Designing with Technologies!

For this extra credit assignment, we looked at the sites usfirst.org, Lego universe, and creatingmusic.com. All three of these sites were interesting. I knew about Lego universe because my son is very much into lego's, however, the other two sites I never knew existed. Lego universe is something that can be incorporated into the classroom and used by teachers everywhere! The site encourages students to use their creative skills to engineer their own creations. This is interesting because it incorporates Lego’s which most children like, but also web design! Children can get exposure to how to design certain things at a young age. In today’s society, this is very important because web design now plays a pivotal role in many aspects of life. Most architectures, scientists, etc. use some form of software that help them to design. Teachers can correlate this site into their science instruction while giving the students the freedom to explore and learn on their own. I really liked the usfirst.org site. There is such a need for mathematicians, scientists and engineers, that having a program such as what this site offers is uplifting! This program allows students to interact with one another, build their team skills, as well as foster their own love and learning by using Lego’s! And the biggest reward is scholarships so that the students can move into the future with the hopes that they will continue to explore their love for these subjects by making it their career choice.

I think that the site that I liked the best was creatingmusic.com. This site can be incorporated at school, as well as explored at home. Not just music teachers can benefit from using the site. It allows students to create their own compositions, learn more about the different types of instruments, as well as music. Research has proven that music helps to promote learning. What a great way to incorporate both music and technology while making it fun for the student. Overall, these sites offer many fun and important skills for students, and teachers can benefit from using them, or at least using some of the information included on the sites.