Blog Post #C - Chapter 3

(Edward) 

       "What can you teach with technology that you cannot teach just as well without?" (Maloy) This is a great question raised in Chapter 3 Transforming Learning with Unique, Powerful Technology. It made me realize that not every parent will want their children using technology all the time. I was reminded that we must always be prepared with an answer so we are not thrown off guard. As educators we must know why we are using the teaching style we are using and be confident in it.

       "First, students use computers to do what they cannot easily do on paper. Second, students encounter types of problems that occur in the real world or problems of personal interest to them. Third, students integrate knowledge of technology (how to use computers and game-playing machines) with academic content (how to understand the science, math, history, or language arts material that is embedded in the structure of the game)." (Maloy)

       "Technology facilitates a vision of education based on the idea that when students work together, they will acquire skills and exchange knowledge in ways that create and sustain lasting learning." (Maloy) I personally know this to be true. In high school I was apart of the Journalism Academy. Within this Academy, we were taught how to use different computer softwares to make our online journal top notch. I made many close friends within that Academy and we taught one another different skills that enhanced one another's work. Without my classmates I wouldn't have been able to acquire half the knowledge I know about Photoshop and Adobe Indesign.

       Within my journalism class I discovered that my favorite aspect of the software was the limitless designs I was able to create for my journal entries. I was able to use technology to be creative, I was able to do things on the computer that I physically could not do with a pen and paper. In Chapter 3 they used the term "Redefining Creativity...For students in schools, computers transform the process of expressing ones ideas creatively using writing". (Maloy)

       For those of you who have seen the show Bones this thought reminded me of the character Angela Montenegro. Technology is being redefined and refined to be used across a very wide spectrum of different uses. In the show Bones Ms. Montenegro is an artist at heart, but she uses advanced technology to do facial reconstruction, murder theories, and much more. Within this particular show it displays a characters love for art shining through a technological lensed.

       Technology isn't just for the scientist and mathematicians, technology is also for the artist, musicians, and writers.


Resources

Edward, A (2015, September 24). A Parent Teacher Conference. Created with Bitstrips http://www.bitstrips.com/r/WDP0Z

Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.