Wow! Learner-active, technology-infused classrooms are most likely busy and exciting classrooms. I can see that such a class would have to have a well-organized teacher who has exposed his/her students to enough technology in order to complete the lesson without distracting from the main point of the lesson.
Though these lessons could be rather time-consuming (depending on the student's base knowledge of technology), I can definitely see the benefit they would be to each student in the class. Especially because each lesson covers so many learning styles.
A learner-active and technology-infused classroom takes the basics of learning and teaches the student through real-life experience in the classroom and outside of the classroom- by using technology to explore other cultures and regions, or collaborating with another classroom. This kind of classroom infuses 21st century skills into every day learning. The students learn to use manipulatives and real-life examples to solve-problems and to take what they are learning in school at apply it to their world.
I looked over a few unit plans at the site:http://educate.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/UnitPLanIndex/GradeIndex/#1 and I was very impressed with the clarity of instruction (yet flexibility) and the way the day-to-day lessons did not appear overwhelming (for the teacher and the student).
One unit that I read and thought was very clear in showing a technology-infused and leaner-active classroom was the 'The Great Bean Race.' In this lesson the students are able to be active through the growing of bean plant as teams in the classroom. The students not only learn how to plant and take care of a plant, they also get the joy of every day watching and reporting the growth and maturity of their plant. The students use technology by reporting the growth of their plants with students living in other regions and through reporting the growth of their plants in a newsletter. The students learn in the ares of science, math, and language arts in this lesson by watching and measuring their plant's growth as well as communicating the growth and results of the experiement. This unit is also exciting because it is a race. Who's bean plant will grow to be the tallest?
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2 comments:
Sarah~
Thanks for your thoughts about the learner-active, technology infused classroom. It does sound like a busy and exciting place. This is definitely an approach to learning that can not be decided upon on the drive to work in the morning. The teacher does need to make plans and organize the classroom setting in such a way that learning takes place in a very natural way, even though it is so different from the traditional experience. I also was impressed at the ease of each lesson. Even though the time range was for weeks/months, the overall lesson did not seem hard to accomplish...even with adding technology objectives. That is very encouraging.
I really enjoyed reading about the lesson that you previewed about the bean race. It sort of brings out the competitive edge of the students, but in a fun way. I really appreciate how subject areas are integrated and students also have the opportunity to experience technology in several ways.
I hope that reading about these creative ways of lesson planning, continues to spark your mind with endless of ideas of what you can do in your classroom! Thanks for sharing.
Sarah, I agree with you about the teacher needing to be well organized in a technology-infused classroom. It would be very hard to use the technology if you did not already have it set out in a way that would make it easy to use.
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