Week #5

Welcome all to my math blog!

This week in math, we will be focusing on teaching the future of children, also known as 21^st century learners.

(Reissman, 2017)

Students in our classrooms now a days learn in different ways. They were brought up with the use of technology, and no matter what they have handed to them, without instruction they would be able to figure out the app or device faster than any educator. This is something we have to take into account when teaching students. They do not learn the same way we did, because they were brought up so differently. Technology is their era, and we need to know how to make it a part of ours. As I had said before, it is okay to make mistakes, mistakes will allow you to achieve success. If something goes wrong with technology when I am teaching, there are always students willing to run up and help. AGAIN…. They know this stuff best! This is an area they can teach us, do not be afraid to make mistakes, make all the mistakes you need to, the students will help you through it, because in the end you are doing this for them! As stated in the link below, mistakes ultimately make us better teachers.

Making Mistakes Is Ok

            When teaching 21^st century learners, educators must keep in mind, that lessons for these students should include some or all of the following areas, such as; collaboration, problem solving, self-regulation, as well as differentiation in learning styles. Differentiation can be presented through the use of technology. When introducing technology to lessons in the classroom, here are some useful links and apps to use in your teaching. 

•    Google Blogger – making a website/ blog (can be used for any subject or topic area)
•    Shotcut – can be used on windows devices as would iMovie 
•    YouTube – this is something most educators are familiar with using within their classrooms
•    Google Drive – a great source for having all documents saved in one search engine, where they are accessible from any location, any time, any where
•    Onenote – This is a Microsoft program, which allows students to type notes, add in pictures, links and videos, and is automatically saved much like google docs 
•    Educreations – this is an app, that allows students to screen record what they are doing as they are doing it on their devices

These tools are there to allow educators to connect lessons to the learning style of their students. It is important that students are able to connect to technology, especially when it comes to math, as this seems to be an area students often feel less confident. The use of technology here allows them to try the subject in a different light. 

References

Reissman, H. (2017, September 14). 7 smart ways to use technology in classrooms. Retrieved from https://ideas.ted.com/7-smart-ways-to-use-technology-in-classrooms/