Veronica A.

Santos
EDUC-2590-WB01
Instructional Technology
April 29th, 2021

Chapter 7 (pg. 173):

According to the course textbook “After reviewing the literature on gaming, three American

Psychological Association researchers concluded that “video games provide youth with

immersive and compelling social, cognitive, and emotional experiences” and such “experiences

may have the potential to enhance mental health and well-being in children and adolescents” (pg

173). This is not the only benefit of games, there are a couple different learning behaviors that

are used and practiced when youngsters choose and play games that they enjoy and the first

learning behavior is that they demonstrate initiative, they do this by using the technology that the

game is being used on to show their learning through the use of the game. There are games like

ABC mouse or ABCYA that students in Lincoln Public Schools are using that allow students to

learn different material and demonstrate their learning through the game where teachers can also

view their progress. I am currently home with my five year old sister during LPS’s school days

and even with her being at home she works on things like her ABC mouse game that has been set

up for her. Through the gaming app, she does things like watch videos on content, and do little

games over the content where she then earns points where she can purchase different things on

the app.

Another way that they demonstrate initiative is that in group games they seek to improve their

work. They may struggle with a certain part of the game but then the student aims to keep trying

so that they can get a better score or move onto the next level of a game. Another learning

behavior that students use and practice when choosing and playing games that they like is that
they demonstrate collaboration, because they are able to work in groups playing group games,

they are able to be individually their own team or they can work in pairs. When working with

other people in their games then they each have to share the responsibility of helping carry their

team. For example when I was in high school we got together in groups and completed to see

what team got the most answers right for the review questions we were using to study for our

upcoming test or quiz. We did this with quizlet I believe and each of us had to work together to

answer the questions and if one person messed up then they affected the team as a whole so we

had shared responsibility for helping carry the team, we had to have group discussions, and we

had to take everyone's ideas in account for what the answer could be. The last learning behavior

that youngsters use and practice when they choose and play games that they like is that they

demonstrate perseverance. They do so by working past the obstacles constantly thrown their way

in their games. They may do fantastic on one part of the game but it may take them several times

to pass a certain part of the game because it is an area of content that they struggle with. For

example, my little sister is fantastic with her counting but she struggles with some areas of her

writing and so we try to focus on both so that she doesn’t backtrack on her math but we do want

her to work past her struggles because that is how she will improve in her areas of struggle. They

may also ask questions and they may show that they are able to take the feedback and use it to

help them solve the problem in the future.

There are a couple educational purposes that are part of games that promote cooperation,

creative problem solving and peaceful solutions rather than the usual competition many games

like to promote. The first educational purpose that is part of games that emphasize cooperation,

creative problem solving and peaceful solutions is to teach students not only how cooperation

works/how to demonstrate it but to also show students the importance of cooperation. We want
students to work on cooperation so that it comes naturally to them in situations where they will

need to demonstrate it, like in group activities. They will likely demonstrate the skill of

cooperation more if they understand why it is important to demonstrate in the first place. The

second purpose is to show students how to problem solve in more creative ways then they may

already have known and to aim for solutions that are peaceful because we don’t want to teach

students that violence is a solution to our problems or that any other non-peacefully solution is

one that we should immediately go jumping towards and we want students to have the skill of

problem solving in a creative way because all throughout our lifetime we are faced with different

problems that require different solutions. Some of the problems are quick easy fixes that we had

done in plenty of other situations and others may take more creative ways that we may not do

often. If students are not taught to solve their problems then they will always be put to halt any

time one arises. Through every obstacle that we endure, whether in real life or gaming we learn

something new and we grow from it.

Another purpose part of games that don’t put emphasis on competition is to show

students other learning behaviors and different skills and having them really give their attention

to those parts and not to just trying to beat their other classmates. The course textbook states that

“ Critics contend that playing a game can override the importance of academic material when

students become more concerned with winning and losing rather than learning .” and also makes

mention on that very same page (pg.172) that “There is also concern about the value of earning

reward as a way to measure success in a game”, the reason that I wanted to point this out is

because many competitive games do use rewards of some sort. That is why they are such an

issue because students get so focused on whether they will be a winner or a loser or if they will

get an award instead of focusing on the things that they game is trying to show them. That is why
I enjoy children I know playing things like ABC mouse because though they get points to get

different things the game is not actually putting a lot of focus on competition. The game has

different tasks and is fit to each person, not all of the students will even start from the same

place, so instead they are focused on passing their level by completing the activities given to

them in the game. They are pretty much only in competition with themselves and are aiming to

be better than what they were at the beginning. I think that these games aim to make students

excited about learning and make learning fun rather than making students feel discouraged if

they find something that is a bit more of a struggle for them. I love ABC mouse because it makes

my little sister feel proud of herself, she celebrates her successes and I celebrate with her, she is

not concerned with if she’s doing better than other people. She learns things that can be taken

from the game, valuable life lessons that she can use for the rest of her life time but what do

competitive games teach kids? That if you struggle at something that you aren’t good enough?!

Everyone struggles and we want things that aim to celebrate the students success and lets them

know that struggles should be seen as opportunities for growth not failure.

Chapter 8 (pg. 211):

Communication technologies are a form of technology that connect people in digital ways and

happen to be one of my favorite educational technologies. When I was in elementary school I

don’t recall these technologies ever being used with me directly but they were used between my

teacher and parent to communicate about different things that concerned me. My teacher and

mother did not text (or at least I believe that they didn’t) but they did email frequently to talk

about things like parent teacher conferences, upcoming special days, things that they wanted me

to work on at both home and school, any concerns that arose and more. When I got into middle

school my teachers still mainly used emailing as a way to communicate outside of hand outs.
Even people apart from teachers were in communication with my mom during this time through

email. They mainly talked about some struggles I was having and concerns that they had for me.

They discussed the strange changes in my behavior, concerns about my grades, my mental health

struggles and what changes that they felt necessary. I was put into therapy due to this

communication and I honestly believe that it was due to this communication that I was able to

get the diagnosis I needed in order to see what my next steps in my mental health journey needed

to be. I believe that if it hadn’t been for my teachers communicating with my parents using

communication technologies that I would not have gotten the diagnosis or started any form of

treatment.

When I got into high school that is when teachers started doing more than just emailing

my mother. They emailed her, they called her, they made posts in groups on facebook, sent out

group texts using ways that kept their personal numbers private, I did have one teacher send

group texts from their personal number but they were important, and they communicated using

non technology forms. They used these things to communicate to parents about upcoming

concerts, upcoming big assessments, grades, uniform fitting for my band class, to make parents

aware of upcoming topics like sex ed topics in my health class so that parents could request that

their child not be included in those days of class and more. There were teachers that I did hear

about using twitter as a way to communicate with students and families when I was in high

school but those were athletic teachers who also coached and they didn’t coach anything that I

was interested in so I really never needed to communicate with them because they were never

my teacher or my coach. None of my teachers ever made mention of a twitter account.

I think that in the future I would like to have some ways other than just emailing to

communicate with my students and their families. I really like that in child care centers, some are
starting to use the forms of texting parents that keep their personal numbers private and they do

so in a professional manner. I think that it is something that I would like to do at a center or as a

teacher in the early childhood field because I feel that it would be a great way to work on my

relationship with parents and I love that it can help parents feel more included in their child's

schooling because they can get picture or videos of their child, they can ask for updates on their

child, and they can communicate any concerns that they have. I am not yet a parent and I don’t

plan to be for a few more years but I feel like that if I were a parent that I would really appreciate

and enjoy having a teacher use something like one of those apps because it is a way for them to

reply quicker and share more than just words a bit easier than emailing them. I think that things

like texting need to be done carefully because they do need to be done in strictly a professional

manner. The teacher still needs to be respectful of the parent, the teacher's privacy and parents'

privacy need to be protected, and there can not be any bad mouthing happening as well. There

also can’t be things like the teacher messaging the parent at weird hours or over things that have

nothing to do with the child.

I think that I would also enjoy having things like a twitter where I could make little blog

posts to keep my students and their parents up to date. I think something like this would be

perfect at a time like now where there has been so much happening and so much changing and it

would honestly be an easier way of keeping students and parents up to date on things and aware

of things that are happening. For example, my sister just mentioned that her school sent out a

message about a change in the way that their graduation is happening and I feel like it would also

be good to have made a blog post on a twitter account for the parents and students that are not

always the greatest at checking their emails but are good about staying on top of their social

media and the posts that fill their different apps. I think that instagram, snapchat, and even
facebook for the most part are things that I don’t see being as good for things like posting

information for parents and students because of their set up.

Not that the older ways of communicating through things like the printing press,

telephone and television were bad but I think that the newer ways of communicating are a little

more efficient and there are a few reasons why. Printing press was okay when there weren't

faster ways to communicate but now that there are it is just more convenient to communicate in a

faster way so that people are not having to wait as long for responses and so that things can get

accomplished a lot faster. Using a telephone as a way of communication is not horrible but in

today's world we have families that are living different lives. Parents don’t all work the same job

or hours and their schedules may look differently so trying to call a parent may not work as

great. They may be too busy to answer or if they do they may not remember the conversation

well or be able to be on the phone very long at all. It may feel more of a bother to the parent if

they are called for most things. It is different if there is an emergency and the parent needs to be

called but if the teacher is trying to schedule parent-teacher conferences then that is something

that doesn’t immediately need to be answered and would probably be better if communicated

with the parent about in a way that they parent can respond when it is convenient for them. This

makes it so that the parent can look back at the message if they need to and they can take their

time to make sure that a certain date or time works for them and then teachers won’t run into as

many parents needing to reschedule.

Television is no longer the greatest way of communicating things, especially school

related things because there are many ads/ commercials that pop up and people don’t tend to pay

as much attention to them anymore so many parents may not pay attention because they assume

that it is not important. Plus again tv’s are not a device that parents can look back at something
on so they would have to write notes for themselves and it is not an efficient way for them to

communicate with parents on a one--on-one basis. For things concerning groups, things like a

group “text” or a twitter post may not be bad. For messaging with one parent I would suggest

email or using a messaging system. Both are fairly easier ways to send and respond to a person

and you wouldn’t want to address things concerning one student with the entire class and anyone

else following on a twitter account. It is part of respecting the students' privacy. I would say that

unless it is a district wide concern that information that is school related should not be shared on

the television. I could see announcing how every school's team did at a meet for a sport, talking

about the schools being given a snow day, talking about big issues like parents throughout the

schools being concerned about things like the racist behavior shown by some parents or students

at a sport meet. I could not see discussing things that only had to do with one school being shared

over the television. Those things can be emailed out to all parents.

So I would say that if I had to order a print press, telephone and television in the order of

most used form of communication to least that I would say that out of those three forms that the

form I see as most used and I would be more likely to use would be a telephone call, the second

the television which I think would only be used for the district and I would never directly use and

lastly the printing press which I would never used and I don’t think is ever used anymore. I

would say my top pick of technological forms of communication would be one of those texting

apps because it would be the most convenient way for me because if needed I can make a group

chat but if not then I can message one person at a time. I think that next is emailing because that

is what many adults use and check. I think that it is good to communicate in a way that parents

can look back at the conversation. Then I would say twitter. Twitter because it allows parents on

the social media platform to see it while they are scrolling and others can still comment on
something. Then I would say the telephone because it is still faster than the printing press and I

believe that in most situations that communicating over the television wouldn't be appropriate. I

would use texting to update parents about when the upcoming parent-teacher conferences would

be and then also scheduling them with parents. I would use it to address the parents' concerns, to

bring a parent having a hard time (like a first time mom) a little peace and I would do so by

sending them pictures of their kiddos having a good time and updates. I would use it to help

parents feel more involved by giving them the opportunity to celebrate their child's successes. I

would use texting to communicate with parents if I had some questions to help me understand

why a student may be acting differently than their normal. I think that if I end up working with

older kids at some point like I hope to, I could use one of the texting apps for my student to

message me with questions, comments, concerns of their own and more. I would want my

students to feel safe to message me if they are feeling uncomfortable about something and I think

texting would be the fastest way for me to answer their questions and to give them feedback.

Chapter 9 (pg. 221):

“How do you plan to make video and audio presentations attention-getting and memorable for

student’s?” well, when creating my own video and audio presentations I will be sure not to speak

or have someone speak in a very monotone voice because I have learned from my public

speaking class and other previous classes that people will not remember a thing you said if your

speaking super monotone because it doesn’t excite them one bit. In my education classes I was

taught that if you want children to be excited about learning then you need to model that in your

body language, facial expression and tone. The next thing that I will do to get their attention is

that I will include different ways for the students to learn within them. For example, pictures

where they can see different things that have been talked about, text for them to see, a video for
them to watch, a survey if it is an older age group with their own devices and more. I would also

expect to be speaking either in person or through a voice over. For my students I would also

provide some way for them to follow along whether it be a way to take notes, a few questions for

them to answer at the end to show that they were listening, or I would create a presentation using

the a different tool where I could include boxes at different parts throughout the presentation for

them to answer a short question or comment their thoughts. I would take this feedback and use it

to decide how to proceed with the content because if they are not understanding it then I need to

step back and change something on my part to help.

Also depending on what the presentation is covering I may provide a way for them to

choose. For example, if I am trying to explain to them how we will be doing our research then I

may provide two different examples that cover two different research topics for them in their

google classroom or in another way so that they can choose which example they would like to

look over. For the example’s I may show my students that they are allowed to present their

findings in different ways, I may also show examples of two very different places. This will

excite them because they will see the range of options that they are allowed to choose from and

the way that they are able to present them.

I may use different fonts, colors, transitions, and more to excite them but this is

something that I feel must be taken very carefully because if not done so then it can become

more of a distraction then it will draw their attention to the content that it is meant to. Instead of

calling on just any student because I feel that it makes students feel timid, anxious and not want

to be in the room, I would do what I have seen more teachers do now and ask if “anyone ____?”

so that students can raise their hands to answer if they feel them know it. I would still try to give

different students the option to respond instead of calling on the same student. I may also allow a
few different students to answer and if not many raise their hand I may reword the question or

explain what I meant by it, I could even provide my own example. Lastly, if I have to cover a bit

of content I will be splitting up the content so that my presentations are never unbearably long

for the students to sit through. I think that it is really important to make sure that the students are

not having to sit too long, the information is worded appropriate for the age group and that there

is more to the slides then just text because children's attention spans are only so long, no one

wants to listen to a whole presentation of just words and if the words are too advanced then they

will not understand and tune out.

Chapter 10 (p.267):

To answer the question “Do you utilize handheld calculators in your own learning?”I would have

to say no, I currently have no reason to need or even want to use a hand held calculator currently

in my learning. In elementary school we were just learning the very basics for math so we were

not allowed to use calculators for our assignments because our teachers wanted us to memorize

how to calculate different things so that if we did not have access to a calculator at some point in

our lives but needed to know the answer to a problem that we would be able to solve certain

things in our head or easily on a sheet of paper. Then when I got into middle school we were told

to still try to refrain from using the calculator for most assignments. The only time that we really

got to use the calculator was when we had a lab that we needed to complete pretty fast. In

highschool we used them when we had practiced doing the problems many times and then we

had a test over the problems that we had been working on. For the test we were allowed to have

the calculators just to double check our work and to speed things up for ourselves. They weren’t

simple problems where we were just adding or subtracting things so it was not like we could

cheat. We also used calculators for things like formulas that we were taught to plug into the
calculator. They were not an issue as long as they were being used correctly and appropriately.

Also not every math teacher allowed us to have calculators unless it was a test day and even

then, they sometimes wouldn’t allow it. We did use calculators in other classes for example in

science classes and health classes we had to use them for calculations. I did have to use a

calculator that was on my phone for some calculations earlier in the semester for my health and

wellness class. Other than that, I have not used a calculator this semester.

Now to answer the question “would you learn as easily without them?” I would have to

say, yes and no. Yes, I could learn some things easily even if I didn’t have a calculator because

some content just seems to click for me pretty quickly but it would be more of a convenience to

have something that just makes things go a lot quicker. I would also say no I would not learn as

easily because some of the formulas that I have been taught to complete using a calculator would

have taken me a very long time in order to just complete by hand. I would have had to write

them completely out and then the smallest mistake could have thrown me off so bad that I could

end up having to start over. It would have taken me so long to write out one equation that I

would have gotten done with only three in a class period compared to like the 7 or more that I

could get done in one class period with a calculator. Calculators are very convenient and

sometimes the only way I can really learn certain things is if I learn how to solve using a

calculator.

Handheld calculators support students with different learning challenges. In our course

textbook on page 254 there is a section titled “Uses of Assistive Technologies” and under this

section it starts by stating that “Assistive technologies enable teachers to differentiate instruction

and pursue universal design for learning. These tools make it possible for individuals with

disabilities to do things they might otherwise not be able to do...Assistive technologies translate
text and communicate words and data to individuals with hearing, sight, mobility, or cognitive

challenges.” and this is important because as teachers we will have classes that include children

with exceptionalities. They won’t all share the same challenges and even those that are typically

developing will experience challenges of their own. So there will be an array of different abilities

and as teachers we need to do our best to provide them with the support and materials/tools that

they need to help them overcome these challenges and be as successful as possible. This section

later goes on to state that “Commonly viewed as tools to support students with disabilities,

assistive technologies create enhanced learning opportunities for all students. A single tool can

produce multiple results; it is not a stand-alone device that a teacher uses specifically with one or

two students.

As examples, text-to-speech software allows webpages to be read aloud, calculators

speak numbers as well as perform calculations, and apps convert cursive writing or spoken

words into printed text.” and with this in mind there are a few ways that handheld calculators

support students with different learning challenges that I would like to share. According to

www.readingrockets.org “Assistive technology (AT) tools for math are designed to help people

who struggle with computing, organizing, aligning, and copying math problems down on paper.

With the help of visual and/or audio support, users can better set up and calculate basic math

problems.” and one of the various different assistive technology tools that they share are

calculators, more specifically a handheld “talking calculator” for students. The following is what

the website shares about talking calculators: “A talking calculator has a built-in speech

synthesizer that reads aloud each number, symbol, or operation key a user presses; it also

vocalizes the answer to the problem. This auditory feedback may help him check the accuracy of

the keys he presses and verify the answer before he transfers it to paper.” and I believe that this
can be a very helpful tool in the classroom because a few years ago I conducted research on a

learning disability for a state and national level educators rising competition and the learning

disability that I researched specifically was dyslexia. While conducting research I learned that

there are actually many students who are affected by learning disabilities and that due to this they

may have different needs. With dyslexia students can often struggle with writing words and

numbers. Good practice for them is to be able to see, and hear the problem that they put into the

calculator before they start recording the problem down on their paper and helps them improve

so that when they are having to write those same numbers at another time that they are able to do

so without struggling as often. They won’t ever get to a point where they get it perfect every time

because not even those without the struggle of the learning disability get it right every single

time but the more that they are given opportunities to practice and that they are supported

including with different tools to help them be successful then the better prepared that they will be

to do their best in situations where they face their challenge.

Another way that handheld calculators support students with different learning

challenges is that some students may experience a lot of anxiety and this anxiety can affect their

learning because it can cause students to second guess themselves or even make them feel so

overwhelmed that they feel scatterbrained and handheld calculators allow students who are

having these issues to double check their answers or to work out problems as they are thinking

them through which helps them to gather their thoughts better. I know this because this is a

challenge that I faced often in my own learning when it came to things like my math classes that

I have taken. I would get so anxious that I had to double check even simple additions especially

during my tests. I am also a student that takes more time than most others to complete tests

especially math tests, so having a calculator often helped speed me up so that I wasn’t taking so
much extra time that I was then starting to feel anxious. Students can have a variety of different

learning challenges. Another way is that there maybe a student or more that due to their

disability they may struggle performing different tasks with their hands like writing with their

pencil or a student who breaks their dominant hand and the injury makes it hard for them to write

out problems, calculators make it so that for the most part students can solve without needing to

write it all the way out. A student may have a disability that affects their eyesight and the

handheld “talking calculator” may work better for them as they can hear it say the different

things typed and can learn each button. There are many other ways that calculators can support

students facing different learning challenges I am sure but these are just a few that came to mind

for me. Teachers may allow some students to use calculators or to decide if they would rather do

without.

The teacher may allow students to use calculators individually for tests or assignments.

They may allow group work where either everyone is calculating different pieces at the same

time, one person is calculating at a time or one person is incharge of doing small calculations for

the activity. For example in some of my math classes in high school we each had calculators at

our desk as we worked on different problems the whole class was presented or on homework/a

test. When I was in a science class, there were times where we did a lab with rotations and we

each took turns doing different calculations for the group worksheet. So calculators work for

individuals, work in pairs or group work activities. As for other tools like laptops, ipads,

smartphones or other tools, there are also a variety of different ways that teachers can use them.

A teacher may allow the students access to laptops and have the students create and present a

project over something like a place in the world and each student may be told to choose a

different one.The students maybe given the option to use canva to create a brochure or flyer of
the place for a tourist, they may make a slideshow presentation using powerpoint or prezi, or

they may choose to create a short film to present their projects. They may be given a variety of

different questions to answer about the place of their choosing and maybe asked to choose a

certain few from the lost to address. This allows the student to have control but it also allows

students to present their findings in different ways that best works for them. A teacher may have

the students research using a few different tools, then they may be asked to create a survey to

present their classmates and then are asked to create a presentation to accompany a speech that

they create. This allows the teacher to use one tool in a variety of different ways as well and the

different ways will allow the student to have different opportunities to show what they have

learned.

My response to the questions “Would you invite students to use hand held calculators

when taking tests or quizzes, my answer is yes as long as they can show clear understanding of

the concept and can prove that they are not entirely dependent upon the calculator to the point

that if it were taken away that they would have no clue how to solve the problem. I don’t want

them to be so dependent on any form of technology that if it were taken away or it broke that

their lives would entirely come to a halt. They have to be able to function even if something goes

wrong. Technology is meant to be a tool and should be used as one but tools are not meant to be

something that if we didn’t have access to them that we wouldn’t be able to find another way to

deal with the problem. Like a laptop, if it stops working I can do my research through locating

books, I can hand write my paper if I can’t type it, if I can’t use the calculator on it then I can

write out and solve the problem on a paper. They are great tools to have but we always need to

be prepared because there will be times that they break or don’t work the way that they should

and that is just part of life but life must go on. I would allow students to use them for quizzes and
tests because it would help them do the calculations quicker and they are still proving that they

can solve the problem. They also can feel more confident in themselves by being able to double

check their answers and being able to better sort their thoughts when the anxiety creeps in.

Chapter 11 (p. 287):

The course textbook states that “Using participation systems for assessing student knowledge

does not need to be competitive or overemphasize right or wrong answers. Low- stakes

assessments without the pressure of grades and correctness help students remember academic

material because they are practicing retrieving information from memory while also creating new

understandings from material they are learning for the first time. And because these low-stakes

assessments take place in a collaborative rather than an evaluative or high-stakes setting, students

are less likely to regard wrong answers as personal failures or as evidence that certain subjects

are too difficult for their abilities. Learning from making mistakes is a positive feature of

participation systems.” (pg. 285) and the reason that I felt it be necessary to mention this quote is

because it mentions that low-stakes assessments are a good way of seeing what the student is

learning without making the student feel in competition with other students. Yes, it is still a form

of assessment but is a form that is more concerned with what the student is learning rather than

putting points into a grade book. I do agree with teachers giving low-stake assessments because I

remember that with high-stakes testing that I got a lot of anxiety and I never really did as well as

I could have done even if I knew the content and it always made me feel like a loser or made me

think that I was no good at a subject so then my interest in that subject went down.

I don’t think that I showed my learning or that I learned anything when we went over the

assessments because I was so discouraged by the low grade that I wanted to tune it all out
because it felt like the teacher was trying to remind me what a failure I was. I hate not meeting a

certain standard and it makes me feel like a failure. So like with dean's list, I may have A’s and

B’s but if I don’t make Dean’s list then it will have felt like it was all for nothing because I will

still feel like a failure even if I still pass my classes. I think this is because I have been

conditioned to think this way because of the feeling of competition that me and other students

felt. We felt like if we didn’t meet a certain standard or didn’t score almost perfectly then we

were not enough and that we were dumb. It’s really sad because then we became more like

robots memorizing things for short periods of time but never holding onto and fully

understanding what we learned. I think that there should be very few assignments for classes that

are worth a high amount of points and that most assignments should just focus on what was

learned and more on feedback to help the student learn more for the future. I hate grade books to

begin with, instead of “points” I wish there was another way of showing what the student is

meeting level on or what they are struggling with. I think that teachers need to put focus on what

students were doing correctly and not what answers were wrong because if you ask student to

help explain how they got their answer on a problem they did right then it explains the question

to any student who didn’t get that question right without making them feel bad or called out for

it.

The textbook also states “Student involvement. A game like activity with whole-group

participation encourages student thinking. Because students make selections anonymously (no

one knows who has which clicker), individuals worry less about the embarrassment of giving a

wrong answer. Students who might otherwise not participate in an oral discussion for fear of

being wrong or appearing foolish when they answer have the opportunity to express their ideas

silently.” (pg.285) and I think that this was important to point out because I am a student who
can be fearful and not want to open my mouth when I am in a physical classroom but I think

giving the opportunity for people like me to participate silently is a great idea because then we

don’t have to be fearful and we can show our learning and get help on things without the

embarrassment. I think that personal opinion questions as well as open ended questions allow for

students and even encourage students to give thoughtful responses. I think that is why many

years like to use open ended questions because it allows the student to give a more thoughtful

response which gives the teacher more insight to what they learned, the student more of an

opportunity to show what they learned and more opportunity for feedback. Opinio questions

allow for a more thoughtful response because students get to explain their thoughts more.

Incorrect answers allow teachers to see where the student is at and without having to say much to

them, use strategies to help the student learn the right answer. Like if many students are

struggling in one area the teacher doesn’t have to talk to or make one student feel called out

instead they can try teaching it to them in another way. For example my teachers allowed us to

go over our tests and whichever things we got wrong we could on our own and silently figure out

the answer and write it down and explain how we got it for half credit for that question. So we

ended up learning what we did not already know because we wanted that half point at least.

Chapter 12 (p. 317-318):

Technology has impacted my life for as long as I can remember. Technology has changed the

everyday activities that I have done from when I was younger in a few different ways. It was

used throughout my childhood and has become something I started depending more on as I have

grown older. When I was in elementary school we had “special’s” days. We had art day,

computer’s day, music day and P.E day, which we rotated days for each week of school. Back

then the only time we used a computer was on the day we went to the computer lab for specials.
Other than that, I don’t recall us ever using a computer and if we did then it was probably only

once. I remember hating only getting to experiment with the computer for a short period of time

each week and even on some of the days that we went to the lab, we didn’t even use them and

some days we did but only for a couple minutes where we were directed on what we needed to

be doing. It was rare that we got to experiment with our computers. Now in my schooling I use

technology every single day. I have my own personal laptop and I use it everyday to access and

complete my coursework. When I was in middle school, we got more exposure to technology.

We used laptops in class sometimes, we went to the computer lab sometimes, we used iPads on

occasion. We had projectors in some rooms, tvs in classrooms with technology that hooked up to

the tv to allow teachers to write and have it show up. We had smart boards which we also had in

elementary school but I would say those became more for the teachers only as we moved into

middle school.

However, we did not have any personal devices given to us by the school. So everything

that we got access to was left in the class we were in at the time. If we wanted to talk to the

teacher we had to either find them before or after class, rush after school to find them or rush to

the library to send them a message but this option wasn’t the most efficient way of talking to

them because we either got a response after waiting a bit or we had to go home and by the time

they did respond it would have just been easier to ask them in class. The only other option was to

have our parents email them if we did not have a cellphone of our own to email them. I did not

have my own cell phone so I had to often ask my mom to email the teacher for me or find them

at some point during or after the school day to ask my question. Starting in high school I got my

own device to have and to take home with me and it allowed me to leave comments on

assignments or email the teacher if I had questions. This got me a response faster than before but
still wasn’t the easiest way to communicate with the teacher. It was improvement, but now in

college with a mixture of my own personal laptop and my canvas access I am now able to

communicate so much faster with teachers and this has helped me to produce better work

because I wasn’t waiting so long for a response that I ended up just leaving things blank when

turning them in or guessing what the answer to my issue would be. I was able to get my

questions answered and better my understanding of the assignment.

When I was younger we did assignments are partners or in groups only while we were at

school so if we did not get in done in class depending on the assignment then we would have to

either take another class period of that class up finishing it or we had to find a way to meet after

school in the library or something to finish. Now, I don’t really have to meet up to work with a

partner or in a group unless we want to, I can video chat with the other person(s) and there are

ways for us to work on the same document, same slide show or other materials at the same time

pretty easily. When I was younger technology was not something that we used much of as

children but now I use many different forms of technology daily and I have a way better

understanding of how they work and the impact that they can have. I use technology to

communicate with my family, friends, work, school and other places out in the community when

needed. We can really connect with others thanks to technology even if they don’t live close by.

This makes it so that I am not just forced now to be friends with the kids in my neighborhood.

Instead if I don’t get along with them then I don’t have to hangout with them because they are

the only ones around, instead I can message a friend or someone I know and plan times to

hangout. I use technology to look into different things like where I can purchase something I

need, what time places are open, where I can do things like volunteer hours which I recently had

to complete. I use technology to do homework, things for my job, to create different things that I
need and to apply for things like medicaid, I am working on doing all the stuff I need to in order

to transfer to UNL. I use a tv in my free time so that I can watch a movie with my significant

other (rarely because we both are full time students but when we get the chance to see eachother

then we do watch tv) and I use things like an ipad to teach my little sister different things through

learning apps. There are many different things that can be done and that I do if not daily, then

very often that include the use of technology. When I was younger I had to deal with the anxiety

of going to school, now I do school at home and it has made things a bit easier for me even

though my mental health still makes life rough. I don’t have as many panic attacks as I once did

and this has made life slightly better for me.

Due to my technology use in highschool and in my college classes I have adopted new

patterns and approaches that can be seen in my life today. Prior to highschool I did not really use

technology often and never did unless I had too, now technology is part of my everyday life.

Prior to highschool I hardly ever checked my email and I never really used technology unless I

had to. Then in high school I received my own device and I was taught to check my email way

more often as a result of this I have started to check my email multiple times daily to see if I

have any work or school related emails. Due to my technology use in high school, I was used to

having my own device and I purchased my first laptop to use for college. Due to my technology

use in high school I have learned to keep a google docs app, google slides app or any other

school related apps on my phone that way if I absolutely need too then I can type or edit from my

phone. I have learned to make my google docs available offline so that I can work on them. The

way that I do school in general has changed due to my learning in high school and college

because in high school I developed really bad anxiety but being able to call out sick and do my

homework at home on my device bad me feel much more comfortable and since then my
anxiety has not gotten any better so I went from in person classes only to in person and hybrid

classes to now being completely online with my college classes. I have school work due monday

through sunday with at least three discussions due by wednesday and then one on thursday every

week. I get up everyday at 7:20 unless I didn’t sleep much the night before due to doing

homework then I sleep in till 8:30 or 9:00 am. I immediately reach for my phone to check the

grade book and my email. Then I check what assignments I have and then lastly I text my

boyfriend good morning.

I have a habit of checking my email daily thanks to learning in highschool to do so, I

check the grade book frequently because my teachers in high school showed us how to access the

grade book and to be on top of what is due and what is graded in case we do something and the

teacher forgot to grade it or something else happened with the grade for the assignment. The

faster we caught errors the easier it was for the teacher to fix them. I was taught to type my

papers up on my device in a certain format and did so using google docs so that is what I am

most used to and so now I never like using word. I would say due to the practice of cooperative

learning using technology in high school that now I participate in a lot of group discussions and

online group work and know how to communicate with my group and how important my part is.

I will be moving from completely online to in person classes this fall which I am not happy about

so yet again it will be changing.

The textbook defines mindtools as “a term coined by computer educator David Jonassen,

offers a far-reaching perspective about how technology can create substantive change in schools.

Mindtools means students and teachers use digital tools to create intellectual partnerships,

extending academic learning and critical thinking in new and creative ways.” and the first and

probably most obvious form of technology that I would define as a mindtool is a chrome book or
laptop device. I see them as mindtools because due to chrome books students are now able to

learn from home which extends the academic learning from outside of the classroom. Students

can be working on learning curriculum from their homes outside of the regular school day and

this allows for more learning to be happening. Chromebooks and laptops allow for group

discussions and work to happen both online, in person and in a few different creative ways. It

also allows students to do activities that make them really have to think, it can be things like an

article analysis that makes them think in depth about what the article is talking about.

Another mindtool would be an iPad I have seen many used in kindergarten classrooms. I

have seen these used for partner work, like reading ebooks together and then answering

questions or writing their own. I have seen the iPad’s used for things like group work in high

school where we used them to create a small film for an hour class which was only a small piece

of a bigger assignment we were working on. We worked as groups to discuss what it would look

like, who was playing each role, to edit and to complete the rest of the assignment. We had to

think critically about what we were going to do and how we were going to do it. Another form of

technology that I would call a mind tool is any of the google tools like google docs, slides,

classroom and more. I think of these as mind tools because they allow you to share your work

with others and work together on projects and assignments. They make students think critically

about how they are going to set up the assignment, how they are going to complete it and what

content they are going to include and how it will be displayed. They also allow creativity

because students can include pictures, sounds, videos, different fonts and font sizes. I think of

them as mindtools because they encourage the student to think but also allow and support

creativity. They can be used for group assignments as well. I think that I would not consider

something like a smart board to be a mind tool because they are not something that students can
all use at once or in groups. It also only has a few features but doesn’t allow for much creativity

or critical thinking.

These technologies' impact is so strong that if they were taken away things would change

a lot. These tools have made it so that students can learn from school and home so they get more

learning in. They have made it so that students can explore technology and learn different things

through research, websites, videos and more. High schooler’s would be doing school very

differently because teachers would have to do paper assignments or show them videos or

presentations in a whole class group instead of smaller groups. Group discussions won’t be able

to get as in depth because they will take up so much of the in class time instead of being able to

happen outside of school. Teachers would have to keep up with a lot of paperwork, students

would have to keep up with their paperwork as well because if they lost it then they wouldn’t

have something to turn in for a grade. They may not be the biggest tools but they offer a whole

new world of opportunity in education. They make a lot of things more convenient as well.