Focus Question: How can technology engage and inspire learning for diverse students?
One of the most important ways that teachers can help diverse students learn is having them work in small groups. Not only does this help the student learn the subject matter, but it gives the student a chance to work with their peers and have their peers get to know them. For diverse students, the social interaction aspect is often overlooked and deemed unimportant. However, especially in a safe learning environment of a small group, social interaction may be even more important at times than the actual subject matter itself!
Technology can play a very important role in teaching a diverse student body. Using computers for internet or working in small groups to complete research and projects promotes learning and positive interaction with peers. The feeling of accomplishing something together starts to break down the barriers that diversity can cause. Diversity is a wonderful thing and if used properly, can be a great learning tool as well. It is a great way for students to tell others about their culture through technology such as videos and pictures on the web, or even interacting with a classroom from another country.
Tech Tool 10.2
Chapter 10 Tech Tool 10.2 discusses the types of calculators that are available with technology these days. There are regular handheld, online and app calculators available for the use of students and PARENTS. Just last week I needed to check my 6th grade son’s homework and found that it had been too long to remember how to convert some things. I was able to find a conversion calculator, along with some helpful sites to “remind” me how to do the problems. One of the tools mentioned in this section is Web 2.0 Calc which is an actual calculator you can use and put into blogs and as a widget.
Summary & Connection
Chapter 10 discusses how different types of technology can help the diverse student body. The rapidly growing number of students who are cultural or linguistically diverse has changed the way teachers are expected to teach their students and technology is the way to bring these diversities together. Whether it is in the form of small group learning, letting students share their culture with their fellow classmates or sharing lessons with classes around the world, teaching students about diversity and how to welcome it and benefit from it will help our country and communities thrive in the long run. What I have come to understand is that diverse is not just in culture or races. Diversity is ALL the ways that students are different from each other. I think we sometimes get caught up in the line of thought that only 2nd language learners or different races counts as diversity. Diversity can mean so many different things. The key is understanding that even if two students come from similar backgrounds and speak the same language, they may have very diverse learning styles. As we have talked about before, getting to know your students is a very important part of the job as a teacher and will be critical in making a diverse classroom work in the favor of who it matters to most……The Students!
Resources:
RaceBridges for Schools. 2013. Cooperative Learning and
Diversity. [photograph]. Retrieved from Web.
Textbook
- Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf,
Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd
Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
You hit the nail on the head with your understanding of diversity - it represents a wide spectrum...in reality, the individuality of each one of us! :) Though it may be difficult to truly personalize learning in a classroom of students, there are so many effective strategies - many of which utilize technology - which help to address the various needs of all students! :)
ReplyDeleteGlad you got some use out of that calculator website - so many tools out there! :)