Thing Twenty-One: Emerging Technologies
Thing Twenty-One makes you think about how technology is constantly evolving and changing. While these modules were helpful, technology continues to grow and expand. This Thing focused on how it's currently doing that and how you might use it in the classroom.
Thoughts on Technology in the Classroom
![]() This blog raised great questions, and even relates to the SAMR model, because this considers older teaching strategies and technology. Sites like grammarly can be used as a tool and would be considered augmentation--it changes some functions (teacher editing, student revising process) without changing the entire function of the lesson in the classroom.
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For the first part of this assignment, I was asked to look at several education websites and blogs and consider how technology is changing how we teach, how students access education, and what resources and tools are available. Like anything, there are pros and cons to technology. The article I decided to read is called "Does Spellcheck Make 'Learners' More Intelligent?" and can be found by clicking the link. Before I even read the article, I realized this was a great new topic to consider. In the modern age, tools and sites such as Grammarly exist, and students can check their work, spelling, sentence structure, grammar, and more all with the push of a button. The question then is what does this mean for students? Should they be allowed to use these programs? Should they still be taught grammar and spelling? The article brought up several good points, and the answer is sort of yes. Using these resources can help students achieve, see mistakes, and make corrections, but sites like Grammarly are not a substitute for learning the skills in the first place, and should be used as a tool, not as a source of teaching in and of itself.
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Technology in the Future
Next, I was asked to consider how future technologies may impact my lessons and instruction. One thing that I've noticed is the HUGE push for STEM and STEAM. In my home town, we even have a STEM school and a facility called Engineering for Kids. My little sister attends clubs, summer camps, and after school programs at this building, and it's great. I think that incorporating STEM and STEAM is a great addition to the classroom, though it shouldn't come at the expense of social studies, language arts, and history. One lesson I might try is to incorporate Legos or Minecraft into a lesson about area and volume. It would be very easy for children to make physical representations of these concepts, and demonstrate their understanding while still using STEM tools they love.
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Hour of Code
Lastly, I was asked to play around on Hour of Code. Wow! What a great website. This website offers thousands of coding activities that get children involved in STEM and STEAM, with video introductions, storylines, and favorite characters like Rey and BB8. I played around on the website for awhile, and definitely would have enjoyed this as a child. I've also recommended it to some teacher friends, and to my STEM and tech loving little sister. This is one of my favorite resources, and could be a great brain break or computer lap activity for the classroom. I really enjoyed the various options and grade levels as well.
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