There were many things I appreciated about this chapter. I liked all the little quotes sprinkled throughout the pages, and I really enjoyed reading about the case studies and the examples included in the chapter. Although I am not in the business of educating preservice teachers often, I do occasionally have student teachers, and much of this information will be kept in mind for when I have a student teacher in my classroom.
I took exception to one statement though. The author says, "Tomorrow's teachers must be prepared to rethink, unlearn and relearn, change, revise and adapt" (p 225). Call me crazy, but also call me fairly certain that all teachers need to be able to do this! After all, that is one of the best tools in our toolboxes. The ability to be flexible and adapt to changes. We have all, I am sure, had the experience of going in to the classroom with one lesson prepared and planned and having to revise and adapt that lesson as we taught it more than once. That is the essence of teaching...learning what your students need and changing your lesson so that you meet those needs.
I was also immediately aware, when reading this chapter, that the chapter could conceivably have been written about our class, EDU 583. After all, is that not what we are doing? Are we not planning lessons, incorporating technology, using backward design? We are doing all of these things. Even though we are not preservice teachers, we have varying degrees of skill and ease with technology. This course and the course that will follow in the fall, are preparing us to start thinking more and more like digital natives.
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