On the road to cultural bias: A critique of The Oregon Trail CD-ROM

I read article about the game The Oregon Trail and The Oregon Trail II, interested to see what the author had to say about the subject. I remember playing these games as a child and enjoying them alot. I also remember my parent talking to me about how these games did not tell the whole story. During that same time, I was exposed to lots of information about Native Americans, both inside and outside of the classroom so I realized as I got older the ways in which the story of the Oregon Trail and the pioneers was mistold. Although I really enjoyed playing the game, much of the fun began to wear off as I realized how many lies it was helping to perpetuate. I began to see the danger of using it in the classroom setting with children, as it is essentially a candy-coated way to feed children a skewed and biased view of history. I liked how the author acknowledged that the creator's of the program included lots and lots of information, but information alone does not make the program credible or comprehensive. This is important to note because one of the program's main selling-points is its encyclopedia worthy volume of information. Additionally, I liked how the critique was very well-rounded and addressed all of the myriad of issues that the games raise.

Digital Edge Project: Around the world with Cinderella

The project that I reviewed was called Around the World with Cinderella. It describes the way in which a Third-grade teacher in North Carolina used Cinderella stories from all over the world as the basis of a fairy tale unit that incorporated the use of several different technologies into the classroom. Students read different versions of the Cinderellas story and then used PowerPoint to create presentations to show the rest of the class what they had learned. The unit culminated with the students presenting what they had learned to their parents at the student-led conferences. This project shows the ways that technology can be successfully integrated into the classroom and be used a tool that reinforces and enhances student learning and creates new ways for students to meet their learning targets. This lesson was very clearly and carefully documented and provides inspiration and encouragement for other teachers to embrace the use of technology in their own classrooms.

Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age

The article I read today was entitled "Rethinking Learning in the Digital Age" by Mitchel Resnick. This article discussed the technological revolution that is currently occuring and the effects that it has on teaching and learning. The main focus of the article was to emphasize that computers and other technology are no some sort of magic cure-all for education and that we must be actively involved in manipulating these resources to work for us. If we remain passive, then these technologies will only serve to reinforce outdated ideas about education. Resnick gave several examples such as Mike Lee and the Intel Computer Clubhouses, that are using computers to positively change education. These groups and individuals are using computers and other new technologies in new and different ways to positively change the way students learn and allow students to have new outlets to express themselves creatively. I think this article is a good segway into this course and I am excited to learn new ways to use technology in my future classroom to positively benefit my students.

Welcome To My Blog

Welcome to my blog for IT 443. I hope I can figure out all of the confusing technology for this class.
Micah