EDLD5306+Book+Summary

The book I chose to read was //Teaching with the Tools Kids Really Use and was// written by Susan Brooks-Young who taught for 23 years before becoming an author and consultant so my first impression was that this lady has “walked the walk” and isn’t just “talking the talk” to sell books. She divided this easy to read book into three parts.

Part I deals with mobile technologies such as cell phones, mp3 players, and netbooks. These items are typically not allowed in classrooms during the school day. However, these are exactly the items that most students, and adults for that matter, rely on outside of school. She explains that although there are valid reasons for not allowing these items in the classrooms that they can and should be allowed if used for educational purposes. However, the students must be taught appropriate use and held to those standards. For example, students could use the voice memo application from their cell phones to record important facts that they need to remember or follow up with later. Mp3 players could be used to listen to teacher podcasts so that students could repeat information over and over.

Part II explains Web 2.0 tools as in social networks, virtual worlds, creating content and gaming. Once again, these tools require the teacher to teach a lesson on proper use for education but once the teacher instills the expectations the opportunity for higher level thinking could be dramatically increased. Instead of asking students to memorize facts which is a low level cognitive skill, these tools allow for them to design, develop, problem solve and create which is the highest level of cognitive skills. “When asked their opinion, these students assert that the use of these tools in the classroom would make learning more relevant and interesting” (Brooks-Young, 2010, p. 45 ). Gaming to some teachers is a waste of time but as quoted from this book “Players are required to learn multiple skills, and many complex games must by played by teams” (Brooks-Young, 2010, p. 91 ). That sounds to me like learning is very much taking place during gaming.

The final part of this book regards digital citizenship and provides a decision-making model to help school districts and communities work together to decide how best to be prepared to deal with emerging technologies. These tools and skills are new to most people and new rules and regulations have to be created in order to use the tools responsibly. We didn’t have a 55 mph speed limit when the roads were originally created but that law was put into place when society deemed it necessary. The same goes for online technologies. Teachers, administrators, and IT staff must work together to make sure that they are all on the same page. “Educators also tend to rely on negative solutions to technology use in schools” (Brooks-Young, 2010, p. 102 ). It is easier to block something than to figure out a way to teach the students to use it responsibly. We must change our way of thinking and imagine the positive outcomes that can be achieved as a result of these and other emerging technologies.

Brooks-Young, S. (2010). //Teaching with the tools kids really use.// Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.