Digital Badge #E-Chapter 7

Digital Badge #E-Chapter 7

After reviewing chapter 7, “ Engaging Learners with Digital Tools”, I discovered key elements in which new tech ideas could be used in the classroom.  The first section I observed was “Teaching Problem Solving with Computers”.  In this section, it introduces a new method of teaching where students are taught to problem-solve.  Students, who are exposed to “ill-structured problems”, will be a problem solver.  They will create new strategies, so that they can create various solutions.  Having computers in the classroom is a wonderful tool to engage your students with problem solving techniques.  For example, students who may be taught to work on simple math problems, using a computer program, will be taught to simply memorize their problems.  However, if a child is exposed to a math computer program in which incorporates math and science, the student(s) will gain much more learning experiences.  I personally believe as aspiring teacher, I will use these methods of teaching in my classroom.  There are several programs offered by Collier County School District, when our students log into their personal accounts.  The classroom I’m currently assisting in uses a program called, “Bitesize”.  This program offers three programs, in which are resourceful for the primary age.  (I.E.: Literacy, Math and Science)

The second section I found intriguing was, “Higher-Order and Lower-Order Thinking”. It was stated in this section, these ways of teaching were associated with the “Bloom’s Taxonomy”.  This was an educational tool that was presented in1956 and brought back in 2001.  They were interested in distinguishing between different forms of thinking, from basic recall and interpretation of information. (Sited from: Transforming Learning with New Technologies)  This teaching tool is incorporated throughout each classroom.  When teachers introduce Lower-Order thinking, they will usually start off with simple spelling test. This teaching tactic will introduce new words, so that students will be exposed to new vocabulary.  As for Higher-Order Thinking, teachers may ask those students to create a narrative, poem, or possibly a play.  As an inspiring teacher, incorporating Higher-Order and Lower Order Thinking is a systematic approach when teaching in the classroom would be a teaching method I would certainly use.  This way of teaching can allow for all teachers to be aware of each child’s comprehension level.  

The third section I discovered was, “Kid Pix”.  Kid Pix is an educational program that has been used for more than twenty years.  It started as art software, but has evolved into much more.  For example, students can utilize this software, where their students have access to import text, images, add sound files, resize images, and even build a slideshow.  When I become a classroom teacher, I would love to expose my future students with this.  When I worked in a Kindergarten classroom, we used a similar program, and our students were able to create an “alphabet” book.  In this book, students would create a picture that was associated with each letter.  This would allow student to develop a better understanding of “letter recognition”. Each child was assigned 1-2 letters and at the end of the project we combined each of their alphabet images to develop a class book.   When the students were able to view their artwork in a published book, they were enlightened! It was mentioned in the text that intermediate students could use this software too.  Students can develop word math problems, to show a visual representation of how they completed the problem. 

Overall, this chapter provided how we as future educators, can develop intriguing and engaging lesson plans while using the technology resources that are available to us.  Our learners can be exposed to a classroom, where we as classroom teachers will provide a meaningful learning environment.   

References

Bitesize Home. (n.d.). BBC News. Retrieved September 23, 2014, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/ks1/

Higher-Order and Lower-Order Thinking. (n.d.). YouTube. Retrieved September 23, 2014, from http://www.youtube.com/

Maloy, R. W. (2011). Chapter 7-Exploring Problem Solving, Apps., and games. Transforming learning with new technologies (pp. 158-181). Boston: Pearson/Allyn and Bacon.

PowToon - Brings Awesomeness to your presentations. (n.d.). PowToon. Retrieved September 23, 2014, from http://www.powtoon.com/

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