Journal Post #9

Creating and sharing information with multimedia technologies.

Focus question: What is multimedia technology and how can teachers use it to effectively create and share visual information dynamically in their teaching?

     From reading the text, I've learned that "Multimedia" means "the presentation of material using both words and pictures." This also goes to include, videos, voice, sounds and animation. Also in the book they assume the student's learning will enhance by use several different sources to teach, I happen to agree with this. As we advance into our "Digital world" our students are not going to enjoy caring around large text books with tons of print, they're going to prefer watching a video, or a brief power point. By forcing our students to read lots of text is just going to confuse them if they can't grasp the concepts to begin with; whereas if there's a video with a demonstration, or some other picture or illustration, the student's will actually comprehend the information.

After watching this video I thought about what it would have been like to only have a text book describe this to me. I don't think I would have understood this concept at all if it weren't for a video. On top of that, I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my own home. 

Tech Tool: Digital Projectors.

     Digital projectors are a wonderful invention. Instead of rolling in the giant television hooking that up every time, along with that, not everyone could see, so we would have to move our seats, and get situated, all that takes too long. To have a projector it allows our students to sit where ever they're assigned, and still see the board with ease. I enjoy the digital projectors, especially the newer ones, that don't require the over head lamp that blinds us. I prefer today's smart boards. We can show any kind of document on there, edit it, take extra notes on the board and save it to the file. I've actually has a math teacher who would write all his problems on the board, print them out and give them to us as study notes.

Photo credit to Rebecca Morrison from Flickr

Summary:

     To conclude, I enjoy and encourage using multimedia technology in the class room. With each passing day there seems to be something new coming out in our digital world. With us being so busy, and too many places to commute, having the internet and being able to stay connected by the web, to watch videos, tutorials, gather information, all while saving time, money and different expenses. If our kids today are more capable with using technology I think we should embrace it; who really want's to lug around a ton of books when we can down load them all? Who want's to spend countless hours in the library flipping through pages, or having to find a baby sitter because you have to meet at a specific location. By using multimedia we can use different web casts, and still chat face to face.


     
Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5    
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Journal Post #8

Chapter 8 communicating and networking with websites, blogs, wikis, and more.

Focus Question: How can teachers use communications technologies as teaching and learning tools.

     With the world toady being so far advanced in just a short while, we now have access to almost everything at our fingertips, why not embrace it? As an everyday person might use e-mail to relay information, blogs, online discussions or identify a website, they're still using and portraying information. With the use of the web and the internet we can reach out to so many more resources, with the internet we as educators are not limited. Also, most of our students already used these tools for recreational use, so if teachers could mandate a separate account for educational purposes, the students will already know how to navigate their way about the pages, and will be connected to not only just their friends, but their classmates and the teacher as well, even after school hours. As we have just explored in our class, in Google documents we can collaboratively work on an assignment at once without clustering around at a desk, or being loud from verbal discussion. Or we could implement the use of Google Blogger to use as a journal, and instead of passing around a notebook we as a class could access any page all at once.

Tech Tool: Teacher website and blog-building resources.

     I am going to focus on the second approach. Staying connected is a be deal in today's society, not only with personal friends, but in the classroom with your peers as well. At the same time we as educators need to be cautious of how we use the internet, and be cautious of what information may be out there. By using the second approach (Commercially Available Template) this allows us to create many different functions that also happen to be password protected. With this approach we can invite our students to create their own blogs, and instead of using the internet in a toxic way, by the teacher monitoring what is talked about in the posts, maybe the students will steer away from a negative influence and learn to be proactive with the opportunities the internet presents.

Summary:

     All in all I feel as though the internet is a very powerful tool, that can be used to our advantage. We as educators just need to have an open mind, be more educated and explore the different tools we can use. As teachers we should be looking for more ways to communicate with our students, and technology is a wonderful gateway to a better communication path. Instead of our students posting their discussions on other recreational sites such as "Facebook" and the "Twitter" we can open a new door to some proactive sites, such as Google Blogger. It's almost like having an online journal, where if you have a question you can always reach someone or some resource.

Resources:

Youtube video credit is given to: ahstechteacher

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011).Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5    

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Journal post #7

Chapter 7: Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Software and Web Tools.

Focus Question: How can teachers use computer games and simulations as learning resources?
   
     As the book states, when most teachers, parents and students hear the idea of using games to learn, they automatically think video games; and actually that's exactly right. Instead of thinking negatively about video games we need to stop being blindsided by the inaccurate acquisition of them all being violent, being rated for a mature audience and the main cause for our youths deterioration. Of course these are always going to be out and available, but by being an effective teacher, we can implement games that are designed to be fun, and even teach a full lesson. By playing games to learn the students are still applying all their academic skills. When playing a game are there not directions they must read and follow, maybe a little math involved, but most of all the literacy and vocabulary that's hidden within the content of the application. Our students are improving their hand-eye coordination, reading and responding. I agree with our book when it says, "Gaming creates a "virtual worlds for learning."      

Tech Tool: A math learning game- Zoombinis Logical Journey.

      With today's world quickly advancing, always coming out with technologies, upgraded versions and more appealing ideals to students then just being a scholar, we as teachers need to be more creative, and especially working with little elementary school kids we need to be able to capture their attention despite the surrounding outside environment. I have discovered the Zoombinis Logical Journey is not only fun and creative, but there are many different levels, and there's not a one chance time to get the answer right, this game allows the students to learn from their mistakes, implementing real word strategies. This is also a critical thinking game, to sharpen those skills as well.

                                                   Video credit to ratchet5 from youtube


Summary:

     To conclude, I have fallen victim to believing the myths of how games are bad for our youth and they only rot their minds, but now I know there is more to gaming then meets the eye. After reading this chapter, and exploring this Tech Tool I have gained further insight to different applications that can be even more entreating to our students and actually beneficial. 

Resources:

http://www.gamefaqs.com/pc/563155-zoombinis-logical-journey 

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2011). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc. ISBN:10 0-13-159611-X, ISBN:13 978-0-13-159611-5    
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