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=​ Integrating Technology into Research-based Strategies= 

Sixth graders are a wonderful caliber of learners. They are developing their higher level learning skills and beginning to apply what they know to real life situations. They are becoming contributing citizens to society. Our project incorporates nine research-based learning strategies into the sixth grade curriculum using technology which will not only successfully teach the students the information, but will excite and engage them on their own technological terms.  Our community is located in an upper middle class suburb. Close to seventy percent of the community's adult population holds some sort of college degree. The district enrollment is 1,982 students with dedicated parent groups at each grade level which provide grants to finance educational ventures supporting state standards. The school has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School.

Our particular class of sixth graders consists of 25 students, 11 girls & 14 boys. Their learning abilities range from low to average. There are no accelerated learners in this class. There is a cluster of four lower level learners in this class who receive extra services from a Learning Specialist. The Learning Specialist assists the classroom teacher while in the classroom, but will sometimes pull her students out off the classroom when the topics/behaviors deems it necessary. There is one ELL in the class who receives customized services thirty minutes twice a week from an ESL instructor. There are no physically handicapped students in our class.

There are 420 students in the building which houses grades 4-6. The demographic breakdown of the building is: 97% White/Caucasian, 1% Asian, 1 % Black, and 1% Other. Our sixth grade class has been instructed in technology since kindergarten, therefore they are knowledgeable in computer and internet skills. Our students, like all digital natives, love technology and are excited to dive right into new applications with or without instruction.

Our classroom is equipped with a SMART Board which can be hooked up to the teacher’s laptop and projector. The laptop has the following software installed:


 * Microsoft Word
 * Microsoft Excel
 * Microsoft PowerPoint
 * Microsoft Publisher
 * Microsoft Outlook
 * Inspiration & Kidspiration
 * Adobe Writer & Reader
 * SMART Notebook
 * Turning Point
 * Timeliner
 * Audacity
 * Flip Camera Editing Software
 * Internet (access through the district server)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Our classroom also has one television with DVD/VHS combo unit and five individual PC computers which are hooked to Thin Clients instead of hard drives (run directly to the district servers – cannot run CD-ROMS, jump drives etc. but can access the internet and all the programs installed on the server) each with one set of headphones.

The class also has access to two computer labs in the building which each containing 25 computers. There are 10 additional computers in the building’s media center. The media center also houses other equipment which teachers may borrow. These include:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Microphone/headset combinations (reduce background noise when recording audio files)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Headphones
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Flip Cameras
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Digital Cameras
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Projectors
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">DVD players
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Classroom set of iClickers

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">All computers have access to the internet. If the student has signed and returned the district’s Acceptable Use Policy, the student is assigned a user name and password and is allowed to use the computers and access the internet. The school purchases several online resources including:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">INFOhio (contains many resources including online encyclopedias, art collections, biographies, newspaper collections, magazine indexes etc.)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Maps101
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">United Streaming
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Culture Grams
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Novelist
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">BrainPop

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">There is a plethora of options available for our instructor to utilize when trying to integrate technology. Digital natives thrive on using technology so incorporating it whenever possible is almost always going to make the lesson more interactive, exciting and engage the learners on a more personal note. When the students are engaged they learn more, find it easier to apply previous knowledge and scaffolding becomes second nature. The key to successful technology integration lies in the instructor's hands. The instructor must embrace the technology and be comfortable with it. If the digital immigrant shows any apprehension, the digital natives will become restless and teacher will lose her audience. If on the other hand the immigrant shows excitement the natives will remain attentive and both the natives and immigrant will learn together.

Submitted By Group One: Jamie Dalton, Karen Gedeon, Denise Goble, Carolyn Petite