Chapter 8
While reading chapter 8, I felt more intimated by the programs and simulations described at the beginning of the chapter. First off, I’ve never been introduced to the programs and software described in this chapter, except Scratch. I’m interested in how I could use them in a classroom setting- most likely an upper elementary and a middle school setting. There are various programs and software mentioned in the book, so I discussed below two programs from the chapter and how I would try to use them in my future classroom.
I see how the computer-aided design (CAD) program would help students fully understand the design of an object. The CAD program gives students the opportunity to build 3-D shapes/objects. Students are able to focus on how the structure of an object will determine its usefulness and success. I’m intimidated by these programs, and maybe the content (math and engineering) that usually corresponds with these programs are what is really intimidating me. Out of the CAD programs discussed in the book, I like the SketchUp program the best. This focuses on architectural design and allows students to travel through their design or “walk-through” the design.
In a way, this reminds me of the Sims game. You had to build and decorate your house in Sims, and this is similar to SketchUp. I think it would be possible to use this with upper elementary students…maybe. Students could build a house using SketchUp, but create the house under certain conditions. The house would need to be appropriate for a specific geographic location, withstand the weather in the location, and correspond with the social issues at the location. So housing in Africa may need to look different than the housing in northern Canada. Students could ask themselves what materials they would use to build their homes. Will different materials help their house better survive a geographical location? This integrates a CAD program into the social studies curriculum. Am I stretching a little too far? I downloaded SketchUp to play around with the program, and it’s not easy. It might be possible for 5-6 graders to do this in groups, or build the house as a class. The teacher would need to supply students enough time to get familiar with the program. I’m not sure if this would work or not.
iStopMotion: This software was described in the book as an aid to storytelling. I definitely could use this in my future classroom. I would use this software in my classroom as a way to encourage students to write stories. This could be the end result to a yearlong writing project. Students could begin by writing their own movie script. With this part of the project students could learn about details, grammar, dialogue, and other writing skills. Then after several drafts students could start their own movie or create a movie trailer. This isn’t just a motivating factor for writing, but a realistic use for it. This sounds a lot more fun and entertaining than just recording students while they act out their scripts. I’m not sure what the difficulty level is for this software, but the book on page 182 makes the software sound elementary friendly.
Something I really like in this chapter is the Musical Sketch Pad.
This online musical environment can help students see/hear the difference in a note that is drawn higher up on the sketch pad and one that is drawn lower. This can help students connect ideas way before they start using staffs or any other musical notation.
The tools listed in this chapter encourage me to explore them and see how they really work. These tools may not work in every elementary setting, but I think it’s important for us to know about them and know how to use some of them just in case we have the privilege of working with an upper elementary class that could use these tools successfully.
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I agree with the intimidation that these tools pose. I think the idea of designing and creating is intimidating enough and when you add technology to the mix it can become even more overwhelming. I also would like more exposure and experience with these tools!
ReplyDeleteI agree with the idea that not all these programs would be effective across all elementary school grades. Although many programs offer tutorials to introduce students to the design program I think many young children would be overwhelmed with the whole program. I believe introducing programs such as Scratch to students in fourth or fifth grade could be effective. However when the program is introduced students should be given time to explore the website and see the many possibilities of what can be created. Students should start with a simple project and then advance in difficulty as they get older and gain more experience working with the program.
ReplyDeleteDesign tools are really intimidating and I would need a lot of practice with them before I felt comfortable using them in my classroom. They presented a lot of great ideas in the text but some of them seemed like they might be too advanced for elementary school students. I love the idea of design tools though because it promotes exploration and creativity and gets students really excited about the topic they are learning about. I think they would be beneficial to use in the classroom but I am not sure if there are a lot of schools out there that could support the expenses of computers, software, maintenance, etc.
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way that you tried to stretch Sketch-Up. I think that it could be used in the ways that you described, as well as many other situations. I would probably use this program in my classroom.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with the use of these programs at the elementary setting. I think some may be more useful than others but they are important to know and understand. Like you, before reading this chapter, I was not aware of many of the programs mentioned other than Scratch. I hope to learn more about these programs and how/where to best use them in my classroom curriculum.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with what you mentioned about not using these tools in the younger grades. I talked about definitely using designing programs in my classroom because I LOVE creative projects but these programs form the chapter, I feel, would take away from the lesson to deal with the complexity issues of the program itself.
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