Hi all! Welcome to my first blog!
While exploring and scrolling through twitter using the hashtag “EdTech” I found an interesting article that caught my attention just from the title. It is called “How technology is teaching kids to care about the world and each other” written by Rusul Allubail. Many people have different opinions about how much is too much screen time for children. However, this article puts into perspective how it can help in the classroom and not only benefit the students but also the teacher! Lastly, I believe this is a useful article to refer back too for any future educators!
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE! https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/opinion-how-technology-is-teaching-kids-to-care-about-the-world-and-each-other
As we all know technology has played such a huge role in both adults lives and in children’s lives as well. This article struck my interest as I quickly became eager to learn how young children could benefit from the use of technology in the classroom.
“We have to consciously work to change this cognitive behavior in ourselves and our students. And to be a better teacher of empathy, I’ve found more and more that it helps to use the same tools of technology that young people are already using”
OVERVIEW: (Responses from Article)
The questions listed below where discussed throughout the whole article and sparked my thinking. However, I chose to post what I thought were the most important points to discuss for one that is interested in reading this article.
Q1: How has technology changed the classroom?
A: Technology has changed the classroom by introducing lessons in empathy and focusing on social impact in a new and engaging way.
Q2: What does Educational Technology provide for teachers?
A: It provided teachers with a way to enhance student learning through tech-based tools like apps, software and videos that instill and foster critical thinking and creativity. For example, it may include students playing a computer game to learn how a bill becomes a law or a lesson on how to write a persuasive letter to their legislator.
A: It was a conference, and one of the most beneficial parts of the conference was being involved and having the chance to connect with teachers, and to learn more about how they’re using specific tech in the classroom.
A: Seventh grade social studies teacher Edgar Ochoa from Phoenix, Arizona, uses Cisco’s Global Problem Solvers (GPS) as a part of the tech giant’s Corporate and Social Responsibility initiative. It consists of an animated series made up of characters and an activity that challenges students to create their own solutions to real-world problems. Ochoa said one of the groups doing a GPS project came up with the problem of massive plastic garbage patches in the ocean, which pose a big threat to wildlife. “So, they created a device that goes out with the sensors on it, and that the government monitors at all times.”
As educators and parents, many of us are eager to find out about new technologies that will help our children learn. Developing empathy can be a powerful skill set for students — and yes, adults, too. It’s important that we sit down with ed tech, and ask, how is it making a difference in our world?
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