Running head: INTEGRATION OF TECHNOLOGY AND MEDIA RESOURCES

Integration of Technology and Media Resources

Ashley LeGrand
Regent University

In partial fulfillment of UED 495 Field Experience ePortfolio, Fall 2015

Introduction

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Technology and media resources dominate our world and its functionality. Rarely
does a person function without a smart phone on a daily basis. Technology captivates the
interest of many people; especially students, and it is a major tool in education. In todays
classroom, technology and media resources are avidly used on a daily basis. Promethium
boards are nicely hanging on one wall of every classroom in the front of an instructors
classroom to integrate technology and media resources for the love of learning.
Technology captivates the minds and hearts of all students; it enhances a teachers lessons
for instructional growth, and it can accommodate many students who have different
abilities and needs.
Rationale for Selection of Artifacts
For my first artifact, I decided to choose a well-known program at Betty F.
Williams Elementary that is used to promote reading and growth academically. Before
the first week of instruction began at Betty F. Williams, I noticed that the teachers,
Reading specialists, and the principle were all in agreement that independent reading is
one of the most important components to education; it is especially important for reading
comprehension, growth, and knowledge for all subjects. Furthermore, the staff wanted to
come up with a system that would promote reading, because the school barely passed the
Reading SOLs last school year. The school decided that a book challenge would help
them boost their scores this year.
The name of my first artifact is named Biblionasium. Biblionasium is a website
that is used school-wide to promote reading for all the students and also for the teachers.
Theres going to be a family library night that promotes Biblionasium to the students and

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toward their parents. The school wants each student to read twenty-five books by the end
of the year. Biblionasium is a program that records the students books. Each student gets
an avatar, and the students are linked to their classroom, so that they can find their
friends profiles in the program. The students are able to make a wish list of what books
they want to read; they can rate the books they have read with stars, they can make a
want to read book list, a want to own list of books, and they can create a favorite book
list. This website reminds me of the app on the kindle called Good Reads in a way, but it
is elementary leveled. The best part about it is, the students will receive individual awards
for the amount of books they read, and the class that has read the most books will get
rewarded at the end of the school year.
The teacher has the authority to monitor the academic progress of each student.
Also, the teacher has an avatar, so that she can be a role model to the students, and the
students can also look on their teachers profile to see what books she wants to read, is
reading, or has finished. Biblionasium is an excellent program that will captivate the
students and motivate them to succeed academically. However, each students goal is to
read twenty-five books. I was able to download books, rate books, and connect with
students through Biblionasium. It is a great database to promote reading and community.
The second artifact I decided to use is the Discovery Education website.
Discovery Education is a fabulous website for students and teachers. It is for the use of
teachers, and it has a variety of educational videos in many different subjects that are
resourceful in the classroom. It also has pre-made lesson plans, a site for help with
homework, and assignments. The site is most useful for its videos. All kinds of videos

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can be found from lower grade levels to upper grade levels. I really like that the Magic
School Bus series is on it. There are some free resources available; however, a
membership is necessary for the use of the entire website. I was able to use this website
to find movies that relate Social Studies. During my time with the fifth grade, we went to
Jamestown. Discovery has a search bar, and I was able to find a Jamestown video,
preview, and show it to the students before taking our field trip.
Reflection on Theory and Practice
Regent University has adequately prepared me for the use of technology
and media resources within the classroom. One class in particular was dedicated to
technology in Interdisciplinary Studies. We explored different technological resources in
each class meeting. One specific source studied was Discovery Education. I had already
known about this particular website before my cooperating teacher showed it to me in the
classroom. It is a valuable resource that I hope to integrate in my future classroom.
According to Instruction for all Students, technology such as the internet, social
media, smart phones, e-mail, graphic organizer programs, streaming videos, ipads,
PowerPoint, interactive whiteboards, and other technology learning tools should be
accessible in the classroom. Jeff VanDrimmelen is an academic computing expert from
UNC Chapel Hill. VanDrimmelen believes in using podcasts and online video for
instruction; furthermore, he thinks that enhancing a students learning will happen if the
instructor gives the students freedom in the use of technology for projects
(Edutechie.com). He also believes in allowing the students to use technologies that are of
most use (Rutherford, 2008).

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Most commonly websites are the most prominent learning tool used in an
elementary setting. There are thousands of websites that can be used to promote academic
growth in classroom. Teachers can assign websites to students to practice at home with
instructional games, assessments, and videos. Because of the internet, curriculum,
lessons, assessments, and remedial sessions online are being shared nation-wide, so that
teachers can work smart for their students rather than reinventing the wheel
(Rutherford, 2008, p. 27) for meeting specific learning targets. (Rutherford, 2008).
Regent University has ingrained in me how to become a teacher who is studentcentered rather than a teacher who is teacher-centered. With the use of technology,
student-centered learning is very possible, and it can be accommodated which helps so
much with differentiated instruction. For example, if a student is not able to see the text,
the text can be made larger for the student. For the students who may have learning
disabilities, headphones are available, so that certain programs can accommodate the
learner who may have trouble with decoding or comprehending during reading. As the
years come and go, technology is proving its worth within the classrooms, and the teacher
and students fully rely on the functionality of technology for progress and achievement.

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References
Rutherford,P.(2008).TechnologyIntegration.Instructionforallstudents.
(Seconded.,pp.2627).Alexandria,Virginia:JustASK

Publications&

ProfessionalDevelopment.
VanDrimmelen,J.(2006,October).EduTechie.com.RetrievedOctober11,2015.