Digital Blog Post #C

e-Books and e-Readers
Google Earth
Gamification

With the introduction of technology into adolescents' lives, there is less time available for children to spend reading. According to the authors, in age groups from 5 to 17, more time is spent reading material of all sorts online rather than reading from books (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 103). Being as though children are spending so much time reading online, it might be time for students to switch from a plethora of heavy books and textbooks to an e-reader. e-Readers are devices similar to tablets that can display e-books, digital copies of a (usually) tangible book (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 104). Personally, I love e-readers. My mother has one, and since she bought one, her reading has increased. She has told me how much easier it makes reading once you have all the books you could want on one single device. I think it would be great to advocate student boards to increase the use of e-readers in classrooms. Not only would it be less for a student to carry (no more freshman turtles with their gigantic backpack "homes" full of textbooks!), it might even encourage reading for fun in students.

Google Earth is a tool that allows viewers to see pictures of nearly everywhere on Earth from the monitor of their computer, phone, tablet, laptop, and more (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 166). The main reason I chose this topic was that it hold a very entertaining part in my high school life: Global Studies with Mr. Grinstead. Not only was this teacher goofy, dramatic, and caring, he made sure his students had fun while they were learning. Every few weeks, each class would hold a competition between groups divided among the class, and we would play "The Google Earth Challenge." Teams would choose other groups and ask them to try and pinpoint various exotic and unusual locations in a short amount of time using Google Earth. After that, each student would mark down the location on a packet that displayed many maps of regions on Earth. I learned so much about geography and how that affected societies at large, and I believe it was due to having so much interest in this game and software. I think that Google Earth is a fun and engaging tool that should be used in more classrooms. Even in a science class, teachers could show students latitude and longitude, and a location's coordinates affect on climate.

The final concept I would like to look at is Gamification. Described by the authors as a way to introduce  gaming like qualities into situations that would not normally be considered appropriate for games (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 169). Gamification sounds interesting and beneficial in theory, but it may not work with all classrooms and with certain students. In a gamification method that pits teams or individual against each other, students who are not necessarily competitive or outgoing may not be suited well to the competitive environment. Additionally, tougher subjects such as advance math subjects may cause a trivia-like game to last longer and be less beneficial to students than a typical review day. However, I do see the benefits of gamification. Like stated previously, my teacher would have me and my classmates participate in "The Google Earth Challenge," which can be seen as a style of gamification. Although I would describe myself as a quieter and less competitive individual, I enjoyed those classes a lot and learned from the game, so it was an effective method of gamification. Therefore, I think that in the right environment with students willing to participate, gamification could surely increase engagement and involvement with learning in classrooms.

Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Steuber, S. (2016, February 19). Google Earth Saves the Day! Created with http://www.bitstripsforschools.com/

Digital Blog Post #B

Using Technology to Enhance Teaching- Instructional Practices
Active Learning
Online Problem-Solving Environments

According to the authors, there are two different categories that the use of technology to enhance learning in the classroom can fit into. One of the two categories mentioned by the authors is the use of technology for instructional practices, which is when technology is utilized during direct interaction between the teacher and students . I believe that technological instructional practices are significant in the classroom because it engages the students in the subject matter, which may also allow them to be entertained while learning rather than being inactive and doing worksheets. I made a Kahoot quiz as an example of the type of technology I would like to use in my classroom here. I made questions using information from the textbook (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 29-30). I also made a question asking about favorite types of music as a fun discussion before class officially started, as well as a question about the curriculum learned that day to see how well students understood the material.

Active learning, described as the act of students learning both "physically and cognitively," is another concept that is significant to the classroom (Maloy, et al, 2013, 48). This act goes beyond worksheets, lectures, note-taking, and textbook readings. I find active learning incredibly important. It can provide a solid foundation for students to build their knowledge upon, and it can be used in most, if not all, subjects. I also think that with the inclusion of technology throughout a lesson, active learning could be achieved easier, and possibly subconsciously, for students. In this article titled "Engaging Students with Active Learning," Waters states how active learning can be achieved through technologies that college students use as a staple in everyday life.

The last concept I want to talk about is online-problem solving environments. This concept is important for three reasons, as highlighted by the authors. It helps students accomplish tasks that are impossible without digital means, it can help students visualize or "experience" problems, and it can help mix learning about technology while also engaging in the subject matter (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 53). When I was in either elementary school or middle school, I remember my teachers telling me and my classmates to play on sites like Cool Math Games as a way to encourage us to learn math. While I believe that online-problem solving environments belong in all age groups, I am not sure i would include games like this in a high school setting unless there was a free day or a class was ahead of all the other classes.

These concepts really distinguish how technology can be used in the classroom, and in what context they could be used in. I personally love the concept of active learning, as I was not shown how to do it until the latter years of my high school education. I feel like this concept should be more prominent in early education, and it could encourage deeper and more meaningful learning for students.

Resources

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Steuber, S. (2016, January 7). Quiz for Digital Blog Post #B. Created with Kahoot https://getkahoot.com/

Waters, J. K. (2015, April 15). Engaging Students with Active Learning. Retrieved February 5, 2016, from https://campustechnology.com/articles/2015/04/15/engaging-students-with-active-learning.aspx