I am in a first grade classroom and the students in my class use technology to enhance their learning. During this lesson, the students use something called Seesaw on their chrome books. Seesaw is used by the teacher and the students. The teacher is able to assign things using seesaw and then the students can see what assignments that they have to complete. The students in my classroom use seesaw for mostly math work. The students use their chrome books to log into seesaw. Once the students log into their accounts, they can see the assignments that the teacher has assigned to each student. The thing that is so great about this is the teacher can assign specific assignments to each student. We have some students that are very behind in class and some students that are very advanced. This way, the teacher can assign assignments that are at the students level.
According to the article, “Applying Distributed Cognition Theory to the Redesign of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function in Order to Promote Appropriate Learning Outcomes “(Morgan et al.) distributed cognition is explained as, “A way to understand how people interact with their environment and how they can be enabled by the environment to undertake highly complex tasks that would usually be beyond the abilities of the unassisted individual” (Morgan et al.). In this lesson the students were really working on their own, but at times, the students sometimes work with one another. For example, if a student is struggling with a question then a student may help another student out. This environment enabled the students learning because they are able to have assignments that are catered to where they are at with learning. Technology also enabled the students’ learning because they are able to access educational games with ease. The effects of technology are also present in this lesson According to the article, “Do Technologies Make Us Smarter? Intellectual Amplification With, of, and Through Technology (Salomon and Perkins) the effects of technology are explained as ” using technology may leave cognitive residue that enhances performance even without the technology” (Salomon and Perkins 77). It is clear that the technology that was used in this lesson helped my students learn as they were able to play games that they would not be able to play without technology. The students really enjoy playing these educational games because they are having fun while learning. The teacher can also use this as a formative assessment because she can see the scores that the students are getting on their activities. Looking at the question, will technology make students smarter? I don’t know if the technology itself will make the students smart. But rather the way that you use the technology can make a student smarter because the games that they play can help them practice their math skills.
Morgan, M., Brickell, G., Harper, B. (2008). Applying distributed cognition theory to the redesign of the ‘Copy and Paste’ function in order to promote appropriate learning outcomes. Computers & Education, 50(1), 125-147.
Salomon, G. & Perkins, D. (2005)”Do Technologies Make Us Smarter? Intellectual Amplification With, Of and Through Technology.” In: Robert Sternberg and David Preiss (Eds.).Intelligence and Technology: The Impact of Tools on the Nature and Development of Human Abilities. Mahwah, NJ : Lawrence Erlbaum and Associates, Publishers. pp. 71-86.
Welcome to ED386 - Caroline Beery 