Chapters 8 and 9

When and how do teachers act as designers?

Teachers act as designers all the time. Whether it is designing a lesson plan that reaches the few struggling students in the class or designing a creative way to teach their students. Teacher act as designers also when creating any project that has to do with technology. Technology is great but does not always work so they have to design the activity or lesson so that even if technology fails the student can still learn the concept the full extent to which they would if the technology did work to their advantage.  

- Select one of the followings and explain what it is and how it can be used in classroom: SketchUp, Trebuchet Simulator, Model Car Design, Scratch, iStopMotion, Impromptu. 

SketchUp is a program that is designed to build a house or make floor plans from the ground up. With the program you can make a 3-D model of a house from the ground up. You could add trees and small details like a fence around the house to show how it will look when it is finished. This technology would be great to use in the classroom because it can show a process that has to be followed. It could be a great demonstration for following directions and also the steps to making something large like a house that without this technology would be very difficult. The students can go in and make their own house and it teaches them that they have to do it in a certain order to get the right results, because obviously you can’t have a roof before you have your walls in place.

- Explain "Digital Storytelling by Kate Kemker." What do you think it would work in your classroom?

Digital Storytelling is a tool used to create the actual story that the student wants to tell. What I understood from the book was that “Students will use their creative skills to create a storyboard on paper, use a camera to shoot their video, and finally edit their video on a computer using some type of software” I think this could work in a high school setting but it would be very hard to complete the activity. Not every school has the funds to have enough cameras to go around or the funds to purchase the editing software needed. It is a great idea and would definitely teach the students more about technology.

- Mathematics is one of the most abstract subject-matter domains. Helping students to visualize mathematical concepts is very useful in helping students make math real. What other methods suggested in the textbook will also help make math more real to students?

Also suggested in the book is Mathematica, Math Lab, and Statistical Analysis System. These systems give the students the hands on experience that they need to learn and help them remember and relate to what they are doing. It’s all about visualizing what you are doing and making the connection to how it can benefit you and your future.

- Is it possible to learn from TV alone?--that is, learn how to do something merely from watching TV instruction? 

I think it is possible to learn some from TV, but not everything. If a small skill is being taught where you can take notes and keep up with the show it is great but after you watch and learn how to do it you have to complete the task and I think that’s when you really learn. Watching and doing is two very different things, you can watch how to do something all day long but once you get involved in actually doing it you can learn what works best for you and that is when you really learn and also dip into problem solving.

Jonassen, David H., and David H. Jonassen. Meaningful Learning with Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall, 2008. Print.