One Laptop per Child

It is amazing what a hundred dollars can buy! One Laptop per Child organization has created a $100 laptop that is geared to be used by students in developing countries. These countries lag behind in education, and with the use of these computers can hopefully make up some ground. These computers can help get students excited about learning. More importantly, the computers can help parents help their students with their work. For example, if a student's parents cannot read, they may struggle in helping their child. However, the teacher could record the instructions to the computer and then the parent could listen to the assignment.

Some countries that participate in One Laptop per Child include Peru, Rwanda, Uruguay, and Libya.

Hopefully, people in the United States will see the importance of every child having a computer and makes changes to make it happen here. Education would change so much if each student had their own computer.

More information can be found at:

http://www.laptop.org/
http://www.olpc.com/

Assistive Technology

Assistive Technology levels the playing field for disabled students. With the advancements of technology, so too has technology advanced for helping students learn. Teachers and parents need to keep up to date with the technology so their student or child has access to the best assistive technology available. A computer specially designed for someone disability can help someone overcome barriers to learning. For example, voice recognition technology can help students write papers. A special keyboard can help students take tests or use the internet. It is best that students are exposed to assistive technology early in school, so by the time they are ready for college, they feel comfortable using technology to learn.

The following link includes information and a video about using assistive technology in the classroom.

http://www.edutopia.org/assistivetechnology

-Screen capture image from http://www.edutopia.org/assistivetechnology-

Podcasting in the classroom

I came across a great website about podcasting: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/

This site includes links to podcasting basics, how to podcast, and three main steps to creating a podcast.

The website also includes links to popular podcasts, including NASA podcasts. NASA has podcasts available that include news on the latest missions. Using the NASA podcasts in the classroom would help students experience space shuttle missions in a different way than a text book. Students can experience science as it is happening and see how relevant it is to their lives.

The link also offers examples of how teachers are using podcasts in the classroom. This is just a start to the ways podcasts can be used in the classroom.

I hope to learn more about podcasting and make my own in the future!!