Chapter 2 & 3

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 makes me to think about will technology literally promote the quality of education, and dose technology become essential for education. Although I am defined as so called Generation Y, I used to be educated in an old-fashioned way. According to my experience of being educated, some old teaching methods should be definitely changed. As mentioned in chapter 2, student-centered, constructivist teaching must be the mainstream of education in the future. It also lists “five kinds of unique, powerful, and transformative learning experiences – visual learning, assessing and assessing information, student engagement and collaboration, feedback, and creativity” and declares that “technology accomplishes what other non-electronic materials cannot do”. If technology can be proper used as chapter 2 says, and teachers are well-prepared for how to use it, I’m looking forward to the influential effects it will make on education. But I cannot stop wondering that is technology the unique way to support student-centered and constructivist teaching? Will traditional teaching be totally replaced eventually? I am sure that technology will be used into education, and actually it has been, but I cannot deny that traditional teaching has its own advantages – it is more humanistic. Is it possible to make changes of traditional education to make it more appropriate for student-centered and constructivist teaching, instead of totally being replaced by technology?

Since technology education has not already been realized worldwide(as I know, at least in China, traditional education still plays a leading role), and both teachers and students are not well-prepared for it, we still can not conclude that technology education is the best way of learning and teaching. I would rather to consider technology as an instrument, but not an essential part of education. Teachers should learn to use technology, but they should also have the right to decide whether to use it or not. The best teaching style for students is to teach them in a way that is appropriate to them and to teach them what they need.

Questions:

1. Does technology education focuses on changing students’ learning behavior, like to make them learn more actively, or focuses on knowledge itself – to make the learning content different from traditional one?

2. From which grade can students accept technological teaching?

3. Is there any actual examples of technology education that can support this idea, and can detailed explain how it works well compared to the traditional one?

Chapter 3

Chapter 3 is about lesson development. It remains me what I learned from last class – teachers are designers. To be a good designer should consider 1) what to teach, 2) how to teach, and 3) how to know what students have learned. To be good designer can make learning more effectively.

I want to talk about syllabus first, it is something not exist in most classes in China. From syllabus, students can get the information about learning content of each lesson, the requirements and assignments of the class, and the standards of assessment. According to it, students can prepare their learning schedule correspondingly. I think it can be considered as a part of student-centered teaching, since what to learn and learning process is not just in teachers mind but is shared with students.

When to design a lesson, technology seems really helpful. There are a lot of useful information that can be searched online to support teaching content. Some useful software and websites can make teaching more interesting and functional. The two examples from chapter 3 – Ecological Footprints and Rainscapes are really perfect designed with technology. I’m sure it is more effective for children to understand the learning target than simply reading relative articles. I used to tutoring a 6-grade girl. She always had some interesting homework, like to download images of animals living in the North Pole, and to create a living circle for them by handmade arts. I noticed when she was asked to that kind of assignments, she always appeared so excited and could not wait to do that. It motivates me that when designing a lesson, teachers should try to find a way that is more effective for students to learn, not just follow the old rule. It is not only meaningful to a 6-grade student, but while facing up to high-school students or even undergraduate or graduate students, teachers should also think about is the way students are taught really appropriate and effective.

Questions:

1. If relies on online research, will it weaken teacher’s originality in designing teaching content?

2. If using test assignment, what kind of knowledge will be best assessed?

3. When assessments depending on technology, will it be fair for everyone, since someone might know how to use digital devices better than others.