Tim Tyson: Closing Key note

He was was very interesting to listen to and brought up ideas that I had never even thought about using in the classroom.  I think our society and school systems are so very fortunate to have access to so many resources and be able to globally distribute information, projects from students, texts, ideas, and much more.  This can not only get students excited to learn but these activities that use technology can get students engaged in their own learning, and helps them learn how to solve problems and learn in a more meaningful way.  Isn’t this what all teachers are out to do, to have students engaged in their learning and for it to be meaningful and applicable to their lives and surroundings?The fact that 11, 12 ,and 13 year old students can have an impact on people around the world through their contributions with schoolwork is amazing.  That is real learning, communicating and sharing knowledge on their own, rather than not having a voice and listening only to the teacher teach.  Technology can truly help create an authentic learning experience for students.  What teachers have to realize is that no matter how young the students are, it is the teachers’s jobs to provide meaningful class activities so the students can have a meaningful learning experience.  This meaningful learning experience means exploring new topics, and introducing new ways of learning by using technology.  Technology like students using videos, podcasts, blogs, etc.  These projects give students the freedom of learning more, increasing their comprehension and impact on people around the world.  Tyson said his students at Mabry Middle School have touched on subjects that are not always touched on in middle school, but rather subjects that the students are interested in and that are highly intelligable that can benefit their learning experience as well as the experience of others who view their entries on itunes.  Students are learning about the affects font, images, words, and other media have on society, then they are using this knowledge to create their own projects about interesting topics and sharing them with the world.  The videos shown in Typson’s presentation that were created by students were great, I was really impressed with what students can do when they are given the tools they need in order to learn.  I think that is awesome to see an enhanced learning environment with technology. I wish alot of this would have been more available when I was in middle school.  I’ve learned that what students learn doesn’t have to come directly from the books, they can learn alot more through the use of technology and critical thinking about real life  issues that effect everyone.  Students are learning more in depth concepts that are not necessarily seen in text books but pertain to the subjects and correlate with the performance standards, while bettering the students learning experience and comprehension.  This is SCHOOL.

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