Visualizing with Technology

Visualizing with technology is a very powerful way to teach. When babies are born, they rely on their hearing. Once the baby is a little bit older, but not much, they start to see everything. So, auditory and visual learning is very important. By using technology that enhances those senses, student will benefit greatly. It is one thing to see something in your mind, but when you can actually see it with your eyes on either paper, or on a computer screen, it really ties things for you. I love that student can create, edit, delete, and add again with a click of a button. Visual technology allows students to see their work as it would look in the real-world. By allowing students to use calculators, instead of doing everything on paper, we are teaching them how they are going to function in the real world…Now I’m not saying no paper and pencil, but let’s enhance that by adding a computer, or excel, or TinkerPlots. I love the idea of letting students graph on TinkerPlots instead of doing all the graphs by hand. Using software allows students to quickly create new charts in a matter of seconds. By allowing the students to create, then THEY are doing the learning.

I liked the idea of incorporating GIS into the classroom. I learned about GIS when I worked at the engineering firm, but had not thought about how this could be used in the classroom. Students kind of use that technology already in using GPS units. We need to bring all the technology that is in the world into the classroom and make the classroom and exciting place.

I think that the outside world is leaving school behind…at one time, people went to school to learn about all the new ways of doing things, but now it seems that the school system is falling behind the world. I love United Streaming. There are so many topics on that site. We use it for our 20 minute Spanish lessons. Our principal wanted the students to be exposed to Spanish at the elementary level and since our teachers are not bilingual, I found Spanish lesson on United Streaming. Both the teachers and students love the lessons. Best of all, the students can actually speak some Spanish!