Online Resources

What is or could be happening in the classroom that could not be duplicated by a computer/device?

The answer should never be "Nothing", because if that was the case then why would we even need teachers. If students could learn all they ever needed to know online, then teachers would be pointless, right? According to The Washington Post, "no screen will ever replace a creative, engaged, interactive, relevant, and inspiring teacher, especially one who takes advantage of the precious face-to-face experience of people learning together". The post also says that "Collective, communal, collaborative learning is key to many of the ways we all work now, often in collaborative and distributed ways". The strength of a safe, loving and caring classroom community can not be built online. Working together in groups and being hands on can not be done on a device. Getting feedback or sharing your work with friends and classmates and having the ability to have that one on one face to face conversations with other peers or the teacher is not something that can be duplicated online. There are many ways to share, video or get feedback on a device and there are of course thousands of ways to learn on a device, but it can never come close to the experience of being in a classroom.

What is or could be happening on computers/devices that could not otherwise happen in the classroom? 

In an article by Dr. Bruce Perry, Using Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom , he  explains why the young generation is so much more engaged and centered around technology. He said that "Modern technologies are very powerful because they rely on one of the most powerful genetic biases we do have — the preference for visually presented information. The human brain has a tremendous bias for visually presented information. Television, movies, videos, and most computer programs are very visually oriented and therefore attract and maintain the attention of young children." Sometimes devices can take away the real life social interactions which we need to be successful in the working class community. Dr. Perry also describes three types of skills that students also need to be successful, "the technologies that benefit young children the greatest are those that are interactive and allow the child to develop their curiosity, problem solving and independent thinking skills." Another thing that devices allow is self pacing and the ability to easily differentiate activities, games, information and assessments for each individual student. As we all know a entire class of students obviously are not anywhere close to the same level in practically any levels. So, using devices helps make that differentiation much easier.

How could online resources be used to provide experiences that would otherwise not be available for students?

Using technology in the classroom links teachers to their students and to professional content, resources, and systems to help them improve their own instruction and personalize learning. According to an article posted by the U.S Department of Education "Online learning opportunities and the use of open educational resources and other technologies can increase educational productivity by accelerating the rate of learning; reducing costs associated with instructional materials or program delivery; and better utilizing teacher time." Using online tools and resources helps creativity and imagination. The opportunities within technology are limitless and showing the students of this upcoming generation how to work and use these technologies is like handing them the world of opportunities at their finger tips.