Today, some schools have already purchased iPads for students to use for homework and such. Although, I do not think they are being used in place of textbooks, paper, pencils, and so on. Though, I imagine that this will change fairly soon and students will use their iPads in the classroom for everything. I am completely on board with this idea and I hope every school will be able to use this type of technology in their school.
Virtual Choir
Oh, I absolutely loved this video,Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir - 'Lux Aurumque' ! I found it amazing that these people were from all over and had never met each other before. Imagine all of the different things someone could do with using the internet in this way. Business men and women can make conference calls with each other, meeting with multiple people at once. Teachers can collaborate with other teacher all over the world. Students can meet other students from around the world and talk about each other culture. There are tons of other ways to do with using the internet in this way and as future teachers, we should all try and incorporate this in our classrooms.
Teaching in the 21st Century
The video, Teaching in the 21st Century , is something all educators should watch. There is an information overload and it can sometimes be difficult to find a reliable source on the internet. The only thing my teachers ever really drilled in my head was to not use Wikipedia as a source for papers and such. I think it is our job as teachers to talk to our students and help them understand what a reliable source is, and what is not. We also need to help them with things like paraphrasing and giving credit to those sources that they do use. There is so much to learn and teach about using the internet and it is our job to do so. I think this would be a great lesson to spend time on before a research paper or project is assigned.
Flipping the Classroom
If you haven't already, watch some videos about flipping a classroom. My personal favorite was Flipping the Classroom - 4th Grade STEM This idea is genius! I wish all of my teachers did this when I was in grade school. This is something I would definitely consider doing in my future classroom. However, this new approach might take some time for both the teachers and students to adjust to. Though, I think this new approach is worth it and should be tried out by all teachers. It took me a few seconds to understand the concept but it's obvious. The students do the learning of new lessons at home, and would essentially to their homework in the classroom, so the teacher can assist with questions the next day.
Samantha, I enjoyed reading your blog. I agree there are an amazing amount of apps out there to help children. I know of one school back in Georgia that is using I Pads for textbooks as well as a learning devise. The I Pads were just distributed this August so I have not heard from the teacher whether the students are doing better than her last year students. The post you wrote was very well written. I found a couple minor errors.
ReplyDelete“Teachers can collaborate with other teacher…” should be teachers
“There are tons of other ways to do with using the internet in this way…” This sentence is a little confusing. I believe you might have forgotten a “this” in between do and with.
I enjoyed reading your blog.-Maria
Samantha, I think you wrote your post extrememly well, and we have some of the same view points. I agree with what you said about the first intial expense of buying the equipment. It will definitely get a nice chunk of change for schools. I didn't think about the fact that we would have to tell the students what reliable sources were. It was drilled in my head not to use Wikipedia as well. I think there were a few commas that were not needed in the second paragraph ("Although," and "though,") but other than that I enjoyed your blog.
ReplyDelete"His arguments were well thought out and could easily be obtained." I think you mean understood, not obtained. Look up obtained in the dictionary (online). Just put obtained in the address bar of your browser and hit enter or return. Is that what you mean? I don't think so.
ReplyDelete"...but the cost in the beginning would be outrageous. " How do you define "outrageous"? Baldwin County is providing a MacBook or an iPad to every student in Baldwin County over a four year period. Outrageous? Look outrageous up also.
"Although, I do not think they are being used in place of textbooks, paper, pencils, and so on." In some places they are. Do a Google search. The State of Maine, San Diego, etc.
Well, I will offer a counter opinion about Wikipedia. I think Wikipedia has gotten a bad rap. I use it all the time and find it to be a creditable source of information UNLESS you are conducting research on politicians, political issues, or businesses. These are subject to rapid change to reflect the interests of the parties involved. But a search about Jane Austin, or the westward movement in the United States or a particular book or film is just as trustworthy as other sources. What you have to remember is that it is best to compare two or more sources. That often reveals the biases of all commentators. I assure you that NONE of them have THE TRUTH.
You need to include a summary of the arguments made by Mr. Roberts in Teaching in the 21st Century.
You need to tell your readers what a flipped classroom is.
These summaries are an essential part of every assignment.