Week #3 Assignment #2

Which ideas from the PPT reflect what the ELA teachers you interviewed are currently doing to integrate technology with their literacy instruction?
The teacher I interviewed does uses minimal technology in her classroom due to her lack of resources. She would love to use more technology but the school does not provide an ample amount of resources in the classroom. One thing she does have in her classroom is 10 ipads. She has the students use them to practice lessons they have learned. She has uploaded on each computer special educational games. The games focus on a variety of skills like spelling, grammar, or literature. The students enjoy these activities and are learning at the same time. She also uses a laptop or projector to teach some of her literacy lessons. 

How can you help change their instructional practices to include the use of technology and the Internet in their literacy and content-area curriculum?
Miss K. needs to adjust her curriculum in order to include more technology in her lessons. I would suggest she uses more social platforms like blogger. Blogging is a great learning tool. Students have an opportunity to share their work and view others. It is a chance to learn from their peers work and feedback. Creating videos is also a great activity that can be beneficial to the learning experience. It is a fun way for students to present what they have learned. Using platforms like these enable the students to further their knowledge in a specific subject as well as in technology.

What professional development and/or resources will they need in order to make these changes?
In order to implement these changes the school needs to supply more technological tools. Computers in the classroom would be a great additive. The school also needs to provide additional workshops to train the teachers how to implement these tools in their classroom. It is a group project, the administration, teachers and students all need to work together. 

What ideas do you have for grouping students so they will have equal access to technology in the classroom?
Grouping really depends on the amount of resources available. In this case, since they are limited, I would suggest the students are grouped with 2-3 students per group. A large group is pointless because it is impossible for all the students to gain from using one computer or ipad. The smaller the group the better but working with others can also be beneficial because they help each other navigate through the new technology.