Google Earth Lesson

For my first technology lesson with my first grade class, I decided to use Google Earth in order to give them a visual of the globe while they learned about continents. I first zoomed in from a complete view of the globe into Utah and then into their school, Jordan Ridge Elementary. After using this as the hook of the lesson (the kids got pretty excited!), I zoomed out again, followed by zooming in to a couple places outside of the States that the students had been to. This was followed by taking the class on a virtual tour of the 7 continents. After going over this, I helped them memorize the 7 continents through a chant/song. Overall, it was fun, and I'd say the class was pretty entranced by Google Earth!

Lesson using technology

A simple but effective idea that was brought to my attention today out at my assigned school, was using the new projectors for shared reading with the class. By placing the book under the projector, the whole class can see the pictures, read together as they see the teacher's finger guiding them the whole time, and in the end receive an effective shared reading experience. I personally had never seen a projector that one could put something under and it not come out looking like something does under an overhead projector, so this was and is a great idea to me.

Classroom Technology Inventory

In the last three days that I've been with the first-grade class that I was assigned to, there isn't a whole lot of technology that I've seen thus far. What I have seen is that every classroom (that I've been in so far anyway) has a projector that projects the entire image that falls under it's lense, and not just the shadow like the standard/older projectors do. Personally, I think it's amazing, and a great way to present object lessons to the class so that they don't have to come and gather around a table or something of the like.
The other bit of technology that I've seen in my assigned school are the Mac computers in the school computer lab. I was happy to see the multiple learning programs and games that have been installed/downloaded onto these computers for the students' learning enrichment. They have a lot of fun, and at the same time are learning critical thinking skills.
So when I did the technology inventory, I really couldn't say much. The above are about the only technologies that I've seen so far. The teachers don't seem to use it a lot, which I'm hoping will change.

Ancient Wonders of the World Virtual Tour

Here is the link to my virtual plan:

http://sites.google.com/site/ancientwondersoftheworld/my-files

TPACK for Virtual Tour

Content:

In the sixth grade social studies standard 1, objective 4, point a, it asks to identify innovations in manmade structures over time, and their influence on meeting needs. In the standard itself, it says to analyze how the earliest civilizations created technologies and systems to meet community and personal needs. Each one of the world wonders in this virtual tour addressed needs of the community or a certain individual, like with the Taj Mahal or the Giza Pyramid. The other two sites met community needs, and all of these structures were newly created technology in architecture.

Pedagogy:

This activity calls for the students having to compare how these ancient wonders would have been built today, etc., therefore asking them to make contrasts and critically analyze. They will also make connections between the past and the present. The teacher would be helping them with guiding questions and instructions in the process.

Technology:

The students will be using Google Earth to locate these sites, as well as use the internet to research the answers to the activity questions for each one. This is a valuable skill to master for more complex research projects/reports that they will do in the future.

Virtual Tour Plan

Location	Activity	Google Earth Content
1. Giza Pyramid, Cairo, Egypt	Find out why it was built, and make a strategy of how you would build something like this using the modern tools we have today, as opposed to what they used back then.	Students will find this location.
2. Taj Mahal, Agra, India	Find out the history behind the construction of the Taj Majal (why and how it was built), and how many tourists it attracts to India each year. What does it have in common with the Giza Pyramid in Cairo?	Students will find this location.
3. Great Wall of China	Find out how long the wall is in miles. Then, figure out where the wall would end up if it started here in Provo and headed straight to the east.	Students will find this location; They will locate where the wall would end if it started in Provo and went eastward.
4. Colosseum, Rome, Italy	Find out what it used to be used for, and what it's used for now. If you could hold an event there, what would it be?	Students will find this location.
Details of image overlay / path / polygon:	There will be image overlays of each one of the wonders in this tour. There will also be a path that goes along the Great Wall of China, as well as one the length of that from Provo eastward.

Boa Constrictor Link

The following is our video, Shel Silverstein's "Boa Constrictor":