Journal #4-NETS-T 2a

"Its in the bag"

 Basham, J. D., Perry, E., & Meyer, H. (2011). It's in the bag. Learning and Leading with Technology, 39(2), 24-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-september-october-2011.aspx  

In the article "It's in the bag", the authors describe a possible solution to the problem various schools seem to face in regards to helping their students obtain a better education and being able to meet the NETS-S. The solution the article describes is technology, they describe a digitial backpack they've created that allows students to engage in problem based learning. This digital backpack is designed for all types of learners, it is also composed of three main components that lets teachers easily adapt to increase students understanding in different curricular areas, these are; foundational technology, modular technology, instructional support materials.

Reading the article was very educational because the digital backpack was a good way to portray how we can use the many technology tools available today. I liked how it illustrated the different settings of how this digital backpack was put at use thoughout different grade levels. Although, this idea seems very limited since not all school districts have the posibility to obtain all the technological equipments mentioned in the article.

Question 1

What are some down sides about the digital backpack?

As mentioned earlier if there is not money to afford the equipment included in this backbacks most likely districts from lower socio-economic areas will not be able to afford the digital backpack. Also, for students in elementary school this idea may not be so easy to manage physically since it may cause some difficulty carrying this loaded backpack.

Question 2

Describe how you would implement this tool in your classroom.
For my elementary students maybe I would not call it a backpack but rather a bag that would only be used inside the classroom and each day I would select a student that be in charge in using the equipment and the rest of the class will then engage in the activity after. For example having a student  taking pictures of the different types of flowers found within the school, then as a class we would all be able to download the pictures and create a chart using out Ipad of the different groups of plants.