Toys, Tools, and Teachers: The Challenges of Technology

The book "Toys, Tools, and Teachers," by Marge Cambre and Mark Hawkes, "offers a framework for thinking about technology as it impacts teaching and learning today." Split into three sections, each containing three or four chapters, "TTT" begins by explaining the role that toys and tools have in education. This first section is much like the chapter we read from James Paul Gee book on games and learning. The second section outline the impact and issues of integrating technology into learning and education. It also talks about preparing teachers to use these technologies, something I will be focusing on in my paper. I more so want to talk about the theories of learning that are applied when technologies are used for learning, and teachers roles within those theories. The last chapter in this section deals with using technology to test students, as I mentioned in class, as we were talking about the use of this concept within our own University, I think that the possibilities technological testing offers are immense. Getting immediate test results allows teachers to focus their lectures and discussions during that class period, when they'll most likely be explaining the material the students were tested on. The third and final section talks about some of the general uses of technology in education. First "Distance Education," like online courses and homeschooling, then networking and wireless capabilities the Internet offers. This book gives a fairly objective view of the integrations of technology into learning, offering praise and outlining the issues. Each chapter has a little something to offer to my paper. Although, it seems to be a very general book, that I will probably use to assert a lot of the things we have covered in class, for instance, why games, tools, and technology are helpful to the learning process.

Cambre, Marge, and Mark Hawkes. Toys, Tools, and Teachers: the Challenges of Technology. Lamham, Maryland: Scarecrow Education, 2004.