ABC Community School

June 27, 2015

Megan Pabst

Teaching and learning with technology is an extremely vital resource that is very
beneficial in more ways than one. The world is advancing so much and I believe the

schools need to keep up with it. Teaching with technology can not only make learning fun
for the students, but it can also keep them more interested and help them to understand
the topic/lessons better because it is taught in a way that is familiar to them. Schools are
all becoming more involved with technology, and ABC Community School should not be
forced to abandon the use of technology. Learning with technology helps students
become creative and while they are learning they are also learning technology skills
along with problem solving skills. For example, if during a reading lesson, the teacher
wants to have the class draw out where they imagine the story is taking place, it is easy
for them to take out a piece of paper and markers and just draw. However, if during this
part of a lesson you have the students get on a drawing application on the computer and
use drawing tools to create what they envision, they can get more creative, and also use
learn from the tools they are using and figure out how to work their way around the
obstacles and problems they run into. This is just simply one example of why I feel that
ABC Community School should not be forced to abandon their use of teaching and
learning with technology. Another point that should be made is that teaching and learning
with technology also includes online education. According to research from the Online
Learning Consortium, Over 6.7 million students were taking at least one online course
during the fall 2011 term, an increase of 570,000 students over the previous year.
Compared to how much technology use to be used in the classroom, this is a vast
increase. Online education is helpful due to the fact that it can reach so many students.
Even if the school is in one city, someone in another state can also take the same course
and learn the same curriculum. Online education is also better for some students in the
sense that it can be done for the most part at their own pace and they dont have to go to a
campus for school. Students can do their courses/schooling at the comfort of their own
home, or while they arent busy at work. If technology in the classroom is removed, it
would also remove a wonderful program. Technology in the classroom also allows the
students to broaden their knowledge and learning more than just what the teacher is able
to teach them. Lets face it, there is so much knowledge and so many interesting things to
learn on the internet that we as teachers sometimes cant even compare. Applications
such as YouTube contain so much knowledge and educational videos that can help teach
almost anything. Other educational websites that are tremendously helpful include
Compass Learning. Compass Learning is digital curriculum that can be used for any age
or grade level. We use Compass Learning here at ABC Community School and the
students seem to really enjoy it while they are learning a great deal. The students seem to
appreciate that Compass Learning is individualized for each of them. With this all being
said, I simply ask that you please reconsider your decision to force us to abandon our use
of teaching and learning with technology. I know all of my students, along with myself
would greatly appreciate it.
2012 - Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States - OLC.
(2015). Retrieved June 27, 2015.

I appreciate all of the different standards that are in place for our schools. From the
CCSD Technology Education Standards, Nevada Performance Indicators, National
Educational Technology Standards, and Common Core Standards they all have such an
impact in the instructional choices made by schools and teachers. Firstly, I must say that I
had no idea there were not only so many standards, but specifically so many technology
standards. The standards range from all grade levels and are also different for each
standard inside the standard, such as meets standard, exceeds standard, etc. One thing
that really stuck out to me was the expectations of grade 3 in the Computer and
Technology Education Standards, Content Standard 5.0. I havent been removed from
school for that long but I dont recall learning the parts of a loop system or being able to
list and group technological systems. The format of Nevada Computer and Technology
Standards on the Nevada Department of Education website was completely different.
There were Nevada indicators for each standard at each grade level. There was one
national indicator, and one standard for each grade level. There were no exceeds
standards or meets standards here. Another thing that stood out to me was the opening
paragraph on the Nevada Department of Education, mathematics standards. It made me
realize the difference between being able to do something versus actually understanding
it. Lastly, the ISTE standards are short, simple, and easy to understand. There are only 5
standards, but what makes using these standards difficult for me is that they can be
interpreted many ways, and there are a, b, c, and d in one standards so if one of those
apply to your lesson than the standard does. Anyways, I enjoyed reading the standards
and recognizing the similarities and differences. For my lesson plan, I will be using the
Nevada Computer and Technology Standards, standard 1.B.5.1 Create an original,
digital work as a form of personal or group expression with minimal teacher support
along with the ISTE Standard #4 b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using
learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and
resources.

Name of lesson: Future Brochure

Grade Level Appropriateness: 3-5 grade
Technology Content Standard Addressed: Nevada Computer and Technology Standards,
standard 1.B.5.1 Create an original, digital work as a form of personal or group expression
with minimal teacher support
ISTE Standard #4 b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered
strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
Objective: The student will manipulate digital tools along with creativeness and problem
solving to create a brochure for their own ideal future.
Materials needed to facilitate the lesson: Any word processing document or PowerPoint.
Suggested group size: Not a group project, students will each individually complete their own
brochure.
Procedures: 1. While students are still sitting at their desks, explain to them that this project will
be using any word processing document or PowerPoint to create a brochure that displays what
their ideal future will include.
2. Examples of what can be in the brochure can include the students dream car, occupation,
home, family, animals, hobbies, dream city or state to live in, etc.
3. Explain that the students must have a minimum of 5 sections and also explain what they will
be graded on.
4. Once all questions are answered, send students to the computer to begin working on their
brochure.
5. If they are working in Microsoft Word, have the student open up the program and instead of
selecting Blank Document, scroll down to the 4th row all the way to the right and select the
Brochure Document.
6. Encourage the use of creativeness, pictures, colors, etc.
7. Continue to walk around the students computers if by chance someone needs help or has a
question, but the rest is all up to the student.
Assessment: To assess this project, I will use a rubric grading the use of creativeness, technology
skills, independent work, using the right format/template, and the brochure having a minimum of
5 sections with scores of 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest. This project will be worth
50 points.