Exit Slip 11.4.10

The chapter discussion this week was on Chapter 8: How Schools can Cope with the New Technologies. I liked how they set up the discussion groups because we had to take our topic and incorporate a way it could be connected with another big idea in this chapter. I thought this was very creative and a new way to approach the discussion sessions. They also selected who was going to speak in each group (in a random way) which was a great idea because usually the same people always speak in this class.

After the discussion Professor Boyer had us look at an online article about a school that is taking these changes and a different approach to the curriculum just like stated in this chapter.  At this school in Minnesota there is no office, it's a one year schoolhouse, no bells, and students spend most of their day in front of their computers, working on interdisciplinary projects. This is an independentt learning school at its best!  I found it very interesting and a little confusing also, that there are no teachers at this school. Adults are viewed as guides to learning.  It even said that most students find this new school "a breath of fresh air." This article proves that what our book is saying is true! And that a new way of schooling is fast approaching all of us.  All of this is possible because of technology. It's what is supporting this new school! It was a pretty cool article to share in class.

Next Professor Boyer gave us some tips and tricks for our Scratch projects. First make it reusable. So for mine I need to randomize my multiplication questions, so that everytime a students plays my game they have different multiplication questions. Second, I need to work on my directions. Another area I need to work on is the interactive element.  I should have a score in my game. Then my players will know how they are doing throughout the game and challenge themselves to do better.  Did you address standards based content? Is this game age appropriate? Is this game interactive? (How much contol does the child have? Do they recieve feedback, positive and negative?).

Next, we talked about our Technology Inquiry Wiki. We have to do a "yes test" on our own wiki. Boyer gave us a list of things to look at on our wiki and make sure we can say yes to each requirement.  It looks like I won't have to edit mine too much. I think I'm going to look at my paragraphs again and make sure they up to standards.  Also, I need to check my APA and make sure that it is correct.