The most interesting topic that we wrote about was the web tools we would incorporate into our classrooms. I thought it was cool to see all of the web tools that people found like discovery and national geographic, and how they would use them in their classroom. Everyone seemed to find things that were unique and hadn’t been used a ton.
The technology-related skill that I want to learn next is Excel. Which is good since that is our next topic. I do not think it is going to be fun but I have never used Excel and I am going to need it in a lot of classes soon for final projects. I think learning how to use Excel will really benefit me and be very useful.
My future technology-related goals are just seeing what all there is available to aid in teaching. Discovering technology that can help make the classroom more fun is important to keeping things interesting. Ways to keep up with all the new technology are looking on the internet and watching the news for updates on new products.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Monday, March 19, 2007
An interesting web based resource is www.discoveryschool.com. On this site there are many useful tools that make creating a fun lesson easier. On the site there is a puzzlemaker where you can create your own crosswords, math squares, and word searches. There is a lesson planner where you can create your own lesson, include links to puzzles you created, and then store the lesson plan so you can come back to it later. There is a worksheet generator where the teacher can make their own worksheets or use pre-made ones.
However, the most useful tool on this website, in my opinion, is the "quiz center." Teachers can create their own quizzes and save them on the site for future use. The quizzes are administered online so they are graded by the computer right after the student finishes taking the quiz. This reduces the amount of time that the teacher has to spend on grading papers, allowing more time for teaching. This also saves paper which is always good.
Link:
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
One tool that I could not find online was a lesson plan builder that incorporated the Florida education standards into the lesson. There was nothing that checked if the lessons that teachers were using were actually preparing the students for future standardized tests like the FCAT. Although I don't personally agree with this type of testing it is required and not all students are being adequately prepared for the test. I think if there were a lesson plan builder that checked for relevancy students would preform better on these tests.
However, the most useful tool on this website, in my opinion, is the "quiz center." Teachers can create their own quizzes and save them on the site for future use. The quizzes are administered online so they are graded by the computer right after the student finishes taking the quiz. This reduces the amount of time that the teacher has to spend on grading papers, allowing more time for teaching. This also saves paper which is always good.
Link:
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
One tool that I could not find online was a lesson plan builder that incorporated the Florida education standards into the lesson. There was nothing that checked if the lessons that teachers were using were actually preparing the students for future standardized tests like the FCAT. Although I don't personally agree with this type of testing it is required and not all students are being adequately prepared for the test. I think if there were a lesson plan builder that checked for relevancy students would preform better on these tests.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Blog # 8
Everyday when we go online we have security risks, which are events or actions that cause a loss of or damage to any computer equipment, software, data and information, or processing capability. A virus negatively alters the way that a computer works. Most viruses are designed to destroy or corrupt data. The common terms for viruses today are worms and trojan horses. Since viruses are such a threat to the information you store on your computer it is important to have anti-virus software that can detect and destroy viruses that could harm your computer. These types of programs work by looking for programs that attempt to modify the boot program, the operating system, or any other programs. Whoever started sending out viruses really needs to be stoned. They are really annoying. One thing that you never want to happen especially right before you have a huge paper due is hav computer system failure. Failure occurs because of electrical power problems, hardware component failure, or a software error. Sometimes these types of things can be fixed and you can recover all of your information but sometimes all is lost.
In regard to education the most important aspect of this chapter were the educational controls. These controls prevent students from accesing sites that are inappropriate. Schools use filtering software, acceptable use policies, use of curriculum pages, and teacher observation. Curriculum pages are pages that the teacher creates using information only from acceptable sites. I think that these are the best idea because teachers are not always going to be able to moniter every computer that a child is using. Emerging technology will continue to advance education and make learning more exciting and fun.
In regard to education the most important aspect of this chapter were the educational controls. These controls prevent students from accesing sites that are inappropriate. Schools use filtering software, acceptable use policies, use of curriculum pages, and teacher observation. Curriculum pages are pages that the teacher creates using information only from acceptable sites. I think that these are the best idea because teachers are not always going to be able to moniter every computer that a child is using. Emerging technology will continue to advance education and make learning more exciting and fun.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Blog # 7
The key to this chapter is evaluation. A lot of evaluation. The reason this is so important is because it helps the teachers decide if the assignment and the resources used in the assignment are appropriate. Teachers also need to be able to correctly evaluate software that they use when trying to incorparate technology into their daily lesson plans. It is critical that software is relevant to the curriculum. Web resources are the most important to evaluate as we learned through our website evaluation assignment. It is important to check the website's authority, audience, clarity, and if the information on the website is right or not. A helpful tool to do this type of evaluation is a rubric or a checklist.
This chapter also focuses on how to incorporate technology into the classroom which is something the book has failed to address in the previous chapters. The chapter tells about search engines where teachers can look up lesson plans that are tailored to specific curriculum areas. Another problem is funding. Where are schools supposed to get all this money to buy the technology? From three 6 mafia? No, from Grants. The money goes to the grantee, the teacher, school, or organization to which the grant funds or equipment are transferred to. But most importantly remember to evaluate.
This chapter also focuses on how to incorporate technology into the classroom which is something the book has failed to address in the previous chapters. The chapter tells about search engines where teachers can look up lesson plans that are tailored to specific curriculum areas. Another problem is funding. Where are schools supposed to get all this money to buy the technology? From three 6 mafia? No, from Grants. The money goes to the grantee, the teacher, school, or organization to which the grant funds or equipment are transferred to. But most importantly remember to evaluate.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Blog # 6
One of the most interesting things that I saw in this chapter was the virtual reality technology that teachers can now incorporate into their classrooms. The 3-D modeling is really unique and I think it would be fun for students to use in the classroom. However, this much technology integration into the classroom may not be possible in many schools because of a lack of funding and resources and the size of the classrooms. Schools with very large class sizes would have a harder time using it.
Another change that integrating technology into the classroom makes is changing the teachers role from the "dispenser of knowledge" to the "facilitator of knowledge". This says that putting technology in the classroom will help children take a more active role in their own learning and the teacher doesn't just pour out information in lectures they actually use different ways of instruction.
Learning centers will be great for classrooms especially in the k-5 grades becasue it allows teachers to break their classrooms into many different stations and so the little kids won't get bored because they have many different learning options.
Ultimately more technology in the classroom will provide more ways of learning to fit students different learnign styles, it will also make learning more fun. All teachers should be trained in how to incorporate technology into their classrooms.
Another change that integrating technology into the classroom makes is changing the teachers role from the "dispenser of knowledge" to the "facilitator of knowledge". This says that putting technology in the classroom will help children take a more active role in their own learning and the teacher doesn't just pour out information in lectures they actually use different ways of instruction.
Learning centers will be great for classrooms especially in the k-5 grades becasue it allows teachers to break their classrooms into many different stations and so the little kids won't get bored because they have many different learning options.
Ultimately more technology in the classroom will provide more ways of learning to fit students different learnign styles, it will also make learning more fun. All teachers should be trained in how to incorporate technology into their classrooms.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Blog # 5
In this chapter there are many things that will help teachers use technology in education. The first one that I think will help in the field of education is the drill-and-practice, Games, and tutorials. The drill-and-practice were the software first provides factual knowledge and then through repetitive exercises allows the student to continue to work on specific material and remember the information. This type of software will be especially useful in math classes because it gives the students a lot of extra practice with the problems.
Another useful classroom tool is the tutorial. Although the windows and word tutorials we do in education tech are not the most exciting or interactive of the software out there it nonetheless does its job and teaches you how to do specific things within the program.
Another useful tool is the curriculum specific educational software. This provides grade level specific information for the kids to work on which helps them actually learn the material and not just forget how to do it after the test.
Digital media presentations allow the teacher to create interactive digital media presentations that define elements relationships to each other and sequences them in the correct order. Some examples of these types of software are Microsoft powerpoint and Apple iLife. These are widely used today in K-12 schools and in Colleges.
This chapter focuses on digital media. Which not only is fun and entertaining to use in the classroom but also provides an alternative method for students to learn material they might otherwise not have any interest in learning about.
Another useful classroom tool is the tutorial. Although the windows and word tutorials we do in education tech are not the most exciting or interactive of the software out there it nonetheless does its job and teaches you how to do specific things within the program.
Another useful tool is the curriculum specific educational software. This provides grade level specific information for the kids to work on which helps them actually learn the material and not just forget how to do it after the test.
Digital media presentations allow the teacher to create interactive digital media presentations that define elements relationships to each other and sequences them in the correct order. Some examples of these types of software are Microsoft powerpoint and Apple iLife. These are widely used today in K-12 schools and in Colleges.
This chapter focuses on digital media. Which not only is fun and entertaining to use in the classroom but also provides an alternative method for students to learn material they might otherwise not have any interest in learning about.
Monday, February 5, 2007
Blog # 4
Chapter 4 is about hardware and the many types of hardware that can help teachers do their job more effciently. Teachers having the knowledge about what hardware can make their job easier is great because it will reduce the stress level and the amount of time they spend on their work. I learned many things that I didn't know about previously from this chapter. The first thing that I thought was interesting was the American Standard Code for Information Interchange also called ASCII. This coding scheme makes it possible for humans to interact with digital computers that recognize only bits. For example, when you press a key on a keyboard the keyboard converts the action into a binary form that the computer understands. It seems simple but without this process no one could communicate with each other through computers.
Another thing in the chapter that many teachers have already taken advantage of is the expansion cards that go into the expansion slots on the computer. With this extra memory teachers can easily transfer files from their classroom computer onto the expansion card and take it home and grade papers from their home computer. Also teachers can make power point presentations at home and store them on the card and present them to their class.
Audio and video input and the flash drive are some other useful pieces of hardware in the classroom. It allows teachers to use more interesting things in their lectures.
Another thing in the chapter that many teachers have already taken advantage of is the expansion cards that go into the expansion slots on the computer. With this extra memory teachers can easily transfer files from their classroom computer onto the expansion card and take it home and grade papers from their home computer. Also teachers can make power point presentations at home and store them on the card and present them to their class.
Audio and video input and the flash drive are some other useful pieces of hardware in the classroom. It allows teachers to use more interesting things in their lectures.
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