Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality is very interesting and this new technology impressed me a lot, children must like it in classroom because AR technology makes reality more and more attractive and make some 2-D learning materials become 3-D. Materials with 3-D effect have more details and true sense, for learning these features are very useful. I played Anatomy 4D, Quiver, Arloon Plants and Spacecraft 3D. I love Anatomy 4D best, it makes a body pic become a 3-D exhibition, also I can press different buttons to see different elements, such as bones and nervous system. Students can observe items from different angles for getting more details, it will improve effect of learning and accelerate the process of learning.

For those different AR apps, I think they can be used in biology, geography, art and culture classes. As for main subjects, such as math, English, I haven’t found any specific AR app which is suitable. But teachers can use some of those apps in some parts of class. For example, teacher could use butterfly to reinforce reflections of students, if students can give the right answers, teacher will let butterfly stay around that student for a longer time. Or just use these apps to explore students’ boundless imaginations. As we learned, each AR app needs its own triggers, we can find them in the website. we can also create them by ourselves by following instructions in the website. Anyway it could be a good project for providing collaboration between students and let students get involved in AR world initiatively.

Five differences between two models of technology implementation

There are five differences between these two models, first is different levels of using technology. We have talked a lot about this, before 3p.m. model just use technology as a tool and use its basic functions, the power of technology is minimized. In after 3p.m. model, students can utilize technology to communicate with other for asking help and search for useful resources, they made interactions with peers through technology. Second one is different objectives of learning technology, first model teaches technology just according to school’s requirement, and set up lot objectives of learning this class, they will test students to see if they learned or not. But in latter model, students can explore different content and ways to learn what they are truly interested in. The objective of fulfill students’ interests, during this process, they learn how to use technology best automatically.

Third difference is driving force, in before model, learning process was driven teacher. Teacher had already done with syllabus and objectives of this learning. And he commanded students to learn following his steps strictly, students can’t any chances to use technology by themselves. Teacher like boss and leader, students just finished works. In after model, it looks like a student-center learning, students can decide learn what, how to learn and when to learn. Fourth difference is former model got more support, whereas latter model has less or no support, they learned technology all by themselves. Last difference is about attitude, in before model, even though teacher provided full support, but he can’t guarantee every student in his class would be interested in the content of teaching. If they weren’t interested, they would choose to ignore any positive thing that teacher provided. But in after model, students all followed their interested, no matter how many difficulties they met, they would try their best to move on and deal with problems.

What is the digital citizenship

Digital citizenship means those people who have ability to live in the digital world productively and be a contributing member to society. And author concluded four fundamental elements according to the meaning of digital citizenship. First of all, digital citizenship should know the nature of digital world. Considering that, it needs them to understand digital world is ever growing and expanding. I can feel it in person actually, especially on online shipping and online paying kinds of fees. Technology are making the society more and more digital and most of people are involved in this campaign. Author also demand us to understand blurring boundaries between real and virtual. With the rapid development of technology, real is part of virtual and virtual is real. Almost activities we only could do in real life in the past can be done in virtual community now. And we can see the real effect or receive truly thing through making effort on Internet. Furthermore, virtual community broke the space and time, so it provides more opportunities for business and create new ways to work and have fun. But every coin has two sides, as for new ways to entertain, some teenagers are addicted to computer games and have no time to study, even have no time to sleep, that influenced their life a lot. There are lots of cyberbullies because of convenience provided by technology. They don’t need to take any consequence and can attack anyone at anywhere anytime just for mood, even aims to some people they rarely know. With these understandings, digital citizens are able to face the uncertainly and expect changes that technology brings, make preparations to adopt changes and become the part of digital world, become a useful and legal member of digital world.

Four reasons of wrong assumptions

There are four reasons to explain why using technology as curriculum is wrong, first, technology changes so fast and it’s hard to catch up with, some technologies students studied last year might be weeded out quickly. Second, technology could possess different meanings in different contexts and purposes, also in different cultures, technology has individual function. It will be too narrow if technology just be used as tools. Furthermore, lots of students have better ability to accept and learn new technology than teachers, it’s a little weird to let teachers teach this way. Last one is teaching technology as a curriculum just taught students how to use different software and technology tools, but it’s far from enough for students’ future society life. They need technological creativity to make creations and innovations in digital world and become digital citizenship.

Makerspace

Makerspace is very useful for cultivating creativity and technical capacity of student, at the first students just does some simple project like coding by color to make movement of little robot. This project can teach students to learn some basic principle of programming and identifying different colors. Gradually let students to learn more and more complex projects for higher knowledge. In makerspace, students learn new knowledge by doing and it can enhance the effect of learning, because doing is better than hearing or seeing in the learning process, experience of doing can remind student to remember relevant information or knowledge they have stored in mind. As teachers we should know that’s the process of constructing. Even failed experiences are useful for students, they have already known what they did wrong and won’t make same mistake in same situation. Once students possess enough fundamental skills and knowledge, they are able to make their own creations and innovations by inspiration from normal life or learning process.

It’s very normal that meet lots of challenges during building a makerspace because will take lots of money to buy machines and equipment. And there also need professional people in makerspace. Some problems can be solved by collaboration and discussion of student, but they can’t handle everything by themselves, they still need professional staff.

Learning by doing

Dewey insisted that education begins with experience and it also is a social process, I totally agree with that, first of all, learning by doing is much more efficient than hearing and seeing, we usually say genuine knowledge comes from practice, so the best way to learn is doing by ourselves. And all we learned in school should be prepared for the future social life, we are socialized and we can’t get away from society. School have duties on teaching students to adapt society and live better in both spiritual and physical rather than inflexible knowledge.

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Cognitive development

Piaget proposed there are four stages during the children’s cognitive development. Kids will get different cognitive abilities in these stages, every stage is very important for specific cognition. If they lost that chance and didn’t get any cognition in the key stage, it will be very hard or impossible to get those kinds of cognitions back. Parents should notice that their children have entered into learning period before they go to school. In that time, they play a very important role for children's learning and cognitive development. It is very necessary for parents to learn how to develop  better cognition of their own kids.