The article is called "WEB 2.0 Today's Technologies, Tomorrow's Learning" and it is by Jennifer Groff and Jason Haas from September/ October 2008.
The overall message of the article is to show that there is a need "to make games and procedures that can help bridge the gap between the traditional scholastic culture and the culture of today’s learners." This article brings up interesting points about today's learners and it really opened up my eyes to see that we as future educators need to work to be changing and molding our teaching style and tools to what works best for the students and to what appeals and excites them to learn. The article brings up a fascinating idea of a social network for the classroom and the article explains the benefits for using one. The article states that "by connecting students and teachers, they can create strong communities of practice, essential aids to good teaching and learning." Another interesting point for social networking is that "it’s also easy for teachers to create communities for themselves to share best practices, curricula, and more." The article also brought up the idea of how simulations can be beneficial in the classroom and they bring a new element to learning that you wouldn't be able to use otherwise. The article states that with the simulation programs you are able to "demonstrate the principles of evolution or the factors in a forest fire—two concepts that would otherwise be difficult for the students to experience." I believe that this is very necessary for today's students and it allows the teachers and the students to reach a new level and bond together.
As I read the ideas from the article, it made me excited to create this type of learning environment in my future classroom. As I begin to familiarize myself more with computer technology, social networking, simulations, and games I hope I can implement these tools into my lesson plans and begin to get my students excited to learn subjects that usually seem "boring" or "useless information." The article talked about the use of games in a classroom and it stated that "games can motivate students to work toward a goal, and cultivate collaborative problem-solving skills as well as “telescope” skills (the ability to determine objectives and prioritize them). They demand numerous other thinking skills such as weighing evidence,analyzing situations, and decision making." After reading this statement, I realized that there are many benefits to using games in my classroom. The article gave examples of complex games such as "Ayiti" and "Muzzy Lane’s Making History" and one example that I could do, would be to allow the students to play a game that would evaluate their knowledge on a certain subject I just taught. This would allow me to observe the students thinking and be aware of how well they understood the material. Lastly, it is important to understand that it will take time and practice to learn how to correctly and successfully implement these tools in the classroom. The article states that "classrooms successfully using social networking, digital games, and simulations are student-centered, and require the teacher to support the learning that will unfold through student interaction with the tool." This reminds us as educators to work together with our students and become “partners in learning."
Hide and Seek: GPS and Geocaching in the Classroom
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This article is called “Hide and Seek: GPS and Geocaching in the Classroom”
and is written by Lynn M. Lary.
This article is talking about geocaching which ...
16 years ago
Kara,
ReplyDeleteI too read this article and found the points that Groff and Haas made to be very true. There is a gap between students of today and teachers of yesterday. With students growing up in the 21st century, teachers need to be aware of this gap and problem solve solutions that will make learning both fun for the students, but also current with the times. If teachers start to incorporate video games and simulations into the classroom, I think students of today will be more inspired and excited to learn. As you stated, I believe as video games, simulations and social networking become apart of the classroom, a new, stronger bond will arise between teacher and student.
Hey Kara, I believe the same thing about how games improve the learning enviroment dramatically within the classroom. It is true that incorporating games and other organized activies drastically change all of the students view on subjects that they don't enjoy or get the hang of. I think to that it is important for educators as a whole to get together with one another and discuss different teaching techniques that they are using in the class room and help one another out letting each other know what programs worked the best!
ReplyDeleteI strongly agree with what you said about teachers needing to change and mold their teaching styles to fit their students. Indeed, children have so many different learning styles that it is imperative to meet all of them. I think games are a great way to reach visual learning styles. I remember playing games related to what we were learning about when I was in elementary school. One time, we played a game in which our teacher would hold up a fake clock and set the hands. We would have to say what time it was set to. It was a fun and productive way to learn how to read a clock. Great post!
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