KITE Case 1: 1105-1

Grade: 3
Subject: English/Language Arts
Technology Used: PowerPoint and Word Processing Software

Summary

A teacher of twenty-five years was motivated by state,

local, and international standards and the MAP testing to

improve student story writing through the use of collaboration

and technology. The students were allowed to work in groups

of two to create their own mystery stories. The students

collaborated and used their inspiration to create their story

maps and rough drafts using the Word Processing software.

Then, the students were able to create digital books from their

rough drafts using the PowerPoint software. The students

treated each slide as a page from a book and were able to add

their voices and sound to the presentation.

As the students worked on their mystery stories, the

teacher was constantly assessing student progress. The

teacher had multiple assessment checkpoints. For example,

the students were required to turn in their story maps, rough

drafts, and presentations in as they finished them. The teacher

used a rubric and anecdotal notes to evaluate the development

of the students stories and writing, and the teacher allowed

the students to present their stories to a group of first graders

(authentic audience). The teacher found that the project, along

with meeting the standards, promoted the students

motivation and communication and collaboration skills.

Reflections

KITE Case 1105-1 is a good example of technology use in

the classroom because it promotes the learning of the state,

local, and international standards, promotes the development

of life-skills (communication and collaboration), and allows for

authentic activities (presenting to an audience). The teacher

also allowed the students to act as investigators and producers

through the use of peer discussion and negotiation and

PowerPoint and Word Processing software. The teacher

facilitated the students in their discussions and negotiations,

but ultimately allowed them to decide what was best for their

story.

The PowerPoint and Word Processing software that was

used was very simple and commonly used but also appropriate

for the grade-level and the subject matter. The level of

technology use, associated with the SAMR model, in this lesson

would be the Modification level. The PowerPoint software was

used to redesign new parts of the activity because it aloud the

students to create their own audible books instead of paper-

back books.

Last but not least, through this lesson, the teacher met the

ISTE Standards for Educators in the Designer, Facilitator, and

Analyst areas. The teacher met the standards for the Designer

area by creating an authentic assignment, which was the

creation of a story using the PowerPoint software and

presenting it to first grade students. The teacher met the

standards for the Facilitator area by guiding the students in

their negotiations and discussions. Lastly, the teacher met the

standards for the Analyst area by using data from a rubric and

anecdotal notes to assess student progress. KITE Case 1105-1

is a technology-integrated lesson that could easily be modified

and used by teachers of multiple different grade levels.

Suggestions for Improvement

KITE Case 1105-1 is a very thorough and appropriate

example of the use of technology in education; therefore, there

is not much room for improvement or change. The lesson

could be improved, however, if the teacher had more

experience using the software. The teacher stated that the

class was new to the technology and that there was a couple of

technology issues that the teacher did not know how to solve.

That being said, the students could have had more time to use

the technology if the teacher knew some problem-solving

techniques for the technology.

 Also, the teacher stated that the students used the Word

Processing software to write their rough drafts, but the teacher

also stated that the project was very time consuming. One

thing that the teacher might take into consideration is letting

the students write their story maps and rough drafts on paper.

The students would get to use the extra time, saved from not

typing the rough draft and story map, to perfect their audio

books using the PowerPoint software. The Word Processing

software could possibly be used in another lesson.

KITE Case 2: 2007-1
Grade: 2
Subject: Science
Technology Used: PowerPoint (presentation software)

Summary

In KITE CASE 2007-1 students were required to conduct

research on a planet and create a PowerPoint presentation

outlining the facts of that planet. A teacher of fourteen years

taught second graders how to take their research and produce

PowerPoint presentations. The students conducted research

in the classroom and at home through books and Internet

resources. Then, the students organized their found

information with slides and graphs using the PowerPoint

software. The teacher also allowed the students to present

their presentations to an authentic audience (the classroom

parents). The teacher assessed the students achievement

using a rubric and observations and found that the students

exceeded the expectations, developed communication skills,

and were excited.

 Reflections

KITE Case 2007-1 is a good example of technology use in

the classroom because it utilized technology to enforce

curricular learning of the planets and promote the

development of communication skills. The technology helped

enforce curricular learning because it allowed the students to

create their own masterpieces using the information that they

searched for and found. The technology lesson promoted the

development of communication skills by allowing students to

participate in peer tutoring and by allowing students to

verbally present their presentations.

The technology was simple, but appropriately challenging

and interesting for second grade students. The level of

technology use, associated with the SAMR model, is the

Redefinition level. The students were able to utilize the

technology to participate in a new and unfamiliar learning task.

The last reason KITE Case 2007-1 is a good example of

technology use is because the teacher ensured that the

students received authentic and effective feedback through the

use of a rubric and the presenting audiences reactions.

Through implementation of this lesson, the teacher best met

the ISTE standards for educators in the area of Designer. To

meet the ISTE area of Designer the teacher must create

authentic, learner-driven activities that support learner

variability, which was achieved by allowing students research

information, create personalized presentations, and present

those presentations.

Suggestions for Improvement

KITE Case 2007-1 is an excellent source of reference

when considering technology in the classroom; however, every

lesson has room for improvement. The learning experience of

the lesson outlined in KITE Case 2007-1 could be improved by

allowing students to outline their research on paper before

starting the creation of the presentation. The teacher of this

lesson might consider providing the students with a graphic

organizer to outline the facts that they want to include on each

slide of the presentation before starting the PowerPoint

creation process. The teacher might want to consider the

graphic organizer, so the students would be able to fully

concentrate on how to create an effective PowerPoint

presentation and have more time playing with the elements of

the PowerPoint software.

KITE Case 3: 2006-1
Grade: 1
Subject: Science
Technology Used: Hyper Studio (presentation software) &
Internet searching

Summary

KITE Case 2006-1 outlined a lesson where eight first

grade students were able to conduct research and create a

presentation. The students were each given a computer and

explicitly instructed on how to conduct research for their

chosen dinosaur. The students were also given explicit

instructions on how to create a presentation of their found

information using Hyper Studio. The students were asked to

find the name, habitat, time error, and preferred food of their

dinosaur.

While the students researched and created their

presentations, the teacher emphasized the correct procedure

to following when researching, paraphrasing, and creating the

presentation. When the students finished their presentations,

they were able to present their presentations to the class. The

teacher assessed the students success through observations

and found that the students met expectations.

Reflections

KITE Case is a good example of technology use in the

classroom because students were able to use technology to

investigate and discover characteristics of dinosaurs while

learning the needed 21st century skills associated with

technology. Every student was able to have his or her own

computer and the teacher was able to spend ample amount of

one-on-one time with each student. The students were able to

learn, one-on-one, about the process of conducting research,

paraphrasing, and creating presentations.

Through teaching the lesson outlined in KITE Case 2006-

1, the teacher best met the ISTE standards for educators in the

area of Facilitator and achieved the SAMR level of Redefinition.

The ISTE standards for educators were met in the area of

Facilitator because the teacher continuously guided and

monitored the first graders to ensure that they were on the

right track. Lastly, the SAMR level of Redefinition was met

because the students were able to discover and learn

curricular and technology knowledge using new and unfamiliar

tasks.

Suggestions for Improvement

KITE Case 2007-1 outlined a lesson that gave students an

interesting a new way to learn; however, there may be

significant room for improvement. The two aspects of the

lesson that should be considered for improvement are the

researching and assessing aspects. The teacher of the lesson

might want to consider allowing the students to use a graphic

organizer to organize the information they find as they conduct

their research. Graphic organizers help students visually

organize their information, so the Hyper Studio presentation

will be easier for them to organize and create. Lastly, the

teacher might also want to consider assessing student success

using a rubric. A rubric will allow the students to know exactly

what the teacher expects and will allow the teacher to see

exactly which student is falling behind and in what area.