One of the main things that I was able to take away from visiting Beachwood Middle School was how different a 7th Grade history class is from what I experienced.  Although Material may still be the same, the technological advances made in the past 6 or 7 years has allowed new ways of learning to progress in today's classrooms.  Just from observation and walking around the classroom while students worked, I was able to get an idea of how these new tools were being implemented into their curriculum.  Students were using laptops to write blogs and share their own ideas on the contents in which they were submerged.  Talking to the teacher in the class room, he was able to share with me the fact that textbooks weren't used during lessons.  7th grade history teachers in the local community were able to develop a webpage or "web quest" in which the students would be able to learn the same material, but in a more fun and interesting way.  Not only using the technology that was generally frowned upon while I attended middle school, but the students also had the luxury of learning at their own pace.  Upon completion of the web quest, it seemed apparent that students were able to retain more knowledge than they would a regular textbook.  This goes along with the idea that students should be able to understand the material and be able to articulate their thoughts and ideas on the matter, as appose to simply regurgitating information onto a formal assessment. On top of all of this, classroom discussion seemed to be more apparent as a result of the students' understanding of the material.  The teacher emphasized the fact that he never wants to lecture his students, reiterating the fact that the information during a lecture could simply go in one ear and out the other.  His style of teaching allowed students to conceptualize the information in front of them, and formulate their own ideas and views pertaining to the subject at hand.  This to me makes me wish I was in 7th grade now as appose to 6 years ago.  But then again don't we all?