Chapter 3

This chapter was about meaningful learning and how to use technology to benefit the students in your classroom. I think that I learned a lot about making learning meaningful for my students by reading about the different technologies that can foster causal thinking. I really liked learning about technologies such as Microworlds, simulations, virtual worlds and games. I never really knew how to incorporate these different technologies into my classroom because I really did not know how they could promote learning. I always thought games and virtual worlds were nothing but games that people played in their spare time and they did not get any benefit from them. Now that I know the differences between the different technologies and also their uses I can easily incorporate them into the classroom. I can see how virtual worlds can show students real world experiences and have them do real world experiments. I am slightly concerned about having my students on some of the virtual world sites. I know some of the virtual worlds that students can access through the internet can be dangerous. I think that as a teacher I cannot use these types of virtual worlds in my classroom but I can use a more child friendly version instead. I really enjoyed learning about how I can incorporate these different technologies into the classroom.