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MI Chapter 13 Synthesis by Christina L Quach
 Chapter 13 of //Multiple Intelligences of the Classroom// discusses three new uses of MI theory. These applications include computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. With all of these applications, teachers have the opportunity to further reach students by incorporating MI theory into lessons and curriculum. With computer technology, we have the opportunity to use computers in a way that reaches different students. There are so many different programs that help reach out to the needs of students, and teachers need to take this opportunity to try to teach in a new way. Cultural diversity is very important. America’s schools are becoming more and more diverse, and with the new diversity come new challenges. With new cultures in the classroom, it is very important to understand that they may have different opinions on things such as which intelligence is important. Teachers need to take this opportunity to immerse themselves in the fact that things are forever changing, and there are very different opinions of what is appropriate, even when it comes to the eight intelligences. Career counseling is a way to show students early about how different careers involve different intelligences. Just because a student is a naturalist, they may not want to be on a hit TV show killing alligators. This type of early counseling gives students time to think about the different intelligences and how they connect to jobs they may be interested in.  Although there were three subjects to talk about in blogs, everyone except for three people focused more on computer technology and career counseling. Some had never thought of using computers in a way that would reach intelligences, and other classmates noticed that the list of programs that incorporate different intelligences included many programs that we use every day. With this wide array of software, we as future teachers have the opportunity to stimulate different intelligences while integrating technology. Computer technology usage is becoming a key part of classrooms in the United States. We can take this opportunity to help students learn in a way that works for them and could be fun at the same time. When it came to career counseling, a lot of my classmates thought it was very interesting and a great idea to introduce at a young age. Some even thought it would have been beneficial to them throughout their educations. Introducing [|careers] that are based around certain intelligences give students ample time to think about what they might want out of their career and where they might be headed. [|Cultural diversity] was touched by everyone, but the idea was not expanded. The quote that I saw most often was about how every culture utilizes all intelligences, but each culture embraces the intelligences in different ways. If we are taking the time to try to stimulate as many intelligences as possible in each lesson, it will be very important to know which intelligences work for each student, and more specifically, which intelligences are valued in the different cultures within the classroom.

Kelsea Trefethen
This chapter presented three miscellaneous areas where the MI theory should be adapted in schools and classrooms: computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. When I read this three categories I somewhat understood how MI theory could be incorporated with computer technology, but was completely clueless as to how it could be adapted to the other two. I had never really considered computers to be “intelligence-neutral.” Sadly, I always considered them strictly mathematical/logical tools. I had never really thought outside the box and considered all the possibilities a computer has for all intelligences. The chapter stressed that it is all about what software you use on the computers. The chapter even gave a long list of software applications categorized by intelligences. Aside from the computer technology, the Internet offers an unlimited number of possibilities. I really liked when the chapter stated that, “an intelligence must be valued by a culture in order to be considered a true intelligence.” This really made sense to me. Some activities done in classrooms are completely pointless. It has been stressed many times that the content must be meaningful to the student, and in order for the content to be meaningful it must be valued by a culture at some level. The book stressed that when using the MI theory with cultural diversity to be sure to avoid stereotypes. A teacher should never label one culture with on intelligence. Every culture has and uses all eight of the intelligences. Throughout high school, I remember taking many questionnaires about my interest that would provide me with a list of potential careers based on my answers. This is an example of using the MI theory in career counseling. I really liked this sort of questionnaire because it was really interesting to see the different careers that were suggested. It definitely got me thinking and considering different paths.

Johnny Buys
Chapter 13: Other Applications of MI Theory While Multiple Intelligence Theory encompasses so much of student understanding techniques, its relation to computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling can often be neglected or misused. Computer technology is dominating world industry, and as schools are becoming more and more contextually, business, and career oriented computer technology is dominating classroom learning as well. While computers may be easily misjudged as limited to certain learning styles or perhaps even a learning style of their own, computers are in reality “intelligence-neutral mechanisms” (174). Neutrality and opportunity for meeting all of the multiple intelligences is even more encouragement to incorporating their usage in class. Multimedia learning projects in particular stand out for meeting all the intelligences (174). Technology is vital to creating context in the classroom but is also a resourceful tool for establishing Multiple Intelligence Theory as well. Cultural Diversity can be difficult in classroom modeling due to content sensitivity and process sensitivity, but as Armstrong states, “every culture has and uses all eight intelligences” (176-177). Educational facilities are microcosms of culture. The growing diversity in the classroom and accessibility of diverse cultures and experiences makes it more pertinent to approach understanding of its influence while being conscious of its relevance to Multiple Intelligence Theory. Multiple Intelligence Theory can also become contextually and applicable through career counseling. According to Armstrong, “MI theory provides and appropriate vehicle for helping youngsters begin to develop vocational aspirations” (178). While students should not be limited to careers in their greatest intelligences, understanding of how their strengths work can influence decisions toward making future career decisions

Christina L Quach
Chapter 13 of MI talks about three applications not previously mentioned. The first is computer technology. Armstrong said, “Computers are intelligence-neutral mechanisms. Software programs can be designed to interface with any or all of the eight intelligences (74). The second application is cultural diversity. Schools in the United States are becoming more and more diverse. Armstrong believes that the importance of taking this into consideration is that, “All cultures in the world possess and make use of the eight intelligences in MI theory; however, the ways in which they do so, and the manner in which individual intelligences are valued, vary considerable (176).” This means that while differentiating lessons and curriculum, consideration of other cultures opinions on the intelligences will need to be considered. Lastly, the chapter talked about career counseling. Teaching MI to students early can help them see which jobs include which intelligences. “By seeing the spectrum of occupations related to each of the eight intelligences… …children can begin making their own decisions about what feels right and what doesn’t fit vocationally,” says Armstrong (179). Reading these it is funny to relate stereotypes to specific items like computers. The chapter says that people associate computers with logical-mathematical intelligence (174). And this is true. Sadly I do not think I have thought past this to say that there are other intelligences that can be incorporated with computers. While teaching at a high school level, there will be more opportunities to design in-depth lessons that can be taught using technology. The great thing about the information provided from this chapter is that a computer can incorporate all intelligences, and give students more options for how they learn. I think also understanding other cultures’ ideas of the eight intelligences shows a lot of respect and is very important. .

Kalib Moore
Chapter 13 of //Multiple Intelligences// begins with an explanation of how to incorporate the Multiple Intelligences with technology. On page 175, Armstrong gives a list of each intelligence and what "software and web 2.0 features that activate the multiple intelligences. Upon reading the list, I found that a lot of the software and features he named were what we used everyday. Examples such as Oregon Trail, MySpace, Microsoft Word, and Crosstrainer are all sites and programs people have used and are continue to use when learning to this day. Armstrong then goes on to discuss cultural diversity in relation to the eight intelligences. To quote him, he states, "It is important to repeat, however, that //every culture has and uses all eight intelligences.//" (Armstrong, 177) He then goes on to list many different important people from the past who were strong in a certain category of the multiple intelligences. For example, he placed Martin Luther King Jr. as an African American with a strong interpersonal intelligence, which is quite obvious, but true. I believe that it is important to make students aware that everyone has multiple intelligences and the ability to use them all. Lastly, Armstrong discusses career counseling and explains numerous job options for students in each of the multiple intelligences. It is important to inform students of potential future careers within their strengths so they can excel at whatever they plan on doing. In my classroom, I hope to enlighten students with different career ideas and let them create their own path.

Leanne Fasulo
The second to last chapter of //Multiple Intelligences//, chapter thirteen, explains how the MI theory can be applied in different ways. MI can help not only teachers in building units and making classwork engaging, but it can also help with integrating technology, cultural diversity and career counseling (173). The section that I found really interesting was the career counseling. As students start to end their high school career a majority of them are not sure what to do with their lives. Some may think that because they were not strong in school, because the traditional ways did not meet their needs, they will not be able to accomplish something great in their post-school careers. This is completely wrong. By figuring out what intelligences students enjoy and excel in they can find the best path to take. The book shows a list of different careers that someone would usually be strong in if they were to be in that career. It was also suggested that students shadow professionals, and speakers could come in to talk about what their job is like. This would have been extremely helpful to a bunch of people in my graduating class as a majority of them still are not sure what they want to do. For the ones who do, some of them found out by accident by joining a club or doing a school project. I think that if I were teaching in a high school I would stress the importance of using the MI theory for career counseling.

Richie Johnson
The list of possibilities that MI Theory has to offer in order to benefit education continues to grow! Chapter 13 expands upon three matters that would undoubtedly be aided by MI Theory, being: “ computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling” (173). The correlation between how much MI Theory could support education and how little it appears to be promoted is exceptional. Armstrong begins his discussion by explaining how computers themselves are “intelligence-neutral mechanisms” (174), and that it is the programs that run them that require specific intelligences. Because of this, computers have the ability to address any intelligence, as long as they have the proper software. This makes computers very powerful teaching tools! He later lists many, many software and their intelligence focus. The cultural diversity section of this chapter proved to also be interesting. Armstrong stresses the point here that all cultures have and use all eight intelligences, and furthermore that one should never label a specific culture as being better or worse at specific intelligences. While this seems obvious, it is very easy to neglect to be “content” and “process-sensitive.” It is continually pointed out that material being taught must be “valued by [the] culture” being taught, as otherwise it will not hold any real significance. Lastly, Armstrong introduces MI theory to career counseling. I have always been a strong believer that careers are something that people have to find on their own through personal experience, and that no one should push another towards a particular career. It was terribly difficult for me to decide on which career to pursue for a long time. Finally, once I decided to mellow out a bit, I realized that I would love to practice a teaching career, and that it is okay if I decide to change my major at a later date if I would like. Careers ought to be subject to change, I think, and people should not feel locked into or tied down to anything. I really like MI’s take on career counseling, where kids are not pushed or persuaded to pursue anything that they don’t want to, but instead are introduced to many, many different options!

Tyler Oren
In chapter thirteen of //Multiple Intelligences// Thomas Armstrong makes the leap from teaching to other outside applications of the MI theory. Armstrong begins by discussing computer software that can utilize and engage each intelligence. For linguistic users he recommends word processing software, interactive language tutoring programs, and similar software to engage these types of learners. Armstrong also praises the availability of the internet to individual learners and their unique learning style because the internet allows them to customize their own experience that is tailored to their own individual needs and interests. Next Armstrong discusses the weighty subject if cultural diversity and the multiple intelligence theory. He asserts that according to the multiple intelligence theory an intelligence must be considered valued by a culture to be considered a true intelligence, and goes on to demonstrate the universality of each of the intelligences in a broad swath of cultures. Armstrong also attempts to dispel old cultural stereotypes that certain cultures are more or less gifted or interested in specific intelligences, asserting that //every// cultures uses //every// intelligence.

Kyle Kuvaja
Chapter thirteen of //Multiple Intelligences of the Classroom// discusses three other important applications of multiple intelligence theory that did not have chapters dedicated to them. The three applications are computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. The first application, computer technology, is usually linked to the logical-mathematical intelligence. A teacher familiar with multiple intelligence theory and technology can find ways to incorporate different programs and instruments to address all the intelligences. Armstrong places a table that lists various software programs that can be used in the classroom to activate the various intelligences (175). The next application involves cultural diversity. Armstrong makes sure to point out that all cultures possess and use the eight multiple intelligences. Teachers must be sure not to use the student’s race as an excuse to only focus on activating one intelligence. This would have a negative impact on the student. Another suggestion he had is to introduce multi-cultural fairs. The last application involves career counseling. Armstrong warns that teachers should avoid associating student strengths in school to specific careers at an early age, but rather expose them to careers that address all eight intelligences at an early age. This is beneficial to their development. The “frosting” chapter was a useful mix of information. All of these are important enough to incorporate into the book. I feel that that the cultural diversity section will be the most useful to me, since my school’s attendance was mostly white, local children. Computer technology and career counseling were always things that I felt were important. Armstrong did make an interesting point about not pressuring students into a career based on their strengths in school.

Evgeni Bouzakine
Chapter thirteen discusses the three more applications for outlining the MI theory. These three outlined applications are computer technology, cultural diversity, and career counseling. The MI theory makes it much easier to look at individuals and recognize student’s strengths and weaknesses. This allow teachers to focus in on different ways to teach them. Computer software is a great way to trigger multiple intelligences throughout all the students. Technology in general is great tool to stimulate a variety of intelligences. Cultural diversity is important when it comes to different cultures. Different cultures value different intelligences. Each culture has a different way of utilizing their intelligences. As a teacher it will be critical to identify what kind of student you have and where they are from. By knowing individuals intelligences you are able to guide them to the proper career. A career they could be good at, and have a successful life. In my classroom I can imagine doing as much as I can for a student, in order for them to succeed. I do not want my students to be neglected. If I have an understanding in their culture, I can help them more easily with the rest.

Brittany Blackman
Chapter 13 connects the multiple intelligence theory to real world situations outside of the classroom. The first example is about computers. Most people think computers simply target mathematical/logical thinkers, but in fact they can target all of the intelligences. There is a chart on page 175 that actually lists multiple computer programs for each intelligence. A lot of the programs listed are fun programs like, Tetris, MySpace, SimCity, Oregon Trail, and more.

This chapter makes it a point to mention that all cultures use the eight intelligences. In fact, something is not considered an “intelligence” if it isn’t used by all cultures. They are all things that we pass down to one another, though some cultures hold more importance to specific intelligences. I think this is important to tell your students in the classroom, so they understand why you are putting so much emphasis on the intelligences. They should know that it isn’t //just// for the classroom.

The last thing the chapter mentions for other uses of MI is career counseling. It suggests that if children are exposed to the eight intelligences early on, they are more likely to pursue something later in life. The chapter includes a series of possible jobs for each intelligence. The chapter also mentions that you shouldn’t push a student to pursue something specific in a specific intelligence, though. I think that it is very important to keep the students’ options open. Sometimes I wonder if I’m becoming a teacher simply because I needed to do something and I thought I would be good at this. I never really considered all of my possibilities.