Cathleen Hernandez - ETEC 524

A unit that wouldnt necessarily be technology-rich but does involve some technology would
be would be a long-term project that would allow my students to connect and interact with
students from other countries, backgrounds, cultures, religions, etc. lets say a modern day
pen pal type of thing. My students come from a limited background as far as cultural
diversity and experience so I think having them interact with kids their age, yet on the other
side of the world, etc. could really open their eyes to their own situations, good and bad. I
would say that this unit would certainly land in the Age of Learning Environments because of
the open-ended nature of allowing the students a semi-free environment in which to gauge,
interact, and learn freely.
I would set up an introduction to the unit and have the students do research on the specific
locations in which the other students are living. Then we could use a program like Skype to
actually connect online to meet and then learn about the other students and vice versa. I
would allow the students a specific time each week to log in and sit and talk with their pen
pal, setting certain guidelines and topics ahead of time so they can take away information
from their connections and use them as discussion points for class.
The readings did not really change my mind about the quality of the design but it does make
me think about the kids being able to efficiently use a video chat program. I have found that
some of my students, though they are great with a smart phone, dont have a lot of the
critical thinking skills regarding some of the newer technologies because they arent
exposed to many new technologies at home. Specifically, in regards to the affordances, the
programs used for video chat arent exactly user friendly for a 5th grader and this could
interfere with the effectiveness and the outcomes of the unit.
One idea that I could use to improve on the unit would be in reference to the Trends text; to
have the students send something physical to their pen pal so that a tangible artifact
could be something to help build a stronger connection between the students.
During the first live broadcast, the captain showed the students
what had happened to their cups and also answered the questions written on
them, still perfectly legible, although smaller. This activity tied the ship and
the classroom together. The experiment with the cups could only have been
done by distributing the activity between the students and the shipboard
scientists.
As well, allowing the students to discuss real-life situations that are happening in their
personal lives as well as their respective countries such as wars, protests, education, family,
sports, etc. The students would be able to learn from the other students situations, positive
and negative, and take that with them into the real world, learning to be empathetic to the
circumstances of other people being such a key element to success.
Some of the work completed by Malarneys students was authentic science (Malarney, 2000). They collaborated with real scientists at sea as they
developed their projects. Such an approach has a number of advantages.
First, it is motivating. Students see that what they are learning is useful.
Second, it does not seriously oversimplify the world with which students
interact to make it easier so as to learn.