- Valentine's Day Dinner and Silent Auction
- St. Patrick's Day Scavenger Hunt and Picnic
- Car Wash
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Technology is extremely beneficial in the classroom and is necessary in today's world. Your children are already surrounded by technology; from computers to cell phones and other media devices. Utilizing technology in the classroom will help make the content more relatable to the students as they absorb the information. "As more and more individuals add data plans to their cellular phone and utilize texting in their everyday lives, they demonstrate constant connectedness, which could have a major impact on education in the near future" (Roblyer, 2010). If we can integrate the technology that the students are already familiar with and tie it into the material in lesson plans, it will significantly increase the quality of their learning experience. Furthermore, students will need to be up to date with new technology as they become producers in society after high school.
There are two different learning theories that I believe are relevant to my teaching methods and are important for you to understand.
1. Directed Learning: Learning is transmitted knowledge. Teaching should be directed, systematic, and structured. Examples include drill practice and tutorials. Click on the link, Directed Learning, for more information.
2. Constructivist Learning: Knowledge is constructed, not transmitted. Students do activities that help them generate their own knowledge. Examples include problem solving, multimedia production, web-based learning. (Roblyer, 2010). Click on the link, Constructivist Learning, for more information.
In my physical education classroom, my wish would be to have a computer connected to a projector and screen to use for demonstrations. I will take a directed learning approach and present the information to the students via lecture and discussion. For example, when teaching students about the cardiovascular system and heart rate, I would use the projector to display articles about the topic and diagrams that appeal to visual learners.
My wish list would also include heart rate monitors and watches for each student so I would be able to tie in the information they learned in the lecture to an exercise activity in the field. In a constructivist approach, the students will problem solve as they report their heart rate after different types and lengths of exercises. They will have to use critical thinking to explain why their heart rate reacts to the physical activities they perform.
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. You have already shown great concern and support; please feel free to reply to this blog with your comments and questions. I encourage discussion about technology in the classroom. Keep in mind that we all have the same goal and that is to give our students the best education possible. I believe that technology opens the door to many opportunities and can provide our students with a great education.
DISCLAIMER: This blog is an assignment for an educational technology course at National University. It is not a real fundraising blog.
