PLC Book Study Review
Using technology in the classroom can be daunting. You may think, “Where do I even start?”. Illuminate by Bethany J. Petty is the perfect place to start! There are such rich instructional technology tools presented in this book. While reading this book, I was presented with challenges at the end of each chapter. The challenge was labeled “ Try This Tomorrow”. I took those challenges to heart and actually tried many in my own third grade classroom! Below are three challenges I used in my own instruction. There were some failures, some learning moments, and some defiant do overs! I am going to talk about the three best technology enhanced resources I have found.
Challenge #1: Using EdPuzzle
Although I have heard of EdPuzzle, I have never used it in my own instruction. I decided to use EdPuzzle in the form of a science lesson. Let’s face it teachers, science and social studies often get swept under the rug as other subjects take priority. I presented the EdPuzzle as a group activity. We watched the module, answered questions, and had a discussion about our topic. The whole lesson lasted about 15 minutes, and it included introduction to the material, comprehension questions, content review, a brief quiz, and an exit ticket! I asked the students to rate the EdPuzzle and they gave it a 10 out of 10. They loved being engaged in the lecture, while also learning the content through videos, slides, and other interactive content.
Obviously, a positive attribute about EdPuzzle is it is not time consuming. Lessons can be as short as a few minutes of instructional time. Another benefit of EdPuzzle is there is no prep-time! There are countless videos and assignments you can watch as a class or assign individually that other teachers have created. The way that EdPuzzle presents the material visually is also a benefit to the student. “Students immediately become more engaged in the content as they experience it visually rather than through the words from a dusty textbook” (Petty, 2018, p.9). This tool truly presents technology enhanced learning.
Challenge #2: Using Google Earth
I was most excited to use Google Earth in my classroom! “Google Earth provides anyone the opportunity to visit nearly any place in the world, virtually” (Petty, 2018, p. 20). My class started by looking at the earth. We were talking about gravity which escalated to a discussion about space. (TIP: Teachers, teach on what your students are interested in. If your lesson about gravity happens to take a left turn to outer space RUN WITH IT. You will make more of an impact teaching what they want to learn.) My students loved Google Earth; so much that I decided to take them on a virtual field trip to the San Diego Zoo the next day! COVID says we can’t go on field trips, but Google earth says we can! Google Earth has expanded our classroom walls to endless trips around the globe.
Challenge #3: Using AutoDraw
I originally got the idea from Illuminate to make memes in my classroom by using the app IMG Flip.While I was planning to create our own memes, I was studying about the power of an infographic (an infographic is a “visual representation of information (Turner and Hicks, 2017, p. 60)”. Our standard for the week was focusing on how to stay safe during a storm. I decided it would be a great opportunity for my students to create their own infographic on weather safety. I happened upon the website AutoDraw. My students were able to draw, use stickers, create text boxes, and use other widgets to make their very own infographic about weather safety. We were able to print each infographic into a poster. By happenstance, we had horrible weather the following week. My students we’re about to educate their parents about weather safety using their infographic! This is when I had an “aa ha” moment as a teacher. Teaching technology tools to my students matters. They will not just use it in my classroom, but they will use it the rest of their lives.
References
Petty, B. (2018). Illuminate: Technology enhanced learning. Retrieved March 22, 2021, from https://www.amazon.com/Illuminate-Technology-Enhanced-Bethany-Petty/dp/1945167459
Turner, K. and Troy H. Argument in the real world. Heinemann Publishing, 1 Nov. 2016, www.heinemann.com/products/e08675.aspx.
I really enjoyed what you had to say about your PLC book! I think I’m going to add this to the Amazon list! I was especially excited to see how your book gave you detailed activities to try with your students! I’m so glad some of them worked out! Oftentimes we read self help books and there isn’t any additional exercises to try and we kind of are sitting ducks! My PLC book, Teach Boldly had section like yours as well. She referred to them as taking action but it’s the same concept! Dr. Williams, the author, suggests having students take action and “commit publicly” (Williams, 2019). She suggests sharing on IG or a quick tweet with a teaching hashtag! Maybe you could try that with your students so your ideas/work can reach other educators on social platforms!
ReplyDeleteReferences
Williams, Jennifer (2019). Teach boldly: Using edtech for social good. International Society for Technology in Education.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI love how you took the ideas and thoughts off the pages and into your own classroom! This is the exact thing that I would do too! I am already planning lessons with some of the new skills I learned from Petty. This is exactly what Petty expected from writing this book. All of the tools we have learned from reading, my students have enjoyed each new tool while learning. The students have stated how engaging the lessons are and how much they are learning from each new tool. Just like you stated above, technology will be apart of all of our lives for the rest of our life. Teaching these tools help our students to use them for future classes, assignments, jobs, fun, and daily life. One thing I learned in my inclusion of technology in the classroom is that "when students are given choices of how they want to share what they've learned, the quality of work they produce tends to improve because they feel a sense of ownership in the project," which is exactly how your students felt after each new tool you introduced (Petty, 2018, p. 104).
Petty, B. (2019). Illuminate: Technology Enhanced Learning. Dave Burgess Consulting, Incorporated.
I like how you used your blog to discuss what you have applied in your classroom from our PLC book. The "Try This Tomorrow" sections in the book were useful and welcomed suggestions. I always appreciate when practical and realistic suggestions are given to experiment with. We can all strive to better "use technology as a tool to design amazing learning experiences for your students and encourage them to collaborate, create, communicate, and think critically about their content and the world around them" (Petty, 2018, p. 115).
ReplyDeleteReference
Petty, B. J. (2018). Illuminate: technology enhanced learning. EdTechTeam Press.
Haley,
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your takeaways from the book. I didn’t read that book so getting your opinion makes me think about reading it in the future. I like how you used the ideas in your own classroom almost immediately. I cannot believe you haven’t used EdPuzzle before. We use it all the time at my school. It’s so easy and the kids can do it independently if we want them too. I love the Google Earth field trip idea. It sounds fun and engaging. The article, Adoption and Use of Educational Technology Tools by Marketing Students says, “traditional educational settings are no longer the unique approach to learn” (p. 347). We have to integrate technology to better educate our students to be successful in the world today.
Magano, J., Alves, M., Durâo, R., & Vaz de Carvalho, C. (2020). Adoption and Use of Educational Technology Tools by Marketing Students. Electronic Journal of E-Learning, 18(4), 347–356.