Which tools meet essential learning goals? Share your ideas!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Krauss on April 26, 2008 at 10:37am

From JKrauss: We have invited a lot of notable thinkers to this meeting and expect we'll all learn a lot from each other. The product that results, a document that describes eight essential learning functions and the myriad tools that deliver them, will be a very useful takeaway. We'll talk about how to use the document as a tool to help you talk and plan with others. Please join us! (pdf of version one is attached here).

Attachments:

• Essential Learning Functions 4-3-08.pdf, 561 KB

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Permalink Reply by Kelley Irish on April 26, 2008 at 3:13pm

I just blogged on this very topic on my macul spacew. Here is a copy of the blog
Model Car Races?Posted by Kelley Irish on April 25, 2008 at 10:34pm

As a self described long term geek ,many of my fellow teachers were surprised to see kids from my class racing their model cars down the halway. What do racing cars have to do with technology any way? The answer requires a true shift in thinking-and seeing my classroom as not simply a computer lab but instead as a technology center. I do not use Tech just for the sake of using Tech. Instead Technology is a part of the overall lesson. We used the computer to reasearch cars from design process to finished model. Students used a CAD program to draw their car and then created a model of their design. The final step was to create a model-and then test it-just like the GM engineering and design team do. Student then reported their result in a podcasts.

In my classroom you might see filming for a pod cast, clay figures being constructed to animated a historical event, bridges being constructed with gumdrops and tooth picks, dollhouses painted to replicate a design, and you may even have to dodge a robot called roamer. M & M's may sit next to keyboards as graphs are created and students may be creating a wild rumpus while Maurice Sendaks" Where the Wild Things Are " plays on the projector. The follow up takes us to a site where we create our wild selfs and turn them into character trading cards where students had Setting, characters traits, problems and solutions.

Technology is a critical part of the lessons I teach , but not the entire lesson. Incorporating technology does not mean giving up hands on activities at all. Instead technology offers us an additional tool, a different way of doing things to engage and extend our students thinking.

We lnow that the utilization of technology in the classroom leads to improved interactivity and creates more student-centered environments.Recent research indicates that the adoption of technology in the classroom leads to qualitative and quantitative improvements n teacher-student interaction and student-student interaction. Positive effects from educational technology have been demonstrated in preschool through higher education for both regular education and special needs students. When using computer-
based instruction, students feel more successful in school, are more motivated to learn, and have increased selfconfidence and self esteem.

We also know that project based differentiated learning creates positive self esteem and motivated learners. Marrying the two ideas just seems natural in our digital age!

As we all work to create classrooms for the 21st century-let's not throw out the glue, pipe cleaners and books. Instead let's use every single asset we have to engage our students.

Software packages should be like playdough-pliable enough to let students create! To this end I have a few fav's

Google Sketchup, Goofge Earth, Alice, Scratch, Squeak, Flash, Picase, ArtPad, Photstory3, Windows Movie Maker or Imove, Voice Thread, Fluxtine Animation, Moovl, Bubbleshare, photoshop elements,OpenOffice,read/write and think webpage, Camstudio, Scrapblog, Westpoint bridge design, lego virtual designer,Logo, Inspiration or Bubblus . The best part 90% of these are Opensource.

It's an exciting time in education!!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Krauss on April 26, 2008 at 5:32pm

Nice, Kelly! Hope you'll join us Wednesday. The resulting resource will be useful for explaining when people ask: 'What are you doing?!' -jk

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Permalink Reply by Suzie Boss on April 28, 2008 at 12:05pm

Hi Kelly,
Thanks for sharing this post. As you point out with such good examples, there's plenty of room for technology and hands-on learning to coexist. Technology makes the most sense when it allows you to accomplish learning goals you couldn't reach otherwise--or couldn't reach as well. Hope you'll be able to join the conversation on Wednesday. You have plenty of great ideas to share!
Thanks,
Suzie

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Permalink Reply by Suzie Boss on April 30, 2008 at 8:08am

Classroom 2.0 Live! Webinar reminder: today at 5 p.m. Pacific. See details above. Please join us!

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Permalink Reply by Suzie Boss on April 30, 2008 at 7:50pm

Thanks to all who contributed to today's conversation. We'll be sharing your ideas about useful tools and the learning functions they help to meet.

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Permalink Reply by Connie Weber on May 1, 2008 at 10:08am

Hi Susie and Jane,
Hope to be able to hear it soon! Sorry to have been unable to hear it live--but it'll be great to be able to listen and hear everybody's ideas. Great topic!

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