Chapter Ten Journal

Summary

This chapter is focusing on engaging learners through technology. First we talk about the diversity of students in our schools and the many different ways that teachers are trying to enhance not only their learning oppertuinties through things such as creating culturally relevant curriculum (246), connecting classrooms with communities and cultures (247), online language translation services (247), multilingual web resources (248), international newspapers and maps (248), and pointing out word origins for English words (248). 

Then there is the practice known as differentiated instruction which, according to our textbook, "is an instructional approach in which teachers create different educational experiences as ways to meet the learning needs of individual students (248). This is something that I have never heard of. I feel like this is something I would include though in my own classroom if I could. If students work better one way, why not let them openly learn that way. Also it is a great way to get others to try different way of learning. This seems to be very similar to the universal design for learning though in the idea that kids have multiple areas and ways to engage themselves, demonstrate the idea, and get the information (250). 

The rest of the chapter talked about technologies that are out there for students who need it, such as electronic spellers and dictionary and word clouds. Also the different accommodation levels -low, mid, and high-tech (253). 

Focus Question

1. How can technology engage and inspire learning for diverse students?

Technology can engage and inspire a great deal of students from many different background because it can be transformed to fit any type of need. Whether that be a computer talking to a blind child, or changing the language on a page to that of the student knows best. This enhancing the chances of those students actually learning the material. This also helps teachers show diversity to their students through multicultural education that is talked about on page 246 in our textbooks. Teachers are being told to teach students about other cultures and embrace them. With the help of technology this movement can be very smooth. 

Tech Tool 10.2 page 258

Extra-Large and Online Calculators

With the first tech tool in this chapter being interactive whiteboards I was slightly hoping that the second or third would be more interesting because I have just had to go through a course about interactive whiteboards for my university orientation, and then this came up. At first I was slightly confused because I never would have though that calculators could inspire or help students do much of anything actually important other than be a quicker way to solve math equations. Then I read the sections. 

On Martindale's Calculators On-Line Center they have 24,000 different calculation programs. I didn't even know you could use a calculator in so many different ways! I use an app on my iPad called calculator pro, but I never thought about all the good it actually does for me. Below is a picture from my iPad of the app. 

Resources

Textbook- Maloy, Robert, Verock-O'Loughlin, Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.