Special event:
During my second practicum placement I had a privilege to teach Health to grade 5 students. The main goal of our lessons was to have students research and present information about nutrients as March was a National Nutrition Month. They learners were asked to create a collaborative document on Google Drive (Docs) and present the info in a form of a booth during the Health Fair. However, the technology implementation discussed here may be similarly advantageous during a Science Fair.
Research:
Students worked in pairs researching information on the internet by using school’s laptops. Their teamwork concentrated on finding interesting facts about: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, minerals, water and vitamins. The students took into consideration below aspects:
* examine the impact of physical activity, nutrition, rest and immunization on the immune system
* examine ways in which healthy eating can accommodate a broad range of eating behaviors; e.g.,
individual preferences, vegetarianism, cultural food patterns, allergies/medical conditions, diabetes.
Technology in this learning activity played a huge role because the internet data base was the main source of information. By analyzing the data, organizing the research information and building their own displays of facts with reflections the students also created new knowledge (evaluation and critical thinking).Students were engaged performing the research and enjoyed working with partners. They supported and inspired each other as well as strove to do an excellent work so their display booths could look attractive.
Document Creation – Word and image Processing:
Creating a collaborative document on Google Docs was a great task as the learners could add information to the document even when they were absent from school (one student went to India for few days) and share it with peers and the teacher. The technology in this case helped with mobility and accessibility (multimedia communication by sharing the document). Therefore, it promoted learning outside the school.
Presentation – enhancing the images and printing:
Students used simple photo editing software (PicMonkey) to make the images appear attractive and could print the images on the color printer at school. They were excited about this possibility as usually students cannot print colorful images at school. This experience showed the students that anything they create on the computer can be physically printed and put on display.
Exhibition and documentation:
The booths were creative, interesting and had information clearly displayed so the other students, teachers and parents could be part of this great school’s event – promoting the Professional Learning Community. Students also had an option of using the school’s camera to document the event – photographic images and/or videotaping. The idea of sharing the documentation in classroom and the whole school (slide show on a TV screen at the main entrance) was very encouraging and the students were keen on doing it.
Conclusion:
I cannot imagine this learning task being completed without support of technology. The source of information, information processing, collaboration on documents and the printing ability made the Health Fair a very successful event. More importantly, technology was used there as a very comprehensive tool, which made the learning enjoyable and entertaining.