Fostering Online Learning w/ Educational Websites & Apps

 Education goes beyond the classroom and with that comes online learning on the internet and apps and educational websites. without websites and apps today most of our teaching would be extremely difficult to accomplish because of how far technology has taken us.Websites are now not just used for reading or viewing but also for creating like the WebQuests.

        One of the ways of extending learning beyond the web are virtual trips or tours. A good example for this is how FSU offers online virtual campus tours like seen here. These virtual tours are the real deal and can be done sitting from wherever you are. This tool along with others like GoogleEarth can be used for projects or just experimenting with schools and world locations.  WebQuests are also tools to use as an educational website. I wasn't familiar at all with Webquests until this class and it gives students space to be creative while being constructive. It gives students a guide but not an exact outcome to be "spit out". I believe in the philosophy that school and education are not about students regurgitating exactly what they taught but about understanding and a deeper level of learning instead of just surface learning.
       
         I use to think that there was only one type of educational website and that meant all teaching websites were teaching resources. in reality there are six broken down into categories. The most familiar one are Lesson Plans which are just that, website with lesson plan ideas. A great teaching tip on using educational websites and how to evaluate their credibility is with its domain. A legit education site will have .org or .edu as oppose to .com. 

         Another great strategy to gather learning online information while teaching is bookmarking. The site delicious makes it easy and fast to save all those websites you probably will forget about six months from now. This is called Information management and another example could be articles shared on Facebook that you can save to your profile for a later read or to use for a particular reason.

        In conclusion, websites and apps now a days are a vital tool for children's learning in that it is a tool used on a daily basis for anything and everything.



RESOURCES:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

FSU Virtual Tour. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2015, from http://www.visit.fsu.edu/virtualtour/ 

Sionil, Jose. "Classroom Quotes." BrainyQuote. Xplore, 29 Oct. 2015. Web. 29 Oct. 2015.

Expressing Creativity with Multimedia Technologies

        The way teachers are teaching today has definitely changed throughout time. I can specifically see this when I look back since I was in Elementary School. We would spend only an hour at most on computers and I remember one of my favorite parts of the day in fifth grade was when the teacher read is a book to the class. Nowadays that's almost unheard of; books are read on computers or laptops or given as take home assignments.

        A big tool that has made teaching more creative is Microsoft Words PowerPoint software. I remember using the overhead projector where the teacher would use markers to write on, erase and repeat for the next class.I think that PowerPoint is more creative in that you can customize almost anything you want to in the presentation and with the overhead projector all you can do is change the maker color for customization. Although I do prefer PowerPoint it can get a little too complicated with all the endless options and is more travel friendly. An advantage of the overhead projector would be that it doesn't change so much and so drastic as the pages are always the same. Both have their pros and cons like explained here but today the most common presenter tool is the PowerPoint.

        Another creative outlet are videos, instead of just reading from a textbook and listening to a teacher - not that there's anything wrong with that of course. Most students are visual learners and videos from YouTube and films help put the words into a more sensable and understandable topic. I can say that from experience seeing multiple videos on history make more sense than reading a fifteen page chapter. This is also a reason why so many students don't succeed in subjects that aren't their strengths. In my biology class where the textbook with no detailed pictures was used in every class made it that much harder to comprehend even the most "simple" process like photosynthesis.

        Photo-taking and movie-making are also great tools for students to expand their creativity with. We get to use that a little on our Facebook, Instagram and Snap chat Social Media outlets but going more in depth in the technology, the angles, lighting and lenses, for example could be an open door for a hungry student.

         In conclusion, there is no right or wrong rubric for creativity and technology. Even the silliest thing like a substitute teacher getting the students attention with a hula hoop can






RESOURCES:
 Talks, T. (2012, June 5). TEDxLansing-Jeana-Dee Allen Rogers: Increasing Engagement through Creativity and Technology. Retrieved October 22, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CY0gMbxABrA 

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Boundless. (2015). Boundless Communications. The Advantages and Disadvantages of PowerPoint. Retrieved from https://www.boundless.com/communications/textbooks/boundless-communications-textbook/preparing-and-using-visual-aids-16/using-powerpoint-and-alternatives-successfully-85/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-powerpoint-323-5654/

 

Communicating and Collaborationg with Social Media

         In today's world almost everyone has at least one type of social media and media technologies and it has become one of the main, if not the main ways of communication between students. I will be explaining below the different communication types between teachers and students and different types of communications.

        The most common communication between students and teachers is via e-mail, texts, blogs and wikis. E-mails are the most common type from my experience until recently in this class where I learned about wikis.

        Going along those lines of electronic communications there are two categories. Synchronous communication which happens in real time, there is no delay; for example a phone call or face time call. Asynchronous communication involves a time delay where you can type and go back and edit and re-edit as much as possible, like an e-mail.

        As a parent myself I would like to not only see the papers my child comes home with but actually see what he did during the school day and teachers having a website or blog help tremendously in that aspect. A big part of being a great teacher is knowing the student and talking with their parents to let them know how their student is doing. I think a good idea would be for a teacher to have a blog where parents could go in and see what their children's week was like, what projects they did and what they're learning in school.


                                 Brainstorm made using bibbl.us


RESOURCES:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Promoting Success for all Students through Technology

       Being a teacher doesn't only mean showing up to work and teaching the same kids all the same thing and going home and calling it a day. Being a teacher means learning the way different students learn and going through that journey with them. Whether it be a disabled student who has speech issues and takes a while to verbally express themselves or a blind student who needs an iPad everyday - making sure these students succeed is also a huge part of being a successful teacher.

        I remember I was in a program called ESOL in Kindergarten. This was a time where me and two other Spanish students spent separately from the rest of the class to focus on the English language. From what I can remember it was fun and interactive and filled with mostly games. Programs like these that run all the way until High Schools are focused on children who have learned English until they enter into the school system or who recently are transferred from Spanish speaking countries. Other tools that are more on the spot are websites like Google Translate which is available in many many languages. It isn't always 100% accurate but it gives basic translations.

        There are also universal designs for technology according to the class textbook which are arranged in three different categories pertaining to the level of technology involved in each.  The first one is low-tech accomodations which means changes can be made easily, inexpensively and without using digital materials, like a chair and desk. Mid-tech accommodations involve shifts in organization and delivery of curriculum that may include using digital tools. An example of a mid-tech would be classroom recordings of the class that students can look over after class is done for review. High-tech accommodations introduce changes associated with the use of computers and other specialized information technologies in the classroom, like educational apps.

         Multicultural education in the 21st century is changing as students are coming from all over the world into our school systems and integrating more multicultural tools, stories and teaching plans helps them be more engaged and involved. Multicultural education means how teachers go about "affirming" the expansive diversity of students interests, needs and talents present in every school classroom as said in the textbook. Instead of using only American history for projects, reading material and videos in the classroom students from elsewhere might find it difficult to pay attention or relate and incorporating different history points or historical people might make it more interesting and familiar for the entire class.

        In conclusion, in today's classroom it is almost impossible to not use technology in some way or another. Adjusting and accommodating our special needs students should be an opportunity for a teacher to help a student grow. Incorporating technology doesn't always need to be only for the ones that are highly trained as we see in the universal designs of technology levels.

RESOURCES:

Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Exploring Problem Solving w/ Software, Apps and Games

         A big thing about remembering my technology experience growing up was mostly software - computer animated games and virtual games. Now a days, I think software is the most basic or fundamental tool in school. Now, apps are really common and I can't believe that they start as early as preschool. Another tool is games aka virtual games, The Oregon Trail is an oldie but a goodie that I can remember being one of my favorites more than ten years ago. Below I will talk about these three things and other components that go along with them.

        These digital problem solving tools would be impossible with hardware aka the PC, mouse, keyboard and screen we use. Obviously without these using any type of program would be impossible. Growing up computers - the big ones with the box sized screens were what i used, now it can be done from tablets. Software also goes hand in hand with hardware. Without the icons on the screens, there would be nothing to click to access these tools.

         Computer games as a learning resource are a big tool in exploring problem solving. Computer games growing up were pretty much all we used after middle school. In elementary we still had "centers" which we rotated every so often and I prefer those a little more than staring at a screen while learning. Computer games are sometimes frowned upon because all the student does is stay in one position, look at the screen which can affect their neck and they can spend hours on it. I am kind of in the middle of this personally.

        Along those same lines of computer games are digital games, aka "serious games" as described in the textbook. A simulation game I remember in High School was the one that was a requirement to use in Driver's Ed class. I was a screen where all you saw was a road and along the way it rained, it snowed, hailed and had pedestrians crossing the street. From my personal experience, this digital game was helpful but not a huge point of growth in me actually getting behind the wheel and actually driving. Another type of digital game are virtual games. I don't really remember having used these during my K-12 but from what I see know, they can be less educational and more of games than tools.

        In conclusion, there are many software, apps and games for problem solving; there is no one way to get to your goal, I think, but a little bit of everything are literally keys to students success.


RESOURCES:
 Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.