The first person's blog who I looked at was Tabitha's. One thing that I really like that she including was bringing the iPod into the classroom. I have noticed this in some of my own classes. Many students, particularly if they are giving presentations or teaching a lesson will bring music in as part of their project. It used to be that they would have to find a CD player, or bring in their laptop, and now with iPods they can just bring in them in with speakers. This makes it much easier to play the song you want with less bulky equipment.
The second person whose blog I looked at is Sarah. I love the idea of using secondlife.com! I've never even heard of this before, but it sounds like a really entertaining way to learn more about life and becoming part of a community. I think that this is something that student's would become really excited about, and would help get students into the real world, even though it is a virtual world. :)
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Emerging Technologies.
One emerging technology that I believe will make a significant impact on education is Sketch-Up, on which more information can be found on www.google.com/educators. Sketch-Up is a digital tool that where students can design things such as houses, solar systems, etc. The website discusses how the technology has been a useful tool for students with autism because of their general visual/spatial intelligence. What I really like about Sketch-Up, though, is that it would also be great for students who do not have autism. This would be especially true for students who have a strong interest in architecture and design.
I could incorporate the use of Sketch-Up in my own future classroom. One thing that would be interesting to do would be to have students design any kind of house and then write a corresponding story about who would live in the house. This would be a great way to reach the students how are visually and spatially gifted. I can see how students would become very interested in this type of assignment because they are not just writing a boring essay, but bringing their own thoughts and ideas out in a creative manner.
Another emerging technology that I believe will make a great impact on education is iLife ’08. More information on this tool can be found at www.apple.com/education/k12. iLife ‘08 merges the following tools to help create high quality digital projects: iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. This technology is quickly becoming incorporated into the lesson plans of many teachers. The website says that teachers are using this technology as a way to enliven lessons as well as teach students important skills of the 21st Century (2007).
iLife ’08 could have an impact on my own teaching I could use it in my own lesson plans. For instance, I could have the class do digital videos (such as the ones we are doing in our technology class). This would be an engaging assignment for students who enjoy working with technology, as well as though who just enjoy working with fun programs. In this day and age, technology is imperative, so this would help to broaden the knowledge of students.
The third emerging technology that I feel will have a substantial impact on education, especially in English classrooms, is Weekly Reader Online. This feature allows students to use Google Docs to submit their written pieces and have their peers edit them. This tool is used mainly for the revision process that accompanies writing, and would be perfect for my classroom.
Being an English teacher I will need to help teach students how to make revisions to their own, as well as other people’s writing. This tool would have an impact on my teaching because I would be able to help guide my students in their editing process. This would have an impact on students because they would be able to become familiar with group work as well as editing skills. While I would be able to guide my students and have them develop this skill in other ways as well, I think that using Weekly Reader Online would allow for students to get into the text more and make revisions straight into the text as opposed to marking up papers with pens or pencils. The organization of thoughts and revisions would be much more legible on a computer than if someone were to handwrite little notes on the papers. More information can be found about this tool at http://www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html and http://www.weeklyreader.com/googledocs/.
I could incorporate the use of Sketch-Up in my own future classroom. One thing that would be interesting to do would be to have students design any kind of house and then write a corresponding story about who would live in the house. This would be a great way to reach the students how are visually and spatially gifted. I can see how students would become very interested in this type of assignment because they are not just writing a boring essay, but bringing their own thoughts and ideas out in a creative manner.
Another emerging technology that I believe will make a great impact on education is iLife ’08. More information on this tool can be found at www.apple.com/education/k12. iLife ‘08 merges the following tools to help create high quality digital projects: iMovie, iPhoto, GarageBand, iWeb, and iDVD. This technology is quickly becoming incorporated into the lesson plans of many teachers. The website says that teachers are using this technology as a way to enliven lessons as well as teach students important skills of the 21st Century (2007).
iLife ’08 could have an impact on my own teaching I could use it in my own lesson plans. For instance, I could have the class do digital videos (such as the ones we are doing in our technology class). This would be an engaging assignment for students who enjoy working with technology, as well as though who just enjoy working with fun programs. In this day and age, technology is imperative, so this would help to broaden the knowledge of students.
The third emerging technology that I feel will have a substantial impact on education, especially in English classrooms, is Weekly Reader Online. This feature allows students to use Google Docs to submit their written pieces and have their peers edit them. This tool is used mainly for the revision process that accompanies writing, and would be perfect for my classroom.
Being an English teacher I will need to help teach students how to make revisions to their own, as well as other people’s writing. This tool would have an impact on my teaching because I would be able to help guide my students in their editing process. This would have an impact on students because they would be able to become familiar with group work as well as editing skills. While I would be able to guide my students and have them develop this skill in other ways as well, I think that using Weekly Reader Online would allow for students to get into the text more and make revisions straight into the text as opposed to marking up papers with pens or pencils. The organization of thoughts and revisions would be much more legible on a computer than if someone were to handwrite little notes on the papers. More information can be found about this tool at http://www.google.com/educators/weeklyreader.html and http://www.weeklyreader.com/googledocs/.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Distance Education
The idea of having a virtual school, or distance education, is an interesting one, but is it a good idea? As with most things, there are pros and cons of going to school on-line. With distance education, students are provided with the opportunity to have personalized instruction. Obviously, not all students are going to do equally well in all subject areas and with online education they can have one-on-one interaction with an instructor. This would help them to get instruction that is more tailored to their needs.
Another thing that would be good for students is that mentors and instructors are readily available. With regular schooling, this is not always the case. For instance, when school is out for the day and teachers and students go home, it is difficult to get a hold of teachers with any questions one might have. Some teachers allow you to call them at home, while others ask you to email them, but neither of these options compare to having an instructor or mentor constantly online waiting to answer any questions.
With distance education, all learning materials are provided for the students, including books, laptops, and printers. For students who would otherwise not be able to afford this equipment, this provides them with the opportunity to have it in their home. I did not find anything about paying tuition for these distance education courses, so I would assume that it is free education.
This type of education is a wonderful opportunity for students to get acquainted with technology that they may not otherwise get a chance to work with. Regular schooling does not always provide these same types of opportunities, at least not to the same extent. Technology is a major part of our society and is an important thing for students to be able to work with.
In public schools, all students take the same general classes. They must take certain Math, English, Social Studies, and History classes. While they may take extra classes in these areas or other electives, the schooling is not personalized to their interests. However, with distance education you can take courses specific to your interest area, allowing students more career-related education as opposed to general education.
Cons to distance education are:
*You couldn’t really test for knowledge because they could surf the internet for answers and then you wouldn’t know if they knew the material or if they just found it online.
*You couldn’t communicate with peers face-to-face, which means that you probably wouldn’t develop the same kind of friendships, you wouldn’t get the same social experience.
*Even though there are due dates, you do not have a teacher monitoring your progress, so you are on your own (which could also be good for some people).
*Some people may be too lazy to go to school, and use this as an excuse not to.
*Not a very large variety of learning experiences. Everything is online, testing, and assignment submission.
For some students it would be easier to determine their readiness to distance education than for others. Obviously, if a student was very responsible about getting their assignments in on time, they would appear to be ready for managing themselves for an online class. It would be more difficult to determine a student’s readiness if they often misbehaved and ignored teacher instruction. It would seem that they would not be ready to be have the responsibility of keeping themselves on track. However, it may be better for them because then they would be their own authority and do the assignments at their own pace. It is just really hard to say. You would probably just have to let the students test it out, and see how it goes.
To be able to teach an online school a teacher would need to have a broad understanding of technology. They would also need to learn how to make connections with their students since they would not have the face-to-face relationships that most teachers have with students.
Another thing that would be good for students is that mentors and instructors are readily available. With regular schooling, this is not always the case. For instance, when school is out for the day and teachers and students go home, it is difficult to get a hold of teachers with any questions one might have. Some teachers allow you to call them at home, while others ask you to email them, but neither of these options compare to having an instructor or mentor constantly online waiting to answer any questions.
With distance education, all learning materials are provided for the students, including books, laptops, and printers. For students who would otherwise not be able to afford this equipment, this provides them with the opportunity to have it in their home. I did not find anything about paying tuition for these distance education courses, so I would assume that it is free education.
This type of education is a wonderful opportunity for students to get acquainted with technology that they may not otherwise get a chance to work with. Regular schooling does not always provide these same types of opportunities, at least not to the same extent. Technology is a major part of our society and is an important thing for students to be able to work with.
In public schools, all students take the same general classes. They must take certain Math, English, Social Studies, and History classes. While they may take extra classes in these areas or other electives, the schooling is not personalized to their interests. However, with distance education you can take courses specific to your interest area, allowing students more career-related education as opposed to general education.
Cons to distance education are:
*You couldn’t really test for knowledge because they could surf the internet for answers and then you wouldn’t know if they knew the material or if they just found it online.
*You couldn’t communicate with peers face-to-face, which means that you probably wouldn’t develop the same kind of friendships, you wouldn’t get the same social experience.
*Even though there are due dates, you do not have a teacher monitoring your progress, so you are on your own (which could also be good for some people).
*Some people may be too lazy to go to school, and use this as an excuse not to.
*Not a very large variety of learning experiences. Everything is online, testing, and assignment submission.
For some students it would be easier to determine their readiness to distance education than for others. Obviously, if a student was very responsible about getting their assignments in on time, they would appear to be ready for managing themselves for an online class. It would be more difficult to determine a student’s readiness if they often misbehaved and ignored teacher instruction. It would seem that they would not be ready to be have the responsibility of keeping themselves on track. However, it may be better for them because then they would be their own authority and do the assignments at their own pace. It is just really hard to say. You would probably just have to let the students test it out, and see how it goes.
To be able to teach an online school a teacher would need to have a broad understanding of technology. They would also need to learn how to make connections with their students since they would not have the face-to-face relationships that most teachers have with students.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)