After reading an article on teaching with technology, I think it is important for pre-service teachers to gain as much knowledge about using technology, incorporating into their content area efficiently, and teaching responsible use as possible. The article discussed many facets of technology use concerning the educational environment. Technology is not just to be used in lessons, but can also increase educators skills, planning and collaboration, and build effective communities. For educators already in the field, the integration of technology into their tried and true classrooms may prove to be a challenge, this is where the online education community comes in handy. Many opportunities to learn about effective tech integration are available online, spanning the entire globe. Which brings me to global classrooms. Another opportunity not fully explored. While real time exchanges may prove difficult to schedule due to time differences, collaborative efforts in learning as well as responsive projects are entirely possible.
The article was definitely pro-technology and pushes rather toughly for proper education of pre-service and in-service teachers in security and privacy protocols of technology use in schools. It also addresses the importance of effective programs and applications available to educators.
On Wednesday I experienced 6 presentations on different web 2.0 tools that could be used in the classroom. Of those six I will talk about three; Survey Monkey, PortfolioGen, and MakeBeliefComix. The latter two I had never heard of before. Survey Monkey is a great tool for all kinds of purposes. In the classroom I could see it being used in a variety of ways; such as taking attendance, collaborative work scheduling, quick quizzes, etc. It was a rather limited tool though and very specific. The Next tool was PortfolioGen, this is an online portfolio generator. It has lots of built in tools and options for managing a class portfolio or multiple classes. I will not write it off just yet, I would like to investigate further the applications abilities. What I walked away with from the presentation is that a teacher could present lessons, manage a portfolio collection (students work) etc. This would be useful in an art class where students are expected to take responsibility for their documentation.
The next tool was MakeBeliefComix, super interesting tool. Limited in graphic creativity and length of strip but it is not a drawing program, just an ideation tool. Although the use may be limited it would still be a fun tool to use now and again to further explore ideas.
Overall I learned about 6 tools that I could further explore or look for similar tools when and if I would need them.
The article was definitely pro-technology and pushes rather toughly for proper education of pre-service and in-service teachers in security and privacy protocols of technology use in schools. It also addresses the importance of effective programs and applications available to educators.
On Wednesday I experienced 6 presentations on different web 2.0 tools that could be used in the classroom. Of those six I will talk about three; Survey Monkey, PortfolioGen, and MakeBeliefComix. The latter two I had never heard of before. Survey Monkey is a great tool for all kinds of purposes. In the classroom I could see it being used in a variety of ways; such as taking attendance, collaborative work scheduling, quick quizzes, etc. It was a rather limited tool though and very specific. The Next tool was PortfolioGen, this is an online portfolio generator. It has lots of built in tools and options for managing a class portfolio or multiple classes. I will not write it off just yet, I would like to investigate further the applications abilities. What I walked away with from the presentation is that a teacher could present lessons, manage a portfolio collection (students work) etc. This would be useful in an art class where students are expected to take responsibility for their documentation.
The next tool was MakeBeliefComix, super interesting tool. Limited in graphic creativity and length of strip but it is not a drawing program, just an ideation tool. Although the use may be limited it would still be a fun tool to use now and again to further explore ideas.
Overall I learned about 6 tools that I could further explore or look for similar tools when and if I would need them.
RSS Feed
