Thursday, January 26, 2012


Chapter one was not what I expected from a college text assignment. It was full of resources and ideas that can be implemented immediately. The example based on content areas was impressive.  I especially liked the Social Studies section, where you are given  the American Memory information to access historical documents. Using technology in the classroom is great and teachers are always looking for interesting websites. This first chapter was a wealth of specific information and links. It was greatly appreciated

From the standards. I was impressed with the expanse of areas covered. I appreciate the changing of the times and the fact that we need to use technology to not only hook students, but also to prepare them for the increase of technology use in the future. Teaching students to be creative using a computer program is vital for high school, college and the work place. The same goes for using technology to research. Students are more likely to use internet resources to research a topic, not to mention the overwhelming wealth of information available without leaving your desk. The growth of technology use in the classroom and at home, for academic purposes or recreational enjoyment is something that will only grow in the future. I found the standards as well as the resources from chapter one informative and able to lay an understandable foundation for implementing these technologies in the classroom.

2 comments:

  1. Do you think more textbooks need to be interactive such as the New Literacies ones? Although some of the links are no longer applicable and the book could use some updating, what do you see as the advantages and disadvantages of interactive textbooks? Many claim that online, interactive textbooks are the wave of the future? If so, how long do you think it will take to have textbooks available on a large scale that are online and have links to resources? Although we might not use other chapters in New Literacies do you think we should? Are you comfortable using online textbooks, or do you prefer the standard paper kind, or perhaps this question is simplistic? That is, it might depend upon the quality of the textbook overall regardless of whether it is in print or online. What are your thoughts about moving more learning online?

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  2. I have started appreciating online and interactive texts in my college career and reading for pleasure. I just converted to a Kindle and I wish more of my text books were available in that respect.
    The links can be somewhat distracting online when trying to focus on a chapter. I have enjoyed the online reading not in a text book, that is the overall setup of the course online. Having said that, I don't think online technologies can take the place (yet) of standard texts that you can hold in your hand and highlight as you go.

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