jessica’s blog

Rainforest Maths

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Here are some reasons as to why the internet should be used as a learning tool for students.

This article encourages the use of podcasting in education.

For me, the thought of using podcasts doesn’t sound very appealing as I am not very confident with technology. However after reading this article my views on podcasting have changed to be more positive.

I believe it is very important for students to be engaged and need to be in a learning environment that offers a variety of ways to learn. After reading this article I have now learnt that using podcasts in the classroom would assist in this and furthermore, inspire students to learn. I believe podcasting would allow for many benefits as it encourages a variety of ways to complete tasks. Students can use voice recording programs or visual presentations. Podcasting is not just for student use, teachers should use it too. It would provide teachers alternative ways to set homework or tasks and allows for communication between teacher and parent to remain strong.

The article states that many new Mac’s are now coming out that have the programs of voice recorder and video camera installed. And the programs sound as though they would be easy to use. It sounds too easy to be true!

I would definitely use podcasting in my class lessons now. I believe it would be an important asset to the students learning and engagement.

I have just watched a short teacher tube clip that is named ‘Why let our Students Blog?’ by Rachel Boyd in New Zealand. This clip was most intriguing, as it showed images of students interacting and learning using computers with reasons explaining why we, as teachers, should let students use technology in the classroom. The clip expressed a range of ideas as to why blogs would be beneficial to students learning. The reasons that I liked and agreed with included working in collaboration and interacting with one another allowing them to share their thoughts, ideas and knowledge; giving them a sense of ownership as they engage and participate in groups or individual work. I believe blogs allow students a learning environment where they can voice their opinions and extend themselves through their thinking and creativity. The clip raised some important reasons of why technology, and in this case more predominately blogs should be used in the classroom to allow for maximum learning development. 

The article I just read talks about the importance of allowing students to learn through technology in the primary school environment. The article is aimed at teachers who may not be confident or know a lot about technology, suggesting that they need to step out of their comfort zones and break the traditional teacher as leader and allow student input of how they would like to learn.

The article suggests using technology in the classroom to help engage the students. I agree with this suggestion as students are more intrigued when learning from technology based programs. An example of this could be using a computer Maths game where students have to complete a series of questions before continuing to the next level. I believe this would be successful in motivating the students and allowing them to gain the most out of the lesson. One other interesting point the article raised was teachers working in collaboration with students. Givign students a voice and allowing them to work individually and as groups will benefit their learning. The article suggests a variety of ways to incorporate technology based tools in lessons such as webcams and mobile phones.

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