Week+9+-+Mar+15

**Photoshop** element is an interesting tool. I have used this during my practicum but this type of software does need some basic introduction for the students before they can use it, specially the advanced tool. I saw my students having trouble with the layers and I faced the same myself. It can be tricky in the beginning. I would encourage my students to use photo-shop to create posters to highlight important concepts and physics happening around them in the real world. I believe, this would be an interesting way for them to learn science!


 * Interactive White Board:** I never realized how common interactive white boards were around the world and what surprised me was that Canada doesn't list among the high users of white boards in schools. UK leads in its use. SMART boards are the most common one but there are other alternatives that can be slightly cheaper. The mathematical tools and the way we can explain math visually through the interactive board is amazing. Writing in one dimension linearizes the thinking, where as the interactive board is more flexible. I do see myself using them in my teaching. From what I have heard, math can not be same with the interactive white boards.

** **Literacy is not enough:** This paper talks about 21st century fluency for digital kids. The way information was delivered and processed before is drastically different form now. Because our lives revolve around technology, knowledge is built on facts that become obsolete quite fact. In a classroom, it is important to understand the prior knowledge and experiences of the students and should be provided with differentiated learning opportunities. A consistent feedback that positively reinforces the learning is also very important. This feedback should not be on what they missed rather it should focus upon their strength to help them with better learning. Two things are crucial for quality reinforcement:
 * Readings:

 The Edger Dale's learning cone is a great tool to understand the effective way to understand differentiated learning in the classroom (i.e., how students best remember things)  Teaching 21st century kids doesn't mean they have to be taught about technology. It's more about how teachers can incorporate technology in the classroom learning. The five 21st century fluencies required for students to succeed in 21st century are:  I feel, it's really important to understand the importance of technology for the N-generation in their learning process. Mathematics is one of my teachable subjects and I learnt it as a procedure in the traditional setting. Teacher's college introduced me to teach math that incorporates technology. I may not have understood the importance of doing that earlier but more and more I learn about it, I feel it is a great teaching tool. I do see myself incorporating technology in my lessons.
 * 1) Tell kids what they are doing right
 * 2) Positive suggestions for improvement
 * 1) Solution fluency
 * 2) Information fluency
 * 3) Creativity Fluency
 * 4) Media Fluency
 * 5) Collaboration Fluency

New ideas that I share with my friends, family and colleagues basically come from my personal experiences of revolving my teaching around technology. These experiences came from my practicum and other lessons and activities I did in the teacher's college. Being aware of what's out there and what technology is being used by kids these days, can help in differentiated lesson planning to benefit student learning in the 21st century.


 * Attributes of Digital Learners**:
 * Digital generation has developed hyper-linked minds. Their brains are neurologically wired differently than us.
 * The difference in the way we scan information (Z-pattern) and digital generation scans information (F-pattern) speaks a lot about their learning, motivation, and engagement.
 * This paper compares the digital and traditional learning and teaching. There are differences in the way information is accessed, processed, instant/deferred gratifications, memorization, relevance and so much more.
 * These differences come from the fact that the technology that kids use these days brings in the change in the way they work, multi task, process pictures before text etc.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">It's ironic that even in classrooms today, not much of this knowledge about differences and similarities of N-gen is being applied towards their learning/teaching.
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Standardized testing can not measure non-standardized brain. The mere understanding of the fact that this generation is different and preferentially learns better with digital technology can address many issues and help bridge the gap between the traditional teachers and digital generation students.

I<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">t's important to understand what's different. With his understanding, it becomes the responsibility of the teacher to accommodate all the students to work in their best learning interest. If at times, we feel awkward in using or approaching new form of technology that becomes available, similar thing happens with these kids. How can we expect them to learn and understand through obsolete skills and methods, which they won't use/see in the 21st century.

Literacy is not enough By Ian Jukes Attributes of digital learners By Ian Jukes
 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">References: **<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">
 * Readings**


 * <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In-class learning: **

<span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photoshop Elements 7 <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Photoshop Element 7] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photoshop Tutorials <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Tutorials] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photo-story Tutorial <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Photo-story tutorial] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photo-story tutorial from Microsoft <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Microsoft] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> ) <span style="color: #008080; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Photo story re-visited <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">( <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|Photo-story] <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> )