Digital Badge #C

While reading chapters five and seven in Transforming Learning with New Technologies, I decided I liked some of the concepts in chapter seven best. To begin with, my favorite concept in this chapter is the section on page 164, Problem-Solving and Inquiry-Learning software. This section includes information on Composing and Calculating Software, Building, Inventing, and Creating Software, and Visual-Thinking and Concept-Mapping Software. I love the idea of the children being able to use different technologies to create things, organize their ideas online, and being able to use digital writing. The book discusses how children can use the computer to create things they want to build or invent digitally. I remember being in middle school and my teacher introduced me to Adobe and the multitude of programs that they make. I fell in love with PhotoShop and DreamWeaver. High school helped me become even more advanced in these programs. I have received all my Adobe Certifications, and still use the programs to this day to create different things. I used to love being able to work in these programs because it lets you slip away into your own world, and you can create anything and everything you can imagine. I think kids using these in the classroom can help them express themselves, and reach out to other students. I created a Tackk to help portray my thinking on this topic, and include some references that teachers could use in their classrooms., I also included a video on how to teach kids programming.

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Another concept I enjoyed in this chapter, is the idea of using games in the classroom. There are so many sites that include educational games to help students learn and understand things better. I think games are a great idea in the classroom, and can provide a very great outlet for learning. I recently came across a website called Brainpop.com, and was I amazed! This site is an educational site that includes pages for each topic, the topics include Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts and Music, Health, and Engineering & Tech. When the topic is chosen, you can then choose a subtopic that are related to the original topics. They are like their own individual lessons that include a movie, quiz, Make-A-Map, FYI, and activities. There is also an option for teachers to teach this topic, and it provides lesson ideas and to create a quiz. I think sites like this one, are great ideas in the classroom, because it can help the teacher plan out activities to keep the children engaged in their learning.

Lastly, I liked how the book gave readers a section on Online Software Selection Resources for Teachers. Not everybody knows what site to use, and how to use it, or what site is appropriate for students. The book includes information on Edudemic Directory, Entertainment Software RatingBoard, EvaluTech, and StopBadware.org. I like that the book included this information because it helps teachers distinguish between good and bad sites to use in their classroom. The section I liked most, is the Entertainment Software Rating Board, because this is an evaluation group that analyzes new software every year and determines the age group it is appropriate for and it rates the sites for the teachers. I think that this is a great resource for teachers, because although the site may seem good for the grade you teach, it may be too advanced or below level for your students. This can help us educators know what is appropriate for our students.

References:


Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Matte, C. (2016, January 22). Make Your Own Video Games and Software. Retrieved from aboutparenting: http://familyinternet.about.com/od/resources/tp/programmingforkids.htm

Thomas, C. (2016, February 21). Problem-Solving and . Retrieved from Tackk: https://tackk.com/ene6zb

Briccetti, D. (2009, July 13). Teaching Programming to Kids Overview. Retrieved February 21, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Swh9VI8LlCQ