I think that it is interesting how educators think that having students search for information on the web will help students make sense of the information they find when research tells us that a student finding the predetermined answers does not help with comprehension and reflection on the subject. This bit of information I had not really thought about until I read this. I remember in my personal experience that when I have searched for answers I usually was not engaged in the activity and only looking for the answers. Students need to know what, why and where they are looking for information, what it is going to be applied towards, and knowing how to evaluate the source of information. Places to search are not always through Google or yahoo. Students can search through EBSCO, ERIC, and FindArticles (Invisible Web). Evaluating a website is vital; make sure students ask if the website is relevant and if it is a creditable source. The follow up assignments that correspond to the research I did on the activity in a few cases usually helps bridge the meaningless facts into me applying that information to a larger picture. I want to make my future students apply what they find on the internet into other assignments.
I found out that open ended refers to students finding out as much information as they can about a topic and that teachers generally use this method so students can learn different strategies to determine what information is important to them that pertains to the topic. The GAP method was very interesting to read about. I have been doing this since high school without having a student created webquest. I wish I had been able to create one of these in the past because it would have furthered my technology experiences, but also let me have a better understanding of the material I was gathering, and would have lead to better comprehension and grouping of the material.
Side Note: There should defiantly be a “WISE” learning environment for grade K-5 because children are younger when beginning to use the computer now. If we expose them to this great resource maybe science could become a stronger and more focused on subject; the younger the exposure the better chance at having more successful students in the subject.
Mobile technologies are becoming a greater tool for each student having personal access to new learning resources. Motivation, ease of instruction, and organization are just a few benefits to using mobile technologies. I can see myself using some sort of mobile technology in my future classroom. I probably would not use a handheld device, such as a cell phone, because I personally do not use my cell phone now. I think using a handheld could also be a battle with older kids because they might not be able to use their phones because of school policy. However, different applications for handhelds are fantastic benefits towards using one in class. I can see myself using my phone to connect to the computer projected on the board so that I may walk around the room freely and not need to be glued to the computer. Mobile technologies such as Water Analysis, Arbor day exploration, NatureMapping and other programs. My favorite program explained was the Arbor Day one. I think it si great because it is helping the Earth, students are participating in that, they are using the technology to measure and obtain pictures and can then analyze it in the classroom or in a car on their way home. It is something they can continue to check on and not just in the classroom.
I like survey monkey, after taking our syllabus quiz with it I got to mess around with it later on my own. It is a very useful tool and resource for any classroom.
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