"Get Your Students Moving"

 I read the article, “Get Your Students Moving”. This article looked at how to incorporate physical education and technology in order to enrich student learning. This is something that I have been interested in looking into since the class began.  I have learned a number of ways to incorporate technology into the classroom but always wondered where physical education and technology crossed paths.

                The article really provided a number of great ways that you can incorporate technology, physical education, and classroom material. The article states, “Often by the time students enter the gym, they have been sitting at their desks for a long time. Allowing them to move and interact with their classmates in a different manner can refocus them and enable them to see classroom material in a new way” (pg 34). I think that this statement is really important to the success of students. For many of them sitting in a desk for 6+ hours is tough, and physical education gives them a chance to release some of that energy as well as reaffirm what they have been learning.

                One of the examples given in the article explains how a school taught their students about the 2010 Winter Olympics and used Skype to meet someone who worked on the logistics team for the Olympics. I thought this was a great way to incorporate technology while gaining the interest of students. 

                The article ends saying, “While it takes time to think of the new ideas to connect PE to technology and the academic classroom, ultimately the students are enriched. So start collaborating with your colleagues, be creative, and take some risks. Every discipline needs to teach digital age skills, creativity, problem solving, and global awareness (pg 35). I think as a future educator this statement is important to remember, especially when it comes to taking risks and working together with other educators.

                I think that this article appeals to all of the NETS standards in some way. However I am choosing to focus on NETS standard 2. This standard states, “2. Communications and Collaboration: Students use digital media and environments to communicate and work collaboratively, including at a distance, to support individual learning and contribute to the learning of others.” I think the use of Skype is a perfect example of fulfilling this standard. It says that many of the students asked to continue Skyping with the person that they meet from the Olympics which shows that this tool peeked their interest.

Fisher, Betty Ann. (2011). Get Your Students Moving. Learning and Leading with Technology. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading.aspx.

Spreadsheets

I read the article, “Scaffolding Math Learning with Spreadsheets”. This was challenging for me to read. During class on Tuesday we discussed how different people learn. That some would like to be walked through how to use something, while others preferred to read through written instructions. I found as I read through this article that I really needed something more than written instructions. The article encouraged teachers to incorporate the use of spread sheets to teach math. The article gave examples of math problems and then explained ways that you could use a spreadsheet to explain this to students. I was lost with the first example. I was unable to follow the written instructions and understand how I would then go about teaching my students how to use these. I did find it helpful that the article included pictures of what the spread sheets should look like. However, I now know that I would need some kind of hands on tutorial to become better trained

                I agree with the article that this would be a helpful tool to teach our students, especially in preparation for the real world. I think that it would be beneficial for students to be familiar with spread sheets. Another aspect that the article touched upon was how useful spreadsheets can be. I for one can vouch that in my previous jobs  having been familiar with spreadsheets would have been beneficial. I learned to use this tool on a guess and check basis and was always surprised to find just how much simpler it made what I was trying to do. I agree that it is important to equip our students with this tool. However, as a teacher I would need some type of tutorial that would help me learn the tool.

Scratch

I read the article, "Programing by Choice: Urban Youth Learning Programing Using Scratch". This article gave a brief description of what Scratch is and then showed a study were kids were given the opportunity to use it. The program was introduced in a "Computer Clubhouse", which is an after school program where students ages 8-18 went and were giving the opportunity to create scratch presentations. The results from this 18 month period were really inspiring to look at and consider. Many of the students took to creating Scratch projects on their own with little to no supervision and were creating projects of their own.
     The article touches on this notion that many of these students did not identify scripting in Scratch as a form of programing. In fact when many of the students were asked "What is computer programing to you?". Many said that they had no idea. As someone who has recently started learning scratch I would agree with many of these students. I would not have considered what I was doing to be computer programing. It is interesting that Scratch presents programing in such a way that it seems doable, not daunting, which I as a novice to computer programing appreciate.
     Another point that the article addresses is why this Clubhouse would have chosen to use Scratch. The answer ties in with what I addressed above. "Scratch makes programing accessible for novices by simplifying the mechanics of programming, by providing support for learners, and by providing students with motivation to learn to program" (p. 371). Scratch was really able to addresses all three of these areas  which I think helped it gain popularity among students. Another benefit to using this type of program is that that it eliminates syntax errors, provides feedback about placement of command blocks, and gives immediate feedback for experiments (p. 371).
        This article definitely supports the NETS Standards. I think in particular NETS standard 2. This standard states that "Design Digital-Age Learning Experiences and Assessments. Scratch allows students to participate in authentic learning experiences by incorporating this contemporary tools and resource. Even after having read through this article I feel I have a better understanding on Scratch and think this would be a fun resource to integrate into the classroom.