Supporting Instruction With Technology

            The lesson plan that I chose for the third interactivity was “Decoding the Dystopian Characteristics of Macintosh’s ‘1984’ Commercial”. The main reason I selected this lesson plan was because I recently finished reading Thomas More’s Utopia. Also, the lesson plan is a fun and interactive way to segue into George Orwell’s, 1984. Students will be able to think critically, visually ‘read’ the underlying messages and meaning of the “1984” Macintosh commercial. Most importantly, students will realize that preliminary research on a text will help students get a better understanding of the text.

            The lesson plan provided the Common Core State Standards, but I still had to identify which teaching strategies were being used to meet the standards. Student-centered, group discussions are the foundation of this lesson plan. I did not make any adjustments to the group discussions because students will be more actively involved in their learning through a constructivist approach than a didactic one. The original lesson plan needed adjustments in technological support. For example, students will now be able to access and view the “1984” Macintosh commercial through a computer, instead of being given a scene-by-scene analysis handout. Teachers will use Aurasma to create an Aura for students to have instant access to the video. All handouts can be accessed and downloaded from Google Drive. Students can mind map the outline of their paper by using either Coogle or Bubbl.us. Additionally, teachers will have immediate access to how students use context as a clue to make meaning of a word from the voiceover text through Socrative 2.0.  Thus, the technology I integrated into the lesson plan directly supports the instructional strategies.

            Lastly, Coogle is a great 'free' mind-mapping tool for students to use in the classroom. I found the interface rather easy to use. Coogle provides a help sidebar for users who are having trouble with the interface, but I don't expect students to have trouble getting the hang of it. I personally prefer Bubbl.us, but I am also willing to use Coogle.

My Coogle Presentation.

Videocasting / Animating / Storytelling : Educreations

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Rating: 4/5

            Educreations Version 2.0 is a free interactive whiteboard and screencasting iPad app. Students, friends, and colleagues can share their ideas or a concept through a narrated, animated, and/or annotated video. Teachers can create instructional videos to share with their students and easily sync the lesson on their students’ iPads. Students without iPads can view the lessons through the Educreations website. The designer of the videos can record their voice, handwrite, draw, import photos, animate images, share their videos on social networks, and embed their video in a website and/or blog.

            Educreations will definitely fall under the create category of the iPad Pedagogy Wheel if used correctly. I can envision students in a classroom using Educreations to create their own modernized adaptation of a text. For example, once the class has read Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and watched She’s The Man, students will write their own retelling of the work. Afterwards, students will create a video of the modernized adaptation they wrote using Educreation. Additionally, teachers can use Educreations to flip the classroom. Students will watch instructional videos at home and spend class time on discussions, projects, or exercises. Teachers can possibly use the videos in Educreations as an overlay for a trigger image in Aurasma.

            This app can ignite creativity in the classroom, but it has a fundamental limitation; students and teachers can ONLY create videos if they have an iPad. Obviously, not all students or teachers have an iPad, but maybe Educreations Inc. in the future will make their app more accessible.

Library of lessons available to a class.

Explanation of an animal cell using Educreations.

An example of an instructional video for students.

Division Story Problem, a student created video. 

Content Adaptation: Aurasma

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Rating: 4/5

Aurasma is an augmented reality platform app that is available for free in the Apple App store and Google Play. This app connects the physical and digital world by tagging an Aura to physical images, objects, and places. Then the Aura supplements the physical realm with digital sounds, graphics, and/or videos. People can gain access to Auras through the camera on their tablets and smartphones. Aurasma allows people to point at something with a camera and instantly get more information.

Mostly, businesses use this platform to engage the consumer with their product, but teachers are also integrating this platform in the classroom. Teachers can create Auras, so that students can obtain digital information through printed material. For example, English-language learners (ELLs) might face difficulty with reading. Therefore, teachers can integrate aloud readings of certain pages of a book by creating an Aura. Similarly, math teachers can integrate a mini-lesson video on a homework sheet for students to reference.

Aurasma has a few limitations even though it is free and is available on two of the most popular mobile operation systems. First, not all students might have a smart phone, tablet, or internet connection. Also, the app’s interface is somewhat confusing, but Aurasma provides a comprehensive guide, studio tutorials, and webcasts to assist the user. This app can be an interactive form of visual research in the classroom. 

 First, I recorded the interactivity # 3 YouTube video using Aurasma.

Next, you choose an overlay for the trigger image.

Then, you choose the trigger image.

The camera of a smartphone or tablet will recognize the trigger image.

The Aura appears over the trigger image.

A student using the Aursma app in the classroom.

Revising/Collaborating: Google Docs

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Rating: 5/5

             Google Docs is a web-based editing program that allows its users to create, upload, edit, and share documents. Docs offer users different fonts, and the option to insert images and links. Word documents can easily be converted into Google Docs and vice versa. Docs can be shared with friends or classmates. The user sharing the document chooses whether people can edit, comment, or only view a document. There can be multiple editors and commenters working on a document at a time. Also, changes made in a document are automatically saved.  Google Docs offers a chat window for users to communicate while working on a document. Offline editing allows users to work on Google Docs when they do not have Internet. Google Docs also has a variety of add-ons that allow users to do more in Docs. Google Docs is free to anyone who has a Gmail account and can be accessed from the web, Apple app, or Droid app. Access to Google Docs may be limited if there are not enough computers or tablets for all students in the classroom.

             An English classroom can benefit from Google Docs because students will be able to revise each other’s papers using technology. For example, a teacher can designate a day for students to revise each other’s papers. Students will share their papers with their classmates and teacher using Google Docs instead of bringing a hard copy to class. The teacher can randomly assign peer revision groups and oversee that students are actually revising each other’s work. Google Docs allows someone’s paper to be circulating amongst many people. Therefore, the teacher and another student can both be revising one paper at a time. Students can also continue to peer edit each other’s work when they leave the classroom and school if they have Internet at home. Also, Google Docs can facilitate student collaborations on group papers because of all its features. Overall, I believe that students should know how to use Google Docs and all its other Google products.

The page of a project on Google Docs.

Someone sharing their Google Doc.

Google Doc's chat window.

Multiple users working on a Google Doc.

People in a Doc highlighting passages and making comments.