How to Teach with Technology: Science and Math

Bernard, S. (2009, May 27). How To Teach with Technology: Science and Math. The George Lucas Educational Foundation. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-science-math-lessons

Summary: This article gives suggestions/links for how technology can be used in Science and Mathematics classrooms. A lot of the suggestions put the students in charge of the assignment. For example, students can make movies about science or math topics. The students can choose which topic they want, they write the movie, and do all the editing. The article suggests using flip cameras since they are cheap or having students work in groups and at least one of the students have a camera on their phone. Another suggestion is having the students create video games to teach different topics. The teacher can also use video games to teach algebra. For example, if you collect 1 billion points the teacher can ask “what’s the scientific notation for this number?” The author also gives many different ways a teacher can use virtual world accounts for chemistry or geography. The article has many other suggestions for integrating technology in the classroom and provides links for a detailed explanation for some of them.

Reaction: I like that this article gives a list of specific ways technology can be incorporated in the classroom and the author also shared links for more information if needed. I really liked that a lot of the suggestions were student-led. I think this is important for students to build confidence and independence, plus they are generally more engaged when they get to create things. Not only does this article incorporate technology, it also incorporates art. Students that struggle writing or solving, but are artistic could use their skills to create movies or video games. This is a nice break from the traditional classroom. Most, if not all, of these ideas sound like they would be a lot of fun for students. This is important for engaging the students and promotes learning. Besides the suggestion for using camera phones for making videos, the article did not give suggestions for how this technology can be used if students do not have access to it.