Emerging Technologies for 8th Grade ELA

The emergence of online learning opens up possibilities for schools to focus on other areas once neglected due to a lack of resources or time.   In their book, Blended: Using Disruptive Innovation to Improve Schools , Horn & Staker (2015) bring up four activities that schools can now embrace.   These include: Deeper Learning, Safe Care, Wraparound Services, and Fun with Friends and Extracurricular Activities.   While online learning can play a crucial role in opening up future possibilities for schools, it’s not realistic to think everything can happen at once.   Districts needs to analyze the needs of their demographics and students in order to properly act and make appropriate changes.   When thinking about the order in which the four activities should be taken into consideration, my immediate thought goes to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.   Maslow believed that in order for an individual to meet their full potential, they must first satisfy a s...

I will be the first to admit, when I first heard of gaming in the classroom, my mind was flooded with negative responses.   “They already are gaming at home, why do they need it at school?” “Won’t this just foster an environment that leads to even shorter attention spans?”   According to Stephanie Chen (2016), the answer is no.   In her article, Classroom Gaming: What It Isn’t, What It Is, and How to Do It Right (2016), she debunks many common myths associated with gaming in the classroom.   In regards to my misconceptions, she states that rather than trying to lead students away from gaming we should be engaging in their interests and benefiting where we can.   She continues to explain how gaming can possibly increase attention spans, rather than shorten them, and how gaming “may boost multi-tasking skills, activate neurons, and increase brain connectivity responsible for tasks such as planning, memory formation, and special navigation” (Chen, 2016). ...