Chapter 8

Chapter 8 - Technology Tools and References for Inquiry Science

In today's technological world, young children are savvy using electronic devices of many kinds, and it's practically getting to the point where not incorporating technology in the classroom is not best practice. There are many reasons for this: the attention spans of children has decreased greatly due to the speed of the technology available to them; the capacity for information that the children can process all at once has increased due to the capabilities of the technology available to them; and furthermore, we should accept that using technology is a very important skill for all to develop for when they are on their own, so we should work on that skill while the children are still in school.

This chapter gives tips on how to incorporate technology in inquiry science instruction and learning, which can greatly augment it. GPSs, computers, CD-ROMS, DVDs, projectors, digital cameras, data sensors, digital microscopes, and especially the internet are all recommended tools for enhancing teaching and learning, among others. The internet is perhaps the most powerful of all tools, because there are websites and programs that can be found online which offer the capabilities of just about any specific technology, as well as there is obviously a massive amount of information available for students to learn from. As the book notes, though, there also obviously are concerns with internet usage that must be addressed and accounted for. Students can easily get distracted or into trouble, so we as teachers have to have some way of monitoring a classroom full of computer-users.

Overall, this was just another very helpful and useful chapter.

-Jesse (bullsfan009)