Article #5 - Challenged Based Learning (CBL)

      What is "challenged based learning"? Before reading this article I didn't understand what educators meant by challenged based learning and it was unclear to me what they meant by the phrase. But now challenged based learning can be summed up as "what is known about the emerging learning styles of high school students and leverages the powerful new technologies that provide new opportunities to learn to provide an authentic learning process that challenges students to make a difference". This definition got me thinking about how I can use technologies in the classroom as part of my teaching future. Giving students control of their own ideas and letting them express their thoughts using their personal technologies is something that I think helps students stay engaged in the classroom and take an assignment more seriously.
     While reading this article I liked the way the authors broke down the steps of challenged based learning and gave helpful resources for students to follow. Having useful resources as part of the challenged based learning would be much more effective for students, teachers, experts in the field, etc. and makes the learning more effective and validated. When talking about sustainability in the example provided in the article I remember teaching my second grade students about how recycling works, of course in a very simplistic way. Challenge based learning, if I had prior knowledge of what that meant, could have been a great way to let the students get involved in their own learning and let them come up with different ways in which to implement recycling in their lives. This article was very educational to me to read because I didn't understand the scope of challenged based learning and didn't truly realize that was even a "thing".
   

Article #4 - iPad Literacy

          Through the introduction of the iPad and other tablets like it, we have opened a new way at teaching and learning for both students and teachers. I like the idea the article raised about how learning can be an anytime and anywhere thing where the student and teachers don't have to be sitting in front of the computer screen in a stationary position where they can get bored or distracted. With the ease of an iPad we can learn at the ease and comfort to help us focus. 

          Not only does the iPad help with the comfort and ease of anytime learning. The endless supply of apps that students and teachers can download can be extremely helpful and educational for all types of learners and any subject. When using an iPad in the classroom many teachers can take an incentive approach for their students. When you are done with your assignment, you may use the iPad to play educational games, practice certain skills, or enjoy exploring the internet for fun new facts. 

          I liked the parts the article focused on digital literacy because I have always liked reading on paper rather than on a computer screen. With the different strategies for reading off of a digital domain, students can be taught the best ways to improve their literacy through reading directly from the iPad or any other electronic device the school, teacher, or district may facilitate. 

          There will come a time, I believe, when each of us will be teaching with iPads, have iPads in our classrooms, or at least personally have one for ourselves that we can let our students use. It is an easily transported and worthwhile investment for educational and recreational purposes.