The Four Cs in a Classroom

I found the Quest to Learn segment of the video “Digital Media Learners of the 21^st Century” interesting because the layout of teaching is vastly different than what I think of when I think of teachers in Education. When I think of teachers it’s the typical kind of person who stands in front of a class and teaches one subject or a variety for a certain amount of time. There are few movies or interactive kind of activities. The Teachers that comes to my mind would give homework and then grade it. With the Quest to Learn Schools, they offer students the ability to learn using much more technology and even games. This theory of learning states that students can still learn when they are play games. For example, I remember when I attended elementary school being able to go to the computer lab and play this educational game called Math Blasters. This educational game was Math related and made learning math entertaining for us kids. I feel that learning through games could definitely help children learn easier because children typically love games and using their imaginations. Quest for Learning is an example of Progressivism in the Philosophies of Education because these students are allowed to learn by doing and integrating technology to assist.

Quest for Learning exhibited Creativity by giving the students a chance to voice their opinions in how they would like to learn. The students have the ability to choose what works best for them and can learn better. Within these kinds of schools, students have the chance to create a game out of a fable by Aesop. I found that pretty creative because it took a fable which in the past is usually just read and talked about and put them into computer games. The students were able to read the fable, understand it and then use their own creativity and imaginations to create a computer game. The teachers in this setting are not forcing students to do school work, but being supportive and assisting when they need help. In the video, the students did say that they do have lecture types of learning still, but the use of technology happens so much more than a typical school. With that being said, I feel that having the use of technology available it elevates the creativity levels in students by sparking their imaginations in a way that suits each student.

Quest for Learning exhibited Communication by allowing students to be involved in many forms of interactive learning. Interactive learning allows students to be able to talk to one another and talk to the teacher to be able to ask questions in a calm and comfortable environment. Students who are shy or have quiet personalities may not always feel comfortable communicating in front of a typical style classroom, but when the whole group is up being active with learning tools it could aid them with communication. Communication is a very important part of learning because it is the teacher’s role to make sure the students learn what is required for a specific age group during the school year. Finding ways to dispense that knowledge is where it gets tricky. By using various forms of technology, it could help with how students understand the material that is being taught. Every student learns differently, and teachers have to cater to that.

Quest for Learning exhibited Collaboration by having multiple times a day when students get to work together in order to solve problems or work on assignments together. Going back to the fable example, that example shows collaboration because the students worked together in small groups to create a computer game based off of a fable. Having students learn how to collaborate together early on in education with help them out tremendously as they grow up and continue on through life. By working together students with be able to learn from one another, learn how to work with others with like minds or not of like minds, learn to better communicate, etc.

Quest for Learning exhibited Critical Thinking by challenging students in many different ways other than the typical standardized tests. Challenging students makes them think more and want to find an answer. By having students create computer games, it gives them unique challenges to conquer yet they are still learning in the process. Be that learning to use a computer, learning how to use technology to create the game, using their imagination and creativity to create specific games, etc. These students are in a way forced to think about school subjects in ways that could stick with them better. Critical Thinking is a great skill to develop at a young age because being able to think and come up with supportive details will help that student in life.

Video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY8afG0vlsU&feature=youtu.be