Technology+Issues(RB)

= =  **How can technology be used to support higher-order thinking? Give an example of a technology that supports higher-order thinking and be specific in describing HOW it supports higher-order thinking.** = =

Technology is a great way to get someone of any age to engage in higher order learning and processes. In most technology programs you are required to create or learn something new. This involves first of all learning how to use that program effectively enough to create quality work that can be graded. Using a technology not only requires knowing how to use that technology but how to manipulate that technology to fit what your trying to do, like learning or producing something. "Zon" is one of those tools. Zon is not so much a game is an interactive experience, you create an avatar and go through this digital far eastern countries and explore this world through activities and simulations. It would be great for not so much just learning the language, but applying it to real life situations and senerios. It could also help your knowledge of the area, someone can tell you directions all they want but if you see the surrounds and visually pick out what your looking for, it would greatly help a person traveling to that area and aid them in learning the area.

= =  Give an example of a technology that affirms diversity and be specific in describing HOW it affirms diversity.** = =
 * How can technology be used to affirm diversity?

Technology is a great way to affirm diversity in the classroom, it allows for students to experience places and cultures of the past and present and the click of a mouse. It is a very cost effective strategy, you can stay in the classroom and go on a field trip at the same time and you can travel and see or hear things you would be able to hear on a field trip anyway. It is also easy to gear and filter some diversity information to the age group you are teaching, so it makes more sense and they can take more away from it. One specific example would be "The Adventures of Josie True". It is a website based around a young teenage Chinese American girl that travels around meeting other scienctists, most of which are female, and learning and talking with them about what they had accomplished. I think this is pretty cool, being a science major myself, because I do believe woman are underrepresented in the field of science and would like to see this divide change. Young girls can relate to the young female main character and learn about other female, maybe a little more obscure scientists, that are no less important, but sometimes overlook compared to male scientists. I also explored the website a little, and it's not like the male child population wont have fun either, but it gives girls a chance to learn about the other gender side of science.



Give an example and explain how it would support students with special/diverse needs in your future classroom?**
 * How can technology be used to address the needs of learners with special needs?

Special needs students can benefit in many ways from the use of technology in the classroom. These technologies can vary from advanced to simple but all that matters is that they help that student learn the curriculum just like anyone else would. One of the more advanced examples would be one of the "think pad" that was used in the video that we watched in class. This pad enabled the student to communicate with others in multiple languages in ways that she couldn't before. This "pad" also stayed up to date via updates and could go from grade level to grade level with easy, helping the student learn the content all the way through school. Other options are out there too, not just the cutting edge. Another example of technology in the video was a simple piece of PVC pipe, used to help a student hold a crayon more effectively to draw with everyone else in the class. Regardless of the level of technology used in the classroom, it's how the technology is used. It's all about leveling the playing field and get special needs students the edge they could need to succeed.