Hello, my name is Mr. Anderson and I am your student's World History instructor for the academic school year 2010-2011.
I am absolutely thrilled for the opportunity to connect with you parents through this blog throughout this year's academic journey. Of the many factors that lead to meaningful learning, undoubtedly one of the most important is a home environment in which parents show an interest in their child's life and transmit the importance of education. As a team, I am confident that each and every student in my classroom will grow as both a student and human being this year. I intend to keep you parents "in the loop" on the activities and progress of our classroom. Also, and quite importantly, I invite parental feedback. You are encouraged to use the "Comment" feature of this blog to share with me anything on your mind, including advice, suggestions, concerns, and/or questions. We are going to have a wonderful year!!!
TECHNOLOGY INTEGRATION
As I hope is the case with all of you parents, I believe very strongly in using technology in the classroom to achieve our ultimate goal of meaningful student learning.
Why do I believe in the use of technology in the classroom?
- Technology enables student access to certain images, audio content, and video content that illustrate the subject matter being discussed in class. This is particularly important in a World History classroom, where we spend much of the year discussing time periods hundreds or even thousands of years removed from our modern world. For example, imagine reading a paragraph on the difference between the earth-centered model of the universe and the sun-centered model of the universe. Now imagine being able to watch a computer simulation of each model immediately after reading the paragraph. Technology makes visualization possible, which makes the content seem more real and relatable.
- Technology can make academic endeavors more engaging and interactive, which can lead to students taking more ownership over their work products. Examples of technology-enabled activities that lead to student engagement include virtual field trips, student creation of web pages or blogs, creating a Facebook page for a historical figure, creating Power Point presentations, and completing Web-quests. Notice how I used the word "create" several times. When students create their own knowledge instead of having it handed it to them, it is more meaningful and lasts longer.
- Technology is an indispensable feature of the day-to-day responsibilities of an ever-increasing number of professions. Jobs that require computer literacy, when lumped together, comprise the fastest growing sector of the economy. For this reason, digital literacy needs to start early.
- The sheer variety of current technologies and the vastness of the Internet require students to sharpen their information and digital literacy skills. Technology integration in the classroom is the whetstone students use to sharpen these skills. What is information and digital literacy? According to the University of Idaho, information literacy is the "ability to identify what information is needed, understand how the information is organized, identify the best sources of information for a given need, locate those sources, evaluate the sources critically, and share that information. It is the knowledge of commonly used research techniques." Thus, information literacy teaches students where to go and what to do to figure things out. Digital literacy is similar to information literacy, but the definition focuses on how to use technology to find and organize needed information. Digital literacy also implies the skill of evaluating a source for usefulness, accuracy, and legitimacy. Information and digital literacy are vitally important because obviously they apply to real-world situations outside of the classroom. In a nutshell, information literacy is the ability to figure things out by looking up the answer, and digital literacy is about using tools of technology to look things up. These forms of literacy are also about self-awareness, and knowing when you can and cannot trust something.
- Technology can be used to create concepts maps, graphic organizers, outlines, interactive timelines . . . the possibilities are virtually endless.
Some of my ideas have been shaped through my personal research in the field of technology integration in the classroom. One source that I found particularly formative was the research on technology integration conducted by the George Lucas Educational Foundation. For those interested in learning more, follow the link below for a definition of technology integration, informative videos, and a community discussion that you too can be a part of!
Some of you parents reading this blog might be teachers yourselves, and are wondering how you too can integrate more technology in your classrooms. Sometimes the hardest part of lesson planning is just coming up with the initial idea. Follow the link below for a beginner's list of 50 ways to use technology in the classroom to promote meaningful student learning. You can expect that if you ask your student on a daily basis "What did you do today at school?" that by the end of the year in this class we will have engaged in a great number of these activities.
What are some of the cutting-edge educational technologies that we will be using in this classroom? Included below are links to Inspiration Software and Prezi.
Inspiration Software
Prezi
Thank you so much parents for the critical role that you play in the lives of your students here at school. You deserve a round of applause!
Inspiration Software
Prezi
Thank you so much parents for the critical role that you play in the lives of your students here at school. You deserve a round of applause!
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