Chapter 8

This chapter is about how technology can be used by teachers and students in the classroom to promote learning. Although I experienced lots of technology in various forms such as computers when I was in school, I feel that there is always new stuff out there that can be used in the classroom. The chapter explains the rationale for using technology in the classroom by stating that technology has, "...changed the way people do science, handle personal affairs, and run businesses, and they have the potential to enhance the way schooling takes place." Because science as a field has always seemed to be up on the latest technology, I feel it is imperative to encorporate technology within the science curriculum. Technology can help us see new things, see old things in new ways, find new information, organize data, and many other things as well. The chapter says that using technology in ways similar to professionals in the field can lead to a deeper understanding of concepts and improved thinking and proglem-solving capabilities. I also think that using technology the say way scientists do can be a great motivation for students. I think students want to feel that they are truly conducting real science, and using technology can make science more real for them.

Many students today seem to come to the classroom with a grasp of technology, especially when it comes to computers. Many students have already learned to not only use computers as a tool for keeping information, but also for research. I liked the part in this chapter about using internet images to engage students in inquiry. The description of how to do this seems much like what Dr. Clishem showed us when taking pictures of the moon and putting them into a word document. I like this strategy for engaging students because it shows students how easy it is to look up science related concepts on the internet. Students could easily do this engage activity on their own if there are enough computers in a classroom. However, it would be important to make sure students are actually looking up what they should be whenever they are on computers. I also like the part in this chapter about taking a virtual field trip. In my 7th grade science class, my teacher sort of did this sometimes to show us the galapagos islands. However, the internet wasn't nearly as fast as it is today, so it was never a very productive activity when we were waiting around for things to load so much, and having to deal with other technical difficulties. Showing a video seems to me like it could substitute for taking a virtual field trip if it is thorough enough about a certain subject or concept. I think teachers should make sure that videos and virtual field trips reflect what is being learned in the classroom through activities and visa versa.

The part about taking a factory tour via the internet reminded me of the show on The Discovery Channel called "How It's Made." I think students would be interested in seeing how things they use are made. However I think it would be hard to incorporate showing this program with the current science unit. One thing I could think of is if students were doing things with heating, cooling, melting, etc... they might see how things like metal are melted down and shaped certain ways. The description of computer-assisted instruction packages says that they are effective even though they usually focus on drilling and practice. I used one of these programs to learn to type on the keyboard, and it was extremely beneficial since I can still type well today. I like the part in this chapter about using digital cameras. Letting students take pictures of their findings could be a great way to formulate presentations on other technological programs such as powerpoint. Digital cameras could also be used to take pictures of students performing tasks, and later used to show the steps of that task is greatly helpful for students with special needs. I also like the section that talks about using PowerPoint. In one of my classes last semester I had to create an interactive program using PowerPoint that not only presented information but had students answer questions and perform tasks using that information. I would definitely consider making another program in PowerPoint for students to use in a science class.

The last thing I thought was interesting in this chapter was how it stated that not all classrooms or schools will have computers for each student or group of students. I think when I develop lesson plans for these methods courses that use technology I usually assume that there will be access to multiple computers. Therefore, I like that this chapter gives some advice for how to still incorporate technology in the classroom even with one computer.