Response to Chapter 9 and 10 Readings

As stated in the readings, 94% of students access the internet for homework use.  Lawless and Kulikowich defined their data into three clusters: knowledge seekers, future explores, and apathetic hypertext.  Lawless also discusses prior knowledge.  This can be seen as a challenge in the classroom as well.  What do the students actually know and more importantly, what don’t they know?  Do they know how to access resourceful verses fictional information and do they know how to determine the difference?  Motivation and affect of the material can also be a challenge in the classroom.  How can I actively engage my students, monitor them to stay on task and embrace learning through the process all at once.  In contrast, chapter 9 states “the development of valid and meaningful knowledge assumes that the students are actively involved in the learning process.”  One statement in the chapter 9 reading that stuck out to me was “technology often changes faster than we can effectively evaluate for learning”.  It is a scary statement but also very true.  One thing teachers must keep in mind hopefully relieveing some tension when it comes to technology in the classroom is although technology is changing, the information remains the same.  How we present the information may be different but our overall goal is standard.  As long as passion pairs with knowledge and a hunger for learning is present, the possibilities are endless.  Ultimately, isn’t that the goal we try and teach our students?