I can tell this is going to be a very interesting course and I hope for the next post I can get the information correct that we are suppose to post. I posted last time about the same information that I had posted on my discussion and not about the information we were asked to. I will have to read the instructions better the next time. So now that I know what we were suppose to post about I can do that now. Thanks for your patience.
In our resources this week we learned about using technology for "Reinforcing Effort" and "Homework and Practice". In my school district we do not have one to one computers for our students and therefore their teachers have to sign up and use computer labs if they want to use technology in their lessons. Some classes use to have 4 or maybe 6 computers in their classrooms and these were used mainly for rewards for doing the assignment and completing it early. The teacher wanted the student to be busy and they would let them get on the computer and play games or do some type of enrichment about the lesson. Technology and computers can be so much more than a babysitter.
Homework and practice are still important in helping students learn the concepts that the teachers are giving them. If they do not practice what they learn soon after they will not learn the concept. In art when we teach an element of art we have the students do an activity or two that enforces what they are being taught and how it works. The problem I see with homework for many classes is that students do not understand the lesson and then go home and do not know how to do the homework because they do not understand the lesson. They get frustrated and then they quit. If teachers had blogs with videos that students could go back to and watch on the lesson when they are at home it would help them to see it again and they could continue to watch until hopefully they would understand. Sometimes students need to get away from everybody else and then they can absorb the information. Blogs could also be helpful for students to be able to post to the teacher questions or even examples of what they have done to see if they are doing it correctly.
Karen, I appreciate what you are saying about video feeds and blogs that students can view to help clarify what's going on in the classroom. This would work well in schools with up to date technology. My only question is what about schools and communities that don't have the money to provide such resources and students who don't have a compute? I know we're not going to resolve all the problems with the American education system but I also, realize that the playing field is not level for all students achieve success.
ReplyDeleteKaren, I also like the video idea or even just reposting the notes or the student's being able to post on your blog. John does have a good point. Most of my students do have computers at home but there are some that don't. I suppose if a teacher knows this maybe they could give those students a little extra time in the beginning of the period (I teach high school) and have them work with another student. Just a thought.
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