Edutopia+Reflections

= = = On the site edutopia there is a video “Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts.” I found this video interesting because it included an English class in high school where the teacher incorporated many different types of technology. The classroom took place in a computer lab for mostly every class. The teacher expected when she introduced new terms for the students to improve their literacy by looking the words up on Google. There was a class wiki where all the students would post as well as them each keeping their own personal blogs. The class was also permitted to use twitter accounts which was a change from the normal classroom atmosphere I’ve seen, where most schools frown on social networking sites like twitter. This type of teaching is interesting and refreshing because it’s very hands on and student oriented, while integrating useful technology skills. = = Video Link = = = = Another video I viewed on edutopia was “Students Speak Their Minds Through Digital Media.” This video showed a school in a poverty stricken area that was offering technology classes to their students. The video focused on how these students took the skills they were learning in these classes and using them to express their ideas and speak their minds. The opportunity for these students to channel their energy into the projects they learned to create in these classes helped the community. Students were teaching others what they had learned and as a result a Saturday morning technology class was offered to the community. This video portrayed a different way technology can affect the lives of students and residents in a community. = = Video Link =