Distance Education

Pros

• Students who miss class can still get all the information as if they were sitting at their desk
• Parents can check in on what their students is doing in the class. This can be especially useful in high school when students stop communicating with their parents
• Students can link with other schools around the country, a new form of pen pal
• This can be a great supplement to parents who choose to home school their children
• Another great way to get students to collaborate with their classmates and a new spin on group work

Cons

• Not all students have computers and Internet access at home
• Some parents may not be comfortable with their child’s image on the Internet
• Who pays for this type of technology and will it only be available in districts that have more privileged families?
• May eventually take away from the tradition classroom feel we are all familiar with
• May require training for teachers how will teach in a virtual school and this can be costly to the school district

As you can see there are good and bad elements of creating a virtual school system. It just depends on what the ultimate goals are. For students in the younger years they would definitely need a parent that could help them to use the computer and also manage the mouse. Very young children are still refining their fine motor skills and the mouse may be difficult for them to maneuver. Another element that is imperative to the success of a virtual school would be the computer access that students have at home. If the district can not afford to set children up and they do not already have Internet capabilities then it would be nearly impossible to have a successful program. As far as the teachers go they need basic knowledge of a computer in order to successfully operate an online classroom. There may also be a requirement of extra training for the teachers and this would take time and money. The biggest thing is the commitment to teaching in a non traditional way and striving to make it work for the students. Getting over the fact that you will not have a group of students in your physical presence everyday may seem odd but this could mean being available to the class at other times in order to accommodate their schedules. A virtual school may take a while to adjust to but if the families and the teachers are committed to making it work then there is a large chance of success for all those involved.

Emerging Technologies

As we know technology is everywhere and it is changing nearly every second. Most people can not manage to keep up with it while others try hard to stay afloat. Even in the realm of education technology is taking over. As a prospective teacher I must be aware of what some of the new technological advances are and how they can affect my class. Technology can be a scary thing to introduce into the class because it may require some expertise and training that may not be accessible. On the other hand technology can also be a blessing because it can allow for a lot more possibilities in the classroom for either the teacher or the students.

For instance, one new advance is the creation of Hand Held computers. These new devices were originally developed for the working force on the go. This way companies can be in touch with their employers not matter where anyone is. According to wikipedia.org these devices have input and output capabilities to suit all needs. For a classroom teacher this can mean checking up on parent email from anywhere or updating class websites on the go as well. This addition can be very beneficial but be careful that it does not get rid of the face to face contact that I necessary to establish relationships with families. As far as the students are concerned PDA’s (personal digital assistant) can also keep them connected and have loads of information available to them at any moment.

Another device that is taking the school system by storm is EBooks. These devices are electronic copies of books and other print material. Also looking at what wikipedia has to say about this device they say that it has a lot of different uses making this a very valuable device to have. For a teacher it can allow for a different type of reading and reading on the go. If there is research a teacher needs to do and they can find information on the web and take those references with them they can stay on top of their reading. However I feel that this device has a lot more positive qualities that the students can benefit from. This device has the ability to enlarge the print of the text and even change the text style to make the reading of the material a lot easier. This can be very useful if you have an individual with vision issues and this way they can better see the text that the class is working with and they can keep up with the class and not fall behind.

One really cool thing about the EBooks and the hand held computers is that they are used together to create a functioning device. EBooks require a hand held device in order to have something to display the text on. So in order to use these devices effectively you need them both. It can be expensive at first to get these technologies up and running but they are worth it in the end. These devices allow teachers and students endless possibilities of uses and constant access to text. Also you can also fundraise in the community in order to raise the money need for these devices. Or you can apply for grants for your school or look to companies who may be willing to give schools a discount. It would be great to give the ability to read at any point to children who would usually have trouble doing this. Children with special needs long to be just like everyone else and this would put them that much closer to the “normal” level.

Another cutting edge technology that can be very useful in an education setting is a voice command device. This is an electronic device that is commended by human voice. This allows for hands free operation of the device. For a busy teacher this means being able to use the device and manage another task with your hands so that things can get accomplished simultaneously. Not only can a voice commanded device make multitasking easier it can also allow for use with students who have limited to no motor control. Many different devices can have voice commanded capability because you can put the software on that device and it easily makes it voice commanded. For instance you can put the software on a computer and a child you does not have that muscle control to use a mouse can now tell the computer what to do or what the answer to the question is. This way the child gets the practice in the area they need even though they are not able to physically write it out or control the mouse. Also some software is not voice sensitive so they can be used with different people and even different accents and dialects making them recyclable.

As you can see technology has many positive qualities that can be used to enhance the educational experience of students. Even though technology may be a scary thing at first, I know this fro first hand experience, once you practice using technology it becomes like second nature. The best thing about these types of technologies is the fact that they provide opportunities for students with special needs to be accommodated in a classroom setting. It can sometimes be a struggle to find ways to tailor instruction in a way that meets the needs of those with special needs and the rest of the class as well. These devices can hopefully make that struggle just a little bit easier. Having another option can sometimes save the day because lets face it eventually you will run out of creative ways to reach every child and you need something to help with the creative block. I think that if you have the ability to take a chance with a technical device do it and see how it can enhance the experiences of the students.

Kiosk Reflection

After completing the kiosk project and being able to view the ones that others have put together I have found a new appreciation for the task. It was cool to see the other ideas that were put into place. I liked the really cool pictures that were added as backgrounds to the kiosks because they really enhanced the look and feel of the slides. Also the way that people coordinated their transition buttons with the themes for their kiosks was fun as well. The sounds and videos that were used were also helped to supplement the information that was provided, really pulling the project together. Considering that this project would be used with children it is a good idea to make everything fun and appealing, great job everyone.
As far as I am concerned in completing this project, it was not as bad as I thought it was going to be. At first it felt as though it was going to be a lot of work to meet all of the requirements. However, once I actually got started it was not that bad. I did have a little trouble getting a table that I found on the internet to go into the power point slides but that was fixed with little effort by the instructor. Also the only other difficulties that I had were just getting everything to flow and have the transition buttons go to the correct slides. Given the fact that I have a fear of computers and tasks that seem high tech I believe that this task turned out to be not a huge headache after all.
My group did our kiosk on Health and I feel that it is very appropriate for a career working with children. As far as other kiosks go it would be great to make other ones like it just on different topics. Kiosks can be a great alternative way to learn information on a specific topic. I would suggest that children complete them for a homework assignment but you can never be sure as to who has at home computer access and who does not. It would be a great supplemental activity to use when students complete their regular in class work. It would be a way to engage these children and keep them from bothering other children who are still working. I feel that the kiosk assignment has a lot of potential in a classroom and it is up to the teacher as to how creative they want to get with it.

Engaging Concept Mapping Activities

There is a software program avaliable to the public that allows for the creation of concept maps or flow charts and it is called Inspiration. This program can help students and teachers to organize their ideas and information so that they are clear to everyone else around them. Also a concept map can be a great way to make the facts visually appealing to thte audience. Students will enjoy being able to produce a concept map on the computer and add interesting pictures to supplement the ideas presented.



Another great way that this program can be used is by having it serve as an assessment tool for a certain unit. If you are doing a unit on the scientific process you may ask your students to create a concept map based on the scientific process to check for understanding of the process. Once the students are familiar with the way in which Inspiration works they can hopefully be comfortable enough to show you their understanding of the concept and not of the program itself. One cool way to use this program with the entire class is to work together as a class to create a concept map on the board or a large piece of paper. Then the teacher can go back and put it on the computer so that the entire class can have a copy of their creation or you can produce a larger class size version to display in the room. Another option is to have the students offer suggestions as to other ways to use this program. This is a great way to get the students involved in their own learning.

Blogs in Education

You would think that a search engine is a search engine no matter what company owns it. However, when I searched for the words "Educational Blogs" a few different items came up. When I used Google I got sites that organized lists of different blogs on education and sites that listed other blogs that educators use. When I used Yahoo I got one of the same exact sites that Google gave me and one that was a book review written by a teacher on some book on technology. When I went to ask.com it came up with a site that offered free web blogs for educators and also there was another site that had blogs written by teachers.

Now the search engines may produce different websites to visit but what those website have to offer is really pretty interesting. One blog type website is actually used as a school's website and there is even a place for all the teachers to have a space for online discussions and an in depth look at that class. Also the principal has a place to post notes and comments about things that are going on in the classroom. Also, there is a blog site that offers free blogs for students so they can discuss many topics online with other students. Another cool feature that blogs have been used with are as informational websites that provide help with blogs in the classroom. These helpful hints can really help educators to learn all about blogs and how to optimize use in the classroom.

Another fascinating technical feature is the RSS reader and reader aggregators which provide news updates right into the website. It would be helpful to have news updates on a class website so that students can stay up on their news breaks all around the world. Having a news reader which gives the students an update on the news they can then write a blog about their opinions of the world and current events. Some bad things about having a RSS reader is that you need to have good Internet hook ups and computer access, which can be a problem for some schools. Also a news update may not be appropriate for all age groups because it might be to advanced for them. On the other hand RSS readers can help students to form political opinions and compassion for people around the world. Also blogs allow students to have discussions that are less likely to get out of hand, allowing children to express themselves freely.

WebQuest

Web Quest is a great resource to use to get students to interact in new and exciting ways outside of the classroom. A web quest gives students the opportunity to explore the Internet. After an in class discussion with some of my colleagues on the benefits of a web quest I have learned a great deal of information that I would like to share with you. A web quest can help to facilitate group work for classes that may not be filled with time for group work. Also working together in groups is not done as much as it should be in high school classrooms. Also a web quest can be a problem in areas where computer accessibility at home is a concern for most children. In that particular case you may have to add computer time into the daily schedule or arrange a day or two of meeting in the schools computer lab.

Even though you may run into a few bumps along the way a web quest can help guide the learning of the children. Also if a teacher decides to not create a web quest they can use previously created web quests as resources in the class or to help supplement lesson plans. I also discovered in my discussion with colleagues that there is a lot more information out there that I did not uncover. If I had done more exploring of the web quest website I would have found very specific assignments rather than the general ones that I found. A web quest can be very beneficial to a number of lessons. It would not hurt to explore web quests that are already in function or to just create your own for the purpose of benefiting your students.

Multiple Intelligences and technology

Oh to be intelligent in other ways. This is what Gardner had in mind when he introduced his multiple intelligences theory. This theory makes so much sense when you consider the numerous talents that children posses today. Another element that is working in favor of the multiple intelligences theory is technology. When you have children that thrive with lessons that are focused on nature and are naturalistic in nature it might be difficult to accommodate them in the classroom environment. In that case you can assign work over the Internet or through power point and then the students can tap into the nature they need. They can also write essays on environmental issues with research they have found on the Internet. Having that outlet for children is so beneficial because they are focusing their efforts on something that really interests them and they enjoy it as well. What can be better for a child than learning new information while having fun as well. The Internet and other forms of technology, like music and sometimes even cell phones, can help children to broaden their horizons and expand their knowledge base.