Kate Wampler's Chapter Three Reflections

3 Learnings From the Readings

• Exchange of ideas and access to knowledge has increased so that scientists are able to trade ideas in real time allowing for quicker inventions and technologies. As teachers, it is our job to prepare our students for the challenge of making sense of the mass of and access to the endless amount of information available at their fingertips.

• Cognitive field psychologists such as Vygotzky, Bruner and Piaget provided explanations of learning with a constructivist perspective. Deeply reflecting and becoming familiar with teaching philosophies from a constructivist perspective is important for understanding how students learn best. Instead of focusing on using technology applications from a traditional behaviorist perspective, it is important to use technology applications from a constructivist perspective so students can understand and make sense of problems.

• Teachers must establish learning environments that guide their students in making sense of the masses of information in order to make smart decisions about what to do as a result of the information. This idea from chapter three reminded me that as a teacher, my primary responsibility is to guide my students and provide them with the tools, materials and resources necessary to solve problems, rather than transfer knowledge to "empty vessels".

2 Ideas for Integrating Technology into the Classroom

• The case of three old Kim, gave me an idea to show my students how to use email to share digital images such as pictures. One day every month, each student in my class is given the opportunity to bring in show and tell; they are encouraged to bring in personal items such as photos, items collected from traveling, letters, etc. instead of toys, clothes, and other material items. I plan to communicate with parents that if they have access to a computer, they may send me an email with a photo that is special to their child; instead of having the child bring in the hard copy of the photo, I will take my students to the computer lab with a projector, and have the child share their photo via email.

• I plan to use the What Is Technology lesson and have my kindergarten students create a book of technology inventions with the help of their third and fourth grade reading buddies. I will have the third and fourth graders help the kindergarten students gather images using Web searches in the computer lab. During their second session I will have the third grade students help my kindergarten students record their words, ideas and organize their pictures into a technology book using word processor.

1 Concern About Technology After Reading this Chapter

• After reading that research has reported that there are negative effects associated with excessive practice, premature practice, or practice without understanding, I developed a concern for how I was integrating technology and whether or not I was integrating technology in a developmentally appropriate way for my kindergarten students.