For chapter 7 I decided to take a closer look at (1) how
technology generates problem solving and inquiry learning, (2) the different
types of software for problem solving learning and (3) some examples of
learning games. Problem solving and inquiry learning takes situations that
students might face in real life and engage them to participate actively in the
solution process. George Polya is a Hungarian mathematician, who after going to
school for law, biology and literate, found that problem solving is as easy as
3 steps. First you need to actually understand the problem and what it is
asking you to do. To truly understand the problem you need to be able to
comprehend all the words and be able to state the problem in your own words.
Second you need to devise a plan it could be a guess, looking for a pattern or
eliminating options, in this step is were problem solving is implemented. The
final step is to carry out the plan and check your results. The way technology enhances problem solving
is by letting students figure everything out and not by giving them organize
information that contains all the answers. This will teach the kids more since
real life situations require a lot more then given, structure, organize
information.
The book talks about 3 main software for problem solving and
inquiry-learning
Composing
and calculating software- are tools that allow the kids to write and evaluate
their writing. This is very important because the more practice students get at
writing the better writers they will become. Some examples are Microsoft, excel
and blogs.
Building,
inventing and creating software- are hands on material that allows you to
explore and create with in the software. kid pix looks like a great software, I
personally don’t have it but read the reviews and how it works on youtube and
it looks like a lot of fun for young kids; you can paint, write and even learn
your numbers. Google earth I like a lot, I can look at places that I want and
have a street view. Students enjoy it and use it, it is helpful to find directions,
visit historical places or just take a look at your neighborhood. With google
earth you can also see the moon and stars.
Visual thinking
and concept-mapping software- these are outline software that allows students
to organize the information they have. For this section I looked at InspireData
and could only download the demo. At the beginning it was a little complex but
as I learn a little more it got better. This tool seems great to present students
with data and to have them organize their own data or collection of information
if they are presented with some research project.
Learning games for me is a doubted subject and I say this
because I honestly have a hard time judging whether or not a game presents
engaging problem solving that pushes students to participate actively in the
solution without giving them organize information. For the option that the book
gives, stop disasters game I was unable to play I tried it several times and it
said “forbidden you don’t have permission.” What I do agree is that games
require a student to be persistent, flexible in his solutions and stay focus on
the objective.
Bibliography
Inspiration Software Inc. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.inspiration.com/InspireData
Motter, A. (2012, June). Retrieved from Wichita State
University Department of Mathematics and Statistics:
http://www.math.wichita.edu/history/men/polya.html
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B.
(2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition.
Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
