I found this video about online learning for elementary students online. It talks about the benefits and advantages for students who take online classes. I thought it was interesting to see how these kids also get to participate in social classroom settings so they get to socialize with their peers. I think it is interesting how students from Canada could be in the same online class as someone in the USA. This video also kind of scared me because I am not totally sure how I feel about elementary students learning online, it just seems strange and foreign to me. I think I would like to know the statistics and see whether kids who take online courses are benefiting more than kids in public or catholic school systems. I would also like to see some statistics on how often these kids who are taking online classes get to be in social situations with their peers.
Okay so in one of my earlier blogs I talked about having a virtual classroom online like the Sims. I have found a program called Second Life and this video I found on youtube talks about how you can incorporate education with second life. It is very interesting, the video is a little bit slow ,but the dialogue is fantastic. So if you have ever thought of teaching a virtual class I think you should check this out. By the time we a re teachers there may be classes like this, there might already be I am not sure. When I become a teacher I wouldn’t mind trying to teach a second life class it sounds so interesting. Also if you want to check out the second life virtual world for yourself you can sign up for a free account on http://secondlife.com/
Okay so I was searching around on the web for a really cool interactive art website, and I can across this nga site. This site is designed for kids and it has many different types of interactive art projects you can do online from painting a portrait, experimenting with shape, light and shadow, positive and negative space. It has it all, I think this website could really compliment an art lesson. All of the different types of art you can do are the links at the top of the page. If you have difficulty using one of the programs you can click on the question mark and it will help. You may need to download macromedia shock wave player for this, but it is worth it. Also the site takes a minute or so to load, so be patient! I would love to use this website in the future in my classes. I think kids would learn a lot and have fun experimenting with the different art forms, I know I had fun!
Last year when I took EPS 100 and went to St. Angela school for my fieldwork I became acquainted with smart boards. I felt really silly because I had no idea what a smart board was, and I had no idea what they were or how they were used in a classroom setting. So I have been doing a little bit of research and I found a good little blurb on wikipedia about smart boards and what they are capable of doing “It is a large, touch-controlled screen that works with a projector and a computer. The projector throws the computer’s desktop image onto the interactive whiteboard, which acts as both a monitor and an input device. Users can write on the interactive whiteboard in digital ink or use a finger to control computer applications by pointing, clicking and dragging, just as with a desktop mouse. Buttons launch a popup keyboard and a right-mouse-click menu for more input options. The SMART Board interactive whiteboard is usually mounted on a wall or floor stand. It can be used in face-to-face or virtual settings. SMART introduced the first interactive whiteboard in 1991. SMART Board interactive whiteboards are used in education, business and government as an interactive presentation, communication and distance-collaboration tool”(wikipedia). Smart boards sound like they could be very useful tools in the classroom, and I hope to learn how to use one before I start teaching. Today some classrooms are already equipped with smart boards, but the problem is that many teachers don’t know how to use them properly. So I found a link to a free online smart board tutorial and help site. I think this could help teachers learn how to use the smart board efficiently. Also it could help us teachers in training if we have access to this technology.
In regards to our first online class I thought it went pretty well. There were a few minor glitches for some ,but most were resolved. Any way I thought learning in this online environment was very interesting. You can be sitting on your couch taking a class with 30 or more people that are all in a different location and I think that is pretty cool. The only thing I am worried about is the power going out. Hope fully that doesn’t happen ,but I guess if it does there is always the recording. I think a lot of the websites we a re using will be very useful in my teaching career so I hope to make the best use of my time by learning the basics of these applications so I can use them later on in my proffessional career.
This is a really neat video I found on you tube. It is about arts education for the blind. It really opened my mind as to what blind people can do when it comes to enjoying and making art. In some places people who are blind are allowed to touch and feel sculptures so they can visualize a picture of it in their mind. Also pictures can be made into brail like images so they can feel the outline. Any way I thought this was really interesting, so check it out!
So last year when I took EPS 100 there was a man who came in and talked about technology in classrooms and how it will probably change and develop overtime. One of the interesting key concepts he talked about was how in the future there may be virtual reality classrooms. I don’t know if anyone has played the Sims, but it is similar to this. You would create a virtual version of your self then go to class and sit at a desk. So it would be sort of like playing the sims computer game except you are actually learning. In this virtual education world there would be a lot of opportunities for learning new things because of all the information available on the internet. There are some games right now that people play that are like a virtual reality. Some people get very addicted to these and it is like they are leading a second life. It is quite bizarre. Any way while I do believe technology is a powerful tool and should be incorporated in to classrooms. I also believe there should be a balance of old school versus new school. Like having a computer course then one in which you are in a class communicating with actual people and peers. This would allow students to gain the social skills necessary for growing up as well as the technological skills you will need later in the work force such as typing, etc.
I don’t know about anyone else out their in cyber space ,but I know that I have become completely addicted to the wonderful world of face book. I believe I began using face book last July and ever since I have become hooked. It is a great tool for communicating with friends that live in different parts of Canada or the world. Perhaps it also makes me feel good because it says I have 60 friends, which of course in all factuality I don’t. I know most of these people with the exception of one ,but I would definitely not consider all of them to be my close friends. I can’t imagine having 60 close friends! That would be kind of fun though. Any way I don’t know if I am the only one that does this ,but I get an email that someone has wrote on my wall ,but I won’t read it in my email I have to log into face book and go to my wall to look at it. I don’t know why, perhaps I am crazy. Any how in regards to face book and education I think it is useful in some ways. I have a couple of my high school teachers on face book and if I every need a quick reference I can just write on their wall and not worry about googling my high school. However I find that more than anything face book is a social network and just used to talk to friends, aquaintances, etc and to look at pictures of what others are doing. I don’t know why face book is so addictive before I was on the high five network ,but it bored me to death perhaps face book is more interesting because I can become a vampire and randomly “bite” my friends. I also find that face book can also be hinder some to my learning, for example it distracts me from doing my homework. I am sure when I become a teacher there will be many more sites like face book surfacing on the web and I think it may be smart for teachers to keep a close eye on what their students are doing during class time especially with all the new technology popping up like black berries, cellphones with internet, etc.
I am very excited about taking this class. I hope to learn some tools that I will find useful to use in my classroom. I hope this class makes me comfortable with new forms of technology and expands my knowledge when it comes to technology in the classroom. I hope my instructor is helpful and available when I have a problem or question. I hope to accomplish learning new technological applications I can use in my classroom and how to apply them. The instructor should just know that I am comfortable with technology and ready to learn more!
I believe there are many benefits of using technology in the classroom. Children and teenagers today have grown up with technology and it is usually a part of their everyday lives. There are many different ways a teacher can incorporate technology into the classroom such as watching videos off you tube, using smart boards, blogging, talking with other classrooms around the world, typing, etc. The limitations I see to using technology in the classroom is that you can not always depend on technology to work. It can break down or the power can go out etc. Also for younger grades like K to 5 I think it is more important for them to practice their writing skills and math skills on paper before they learn how to type and use calculators so they get the basic skills. I think technology should be used in classrooms to allow classrooms from around the world to communicate with one another. This will help introduce the children and teenagers with different cultures and ideologies and open their minds. I think it is important to use technology ,but I don’t think it would be a good idea to have all classes from k to 12 on the computer all the time because then these kids would not gain social skills and I think they would miss out on a lot of things. For example if they put gym as a class you could take online I don’t think kids would learn the necessary social skills that they would learn in a gym environment with their peers such as cooperation, sharing etc. I think new technology like you tube is good for a students learning because there are a lot of educational videos like you can learn how to play a harmonica. I also think youtube and facebook and other such programs can be damaging to a students learning because there is a lot of online bullying. Also not all of the videos on you tube are factual and they could confuse a student.
