Chapter 7
Quote:
"Knowledge is concerns fact and can be either true of false, while belief is always open to interpretation." I chose this quote because I thought this distinction was interesting. It got me to thinking about why this disconnect exists. That is, why do people believe things based on facts?
Question: the book points out that students couldn't locate Iraq on a map when the prompt was merely that. But when given a computer, they could, even showing aerial views, street views, etc. My question is: so what? Of course they can find it when they use technology and look it up. don't students still need to know where it is in their head without having to look it up? It's analogous to saying that students don't need to learn math because now we have calculators.
Connection: This reminds me of Will Richardson's "Why School" book/TED Talk. Richardson emphasizes the need to teach skills and less knowledge. He frames it such that we should not teach things that are "easily google-able."
Aha/epiphany: The aha moment for me came at the end of the chapter where it describes how students reach a greater understanding of something which exceeds a surface level knowledge. My own epiphany was that students need an epiphany in order to get that depth of understanding. I think the easiest way for that to happen is for them to connect it to their lives and realize the relevance of what they're learning.
Chapter 8
Quote: "Through participation in sicuak network sites...as well as instant and text messaging, young people are constructing new social norms and forms of media literacy..." I chose this quote because I have noticed this with my student teaching. I graduated from high school ten years ago, but the proliferation and pervasiveness of social media in kids' lives has changed them so much in such a short amount of time.
Question: How do I push students through these phases of their technological development? How can I, as their teacher, help them to get to the geeking out level?
Connection: This reminds me of the video "visitor or resident" that we watched on youtube. The chapter and the video both are aboutt how often, to what extent, and in what ways do you use technology. The chapter gets into how the more one uses technology the more proficient and adept you become.
Aha - I reached my Aha moment as I read about the difference between hanging out and messing around, which is the development of personal agency. The author quoted in the book says that it's about students pursuing things of personal interest. I realized as I read this that even if students aren't always learning history, they may using and strengthening the skills I have taught them. I might give them the skills to analyze a primary source, for instance, but allow them the freedom to find their own primary source (history or otherwise) to use these skills.
Chapter 9
Quote: "tacit learning functions most effectively when students discover their own learning objectives." I chose this quote because I think it's sometimes counter-intuitive to us as teachers, especially in the traditional sense
Question: My question concerns something that the author wrote about games. After describing some people's dislike for games like Grand Theft Auto and other first-person shooter games, he says that "new research shows that games can in fact aid learning." So the question is: Doesn't the type of game matter what and how much students learn?
Connection: I could relate parts of this chapter to the New York Times article "How to get a Job at Google." In the article, it highlights the importance of students having ownership, which is of course exactly what happens in the World of Warcraft game that chapter 9 describes. Students want to reach the end of the task and take pride in the final product-- either in class or in the game -- when they take ownership.
Aha/Epiphany: My last epiphany for the book came when, appropriately, I read the last line in the book. It says, "And where imaginations play, learning happens." I started to wonder how I can utilize students' imagination in my history classroom. I realized that I can have students create "historical fiction" stories that utilize the information that they've learned in my class. They could create stories that take place in the time period with the same historical figures. This would allow them the "play" that the book describes.
Quote:
"Knowledge is concerns fact and can be either true of false, while belief is always open to interpretation." I chose this quote because I thought this distinction was interesting. It got me to thinking about why this disconnect exists. That is, why do people believe things based on facts?
Question: the book points out that students couldn't locate Iraq on a map when the prompt was merely that. But when given a computer, they could, even showing aerial views, street views, etc. My question is: so what? Of course they can find it when they use technology and look it up. don't students still need to know where it is in their head without having to look it up? It's analogous to saying that students don't need to learn math because now we have calculators.
Connection: This reminds me of Will Richardson's "Why School" book/TED Talk. Richardson emphasizes the need to teach skills and less knowledge. He frames it such that we should not teach things that are "easily google-able."
Aha/epiphany: The aha moment for me came at the end of the chapter where it describes how students reach a greater understanding of something which exceeds a surface level knowledge. My own epiphany was that students need an epiphany in order to get that depth of understanding. I think the easiest way for that to happen is for them to connect it to their lives and realize the relevance of what they're learning.
Chapter 8
Quote: "Through participation in sicuak network sites...as well as instant and text messaging, young people are constructing new social norms and forms of media literacy..." I chose this quote because I have noticed this with my student teaching. I graduated from high school ten years ago, but the proliferation and pervasiveness of social media in kids' lives has changed them so much in such a short amount of time.
Question: How do I push students through these phases of their technological development? How can I, as their teacher, help them to get to the geeking out level?
Connection: This reminds me of the video "visitor or resident" that we watched on youtube. The chapter and the video both are aboutt how often, to what extent, and in what ways do you use technology. The chapter gets into how the more one uses technology the more proficient and adept you become.
Aha - I reached my Aha moment as I read about the difference between hanging out and messing around, which is the development of personal agency. The author quoted in the book says that it's about students pursuing things of personal interest. I realized as I read this that even if students aren't always learning history, they may using and strengthening the skills I have taught them. I might give them the skills to analyze a primary source, for instance, but allow them the freedom to find their own primary source (history or otherwise) to use these skills.
Chapter 9
Quote: "tacit learning functions most effectively when students discover their own learning objectives." I chose this quote because I think it's sometimes counter-intuitive to us as teachers, especially in the traditional sense
Question: My question concerns something that the author wrote about games. After describing some people's dislike for games like Grand Theft Auto and other first-person shooter games, he says that "new research shows that games can in fact aid learning." So the question is: Doesn't the type of game matter what and how much students learn?
Connection: I could relate parts of this chapter to the New York Times article "How to get a Job at Google." In the article, it highlights the importance of students having ownership, which is of course exactly what happens in the World of Warcraft game that chapter 9 describes. Students want to reach the end of the task and take pride in the final product-- either in class or in the game -- when they take ownership.
Aha/Epiphany: My last epiphany for the book came when, appropriately, I read the last line in the book. It says, "And where imaginations play, learning happens." I started to wonder how I can utilize students' imagination in my history classroom. I realized that I can have students create "historical fiction" stories that utilize the information that they've learned in my class. They could create stories that take place in the time period with the same historical figures. This would allow them the "play" that the book describes.