•  Guided Response: Respond to at least one of your peers’ posts. Critically analyze their opinions and suggest examples that either support or refute their rationale. Ask them to clarify their answers with examples or illustrations. 

Kim Spiegel

• Does the use of technology help students achieve learning goals?

I think that the use of technology does help achieve learning goals because it encourages students to think in ways they may not otherwise do.  Students learn useful 21st century skills like problem-solving and critical thinking skills that help them to solve real world problems.  According to Georgetown University (2009), “In many different ways, new media environments allow students to recognize and engage with the stages and layers of learning in ways that lead to greater reflection and control over learning processes” (p.1).  The idea behind learning is for students to take what they have learned and apply it to real life.  Technology helps them do that by using visual representations of the problem and allowing them to find new and innovative ways to solve the problem.

• Does the use of technology change student engagement in learning inside and outside of class?

The use of technology does change student engagement in a positive way.  It motivates students to learn and also encourages them to solve real issues.  According to Georgetown (2009), “Socially situated learning at its most effective leads through engagement to commitment, where students, in small and large ways, come to experience what it means to inhabit their knowledge and the values it implies” (p.1).  Students can take what they learn in the classroom and use it in their everyday lives.  It makes students want to learn.

• Does the use of technology change teaching behaviors and practices?

Technology allows the teacher to demonstrate problems rather than lecture about them.  According to Georgetown (2009), “New media pedagogies can be used to engage novice learners in certain fundamental aspects of expert thinking that are difficult to engage in other ways.” (p.1).  Teachers are able to use media and other technology as a source to teach students and provide them with skills they can use to further their careers.  Teachers can also work side by side with students in a more interactive way that they could before which helps to build that student teacher bond.

• Does the use of technology improve teaching effectiveness and efficiency?

The use of technology does improve the teaching effectiveness and efficiency because teachers do not have to take students out of the classroom for such things as research or projects.  Computers can be set up in the classroom along with interactive white boards.  Teachers no longer have to take the time to round up students and take them to the library to gather information.  technology has made things quicker and easier for everyone.  According to Gerogetown (2009), “Through the close examination of the evidence of student learning, this project will create a framework for designing better general education experiences where students develop flexible and integrative thinking in communication-intensive contexts.” (p.1).  Teachers are also able to teach more effectively by using technology because it frees up their time to work with students who really need help while other students can continue learning by using things such as computers and media.

References

Georgetown University. (2009, January 10). Visible knowledge project (Links to an external site.) (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/vkp/