TECHNOLOGY WITHIN

ABC COMMUNITY
SCHOOL

3rd of July, 2016

By Alexis Nava

Personally, I believe that technology should be integrated into schools as a tool for
students and teachers alike to use for the benefit of instruction. Lesson plans can benefit from the
tools of productivity that are computers or tablets and the programs that lie within them. From
allowing students that speak a different language to be able to understand their instructors with
touch of a button on a translator, to visual aids that bring lectures to life and get the students
imagining how they can put these lessons into practice, its all for their benefit. Now, in the
wrong ways, technology can hinder a students progress if the instructor or student doesnt know
how to take advantage or their tools, however that is why we must train in order to be able to use
these tools in the right way so that we may keep these and not deter the potential that can come
from technology in the now. Technology can improve the quality of classroom instruction by
helping the instructors formulate lesson plans and expand lessons to the student beyond the
lecture in which they are taught.
Instructors can use productivity suites to improve the methods in which they organize
information and teach their students. Microsoft Word in itself is one of the worlds most
recognized word processing programs, this tool alone can be used to actively write outlines as
one is conducting a lecture in order to make note-taking an easier process for a student, or to
create graphics in order to get a better visual representation for the student. These are just small
examples of how this one program can improve a teachers experience. Microsoft word is a part
of an entire productivity suite, from PowerPoint, which can be used to create a vast amount of
visual aids for students through slideshows (and non-linear slideshows that can be used to create
classroom games), to Excel which can create spreadsheets in order to better organize
information. All of programs are just the tip of the iceberg, there are a vast amount of education
productivity programs out there as well that can hold an entire classroom roster and track the
progress in which they are learning and overcoming obstacles and show the instructor on how to
improve on their lesson plans.
When students are being lectured, one of the main issues is that as a point they grow tired
of being talked to, and they want to be able to actively participate within it. With our schools 2:1
ratio for students to computers, I as an instructor can create lessons and lectures that also
partially take place within a computer or a tablet so that my students can actively put into
practice what I teach them as I show them the new information. This works greatly to their
benefit as an active learning approach is shown to be much more beneficial than passive
learning. Active learning is when a student actively takes part in what is being taught to them, it
improves lesson retention, while passive learning is when a student simply attempts to absorb the
information and attempts to apply it after the fact (Stenger 1).
Students and teachers alike benefit from technology within our school greatly, and for
those tools to be taken away would impede the success of our classrooms greatly. From our
teachers having the ability to create more organized better represented lesson plans, to our
students being able to actively participate within our lessons plans, it would be a shame if we
took these tools for granted and put them away. Instead we must further develop them and delve
more into technology in order to see how it can further benefit our students and staff.
Works Cited
Stenger, Marianne. "New Study Shows How Active Learning Improves Cognitive
Function - InformED."InformED. Open Colleges, 12 Nov. 2013. Web. 03 July 2016.

It seems that as the scope of standards for technology for students gets smaller,
they get more specific. The International Society for Technology in Education only has 4
standards for students (Creativity and Innovation; Communication and Collaboration;
Research and Information Fluency; Critical thinking, Problem solving and Decision
making). Of course each of these standards has an expectation on how they are to be met
and accolades that explain further as well, however there are only 4. The State of Nevada
has 6 in total (Creativity and Innovation; Communication and Collaboration; Research
and Information Fluency; Critical Thinking, Problem Solving and Decision Making;

Digital Citizenship; Technology Operations and Concepts). As you can see, the scope is
the same with two additional standards for technology. Digital Citizenship being how a
student can be responsible and ethical online, and Technology Operations and Concepts
as an understanding of the physical components and operations of technology. Nevada
also specifies which accolades correlate to the national standard and when these
accolades should be met within the classroom, differentiating from grades 2, 5, 8, and 12.
Finally we reach Clark County, CCSD has different standards for grades 1-3, 4-5, 6-8,
and 9-12. Nevadas, CCSD specifies when all the accolades should be met. The standards
must be met by the time the student reaches grade 3, 5, 8, and 12. I will specifically be
focusing on the grade 12 standards, as the encompass the rest of CCSDs lower tiers and
because I will be going into secondary education. The 12th grade standards are Problem
Solving, Productivity Tools, Research Tools, Tools and Processes, Systems and
Implications on Society. It would seem that Problem Solving correlates with Nevada
Standard and ISTE standard 4(Critical Thinking), Productivity Tools and Tools and
Processes with #1(Creativity and Innovations) and Research Tools with #3(Research and
Info Fluency). Oddly enough none of CCSD standards correlate with #2, Communication
and Collaboration, which focuses on students working together to achieve an
understanding of technology. Systems correlates with Nevada standard #6, Technology
Operations and Concepts, and Implications on Society correlates with #5, Digital
Citizenship.
My lesson plan will be focusing on CCSD standards Research Tools and
Productivity Tools, both of which will correlate with ISTE Standards for Students #3 and
#1, Research and Info Fluency and Creativity and Innovations. Specifically, standard #1
states that can meet it by demonstrating creative thinking, constructing knowledge and
developing innovative products and processes using technology. Students can meet
standard #3 by applying digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information.

Name of Lesson: The Body Systems and You!

Grade Level Appropriateness: 8th-12th
Technology Content Standard Addressed: ISTE National Standards for Student #1
Creativity and Innovation and Standard #3 Research and Information Fluency.
#1. Students demonstrate creative thinking, constructing knowledge and
developing innovative products and processes using technology.
#3 Students apply digital tools to gather, evaluate and use information.
Objective: To have students understand the anatomy and physiology of the bodys
systems at an introductory level by comparing them to real world examples through a
PowerPoint presentation. Students will then present the slideshow to the class so that

everyone may have an even understanding on how body systems can be interpreted
differently.
Materials need to facilitate the lesson:
PowerPoint or another slide-processing program
Google Images
Health or Anatomy text book or source material (that will show anatomy and
physiology of the bodies systems)
Suggested Group Size: 2
Procedures:
Student groups of 2 will be assigned one of the 11 body systems: circulatory,
respiratory, digestive, excretory, nervous, endocrine, immune, integumentary,
skeletal, muscle, and reproductive.
Students will then research and have a fundamental understanding of the anatomy
of their body system (the physical parts of the system) and then understand the
physiology of the body systems (how the separate parts of the system come
together in order to operate to do what the system is for)
Students will then start a PowerPoint presentation in which they make a title page
for the system researched, and then explain the anatomy of the system on the next
slide, and the physiology of the system on the slide afterwards.
Students will then choose real world examples that correlate with the system
theyve chosen and paste photos of these example from google images into their
slideshow on separate slide, and then explain how these examples correlate with
their system on the same slide.
Once finished, students groups will then present to their peers their sideshows and
explain the anatomy and physiology of their body systems, show a real world
example of their system, and explain how this image correlates with their system
Assessment: Students will be graded out of a 20 pt score, on a four category rubric.
1st being on how prepared their slide show looks, on a scale of 1-5
2nd being on how prepared their vocal explanation of their system is 1-5
3rd being on how detailed their explanation of the anatomy and physiology of their
system is 1-5
4th being on how original and well their real world example correlates with their
body systems, 1-5

Student Sample: