Discussion 13 Chapter 3

"Drill-and-Practice software can be very effective means of teaching certain material if it is used correctly. There are many types of drill functions including flash card activities, branching drills, and extensive feedback activities. Flash cards can be effective for some students but for others this may be redundant. Branching drill is more of a question then answer type of drill, which can be effective if the teacher shows the purpose of the exercise. In the feedback activities the students get feedback from the question which can be very effective because some students learn best from their mistakes. Drill-and practice must have guidelines that a teacher should follow for them to be an effective learning tool. Some of these guidelines include setting time limits so the student does not become bored with the activity. Assigning individually helps the student on self-pacing the learning of the activity. A teacher can use the drill-and-practice as a learning station for the students that will benefit from these activities.

Week 11 Discussion

No matter the topic educators are going to have different opinions on a particular topics. In this discussion educators have different views on distance learning. Some educators feel that distance technologies will greatly improve education because technology is fast access to information, access to learning materials, access to to courses and lessons not locally available, and access to education for homebound students. The book also talks about for teachers benefits that there are lesson ideas from multiple sources that are available, and that increased interaction among students and between students and teachers.
There are also educators that believe the overuse of distance technologies will affect education. Some of the reasons they believe this stated from our textbook are: the widening of the digital divide, socialization issues will rise, and this will have an impact on educational reform. The textbook states that virtual schooling will have issues and challenges with curriculum alignment and that for a student to be credited they must be aligned to a state and local standards.
Both sides of the pendulum have good points for their beliefs, but no matter how we look at it we now live in a technological world.