Challenge Based Learning

When I first heard the words challenge based learning in class and that we had to do a project with it I had no clue where to start. I didn't really understand what challenge based learning was and what I was going to have to do. Through the reading I learned that challenge based learning is education with a clear purpose. A fairly simplistic concept that sadly gets over looked. It is education that is engaging and relevant to our students and where they are in their lives.
Now days the over used "purpose" of teaching has become to pass the standardized tests. Teachers spew out information and drill it into students to make sure they pass their exams, not making sure that they understand the content or that they have really retained it. Sadly, it the way the classrooms have become because the structure that has been placed upon school systems and classrooms. Also, because of educations need in general for funding and funding comes to those with higher scores. I really liked the challenge based learning reading and all of the opportunities it shows us. The author mentions that a lot of assignments in the curricula are lacking real-world context for students. 
Education is supposed to be about learning, it is for the students and it is about the students and their needs. Not about teachers or tests, or even funding although helpful to have. If students can relate contain to life outside the classroom and make clear connection to way what they are learning is important then they will be more engaged and more apt to listen and learn. Challenge based learning is to keep students with you and part of the learning process and it is important that even though there is the necessity to do well on tests that we keep students engaged, involved, and motivated.

IPad

Reading this article I completely understand how ipads can be useful in the classroom. Students love working with technology so using ipads in the classroom can be really reinforcing and there are plenty of educational apps that can be put on them. Plus, you could have a whole library of books on the ipads giving students plenty of reading options and they can enlarge the text to a size that is comfortable for them to read.
Ipads can also be useful for teachers to have portable devices for doing any class work on the go. Whether its writing lesson plans, making notes, or grading assignment. There are plenty of apps for teachers to use.
The one flaw is that you have to make use of ipads fair for all of your students. They are aren't too expensive but it is unlikely that you would have enough for each student in the classroom. Therefore, a system needs to be put into place of when they can be used and who's turn it is to use them. Also, as teachers we need to make sure that they are being used for academic purposes only while in the classroom.
I do believe that in the future, technology is going to be a very big part of the classroom. So we need to make sure that we understand how it works and different resources that will be useful for the classroom.

Keeping Students Safe Online

This article talks a lot about safety on the internet. I can’t stress enough how important this is. Everyday kids are gets cyber bullied or falling out internet chat site which can be extremely dangerous. As, teachers it is important that we teach students how to avoid and protect themselves from these hazards. A lot of times kids don’t learn how to be safe on the internet at home or their parents just use the parental controls for the internet, but that doesn't mean that children are completely protected because sometimes things slip through the cracks.

To help our students understand the importance of safety AND the important of being kind to one another we should spend more time in the classroom doing just that. I know as do the rest of us that school days have become jam packed with subjects and skills to teach our students. However, I believe that being safe tops a lot of content because if someone is being bullied then they aren't going to comprehend anything as well as they could be since they are now anxious or upset or scared. Also, if they were to come into contact with a predator then their life is at risk and students’ lives are a lot more important to me than their reading skills. I know that there are kid’s chat rooms online and we need to teach them how to behave and what to say or not say in these rooms. I rather them know about it and understand how to use it then to run into one someday and just openly give out information about themselves not knowing who is really on the other end. To me this is considered social health, learning how to communicate, get along, and be safe with others something that is rarely taught in the classroom, yet is becoming more and more important as the internet continues to grow.

Transliteracy

From the time that I was in Kindergarten to Middle School literacy had changed drastically. It still continues to change and grow everyday. Starting in a world of books and paper to diving into the pool of the Internet became something new and exciting as I grew up. Now day’s children are growing up with more technology use then the standard book to read. It is important that we teach them how to maneuver through the web. Also, to keep up and stay transliterate ourselves.

My favorite part of the article was the slogan, "Know Your Destination". Especially when teaching students how to proper navigate through searches and websites. The Internet is a very big place and therefore it is easy to get lost in it. We shouldn’t always expect students to be able to find information write away however, we need to make sure that they are using proper techniques and not finding things that are inappropriate for them to look at. This is also important that students have a reason to be on the Internet, because just browsing can be very dangerous especially if they don’t understand what they are getting into.

I liked how the article brings up the simplistic structure of reading a book in print. In our society we read the text from left to right. In comparison to read information on the Internet, which contains hyperlinks, various websites, and sometimes distracting ads on the side. These factors make finding information online a lot more complex. Yet, we taught proper ways to navigate information came become easily accessible. Therefore, It is important to teach students how to go about finding useful information on the Internet and being safe about it by not getting into websites that are not credible or important to the original search.

I Can't Think reflection

This article, like a lot of other readings I have done so far this quarter, was a bit overwhelming to start with. However, I believe that it was intentional of the author to write this way, proving one of the points that the article is trying to make. Once, I got into the article a little more and really tried to understand it, the wheels began to turn.

In this day and age we are constantly receiving information, opinions, and personal updates in a matter of seconds after an event occurs. People have developed a need to know and we have created a way for everyone to fulfill this need quicker and easier then they every have in the past. We can get news, reviews, and almost anything else we can dream of finding at the tips of our fingers. If we seem to have difficulties with this, such as our computer stalling for a few seconds, we get aggravated. The author brings up the point that technology and the information that we are able to access through this technology has become a basis for a lot of decision making for people in the recent years. I have thought a great deal about this point in particular and the effect technology has had on my life. I am aware that have used information that I have gained through the media, news, and social interactions to help me make some decision and there are probably also some decisions that I have made by subconsciously using these resources. Recently about 10 keys on my computer stopped working all of the sudden. This has also had a big effect on my decisions. I have to plan things out more and be more productive because of my lack of accessibility to computers. However, it has made it a lot easier to make my own decisions and good decisions. I no longer waste my computer time using Facebook constantly or going on Google and looking up random thing because I am bored. However, people on Facebook and media trends have become less of an influence on my decisions.

The point in the article that really stuck with me is that decision-making science shows that some of our best decisions are made through an unconscious process. After becoming less involved in the world of excess information I found that my decisions became easier to make and better for me in the long run. Therefore, in my eyes it makes sense that our unconscious process makes the better decisions because it is a natural reflex or instinct and is less affected by influences that surround a person. Yes technology is a vital piece of our lifestyle now days and lack of access can put us in a rutt or make us fall behind. However, do we really need the almost unlimited amount of information and misinformation that is out there to effect our decision making process?