Hello Parents of Dos Palos Elementary School!
This blog has been created by the PTA to keep parents informated of our activities, fundraisers, and meetings. We will make every effort to keep this blog up on a weekly basis and we will date each entry so you know what is the most recent information posted. You will want to pay close attention to the fundraising information that we post on here as we rely on parental involvement to make the fundraisers a success. Remember, our success is the student's future!
Technology is becoming a big part of the classroom setting more and more each day. We understand that some people have major concerns about their child having access to a computer in the classroom, carrying a cell phoone around, using an ipod, etc. There are negative parts of technology, but we believe the positive aspects outwiegh the negative ones. While playing games on the computers, surfing the net (protected sites of course), etc. may seem like a waste of time and an activity that teaches students absolutely nothing, it can actually be a good learning experience for them. Students must be exposed to technology in school and learn different skills related to technology because our society relies heavily on the use of technology and therefore those who want to succeed in society must be able to navigate in the technological world.
An upcoming fundraiser that we are doing is a raffle at this week's "Back To School Night". We have ten different prizes ranging from a retail value of $100-$1000. We will use the money raised from the raffle to try and fulfill the wish list of Mrs. VanWorth. Mrs. VanWorth is a new teacher this school year and her classroom is pretty bare. She has asked for a laptop or desktop computer as well as a stereo system with headphones . Mrs. VanWorth would like to load educational games on the computer, as well as a word processing program and a typing program for the student's to use under direct supervision. Mrs. VanWorth would like to buy phnics c.d.'s for students to be able to listen to on the stereo system either as a group or individually (with the use of headphones).
There are learning theories that can be associated with different learning styles. One theory is an objectivist learning theory and another is the constructivist learning theory.
Objectivists-"Knowledge has a separate, real existence of its own outside the human mind. Learning happnes when this knowledge is transmitted to people and they store it in their minds" (Roblyer & Doering, pg. 35).
Constructivists-"Humans construct all knowledge in their minds by participating in certain experiences. Learning occurs when one constructs both mechanisms for learning and one's own unique version of the knowledge, colored by background, experiences, and aptitudes" (35).
An Objectivist learning theory by two theorists, Atkinson and Shiffrin, is called the Information Processing Theory. This theory believes that "learning is encoding information into human memory, similar to the way a computer stores information" (35). In Mrs. VanWorth's class, using technology can help to achieve learning and help the student encode information into the human memory by repetition. When a child listens to the phonics c.d. over and over again, the repetition will encode the information into their memory. A constructivist learning theory by theorist, Jerome Bruner, called Discovery Learning: Instructional Support for Child Development states that "Learning is cognitive growth through interaction with the environment" (39). In Mrs. VanWorth's class, using technology can help to achieve learning and help the student maintain cognitive growth by understanding and remembering concepts based off of what they learn from the educational games they play on the classroom computer. A good example is learning how to properly type without looking at the keyboard. This can be done by the student practicing the typing program on a regular basis.
We hope you have learned more about the positive aspects of integrating technology into the classroom and now understand our determination to raise the necessary funds needed to implement these projects in the classroom. Again, we can't do this alone and we are asking for support and participation from parents. This is an open blog, meaning anyone can comment or ask questions. Please be polite and respectful and keep any negative comments off the blog. If you do have something you would like to say in private, please feel free to contact the school and leave a message for a PTO board member.
Thank you for your support!!
References:
Roblyer, M.D. & Doering, A.H. (2010). Integrating educational technology into teaching. (5th ed). Boston: Allen and Bacon/Pearson.
**DISCLAIMER**
This blog is an assignment for an educational technology course at National University. It is not a real fundraising blog.
