Generation IM

In response to "Generation IM" by Scholastic http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=3749836

I really enjoyed reading this article and there were a few things I learned from it. First of all, I did not know that 67% of preschoolers use computers. I think that demonstrates how much our culture is saturated with technology. Second, I did not realize that the aspect of computers that children like the most was creating their own content. I had the opinion that children waste too much time on the computer because I thought that they were playing video games or taking surveys on MySpace most of the time. Now that I realize that creating their own content is what is so appealing and what children spend the most time doing, I think time on the computer is more productive.

This notion can be taken advantage of by teachers to use in the classroom. If students love creating their own content on the computer, let them learn and show their knowledge of the content areas by creating their own content. I really liked all of the stories in this article that gave examples of teachers doing just that. By appealing to that nature in students teachers could be much more effective and inspire students to learn.

I really liked the "7 Ways to Bring Today’s Tech into your Classroom" that was at the end of the article. I did not know that all of those resources were available to teachers to use in the classroom. I really liked the ideas and the specific ways to incorporate those ideas into the curriculum. I will definitely be taking advantage of those in the future.