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Showing posts with label social skills. Show all posts
Showing posts with label social skills. Show all posts
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
How Cool is This!
Today while teaching my fifth grade class, we explored the possibility of using SCRATCH to help us in our study of mysteries (we are currently writing original mysteries and then putting them into power point - we thought SCRATCH might allow us to create animation, making the mysteries come alive). I will never forget the words of one ecstatic student as he threw his fists in the air, "I have waited my whole life to be able to do this in school! How cool is this!" As I strive to integrate technology in meaningful ways in my classroom, I realize there is much to consider when using web based technology. Here's what I'm thinking...
"For every hour we spend on our computers, traditional face to face interaction time with other people drops by nearly thirty minutes." When I read this statement recently (iBrain) I had to stop to allow this information to really sink in. I began to ponder these questions: What implications does this have for our children? Will they be less effective at reading the social cues we take for granted? If so, how might that affect their ability to communicate with others?
No one will argue the fact that technology is changing our society at a rate that is unfathomable. So much of this change is exciting - even exhilarating! The ability to make learning relevant and global in nature is (or should be) changing the way we "do" education. However, this change needs to be examined more closely.
We need to proactively teach the social skills students will need in order to be successful. We also need to be careful to integrate technology that will actually help our students to learn and share their learning in authentic ways. When we take these steps, I know we'll all echo the sentiment of my ecstatic student, "How cool is this!"
"For every hour we spend on our computers, traditional face to face interaction time with other people drops by nearly thirty minutes." When I read this statement recently (iBrain) I had to stop to allow this information to really sink in. I began to ponder these questions: What implications does this have for our children? Will they be less effective at reading the social cues we take for granted? If so, how might that affect their ability to communicate with others?
No one will argue the fact that technology is changing our society at a rate that is unfathomable. So much of this change is exciting - even exhilarating! The ability to make learning relevant and global in nature is (or should be) changing the way we "do" education. However, this change needs to be examined more closely.
We need to proactively teach the social skills students will need in order to be successful. We also need to be careful to integrate technology that will actually help our students to learn and share their learning in authentic ways. When we take these steps, I know we'll all echo the sentiment of my ecstatic student, "How cool is this!"
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