Aha!+Moments

Aha! Moments
While looking at Alyssa’s wiki ,  I connected with The iSchool Initiative. While I think that Travis’s proposal leaves me with a number of unanswered questions, I am struck by his creativity. He has a well put together presentation that covers many of the bases; including financing, collaboration, and cost. I think what most intrigues me is his critical thinking skills and the application of them into a project. I would like my students to begin to consider and create in the same way. Perhaps using the iPod is the first step. 

Visiting Laura Erke’s wiki, I focused in on the slideshow that she had linked. What really interested me was the slide that illustrated how to use music lyrics as a teaching tool. As a writing teacher, I am always looking for new and creative ways to teach language arts. The presentation claims that you could teach language patterns, syntax, and vocabulary using the lyrics to songs – all downloadable to an mp3 player. The reason that I found this to be significant was that most of our students are obsessed with music. They consume and listen to it continuously. What an amazing way to connect with kids and make learning more engaging. It makes me wonder about the other ways that music could enhance learning. 

When looking at Paula Bisswurm’s wiki, I was really intrigued by what Allisyn Levy said in her article, How to Incorporate Technology in the Classroom. She stated, “A classic mantra of teaching is that the best way to internalize something you’ve learned is to teach it to someone else.” Out of context, this doesn’t relate so much to technology as it does to learning. I feel that this is a technique that I often overlook in my own classroom. I really believe that whether it comes to mastering the newest technology or knowing the appropriate vocabulary for a persuasive piece, allowing students to teach one another is a great way to solidify their own learning. This is definitely a practice that I will be much more vigilant about implementing in the upcoming school year. 