Journal+Article

Journal Review:

This journal article helped me learn more about new things that are happening in technology in the classroom. This article was about QR codes and the other article I read was a debate about laptops in the classroom and if they were more harmful or beneficial.

Marikate Groves Educ 455 Article Summary  The article that I read called “QR codes in the classroom” by Bridget McCrea explores how one teacher is going out of the norm and embracing many forms of technology in his classroom. Mr. London Jenks, the teacher being interviewed, encourages his students to use their cell phones, tablets, and laptops, in the classroom to find quick fact answers. He also uses a website to poll students during class and gets instant results from the students. Jenks has also embraced the QR codes and has students actively engaged whether exploring things in the classroom or doing a scavenger hunt.  This author set up the article as a simple interview with no commentary of her own opinions. I could tell though by the way she set up certain questions that she was supportive of the technology in the classroom and new ways of instruction for teachers.  I thought this was a great article, though short it got right to the point that technology can be a great recourse if teachers are willing to embrace it and become mindful of both the positive and negative parts of certain tools. Helping students become excited about their own learning and showing them ways to safely and appropriately navigate through the mass amounts of data on the internet is very key to meet these needs for this new generation of students. Jenks also pointed out that teachers will have difficulty trying to keep up to date and will also have a problem with out-of-date equipment in the classroom.