Challenge-Based Learning

After our discussion in our last class, I was a little confused on what our expectations were for the Challenge-Based Learning project. However, after reading this article it is more clear of what Challenge-Based Learning entails. The article introduces us to the generation of secondary students where they aren't learning as much in school, because they aren't challenged and some students simply don't care. Many of the reasons why students don't care about education is because they have no way of connecting the content of what they are learning to real life. Challenge-Based Learning is a way to connect students to real life problems while involving them in the process of finding solutions.

There are key components on how to implement Challenge-Based Learning in the classroom and I really enjoyed reading about the component of implementing the plans. Students are given so many assignments where the end result is a grade. By including implementation, students are actually applying their solutions to the real-world. They get to see their efforts put into action. What better way is there to engage students in their own learning than having them totally involved in the process and the implementation of a plan. Students get to see how their efforts have made a changed and how important their roles are for their community. I also like how this kind of learning challenges the students. Students are not just given a boring topic where they have to read about it and then write a paper on it. By using Challenge-Based Learning, students are learning about global issues and working with others to find solutions on how to fix or reduce those problems. Students are challenged in real-world problems where there are people who are currently working to resolve those issues. They become a part of the action team and are involved in the problem solving process. This is such a great tool for learning and I can't wait to use it with my future students!

Literacy & iPads

It astounds me how far technology has come along and how much it influences our lives. If we were still in grade school, we would probably never predict that in 20 years, there would be a way for us to read books on an electronic device. But here we are; Apple, Microsoft and other technology industries have produced a product that can read for us, highlight text, play songs, let's us draw pictures, take notes and find the definition of any word we want to know. It is amazing how much has developed and after reading, "Exploring the Use of the iPad for Litearcy Learning", I am still kind of in the middle where I see that there are advantages for using iPads, but also I am a little hesitant that it might completely steer youth away from printed texts.

Personally, I think iPads are great. I own a iPhone and a Macbook so I have a spot in my heart that admires Apple products. However, is it necessary for children in grade school to be taught how to use these products, such as the iPad? The answer for me is, I am not quite sure. I think the article does a great job pointing out that before we can begin thinking about using the iPad for curriculum, we need to determine what the learning goals are and the possible outcomes of the learning activity. We can't just give students an iPad without any real learning objectives, or else they will see it as a thing that they can play games on and get away from doing any real work. The article mentioned how the iPad shouldn't be a technology integration but rather a curriculum integration. If I were to use iPads in my classroom, I definitely think that the iPad needs to serve a purpose to what I want my students to learn, rather than just a technology tool that they just learn how to use but doesn't apply to any curricular goals.

One of my favorite apps that the article discussed about was Doodle Buddy. I think it is such a great support for literacy, especially for students who have a hard time mentally visualizing stories in their head. This program can help students see what the story is about before they even read it, so it builds up their prior knowledge and prepares them for what is going to happen in the story. I also liked how the teacher did the activity in a group setting and then put all the groups' pictures into a slide show so students can see the whole story.

Overall, I think iPads can be a great assistive technology device that can be integrated into the curriculum, however I don't think it should take over every part of literacy. I wouldn't want my students to forget what print looks like on bounded books! As long as we have clear learning goals for the activities, I think the iPad can definitely be a useful tool.