TIE 512- Due January 19

The Question Posts: Should technology (computer skills, typing, software instruction, etc.) be taught as separate skills or as part of an integrated lesson?

I have always thought that anything taught in isolation can lose it's ability to offer connections to other learning. I was a computer lab teacher in the late 90's and struggled with how to teach the skill of typing. I admit that at the time I hadn't even really considered teaching it in conjunction with anything else. I did not have access to typing software at the time. I do think that typing, specifically, needs to have it's time for very intentional lessons on placement. However, once those placement skills are introduced, why not practice them in the context of something that's meaningful instead of "gghg gghg gghg gghg gghg". YIKES, that was a little hard to relive.

The video that linked with this blog entry featured various educators with very different views on the meaning of literacy. Most seemed to be open to changes in it's description. I'm not so sure it needs to be changed. I always thought of it as a term to encompass much more than just text and being able to read it. I never thought of "literacy" as having a very strict definition.

My point: teach me Excel, but have the data be something meaningful to me. Teach me powerpoint by showing me how to import those graphs I just learned how to do in Excel. Teach me by having me put together a presentation on my graphs. I've tried it the other way. It doesn't work for me, as the learner....so this is also how I teach.