1. How to Use Technology in the Classroom
Ennovy Pacheco
Kenterra Haynes
Megan FitzParick
Melba Valdres
Nadeen Brown
July 15, 2013
RDG/555
Jessica Carloni

2. Importance of Implementing Evidence-Based Technology
Ennovy:
Teenbiz 3000 is a new program is part of Achieve 3000
Program specifically geared to Middle school grades.
This program allows teachers to do an initial test on the
students to determine their reading capabilities. It also
selects stories that are specific to each students reading
level. The program is interactive in nature, and begins
with a poll question that then gives them an article for
them to further understand their poll quest. Then they
also have to respond in an email which goes to an email
directly to the teacher. This allows us to grasp whether
or not the student comprehend what they
read. TeenBiz3000 delivers differentiated instruction in
language arts, writing and technology (Newswire, 2004).
The site offers thousands of articles all leveled to their
reading capabilities. The questions and format allow
students to get into what they read and find a relevance
to it and as a result the students are motivated to read.
The system builds as they keep responding and teacher
have access to their performances and can schedule
assessment as they see fit.
Packaged curriculum
Efficient use of available and/or
limited resources
Funders requesting use of EBIs
Can be aligned with district policy
requirements & health standards
Can be used by facilitators with
different skill levels
Consistency and awareness of what
teachers are teaching
Familiarity with using evidence-
based models
Kenterra’s

3. Melba’s
Check & Connect – is an
evidence-based intervention
designed to maintain school
engagement and reduce behavior
problem of middle and high
school students with learning,
emotional, and behavioral
disabilities.
Evidence-based practices or
interventions make “implementers
feel confident that the methods
they used will bring the desired,
positive outcomes for consumers”
(Cheney, et al, 2009), in this case,
the students.
“Evidence-based approaches
provide evidence for school-wide
change” (Cheney, et al, 2009).
Nadeen’s
Evidence based interventions are actions that
have been proven successful through
outcome evaluations. Evidence based
interventions are intended to transport us
beyond our preconception and to improve the
effectiveness of what is done, how it is
done, and for whom it is designed.
In education the greatest problem that faces
adolescents have to do with comprehension
and literacy. Researchers have over time
discussed interventions that can be used to
address this issue. One such evidence based
intervention that has been used is the
Cooperative Integrated Reading and
Composition (CIRC) ("Institute Of Education
Sciences", 2010). The CIRC combines reading
and writing component and is designed for
students in grades 2 through 6. The main
characteristics of the CIRC are story-related
activities, direct instruction in reading
comprehension, and integrated language
arts/writing. This intervention program can
be used for either collaborative or small
group instruction.

4. Megan’s
Evidence-based interventions are varied and can be used
at any grade level. The process includes teaching and
reinforcing new skills for appropriate behavior – typically
in the elementary setting, my district calls these “teach-to”
moments. Actively teaching students social and
behavioral skills that are appropriate for that grade level
can make a huge difference. As educators, we have the
opportunity to provide moments that reinforces positive
behavior and work habits.
Modify classroom learning environment to decrease
problem behavior – look seriously at how your classroom
is set up, how students handle transition and whether or
not it can be done with minimal fuss. If any problem
behaviors continue, as educators we need to look at the
atmosphere our classroom is providing for the students.

5. Examples of Technology to Motivate and Engage Students
Ennovy: Digital portfolios have much to say about the changing nature of literacy"(Hicks, 2007), we are
constantly changing the way we teach because the information we use is in constant flux as well. In order
to be effective teachers we need to go with the times because otherwise we lose our students. I think that
eportfolios just modernize what we have been doing all along. We can evaluate by treating eportfolios like
a final draft. There should be no errors, thoughts should be clear and complete, ideas should transition
well into one another, and because I'm a visual learner pictures must correlate with journal topics.
Kenterra
Myon Reader is a technology based to that has a literacy solution that reinvents student reading. It
allows the student access thousands of award-winning digital books. Most of the readings are based on
the students' interest and at their own levels. This technology based has content that offers word audio
that models fluency, sentence highlighting to allow the students to keep up with tracking, and has
embedded dictionaries for every book to allow the students to find the meaning of words they do not
understand. Periodically, there are Lexile assessments where the teacher can evaluate the student
growth. It measure the students' time on task reading the books, number of books read, and reading
growth.
In my classroom this technology based tool is used to motivate my children during center time where the
students are able to read books based on a specific topic such as butterflies or Washington D.C. The
students love also to use this on their spare time to just practice reading, and also to see how well they
do on the 5-10 question assessment at the end of the story. It allows the children to work on their
comprehension skills. I use it for a RTI approach whole group with a graphic organizer and my children
really enjoy doing this.

6. Step Up to Writing Program
This approach to writing involves technology and writing. This program, though not computer
based, allows for students to use a computer to write using multiple strategies for each phase of
the writing process. The program is available for grades K-12 and in different content areas, not
just in English.
Assessment can be used for the class as a whole or for individual students. The program can be
differentiated for each student in a classroom if necessary.
Write:OutLoud. Students with reading difficulties need interventions to prevent future reading
failure. According to Gunning (2010), “computers are becoming literacy tools. Through adaptive
technology, computers can be used to compensate for difficulties in reading and
writing”(p.544). Write:OutLoud can assist students who are struggling in reading and writing.
This easy-to-use tool has grammar and spell check features which allow students to catch and
correct their mistakes. Students are able to hear what they wrote and identify components that
are missed. Students become more enthusiastic about writing because this tool has
characteristics that help them become successful in writing task.
Megan
Melba

7. EBooks- According to Vacca, Vacca, and Gove (2003) “eBooks are unlike any
other electronical software. They are books that have been published in
digital form. These books consist of text, images or both and are made
readable on computers or other electronic devices. These books are described
as containing “conventions associated with books such as table of contents,
pages and even bookmarks.”
EBooks’ are convenient in motivating and evaluating- content is visually
presented to students.
Easily manipulated
assist in students engagement in reading
eBooks are equipped with features that allow “strategies for decoding,
fluency, and comprehension” (Castek, 2006).
Learning Station- program designed to “Create and promote a balanced
Assessment Program for the entire District with LearningStation Insight
Assessment System. The LS Insight platform enables District administrators,
specialists and even teachers across the District to develop and deliver
standards-aligned Benchmark and Classroom Assessments to students, and
then identify achievement gaps and monitor progress.”
Nadeen’s

8. Best Practices in Our Classroom
Ennovy’s
Accelerated Reader –students check
out books of their liking and take a test
after reading.
Teenbiz3000- students get to read
articles on subjects that they like to
build their reading and comprehension
skills. The site itself offers incentives to
the students from time to time.
Discovery Education is an online source
with a plethora of information that can
be used for multiple purpose as notes,
introduction to a lesson, and
reinforcement of a lesson.
Digital portfolios is a great way for
students to use their technology skills
and reflect upon their work on a
modern day level.
Kenterra’s
Digital Games: use rules, goals &
objectives, outcomes & feedback, conflict/
competition/challenge/opposition, interacti
on, and representation of story
(Prenksy, 2001) or more
simply, “Purposeful, goal-oriented, rule-
based activity that the players perceive as
fun” (Klopfer, 2008). They are distinguished
by two key elements: (1) an interactive
virtual playing environment, and (2) the
struggle of the player against some kind of
opposition.
Simulations: analogies] of a real world
situation[s]” (Prensky, 2001, p. 128), as they
recreate a modeled or modified version of a
real world situation.
Social Networking: allow the user to do it
all: post a
profile, photos, videos, chat, blog, and
connect with their peers through individual

9. Melba
Technology should be used to supplement instruction and
enhance and reinforce learning. Selection of educational
software and hardware should be aligned to the learning
objectives ("Center for Instructional Development and Distance
Education", 2010).
Megan
Moderation – everything in moderation. There can be a balance between
using technology to instruct and assess and still interacting with and guiding
students into the learning process. Technology should not be in the place of
actual teaching but should be used to enhance it.
Variety – there is a variety of applications, resources and technological
gadgets. This variety allows for an educator to reach more students than
ever before. It allows for students to not only interact with the teacher but
also to see what they are working on (i.e. Smartboards). With the
integration of technology we have the opportunity to appeal to many
learning styles and not just one at a time.

10. • Pair technology and assessment for learning within the
group.
•conduct an extensive needs analysis to inform content
selection.
•Identify and collect appropriate learning resources and initiate
a web-presence for the course.
•Design site to provide teacher /students with feedback on
their learning (DeLuca, C., & McEwen, L. A. (2010)
Nadeen’s

11. References
Achieve3000 Wins National Software Award for its Differentiated Instruction Programs. (2004, Aug 23). PR
Newswire. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/451659782?accountid=458
Ash, K. (2011). E-portfolios Evolve Thanks to Web 2.0 Tools. Education Week, 4(3), 42-44.
Retrieved from http://www.edweek.org/dd/articles/2011/06/15/03e-portfolio.h04.html
Barrett, H. (2005). White Paper: Researching Electronic Portfolios and Learner Engagement. Retrieved from
http://electronicportfolios.org/reflect/whitepaper.pdf
Castek, J. (2006). Reading Adventures Online: Five Ways to Introduce the New Literacies of the Internet
Through Children's Literature. Reading Teacher, 59(7), 714. doi:10.1598/RT.59.7.12
Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education. (2010). Retrieved from
http://www.cidde.pitt.edu/ta-handbook/teaching-technology-1
Cheney, D., Stage, S., Hawken, L., et al (2009). A 2-Year Outcome Study of the Check, Connect, and Expect
Intervention for Students At Risk for Severe Behavior Problems. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral
Disorders .17(4). 226-243.
Cooperative Integrated Reading and Composition (2010). Retrieved from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc
DeLuca, C., & McEwen, L. A. (2010). Leveraging Technology to Promote Assessment for Learning in Higher
Education. International Journal of Information Communication Technologies and Human Development
(IJICTHD), 2(4), 42-54. doi:10.4018/jicthd.2010100104

12. Hicks, T., Russo, A., Autrey, T., Gardner, R., & al, e. (2007). Rethinking the Purposes and Processes for
Designing Digital Portfolios. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(6), 450-458. Retrieved
from http://search.proquest.com/docview/216917235?accountid=458
Implementing Project-Based Learning and E-Portfolio Assessment In an Undergraduate Course. (2006,
Spring). Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(3), 309-327.
Retrieved from http://elearning.qataracademy.wikispaces.net/file/view/57.pdf
LearningStation is K12 Formative Assessment and Testing." LearningStation is K12 Formative Assessment
and Testing. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2013. <http://www.learningstation.com/>.
Rodgers, W. Technology in the Classroom,
http://www.shelbyed.k12.al.us/schools/rms/faculty/wrodgers/technology%20int/students.html
Using the Technology of Today, In the Classroom Today. (2009). The Education Arcade, (), .
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3
Vacca, J. l., Vacca, R. T., & Gove, M. K. (2003). Reading and learning to read (5th ed.). Boston, NY: Pearson
Education
What Works Clearing House. (N.D.). Retrieved from
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/interventionreport.aspx?sid=11
What Works Clearinghouse. (2008). Reducing Behavior Problems in the Elementary Classroom. Retrieved
from http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide.aspx?sid=4