Tips+&+Tricks

Tips for Integrating Technology into Your Classroom[[image:edutechdatabase/Fotolia_4355256_XS.jpg width="211" height="284" align="right"]]

 * Two of the **main barriers** to using technology in the classroom are **time and resources**. Good news: this website is the solution to those barriers - providing you with all of the technology tools you need and saving you time from having to search all over the internet for just the right resource/tool.
 * **Improve your confidence level** - explore new technology tools. Look up online tutorials/videos. Spend a few hours familiarizing yourself with different software programs and online tools. You won't want to teach a lesson with a technology part if you don't feel confident using technology.
 * **Ask for help** - request time off to attend a technology seminar or ask your principal to bring in a technology specialist for professional development. Ask co-workers and even students for help learning new technologies. Or better yet, start a Technology Club at your school!


 * Helpful Articles and Blog Posts: **
 * Torrey Trust's Individualized Technology Plan Helps Student with Autism Achieve Learning Goals
 * Edutopia's A Two-Step Approach to Integrating Technology
 * Edutopia's Learning Module: How to Integrate Technology
 * Mary Beth Hertz's What Does Technology Integration Mean? and The Do's and Don'ts of Tech Integration
 * Herald-Sun's Teach Them with Tech
 * Harvard Education Letter's Top 10 Web Tools for Teachers
 * Brianna Davis' 8 Tips for Teachers to Enhance the Use of Technology in the Classroom
 * Tina Barseghian's The 7 Golden Rules of Using Technology in Schools

Tips for Integrating Technology into Your School

 * Benefits of Technology (Becta Analysis)**
 * Can increase teacher time afforded by web-based resources
 * Can increase student enjoyment of lessons
 * Prompts greater spontaneity
 * Reduces duplication of materials (saves printing money)
 * Improves sharing of good practice
 * Can be transformative


 * Tips from** The Digital Classroom: Harnessing Technology for the Future
 * Don't be seduced by technology and think you need to get the latest and best (make the most of what you have first)
 * Don't rush - plan strategically, considering purchase, training, implementation, and development costs over a long period
 * Don't invest in expensive software unless you have time and resources to develop its applications
 * Talk to others and share the lessons they've learned
 * Don't worry that students know more than you
 * Don't bury your head in the sand - technology is here to stay
 * Think carefully how tech can be used to enhance the quality of students outcomes
 * Test innovations at the top of the school then introduce them with the youngest children
 * Invest time in teaching the skills necessary to use your current ICT applications to their best advantage
 * Ensure that your decisions are made as a part of the whole-school approach to ICT
 * Invest in the future in terms of money, time, and staff training

Success Stories
"This website is a great learning tool for students struggling with topics like protein synthesis, cell respiration, photosynthesis, and meiosis. I offered a little extra credit and my students went on this website to find animations/resources that would help them answer some questions. I personally like the science animations, since it provides a flow for the topics." Jerry Trust, Biology teacher, La Costa Canyon High School, Carlsbad, CA

//Tips from Dana Ditman, Technology Integration Specialist, Twin Oaks Elementary School://
 * All of my classes attend computer lab weekly - we have a default routine to fall back on when teacher has not prepared a lesson or given me a heads-up about what the kids are working on in their core subjects
 * Kids do 10/15 minutes of Math Facts, 10/15 minutes of typing (this gives me time to find out what's going on in the classroom), and 10/20 minutes exploring a site related to what they are studying in Science or Social Studies
 * I have set the home page of my lab computers' browsers to the ** For Students ** page of our website. Students start at a page full of subject relevant links and we ask them to stick to these links - usually we tell them exactly where we want them to go.
 * I have set the Home page of all the classroom computers' browsers to our school website's home page
 * Most grade levels have chosen a big computer based project to do in time for **Open House**... these make a big splash with the parents ... Work on some these projects can last for weeks ...
 * K & 1 - Seasonal compositions of graphics and words using ** Kidspiration ** (with the little kids we work on mouse control and following directions - we don't worry so much about producing artifacts)
 * 2nd Grade - **Who Am I?** - This is a writing assignment that students do first by hand, and then transcribe into Word (we're still not producing many artifacts with these students)
 * 3rd Grade -
 * **Endangered Animal PowerPoint** - Students research an endangered animal using links on the **For Students** page of the website or links their teacher posts on her website - They make a hand written report (one teacher has them transcribe into Word), and then use that report to inform a PowerPoint presentation that they deliver to the whole class (individual work)
 * **Endangered Animal Report Word Clouds -** students upload the text of their animal reports to ** Tagxedo ** to create some pretty sweet word clouds
 * **Scientific Method PowerPoint** - Student teams choose a science experiment using links provided and document their method findings - written reports and original photos inform their PowerPoint presentations
 * **Inspiring American report** - Research using links provided and transcribe into Word
 * 4th Grade -
 * All writing assignments are transcribed into **Word** (these kids do **//many//** paragraphs to prepare for the 4th grade writing assessment)
 * **Google Earth** - pre-work for all field trips includes a trip to the site in Google Earth
 * Class website & blog, Student websites ... see 5th grade ... I have one 4th grade teacher working on this and it's been slow going this year
 * **California Mission PowerPoint** - A report researched using provided links informs each PowerPoint presentation ... these are individual projects & presentations
 * 5th Grade -
 * **Poetry Book** - Students write about 20 prescribed poems and transcribe them into **Publisher** using specific formatting. They use clip art and original photos to illustrate the work.
 * **President Repor**t - research using links provided - transcribe into Word
 * Class website & blog, Student websites - One of my 5th grade teachers is using Weebly for Education with his class. He has a blog and each student has a password protected site. This is our second year with this project and we are not as quick as we hoped to be making site development assignments for them ...
 * 6th Grade -
 * All writing assignments are transcribed into Word
 * **Volcano Report and PowerPoint** - reports are individual - PowerPoints are group projects
 * **Ancient History Report and PowerPoint** - as above