How do you feel about classroom learning? Group B

            Right off the bat I connected with this chapter because of Khan Academy.  In high school, I used his YouTube videos to help with calculus AB and BC.  I would learn the lesson in class and reiterate it with the Khan videos.  My calculus professor was my favorite and best teacher at my high school but I still used the videos anyway to solidify my knowledge.  Without the extra practice/access to these videos I don’t think I’d be as confident with calculus as I felt.  Because of the videos I think it helped me on the AP exam. 

            This site covers a wide range of math tutorial I would’ve never even thought of.  Reading about the fifth graders, I wish I had the access to online programs like they do because I think it enhances learning if you use it strictly for that purpose.  The way these students get excited to catch up with each other gives me a flash back to other learning games in high school and middle school.  It was fun to learn because you got to use the computer and compete with classmates.   The best days in sixth through eighth grade were when the teacher let us play with them.  We would spend the whole period exploring the piece of technology we’d never seen.  It made class more enjoyable.  Now that I look back, doing anything on laptops in school when I was younger made learning more fun and made it stick in my mind more.  However, in college all learning is now online and doing homework requires laptops and it has become too routine.  It took the fun out of learning because now it’s so tedious.  In middle school it was a treat/privilege to play on computers but now it’s just expected.

            I agree with Thompson when he states “In part because the site lets them learn at their own pace-allowing their teacher, Kami Thordarson, to offer much more customized instruction” (176).  The one-on-one allows you to go at your own pace.  Learning was so helpful and motivating when I was in middle school and high school.  It felt very personal.  I do feel this intimate learning environment at Ursinus because the classes are no bigger than 25.  I feel like I actually matter in the classroom and have to show up.  There is no sense of apathy and there’s actually no room for it because every student is expected to attend each class whereas my brother goes to Cornell and the professor couldn't care less if students showed up.  The professor doesn't even know my brother’s name. 

            While it may be nice to be anonymous and miss a few classes, I realized the benefit of one-on-one with professors is so much more important and essential to my education here.  I bet if I went to Penn State I’d be a lazy because I wouldn't have to go to class.  There is a many differences between a big school and a small school.  This link reiterates the difference between both.  However, Ursinus has given me an incentive and makes me want to go to class because I know we matter.  Do you guys like this part about Ursinus?

 Relating back to the text, technology in classrooms was always a new thing.  In middle school, you were lucky if you had a class with a smart board and even luckier if the teacher let you go to the board to use to the marker and write on it.  It actually made learning different and fun.  I think there needs to be more of that today.  On page 181, Thompson mentions how it’s important “to do new things that they currently can’t do.”  I agree with the point that he states about Khan Academy not reaching out to reading and writing.  Those are two tough areas to tackle in academics and can be improved through practice.  I agree with his idea on page 184 about reading books in classrooms that interest students.  I wish more teachers would consult with students about the curriculum.  What do you guys think about learning in the classroom? How has it changed?  Did you learn better in middle school and high school than now? Do you think one-on-one learning is important? What would you like to see in classrooms to help students learn better?