A Technology Infused Classroom

With technology comes endless possibilities.  Everyday more and more programs, apps, and ideas are released into the World Wide Web and accessible to use with a click of the mouse or a tap of our finger.  Our digital age students are traveling in that same boat with us.  We would be doing them an injustice to not tap into technology in our classrooms.  A technology infused classroom can look however you want it to look.  You could focus on a one to one learning environment, group projects, or use it as a resource.  As of right now, my classroom technology resources are 8 iPod touches and the ability to go to the computer lab once every 6 days.  My focus is going to be what I am doing in technology fused classroom and then what I hope my technology infused classroom will eventually look like after I can receive some grants for my classroom. :)

Last year, we were able to take our class to the computer lab almost every day.  I spent a lot of time finding websites and resources that my students could do in the computer lab (apart from our boring learning to type program) that meshed well with our curriculum.  This year, for some reason, we are not able to have all of this time so I have but thinking and working outside of the box to help my students get the technology support that they need in today's everyday life.

I am infusing more and more technology everyday into my classroom.  I started my infusion by giving the students short tutorials into really cool programs, websites, etc that they could use for projects to turn into me.  I gave them a short tutorial in using powtoons, Windows Movie Maker, My Story Maker, and because they were fascinated in my lessons, SMART Notebook.  My infusion started with at home projects where they had to demonstrate to me that they learned a math standard.  They demonstrated this by "teaching" it to the class.  I was (and still am) blown away by some of the stuff they came up with.  Here are a couple (remember 4th graders!):

 Powtoons Video
Prezi
This got me thinking and wondering how much of this stuff could I give them time to do in class?  How much of this could we accomplish with the iPods and the computer lab once every 6 days?  My student that did the Prezi researched songs for rounding, my other student drew pictures and scanned them into her Powtoons video, and well I don't think I need to talk about the awesome lego video. 
While I am constantly adding more into my technology infused classroom, this is what it looks like now.  We still type for about half the time when we are in the computer (it is a very important skill), but we spend the other half doing curriculum based stuff or letting them research/play with programs to find a use for it.  We did a simple, fun synonyms/antonyms activity where I gave them a word and and say synonym or antonym, they would then give me a corresponding word. To make this more fun and interactive, we did it in the computer lab using awwapp.com, an interactive whiteboard site.  They would "write" their answer with their mouse, turn their monitor off until I saw everyone was done and I would say "show me."  We have just started to play around with stop motion in class.  I have gathered all kinds of supplies for them to use to make some educational videos using Lego's free movie maker app.  We also practice our math facts using Math Drills Lite.  I am constantly trying to find more ways to infuse technology into my classroom but feel that at this juncture that I do have a technology infused classroom!
I did complete a grant to get 4 iPads for my classroom and am waiting to here if I was selected.  Where I am hoping to go is away from worksheet of any kind.  I am hoping to make short SMART Notebook files that have review problems, word problems, reading passages etc in them.  I want to make them interactive, manipulating the text, math manipulatives etc to practice the material.  Lastly, I want to put in answer slides so they can check their work.  I also asked for an adapter to plug them into the projector so they can explain how they came up with their answer or how they found it (working on those speaking and listening skills).  I also hope to continue furthering our project based learning and taking it to a whole other level.  Hopefully, something that I have shared will help inspire you and know that even 4th graders can rise to any occasion and blow you away with their creativity!