This chapters introduces several technologies for learning including technology to reinforce learning, to address diversity, to foster critical thinking, to foster creativity, to foster communication and collaboration, and to access competency. I believe that all of these areas have incredible value. I am personally most comfortable with technology to reinforce learning because this is the technology that I currently integrate into my classes. I feel that students learn through repetition of desired objectives. I offer a variety of media in order to create this repetition for students including PowerPoint presentations and interactive quizzes. I stress to students throughout the semester that repetition will promote learning.
I feel that it is important for me to continue to include technology to reinforce learning in my classroom, but I know that I must incorporate other technologies to effectively teach the 21st century student. If I were going to choose one technology that would be the most effective for the 21st century learner, it would be technology to foster communication and collaboration. Communication is such a vital component of education. The textbook states that communication and collaboration in schools can be attributed in part by online communication tools such as social networking sites. Social networking appears to be the center of many 21st century students’ personal lives. My eighteen-year-old son and his peers spend a considerable amount of time on social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat. If I want the best opportunity to cater to these students’ learning styles, it would be to my advantage to incorporate these social media sites into my classroom structure. This appeals to me because I not only like to learn to use the applications that these students find most important, but I also strive to reach each student on a personal level and make learning fun for these students. Let’s face it, a traditional lecture class is quickly becoming dated and boring for many students.