Running head: MODULES PAPER 1

Modules Paper

Caitlin Troy

State University of New York College at Oneonta

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Modules Paper

Introduction

Technology and the role it plays in classrooms are constantly changing and

advancing. Education looks vastly as it did five years ago and as it will five years from

now. Due to these advancements, educators and professionals in schools need to be aware

and able to adapt to meet the demands and developments of technology to support

students and their classrooms practices. Unfortunately, there are limitations to teachers to

having an education and able to meet the requirements to effectively and efficiently

implement educational technology in their teaching practices.

Opportunities to advance their learning through professional developments might

not be accessible in location or cost efficient. Teachers might not also be committed to

having the motivation and dedicating the time to push themselves in this work to learn

new skills. However, there are alternatives to these barriers on teachers and school staff

not accessing educational opportunities on technology resources and tools. Professional

development can occur through modules, or tutorial videos, to obtain the education on

various resources regarding technology in classrooms. The video tutorials in these

modules can combat the issues described above regarding why educators don’t attend

professional development opportunities because the videos can be accessed anywhere and

at any time for ongoing help and support.

Using Google Forms in the Classroom

Impact on teachers

Google applications are a revolutionary platform that is not only changing

education, but also the world. Google applications creates opportunities for collaboration
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and communication while being extremely accessible for students, parents, and teachers.

Google applications, like Google Forms, now creates engagement in student learning as

well as differentiation to the diverse needs of learners. For learning to be meaningful and

relevant for students, teachers should be continuously collect data from assessments to

ensure that students are understanding learning objectives.

Google Forms is an incredibly beneficial tool for both formal and informal

assessments. “One of the primary benefits of using Google Forms is its ability to help

instructors assess – in real time – how well students understand learning materials and to

uncover student misconceptions, which helps instructors steer students to higher-level

understanding” (Kim, 2011). Using and utilizing resources, like Google Forms, to

implement assessment in instructor is extremely important and to making the learning

more meaningful. With Google Forms, educators can analyze and compare both

individual student responses as well as an organized representation of the whole class

responses. It’s a simple, free, and versatile tool that educators can implement and take

advantage of in many ways.

Impact on students

Google Forms positively impacts student engagement and student learning in

classrooms. Students in modern classrooms are digital natives and are comfortable with

technology and using it in various modalities. Using Google Forms in the classroom, will

push the caliber of student work and hold students more accountable for the work they

are producing. In regards to Google Forms, “this not only helps to organize assignments

for you, but creates an element of accountability that cannot be reproduced in the

classroom – students have to turn the work in, and they have to turn it in on time. Within
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the for, date and time of each entry is recorded, and you can sort, search, or organize any

of the information included” (Long, 2016). Through Google Forms, teachers can hold

students accountable and have a high standard of work that will benefit students in their

future education and career endeavors.

Using EDPuzzle in the Classroom

Impact on teachers

EdPuzzle is an online platform where educators can pull videos from dozens of

websites, or YouTube videos in general, to integrate in their classrooms. When teachers

find a video, they want students to engage in, they can encode questions throughout the

video that gives them instant and specific results from the question of each student.

EdPuzzle has access to thousands of Khan Academy videos that can support students in

their understanding in various mathematics topics. According to Light (2014), the journal

studied five schools where teachers used Khan Academy. The studied stated according to

Light (2014), “we found that the way Khan Academy functions as a digital learning

environment changes the ways and the degree to which students engage with and are

engaged by the math content; it also changes the way teachers and students interact with

each other” (p. 111). Teachers should utilize EdPuzzle in their classroom, in some form,

so they can support students by providing them a deeper understanding on math topics

through videos and corresponding questions.

Impact on students

Integrating technology into lesson instruction can play a major role on students

who are more visual and auditory learners, can increase students’ motivation, and can

result in overall higher success. Ozerbas (2016) stated that “the research findings show
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that the academic success of the students in the experimental group, who learn in a digital

classroom, is higher than the success of the students in the control group, who learn in the

classroom without any digital technologies” (p. 209). EdPuzzle is a helpful way for

students to be cognitively engaged in the lesson by providing video options on new

content. Students can follow along with the video and participate in checks for

understanding through questions encoded in the video and apply their newly learned

knowledge to those problems. This technology is an alternative to the traditional way of

education that can positively impact student learning.

Using Merlot.org

Impact on teachers

Merlot.org is a beneficial online resource that opens the door for teachers to a

plethora of online learning and support materials. Planning engaging learning experiences

for students is a common goal that all teachers across the nation work to meet every

instructional day. With a connected society with tools like Merlot.org, the opportunities

for educators to share content has drastically increased. “Done properly with the right

technology, lightening the planning load through collaboration should not only result in

the best quality content being delivered to more students, but also enable teachers to

focus on the ever important demands of classroom management and student-teacher

relationships” (Hubbard, 2016). Merlot.org is a platform where educators can search for

various resources with set filters regarding types of learning activities, specific age range,

and varied digital technologies. It’s convenient and user friendly which can help teachers

find what they’re looking for more quickly and effortlessly. When teachers are less
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burdened on the demands of lesson planning, they can shift to their focus and put more

effort into other aspects of the profession.

Impact on students

Merlot.org allows teachers to pull from various lessons, activities, and resources

that are catered to the needs and demands of specific students and classes. When lessons

are purposefully planned with the goal of meeting student needs, then students benefit

greatly from differentiated technological resources in their classes. When considering

technology, “researches have recognized that these students learn differently thus

teaching should adapt to avoid abandonment and improve the success of these digital

natives” (Esteves, 2018, p. 125). Teachers can truly find lesson materials and activities

that can be specifically catered to the needs of their students. When lessons are planned

purposefully and mindfully, the students will benefit greatly because they are

participating in activities that are carefully selected for their learning. Merlot.org is an

online platform that allows teachers to strategically search and pick ideas and lessons to

benefit this student body growing up in the digital age.

Feedback

Fellow colleagues were initially very impressed at the convenience and efficiency

of being able to watch video clips on various technology tools and resources that they are

interested in. They were pleased the video clips were short, yet provided a lot of

information. These teachers also appreciated that the clips were interactive and came with

a handout so they have options to engage visually by watching the video and engage by

reading the information. They did say it would’ve been beneficial to see specifically how

teachers use these technologies in their lesson. Potentially show a clip or clips on teachers
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in front of students or explaining how in their planning they use either Google Forms,

EdPuzzle, or Merlot.org. However, they expressed that they could see themselves using

at least one of the three technologies in their classroom because the videos did make it

seem simple and realistic to implement I their classrooms.

Summation

Technology in the classroom is becoming more and more predominant. The

implementation of technology in classrooms has completely changed how teachers teach

and how student learn. To create the more productive and educational learning

environment possible, teachers need to be strategic and efficient about how they are

integrating content and technology. Having access to the tools and resources is not

enough to ensure that technology is being used properly and the most efficiently in

classrooms. Educators seeking out professional development opportunities is integral to

the success of educational technology. Professional development can occur through

modules or video tutorials that provide the convenience and immediate information that

all busy teachers can benefit from.

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References

Esteves, M. (2018). micaela. dinis@ipleiria. P., Pereira, A. angela. Pereira@ipleiria. p., Veiga,

N. nuno. viego@ipleiria. p., Vasco, R. rvasco@ipleiria, p., & Veiga, A. anabela.

veiga@ipleiria. p. (n.d.). https://doi/org/10.3991/ijep.v8i2.8146

Hubbard, Peter. (2016). 10 Benefits of Digital Planning for Teachers. Retrieve from

https://www.teachthought.com/pedagogy/10-benefits-of-digital-planning-tools-for-

teachers/

Kim, Dong-gook. (2011). Using Google Forms for Student Engagement and Learning. Retrieved

from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2011/3/using-google-forms-for-student-engagement-

and-learning

Long, Nicole. (2016). 5 More Ways to Use Google Forms in the Classroom. Retrieved from

http://blog.whooosreading.org/5-more-ways-to-use-google-forms-in-the-classroom/

Light, D., & Pierson, E. (2014). Increasing Student Engagement in Math: The Use of Khan

Academy in Chilean Classrooms. International Journal Of Education & Development

Using Information & Communication Technology, 10(2), 103-119.

Ozerbas, M. A., & Erdogan, B. H. (2016). The effect of the digital classroom on academic

success and online technologies self-efficacy. Educational Technology & Society, (4),

203.