I am not teaching at the time so I am designing a lesson plan not for a class but just for one 6 years old girl. The girl is at the same age that I am interested in teaching (kindergarten) and we are close to each other since we are friends with her parents and I am helping her occasionally with her Greek language lessons. I am not her teacher or private tutor I just try to give her opportunities to practice her Greeks in an interesting and playful way. This is what I am going to do in my lesson plan. It is not going to be usual/ formal lesson plan because I am trying to adjust it to the special circumstances. Besides in these ages (early childhood) it is considered inappropriate to design a formal lesson plan with many details because it always has to be adjustable to the children’s needs and interests that may come up during the lessons. On the other hand I am a fun of the project-based learning so I will consider this specific plan as a part of a project, which is the whole procedure of helping her improve her Greek.
My student is Greek but she has never lived in or visited Greece and she has never met Greek children at her age (just adults). I am going to use Skype to connect with a kindergarten class in Greece so my student will have the chance to contact with Greek children at her age.
Subject matter: Social Science
Technology used: Skype, Webmail, PowerPoint, Google Earth,
Goals and Objectives:
- Understand that computers are used to support communication between people. Specifically one of goal is for my student to learn and familiarize herself with the ability to communicate through the digital learning materials. A further objective is for her to develop a wide variety of cognitive and social skills.
- Realize that the computer is a machine that mimics human thought, does calculations, informs, represents the reality, teaches, connects people to each other, overturning many of the space / time constraints.
- Understand the communication capabilities offered through services such as electronic mail, discussion lists, written conversation, etc., support the development of human communities converse, collaborate and interact.
- Other goals that have to do with the subject matter are more intercultural. An important goal is for my student to realize and accept the differences and similarities between regions (since she lives in a multicultural society). Another one is for her to come in contact with children of the same age from a distant and different place and try to find out ways to contact with them, since they are native speakers of the language she is trying to learn.
Through this activity many of theSTANDARDS,METSand GLCEs are being addressed.
STANDARDS:
Strand II. Geographic Perspective
Standard II.I Diversity of People, Places, and Cultures
Standard II.4 Regions, Patterns, and Processes
Standard II.5 Global Issues and Events
GCLEs:
GEOGRAPHY
G1 The World in Spatial Terms
Use geographic representations to acquire, process, and report information from a spatial perspective.
K – G1.0.1 Recognize that maps and globes represent places.
G2 Places and Regions
Understand how regions are created from common physical and human characteristics.
K – G2.0.1 Identify and describe places in the immediate environment
G5 Environment and Society
Understand the effects of human-environment interactions.
K – G5.0.1 Describe ways people use the environment to meet human needs and wants
METS:
BASIC OPERATIONS AND CONCEPTS
- understand that people use many types of technologies in their daily lives (e.g., computers, cameras, audio/video players, phones, televisions
- identify common uses of technology found in daily life
- use a variety of age-appropriate technologies for sharing information
SOCIAL, ETHICAL, AND HUMAN ISSUES
- identify common uses of information and communication technologies
- understand that technology is a tool to help complete a task
- understand that technology is a source of information, learning, and entertainment
- identify places in the community where one can access technology
TECHNOLOGY PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
- be aware of how to work with others when using technology tools (e.g., word processors, drawing tools, presentation software) to convey ideas or illustrate simple concepts relating to a specified project
TECHNOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS TOOLS
- identify procedures for safely using basic telecommunication tools (e.g., e-mail, phones) with assistance from teachers, parents, or student partners
- know how to use age-appropriate media (e.g., presentation software, newsletters, word processors) to communicate ideas to classmates, families, and others
TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH TOOLS
-know how to recognize the Web browser and associate it with accessing resources on the internet
-provide a rationale for choosing one type of technology over another for completing a specific task
TECHNOLOGY PROBLEM-SOLVING AND DECISION-MAKING TOOLS
- identify ways that technology has been used to address real-world problems (personal or community)
Description:
PREREQUEST:
WE HAVE ALREADY TALKED ABOUT SKYPE IN OUR PROJECT ABOUT METHODS OF COMMUNICATION AND WE HAVE CREATED A USERNAME AND A PASSWORD FOR OUR CLASS.
In the beginning we will watch a PowerPoint presentation with maps and photos from our city (East Lansing) and from my hometown in Greece (Thessaloniki)in my computer. We will talk about the photos and I will inform my student that we are going to connect with a kindergarten school in Thessaloniki. Then, in Google Earth we will locate East Lansing. My student will be encouraged to play around with the software and try to locate her school ,her house, my house, etc. Next we will move all the way around the globe and locate Thessaloniki.
The next step will be to connect through Skype with the Greek school. (My computer has a web camera and a microphone). The topic of teaching is intercultural; to introduce my student to the concept of diversity. It will begin with a variant of the game "everyone". In this game my student says the word "everyone” + a characteristic (e.g. everyone with blond hair). Then a quick music starts to play and children of the classin Thessaloniki with that characteristic stand up and start running around the chairs. Their teachers will be in charge of the music. When the music stops, the children will have to change positions because there is going to be one less chair every time. The child that cannot find a sit looses. Through this game my student will cooperate with the children in Thessaloniki and take initiatives.
We will disconnect and then will discuss about where she comes from and what she knows about her hometown. We will also discuss about the children of the Greek class and what she noticed about them (differences, and commonalities).
The next step is to connect again and move on to the next activity. The children in Thessaloniki will gather around the tables and make a traditional Greek salad, (as they usually make it there). And my student will make the Greek salad that usually people make in the U.S (which is different than the original). During this activity my student can see what preparations do the other kindergarten children. There will be an ongoing contact between her and the Greek class.
After making the salads, the Greek class and my studentwill presentthem and explain which and how many materials they used. Then we will just talk to each other, say goodbye and close the connection.
Finally we (me and my student) will write down the salad recipe and send it by e-mail to the Greek class. The same will do the children from Thessaloniki.
At the end we will discuss about what we experienced and I will try to ask my student my ‘essential questions” in a discussion form. I will ask her to share her experience with her family. Those two final conversations are going to provide me the information I need to assess the success of my lesson plan.
Through this activity the boundaries of the classroom are broken and through the openness of these borders in combination with the human interface between people of distant places, my student is being exposed to a multicultural environment.
She is able to communicate, meet and collaborate with others who are far away. The collaboration is remote. Her knowledge is being built in a supportive and authentic learning environment.
As an educational innovation, the proposed approach aims to eliminate the boundaries between traditional classroom and other environments that can serve as alternative learning environments
The technology of distant communication networks and the Internet are creating new environments that allow or support cooperation regarding a specific project, among people who are in spatial distance.
Content:
The basic content of the activity is multicultural. Also technology literacy can be considered as content of the activity, based on the goals and GLCE’s, METS and Standards that are being addressed.
The big ideas are the answers in my essential questions:
1.How can you talk to the other children?
2. Do you think that they can hear you and see you at the same time you are talking to them and see them?
3. Do you think that this(Skype) is the same as other videos you have seen before?
4. How can you communicate with these children? In which language?
5. Do you have anything in common with these children?
6.Can you describe similarities and differences between you, your fellow students and these children?
Pedagogy:
I have designed my lesson plan based on the Social Development theory (Vygotsky) according to which:
“Social interaction plays a fundamental role in process of cognitive development”.
My basic strategy is the interaction of my student with other students at the same age and the context in which these interactions are taking place. My student has to use the tools of speech and writing to develop her communicative needs. Also she plays an active role in her learning while I (teacher) am just a facilitator and coordinator in the whole educational process.
Content and Pedagogy:
According to the Social Development theory (constructivism), Children in early childhood develop socially when they work with individual children or groups, share and wait their turn, review and accept limits and rules. They develop their language skills when they listen and talk with children at their age and adults and when they express their ideas verbally. The goals and objectives of the lesson plan are close related to these developmental areas. The student needs to experience and active participate in the learning process to be able to built new knowledge on her past. The content of the lesson plan does not demand knowledge acquisition but development.
Technology:
The basic technology I am going to use is Skype. This tool has characteristics that distinguish it from the existing technology of visual aids (slides, video, etc). These characteristics are the hypermedia structure and the interactivity with he user.
With the communication of computers provided through the network, in cooperation with the telecommunications systems, people communicate directly to each other without significant delays and have the opportunity to expose to a multicultural environment.
Technology& Pedagogy:
The technology is going to be used in a pedagogical point of view. The use of Skype in this Lesson Plan helps in cognitive and language development of my student. It gives her the opportunity to interact with other children at her age. Theses interactions and experiences allow her to understand the relationship between “objects” and “events” and construct her knowledge.
At the same time the use of Skype promotes an educational setting different than the traditional classroom, in which students communicate and participate actively while each student may learn different things. The student becomes a producer of information and her learning is based on her own experience. The use of Skype makes the educational procedure more understandable, enjoyable and gives incentive for more exploration. My student also has the opportunity to work creatively with the other children, present her views, argue and decide. There is a positive correlation and direct personal contact between children.
Technology and Content:
The structure and the demands of the content removed from the traditional model of teaching as bringing necessary parameters for communicating with people from distance using specific technology (Skype). The communication via Skype is varied from the simple exchange of messages (as is done by email) to support interaction between children in an educational setting/program. Skype gives my student the opportunity to use spoken word that participates in the cognitive and emotional parts of learning. The oral language provides my student chances for effective interaction and supplies to be able to express thoughts, feelings and experiences.
The computer is also used in a way that shows itself in the mind of my student not as an autonomous subject, but as an everyday tool for learning and communication. The computer plays the role of tan open window to information and provides a forum for communication.
Assessment:
The essential question of my lesson plan is my guide for my assessment. These questions show what I want for my student to know. There is not a right or wrong answer to these questions, because I am more interested in understand my student’s understanding. Through the conversation I am going to have with her at the end of the activity I will try to find out what she gained from the process and possible misconception that might occur. Also an important tool for my assessment is the description of my student about her experience. Nobody is going to guide this description so I am going to have a more complete view of her understanding. I am not going to use technology in practice at this part of the activity