Social Studies Lesson

The link below is for my social studies lesson. In this lesson second grade students will learn about different communities, Urban, Suburban and Rural and how to use a map to locate these different kinds of communities. In this lesson students will use Google Earth/ Google Maps to help create their own maps of Urban, Suburban or Rural communities.

Link to my lesson.

Technology Philosophy

Technology is becoming a big component in the teaching world. I believe that
technology helps deepen the knowledge of students. I believe that there
are two components of technology. The first is using technology to help
present the information you need to teach your students. Whether it's a
PowerPoint presentation or a Prezi, this helps what you are learning more
interesting. I am going to incorporate this kind of technology
into my classroom as often as I can and when I think it is necessary to use it.
This is a great way to organize the information you want to teach your students.
Also, this is a great visual tool that can be used for students who learn best by
using visual components. 

The second is the videos, digital pictures, online articles and other digital tools
you use to help reinforce the information being learned. Incorporating
these into your classroom, expands and deepens the learning.
By accessing the internet you are able to receive different ideas and
outlooks on topics. You are able to communicate with others and share
ideas. Now that I am a teacher, I see how technology positively
affects my students. I use videos such as cartoons or short video clips to
help my students reinforce the information or to help connect new information

to things more related to them. The Magic School Bus is one of the cartoons
I use often. Back in November my students were learning about trees. I used
the Magic School Bus episodes about plants, trees and flowers to help reinforce
the information I taught previously in the week. I use videos in hope that students
pick up on information that I may have missed or it strikes
a curiosity in a related topic that we could possibly later explore. 

I think it is very important to acknowledge that when you are using technology
there are two issues that could arise. The first issue is the improper use
of technology. I believe that if you are incorporating technology into
your classroom, the students need to learn the appropriate behavior they
should be following. Before I incorporate technology in my classroom,
I will let my students know the rules and the responsibilities that
come with using technology. The second issue is that sometimes
technology fails. If you are incorporating technology into your classroom,
it is important that you have a backup plan if they are technological issues.
For example, if you plan on using a video to reinforce a topic, have books
in your classroom that reinforce that same information in case
the video does not work. I also think it is important that if you are using a video
or another digital tool that as the teacher you preview the information.
As a current teacher, I have a backup plan in case the technology is
not accessible at the time.