ISTE Article 1

Curriculum Design and Technology: A Model to use technology in support of knowledge generation and higher-order thinking skills
Robin Beaver and Jean Moore

This article is aimed towards integrating the use of technology in High School and even Elementary school classes. However, it is difficult to incorporate software and digital applications in the class room when the teachers themselves have difficulties navigating their way around them. This affects the ways teachers use technology in the classroom and whether or not they are using them effectively.The article explains that technology in the classroom goes beyond finding videos on Youtube and relating them to the lesson plan. Beaver and Moore give an example of using Concept Mapping. They are excellent resources in which students can organize their thoughts and ideas. By using a digital application to do concept mapping, it allows students to manage their data and ideas more efficiently. Technology is not meant to complicate the lesson plan, but to support it. For example asking a student to use an online database to retrieve resources is no different than having them go to the library and finding a book containing the same information. In order to incorporate technology successfully, Beaver and Moore suggest making technology as an integral step when creating your lesson plan, as opposed to a completely separate process.

Q1
What sort of technological applications would I be able to use in a math classroom?
I would be able to use Digital Concept Mapping. For example, I can give the students an equation and they can use a concept map to explain the different ways they could tackle the problem. I could even use them for proofs and theories. This way, the students would easily be able to identify proofs and know when to use them or when they apply.

Q2
In what ways would these applications support my lessons as opposed to making it a completely isolated process?
The concept maps support my lesson plans because often times, children recall the theories and proofs, however they just have trouble understanding when they apply to a problem. They can not connect the dots. By having the students organize their data in a concept map, they will be able to understand when to use what.