Section 8
Rich Media
Rich media allows students and teachers to incorporate advanced features like video, audio, pictures, etc into their lessons. These features allow the students to interact with and engage in the information that they are being taught.
I thnk that rich media leads to more student-centered teaching. Instead of requiring the students to sit and listen to the teacher give the information; teachers incorporate rich media into their lessons that allow the students to engage in their own learning. Using this type of technology would foster both information and media literacy. Student would konw of different ways to read and interpret information that they receive via rich media, and they would learn how to interpret different forms of media. These skill would help in all aspects of the student's education and life.
e-Learning Environments
e-Learning environments are a great way to deliever all of the information that is required of a curriculum while getting the studetns to interact with and engage in all of the information that are being taught. This also allow for more student-centered teaching because the teacher can get a better insight into how the student relates to and understand certain concepts and tailor his or her feedback to that specific student. e-Learning environments also foster a more collaborative learning environment as students are more open to share their ideas via discussions and blog posts. Teachers may not get the same interaction from the students if they are sitting in the classroom because of personality issues or anything else. e-Learning environments also give the teacher more opportunities to interact with the students versus when they are in a classroom due to lack of time or the number of students in a classroom.
Digital Games
Digital games are very beneficial to learning because they help to reinforce concepts that the students have learned in class. They include drill and practice, simulations, and dfferent types of quizzes that provide immediate feedback to the student. This helps in learning because the student can see where he has started and gage where he wants to finish by the end of the lesson. This encourages the student to challenge him or herself to do better and reach his or her own learning goals.
I believe that technology can better facilitate the attainment of a learning goal better than traditional methods of teaching. Traditional methods of teaching often lead the students to boredom. With technology, they are able to interact and engage with the information they are being taught rather than merely being fed information. I think technology leads to a more student-centered approach to teaching rather than traditional methods which most often fall into focusing on instruction by the teacher. I believe that students learning better when they are actually required to do something raather that repeat the information back for a test.
Section 9
Some of the ethical issues that arise when discussing rich media, e-Learning environments, and digital games are all pertaining to internet safety. With rich media, teachers must ensure that their students are only accessing wholesome and informative information. Plaigarism occurs often in the e-Learning environment since students are more comfortable with searching for and getting information online. With digital games, students may find a way to cheat the game which takes away from learning just because they want to get a high score.
I believe tha technology enhances accessibiltyy and accomodates the learning needs of students because it encourages communication between students allowing them to share their own creative ideas and learn from one another.Technology allows the students to play a more active role in their learning and allows the teachers to merely guide their students' thoughts.
