Engage. Make It So.

Technology in Education
A Manual for Teachers on Integrating Information and Computer
Technology (ICT) in Instruction
Wai Kin Chan, 28th October 2014
http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Honestly, Im not a Star Trek fan, but in creating this manual for teachers interested in ways to infuse
technology in instruction, a few famous quotes from the show really resonated with the topic. Now if youre a
fan of Star Trek, well, maybe youll just be able to determine who Ive quoted and which specific moment in a
specific episode/series the statement is made (without the use of Google or Wikipedia)! This manual is
intended as a guide for teachers who would like to learn about educational technology, the benefits of using it
in the classroom, and how to apply ICT tools to lessons and assessment.

What planet is this? The Whys of Teaching with technology.

Technology lends itself to the principles of inclusion and differentiation: Good for all, necessary for
some.
Our young learners are what some call digital natives, theyve grown up with technology in their
blood. Instead of a classroom of students thinking, Beam me up, Scotty,why not use technology to
engage them? Technology can hold their attention, reduce off-task behaviour and get learners to
collaborate and communicate.
Technology provides a voice, a different communication channel, an outlet for emotions and creativity
for students. Some students rely on this channel to blossom e.g. students with presentation anxiety,
students with autism or vision impairment
Collaboration & Participation - I said it above, and Im saying it again, technology can be used in such a
way that fosters collaborative spirit in the classroom and promotes full(er) participation. It also
provides a means for students to provide feedback to each other (assessment as learning), or to
reflect on ones own work (e.g. through a blog), and often, a quick way for teachers to provide
formative feedback to students.
The variety and nature of educational technology lends themselves to choice for the student. Provide
suggestions, but let the student choose the tools that suit him/her best. Lets face it, a presentation is
a presentation, whether you do it with notes in hand, Powerpoint, Prezi, Animoto, Youtube video or
another form. Choice for students often accompanies increased motivation and ownership.

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Overload! Overload! Overload! Mindset is everything.

Im giving her all that shes got, Captain. I understand that it can be overwhelming sometimes, but be
persistent, be determined and stay optimistic. The way you think (and act) rubs off on your students. Eat,
breath, sleep, dream inclusive practices. Here are a few things I try to live by:
Put yourself in your students shoes
Research or drag out those old teacher education notes on Multiple Intelligences, Learning Styles, and
Learning Models and apply them in your instruction
Remember that technology integration is necessary for some but generally good for all
Develop a spirit of curiosity and risk taking - if one tool fails, try another.
Share - speak to other colleagues, blog, research and share your learning with other educators
Dont be overwhelmed by the choice of tools out there, marvel at it, embrace it. Try some tools,
discard others, and start coming up with your own personal tech tool-set for your group of students
Select from your tech tool-set to customise for the learning needs of individual students. In the tech
landscape (it does not differ from other pedagogical approaches), one size fits most, but not all.
Know that your tech tool-set will continually evolve
Expect the unexpected. This could include a well planned lesson or tool that failed, or simply wifi
connection dropping. Stay on the ball, and remember that learning continues even if the technology
fails.
I have been, and always shall be your friend - Make technology your friend, that friend that will help
you become a better teacher, to strive to find creative and new ways to engage your students
Let them eat static! - ok, for those colleagues who are adamant that technology is insurmountable
and a foe, let them be, technology is a part of our lives whether we like it or not, and stay on your own
course.

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Me to We? Great! But please dont forget the ME in me.

Get to know your students so you know what tools might work for them. We focus a lot on building community
in the classroom, and that is important. But take the time to reflect on and to really get to know the individual this is particularly important prior to and in the early stages of teaching the student, to determine what
strategies and tools might help this student learn best. Heres some tips on getting to know your students and
your class composition
Consult OSR (student records)/IEPs
Speak to Special Education team, a SERT and previous teachers about a students background,
strengths and challenges
Ask other educators if they have samples of the students previous work
Its a give and take: to help some students open up, share some about yourself. Make them laugh laughter can do so much to form connection, even for the most behaviourally challenged students
Above all of the points aforementioned, talk and connect with your students, about their lives, their
hobbies, their families, their friends, their heritages. Bring their lives into the classroom and into your
lessons, and use technology to help forge those connections (e.g. videos, websites)

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Lets see whats out there! The tools

To get you started, below are some key features of a few apps that are my absolute favourites.

(i) GAFE
Google Apps for Education (GAFE) is a suite of apps for educational purposes. Below are descriptions of just a
few apps.
Gmail is more than for sending emails. Did you know you can send text, voice and video chat with
other teachers and among students?

Drive - Manage all your files from one place. Heres where you share files for others to comment or
collaborate on. You choose who you share with, what is shared and the sharing permissions.

Docs - Create documents with images, equations, tables, links. Those you share with may be able
to comment on the document and provide feedback. Similarly, you can provide feedback to your
students by highlight parts of the document or a single word, and commenting on it. You cant get
more specific than that when it comes to providing feedback to your students.

Sheets - Create and collaborate in real-time on spreadsheets, lists, analyse data, charts and much
more.

Slides - Create and collaborate in real-time on presentation slides with embedded videos,
animations and slide transitions.
Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Forms - Create surveys or quizzes, where data is automatically collecting in a spreadsheet and charts
are easily generated. There are many creative applications to Forms, including collecting contact
information, Exit Tickets, collecting homework, and creating rubrics.

Sites - Quickly and easily create websites e.g. class website, project websites, with pre-built
templates. No coding experience is necessary.

View web pages and text in other languages. There is a speaker button that reads the text aloud to
you - perfect for students with special needs or language learners.

Some benefits of using GAFE are listed below:

Cloud-based: Emails, documents, calendar and sites are available anytime, on almost any device and
from anywhere. No more lost/misplaced files for your students, unless of course the homework was
eaten by a virtual dog.
Collaboration: Ease of use and promotes collaboration across geographic boundaries e.g. peer
editing, shared writing.
Accessibility: Younger learners and students with writing or motor skill issues greatly benefit from
certain apps, such as Translate, Docs. The collaborative nature of GAFE gives these students the
opportunity to participate and collaborate where they might not normally have the opportunity or
ability to do so.
Efficiency: Aids in timely feedback and communication between teacher and students. Real-time
collaboration allows the streamlining of academic and administrative tasks.
Go Green: Help reduce the amount of use of paper and ink.
Safe and secure: Your data is yours. It is safe and secure.
Add-ons: More and more apps are being developed that are integrated with GAFE. For example,
MindMeister is a mind-mapping app - you can copy the mind map directly into Google Doc and it can be
used in other Google apps from the GAFE suite. Other add-ons include thesaurus, Rhyme Finder (to find
rhyming words), Draw.io (for flowcharts, diagrams) and Geogebra.

(ii) Bitstrips
Comics are not just for the kids in us, its for the kids we
teach! Students simply love Bitstrips, an educational app that
allows students (and teachers) to quickly create comics with
curricular-connections, including critical thinking, digital
storytelling, media literacy, emotion regulation and
inference-making. Students create characters with actions
and emotions, and choose props and scenes. Search for
curriculum-relevant activities to assign to students and review
Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

and provide feedback individually. The best part is, it hooks students using a medium they love, all the while
developing their skills through reading, creating, collaborating and communicating. The creative nature of
Bitstrips suits well to meet the needs of students with special needs, including students with autism, students
with motor/sensory-issues and ELLs.

(iii) QR Code Generator & Reader:

If you are working with younger learners, URL addresses can pose a problem. Instead of having your students
type the URL, they scan/read a QR Code (a sort of 2-dimensional barcode) and this code takes them via a link
directly to a website. First, youll need to install a QR code reader on your device, such as QR Reader by
www.tapmedia.co.uk. Once installed, scan the QR code below to see where it takes you.

To create your own QR Codes, there are many free generators out there. Do a Google search to find one.
Heres just one example, www.qrstuff.com - just enter the URL you want your students to be directed to, and
presto, your QR code is created!

(iv) Explain Everything

Explain Everything is an interactive whiteboard and screencasting tool. It is more
than a presentation and video-creation tool. It lets the students become the
teachers in some cases, and allows them to elaborate on their understanding in an
engaging environment. Teachers can create lessons using Explain Everything and
share this with students and other teachers. Students can easily insert documents,
pictures and videos and record a narration (voice over) accompanied by cursor
movements, annotation tools (pen, paint), zoom and pan.

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Constructivism isnt just for our students, its for us as educators as well. The best way forward in my opinion, is
for you to do a little more research on a few ICT Tools Ive selected below for you to consider:

Collaborative/Productivity Tools: Google Apps for Education - GAFE (Docs, Spreadsheet, Slides,
Forms, Drawing and Add-ons)
Web-Conferencing: Skype, Google Hangouts
Social Learning Platforms: Edmodo (the Facebook-like experience in an education setting), Twitter,
Facebook, Tumblr, Ning
Mindmapping/Flowcharts: MindMeister, Draw.io
Organisation/Annotation/Bookmarking: Diigo, Pinterest, Personal Crocodoc
Presentation/Media Creation: Prezi, Animoto, Weebly, Explain Everything, Educreations, Meograph,
Thinglink, Glogster
Animation/Comic: Bitstrips, Toontastic, Puppetpals, ComicLife, Xtranormal
Accessibility: QR Code Generator/Reader, Universal Access on Mac products (zoom feature, cursor
and font sizes, voice over), WordQ, Dragon
Literacy Development: Reading A-Z, Tumblebooks, Linktolearning.com, Google Translate
Numeracy Development: Math Trek/Trek de Math, Aquamath 3, Netmaths, National Library of Virtual
Manipulatives, Linktolearning.com

Make it so! - Lesson and assessment Ideas.

Youre probably wondering how all this talk on tech in the classroom really translates when it comes to lesson
planning and assessment.
On the GAFE website, there are lessons that others have created already using the various apps http://www.google.com/intx/en/work/apps/education/resources/lesson-plans.html.

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Below are just a few more ideas on how you could incorporate technology in lessons and assessment.
Sample 1: Math - Data Management Lesson
Create a simple survey on www.surveymonkey.com
Use a QR code generator to take students to the survey
Analyse the results of the charts in Surveymonkey
Answer a short quiz on Google Forms

Sample 2: Math - Multiplication Lesson (Multiplication using equal groups)

Create a Google Drawing file with 24 identical images of an object e.g. Pokemon.
Make copies for the file for the number of groups of students you have e.g. 5 groups, each with 4
students.
Have each group create one way to make equal groups of the Pokemon objects.
Show results from the 5 groups - ideally youd see a variety of ways of grouping i.e. 24 = 2 x 12 = 6 x 4
=4x6
Have students use Explain Everything to create an example of their own of multiplication as equal
groups.
Have students visit the Aquamath 3 website (Learnalberta.ca) and complete the activities related to
multiplication

Sample 3: English/French Language Arts - Retell

Use a data projector to project a book as you do a read aloud or, have students listen to a book read on
Reading A-Z or Tumblebooks.
Have students complete a template created in Google Docs for a Retell of the beginning, middle and
end of the story, answering questions about the characters, plot, setting.
Students who have issues with writing can use WordQ to help with word prediction and spelling
(WordQ can read the text back to the student to make sure that what theyve written makes sense).
Have students share their document for peer feedback and make edits to their Retell.
Have students listen to another Tumblebooks/Reading A-Z book, and then complete another Retell
individually on Google Docs. Alternatively, have them do the retell using Bitstrips, Xtranormal or
Puppetpals.
Have students complete a Check-In on Google Forms to see how they felt about the task and what they
learnt from the peer feedback.

Sample 4: French Language Arts - Weather Report

As part of a weather unit, connect via Skype or Google Hangouts with another class in a different
country or province, and have students practicing asking questions relating to the weather
Use Google Spreadsheet to collect data over the course of 3 weeks regarding weather patterns e.g.
temperature at certain times of the day, whether it is sunny/rainy/cloudy etc.
Plot the chart on Google Spreadsheet
Watch Youtube videos on weather reporting as a model
Use Voicethread or iMovie to create a video to present the weather
Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Sample 5: French Language Arts - This is my life

Create and show a sample self introduction using an animation or presentation app e.g. Xtranormal,
Voki, Prezi, Animoto
Create a Google Doc with checklist co-developed with students of success criteria for an effective
presentation
Use Rubistar.com to create a rubric for a presentation, tweaking the rubric to include the success
criteria
After viewing a second time your self-intro presentation, have students analyse potential topics
covered through self introduction e.g. hobbies, likes/dislikes, friends, family, school etc. Have them
brainstorm and collect ideas on Popplet
Do a Google Forms survey to get information about what they liked or disliked about the presentation,
what could be improved
Have students use a mindmapping tool, whether Popplet, MindMeister or another, to come up with
their topics for their self-introduction presentation
Have students create their self-intro presentation using an animation or presentation app of their
choice
Share presentations with class

Sample 6: Math/Science - Falling Structures

Deliver a Google Slides or SmartBoard lesson about stable structures and geometric properties of
simple polygons (e.g. number of sides, vertices, right angles)
Show students videos on Youtube or Learn360 on various structures around the world e.g. Burj Dubai,
Petronas Towers, Sydney Opera House
Ask students to identify 2-d shapes and 3-d figures in the structures they saw in the video and share
their thoughts on Padlet or Google Docs
Show students videos on how to create animation using Google Slides
Have students use Google Slides to create an animation of a structure using polygons that tumbles
Use Google Forms to do an Exit Card about stable structures and/or quiz about attributes of polygons

Sample 7: English/French Language Arts - Procedural Writing

Show students websites with recipes and/or videos that pertain to procedures
Create a Google Doc together on procedural writing i.e. characteristics, this document will be used to
co-develop success criteria
Have students create their own procedure using a productivity or presentation app e.g. Google Doc,
Slides, Prezi
Have peers provide feedback based on success criteria
For students with special needs, ensure availability of assistive technology e.g. text-to-speech, Word Q
(word prediction, spelling), Dragon dictation
Also ensure availability of language reference websites/apps e.g. wordreference.com, larousse.fr

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Where are we going?

Its up to you now how and where you navigate your journey. In the spirit of Star Trek, go boldly where no one
has gone.. well, with a little searching, youll very likely find that many teachers have gone where you are
planning to go and if that path is not yet discovered, go out there and make that path yourself and take a
few people for the ride. Make time to learn, connect and reflect.
A couple of quotes to close off this manual and to wish you well on your tech journey.

I like to believe that there are always possibilities

Warp speed ahead

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com

Resources - Information:
Explain Everything:
http://www.morriscooke.com/applications-ios/explain-everything-2

Google Apps for Education (GAFE):

http://www.google.com/intx/en/work/apps/education/products.html
http://www.edudemic.com/5-great-ways-use-google-forms/

Integrating Information & Computer Technology Part 2 Additional Qualification - IICT Part 2 AQ Course,
ETFO, Fall Session 2014
QR Codes:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QR_code

QR Code Generator:
www.qrstuff.com

QR Code Reader:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/qr-reader-for-iphone/id368494609?mt=8
www.tapmedia.co.uk

Resources - Images:

Enterprise - http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/2/29/STIn_Beauty.jpg
Green planet http://www.wallpaperup.com/208208/STAR_TREK_sci-fi_action_adventure_television_spaceship_planet_space
_stars_nebula_f.html
Phaser - http://gizmodo.com/a-star-trek-phaser-tv-remote-is-perfect-for-fast-forwar-1604793630
Spock - http://www.paperdroids.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/spock-leornard-nimoy-star-trek-tos.jpg
Computer - eytanuliel.files.wordpress.com/2013/11/usb.jpg
Transporter - http://precisiondrum.com/startrek.jpg
Window: http://filmjunk.com/images/weblog/treknobabble50_2.jpg
GAFE images: http://www.google.com/intx/en/work/apps/education/products.html
Bitstrips images: http://www.bitstripsforschools.com
QR Code image: www.qrstuff.com
Explain Everything: http://www.morriscooke.com/applications-ios/explain-everything-2

Engage. Make It So. A Manual for Integrating ICT in Instruction. By: Wai Kin Chan. http://chezchan.wordpress.com