We All Become Learners

Until recently, I always thought it was a little ridiculous for younger students to be working with iPads, Mac books, and other forms of technology in the classroom. What does a first grader need with an iPad, right? Wrong. The world is changing, technology is constantly evolving and updating and those that wish to be relevant to the future of society need to be able to keep up. In EDM 310, we, as college students, are doing very similar projects as some elementary school classes are doing in the area around us. No, we aren't behind and no, they aren't super technologically advanced; we just did not have the same resources available to us when we were children in elementary school. It does mean, though, that we will have to work harder to get a hang of the technology we will be using in the classroom because the children do have such a wonderful grasp on the technology they use in the classroom.

The videos this week were a series of teachers explaining different ways in which they incorporate technology in their classroom.  The first staring Michele Bennett showing how to make a QR code online. She said that children offer use the recordings they turn into QR codes to help them learn to read. I think this is a fabulous idea, and the kids can even make their own QR codes because it is so simple. 

The next few videos feature Ginger Tuck. She discussed using iPads in the reading centers as well as using Poplet and AVL. The children use the iPads to record themselves reading then listen to the recording to check for mistakes. I really like the use of iPads in teaching children to read. My nephew told me this weekend about how at his school they use iPads to listen to books and how much he enjoys using them. Next Tuck explains Poplet. Poplet is an app that allows the children to create a web of information about the book they are reading. Lastly, Ginger Tuck talks about the way her kindergarteners learn using AVL. AVL stands for Alabama Virtual Library, this is a place where children can use a kid's friendly search engine to do research. The links that show up when a child searching for something have videos most of the time and audio so that the child can learn about different, she says, ways of transportation, for example. 

Next, I learned about Discovery Education Board Builder, from Tammy Shirley. This is another tool that helps improve children's reading and writing skills. They can also write their own stories and search for pictures or videos using the Discovery Ed database. I think it is really important for the kids to learn how to do their own research because it is something they will be doing their whole life. 

After watching videos about Discovery Education, I watched a couple of videos with Mrs. Tassin. In the first, she had two boys show off a board they had made online about whales after they took a 'virtual field trip'. The boys also explained to the viewers how they did their own research for the board! The next video, Mrs. Tassin showed off a group of girl that had used board builder. Their board convinced their audience to save their loose change for The Haven, which is an animal shelter. Mrs. Tassin again asked the students to share the resources they used in making the board. These projects not only allow children to use technology and conduct research, it also allows them to share the sites they find useful with one another, further broadening their concept what they know the Internet to be. 

Lastly, I watched Dr. Strange has a conversation with Michele Bennett and Elizabeth Davis. The theme of the video is that we all become learners. "It's teachers teaching students, and it's students teaching students, and it's students teaching [teachers]," Michele Bennett explains. This is just a reiteration of basically everything in EDM, everyone is a learner. And also everyone is a teacher. I expect to learn so much from my students when I become a teacher. I really enjoy the dynamics of everyone, including the teacher, learning in a classroom. It provides an atmosphere that encourages asking questions and finding things out and, to me, that's exciting.