Week 5

Amber Schumacher

Week 5

·         Use in the classroom:

Objective:  Students will learn facts about countries in North America and their locations by investigating them using a variety of websites and other resources.

My “big picture” intention is to give students an overall idea of “where they are in the universe”.  We started with the Universe and made our way down (Galaxy, Solar System, Continent, Country, etc). As we learn about North America and the United States, I think it is important for students to know the surrounding countries.  The three closest in proximity (Canada, Mexico and Cuba) are required for students to know; not only location, but also a few facts.  This will also be a base of prior knowledge when these countries are in the news or in reading.

I will use the QR codes as a resource/homework that students will take home with them and access.  Since my school has limited technology, students have better access to tablets and smart phones at home.  Students will use the codes to learn about specific North American countries.  Students can use this as a reference for a future quiz and projects.   I think being able to take home QR Codes makes this implementation more successful since technology is so limited at school.  Students who don’t have access to technology at home can use a computer at school in the lab or can borrow a tablet from another teacher.

Since augmented learning is explained as “virtual reality” in our readings, having a low tech school doesn’t allow students to experience many of the exciting tools we are learning about.  However, our school just began construction on a new “high-tech” library.  Although we won’t have access to any resources for several months, students will soon be able to use a 3D printer and VR glasses as part of augmented learning.

·         Application:

The segmenting principal is important for students to work at their own pace.  This assignment fits it well because it allows students to choose what information they want to watch/read and when they want to learn it.   The work is differentiated because students who have not shown mastery with other geography tests will only be required to watch certain videos.  The projects will also be differentiated in this way.  Lower performing students will only do projects on Canada, Mexico, USA or Cuba.  The other students will use this assignment to learn about Central American or Caribbean countries and will choose one to do their project on.  They can use these sites as a resource of information as well.

·         Reflection:

I was surprised at how easy creating the QR Codes were (I hope I did it right).  I wish I had access to more technology in school so I can use them more often.  It is an easier way for me to send links, videos, etc. home than to e-mail or send written out on a piece of paper.  Although I found Aurasma to be cool, I didn’t think it would work as well in my classroom again, due to limited technology.  I also couldn’t believe how the template so easily created the QR codes.  I looked up creating QR codes online and it appears there a lot of resources for creating them.  All of them seemed simple enough to use.  What I liked about the Google Doc template was that it made it easy for me to format for saving and printing. I think if I would have had to save them one at a time, it would have taken forever to compile.

It was interesting to learn about augmented learning.  An augmented learning resource that I have seen online is virtual field trips.  I thought these websites are a good resource for low-income schools that can’t go on real field trips or for schools just too far away.  However, think this lesson and creating the QR Codes are going to be more useful to me in my classroom.  Although the previous week’s activities were awesome to learn about, I found the time required to create them was too intensive.  Creating the codes however, is more manageable.  I have been sharing many of the ideas learned in this class with my teacher colleagues and I think they will really appreciate and use the QR Code template.  Many other teachers have access to more technology than I do, so they would even be able to use them more in their classroom.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1FieoLACWj7f52qhMX9fuRcmZ5H6zaTBFYU7jq5yvPOc/edit?usp=sharing

Citations:

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