Yellow Group

At first thought, I don’t tend to think of things such as – cell phones, video games, You Tube, social network sites, etc., - as technologies that should be incorporated into teaching. Thinking about it a little deeper, I realize that some of these things could in fact be very useful in the classroom. I think the reason I don’t tend to think about incorporating them into teaching is because I often view them as forms of entertainment. I do see the value of using them in the classroom. Social networking sites can be used to communicate, just like how we use the discussion board on blackboard. Certain video games can be used such as Math Blaster, which teaches students how to solve math problems. When I think of video games, I tend to forget that they have ones specifically designed for an educational purpose. You Tube is absolutely one piece of technology that I think can be very useful in teaching. I have already seen teachers incorporate video clips from You Tube into their lessons. I think as generations advance we will see more of the technologies we use every day outside the classroom being used inside the classroom as well.

John Wagner