Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Education Up Close
The use of technology in classrooms is important. Using PowerPoint, doing online activities, and browsing the internet grabs the students’ attention and makes them more excited about learning. Choosing software and deciding how to use it in the classroom is challenging for teachers. It requires a lot of time and planning in deciding what will be appropriate and useful in your classroom. There are several steps that are involved with evaluating software and hardware tools for instructional purposes. The first step in evaluating tools for the classroom is to make sure the software and hardware meets the system of requirements, is appropriate for the students’ age group, time requirements, and costs. In order to see if the programs will work for the educator, there are websites, such as the Teaching Today site, that show tables on how to decode the system of requirements for the software. Educators can learn about their computer system by going to windows, then clicking on system, and then clicking on system properties. The next step is to see if it is appropriate for the students. In order to see if it will work for the educator’s students, he or she will need to see the student age range that is given in the software maker. Once educators find the software that is appropriate for their students, he or she will need to figure out how much time each student has to work on the computer. The next task is to make sure the program is affordable.
Once the educator has completed those tasks, he or she will need to go into further evaluation in order to make sure the software suits the teacher and the students. First, the educator will need to make sure that the software states the concepts and skills adequately, meets state regulations, and to see if the tools are available online and for printing. The next thing teachers will need to do is evaluate the instructional design. The educator will need to see how difficult the instructions are, check if there are any learning aids, see how the material is given to the students, and determine if the students would enjoy the program. The last task is to evaluate multimedia considerations. The educator needs to be familiar with the program in case the students have questions, have documentation and technical support on the program, and make sure that the software won’t cause any technical problems, will be useful for class assignments, blogs, and presentations. Teachers who follow these guidelines will be able to use software tools successively in the classroom.
http://www.glencoe.com/sec/teachingtoday/educationupclose.phtml/30
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Legal and Ethical Issues of Technology
There are certain limitations for all types of media. For example when using text you can use ten percent of copyrighted work. Other forms are motion media, illustrations, music, and internet. When using a video or DVD the teacher cannot make copies to give to other teachers because it goes against the copyright laws. When using certain video clips or pictures the teacher or student cannot alter them in any way. Teachers and students must be very careful whenever using outside sources to help with any work they are doing.
Daniel Ramnath Module 3
It has to be clearly stated to students that they are responsible for how they use their time on a computer. The internet is a vast plain of information for students, some of which is not credible. Wikipedia is used as an example of what not to use for a resource. Citing of sources is also an issue that must be enforced, due to copyright laws. Teaching students this at a young age helps prepare them for research papers that they will be responsible for in middle, high, and especially college level courses. Teachers are also role models and should follow all of these methods and regulations to a tee so that students can learn from their behavior. In the occasion that something inappropriate does pop up on a student’s screen they should be taught the right procedure for handling such a situation. This would be taught by the teacher and always includes the step to inform the teacher immediately. In conclusion, these are a few of the guidelines for introducing technology into a classroom in an ethical legal way.
Pros & Cons Technology in Classroom
In today’s society, it is important to know how to use technology in any type of field of work. Learning about technology at an early age will help prepare students for a successful future. In order to prepare younger students, it is up to the teachers to get them familiar with technology. The use of technology in classrooms will help students participate in activities more and learn more effectively. The use of technology will also help teachers learn about their students’ motor skills, observe how well the students are learning the material, see if their teaching methods are working for their students, keep student records, create lesson plans, and communicate with the students’ parents.
Although there are many benefits to using technology in classrooms, there are also some ethical issues that prevent many schools from using technology. Some of the issues are the costs of having computers, training the teachers and staff on how to use the computers, and creating the lesson plans that involve technology. Using technology is expensive. If classrooms were to use laptops for each student, the laptops would have to be replaced every two to three years (Hermitt, 4). Another issue with technology is that some teachers may not want to cooperate and get the training on how to use the computers. Also, some teachers may want to stick to the text books and create their own hands-on activities that do not involve the use of technology. Teachers may find it difficult to come up with a creative lesson plan that involves the students using the computers. In order for technology to be taught and used correctly, teachers need to be comfortable enough in learning and knowing how to use it in the classroom. While technology can help improve a student’s learning skills, it may be overwhelming for educators. However, teachers who are willing to use technology in their lesson plans will have more students who are excited to learn and are willing to do better in school and their studies.
Friday, September 17, 2010
Technology: A Catalyst in the classroom
Educational needs continue to move from teaching and learning isolated skills and information within each content area, to teaching skills that enable students to solve complex problems across many areas. Many people believe that with the growth of technology and the placement of more computers in school, student become more socially separated from one and other. Many argue this and state that computers pave the way for the future and students should be well versed in such technologies.
https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B8hLoGN-XIDDNWRlNDU4MmQtMzlhNC00NzhkLWJmM2MtODYzNjk0OTViNjgy&hl=en&authkey=CInP2MoM
Keeping up with the times
Ethically speaking, technology can create an educational divide between the “Haves” and the “Have Nots.” With new mathematical and science information becoming available daily on the internet, those with access to computers and broadband (high speed internet) are definitely at an advantage. Those with out, are left behind even further. This article brought to my attention the for technology to be apart of educational reform in every classroom, rather than the ones who can afford it because of fundraising.