Running head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES 1

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Sarah Kretzer

Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 496 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2017

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Introduction

Technology and Media resources are becoming more and more prevalent in the United

States as the years go on. There is some use of technology in practically every job field out there,

no matter what the focus may be. That is why it is so important for teachers to integrate

technology and media resources into their own classrooms. The students in elementary schools

today will be growing up and going out into the work force and they will need to have the

necessary skills. Teachers are here to support and care for the students, but they must also equip

them for life and for moving forward. Technology not only allows for students to gain a better

understanding, but it also allows for them to connect with others and share ideas with people

from around the world, in a safe manner. I am a firm believer in using technology in the

classroom in a variety of different ways; for management, student use, and instruction.

Rationale for Selection of Artifacts

For my first article I chose the PowerPoint that I use for our rotations. In math and ELA

we use four rotations every day. During our rotation time, I place the PowerPoint slide onto the

Promethean board so that the students always know where they are supposed to be and where

they will be going next when it is time to transition. This is a great reminder and a great use of

PowerPoint and the Promethean board.

Using this PowerPoint allows for me to really focus on differentiation for the rotations. I

can easily go into the already saved slide and change around the names for the rotations if need

be. For math, I switch up the groups every day based on their exit slips from the previous day so

I know who is ready to move on to the next thing and who still needs a little more reteaching or

practice. For ELA, it varies. It is normally based on their guided reading groups so that does not
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change often. However, somedays I will need to switch up the groups a little and the PowerPoint

allows for me to do so easily and then display it up on the board for all of the students to see.

For my second article I uploaded a few screenshots from the game Kahoot. Kahoot is a

great resource to use to get the kids engaged and also allow them for more practice in whatever

you are teaching them. The Kahoot questions will be displayed up on the Promethean board and

I will give all of the students a laptop. They will sign into the laptops and get onto Kahoot using

the game pin that corresponds to the game pin of the game I have up on the Promethean board.

They will then read the question and answer it on their own laptops and it pops up on the

Promethean board.

It is a great media resource for teachers to use. I used it at the end of a place value lesson

that we had just to give them practice and to review some of the terms that we had learned. Not

only does it help the students get some practice but it tells the teacher who was answering which

question which allows for me to see who still needs some practice on different concepts

depending on their answers.

Reflection on Theory and Practice

Technology in the classroom is definitely a concept that I used to be a little skeptical of.

My former belief was that using technology in the classroom would make the students lazy and

would make them just use a computer for everything and not ever use their own thinking skills

and two hands to complete things. My thinking has changed ever since I started my practicums

and student teaching and I have been able to see the ways that technology can be integrated into

the classroom. I do not believe that technology should be used in every single little aspect of the

day but I do think that there are some great media resources out there that can help students to

gain a better understanding of what they are learning. Throughout my practicum I have learned
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about great resources such as Kahoot, Tumble Books, Ten Marks, Achieve, and many more. All

of these resources helps students to get practice in and it helps them to work on their

comprehension and understanding as well.

There are also many great media resources that can aid with classroom management.

Things such as PowerPoint and Class Dojo are great to use to make things a little easier on the

teacher and to help them manage their classroom more efficiently. In the world today, the growth

of technology is very rapid and that is the world in which these students are growing up. They

are surrounded by technology and using it in the classroom helps them to better understand it and

it keeps them more engaged throughout the day. Behavioral scientist Matt Walleart states,

When I imagine the classroom of the future, I imagine a place where teachers and technology

are partners in fostering that creative, curious urge and helping harness students authentic

motivations towards learning (2014). I completely agree with this statement and technology can

act as a catalyst to help classrooms get to this point.

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References

Wallaert, M. (2014). Why We Need To Embrace Technology In The Classroom Right Now.