Chapter 3 Reflection

Chapter three was about how experimenting with technology helps students learn to reason better. It discussed how learners need to use causal reasoning by hypothesizing, conjecturing, experimenting, speculating and testing. This chapter has taught me that students can learn so much more if just the right technology is introduced to them. I did not think that games that have virtual civilizations had much of an academic aspect to them until now. As a teacher I want to take what students are interested in (fun and games online) and incorporate some educational aspects into the mix. The chapter mentions microworlds, simulations, games, and virtual worlds. These ideas are great ways to get students that have various learning styles involved in your lessons. I experimented with most of the sites listed in the chapter. They were pretty cool to play around with. I am very interested in learning how to incorporate these different tools into my teaching some day. I want to teach Kindergarten or First grade, so some may not apply to me but I am always looking at how I can modify the information that I get in my classes for younger grades. I especially like the Jeopardy quiz games site. According to the chapter, for this to be meaningful learning for students and not just memorization, the questions need to have meaningful responses. Not just answers that are previously memorized. I feel like I could use this tool for studying for different tests with my students. Jeopardy was the first computer game I had when I was younger and I loved to play it. Well let me rephrase that, it was the only computer game that me and my sister had when we got our first computer. I am glad that my kids have an opportunity to learn in so many different ways that when I was in school. I can remember when our middle school first got computers in a new computer lab. We only had two games to play on them (Oregon Trail & Where in the world is Carmen San Diego-I think) and but we all looked forward to going to the lab every week. The learning games that are offered know includes so much more. For example, the SimCity one mentioned in the chapter. The players are in control of their land and property. This is such an interesting game. The only thing I wonder about is that students may become so involved into the game that they think that it is real.