Technology should be integrated into social studies classrooms for many more reasons than I originally thought. Before our first class I thought technology would only be useful for research, visual aids, or typing papers. I am convinced that the many technologies we looked at would be great tools for students. However, I am a bit worried because I feel like I am crawling out from under a rock. I thought I was up to date with most things and now I see that the tech world has zoomed right by me. Using blogs and learning communities to connect students and give them greater motivation to write and read, in any subject, is enough motivation for me to try my best to learn these tools.
The chapters I read in the November book, especially the first, showed me that I do not even have the basic knowledge to talk about the internet properly. The second chapter made me realized I have no idea how search engines work, even though they have helped me research most of my undergrad papers. The advanced search methods described in the chapter could have helped me shave off a few hours a semester scouring sites that were useless. Showing our future students how to avoid trash websites and inappropriate material, by teaching proper website validation, will help them not waste their time. The sixth chapter was the one that really changed my mind, in addition to class last week, about how awesome technology can be in the classroom. As teachers we can help connect our students with each other, other students from around the country and world, and (in reference to the Math teacher pp. 81-82) with students yet to come. Blogging, wikis, and podcasts obviously have many advantages in the classroom to motivate and make learning fun. I would be lying if I said I wasn't excited about the new tech tools we are going to learn this semester. I just hope I keep up!
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You are definitely not alone, Mark! I feel like a fairly competent person when it comes to using computers and the Internet, but the reading and the couple of hours we spent in class showed me how little I know. And the really amusing thing is that less than 2 years ago I took a class called Integrating Technology into the Secondary Curriculum and things have changed even since then! In that class we didn't even talk about including social networking, blogs, or wikis into the classroom. I feel like kids these days are born with a cell phone or computer in their hands, whereas we are constantly playing catch-up. We certainly have our work cut out for us, but like you, I am really excited to see what this class is going to teach us.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you about being left behind in the tech world! I was very lost in class in the beginning but as we progressed through it and I scour more into each site, I am learning more about them. I too was amazed at how much I didn't know when reading the textbook. I guess we never took the time to stop and think where our google results come from!
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