Integrating Technology Blog

  Project Tomorrow Speak Up This past week I got a chance to explore some educational technology research. I examined some infographics by  Project Tomorrow Speak Up .   Two infographics that I focused my attention on were, "What is the Future of Virtual Learning for Students?" and "What K-12 Teachers Say They Need to Use Digital Tools More Effectively." Future of Virtual Learning                                                                                Image Source: tomorrow.org In this infographic, " What is the Future of Virtual Learning for Students? "  there were a few statistics that surprised me. One was 64% of students in grades 6-8 said they were learning at a pace that makes sense to them personally. A second stated 62% of students in grades 6-8 sa...

Active Learning  This past week I explored examples of active learning in different classrooms.  Active learning is when students are excited, interested, and engaged in their learning. During active learning, the tasks are student-centered, and the students take ownership of their work.   One of the active learning activities I enjoyed learning about was The American Revolution... It's Like We Were There , where students created pictures using PicCollage and used Audioboom to create presentations about The American Revolution.   You can view my Padlet for more information about this activity or reference the image below.                                                                  Image Source: My Personal Padlet...

  Digital Maps This past week I learned what a digital map is and the significance of creating an individual digital map. A digit map is primarily how a person uses anything digital: a phone, a tv, a computer, an iPad, etc. Digital maps help give individuals an understanding of how they use the internet, apps, and programs and why they are actually using them. David S. White developed the idea of  "Visitors and Residents"   to help people understand how they interacted with the internet. A visitor is someone who visits a place, gets what they need, and moves on. A resident is someone who goes on an app or site, connects with others, and makes their presence known by leaving their mark. Moving back and forth between a visitor and resident can be fluid depending on the time of year, personal life, or career.     Visitor and Resident Here is a picture of my digital map.                Image Source:  Personal...

Now More Than Ever Covid has changed many of us in different ways. Some positive and some negative.  We, as teachers, are finding new ways and new tools to help support ALL of our students.  The article  The Hottest Topics in Edtech in 2021  by Diana Fingal talks about 9 trends in Ed Tech in 2021. After reading through the trends, I thought it would be appropriate to look more into the trend of Social- Emotional Learning. Trends often come and go with the times, but I feel Social- Emotional Learning or SEL will be one that will be sticking around.    Over my years of teaching, I've realized more and more students are experiencing some sort of trauma in their lives. Some of which can be directly related to Covid. This trauma can directly affect a student's ability to learn.                                            ...

  Where Have I Been? This week I found it eye-opening reading about the five different models for reflecting on technology use in the classroom.   Image Source: GIPHY I will be honest I had never heard of any of the models before. I was also shocked to learn that most models have been around for a while. Where have I been?  My Model Choice The model I chose to evaluate myself on was the SAMR . This model has four stages: substitution, augmentation, modification, and redefinition.  Substitution is when the technology used acts as an exact replacement, not changing the original function.  Augmentation is when technology used acts as the exact replacement, but improves the function. Modification is when the technology used allows for a major change of the task but in a positive way. Redefinition is when the technology used allows for the production of new tasks, that were impossible before.                  ...

 Hi everyone!  My name is Amy Mekeel.                                                                                                                                    Image Source: Personal   Image Career  This is my 14th year teaching. Man, time flies! I can remember my first year of teaching like it was yesterday. For the last 14 years, I have taught only middle school students. For the last three years, I've been an 8th grade Math and Social Studies teacher at   Heritage Middle School   in Summit.  Before that, I taught at St. Francis Xavier in LaGrange and St. Edmund in Oak Park.  St. Edmu...