Teachers act as designers when they are presenting information to students that they would like them to learn. They have to put together power points and other types of models for the students to learn. They give out templates that they sometimes design for us students to go by for certain assignments.
Scratch runs on most computer platforms and gives students the capability to build programs that manipulate digital images using Photoshop-like tools, add and replay audio tracks and music, and work with video, all while learning fundamentals in computer programming. Scratch can be used in the classroom while a student is putting together a power point presentation or if the student has to make a video and present it in class. It is organized and has different work areas for different things on its main screen. This would be a helpful program for students to use for various types of presentations.
In digital storytelling, technology is the tool used to create a story not the focus of the activity. With digital storytelling, students use their creative skills to create a storyboard on paper, use a camera to shoot their video, and then edit their video on a computer using the specialized programs need fit. To create a digital story, students must create a desktop movie. The first part of digital storytelling is pre-production. This is where the students brain storm and come up with their ideas of what they want their story to be over. While brainstorming, they use a document called storyboard which provides students the opportunity to create a plan.
MathLab (http://www.mathworks.com) is a program used to visually represent mathematical relationships in problems sot hat learners can the effects of any problem manipulation. When I was in high school our math teacher had us get on MathLab and it really helped a bunch of us learn how to do and understand certain math problems that we would eventually need to know throughout our lives. (EX.) numeric and symbolic representations.
I do think for some people it is possible for them to learn some things from just the TV. For example, if I were to watch the cooking channel I'm pretty sure I could grasp the concept on how to make something. I would just have to take notes and follow the instructions they give over the TV.
Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Jonassen, D., Howland, J., Marra, R. M., & Crismond, D. (2008). Meaningful Learning With Technology. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall.