Journey to Beijing from Teacher Created Materials

 Our team just saw a preview of a new technology tool that is hosted online and has saw awesome capabilities that could easily be used in a classroom environment. (More on this later.)

During these discussions we always bump up against practical concerns that our district has to face. But as we discussed these today some questions arose that seem appropriate for us to ask to a larger audience. (That would be you. See that comment link?)

Here’s the big question though: Is there a fundamental difference between a technology-based tool, particularly those that we label as “Web 2.0″, and more traditional instructional resources like those you’d find in one like the book pictured here? And a few more questions

  1. If a teacher or a school wants to spend money on an online service is that different than buying a resource or activity books?
  2. Do light-weight technology tools serve the same function as reproducibles and other traditional activities a teacher might want to use?
  3. Beyond the barrier of access to a computer are there other questions that arise in the classroom when teachers are thinking about using technology tools to enrich their curriculum?

Those are just a few thoughts that came up in our team discussion. Do you have more of your own? We’d love to hear from you!

(The pictured activity book is from Teacher Created Materials. A great web site for finding these kinds of traditional activities and much more.)