Thursday, January 31, 2008
One More Tool for the Toolbox Summary
Ann L. Bjorklund’s article One More Tool for the Toolbox illustrates the difficulties that a teacher has in adding technology to his/her curriculum and also emphasizes the positive effects that happen when technology is used as a learning tool. Bjorklund begins her essay by lining out the obstacles of technology and possible ways of overcoming problems. For instance, Bjorklund stresses the idea that student computers, no matter how many are in the classroom, should be spread throughout the room rather then grouped together. She claims that this increases the productivity of a particular lesson while decreasing the chances that the students will get sidetracked by engaging in social conversations. Bjorklund then suggests some helpful activities that will allow students to become acquainted with technology as an educational tool while letting them have fun and get excited about upcoming units. She advises small projects to promote enthusiasm, such as taking a personality quiz online to tell what job the student would have in the Middle Ages as a lead in to the Canterbury Tales. Other tasks include groups creating power point presentations to teach the rest of the class key grammar points. Bjorklund notes that the student who knows their peers will be viewing his/her work tries harder and therefore learns more. Bjorklund concludes her article by admitting that technology takes up several class periods and therefore shortens her teaching curriculum, perhaps cutting down her reading list for the year. However, Bjorklund reassures that while the technology may take up time, it increases the depth of the students’ learning and also prepares them for their future.
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21 comments:
I thought that this article was very interesting. I like the idea of incorporating technology into the classroom. I also like the idea of reducing the number of things that are covered and covering them more in depth. This whole approach is reminiscent of how I was taught up until college. Until I came here I was home schooled. We always found fun and exciting ways to learn a subject. Taking a personality test to see which medieval character you are is something that I know I did. When you can make class more interesting the students learn better. They not only become interested in the subject and want to learn it but they also retain the information better.
Bryan Norbut
I really liked this article! I liked how the author gave tips for the classroom (like using the survey for the Canterbury Tales.) I admit that using technology in the classroom is important, however, it can be difficult to incorporate it smoothly into the curriculum. I really liked the author's ideas of sepearting the computers in the classroom. However, most schools I've been in, have a computer lab in which the students do all computer work. Computer labs can cause distraction as students socialize. Therefore, it is important for teachers to design fun and entertaining assignments for students to do on the computer.
I liked this article, surprisinglly. I feel that is important to incorporate the use of technology into teachign curriculum. Children are less likely to cheat or plagiarize in class that they are excited about. This is important with the paranoia of cheating become as pervasive as cheating itself. Seperating the computers is also a good idea, because if the students decide to talk afterward, it will almost certainly be about the material which they just worked on and are excited about. Some very interesting points are made in this article.
I enjoyed the article, and I think the idea of incorporating technology into the classroom is very fresh. I do believe that if you find new ways to teach things to children, the learning process will not be so much of a drag for children. If you make it interesting and fun, they in turn will have fun while learning which will make learning that much easier! My only concern is that the use of some sources of technology could prove themselves to be a distraction in the classroom (our class with the computers is a perfect example!) there have to be guidelines that are followed if technology is going to be used.
I think that incorporating technology into the classrom, is a great idea. I think that covering topics more in depth and covering less topics would hel students learn more about the topic being discussed. Finding new and excting ways for children to learn will also help children become interested in the topics being discussed. I really liked this article.
This article showed how to incorporate technology into today's classrooms. I liked how the author stated that she was not used to working with technology, but she learned along with her students. This can be extremely helpful to the teacher because it will open them up to new information and hopefully make the lessons more interesting for the students. I also liked how she encouraged other teachers to try it out and bring a new aspect to learning!
I found this article to be really interesting. I think that as our society gets more and more technology based, we should incorporate that into our teaching. It is really amazing how children are so in tune with technology anymore. I always thought the one thing that could be a problem with this are the students who live in homes where the parents cannot afford a computer. As far as separating the computers, thats a smart idea. I remember in school how loud the lab would get.
Adding technology into the classroom is not only useful but very necessary. I can agree that sometimes incorporating technology can be difficult and time consuming; however, its benefits are numerous. It's important that students can apply technology to several aspects of life, and it is something that they will need throughout their life. Plus, the wide range of tools that technology can provide can greatly assist in any learning situation and often times promotes interest in the students.
I liked the article and agree with 6ptwin for the comment that technology is necessary. Maybe ten years ago it was not needed to be included in classroom curriculum, but today it is certainly a major asset. The use of technology is a large part of everyday life and a large part of student life. I think this teacher has done what many other teachers need to do-- add technology into their lessons and help the kids learn its use!
I liked the article and thought it was interesting. I agree that making any lesson fun is going to encourage students to learn. However, the fact that the teacher said she had to cut the number of books the students were reading and her curriculum down did not sound good to me. I thought she had many good, creative ideas. Separating the computers I definitely agree with. In school if I was sitting next to someone at a computer we would always talk, so I agree with her statement. Overall, I liked the article.
I can definitely see where technology can benefit a teacher as well as their students, but most elementary school and high school classrooms are not outfitted with computers and digital projectors. In grades 1-12, I don't see the necessity of computers in the classroom, unless of course it's a keyboarding or computer class. I've actually never seen a power point presentation outside of a collegiate setting. I'll clarify, as far as school goes, I've never seen one outside a collegiate setting. The point is pretty much moot in my opinion, due to public school systems severely lacking in funding. Hell to be honest, I would love to see SIU actually upgrade their classrooms with built in digital projectors and ELMO's for each classroom. I've seen several junior colleges that have a lot better equipment then SIU. Sometimes for younger students technology becomes more of a distraction, which in turn makes the teachers job a lot more difficult.
This article has some very good points!! Technology is something that will around for years to come and will only become more used and readily available. I think that we need to engage the students in as many technological activities as possible because they will need to have a basis for the use later on in their lives. However, I do think that asking students to use technology in the classroom can be difficult because of the problems that the author pointed out. Students are easily distracted and might have a hard time staying on task if they are expected to use the computers in small groups.
I agree with the author of the article. It's important to integrate technology into student's lesson plans.
Good work Amy.
Use of technology is great because it exposes students to new ways of learning. However, I don't see it as absolutely necessary. One can easily use "old style" methods such as paper and pencil to teach lessons to students. In fact, although there are methods to prevent cheating with technology, often the opposite is true. For example, many students are actually very advanced with technology from a very young age. They will figure out ways to cheat if they try hard enough.
i think this article was very helpful and quite interesting. Technology is going to be the way of the new world so connecting it with the classrooms will help students learn more, and not just text work. Internet makes classes more interesting and getting the students involved will keep them in tune with the class.
I thought that the article was well thought out. I think power point presentations are good for kids. I think helps kids to get over stage fright in front of their peers. I think that it could help the visual learner.
Overall, I enjoyed this article. I had some very interesting ideas on using technology and how to incorporate it into the class room. The author definately made a very well rounded argument for why technology is good for the classroom and the learning process. Many students these days are using technology more and more at home, so why can't the do that at school as well. The author's idea of have them take the quiz to find their middle ages job is a very creative way to get them engaged into the topic of the middle ages and with create interest in the story the are about to read. Students use a form of technology and everyday teachers get farther and farther behind the students when it comes to using technology. It may be a difficult process, but I believe taht technology should defiatelly be intergrated into the schools and used in the education process. Students can learn so much more with the help of techonolgy.
i do not agree with shortening down one's reading list just for technological purposes. Students have access to computers, whether it is at their home or a local library. It is fun and educational to do some projects/assignments via computer yet it is time consuming. These resources should only be used occasionally.
I agree with my impression of the article's claims. I think that technology is a crucial aspect of our lives now, and that teaching the children to use it specifically is of great importance. I believe that the article is responding to the current sentiment that technology simply wastes more time than it recoups in more efficient learning. I disagree with this view as outdated though. Technological proficiency is now something that must be fit into school's cirriculum; and concessions may have to be made to ensure pertinent education.
I think it is a fantastic idea to learn topics more in depth, that way the students remember and actually learn something. I also agree with incorporating technology in the classroom, but I also believe that technology can be overused. A good-old-fashioned book can do you some good!
--bonnie
I think that if every teacher covered less things and went more indpeth with the things he or she did cover we'd all be better off. Rather than trying to cram a number of things into a few weeks, just really teach/learn a few things.
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