bianca

picture from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spacetrucker/94209642/

Harel, I. (2003). Sand castles go digital. Retrieved August 4, 2006 at:
http://www.mamamedia.com/areas/grownups/new/21_learning/sand_castles.html

I read the article “sand castles go digital” by Idit Harel, which outlines the idea of constructivism. This I found such an interesting and valid theory, especially for primary school children. During the first years of primary school, gaining children’s enthusiastic and concentration can often be the most challenging aspect of teaching. Harel points out that,” children learn best when they are in the active roles of designer and constructor”. Allowing children to take charge and play an active role in their learning, they will become excited and see the relevance of learning experiences. Even more so children will remember the activities and new knowledge. If children are active learners and are able to become lost in the activity and forget they are learning, then constructivism is taking its tole. I love the example that Idit gives of children playing with sandcastles and making a learning experience at the same time. This can be achieved in the classroom too, by allowing children to become engaged in learning tasks by giving them a role and opportunity to make discussions, explore, create and discover. However unlike sandcastles being washed away and forgotten, Idit reminds the reader that children can publish their work on line for the world to enjoy. “The Net, for example, offers a wide-open learning environment in which children can explore the world, express themselves, save their creations, revise and refine them over time and exchange ideas in ways that were simply not possible in the past” I really enjoy the idea that through constructiveness children can learn and play at the same time, making education seem so much more appealing and relevant to young children. I can remember as a child that if I were told to sit down and listen, as soon as I walked out of the classroom, I would forget what was said. If I had the opportunity to make choices, discover and explore learning I would remember it for sure.

After prac i decided to read what other bloggers were up to. i stumbled across Joannes blog about the three X. i was really inspired by the idea that echnology allows children to grow and succeed. “that they can “grow and succeed” in today’s world – eXploring, eXpressing and eXchanging”. personally i think that these two words are really what sums up what technology is about in todays society. wthout teachers embracing and expanding childrens creativity with technology the truth of the matter is that they will not be able to succeed.if i think about all the jobs that use technology it comes to the conclusion that the only job that doesnt use technology is a street sweeper. therefor what future are we providing for our students. simply a dismil one at that. introducing students to technology allows them to not turn out like some of us who are tecnophobic. it allows them to have endless oppotunities as well as discover themselves. some students may find that their talent is computing and if teachers do not introduce technology how is a student to discover this talent. there for i think that joannes blog was very insighful in providing me with an overall summery of technology- it provides students with the skills and talent to grow and succeed.

i read the observations that shalena made about the reading “How to use Podcasts at Your School”, i totally agree with her view that the opportunities that podcasting offers are endless. i think that podcasting really offers students valuable learning experiences that writing in a workbook cannot. As shalena said children can work on their listening and speaking skills without the fear of face to face confrontation. some children are not comfortable with speaking in front of the whole class and cannot perform to the best of their ability. therefor podcasting can be used as a medium for assessment as the teacher can ask children to record their answers and then assess children’s perfected recorded version. children can post personal reflections about lessons and express their feelings and actually say what they are thinking, not what they think they are suppose to say. another important point to note is that young children love to talk. they could talk before they could write, so why not embrace in knowledge that children much prefer to express in voice than written words. If you say to the class, today we are going to do some talking, naturally they will be engaged as its a task they know they can complete. Shalena ideas on the reading by Richardson can influence teachers to aim to try new things in their class. It no good teachers always doing the same old boring thing because before they know it children will become demotivated and uninterested in important units of learning. Podcasting is a simple, easy and interactive tool to use, its something that can encourage children in deep thoughtful thinking and allow children to really express themselves and have fun.

Shalenas blog post: http://shalena87.edublogs.org/2008/03/18/how-to-use-podcasts-at-your-school/

Richardson, W. (2006). . In Blogs, wikis, podcasts and other powerful web tools for classrooms. Retrieved 18th March, 2008 from http://www.techsmith.com/community/articles/schoolpodcasts.asp?DCMP=NLC-edunews30&ATT=podcast

This is a mindmap done on ispiration based on the reading “Intigrating computers into the primary school curriculum“, it outlines the pro and cons of intergrating computers into the primary school. click on the thunbnail below and view the main points i picked up on from the reading.

Wood, J. (2005). Integrating computers into the primary school curriculum. Education Horizons, 8(5), 10-11.

www.flickr.com/search/?q=scared&l=cc&ct=0

Fallon, S. (2005). All the World’s a Stage. Blogs aren’t just for techheads and political cranks. They’re opening up classrooms, too.

Edutopia. Feb. issue.

After reading All the worlds a stage: Teaching through on line journal” by Sarah Fallon. it lead me to think, why are teachers so afraid with change. yes some may be afraid of how to operate technology or the fact they may be “technophobic”. but we are teachers we are used to change. every year new students walk through our classroom doors. syllabus change and units and topics change. so what is it that scares teachers away from incorporating this change into their classrooms. after reading sarahs article, technology brings about manly educational benefits. for example sarah states why she believes blogging is beneficial in her classroom. “hey give an audience to individual reflection and experience. They’re also giving classrooms a new way to face the world.” i totally agree with sarah, why encourage students to produce magnificent pieces of work only for them to be shut away in books and confined to the classroom walls. its like learning a new dance and only performing it in front of the mirror, where is the sense in that. children need encouragements and motivation other than from you as the teacher. students need a voice and a place to share their opinions with other children and this can be done through blogging. Sarah also raises the idea that on line learning can assist the teacher because if parents can follow their child’s learning progress on line, there will be less questions in parent teacher interviews. Giving children some excitement in learning units can motivate them to try harder and be more enthusiastic about education. so the question still remains why would teachers not aim to incorporate 21st learning into traditional learning techniques. Im sure that each individual has their reasons but me personally have been inspired by the endless opportunities on line learning offers. if teachers done try to teach new learning styles then we may end up with a generation of technology illiterate students and what good would they be in a society made up of technology. we teachers can start by understanding the benefits that Sarah outlines and aim to incorporate new teaching styles. Don’t be afraid to try because there is no harm in learning with students. Give children an audience with the world its stage and teachers can be the producers, guiding them in their role. If all else fails at least start trying even if it is with wikki spaces, at least children’s ideas wont be locked up in the classroom at the end of the day. Be the promoters of change.

I think the reading “log on education”, is an OK reading that gives you a view of both sides of the spectrum. However, i found it did not give clear statements or points of how technology in the classroom can help students to be creative. the more i read of it i found that it would explain how technology could be used but then contradicted itself with a bad aspect of the technological item. it does raise a potentially good point, that teachers cannot primarily rely on technology to be the sole of their lesson as some time technology is unreliable and does not work according to plan. what i got out of the article is that technology is good but bad.

The reading “Computer as a paintbrush:Technology, play, and the creative society” by Mitchel Resnick has left me questioning the role Technology play within society. The reading presents the question, does technology stunt children’s creativity or simply enhance it?. Throughout the reading there are many example of how children can use technology to help bring their dreams and imaginations to life. However, i believe if technology is used in the wrong way children can cease to be innocent and merely begin to have the mind of a mini adult. Images and writings can reveal to children the truth about their world and society. so instead of having children drawing flowers with faces and blue dinosaurs, we may end up with a generation designing weapons to fight against the school bully.

As i continued reading i found myself leading towards the idea that technology in the classroom does enhance students creativity if used for the right reasons. For example in the reading it talkes about the idea of playful learning, children can discover their passion and interests first and then use technology to discover and bring it to life. After reading this article i came to the conclusion that technology in the classroom across the k-6 curriculum can amplify students learnings, if children are creative to begin with.Technology should not give children creative ideas, but rather help their OWN creative ideas be explored and come to life.

Reference:Resnick, M. (2006). Computer as Paintbrush: Technology, Play, and the Creative Society. In Singer, D., Golikoff, R., and Hirsh-Pasek, K. (eds.), Play = Learning: How play motivates and enhances children’s cognitive and social-emotional growth. Oxford University Press.