Dr. Bell mentioned in the beginning of his presentation that in some ways technology is less important to science than other disciplines because we have so many hands-on and inquiry-based activities that do not require technology. In some cases technology actually takes the place of a “hands-on” activity (for example, using Starry Night instead of making observations of nature).

Do you see any problems or issues that might arise from students replacing activities that use lab equipment/skills (and require students to overcome some challenges of lab work) with technology-based activities? How would you advise a science teacher who wanted only to use simulations of lab activities in his/her classroom?

The presentation of Dr. Ruth Ferree and Brendan Downey was very insightful on SLA (Second Language Acquisition). In classroom discussion, we shared helpful and informative talks on the application of narratives in various subject areas. Another topic we discuss more in this blog is native language support.

In thinking of the fast growing number of non-native English speakers in the U.S. K-12 classrooms, one of the urgent educational issues would be ESL education. Native language supported education or languages enrichment programs(both languages are used in classrooms at the same time by both language groups) is getting accepted as the effective education model by many bilingual or SLA scholars and teachers. However, the lack of qualified bilingual teachers is another barrier to expedite the program. IT may response to this current problematic situation.

• How does native language help LEP (Low English Proficiency) students of K-12 to achieve successful academic performance as well as to improve their English? Or
• How can IT assist “native language supported education” at schools?