Challenge Based Learning

Challenge Based Learning is education with a clear purpose. It is engaging, meaningful, and relevant to our students and their lives. I really enjoyed reading and exploring about Challenge Based Learning and all of the opportunities it presents. I think the author made a good point about many of the assignments in a lot of curricula lacking real-world context or any real meaning for our students. Education is for the students, not the teachers, so it should be meaningful and engaging for them. What's the point of education if it does not mean anything for our students outside of the classroom? The different projects and ideas outlined in the article and on the websites seem applicable and relevant. If I were a high school student, I would have been so excited to learn in such a productive, exciting way. Students have the ability to make impacts on the world, and through Challenge Based Learning, they get to make amazing impacts while learning. The article says, "Challenge Based Learning applies what is known about the emerging learning styles of high school students and leverages the powerful new technologies that provide new opportunities to learn to provide an authentic learning process that challenges students to make a difference." I definitely think Challenge Based Learning is an excellent approach and tool in education.

Literacy with iPads

I keep hearing more and more about ipads in the classroom and I haven't quite decided how I feel about them. The article brought up many good points about the uses and advantages of using ipads. Some of the advantages for teaching literacy with ipads include typing or writing on top of printed text or backgrounds, recording audio for responses, adding pictures from the photo library, inserting symbols and stamps, graphically organizing responses in many ways, and capturing videos or photos on the spot for responses. I agree that these are all great tools. They are accessible and useful for many students and could be used to support students with a variety of needs. When I think of ipads from this perspective, I think they are great. However, I want to ensure that our students are receiving a balanced education. When they are not in school, or if they go to a school with different resources, not every student will have an ipad to work on. They will need to develop their skills using other tools and resources that are available. I do not think we should teach our students to expect ipads or other devices to always be there. They need to know how to do things when technology is not around. I do think ipads are great tools. We should use them to reach out to students and allow them to express themselves in a variety of ways. I also think we need to educate our students without constant available technology.