What a fabulous idea for analyzing Nathaniel Hawthorne! Student hate reading his work, generally, because it is so difficult and laden with vocabulary and 19th century dialect. I definitely agree also that kids react much differently when they can utilize their technological knowedge, and type instead of write. Not to mention that this activity would eliminate the need to collect a bunch of handwritten papers that needed to be individually graded. How wonderful!
I thought the bit about Leapster was interesting as well because it is so true that kids have such short attention spans now. It is nothing for a student to sit and listen to music while typing, or reading, and instant messaging a friend every minute or so at the same time. Keeping kids on their toes is important, and I see the need to integrate technology into our lessons. The problem is, as I have pointed out many times, I don't have access to 30 computers for my students on a daily basis, and sometimes they can't even use the computer lab once per month. This is troubling to me, and I see a great need for teachers to learn to write grants, and to push for more technology in the classroom. I know it is the only way we are going to truly guide our young people to academic success.
1 comment:
I too am frustrated by the lack of technology in many schools. Access does vary school to school though. Some have Smartboards, while others have overheads on their last leg.
Post a Comment