In any discipline, it is important to use creativity, whether it is drawing people in with an advertisement, creating an interesting presentation or lesson, or effectively showing how to do a mathematical equation. Creativity helps ingrain things in people's minds, so it can help students to remember certain facts and topics better if it is presented creatively. Also, if students can interact with technology creatively, it will be another way that they can utilize their information and make it a part of their knowledge rather than simply repeating it over and over again as a way of remembering it for a test. For instance, students can use technology to create a power point, a movie, or even an iPad application to increase their knowledge. It can even be even more beneficial than a test or a paper because students are utilizing their knowledge rather than simply recalling it. Since creativity through technology often takes a lot of time and can even be fun, students will learn more through it.
Another aspect of creativity expanding learning is that it is the way that certain students learn - visually. For students that have always had to take tests but are not good test takers, this could increase their learning substantially.
Monday, November 21, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Online Teaching = One Step Toward Equality
Maintaining objectivity in grading is an impossible task when you know the student because you interact with them in the classroom everyday. Sometimes, it is positive bias, where you know that the student tries with all of his being, so you automatically favor his paper or test. Other times, it is a negative bias, where you know that the student only acts up in class, talks back, and disrespects, so you automatically desire to mark off for the slightest imperfection in his paper or test. Either way, it is detrimental to the student, sometimes taking away or adding to his true grade due to teacher bias.
How do we avoid this? Teachers could have the students identify themselves by a number, but the number will always be associated with a name. After grading for even a week, the teacher will begin to remember the number and with what student that number is associated, leading back to the bias. In an online classroom, though, the students do not have the behavioral problems that are present in the classroom, so a teacher does not have that bias toward them and can grade them more objectively than before.
Equality is something that our country has valued since we wanted to separate from Britain, and we have moved closer and closer toward it. Yet, it is something that will always remain due to our sin nature. As humans, we have the tendency to treat certain people better than others. Finding ways to decrease the inequality that occurs in schools is another step toward all people being treated the same, the way God intended for it to be.
How do we avoid this? Teachers could have the students identify themselves by a number, but the number will always be associated with a name. After grading for even a week, the teacher will begin to remember the number and with what student that number is associated, leading back to the bias. In an online classroom, though, the students do not have the behavioral problems that are present in the classroom, so a teacher does not have that bias toward them and can grade them more objectively than before.
Equality is something that our country has valued since we wanted to separate from Britain, and we have moved closer and closer toward it. Yet, it is something that will always remain due to our sin nature. As humans, we have the tendency to treat certain people better than others. Finding ways to decrease the inequality that occurs in schools is another step toward all people being treated the same, the way God intended for it to be.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Gender Problems and Technology
While technology is a great way to introduce students to the real world, it also poses problems for some students. Some students do not enjoy technology or they do not know how to use it. Often times, the group of students that do not enjoy or do not know how to use technology are girl students. This causes a gap in the knowledge of technology between boys and girls.
Let's face it: men have been the majority in computer businesses (information technology) for the time since technology has become a major part of society. Therefore, teachers (sometimes subconsciously) cater technology towards the male students, making it more appealing to them. Female students, since the information is not directed toward them, become less interested in the material and henceforth know less about it. Males are already called upon more in classrooms than girls, so, if you add technology to it, they become even more involved in classroom activities, increasing the disparity in equality between boys and girls in the classroom.
If we integrate technology into the classroom as much as we intend to, we must be extremely careful that we make engaging material for both boys and girls, especially including girls as much as possible. For instance, if we make the computer programs something they are interested in, such as shopping, cooking, or people-reading, then girls will be more engaged in the information and there will be less of a gap. If we continue in the way we are going, however, the inequality gap will increase.
Let's face it: men have been the majority in computer businesses (information technology) for the time since technology has become a major part of society. Therefore, teachers (sometimes subconsciously) cater technology towards the male students, making it more appealing to them. Female students, since the information is not directed toward them, become less interested in the material and henceforth know less about it. Males are already called upon more in classrooms than girls, so, if you add technology to it, they become even more involved in classroom activities, increasing the disparity in equality between boys and girls in the classroom.
If we integrate technology into the classroom as much as we intend to, we must be extremely careful that we make engaging material for both boys and girls, especially including girls as much as possible. For instance, if we make the computer programs something they are interested in, such as shopping, cooking, or people-reading, then girls will be more engaged in the information and there will be less of a gap. If we continue in the way we are going, however, the inequality gap will increase.
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