While I was in high school I can recall hear and saying "Why do we need to learn this stuff? We are never going to use it in the real world!". When students have this feeling towards school and learning they will be shortchanged in how and what they learn. It is so important to engage students in meaningful ways and one way it to create lessons that use current events, cultural relevance, and also incorporate technology, which is a major aspect of students lives. If my teachers adjusted the subject matter being taught in a way that brought the "real world" into school I truly feel that school would have been much more interesting and I would have felt more engaged. I witnessed this "joining of two worlds" just a couple of weeks ago while at a local high school. In the government class the topic of conversation was a very relevant topic for "real world" within the scope of class, what happens when a justice dies? I can also imagine that using culturally relevant topics, tailored to the diversity of a class, could also help engage students, when a student feels as if they are an important part of class they are more likely to want to participate and pay better attention. If we as teachers are able to show how each lesson is rooted in activities and actions that might be relevant to life after school and incorporate technology which students are becoming more fluent with then society as a whole has the chance to see more engaged, happy and relevant learners.
When I was reading about the electronic spellers and dictionaries at first I was skeptical about the practical uses in the classroom or at home. This was one topic that I thought about more than others because I have a child that has a hard time with remembering how to spell, knowing what words mean, and the proper use of words. I am guilty of becoming frustrated when she asks questions over and over regarding words, but I know she is doing her best to try to learn. If we had an electronic speller/dictionary it would enable her to explore these words on her own and at her own pace. If the definition has another word she doesn't understand, she would simply have to look that one up (called "jumping to a word" in the book) (Maloy, 2014). I think that when a student has the chance to make their own mistakes, explore possibilities on their own and are an active part of learning then they enjoy it more and are able to retain information with greater ease. With the help of an electronic speller/dictionary they have that chance, the big downside is if the student uses it too much it may hinder the ability to use critical thinking when learning how to spell new words by sounding them out on their own without the help of technology.
When students who have disabilities or difficulties that can hinder the learner experience having technology that assists them can include them in the class in ways that were previously not available. I knew a boy in middle school and high school that was born blind and my experiences with him have forever changed my outlook on how learning can occur. He had a machine that he was able to use all the time in order to help facilitate his learning experience. With this machine he was able to take notes, write papers and do anything a student would be able to but instead of using pen and paper, he created braille notes. Our teachers were able to connect his machine to their computer and transfer his written assignments to a form in which they were able to read. He was able to use books that were purchased for him so he could read the assigned tasks and never feel excluded for being differently able. With technology advancing on a daily basis every student has the chance to be included and feel a sense of accomplishment when they are able to have technology that helps and encourages the student to achieve their potential.
By: Visualpun.ch from Flickr
References
Caruso, R. (2016, March 1). Relevant Curriculum. Via: Wordle.
Maloy, V.-O. E. (2014). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.
Visualpun.ch.
(2010, November 23). René Jaun's braille display [Photograph]. Retrieved from https://www.flickr.com/photos/visualpunch/5201363064
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