Thanksgiving!

Teachers are designers’ majority of the time.  When creating lesson plans they need to design assignments that benefit their students so the y will learn to the best of their abilities. As a future physical education teacher I would need to create activities for my students so they won’t become bored.

If I was a science teacher I would use Trebuchet Simulator in my class room.  It is greatly used for teaching lessons about force and physics.  Trebuchet Simulator is software that simulates a throwing device and the students have to manipulate the movement.   This can also be used in a PE class, putting students in groups and allowing them to compete with one another.

Digital Storytelling is software that puts a lot of focus on activity more than the technology.  It is used for great team work and working with others.  Students think of a story and put it together.  I would use this in my classroom if I was having my students act out tell their body parts and bones.

I would tweak with the data sets, which should be interesting. We could take the data used in a chemistry lab and change the variables, by changing the students can see how accurate they need to be in a lab and how some small mistake can make a huge difference.

I think it is very possible to learn from TV alone.  You can take a cooking show for instance; it is very instructional and informational. That’s more of a hands-on type of activity but you can also learn about what’s going on in the news or stock market by watching the news. I don’t suggest you learn solely from the TV more and better information is put in books.

Jonasse D., Howland J., Marra R. M., & Crismond D. (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall

Week 11: Chapter 3 Assignment

The three principals that I think would be important for education would be; Committed Learning Principle, Discovery Principle, and Practice Principle. The Committed Learning Principle is an extension of the real-world to the virtual world. It also engages in a lot of effort and practice.  The Discovery principle is probably the most important to me because students should be allowed to experiment and make discoveries on their own in order to better their learning experience.  The Practice principle gives learners a chance to perfect a certain skill. For example, an athlete going to the gym everyday and practicing free throw shots.

            The one activity I would support the most would be the focus of physical education.  Not because I’m an athlete but because I would want them to stress the importance of staying fit and healthy in our society.  My concern would be mainly to teach students what muscles are doing what in different exercise and teach them about hyperkinetic diseases.    

            Gee’s principles and stimulations play an important role in education.  The focus on keeping students engaged and experiencing hands on a real life situation.  There is no better “teacher” than hands on experience.

Jonasse D., Howland J., Marra R. M., & Crismond D. (2008). Meaningful Learning with Technology. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.