As I mentioned before, before I started this semester I had very little knowledge about and around technology. Thus, for my Inquiry paper, I decided to explore various forms of technology that can be used in the classroom. I decided to explore the Internet for any resources/websites that teachers could use.
Perhaps one of the most Useful books I came across was How to . . . Weave the Web into a K-8 Classroom. This was a useful resource for me because it allowed me to see and explore dozens of different websites. One of the things that I didn't like about some of the websites, however, is that some of them required the teacher to register with the website.
One of the exemplars that I used was My French Coach. I did have other titles from this series (My Word Coach and My Spanish Coach), however, I chose not to focus on them in this inquiry because they are very similar. I do not use this software for my own benefit, but it does look like it could be a useful tool in the classroom. As I mentioned in my paper, it would not replace learning another language in the classroom, but rather, it would benefit the students if it was used as a supplemental tool/resource.
Another website that I found useful was the Smithsonian Zoo's website. The link that I provided in my paper linked directly to live footage of animals. However, if one explores the website in more depth, one would notice that there are many other useful links on the site. There are many pages of information about each animal (habitat, diet, etc.). Children can also watch animals in as "natural" a setting as is possible. For example, if studying the lifecycle of animals, students can choose to observe an animal on a daily basis and see what changes/behaviours the animal experiences. Students can write reflective journals and take daily logs as well. In addition, students can have conversations with the experts. This makes the experience more authentic as they can ask a question and have a true expert answer that question immediately.
In order to "personalize" the paper, I included many quotes that I feel very strongly about. My favourite quote about education is the one by Socrates: "Wisdom begins in wonder." This has always been the case for me - if I am not interested or personally engaged in the subject that I am learning, I will probably not learn much about that topic. Thus, I believe it is very important to always get to know your students so that you can appeal to their interests. For example, if one of the students in my classroom is a dancer, I would allow that student to create a project that revolves around dancing. Again, if a student cannot present his learning in a paper, then perhaps he can represent his learning in an artistic piece.
I chose to write about this topic (bringing technology into the classroom for "technological immigrants") because I feel that many teachers are afraid to explore the "unknown." Many people do not feel it is worthwhile to spend the time to experience something new because they may feel that it is too hard, or once the experience is complete, they will not return to it. Or, people may feel that "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." I enrolled in this class because I know that the world is changing and that the 21st century is a very different kind of learner than the 20th century learner. Films shown on projectors no longer excite students like they used to. Children want to touch and feel and experience what they are learnin, not just witness it. There is a Chinese proverb that I like to follow as well, and it goes something along the lines of: "Tell me and I forget, Show me and I remember, Let me do and I understand."
Learners need to do in order to understand. You can't build a house if you've never done it before. This is why I did my paper, I will never know about technology unless I try it out!
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