The Best of the Lists

Doug Johnson has made a list of Seven Brilliant Things Teachers Do with Technology, and Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make with Technology. For me the top two brilliant things on his list were to use the kids’ own devices to teach them and empower kids with technology. Students need to experience things for themselves. Part of doing that is to desire learning. By taking things that students enjoy doing or using and integrating it into the classroom, learning becomes a more enjoyable experience for the students. I feel like people learn the most when they don't realize they are having an educational experience, they just think they are having fun.

Out of the Seven Stupid Mistakes Teachers Make with Technology, I feel like the two most important are ignoring the intrinsic interest of tech use in today's kids and not backing up data. Like I have already said, making students enjoy learning is probably the most beneficial learning experience. I also feel like backing up all data is extremely important. If a teacher is going to utilize technology, he or she must also recognize that sometimes technology can backfire on a person. An educator also needs to show his or her students the importance of being prepared. By being an example of coming to class prepared enough to have backup if something goes wrong for a lecture, a teacher is also able to justify penalizing a student for turning something in late.

The final List I was give was about New Classroom Rules. The two most important rules for me were to be polite, courteous, and respectful at all times in both physical and virtual space and complete all assignments neatly and on time and submit on line or post to your blog or wiki, and share it with your followers on Twitter. I feel like allowing students to turn in assignments online will allow them a certain amount of freedom they might not normally experience. It will also allot them more responsibility. Being respectful while using technology in the classroom is also of utmost importance to me.