WEEK 2 POST #3- Media Literacy

Media Literacy

"Tech is the 21st century. We're putting kids behind the eight ball if they don't have any contact with computers," said Jamal Hicks, a teacher of social studies and technology at Jonas Salk Middle School in Sacramento, Calif. (Olsen, 2006)

You don’t have to understand the game of pool, to understand what that means: We are falling farther and farther behind as a nation in education, by not using every angle possible to teach our kids.

One such program in emergent technology that is offered is blogging. How can you use blogging in the classroom? Have your students post journal entries as historical figures sharing their thoughts and feelings as they traversed oceans or continents. Students can record data from scientific experiments and post their observations. Or they can post summaries of the day’s lesson for students who may have been absent or did not understand the concepts fully. Blogs give educators the opportunity to open up their classroom to the world. (EdTech, 2007)

So what are we afraid of? "Schools tend to react to emerging technology like MySpace by restricting student use with a heavy hand...(But) to improve education, we must put real digital-age tools in student hands," said Dennis Harper, founder of GenYes. (Olsen, 2006) Letting students be responsible for their own learning? Imagine that. Imagine the possibilities!

Another wonderful program that is free and offered on the web is Google Docs and spreadsheets. Google Docs and Spreadsheets are powerful online collaborative tool. Google Docs has an online word processor, formula spreadsheet, and a presentation tool. They are not Microsoft, but have a similar graphical interface. All of these documents, spreadsheets, and presentations can be opened, edited, and saved – as well as printed and exported into other file formats. (EdTech, 2007)

Emergent technology was designed to make an educator’s life easier. Don’t work harder, work smarter!

EdTech. (2007). The future is here! Emerging technologies in the classroom. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from, http://www.tcubed.wordpress.com/2007/10/24/the-future-is-here-emerging-technologies-in-the-classroom/

Olsen, Stephanie. (2006). When digital kids rule the classroom. Retrieved September 11, 2009, from http://news.cnet.com/When-digital-kids-rule-the-classroom/2009-1041_3-6065108.html