Technology Lesson Plan

As I'm sitting here trying to put the finishing touches on my lesson plan using Google Earth, I have an audience. The children that I'm a nanny for (twin 6-year old boys and a 4-year old girl) are watching over my shoulder, and asking to go "underwater and to the moon" because I showed them the google earth program.

I usually save my homework for early mornings when they're sleeping and at night when I'm home, but events this morning made me want to take out my newly discovered program and share it with them. The boys were playing their Wii and I heard one of them yell "I learned how to do the jump!". Well, I thought it would be sad if all they were learning during the summertime was how to operate useless games. I asked them if they wanted to work on my computer with me, and they were a little apprehensive at first. Then I pulled up the program, and they were really excited to see that it was very similar to a video game! I showed them things like the street view of their house, underwater shipwrecks, and spots on the moon where people have landed. They were very engaged as we sat there for at least a half hour (a long time for them to sit still!)

After sitting with the boys, I realized that these technologies are very applicable to education. So, reluctantly, I'll admit it; I'm coming around to the idea of more technology in the classroom.