The use of technology in the classroom has changed the way children learn, allowing both students and teachers to unlock their creativity. Tim Magner, director of the office of educational technology for the U.S. Department of Education, remembers the impact a simple computer program had on his eighth grade geography class when computers were first becoming main stream.
"I saw the power it had," he says. "It gave us the opportunity to engage the students in a thoughtful discussion that until that time had been static facts in books." Now as technology continues to evolve and children become more tech-savvy, the computer is an even more powerful learning aid that enables collaboration and communication in the classroom, Mr. Magner says.
We asked Mr. Magner to recommend books on the intersection of technology and the classroom. Here are his picks.
• "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms," by Will Richardson
A public school teacher looks at how to take these Web 2.0 tools and begin to use them in the classroom. The book is more practitioner-focused but gives a nice overview of what Web 2.0 and social collaboration models are, how they facilitate types of interactions and how to use them in school.
• "Out of Our Minds: Learning to be Creative," by Ken Robinson
Robinson identifies and explains what he feels is the creation of an unnatural separation between arts and sciences, and creativity and intelligence. He believes this separation is enforced in formal education. He addresses how we need to re-engage with kids in different ways to encourage them to tap into their creativity. Robinson spends a lot of time talking about finding your medium, and we are seeing that digital tools are the medium of choice for a lot of students.
Click here to discover the rest of his recommended picks!
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