Keeping A Healthy Balance Between Technology and Games
國際處主任 賴國宜
When most of today's parents were children, usage of technology in the classroom was a special privilege. The class had a weekly appointment with the computer lab. During the time when the internet was still new, students had to visit the library to search for resources. Today, technology is carried around in our hands and pockets. The rapid rise of new technology has had a massive influence on our lives and of course on education as well. Mr. Warmke elaborates on how technology integration enriches the English curriculum. The students learn and use technology skills in meaningful ways and in authentic situations.
What do your kids do in their free time at home? Today's kids are busier than ever and they spend more time staring at screens, such as computers, smart phones, tablets, and televisions. Would you like to strengthen family bonds and have some fun with your kids? Please read Mr. Duke Li's and the grade 4 students' articles about their design of board games. You will get inspiration on how board games can challenge children's brains.
即將於108學年實施的新課綱，將「資訊與生活科技」列入國高中必修科目，但國小資訊課則改採「資訊融入式」教學，也就是，資訊課不再是部定課程，課程標準或教材可由各縣市或各校自訂，這樣的狀況引起許多教育人士和家長的憂心，這麼重要的資訊與科技素養究竟該如何融入。在康橋，資訊與科技融入各科教學已實施多年，從Mr. Warmke的文章您可瞭解我們不只將科技融入日常的英語課程，提供學生更多機會精進資訊技能，還深入結合英語專題，從探究的過程到最後作品呈現，讓孩子能在更貼近真實生活的情境中運用資訊與科技。
休閒時家人一起玩大富翁或跳棋等遊戲，是許多人幸福的童年回憶，不過，如果您對桌遊的認識還停留在此，就落伍囉！現代的桌遊不止種類繁多，內容也包羅萬象，四年級的老師們成功的將桌遊與英語專題結合，寓教於樂的課程設計成功的吸引孩子們熱情的投入，與您分享他們充滿童真與巧思的作品，推薦您周末實施「無3C日」，親子一起挑戰桌遊，保證讓親子關係更親密和諧。
~ Zachary Warmke
English Teacher, International Department
At KCIS, we strive to create projects and activities that promote independent learning and critical thinking. We create authentic learning situations based around inquiry-based tasks. Recent improvements in technology are providing powerful tools to help us create these projects and to help students discover more. One challenge for us is to introduce technology to our students in a productive manner.
Enriching Content by Integrating Technology
Our students have access to a number of different technologies, including Google Chromebooks, iPads, 3D printers, and more. Our job is to develop curricula that integrate these tools in meaningful and authentic tasks. Our goal is not just to teach students how to use these technologies, but to demonstrate how they can help achieve success in multiple situations.
One way we have begun making progress toward this goal is adding new phases to several of our collaborative projects. In these new additions, students learn how to collaborate online and to find good research sources. For example, our sixth graders now research public speaking tips online by watching videos from public speaking experts. Then, they view authentic examples of public speech, such as presidential addresses. Finally, students share and collaborate with one another to improve their research.
Other projects have also been updated. The main content of each project has not dramatically changed, but the process students use to complete the task now integrates technology. Students exercise their English while they learn and practice technology skills such as writing emails and making accurate Google searches. Perhaps most critically, students learn about the different types of websites and which are reliable sources of information.
Breaking Limits with New Technology
We have also used our tech to push our projects into new territory. Conducting online research is a great skill, but we want our students to go beyond that. Therefore, we’ve taken projects from previous years and completely rewritten them with technology at their core. Students in fifth grade now create blogs which include photos and videos they take themselves. They also share and comment on each other’s blogs. Personalizing and sharing their work in this manner provides an authentic purpose and audience. They want to show their friends their blogs, so they put more effort into crafting them. They have more fun and learn more along the way. Our sixth graders have a similar project in which they create videos to present a movie review. They use editing programs to make videos with great production values. Finally, they share, “like” and comment on each other’s work. This gives them an authentic reason to make an outstanding video and show it to a meaningful audience: their friends.
Overall we are making huge improvements to our curriculum. KCIS students are learning twenty-first century skills that will be crucial to their success in the future. As English teachers, we attempt to show students the value of communication through projects and writing tasks. Access to new technologies provides us with exciting new ways of doing so that would not be possible by traditional means. We continue to update our learning tasks so our students will be ready for any challenges they may face in the future.
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