Technology and Learning (Readings Week 11)

The article about "How People Learn" was very interesting in how it recommends integrating technology, and why. One of the points was that learning can be collaborative and interactive with peers and colleagues, which helps people learn. I believe that technology can be effective for this purpose, however, I feel that face to face interaction is very important. For younger students especially, being involved with others in person not only helps them learn, but can teach important life skills such as compromising. I believe that the ideas the author presented can be used, but I hope that students will interact in the classroom as well. It would be a great way to connect with professionals on a regular basis.

I found the article on Digital Natives/Immigrants to be very interesting, because it is something I experience at home. My mother is an educator, and took a music technology course over the summer (with Dr. Bauer). At night, she would have homework to do, and sometimes she would ask me questions. To me, the answer sometimes seems obvious and natural, but to her, she had no idea where to find what she was looking for. I think that the article has a great point that we need to extend our curriculum further in regards to technology. For our students, it is a very practical idea. In the music world, there are many programs that can be used to create music. This is the future, and as educators we incorporate technology into our classrooms.

I like the WebQuest artifact, as it clearly defines what that is. I really like WebQuests, mostly because they are a fun way for students to navigate the web while the educator has control over the content. I think that WebQuests are going to be seen more and more in classrooms. It can even be incorporated as a workstation or pull out if only one/a few computers are available.