Podcasts in the Classroom

http://www.det.wa.edu.au/education/cmis/eval/curriculum/ict/podcasts/

        A podcast is an audio or video file archived on the Internet in such a way that it can be automatically accessed by a personal computer, downloaded and transferred to a portable MP3 player. The link above leads you to a website that is all about using podcasts in the classroom.

     By going to this link, it provides many websites that will teach you how to create podcasts and what you can use the podcasts for in the classroom. Podcasts can have a huge educational value in the classroom. Podcasts allow students to share learning experiences and teachers can use them to provide information to students to use to review at their own time. This flexibility is a big educational advantage.
    There are also a number of organizations, such as ABC, that are creating a pluthera of podcasts for students to use.
    Overall, this is a ver informational website that can allow you to learn how to use something new in your classroom to keep students motivated.



*picture used with permission by http://www.kcrg.com/





 

The History of Educational Technology

     The video below is a really interesting video about how technology in the classroom evolved. Technology was first available in classrooms in the early 1900s. The technology used was slate and chalk. You might think that isn't a type of technology, but back in that time period it was. In 1917, educational shows on the radio started being broad casted. Soon after, educational videos were being made. Videos were even used to discuss important teen issues like family, friends, and relationships. In 1958, the first teaching machines were used. In the early 1970s, educational tv programming became popular starting with the creation of Sesame Street. Then, in the late 1970s the first computers in classrooms were introduced. Technology has since been still evolving to better and better things.

    Overall, it its is really interesting to look at the evolvement of technology in the classroom. It is amazing to see that just in 100 years that such a drastic change could occur. Even the last 30 years have changed rapidly.  Knowing these things helps us continually imrpove the use of technology to help students even more.

ttp://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/09/19/magazine/classroom-technology.html also includes a great timeline showing the evolution of technology in the classroom with great pictures.











Video used with permission by the morgonify channel on youtube.

Pictures used with permission by www.esty.com and www.simpleparcel.com

How to Help the Use of Technology in the Classroom

Most people today are welcoming the use of technology in the classroom. However, it can be hard to have the use of technology available. There are many factors that that effect whether technology is used or not or even how it is used.

One way to help this is to place computers where they can be easily accessed. If your school uses a computer lab, having a good scheduling process can't help provide maximum use of the computers. Another way is to have laptops on a mobile computer lab. This way they can be moved from classroom to classroom when needed. This will make it easier to not have to keep moving the students around.

It is also very important to have good technical support. Without technical support, this will greatly effect the ability to have good use of technology. The more readily available technical support staff is, the easier it will be to keep system failures or any other problems.

These are only a few ways to help the incorporation of technology into the classroom. You can read more about his issue by going to the following website

http://www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/methods/technlgy/te200.htm




Pictures used with permission from www.tgdonline.com/ and  http://muirms.com/

Mobile Devices in the Classroom

    

        With all of the technology in todays world, it is getting harder to keep the attention of students with typical classroom management. By using the new mobile devices and gadgets, there are ways you can keep the students actively involved and still learning at a high level. Things like ipods, ipads, netbooks, cell phones, and laptops can be used in many different ways. A student may take notes on her phone and later transfers them to a laptop where she adds images and shares the document online with her study group, a student who does not understand a math concept finds a podcast to view that visually explains the concept, and during class a group of students create flashcards that they can access from their handheld computers at home.

     According to a study by Futurelab, an organization that studies how learning will be in the future, says that there are 6 types of learning that could come from technology. More about these 6 steps can be read at http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolum/FromDistractiontoEngagementWir/192959.

     All of these concepts lead to the belief that technology could only help the classroom, but some people have many worries about allowing so much technology. Any mobile device can be really distracting to students. They can use them to cheat, multitask, and find inappropriate context. However, things can be done to help stop these things from happening. Wireless networks can be turned off, you can use filter applicatoins, and you can make contracts with the kids that set rules.

Pictures found at: http://www.clker.com/,  http://www.laptopsarena.com/, www.electronics.howstuffworks.com