XO laptops and Digital Cameras

XO Laptops:

XO laptops are a great tool that help impoverished nations teach their students more in their education. I think that it's great what Nicholas Negroponte (a professor at MIT) is doing for these less developed countries. The XO laptops are made to be more durable than regular laptops and they can get completely wet and continue to work. They are designed for children by the way they look and the functions that they can complete. The student can play games, take pictures, and go on the internet with these efficient laptops. The best part about the laptops is that they are made available to these countries for about $100 each, which is way cheaper than the leading laptops today. The students are able to teach themselves how to use the computer and it's a very efficient way of increasing the school's attendance. The study they did showed a 50% increase in attendance because the students knew that the schools had these fun laptops. Laptops can be used in ECE by using academic games that the kids can interact with. The academic computer games can help the students in areas of reading, spelling, science, and math. One of the articles even talked about a new software program compatible with the XO laptop called LabQuest. The students can do scientific experiments and hook up the thermometers to the computer to get the results of their experiments. I was completely floored when I saw this because they are providing this amazing technology for such a low cost.

Digital cameras:

I think that the example in the video was a great way to show the kids how to use the digital cameras. They had 5th grade mentors go around with the 2nd graders to show them how to use the cameras. They helped them learn how to focus, zoom in, and take the pictures. This is a good interaction for both sets of students, and can definitely help the older students learn how to teach and how to give service. I think that I would have done things similarly to the way the teacher in the video did. I liked how she incorporated the powerpoint presentations because I've always been a supporter of using powerpoint. It can help the students see what the goal of the activity is and it can make learning a lot more fun. It's important for the students to plan what kind of pictures they would be taking because unless the have the steps to achieve their goal, they won't finish their goal. If they know what kind of pictures they will be taking, then it helps the activity go along more smoothly.

Content:
The core curriculum standards I will be following is for the Utah 2nd grade, Standard 3, Objective 2 parts a, b, and c.

Pedagogy:The activity will include the students going outside for the first 15 minutes of class everyday for two weeks and they will be taking pictures of the weather. They will be working with mentors from a higher grade, so the mentors can help them learn how to use the digital cameras. Then the students will upload the pictures they take of both the sky, plants, and anything else that has been visibly affected by the weather. Students should be able to learn how to recognize the changes in weather, record the changes in weather, and identify the affects of the changes in weather. This will give the students the opportunity to choose what they want to take pictures of to show the weather and it's affects.

Technology: Digital cameras will be used to take the pictures of the weather. Computers will be used to upload the pictures. Microsoft PowerPoint presentations will be used to compile all of the students findings and make it into a report.