Many new teachers are noticing a technological gap between their students and themselves. Todays students are tech savvy and use to getting information and feedback instantly from online sources, games and other devices. How will you 'keep up' with your students? Watch this video and comment on one thing you can/will do.
I'd use more interactive materials in the classroom, instead of just pencil and paper, add in elements of real life. Using a GPS divice for math problems, or even geo-caching (a gps treasure hunt of sorts) with problems set up along the way. Also, using Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter to the advantage of the classroom, instead of banning them. These sites are a great way to connect with your classmates and can be used help connect a classroom in ways they couldn't normally connect. Twitter can be used for real-time "scavenger hunts" were students have to search for the right answers to problems along the way. This will help keep the classroom more enjoyable for todays fast-paced students.
ReplyDeleteI think that even though some teachers say that we cannot trust the information that we see on the internet. However, in these days, the internet is almost everywhere. The children now are way more savvy with the internet than I ever was at their age. I think that the internet should definitely play a bigger role in the classroom. Students express their ideas on their social networking sites, and they no longer have to visit, for example, museums, anymore. Students can go on an interactive visit online so that they can view the same things that they would in the classroom. I think that teachers should embrace technology and use it as a tool to help the students in their learning. The students need to learn how to use the internet in an educated way, rather than for just games or Facebook for social use. I think that teachers should now be able to not just lecture to a student, they should explore their options with websites out there in today's world, such as YouTube.
ReplyDeleteMany teachers should keep up with technology and try to limit the gap between their students. The use of technology enables an additional method of learning and should be used as an advantage, opposed to being thought of as harmful or for one use.
ReplyDeleteI would have my classroom centered around projects of the students interests. Students would work collaboratively, and under my guidance, researching and creatively utilizing information. Throughout the school year they will work on these projects, building skill for the real world while using technology. At the end of a semester, the groups will share what they learned to their classmates though discussion, powerpoint, video etc.
ReplyDeleteI think it is amazing how much social networking sites do teach us. Facebook now has different articles that tell us about the world news. Twitter has accounts linked to breaking news so we can be aware of what is happening in the world right at that very moment. YouTube is becoming bigger by the day and videos are posted on how to do things, documentaries are made, and news videos are uploaded. And of course Google with it's never ending amounts of information. All of these are constantly growing and to keep them out of the classroom and the education process would be a shame. Although I, personally, would not allow my students to be on Facebook and Twitter or their cellphones during my class time, I would absolutely use YouTube videos or articles I found via Google to prove my points or to show them something new. The internet is never ending and always growing. We, as educators, need to embrace it and use it to help our students' learning experience.
ReplyDeleteI think that having a class blog or website is a really good way to integrate technology into the classroom. Instead of handing out papers with information on them that the kids will most likely lose, a teacher can simply post it online. It is also a great way to keep parents involved with their children's learning. They would not have to relay through their kids to see how the children are doing in class. They could just look at the class website and see up to date grades and assignments.
ReplyDeleteI would use technology actively in my classroom by integrating it in my lessons. I would use the internet to disperse work and news to the students instead of handouts and also use to internet to have the kids do work by having there assignments online. As soon as they submit an answer they can immediately find out whether they answered correctly or incorrectly giving them the instantaneous feed back that students are accustomed too.
ReplyDeleteIntegrating technology into the the lesson through the use of internet as a method to keep up to date with students in terms of technology, is also a great way to get students experience with technology. A class blog or something that is accessible to students outside of the classroom is a great way to maintain the connection between technology interaction involving the students and teacher.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was shocking that education is ranked the lowest on the technology use scale. I feel like it should be at least in the top five. Different types of technology are evolving very quickly such as smart phones, iPads, smartboards, etc. Teachers should jump on the opportunity to use these things in the classroom environment to enhance their lessons. Children, not more than ever, are spending more time on computers and technology than ever before. If they were used more in classrooms, the students would be able to relate more. Some teachers are not up to date when it comes to using technology, so I think that there should yearly or even monthly seminars that teachers can go to to learn more about it. Once teachers have a grasp on it and pass it down to their students, then an effective learning environment will take place.
ReplyDeleteBeing a teacher, it is very important to keep your students up- to- date with the technology in our society. As this video shows, education is ranked the lowest on the use of the technology scale. This is a very scary thing. This shows that the students in the classroom now are finding different ways to learn.
ReplyDeleteI like it when the narrator says, "potentially, a turned off device is a turned off child". Now things have changed in the school system and the real world then they have been 30 years ago. If i was a teacher i would use technology very actively to keep my students in check with what is going on in the real world. Its crazy how something as small as Facebook was at one point in time grew so rapidly and now basically everyone in the world knows how to use it. Being active with technology keeps the student on a fair playing field.
-Michael DeAngelo