Digital Edge Project

The Digital Edge Project is an online library featuring National Board Certified Teachers in examples and ideas for teaching and lessons. The lesson I decided to follow was written by a sixth grade teacher from Idaho who has a very wide arrangement of students. About half of his students are Hispanic which led him to his lesson about Mexico. The purpose of this lesson was to familiarize the entire class about Mexico: the food, landscape, architecture, culture, history, etc. The students were required to watch videos about Mexico, read in their social studies books, and worked on worksheet to learn information about Mexico. They were also asked to write an essay about how life was different in Mexico than Idaho, and also the things that were similar between them. After the research and paper were complete, the class put on a fiesta complete with Mexican food, clothing, language, and music. From here, the students were asked to create a brochure about their findings using the computer. To go about this part, the teacher explained how to make the brochure in their classroom and then completed instruction in the computer lab. He let them experiment and go for it while walking around the room offering help and answering questions. After spending a while in the computer lab, students were asked to turn in a rough draft which would be looked over by the teacher. The students would then be able to modify their brochures before turning them in (which they made in pairs).
I really enjoyed this lesson plan; it is a great and creative idea. It seemed as though the students enjoyed it and learned a lot about technology and Mexico. The teacher seemed to really understand how to use technology as a tool and as a learning mean to make this lesson meaningful to the students. I personally enjoy his reasoning for using technology:
"I use technology to enhance instruction because it provides opportunities for the students to find information, create an attractive product, and develop problem-solving skills that will serve them well in the future."
This is such a great thing to hear from a teacher. Some teachers today are terrified of teaching too much information about using technology because it's an uncomfortable subject for them. I believe it's important for us as educators to teach them as much as they can. This will help them in the future and able them to help others. What a cool resource for teachers!

Article 1

In "Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age", author Mitchel Resnick had a lot of intriguing things to say about technology and where it's headed. Not what certain things we will have in the future but where our education will go through new technology. He started out by explaining why we need to move away from the "information-centric" views of computing and learning. Terms like "IT" do not just mean moving information around or knowing how to fix a computer. There's something more to that. Resnick talks about the idea of expressing creativity through technology for learning and education.

Computer Clubhouses were a way to get this idea into action. On the east coast, these clubhouses were set up to be used by teens to help them learn to express" themselves and gain confidence in themselves as learners". I personally think this is an amazing place that should be available in every city for teens. It seemed to have a positive influence on some of the kids and I believe it would prove to do the same today.

From here, Resnick takes this idea and blends it with education and learning. He discuses how we need to rethink the technologies that are provided to young people. He encourages schools and teachers to rethink the way they view education and the way people learn. Moving from a "knowledge society" to a more "creative society" would create many new possibilities for our youth in their education. I see what Resnick means about how creativity is surpassing knowledge. People are making big waves through the use of creativity with technology in the pool of success.