Week Five (Chapters Eight and Nine): • Topic (Educational Technology), Module (Digital Text) – Clip: Using Technology to Teach Reading

There were different types of technologies used in the video clip to help students understand the concepts of the Civil War and write a cohesive written report. Students were instructed to read various Web sites regarding the Civil War and to write down several bulleted statements. Afterwards, students were encouraged to sum up what they have read and written to create a newspaper article. In one particular instance, students were to write an article which uncovered the plot of several notable assassinations throughout United States’ history. Students also used Excel to create graphs and had to analyze their data. This information was used to help students understand the concepts of the Civil War.

All of the technology-related activities have helped students develop their reading comprehension and writing ability. For instance, students learned how to take control of their learning process by taking one step at a time. Students were given explicit directions regarding how they should approach a reading assignment. For example, students would read a paragraph and write down one or two main ideas. Afterwards, students would focus on these ideas and begin to write a short paragraph. At the end, students were able to write a cohesive paper.

The teachers brought aspects of other subject areas into this lesson, such as music and politics, by locating relevant resources. Based on the Civil War era, the teacher was able to tie in the national anthem and other related resources to enhance the learning process. This particular learning strategy helps students to gain a broader perspective.

As a teacher in this classroom, there are several changes that I would see in my students toward reading, writing, social studies, and using technology tools. I believe that a great strategy is to link other content areas with my area of content (science). Often times, some science standards are difficult to teach because they are abstract in nature. Therefore, I believe that I could incorporate technology to help students enjoy readings. Additionally, students would be encouraged to write papers and prepare presentations through the use of technology.