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PROMPT #6

You have been hired as a consultant by the TDSB.  The TDSB is considering building a 21st century school and they want your input on what a 21st century school should be. If you could create a new school what would you want to see?  How would you like to be taught?  Of the different strategies and tools presented in class, which would you want to see used in high school?  You can discuss the equipment (tablets, interactive whiteboards) but focus your response on teaching strategies, methods and tools for 21st century education.  You can assume that the school would have WiFi access in all rooms and some desktop based computer labs as well as some laptop carts. If you feel that things don’t really need to change, explain why in your post.  Structure your post as prioritized suggestions for the school.  Integrate the learning needs presented in class and discuss the effectiveness of your chosen priorities.  You do not need to cover all six strategies/tools covered in the presentations but you should cover at least 3.
As a hired consultant of the TDSB, I have evaluated 21st century learning as how the student wants to be taught and what makes students learn best.

First and foremost, I don't think that the physical presence of a teacher in a classroom be removed because of all these technologies. It is still important that someone will teach and will guide the students in practicing problems and questions. Despite of how high-tech the school is, direct instruction is where the students learn best.

Based on the presentations that I have seen, I suggest that Game-Based Learning with the use of Tablets and iPads, and Flipped Classrooms with the use of Khan Academy as a reference are the most effective strategies to be use in class.

Game-Based Learning is a classroom game play that results to learning skills and academic subjects. Today, since all of our classrooms have computers and Wi-Fi, we can implement game based learning in the school curriculum. In order for the students to learn, the teacher can allow them to create their own game from scratch, set rules, and answer questions. This can harness problem solving skills and the students will learn in the process. Teachers can brought up existing games and use it in the classroom for educational purposes. Game based learning addresses student needs by remembering the game play, they remember the lesson. By game play, they can repeat playing the game over and over again until they learn the concept and realize their errors overtime. When it comes to deep learning, game-based learning can provide the skills needed in real life because you can see the actual things happening. Game Based Learning makes the student want to pay attention to the lesson more because they get excited with a game implemented in the curriculum. With game base learning, students also get direct feedback from the teachers if they pass the game or not. They can also brainstorm the ideas of what work well in the game and share it in the class.

Game based learning would be great with the use of Tablets and iPads in the classroom because these gadgets are very handy. If it is connected to the network, the teacher can also see the progress of the students even at home. Plus, there are a lot of educational game apps available in these gadgets which the students can use for practice. The use of these gadgets make learning fun and easy for students.

Flipped classroom is a type of teaching where the students study the lesson and the concept at home and do work in the classroom having the teacher around when they have questions with the lesson. Basically, I suggest this because as I have said earlier, students learn best with a guided practice and I really thought that instead of doing homework at home where students are confused, they can use the time to study and do the homework in class. The drawback of this plan is when the students procrastinate of reading or studying. Also, some students are actually having a hard time doing the homework so they would rather do it in class so they can ask the teacher.

Khan Academy is a very useful website when you are doing Flipped classrooms. The website has tons of videos that are meant to teach you a concept, whether it is for Math, Science or even Programming. With a teacher account, the teacher can view what the students are watching. With that, the teacher can have an idea of what does the students need to learn more about.

Game-Based Learning with tablets and iPads are a good tandem because most of the students have Tablets and iPads that they can use in school. Some computer games have apps, and tablets are even lighter to use. At home, the students are still able to play the game and continuously learn. Flipped Classroom is also good to be paired with Khan Academy because there is someone teaching the students at home. Instead of just staring at the textbook, they can watch the videos and see how to apply it in their homework.





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