Technology in the classroom

Technology in the Classroom

By: Casey Pohl, Gina Geier, Shawna Smith, and Betsy Kohmetscher


In our world today, technology has become something that we use everyday. Whether it is just to talk to friends, to do homework, listen to music, or to do business we are constantly using technology to better enhance our lives. Today it is so common to see Smart boards, projectors, and computers in classrooms. Using technology to teach can allow teachers to do so many activities and lessons that they normally would not be able too.
For this assignment, we have decided to teach a geography lesson using the technology of GPS systems and incorporating Google Earth and the technology it offers. In our geography lesson we would be teaching our class about relative and exact location, longitude and latitude, and how to use coordinates to find different places. Our students will have already learned the terminology of relative and exact location, longitude and latitude, and about coordinates. We will begin the lesson by using globes and giving students coordinates to look up countries and capitals. We will also give students a worksheet with a list of countries where students will then go and find the coordinates. This will lead us into realizing that using globes does not always give us the exact location. We will transition into going into a computer lab and introducing Google Earth. When you enter Google Earth, there are a bunch of different layers that explore roads, 3D buildings, traffic, and many more. As a class we would go through each layer and get familiar with it. We would then go to the top of Google Earth where you can type in a location. We would all do the same location so that the children can see the same results. We would zoom in and look at the buildings and pictures of the locations that Google Earth and its technology offers us. At the bottom of the screen, it gives us the coordinates of each location that are very precise. So we would then go over how exact Google Earth is compared to a globe. We would have student’s type in their home addresses and explore that for themselves. We would also play around with the directions button and how to find directions for a particular location. We would then at the end discuss the different between using globes and Google Earth and the benefits of using this technology. After we completed this lesson, we would move onto using hand held technology such as GPS systems.

Another way to incorporate technology in the lessons is to teach the students about portable GPS systems. Since the studProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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ts already understand locations using longitude and latitude on globes and maps, we want to give them an opportunity to use it outside of the classroom. Before this part of the lesson we will set up different signs outside the building next to objects such as benches, slides, basketball hoops, etc. which the students will be unaware of. We will also put a few different post-its around the classroom on desks in order to teach them how to use the GPS's before working on their own.
We will review with our students about how GPS systems can be used to help us find different locations. We will model using our hand held GPS system in the classroom how to use given coordinates to go to a location. For instance, we will put in 54'24N, 67'32 W and will move about the classroom until we reached the teacher's desk, and write the location name (teacher's desk) on our worksheet. Next, we will do the opposite by going to a location in the class and then write down the coordinate. For instance, we will go to the classroom door and look at our hand held GPS and write down what the coordinate is when we are by the door. After putting the students into small groups or pairs we will pass out the hand held GPS systems and worksheets to the students. The worksheet is broken into two sections: finding locations with the coordinates and finding the coordinates of a location.
Once the class has had enough time to finish their worksheets we will meet in the classroom to review. As a class we will go through the worksheet together to see how everyone did. We will review the different ways we can find coordinates, especially when using technology. Our goal is to have our students understand how much easier technology can be used in our lives today. We will end the lesson by relating the topic back to their own lives, by asking them how they could use Google Earth and hand held GPS systems in the future.


After reading the article, The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers, we found standards that could easily be followed in our classrooms. We could show our knowledge, skills, and work processes in a professional way in a digital society. To satisfy the Model Digital –Age Work and Learning standard, we could use the school’s website to inform parent of upcoming events such as field trips, parties, material that is needed for a certain class or project, volunteer work, class donations (i.e. food pantry items), etc. If parents wanted to get more personal, giving out an information sheet with an email address could be an easy way to get information across too. This as well could be a place where if parents had questions for the one of us, they could easily be answered. This would be great for elementary levels. The student might not have a clue how to do their homework and the directions could mislead the parents. By asking the teacher, we could point the parent into the right direction so the student would receive complete comprehension from the exercise. Using email and/or the school website would only be efficient if we, as teachers, checked them several times a day.

Posting our week’s lesson plans would be another way to full fill the Model Digital – Age Work and Learning standard. We could announce our week’s objectives and give details on homework instructions. Parent would be pleased to see what their child is learning, as well if we are satisfying there educational standards for their child. The ISTE National Educational Technology Standards are very important for teachers today. When using technology in the classroom teacher's need to not only follow their subject standards, but make sure they are looking over these new standards designated for technology as well.

According to the article “New Study Shows that Online Creativity and E-learning Popular with Kids” by Richard MacManus, the National School Boards Association shows that “96% of students with online access use social networking technologies”. It also goes on to say “Nearly 60 percent of online students report discussing education-related topics such as college or college planning, learning outside of school, and careers. And 50 percent of online students say they talk specifically about schoolwork”. The number of students spending their free time online is always climbing. I believe these statistics are very important for teachers to consider. If students are already using technology to get ahead why not incorporate it into your classroom. Students nowadays have grown up with technology all around them, they are very comfortable with it and know how to use it. When a student is in his or her comfort zone it is much easier to get them to learn their material. It is also more convenient. Their online work is also helping them sharpen their innovative and creative ideas. Incorporating technology into your classroom is something fun and exciting for them. This will help students to be more motivated and willing to work. One way to incorporated it into your classroom would be to post a discussion board instead of forcing them to write a paper. This way they can express their own ideas and feed of the ideas of others. Another way would be to create virtual games, such a picture, and word bank with the drag-and-drop option. If the answer is correct and the word matches the picture the word will stick, if incorrect it will slide back to the word bank. Another option to consider is to let them do some research online, not all out of a book. However if this is done the students must be taught the correct way to site sources and recognize warning signs for false information. Students today have been growing up in a very different world, it is important as a educator to recognize this and be willing to work with students in new and different ways.

Today technology is having us get “Out with the old, and in with the new.” It is true that technology isn’t only affecting the business world, but also the education world too. Teachers need to embrace this change and incorporate it into their classrooms. Whether technology is having teachers change from blackboards to Smart boards, or something as simple as searching the internet instead of a books, teachers need to use it in their classrooms. Technology is after all supposed to make things easier, and what teacher wouldn’t want that?