Transcript Technology In The Classroom Series

Technology In The
Classroom Series
Technology In The Classroom
Why Use Technology
in the Classroom?
From
• We are experiencing a major paradigm shift in
instructional methods that reflect the challenges present
in today's society.
• For a student to be competitive in a global market,
teachers can no longer rely simply on traditional
educational strategies.
• To meet today’s demands, one must supplement and/or
replace traditional methods of instruction with innovative
educational experiences.
• The most effective strategies for teaching science include
cooperative, discovery and inquiry learning activities.
• To facilitate these methods, schools must implement
technology in the learning environment.
• Technology and multimedia applications should be used
as a tool to enhance a child's educational experience by
creating a variety of methods to meet special needs,
teach children how to manage information, and allow for
opportunities to develop higher level thinking skills.
From
• Change in Student and Teacher Roles
– When students are using technology as a tool or a support for
communicating with others, they are in an active role rather
than the passive role of recipient of information transmitted by
a teacher, textbook, or broadcast. The student is actively
making choices about how to generate, obtain, manipulate, or
display information. Technology use allows many more
students to be actively thinking about information, making
choices, and executing skills than is typical in teacher-led
lessons. Moreover, when technology is used as a tool to
support students in performing authentic tasks, the students
are in the position of defining their goals, making design
decisions, and evaluating their progress.
• Increased Motivation and Self Esteem
– The most common, and in fact, nearly universal--teacherreported effect on students was an increase in motivation.
Teachers and students are sometimes surprised at the level
of technology-based accomplishment displayed by students
who have shown much less initiative or facility with more
conventional academic tasks:
• Technical Skills
– Students, even at the elementary school level, are able
to acquire an impressive level of skill with a broad range
of computer software. Although the specific software
tools in use will likely change before these students
enter the world of work, the students acquire a basic
understanding of how various classes of computer tools
behave and a confidence about being able to learn to
use new tools that will support their learning of new
software applications.
• Accomplishment of More Complex Tasks
– Teachers for the observed classes and activities at the
case study sites were nearly unanimous also in
reporting that students were able to handle more
complex assignments and do more with higher-order
skills because of the supports and capabilities provided
by technology.
• More Collaboration with Peers
– Another effect of technology cited by a great majority of
teachers is an increased inclination on the part of students to
work cooperatively and to provide peer tutoring.
–
• Increased Use of Outside Resources
– Teachers from 10 out of 17 classrooms observed at length
cited increased use of outside resources as a benefit of
using technology.
• Improved Design Skills/Attention to Audience
– Experiences in developing the kinds of rich, multimedia
products that can be produced with technology, particularly
when the design is done collaboratively so that students
experience their peers' reactions to their presentations,
appear to support a greater awareness of audience needs
and perspectives. Multiple media give students choices
about how best to convey a given idea (e.g., through text,
video, animation). In part because they have the capability to
produce more professional-looking products and the tools to
manipulate the way information is presented, students in
many technology-using classes are reportedly spending
more time on design and audience presentation issues.
Teaching Tools
Web Interactive Lessons
Web Visual Lesson
Web Sites
Data Sets
Imaging
Science as Inquiry
Hardware
Software
From learningscience.org
Web Interactive
Lessons
• Short Web Interactive "learning tools" tend
to be interactive lessons that cover one
concept. The student, usually can adjust
variables within that concept.
• Long Web Interactive are similar to the
above learning tool, however these tend to
cover the concepts in more depth and are
longer in duration. These simulated labs
have a real place in the learning
environment.
learningscience.org
Examples
• Build a Fish
• Using Electricity
• Sodaplay
• Wave on a String
Web Virtual Lessons
• Short Web Visual lessons tend to be more
informational, not interactive, and relatively
short in duration.. What distinguishes the
visual lesson is a strong sense of design,
relevant content, and appropriate level.
• Long Web Visual lessons are covered in
more depth than the previous learning tool.
In some examples it may be an entire web
site.
learningscience.org
Examples
• Becoming Human
• Educational Web Adventures
• Robot Sumo
• NASA TV
Web Sites
• Sometimes an entire web site is
so good and fits so well with the
concept you are teaching, it is
useful to use the website in the
lesson.
Examples
• How Stuff Works
• Rough Science
• MicroMatters
• PBS series: Evolution
Data Sets
• Data and data
sets are also
important
learning tools
for students.
Imaging
• Imaging is a "learning tool" that
allows science students to learn
science concepts in a new way,
or takes a classic scientific tool
and reshapes it with today's
technology.
Examples
• Google Earth
• Web Enabled Virtual Microscopy
• Digital Morphology
• Cassini - Huygens
Science as Inquiry
• Having students work on real
world problems, collect &
examine data, and draw their
own conclusions is at the heart
of inquiry. Science as Inquiry
focuses on more than a one
class project. It is ProjectBased Science.
Examples
Hardware Tools
Computers –
Toys Stores,
Hardware Stores,
Grocery Stores,
Office Supply Stores,
Thrift Shops,
and More
Science Suppliers -
-
Software Tools
• Molecular Workbench
• Science Shareware
• Open Science Project
• Science Dissemination Unit
Conclusions
• Technology Works in the
Classroom
• Technology is Important for
Students
• Technology doesn’t have to be
Expensive or Difficult