Collaboration and Technology in the Classroom: Challenges and Benefits

My group and I first began this assignment by seeking for an online educational game that we felt would assist 2nd and 3rd grade students in their science class. With our target grade and subject in mind, we searched for games on different kid websites and search engines. Amongst the hundreds of different games we individually played and reviewed, we finally found a game called “Food Chain Game.” Even with our varying majors and work ethics, we managed to find this game posthaste. Through proper communication, finding this game and agreeing to it took minimal effort. “Food Chain Game” is an online educational game that assists students in identifying the different components in a food chain and its cycles. In addition, the game allows students to improve on the following cognitive skills: thinking, decision-making, memory, attention, and understanding of new material. Having selected a game, our next task was to create a rubric.

Rubrics are an important evaluation tool for teachers in which helps to assess a student’s performance. According to Brookhart (2019), “Rubrics are important because they clarify for students the qualities their work should have” (para. 21). Because two of my group mates and I have never created a rubric before, we were clueless about how to begin; this was the only challenging part. Fortunately, we were able to talk with our other group members who are experienced at creating rubrics about how to start. First, we discussed what we wanted to assess and what kind of rubric we wanted to use. After our discussion, we then proceeded to create our criteria. We gladly assisted each other throughout the process of creating our rubric by collaborating with our ideas as well as listening to each other’s opinions. I have seen the progression of my group mates and I from when we first began this task to when we finished. Although we began this task with cluelessness, we finished it with gained knowledge. 

The “Food Chain Game” has many features beneficial for students in my content area. Since I am majoring in Elementary Education, this game will serve a useful purpose for 2nd and 3rd grade students in their science class. The game would not only help increase the student’s understanding of the concept of a food chain, but it will also accommodate those who are visual and auditory learners. Prior to introducing this game, I will present the lesson on the food chain with a variety of hands-on activities. Thus, the “Food Chain Game” will only serve as a simple review activity of what students in my content area are learning. Sushma (2019) stated in her article “A simple activity is an effective way to help students learn” (para. 5). Students will be able to apply what they are being taught in the classroom, regarding the food chain, and connect those classroom objectives to those in the game. Once the students are finished completing each phase in the game, their number of mistakes will be shown. The number of each students’ mistakes will help me, as their teacher, determine how far they have understood the concept and whether or not I have to implement other effective food-chain related activities.

As a college student and a future educator, I believe that there are many benefits of implementing the use of technology in classrooms. Technology offers teachers various resources that could assist students with their learning development and contribute to their academic success. However, if ever I come across an online educational game assignment that I decide to use in my teaching pedagogy, I will revise it so that it does not remove the value of in-class learning. Students would be able to play the game while simultaneously answering a handout consisting of higher order thinking questions (hot q’s). The questions will assess the student’s level of understanding and comprehension of the game. Students will be tasked to make predictions about the game before playing it and confirm those predictions after. Students would also be tasked to put into their own words the purpose and importance of the game as well as a summary of what they have learned from playing the game. The students’ summary can include key elements from the game or anything in particular that stood out to them. Having students complete the higher-order thinking questions handout will encourage them to think critically. By promoting these kinds of questions, students are expected to evaluate the information rather than simply remembering the facts. 

My group and I used a variety of technology tools to help us complete this assignment. To create our rubric, we shared with each other a google spreadsheet. On the spreadsheet, we were able to input our ideas for the rubric as well as our individual scores. Google spreadsheet was an easy online tool for my group and I to navigate. Its simplistic design and layout allowed us to easily add and remove columns as well as color-code each cell. Besides google spreadsheet, we also utilized Prezi. Prezi is one of the many online presentation software that allowed my group and I to deliver our presentation based on our online educational game. Although Prezi is a commonly used online presentation tool among many students and individuals, we felt glued to it for one reason. Unlike most online presentation software, Prezi allowed us to share the presentation with each other so that we could access it both at home and at school without having to physically meet up. This sharing feature enabled us to update the presentation whenever it was most convenient due to our conflicting schedules. 

This assignment has taught me many things. I learned the importance of collaboration as well as proper communication in group-related work. In addition, I learned how to create a rubric based on what I am trying to assess. I also learned that the use of technology in the classroom has many benefits. As technology continues to advance, the more resources will be available for us as future educators. I hope that with all these technological resources that I will be able to use, I could instill a lifelong love of learning in the younger generations to come. 

References

Brookhart, Susan M. (2019). How to Create and Use Rubrics for Formative Assessment and Grading. ASCD Learn. Teach. Lead. Retrieved October 12, 2019, from http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/112001/chapters/What-Are-Rubrics-and-Why-Are-They-Important%C2%A2.aspx

Sushma. (2019). Understanding the Food Chain: A Second Grade Science Lesson Plan. Bright Hub Education. Retrieved October 12, 2019, from https://www.brighthubeducation.com/lesson-plans-grades-1-2/50121-food-chain-lesson-plan/