C. Engaging and Supporting Students in Learning

TPE4. Making Content Accessible
TPE5. Student Engagement
TPE6. Developmentally Appropriate Teaching Practices (k-3, 4-8, or 9-12)
TPE7. Teaching English Learners

How can technology help you engage and support students in learning?

Reflection:


1. Podcasting is one way to engage students in learning. Podcasting requires students to read, research, extract information, write and re-write, and then finally narrate the podcast. Students have to read and re-read their information, thus practicing for reading fluency and intonation. When students record their scripts, they then have to listen to themselves and determine whether or not they've "hit the target" for the audience. That's another great thing about podcasting. The end product is posted to the Internet and made accessible to the world at large. Now virtually anyone can share in their learning!

2. A classroom blog can help to make content accessible (TPE 4), and engage students in learning (TPE5). Mr. Kootman, a 4th grade teacher, has his class take turns posting the day's events in a blog. He focuses on an "attention grabber", proper punctuation and grammar. Students take notes as the day progresses and then proceeds through the writing process to create a document that can be posted in the daily blog. Parents and students are free to comment on each post. This activity serves as a motivator for student writing as well as reading.

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