Veronica’s teaching adventures

Chirp chirp chirp.1

So I was looking through Erica’s blog when I came across her entry on the article “Computer as Paintbrush:  Technology, Play, and the Creative Society.”  I remember reading this article at the beginning of the semester and it’s definitely the best read when it comes to first getting into e-learning.  It offers an interesting comparison between a computer and paintbrush, and thinking about it more wouldn’t it have been obvious to me? Paintbrushes are a traditional method of doing certain tasks, and even though computers offer digital results, you can still create the same outcomes only using different mediums.

Now, why would anyone use a computer as opposed to just a paintbrush?  Many people might believe that computers are just an “escape route” and might result in little interactive learning (like a television), but this article totally proves that wrong.  It moved on to talking about a girl named Jenny who created a bird house that took pictures of birds using a little computer called the “cricket.”  Not that kind of cricket.  (Source) Source: Robotics

Not as cute, but certainly a helpful little thing!

Jenny had to experiment and test her little contraption for a period of three months before it was finally able to take pictures, and that is definitely a very dedicating hands-on experience!  So computers aren’t all about sitting down, there are still so many activities that can be done, that require just as much effort as using a paintbrush on a canvas.

Posted under: Education, Gadgets