EDU3302 Instructional Technology – II

Technology Inventory Report Fall 2018

Your name: Chatham Hedges

Placement school name: Park Central IB World School
Location of school: Brooklyn Park, MN
Grade level of your placement: 9-12
Number of students in your class: Average Class Size = approx. 30
Subject area if your placement is in a middle or high school: Sociology, Government, and
Economics

What technologies did you see in the classroom?

o DocCam: YES
o Interactive Whit Board / Smart Board or Promethean Board: NO
o Big screen TV: YES
o iPad or other tablets: NO
If yes, how many: _________. If not iPad, what tablets:____________________
o Chromebook or other laptops: YES
If yes, how many: 1 to 1 Ratio with Students If not Chromebook, what other laptops:
__________________
o 3D printer: NO
o VR headshet: NO
o Computer for the teacher in classroom: YES
o Type: PC
o Software available for teachers (List below):
 Standard Office Products
 Google Applications (available online)
 Standard PC Software Applications

o Other technologies available in the classroom or school:

- Teacher has two computers, one of which is kept in his office and was furnished by
himself. This one is also a PC and has similar capabilities (both are Windows 10)

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Describe available technologies and learning environment:
a) How the classroom is physically arranged? How technologies in the classroom are
arranged in relation to student and teacher desks? You may describe it or attach a
scanned drawing or digital picture.

The classroom is arranged in the manner of age-old school houses: rows and
columns of single-unit chairs and desks facing the front of the room, where the
teacher’s desk and computer, the podium, the whiteboard, the TV, and the Doc Cam
are all situated. When looking toward the front of the room, there is a large
blackboard off to the left, and the teacher’s office is located in the room on the front
right.

b) How do you think the physical arrangement of the classroom affects student
learning with available technologies? Explain why.

The room directs all attention forward toward the material being presented and the
person who is presenting it. This is ideal for many modes of instruction, particularly
direct instruction. However, the room could easily be rearranged to provide
students with seating arrangements more conducive for interpersonal work with
their classmates. The formation of pods of individual desks or desks pushed
together side-on are simply two of the possible (re)configurations. Thus, while the
initial emphasis of the physical properties of the room psychologically push
students toward an emphasis on the teacher, changing the seating arrangement can
dramatically effect the atmosphere and focal points of the students.

c) What technologies available in the classroom or elsewhere in the school assist

students with special/diverse needs?

I observed no technology specifically designed to aid in the teaching of students

with special needs in my host classroom—other than the provision of an aide for
certain students, who were also able to sit off to the side in a more private area of
desks. The school has a large group of dedicated specialists who help this population
of students (I have so far met four of them), however, I am not aware of any
particular technology or capabilities.

d) What other technologies are available in the school outside the classroom? For
example, 3D printers, Maker Station, robots, computer labs, laptop carts, resources
for teachers to check out from the media center or library, etc.

I know that there is at least one classroom equipped with excellent surround sound
in the lower section of the school, as well as that the school boasts a number of tech
workshops for woods classes and such. There is also a large multimedia “learning
commons” in the center of the school that I have only glimpsed in passing (I have
only had two days of placement so far).

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 e) Describe one specific technology (software or hardware) that you have seen at this
placement and want to use in your own classroom in the future.

Perhaps this doesn’t count as technology per se, but it may qualify as hardware; the
teacher I work with has taught economics for 17 years and utilizes 8 sets of a board
game called “Hard Times.” The game was purchased by one of his early econ classes
who raised money to buy four sets after reading about it in the paper. The creator of
the game (a local man) said that he would provide the other four for free if the class
was able to raise the money. He uses the game to great effect every year to inspire
conversations surrounding credit and personal finance (areas in which adolescents
are woefully ignorant).

Observe your cooperating teacher and answer the following questions:

a) How does your cooperating teacher(s) use technologies in the classroom? Do you
think your cooperating teacher(s) use technologies in the classroom effectively?
Explain why. Please be specific and use examples.

He uses them in an assistive capacity only; they are not the main portion of his
teaching, which focuses on interpersonal communication and writing. I think he
uses it in the correct proportion. For instance, he plays CNN 10 (a ten-minute news
recap) every day for each of his classes and uses it as a launching point for his
lessons and a way to have relevant, significant, and content-related conversations
with his students. If the board games count, I would say he also uses them with
equal wisdom and moderation; the class plays the game three times a year, equally
spaced, which allows them opportunity to ask new questions, pique their interest in
economics anew, and to demonstrate their recently acquired knowledge.

b) What are the potential areas for the teacher to incorporate more technologies or
improve his/her ways of using currently available technologies in the classroom?
Provide your suggestion: Be specific.

I think that if he had some way to project the data and applications from his
computer in front of the class instead of simply mirroring it on a non-interactive
screen, more possibilities would be opened up. For instance, in the area of writing (a
key focus in the multicultural and low SES school), he could project a writing sample
on the white board and either interact with it himself with a marker, or have a
student do so. The tactile and visual combination can be very significant.
Additionally, it allows the possibility of student interaction with the classroom
visual technology. The only cost would be a little glare and a small drop in image
quality (as well as needing dimmed lighting). I believe the positives outweigh the
negatives—particularly for students who might need a larger screen (those with
vision problems, for example) or more interaction (those with ADHD).

End ~
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