Reations to Chapter 6, "Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology, The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America"

My opinions on a specialized instruction as discussed in Chapter 6 is full of mixed emotions.  While I do support the idea of an education that is geared to "certifications to the specific goals of learners and their parents", thus bringing an "assessment could be more attuned to the technological imperatives of customization and learner control."  I can see value in a program that is adopted into the current curriculum and is used as a supplemental program for enrichment; rather than a replacement for a traditional classroom.  I do feel there is value in attending a school and taking the standard norm classes.  I also believe that it would be nice to have the opportunities for students to take their learning into their own hands.  I think it would be interesting to see how such a creditional system could be implemented and how much money it would cost to get it up and running. In terms of differentiated instruction, which seems to be a key factor in today's educational system, this program type would be beneficial.   So, how long until this becomes our new reality? Will you like this change?  And how will this effect the traditional schools and the roles of teachers?

Collins, Allan, and Richard Halverson. Rethinking Education in the Age of Technology, The Digital Revolution and Schooling in America. New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2009. 126-135. eBook.

Reactions to article: "50+ Ways to Use Twitter in Your Classroom"

After completing our reading from last week’s discussion on Twitter, I still felt there were missing pieces to exactly how Twitter could be used for education.  After reading through this article, I now have a better insight as to a multitude of options for including this resource in the classroom.  A few I can add easily in elementary school is use “Twitter as a bulletin board”, a quick reference for students when absent, use Twitter as a way to provide feedback and aid in student concerns or questions, summarize the days learning, a share site for resources, follow historically important people for instant updates, follow experts in their career interest, a place to seek help, bonus assignments, or play “Twitter puzzles”.  Being unfamiliar with Twitter, my concerns lie in the security and privacy issue for young media users.  Perhaps this media is more appropriate for high school aged students.  I’d love to hear how you use Twitter in the classroom!

Kharbach, Med. "50 Ways to Use Twitter in Your Classroom." Educational Technology and Mobile Learning. N.p., n. d. Web. 8 Dec. 2013. <http://www.educatorstechnology.com/2013/12/50-ways-to-use-twitter-in-your-classroom.html>.