Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Sunday, October 25th, 2009
at
5:54 pm
Teaching for Understanding with Technology is part of the “Teaching for Understanding” project at Harvard University. It focuses on using new technologies to enhance the learning experience. Teachers will learn how they can access online curricula resources, web information, and professional networks to research topics to teach, set short- and long-term learning goals, create assignments, and assess student understanding. … More >>
Teaching for Understanding with Technology
Tagged with: Teaching • Technology • Understanding
This is a great book to cover all the foundations of teaching for understanding with technology. the examples they used in the book are all really life examples that inspired you how to use TfU in classrooms.
an excellent book in order to extent and enhance the use of technology in our classroom.
With this being a brand new book, and having read part of the first chapter on Amazon, I was looking forward to reading it. I was let down.
First, I personally think that while the “Teaching for Understanding” model of teaching is not bad, it is similar to the constructivist concept that most technology education books use as their foundation, but I found the “Teaching for Understanding” model to not be as strong or consistant and integrated with itself as the Constructivist model.
Further, the examples that are given in the book felt more shallow than examples I have seen with constructivism. While none of the technology use was bad, per se, in Teaching for Understanding with Technology, none of the examples I saw, really worked towards using the technology to change the way students think.
I suppose one reason for this, is that the book seems to be written for the very beginning computer user. I applaud this effort, because I have found far too many teachers to be computer illiterate, and worse, are scared to learn. If we want to impress that learning is lifelong to our students, we must be the demonstration.
I personally recommend Teaching with Technology: Designing Opportunities to Learn. While this is a textbook, and costs a fair bit more than other books about using technology in education, I think it is the most well rounded and practical book out there on the subject, and I have read a lot of them.