I love the idea of technology in the classroom and I believe we should use it. After all, it is what the kiddos we will be teaching know the most about. Why not use a tool that they are comfortable with and will excel at using.
Students WILL NOT have experience or opportunism without technology in the classroom. Technology brings so much energy and life to the students. They can publish something that is their own onto a blog, flipgram, and/or seesaw. It also gives students opportunities to seek out information via skype or twitter from people all over the world. These people can be teachers, students and even scientists.
I got the opportunity to watch a video about a 5th-grade classroom using Minecraft to learn. They used it in Social Studies and Math. Students were fully engaged and worked side by side in the game. They were collaborating and creating something together. In turn, technology was facilitating the discussions. To incorporate math, the teacher projected their structures on to the whiteboard and the students did volume problems. They were able to create prisms and dig into a deeper understanding of the subject.
Hello Malinda,
ReplyDeleteThat is so awesome!!!!! I love the use of minecraft to teach math! That is awesome! Thank you for sharing this. It is a great reminder that our only real limitation is our imagination. Now the challenge is how do we even think of these ideas of how to use something that our students like to teach content and social skills like collaboration and leadership skills. It's gonna take a lot of creativity, but it will be a fun challenge!
-Lily
Hi Malinda,
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy that students area able to Skype NASA, but technology has allowed them that privilege. I like how you say technology is the tool that the kiddos know most about, instate that true! I also agree that w should definitely use it because we are there to serve these students the best way we know how and that means meeting them where they are at and adjusting when we need to. Great post!
Hi Malinda,
ReplyDeleteIt is so awesome that this teacher used Minecraft in his classroom! When I was substitute teaching, anytime I was in an elementary or middle school, it wasn't a question of if I got asked if I played Minecraft, it was a matter of WHEN I was going to get asked! I think that this is a great example of meeting kids where they're at - like we talked about today in class with flipping YouTube videos. I would love to hear more specifics about how this teacher incorporated Minecraft into Social Studies.
Thanks for sharing!
Danielle
I think you have some great points here about how essential technology is in student's lives. I agree that we should take advantage of the tools they are comfortable to further their learning. With that do you think that technology will be useful in all situations or should we still be teaching from some of the old methods? Just something to think on, you are clearly very thoughtful and I like your points about how not having technology can be a loss for the students.
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