Blog Post 2

1. In what ways are you creative?

I think I am creative in a crafty way. I like to paint, knit, and draw. I try and use these skills in my teaching projects. 

2. What kinds of tasks were you asked to do in school that were creative and used technology?

I didn't really take any computer classes beyond the bare minimum requirement. Those classes focused mostly on working with different programs such as PowerPoint and excel. Basically the only somewhat creative technology that I used was PowerPoint. I took lots of art classes in high school but I didn't use that much technology other then a projector and a kiln. 

Read Ch 3 then write about ( in the same blog post)

3. How could you incorporate the principles of authentic instruction in your teaching? 

After reading Chapter 3 specifically about the principles of authentic instruction two ways that stuck out in my head as ways to incorporate these ideas in the classroom is through Physical Knowledge activities and through project based learning. Physical Knowledge activities require students to use critical, inductive, and divergent thinking in order to solve problems and learn through doing. During physical knowledge activities teachers ask student's open ended questions. In project based learning students choose topics that thy find interesting and explore them. Computers aide in this by giving students more information that is readily available. They also giver student's the opportunity to work autonomously. 

4. How could you use technology to support authentic instruction? Be specific. Support with information from the text

Some technology that I would use to support authentic instruction in my classroom would be the internet and data bases as a way to support project based learning. Cameras as a way to document my students work and support exploration of things that we experience. Smart boards, inquiry/discovery simulation software, virtual environments would all be interesting to use in the classroom as ways for students to experience going places and seeing things that they would otherwise not be able to see.