Blog 5

I really enjoyed Dr. Roberts presentation on media use in children aged 8-18. Though I suspected that media took up a big part of a child’s day, I did not expect to see such high numbers. I found myself incorporating the term media multitasking into daily conversations. This presentation left me very interested in learning more about the effects that media has on the development of children’s brains.  I especially enjoyed the open discussion after the presentation. The implications of the prevalence and influence of media in a child’s life on education were aptly debated. With media being so popular and prevalent I came into the presentation a bit conflicted as to how much media integration in the classroom would be educationally beneficial. I agree that a balance must be found. I would like to see future studies conducted so that more data can be garnered. 

The NY Times’ article “More Pupils are Learning Online,Fueling Debate on Quality” touched upon a topic that a couple of my friends and I have been debating for a while. At the college level, I think that online courses can be a great tool. However, at the high school level I think that online courses are more detrimental than helpful. I do not think that they can successfully replace a traditional classroom learning experience. At the high-school level, I can see online courses being beneficial if they are offered perhaps as an option for a remedial course or for students in hospitals, etc. However, the students will loose the entire benefit of social interaction and peer stimulation present in a classroom. Many students are already conducting most of their social interaction online. An online class will rob these students of the opportunity to further develop their interpersonal skills and their ability to empathize with their peers. Another reason that I do not support the increase of online courses is that it will cost teachers their jobs.

"Technological Resources for the Teacher"

http://www.techsmith.com/download/jing/

This was a very cool site that would help me easily create an instructional video for my students.

http://www.glogster.com/

This would be a great resource to share with my students. It would provided them with an alternate and creative way to present their reports.


http://www.discoveryeducation.com/free-puzzlemaker/?CFID=457779&CFTOKEN=34426007

I would use this to create puzzles incorporating pertinent vocabulary. I could put this in homework packets or use the puzzles/crosswords as an extension activity.

http://quizlet.com/

This resource has the potential to greatly support student learning. I would be able to create flashcards to help my students retain vocabulary. It would also be a good tool to have handy should I have ELD students in my classroom.