how to solve the problem would be shown up on the front white board. From there we would look closer at each response to see that they all have the correct answer, if not we would go back and look at the process. With each group giving their insight on why the answer is not correct and how to fix the problem. We would continue with this discussion until each student could say "I can explain the difference between the radius and diameter of a circle," or do whatever objective is at hand. Then we would move on to the next question and do the same process over again until all objectives were covered for that unit review.

6. What are the procedures of the project (steps to teach the technology skills)
The procedures of the project should be pretty simple. I would show them an example on the projector of what a Mimio Pad looks like and point out all of the different options available while utilizing it. Next, I would have them get in their groups and pass out a Mimio Pad to each group. I would then ask the first member to use the stylus and write down which group number they are, checking to make sure as a group they can figure this out. Then, I would ask the second member to erase what was written and write a team name; this would allow me to make sure they know how to correct a mistake and again can find the tool to write with easily. Next, I would have the third group member open a word document and write "I did it!" Once they have this up on the screen they can then close out of it and go back and write "ready to go" on their board. This allows me to see that they can maneuver from one program to another smoothly without glitches. Last, I would have the fourth group member go on the internet and go to my wiki classroom site where I will post all of the review items with the students responses from today there so they have a great way to study for the test. This allows me to make sure that all students know how to navigate to my own website where there are many valuable resources for them, and also they can use the naviagtaion bar correctly at the top of their Mimio Pad.

7. What are the advantages of the project
The advantages of this project are students taking responsibility for their own learning. They are getting invloved and learning to work well cooperatively. Students are engaged because they are able to utilize technology. They are correcting others mistakes and are giving a rationale for why they are correct and what happened if someone else was wrong; they are backing up their comments with facts they have already learned about the concepts. Furthermore, I can take all of the ideas and information students have written down today, save them as notes, and then upload them to the internet on my classroom website so students have a great way to study.

8. What are the disadvantages of the project
The only disadvantage I see to this lesson is that all students will not be utilizing a Mimio Pad all the time. There will be one within their group, but they will have to wait to use it. Therefore, some students may be disengaged until it is actually their turn. However; because students are doing most of the work, as a teacher I can monitor this behavior quite easily and hopefully can find a way to motivate that student to put in the effort even if they do not have the technology in their hands the whole time.

9. What types of effective instructional strategies are included
There are many effective instructional strategies included in this review. First, students are working collaboratively so no student feels singled out. They have each other to rely on and can come up with conclusions based on all of their thoughts and opinions, each one having a voice in what the final answer is. Second, they are making sure they understand the objectives "I can" statements and are providing feedback on why they are right or wrong. Once each question is done they need to be able to back up their answer or explain why someone elses answer is not correct until we all come to one answer as a class and everyone can say " I can"... to that objective. Third, this type of group technology lesson can allow the teacher and other peers to really notice how much effort a student is putting forth and give recognition for a job well done. When someone can explain their ideas to a group and then also to the whole class and make them understand, they truly know what they are taking about and have learned. Therefore, we need to praise and recognize that person for their accomplishments. Finally, this lesson is also good for summarizing and note taking because we are doing it as a whole class collaboratively where it will be posted on our classroom website for review and studying purposes. Also, no more saying they lost their notes, they just need to go to the website and pull them up.

10. What are the possibilities that the innovation can be transfered to other teachers, subject content, and different school settings
This innovation has many possibilities to be transferred to any teacher, subject, or school based on its ease of use in the classroom for teachers and students. Teachers who struggle with technology seem to feel comfortable using this product, but they may have to change their teaching style. The Mimio Pad allows for more student "teaching" than learning. Where the students are seeking out the information and coming up with conclusions instead of us just provding the reason or formula for them. It may change the way you teach, but teachers seem to enjoy utilizing it within their classrooms, even if they are not technology savvy. There is not much to learn and it is an outstanding tool because you can move around the room with it to monitor behavior and also teach at the same time. It makes a great tool for reviews and you can save the notes right on your computer and upload them to the interenet so students have an outstanding study tool. You do not have to take time out from your lesson anymore to go stand by that particular student causing trouble, you can still teach and move at the same time, who wouldn’t love that. Also, you can get students involved right away in the lesson and don’t have to wait for them to move to the board, you can move right to them instead. Furthermore, when you have multiple Pads in the classroom you can get all students involved at once and break them into groups. Now the teaching turns to them and you make sure they are on the right track but let them lead the discussion. Great tool to get students engaged and involved in their own learning dealing with a new concept or as a review.

An Individual Project
= 8th grade Math Geometry Jeopardy Review =

Ratioale ( Lesson Plan #2 - Mimio Teach)
Lesson Plan #2 deals with an 8th grade Math class also getting ready for a review over their geometry unit by playing Jeopardy covering perimeter, area, volume, Pythagorean Theorm, Symmetry and Dilations. The technology I choose for Lesson Plan #2 is the Mimio Teach because of it's ease of use and how students can get up out of their seats, come to the front of the board, and show their work for all to see and comment on. Also, you can easily manipulate and move around any object on the screen with just a quick touch of the stylus, or erase any line, number, etc. that is incorrect and correct it simply. Therefore, utilzing the technology and allowing students to come up and demonstrate, grabs their attention, gets them engaged, and makes them active participants in their learning.

1. A brief description of the lesson plan
This lesson plan is designed as a fun way to get students involved an active while formatively assessing before the big summative unit test. The basic overview of the lesson is that each student will have a dry erase white board and marker, will be doing each problem themself, and keeping track of how many points they earn. As in normal jeopardy there will be five categories based on the main objectives that need to be met for their test. I will choose one students name from popsicle sticks and they will choose the category and point value, then I will display the question. Each student will be working on answering the question on their whiteboard, as I walk around and observe their work. Once everyone is finished they will hold up their boards for me to assess and then I will call on one person to go up front and show their work to the problem on the Power Point slide. They will use the stylus and write on the whiteboard which shows up right on the slide. Then we will discuss whether it is right or wrong, with volunteers going up and changing parts if necessary, until they feel they are correct as a group. Next I will show them the correct answer to make sure it matches theres. Once we are finished with that question I will pick another name and they can choose a category and the point value and we will proceed on in the same manner. When we are finished with the whole PowerPoint Jeopardy Game I will save the work the students created on each slide along with the correct answers that are typed out so students can use these questions and answers as a study guide for their up coming test. You can save the work directly to your laptop and then upload to the internet very easily.

2. The technology and resources involved
The technology and resources involved include a projector, laptop computer, Microsoft PowerPoint, Mimio software, Mimio Teach bar with stylus, and software, and a network for internet related sites for the class lessons.

3. What skills, knowledge, and pedagogy are required of teachers
This skills, knowledge, and pedagogy required of teachers would be a decent understanding of Microsoft PowerPoint and Word, along with internet capabilties. Mimio Teach is a pretty simple tool to utilize and comes with easy step-by-step software instructions. As long as the teacher has the skills to make a PowerPoint presentation than they can handle making a Jeopardy game. It is a little more difficult, but I can provide step-by-step directions of how to create the game and how to hyperlink the slides to each other if necessary. In order to plug in the Mimio Teach they just need to know where to put in a thumb drive in the computer, attach the magnetic "teach" strip and stylus to the board and they are ready to go once they open up the computer and sync the devices by just pushing a button on the "teach" bar. As for their teaching style they may need to adjust and not do the "teaching" all the time, but let the students play around with the material and try to teach themselves the concepts before giving them the answer. I feel the Mimio Teach would be great for review, because the students can truly show you if they know the material or not, and can then explain to each other why they feel they are correct. In essence the students are doing most of the work, you are just guiding them to make sure they have the correct answer in the end. Patience is the key here, do not jump in too quick, because if they do it on their own it will stick with them much longer than you telling them the answer.

4. What prior skills and knowledge are required of the students
Students do not really need any prior knowledge or skills in order to work with the Mimio Teach. If the teacher gives a quick demonstration of how to maneuver from one program to the next that is all the students should need. They are just essentially coming to the board and drawing as normal, but they can make pictures bigger or smaller, or type in messages, etc. To them it is very similar to the iphones and MP3 players they have grown up with utilizing. Therefore, learning how to use a Mimio Teach should be very simple, like second nature.

5. What are the students asked to do exactly (product or process)
The students in this lesson are asked to fully participate in a geometry unit review by attempting to answer each question and participate whole group by using the interactive whiteboard to come up front and answer questions. Each student would attempt to answer every question in the game on their own individual white boards first. Next, after each student is finished with a problem and holds up their white board for assessment one student will be called up front to show their work on the Mimio Teach board. Once the student is finished with their work up front all students will check their answer against the one on the white board. If they have any differences then they are able to come up and change the answer and explain why, until all students in the room agree. After everyone is in consensus the answer is correct, I will go up and show the answer on the PowerPoint Slide. Then we will all check to make sure everyone has the same answer as the slide says; if so everyone clearly can demonstrate the objective at hand. We are then free to move on to the next question in the same way until we cover all questions in the Jeopardy game. Once we are finished all objectives will have been covered and students will be ready for the final assessment.

6. What are the procedures of the project (steps to teach the technology skills)
The procedures of the project should be quick and simple. I would show them on the front board myself how to plug in the thumb drive, and sync the board to start with incase I wasn't there someday. Next, I would show them the steps to setting up the screen. Finally, I would take the stylus and explain how to just click on the icons like you normally would with a click of a mouse. From there I would write a word, then show how to click the tool to erase the word, I would get on the internet and show them how to get to our class website where todays activity will be posted as a study guide. Then, I would call on each student to come up to the board one by one and give them something to do like write a word, erase something, draw a shape, label the shape, change to an excel document, get on the internet, rotate a shape, etc. Once all students had a chance to come up and demonstrate they should feel comfortable with using this technology and not worry about coming up and working in front of the class because they know how to utilize the tool because of its simplicity.

7. What are the advantages of the project
The advantages of this project are students gettting involved and active in the learning process. They are all engaged because they each have their own individual white boards which they enjoy using. Students are also excited about utilizing technology, by coming to the interactive whitebaord up front. They are checkign their answers against others in the class and then are correcting others mistakes by giving a rationale for why they are correcting the answer. Furthermore, I can take all of the ideas and information students have written down today on the interactive whiteboard, save them as notes, and then upload them to the internet on my classroom website so students have a great way to study.

8. What are the disadvantages of the project
The main disadvantage I see to this lesson is that all students will not be utilizing the Mimio Teach at one time. There will only be one person at a time so others will have to wait to utilize the teachnology themselves. Therefore, some will have their dry erase boards to keep them interested but some students may be disengaged until it is actually their turn to work with the technology. However; making sure all students have a way to be held accountable should keep them on task and focused, maybe eager to find a problem with someone else's answer so they can come up front and correct it.

9. What types of effective instructional strategies are included
There are many effective instructional strategies included in this review. First, students are working individually to demonstrate knowledge, but then working collaboratively with the whole class until everyone has the same answer. Second, they are making sure they understand the objectives, "I can" statements, by other students correcting answers on the board if they feel someone is wrong and explain what and why they are doing so until everyone feels the answer on the board is absolutely correct. Third, this type of group technology lesson can increase self-esteem and student efforts being put forth which allows room to give recognition for a job well done. When students feel a sense of accomplishment their self-esteem raises and effort increases. Finally, this lesson is also good for summarizing through the individual whiteboard and interactive white board use along with note taking because we are doing it as a whole class collaboratively where it will be posted on our classroom website for review and studying purposes.

10. What are the possibilities that the innovation can be transfered to other teachers, subject content, and different school settings
This innovation has many possibilities to be transferred to any teacher, subject, or school based on its ease of use in the classroom for teachers and students. Teachers who are not technologically inept should still find this product easy to use. The Mimio Teach allows for more student participation and "teaching". Where the students are seeking out the information trying to demonstrate their knowledge to others, instead of the teacher just provding the reason or formula for them. There is not much to learn and it is an outstanding tool because your ordinary whiteboard now becomes extraordinary because of all the great capabilities. It makes a great tool for new material or reviews because you can save the notes right on your computer and upload them to the interenet so students have an easily accessible study guide. Also, you can get students involved right away in the lesson by having them come to the board and demonstrate their knowledge; a great tool to get students engaged and taking ownership in their own learning.