- What is the general purpose and reasoning behind incorporating global projects, education, and collaboration into the classroom?
It shows your students that there is a variety of ways to becoming educated with the use of technology. Using certain collaboration technology tools such as Skype and a computer camera, students can meet and talk with friends from around the globe. Together they can work on an assignment with students from across the country or across the world and come up with two totally different outcomes. They could then learn different views from different countries. This opens up a whole new chapter for both sets of classrooms that are Skyping with each other. They could work on incorporating global projects with each other and possibly come up with a solution that could better their lives as well as others. It could be the smallest solution but at the same time it got the students to think as one and as a group they started to make a difference in their worlds. This type of collaboration and global projects are what teachers are hoping their students understand and know that even at their age there is a way that they can help make a change and encourage them to continue to think of new ways to better their world around them. When students are interested in something and are having fun then they hardly think of what they are doing as educational. Technology in the classroom is vital to all students. When you bring technology into your classroom you’re bringing in a world of education, knowledge, and fun. Students look forward to using technology to create something that can be their own “masterpiece” or create something that can make a difference in someone’s life. As long as a student is engaged and having a good time putting in the hard work needed to see a difference in what they created than a student doesn’t care if it is educational, they will still do it no matter what. Not all education is enjoyable but if you can make it enjoyable than you have the whole classrooms undivided attention, which is rare in most cases.
John,
ReplyDeleteI love this post. It has a very similar theme to mine. I can't believe that many schools aren't harnessing these "FREE" tools that the internet provides for our students. Many school districts block sites like Facebook, Skype, YouTube, etc. It is my opinion that students should be able to utilize these sites for learning.
Sites and applications like these allow students to be engaged in their learning. They provide a window to look through that shows cultural differences. We as teachers can talk about these types of things but what is better for the student? To listen to the differences in a lecture or see the differences live on the computer?
Excellent points John. I agree. If we can engage the students through the use of the technology, which has a purpose, we can teach them all of the amazing possibilities it has to offer. Often times they do not even realize how much they have been learning because it is the adventure that they are paying attention to. They are excited to share and learn with each other through the technology they are using. It is a win win! I love the cultural aspect of learning as well. I really believe we are so sheltered here in the US, myself included. It would be so much fun to speak to other teachers and students from around the globe to understand basic cultural differences and things that matter most to them. I bet we would discover a lot of similarities we did not even know existed!
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