Since my last entry, we visited the Challenger Learning Center at Heartland during a class session. The experience that the center creates for students who visit is extremely interactive and lifelike. Throughout the experience, I could not help but think of all the benefits for simulations similar to the missions.
It is important to teach content as well as how it can be useful in their current and future lives. As a student, I always loved math. It was by far my favorite subject. However, I stopped enjoying it when I began taking courses such as calculus and trigonometry. My problem with the content was not that I did not understand how to solve the problems. Instead, my problem was that I did not understand why it would be useful. It was never presented in a lifelike way.
Without the use of technology, I am able to create many lifelike experiences for my students. For example, in science we give group assignments in which job assignments are given. We use language such as “I hypothesize” when making predictions. I refer to my students as “scientists”. If money was more of a surplus, we would wear lab jackets each day. Nonetheless, there is so much that can be done by using technology to create simulations. After all, how could we be more lifelike? We live in a world where technology surrounds us. I can’t wait to find more ways to use it!
