Bringing technology in the classroom just for the sake of having it is not effective. The teacher must familiarize themselves first with the tool and then decide how it can be used in a class productively or whether it should even be used at all. This is much easier said then done. There are so many tools out there and it does take a great deal of effort, at least for those who are not tech-savvy, to get informed properly.
Here is a diagram that shows you the steps need when creating a lesson plan.(please visit the following site for the detailed version http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5 )
When I create a lesson plan, the first thing I look at are the objectives of the lesson in our teacher's guide. I teach at a Korean elementary school and I'm not given much freedom. I must teach the objectives of the book and not veer away from them in any way. Unfortunately, most of the lessons are terribly written and the students are either bored or clueless about the content. It's not the easiest environment to be in. Because of this, the use of technology is so important because it gets the students interested and paying more attention in class.
For example, last month. I had to teach the students about physical appearances. I first showed them a You Tube clip showing a variety of people with different appearances. The video was pretty funny and it caught the attention of the students right away. AWESOME! I find this initial step the most important because you are really trying to sell the topic to your students (like a salesman). If you can reel them in, they will be hooked for the rest of the class. I then showed them a Prezi that introduced the key points to the lesson. The last part of this class involved the students getting in groups and doing a web search of people and have them draw pictures of them. They were able to use their phones to access the internet. The technology I choose for this class was very appropriate because it complemented the objectives and helped to achieve the set goals.
For another lesson, I was teaching them about weather and I had them create a short video using their phones pretending that they were weather forecasters. I was very surprised with their creativity and their ability to collaborate with each other.
Ill admit that I have made mistakes in the past of just trying to make a lesson exciting and not really focus on the lesson objectives. Korean students want and expect a steady stream of games during the class and if you don't give them that, they have a tendency of not caring. The challenge here is to balance that fact they have to learn certain objectives and that they have to stay motivated. I've had co-teachers in the past just tell me to play games and not to focus on the lesson itself. I've been in classes where the co-teacher just shows them videos to keep them quiet or plays "bomb games" that are not even related to the lesson being taught.
My goal in the near future is to broaden my use of technology in class. I have been using certain tools religiously due to my comfort with them. I need to branch out because eventually my students will get bored of the tools. Once again, before bringing in the tool to the class, I must decide whether or not it will help with the lesson's objectives.
References
Milova, S.: Strategies for Effective Lesson Planning : retrieved from http://www.crlt.umich.edu/gsis/p2_5
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