Britt Huxley Blog 2

4.   Read or listen to the story: Vocab Tech For Toddlers Encourages ‘Anytime.Anywhere Learning’ http://goo.gl/NtB4M9

What are your thoughts about this article? Agree or disagree? Write two paragraphs.

I definitely agree with this article. Sesame Street is a tool that allows children to watch the entertainment side of it but also allows them to take in the basic knowledge of what the characters are saying. The great thing about this show is that the children don’t even know they are taking this knowledge in and are actually learning something from an entertaining show. It gives the children the basics of reading and math in a fun and enjoyable way that the students will listen to (counting to a certain number while cookie monster eats each of the cookies). Starting up an app in today’s world is definitely going to benefit the child. Technology is all around us, and even if we don’t agree, our students and children need to incorporate this into their learning as they will struggle without it in the future, that’s just the way our world is turning. Having this app allows the students to use it anywhere they want and is interactive on a fun level as the majority of children love using technology. Having children use their own way to control the app and making them think about how to complete the activity (how do I get Elmo up the beanstalk- tap, swipe etc.) allows the students to be thinking intelligently but they aren’t realizing they are doing it. I agree that the important thing is the content. If it is interactive but does not have the correct content they should be learning, then the students may as well be sitting in front of a screen playing whatever game they want. Having this Sesame Street app, ‘Big Bird’s Words,’ can improve literacy skills, show students how words are related and see how certain groups of words go together and relate in real life. Having the student find the word they are given on an object in the room makes it fun but challenging at the same time, and allows them to see what other words are on that object so they can see how that one word relates to all the other words on the object. Adults need to help their children with this app which encourages interaction between child and adult which is critical in today’s world.

Even though these apps and watching videos on iPads/iPhones help students if used correctly, they need to be given time limits. Like any technology, they should be only used for a certain amount of time before having a break. After a while the children will not think as clearly as what they should be doing with the app and will just ‘go through the motions’. They will also get addicted to the technology and not want to do any learning any other way than on technology, which is not good. Everything needs to have a time limit and be in the right time and place to be used correctly. Whether we like it or not, technology is always going to be a part of our lives and especially our children’s, so we need to come up with the best possible ways to incorporate it into our learning, which I think this article is showing.