After reading Chapter 30 I've become aware that my students would be better served if I put some animation or screen casts into my teaching techniques. In my school district we have the computers pretty tightly regulated as to where the kids can and can not go. The issue becomes one of where I will store my visual aids so the students can actually see them. I'll have to investigate the possibility of making my own website that seems the best option at this point. I can then access it from home or at school when I want to make adjustments or changes. The students will also be able to work at home or at school this seems to be the ideal option. So what can I put on there?
The technology class that I teach has no text books, I really do not want to copy pages and hand them out to students as they tend to misplace them and that becomes wasteful. So currently I have written directions for them to follow as they explore the Microsoft Office products. If I put the information on a website, I could then include screen casts to enhance learning. At this point in time I do not allow audio to be used as the students would have all kinds of music playing. With the use of the screen cast I would need to get some ear phones so they could listen to the directions as well as see the instructions. These are all very do able. I believe it would make lessons easier for the students to follow and perhaps they would retain the information better. The only question that remains is if the school has blocked the use of free internet websites. I will be trying that very soon.
One other idea that the article brought up is that in any group of students there are many different learning styles, some are auditory, some manipulative, some visual, some a combination of all of these. The hard part for me the teacher is to get all of these learning styles into my teaching. Sometimes I feel that drawing pictures, or making projects is just a waste of time, but I need to remember that some students actually get something out of the experience. Others times I need to lecture and put examples on the board so the visual learner can see what I'm talking about. By putting some of the lessons on the computer and letting the students explore on their own I will be reaching another segment of my learning population. Again I sometimes question if doing work on the computers is actually reaching any one, the hard part to remember is that all students learn in different ways, and it is my job to present the material in as many different ways as possible to reach as many kids as possible. Computers is just another avenue for reaching some kids.
1 comment:
It is hard to teach when the powers that be block so many things on the computer. From what I've seen, the kids can get around it, but we can't. I totally understand your situation with the different types of learners. I actually had my students take a survey that told me what kind of learners they are. It was very eye-opening. If you want a copy, just e-mail me. kkrork@gmail.com. I learned that I had a lot of learners who learn through movement. This gave me pause. I am trying to find different ways to teach my kids. Our computer labs are so old and out of date, and the restrictions on what they can use is very strict, it's hard to come up with technological lessons. (The image part of google is blocked) I am hopeful that, with this class, I will find a way to use the computers to enhance my students' learning.
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