The use of technology in the classroom is no longer a novel concept; teachers use it to give exams, to research projects, and for information delivery. Those are all ways technology is used for individual growth and individual learning. Technology also offers another benefit to students, teacher, and the community…diversity. Technology can be used to incorporate diversity into the classroom to meet the needs of the students, to increase cultural understanding, and to create a community through the use of blogs.
How to use Internet for diversity: The Internet can be used effectively in the classroom for a wide array of applications; one of those applications is diversity. The Internet can be used for limited applications for simple assignments, but can also be used as widely as to allow students to pave their own path to achieve school and state expectations. Teachers need to reinforce and encourage students to take ownership of their own learning (Richardson). "We can take what could be very limiting common core requirements and put them in the hands of the students and, in return, they get to demonstrate growth by applying them to activities and assessments that align to their own passions and interests," Stutzman says. "If the teacher and the student are true partners in the learning process, there will be a lot of documentation of progress toward those goals."
Although this seems like a transfer of power from the teacher to students, the teacher still plays a valuable role, in facilitation of the technology.
How to meet diverse needs to students with technology: Technology helps to facilitate a modified instructional presentation to meet the needs of diverse students by easily changing subject one or all of the following: content, process of work, how to derive a product, and the learning environment (Smith and Throne). Today’s teaching environment yearns for this ability to adapt due to the ever changing dynamics in the classroom. Teachers are expected to teach a variety of content, challenging students of all different levels, especially with the push for inclusion in the classroom. Technology works to facilitate the ability to differentiate, while maintaining the content standards of the class. The YouTube video gives a brief commercial as to why technology is imperative for the success of the smooth integration of differentiation in the classroom.
How Internet increases cultural understanding: In order to gain an understanding of a subject, interest or awareness of the subject must first be piqued. For students, learning how other students around the world live: go to school, what they eat, where they shop, and engagement in extracurricular activities are things that our students find interesting. We are currently living in a world where we can obtain answers to those questions first hand. Better yet, the students can get the answers on their own. In the article, The Case for Cultivating Cultural Awareness, it is stated that “through this work [Scyping], her students developed an awareness of and desire to learn more about people from around the world. Amber recognized the importance of involving students in learning about various cultures through classroom experiences, and often included opportunities to raise students’ cultural awareness.”
How does blogging affect communication, students, parents and community? Blogging is a key way for teachers to communicate with the students in their class and the parents of those students. It enables teachers to get large amounts of detailed information out to all parents in a short amount of time, relative to phone calls or individual emails. In addition to the convenience of blogging, it also builds a classroom community. It is an opportunity for parents to have an inside look on what is going on in the classroom. It also offers the opportunity for parents to get involved with the class, by donating class needs, staying current with assignments and even volunteering to help with class projects or field trips. With that, it creates a community with the teacher, students and parents alike. On a global front, teachers can introduce cultural ideas and topics to their students who can reach out to other classrooms around the world. They can compare what they are learning from books and the Internet, to the day to day lives of other students their age. They can post messages to each other on the blog, or even ask questions and get help with cultural assignments. This additionally creates a community atmosphere, on a much larger scale.
Resources:
The Case for Cultivating Cultural Awareness Posted by Lyn Hilt on Oct 26, 2011 in Creating Global Classrooms, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning Differentiating Instruction with Technology in Middle School Classrooms Grace E. Smith and Stephanie Throne
Youtube Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ib_rWJsrnY
Preparing Students to Learn Without Us, Richardson, Will. February 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 5 For Each to Excel Pages 22-26
How to use Internet for diversity: The Internet can be used effectively in the classroom for a wide array of applications; one of those applications is diversity. The Internet can be used for limited applications for simple assignments, but can also be used as widely as to allow students to pave their own path to achieve school and state expectations. Teachers need to reinforce and encourage students to take ownership of their own learning (Richardson). "We can take what could be very limiting common core requirements and put them in the hands of the students and, in return, they get to demonstrate growth by applying them to activities and assessments that align to their own passions and interests," Stutzman says. "If the teacher and the student are true partners in the learning process, there will be a lot of documentation of progress toward those goals."
Although this seems like a transfer of power from the teacher to students, the teacher still plays a valuable role, in facilitation of the technology.
How to meet diverse needs to students with technology: Technology helps to facilitate a modified instructional presentation to meet the needs of diverse students by easily changing subject one or all of the following: content, process of work, how to derive a product, and the learning environment (Smith and Throne). Today’s teaching environment yearns for this ability to adapt due to the ever changing dynamics in the classroom. Teachers are expected to teach a variety of content, challenging students of all different levels, especially with the push for inclusion in the classroom. Technology works to facilitate the ability to differentiate, while maintaining the content standards of the class. The YouTube video gives a brief commercial as to why technology is imperative for the success of the smooth integration of differentiation in the classroom.
How Internet increases cultural understanding: In order to gain an understanding of a subject, interest or awareness of the subject must first be piqued. For students, learning how other students around the world live: go to school, what they eat, where they shop, and engagement in extracurricular activities are things that our students find interesting. We are currently living in a world where we can obtain answers to those questions first hand. Better yet, the students can get the answers on their own. In the article, The Case for Cultivating Cultural Awareness, it is stated that “through this work [Scyping], her students developed an awareness of and desire to learn more about people from around the world. Amber recognized the importance of involving students in learning about various cultures through classroom experiences, and often included opportunities to raise students’ cultural awareness.”
How does blogging affect communication, students, parents and community? Blogging is a key way for teachers to communicate with the students in their class and the parents of those students. It enables teachers to get large amounts of detailed information out to all parents in a short amount of time, relative to phone calls or individual emails. In addition to the convenience of blogging, it also builds a classroom community. It is an opportunity for parents to have an inside look on what is going on in the classroom. It also offers the opportunity for parents to get involved with the class, by donating class needs, staying current with assignments and even volunteering to help with class projects or field trips. With that, it creates a community with the teacher, students and parents alike. On a global front, teachers can introduce cultural ideas and topics to their students who can reach out to other classrooms around the world. They can compare what they are learning from books and the Internet, to the day to day lives of other students their age. They can post messages to each other on the blog, or even ask questions and get help with cultural assignments. This additionally creates a community atmosphere, on a much larger scale.
Resources:
The Case for Cultivating Cultural Awareness Posted by Lyn Hilt on Oct 26, 2011 in Creating Global Classrooms, The How of 21st Century Teaching, Voices, Web Tools That Deepen Learning Differentiating Instruction with Technology in Middle School Classrooms Grace E. Smith and Stephanie Throne
Youtube Video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ib_rWJsrnY
Preparing Students to Learn Without Us, Richardson, Will. February 2012 | Volume 69 | Number 5 For Each to Excel Pages 22-26