Education and Technology

Tablet notebooks

2008-12-05T06:46:00.000-08:00

Last night in my Emerging Technology class we learned about using tablet notebooks in the classroom. I thought the tablets were great! It's so convenient to take notes on the tablet and convert it to text. The tablet was even able to convert my cursive handwriting.

Using the tablet to project class notes seems to be much better than writing on a white board, chalk board or an overhead projector. All the older ways to share information in the classroom require the teacher to either have their back to the class or look down. Since I'm left handed it is especially difficult for me to use overhead projectors, chalkboards, and whiteboards because I always seem to erase what I just wrote.

I could see myself using a tablet to save notes in class, email notes home to absent students, and send notes home to parents so they know how to help their children with math homework. The tablet would also allow for me to keep notes I used in the lesson so I could reflect on the lesson, make changes, and then save these notes so part of the lesson will be ready to use for following year.

What are some other ways to use tablet notebooks in the classroom?

photo from flickr.com/diluvi

Skype

2008-11-18T10:38:00.000-08:00

In my Emerging Technologies class we learned how to use Skype. It is quite easy and fun to use. I wish more of my family members and friends had Skype accounts. The class brainstormed some ways Skype could be used in the classroom: interviews, communicating with parents or sick students, and video pals. Any other ideas on how Skype can be used to help students learn?

Photo by re-ality
http://www.flickr.com/photos/re-ality/41676755/

Webspiration

2008-11-02T17:11:00.000-08:00

Webspiration is the on-line version of Inspiration. Unlike Inspiration, more than one person can add to the graphic organizer. Another student and I worked on a graphic organizer using Webspiration containing information about ourselves. I enjoyed using this program and can see myself using this program in the future. It would be a good tool to use to collorate with other teachers or have students use them to brainstorm ideas or orgainze what they have learned.

RSS review

2008-10-23T08:02:00.000-07:00

Following blogs about technology and voice conferencing on my RSS reader was an interesting process. Although RSS readers are suppose to make it easier to catch up on your favorite blogs, I found myself spending more time on my computer because started reading more blogs than I had before I used an RSS reader. I must admit, using the RSS reader was much quicker than finding all the information on separate websites.

What worked the best was that it was a great way to start to learn about something without having to a bunch of research. I will soon be co-teaching on voice conferencing and it was nice to start do learn what people are saying about it and what is currently happening in the field. When I start to research more about voice conferencing I feel as though I have an idea where to start.

I also used the RSS feeder in my itunes to download podcasts about Voice Conferencing. Unfortunately, there were not many podcasts on the topic and the podcasts I listened too were far to advanced and technical for me to understand. Maybe after a couple of months of learning about Voice Conferencing I will understand what the podcasters are talking about.

If done differently, I would have tried to find blogs that posted more often. Some blogs only had a few postings or none at all over the two weeks. This made it difficult to learn how blogs interact with each other. Before picking blogs, it would be worth checking to see how often the blogger posts and only follow blogs that do post on a regular basis.

I could use RSS readers in my classroom by having students follow their classmates' blogs. Students could post their writings on their blogs and make suggestions about the writings by commenting about the postings. Having students use a reader would make it easier for them to follow their classmates blogs without having to search all over the web.

RSS blog III

2008-10-20T18:18:00.001-07:00

In Skype Journal blog there is an overview of IPEVO speakerphones for VoIP. There is a detailed review of the phone and advice on how to get the phone. What was most interesting was that at the bottom of the blog was a link to another review of the phone on Engadget, another blog I am following in my googlereader. Engadget, gives a brief description of what the phone can be used for and gives additional information that Skype Journal did not provide.

It appears as though the voice conferencing blogosphere is pretty small since it was difficult to locate blogs. It makes sense that I found a link between two of the blogs I'm following since the bloggers are most likely following other blogs about voice conferencing.

I wonder if any blogs have linked to my blog to send readers to get more information...

RSS blog II- Skype users increasing

2008-10-17T14:39:00.000-07:00

Reading through all of my RSS information on Voice Conferencing has been interesting. Two of the blogs I have subscribed to have posted similar information. Both Skype Journal and VoIP Watch have mentioned Skype's increase in users. VoIP Watch links to an article on another blog called TMCnet. The article mentions that based on a report by Pike and Fischer "approximately 8.5 million U.S. households will start using VoIP for their home phone service by 2010, which would bring the total number of VoIP connected households to about 30 million". That's alot of users. Skype Journal also mentioned an increase in Skype accounts and an increase in Skype minutes.

Both these blogs mention an overall increase in users of Skype. Beings more and more people are using Skype, chances are more students are going to start to use Skype. How have our schools increased their use of Skype for educational purposes? Since Skype is fairly new, it may take some time for teachers to figure out how to use Skype to help student learn. Teachers should start to ask their students their ideas about using Skype since chances are, many of the students may already be using Skype in their homes.

Using RSS

2008-10-15T08:01:00.000-07:00

For my Emerging Instructional Technologies class I have set up an RSS feed to learn more about Voice Conferencing. I am using googlereader for my RSS account and am impressed at how easy it is to use. Instead of having to search for blogs everyday and to see if something new was posted, new blog posts will show up in my googlereader. It makes everything so much simpler and saves time. The first screen shot is of my googlereader. The second screen shot is a closer view of how I have organized my information. I have different folders for the various sites and blogs I have subscribed to. Two of the folders are for blogs of my classmates for two of my classes this semester. Other folders are News, Money, and Technology. The blogs I have subscribed to for learning more about Voice Conferencing are delivered to my technology folder. The blogs I chose to subscribe to are ones that are up to date on Voice Conferencing and post often. When there is a new blog to read, the folder will be a darker, bolder blue and have a number behind it. This is so easy to use!

I am also using igoogle as a center to get information that I usually search for everyday. Igoogle is nice because most everything I usually go to separate websites to find is at one location. By to subscribing to different applications that display all my information I usually go out to find in one location. Some of the applications I have chosen show the latest headlines in education and the world. I have created tabs to organize my information. My tabs include home, fun stuff, news, education, books, and Scrabble.

RSS feeds can also be used on Itunes. By subscribing to a podcast, Itunes will automatically check to see if there are any new podcasts. If there are, the podcast will download by itself. I have been subscribed to many podcasts for awhile. It is so convenient and I don't have to worry about missing my favorite radio programs. To learn more about Voice Conferencing, I have subscribed to some podcasts that are about Voice Conferencing and VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol). The names of the podcasts I subscribed to are called Blue Box: The VoIP Security Podcast, The VoIP Exerience, VoIP Users Community Conference, and Ted Talks.

It seems like an overwhelming amount of information, but RSS will help to make it easier to learn about Voice Conferencing since all the information is going to my googlereader.

Second Life Science Tour

2008-10-09T11:55:00.000-07:00

This is a tour of some science related locations in Second Life. I've included the surl (Second Life url) and a description of the location

1.NASA Education Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/NASA%20eEducation/183/129/29

Even though this location is currently being updates, when completed it should be a great resource. Educators can find ideas for using NASA related information in science and mathematics.

2.Science Friday
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Science%20Friday/248/165/27

On Friday, listeners of NPR's Talk of the Nation can meet here to listen and discuss Friday’s topic, which always relates to Science. Also, there is additional information linked to websites. This is great place for educators to keep up on what is currently happening in the science community.

3.Sploland: Home to interactive museums of: Science, Human Perception and Humor. Science Exhibits and Exhibitions.
http://slurl.com/secondlife/SploLand/128/128/29

This location is crazy! There is so much going on all around you. There’s different areas to the location: Splo Central, The Orbital Experience, Mount ‘Splo, The ‘Splo Giftshop, and the Molecular Dance Floor. I think this place would be a good site to have students explore to get ideas. It is also fun for a science teacher to see how traditional ideas can be presented in interesting ways.

4.Abyss Museum of Ocean Science
http://abyss-secondlife.blogspot.com/

After arriving at the location, you can go on a self-guided tour. The tour includes areas like the boardwalk, a sculpture garden, Underwater observation pods, Observation deck and Imagination Garden. This site has models of historical undersea crafts, undersea creatures, a fishing game and undersea pods to observe the ocean. This site is interesting for a teacher a landlocked area to use because it makes learning more about oceans interesting.

5. Moody Gardens at Galveston Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Galveston%20Isle/82/116/27

This location is modeled after the real life Moody Gardens in Galveston Texas. The Aquarium Pyramid, Rainforest Pyramid, and the Discovery Pyramid have interactive demonstrations and science experiments.

6. Popsic Future Lounge: The Second Life home of PopSci.com (the Web site of Popular Science Magazine)
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Future/186/68/30

This location has an area to relax and discuss science related ideas with others. In the circular building, there are links to articles in Popular Science Magazine.

7. Starry Night Art Gallery From SciArt Media
http://slurl.com/secondlife/Siringo/19/98/34

This location has images you can purchase that relate to science and nature. Although this location does not offer information, I think it is a good resource to use if you are creating a house for a science classroom.

8.European Science Island
http://slurl.com/secondlife/European%20Science/48/213/25

This is a place to meet for discussions and has interesting things to visit like the interactive globe and real time weather maps. What I liked most about this location was that it had a spot to get notes cards listing locations in SL on topics such as geoscience, human geography, regional geography, climate/weather. The location did have some publications to read, but many of them were in languages other than English.

Two Lives Are Better Than One?

2008-09-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

Just when I thought my life wasn't interesting enough, I got a Second Life. In my Emerging Technologies class we created Second Life accounts. We met in Second Life to do some exploring and we even went to a Barn Dance. How can Second Life be used in upper elementary grades to promote student learning? Any ideas?

Book Trailers

2008-09-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

I've came across a great use for technology in the classroom. Just like movie trailers, book publishers have started to have book trailers made. Having students make their own book trailers is a great use of technology in the classroom. After reading a book, small groups of students could write, film, edit, and post their own book trailer. Having the end project be a book trailer would be highly motivating for students to read their books. The process students go through to create the book trailer would include many levels of Bloom's Taxonomy: comprehension, application, and synthesis.

The followings are links to book trailers.
Impossible by Nancy Werlin
Monster Blood Tattoo by D.M. Cornish

Photo by Faeryan http://www.flickr.com/photos/faeryan/289547369/

On Deck Podcast- How to go Deeper in Student Learning

2008-09-17T16:09:00.000-07:00

I think I just found a new favorite podcast! I just listened to a podcast by On Deck called Shifting Our Schools episode 9: How to go Deeper in Student Learning? Why Go Deeper? The guest on this episode was Michael Lambert, a teacher in Shanghai. In the podcast, he discussed different ways to go deeper education students using technology. I thought this portion of the podcast was so interesting. Using technology in the classroom does not mean just giving students access to computers. Teachers still need to create experiences for students, whether by going outside the classroom to learn or creating project based/problem based learning. Another important issue brought up was the idea that teachers need to let go. Learn what the students are interested in and teach that in the classroom (while still meeting standards). Teachers should not feel as though they are losing control when they let go. As mentioned on the program, teachers still need to teach the basics and most importantly, teachers need to teach how to be a learner.

Technology has changed this election and the way we seek information.

2008-09-04T18:10:00.000-07:00

I was unable to watch the live coverage of the Republican and Democratic nomination acceptance speeches on television. In the past, I would be out of luck and would only be able to watch small parts of the speeches on the news or read about it in the newspaper. But not today! Never before has there been so much access to information when I wanted the information. I was able to watch the speeches on youtube.
After watching the speeches I was able to look further into what the Obama and McCain had said.

After the Vice Presidents were announced, I thought, "Who the heck is Biden? Who the heck is Palin? What do they stand for?" Technology helped me to learn more about Biden and Palin when I wanted to know. I looked both of them up on Wikipedia and viewed their official websites.

Technology has also helped people who were often ignored get their message out to the public. I had heard mentioned that both nomination parties had protesters, but I never had a chance to see or hear them. I was able to view footage of the protesters on youtube! and a photo essay of protesters at the Republican convention.

Technology has helped us become in charge of our learning. We no longer have to rely on sources to tell us what we should know. Technology has also given a voice to those who did not have one, allowing people to create their own content on youtube, blogs, wikipedia, and all over the web.

Photo by Chis Darling.

UNI Ed Tech Voicethread

2008-04-11T16:05:00.000-07:00

This is a Voicethread Angela and I are putting together for teaching Voicethread to our classmates. The more I look at different Voicethreads posted, the more ideas I get about how I could use Voicethread in my personal life and in the classroom. I really recommend checking out Voicethread and setting up your own account.

Are We Teaching Them?

2008-04-10T16:53:00.000-07:00

What an interesting video! We not only need to prepare our students for a future infused with technology, but we also need to prepare our teachers to effectively use technology in the classroom.

The Ideal Classroom Environment

2008-03-31T18:40:00.000-07:00

Creating the ideal classroom was a chance for us to design a classroom environment with technology in mind. Based on our students’ needs and interests, we created two units, a classroom map, a budget, and explanations of our decisions. Our final product was presented using a website.

The process of creating the classroom was interesting. My partner and I never met outside of class; all of our communication took place with the use of technology. We used Facebook, email, googledocs, and googlepages. We even created the final product at separate times using a shared gmail account. Creating the different parts of the project was a rewarding process because I got to learn about different aspects of education that students usually do not learn in school.

While doing this project, I realized how many great products are available to make the classroom a better learning environment. Also, I learned to put technology at the top of the list when planning lessons. Getting practice during this project will help me to make it a habit. Eventually, using technology with education on a daily basis will become second nature. Also, creating this classroom has started to get me thinking about using technology in more creative ways that I previously had.

Trip To Lincoln Elementary- School Built with Technology in Mind

2008-02-12T11:03:00.000-08:00

After discussing the physical, technical, and curricular components of using technology effectively in the classroom, touring Lincoln Elementary was the perfect chance to see exactly how technology can be successfully implemented. Merely having technology present in the schools will not help students learn. Using technology in the most effective way is what is going to make a difference for students.

From a curricular stand point, it appeared as though technology was used to help supplement student learning. In the third grade class, students used technology as a way to help learn spelling words. The game was relevant to the curriculum because the teacher could put her own list of words into the game. The teacher also had a class website for students and parents to use to get homework assignments, spelling words, or links to learning games. In the fourth grade class, students used technology in their free time to research answers to questions on the research board or to play supplemental games.

In the limited time spent in the classes, I did not see any use of technology engaging higher order thinking skills. This could be because there was not time to show, or else students are using technology at a basic level. Also, it seemed as though the use of the computers in the classroom occurred mostly during free time. To be more effective, students need to have structured time for using computers and learning games.

From a technical aspect, the technology in the school appeared up to date and functioning properly. The students seemed to be comfortable using the technology and had the background knowledge of how to use it independently. Students created power point slide shows to present to the class. Students were also able to access various games on the Internet.

The physical component of using technology effectively is important for student access and ease of use. The placement of technology in the room was set up in a way that all students had access to it in an efficient way. Other effective physical components of technology in the classroom included a mounted projector, an amplification system, a school run television show, and on-site technology support. Also in the classroom were three computers available for student use. However, having three computers in one area does not make it easy to have students do group work. It would be more effective to have separate computer stations spread out in the room.

Overall, Lincoln Elementary is effectively using technology. The school has a successful, basic level of integration of technology in the classroom. However, some aspects of the technology could be changed to better benefit students’ learning. I think it would be more effective and beneficial if students were using technology to engage their higher order thinking skills. One of the reasons the teachers have not used technology to engage students on a higher level may be because the teachers are not comfortable enough with technology to take it to the next level or they may not know how to. Maybe their students could help them come up with ideas to help make technology more engaging in their classroom.

Learner 2.0 Myspace Generation

2008-01-29T17:49:00.000-08:00

In my Computer Applications Class, we listened to a Webinar by Chris O' Neal called Learner 2.0 Myspace Generation, hosted by ISTE. In the webinar, he emphasized how great social networking is for students and their educational futures. When students engage in social networking, they are also engaging in 21st century skills such as, "writing, creating, producing, collaborating, communication, reading, decision making, and socializing".

The Learner 2.0 Myspace Generation will have huge implications on what I teach and the way. As educators, we need to find ways to incorporate new technology into the classroom to help students develop their 21st century skills. We need to find ways to keep up with technology and our students. Technology is not something that can be incorporated if there is time, it has to be incorporated. Lessons will be taught and completed by students in ways that we haven't even dreamed of yet. It means that I need to stay current on technological and educational advances. I will need to think of ways to incorporate them into my classroom.

Having students use googledocs or wikis to complete a group project is one way to incorporate the use of technology in the classroom. Students will still accomplish the same tasks, but be able to do it an a technological environment. Students will have a chance to observe the writing process from a different point a view. It would also be beneficial to have students post their writings on-line and make corrections based on comments they receive. How exciting would it be for students to get comments on their papers from other students in another country?

Another way to incorporate the Myspace Generation skills into education is to have students complete assignments that are entirely technology based. Students would only use pencil and paper in the beginning process, if at all. Students could create podcasts or videos for final assignments. These works could then be shared on-line with other students or their friends. Do you think students would put more effort into a project if they knew it would be posted on-line for the world to see?

Me + Blogging

2008-01-23T10:13:00.001-08:00

My experience with blogging is quite limited. I originally created a blog for a class and never deleted it. After a month, I checked it again for another class and I was amazed to see people viewed my blog and even left me a message.

Blogging is something I could see myself doing more of the the future. I don't know how much I would use it for personal use, but I think it would be something great to use in the classroom. I need to think of interesting ways to incorporate blogging into a fourth or fifth grade classroom. Any ideas?

One Laptop per Child

2007-11-27T17:31:00.001-08:00

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

2007-11-21T18:38:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-06T15:27:00.001-08:00

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!!