What I have Learned through the Class 2 (9/13)

From Reading
"Technologies should be used as knowledge construction tools that students learn with, not from." (p. 24) I like the concept-Mindtools. Students use technologies with critical thinking, and the technologies help them as learning strategies. It seemed to me that the mechanism between learners and technologies as Mindtools are so cooperative learning in educational setting. In my teaching experiences, frequently I've made mistakes confusing the important reasons why I use technologies in my classroom. My children loved to do computers, and I just let them enjoy computer programs, not engaged them with critical thinking. I mean, I did not encourage my students to think deeply and critically at all when they used computers in the classroom. Therefore, one of the important points I've learned from the article is that I need to teach my students to have intellectual partnership between computers and learners themselves.

From Concept Mapping-Inspiration
Unfortunately, I've got to know about myself that I am not a person who has very systematic knowledge or plentiful ideas about something after trying to develop my concept map with Inspiration. Well, Inspiration is really cool program and I know my kids would love it. However, my problem was caused by lacking of ideas about my concept, not caused by using a new technology. Even though the program, Inspiration helped my ideas look so cool, it was not enough to encourage my critical thinking about my concept at first. To be honest, I could make just three nodes because ideas did not come out. From the first experience of using Inspiration, I have learned the importance of pre-teaching or pre-thinking(?) activities before just using technologies in my classroom. For example, if I do the pre-activities such as brainstorming, mindmapping about our subjects before developing visual images with Inspiration, I think I would get much better learning effects. Even good technologies themselves can not guarantee everything. It depends on how teachers and learner use them critically, effectively.