Using technology to help the teaching and learning process in your classroom

Using technology to help the teaching and learning process in the classroom can be very beneficial. There are many ways that teachers can incorporate technology into their lessons that is not limited to just using the internet. For example, teachers can use wikis, blogs, teacher web pages, virtual tours, and webquests.

When I become a teacher I will definitely integrate technology into my lessons. I would like to use a teacher webpage because I think they are a great way for teachers to communicate with the students. Being able to have a webpage that every student can access will allow me to post the homework assignments for each night, a calendar of events, and other websites that the students can access to get extra help. Also, even though we did not go over it in my Instructional Technology class, I know I would definitely like to use a SmartBoard in my classroom. I think SmartBoards are a great resource for teachers when teaching. They are a great way to cover all of the necessary material, and they help the teacher get through a lesson more quickly since everything can be set up before the class even starts. Also, SmartBoards allow teachers to use different activities that can get the students involved in.

Technology will be a very important aspect in my classroom. It is a great tool that I will be able to take advantage of. My teacher web page will provide a great way for me to communicate to my students even when out of class, and using a SmartBoard will be a great way for me to teach more efficiently. I will also make use of the internet in my classes and I will visit different websites so I can introduce them to my students for their use when doing homework and studying for tests and quizzes.

Podcasting

A podcast is defined as recorded audio that is stored on a Web site that can be downloaded to a computer or a portable media player such as an iPod. Podcasts can be used to share all kinds of information with anyone at any time. Some examples of podcasts include music, radio shows, new stories, television commentaries, and even classroom lectures.

I will use podcasting in my classroom to record parts of lessons to put on my teacher web page so students will be able to access the lessons if they missed a day of class. Also, if I place the podcasts of my lessons on the internet, students will be able to listen to the lesson multiple times until they understand the material. It will also be useful for my students when they are studying.

One positive about podcasts is that they can be downloaded automatically. Podcasts enable students and teachers to share all kinds of information with anyone at anytime. Podcasts are beneficial in the classroom because some students are audio learners rather than visual learners. This is beneficial when students are viewing a teacher web page so they can study or learn a topic by listening to what is being taught rather than just looking at it. For example, if a student is absent, he or she can download the podcast of a recorded lesson. The only negative that I can think of for using a podcast is that some students may not have a computer or way to access a podcast.

Ethics

Ethics are standards that determine whether an action is good or bad. Ethical behavior on the computer is the same as ethical behavior in general. People who are ethical when they are on the computer do not use their computers to harm other people, to harm other people’s work, or to steal from someone else (this includes stealing passwords or other types of computer work).

When I am a teacher, I will have good ethics when it comes to working with my students and my colleagues. First of all, I will be ethical in my words and actions. I will act ethically with my students and colleagues so that maybe my behaviors will influence them to act ethically. Also, because I will be using technology in my classroom, I will need to teach my students some things about ethics to make sure that they act ethically when working on the internet. I will tell my student not to share passwords with any other students.

Using ethics in the classroom has many pros. Many of the things that are unethical are also illegal. For example, it is both unethical and illegal to use a computer to steal, or to use or copy software that was not paid for. Other things that are also unethical include using the computer to harm other people, to interfere with other people’s computer work, to snoop around others’ files, etc. Having good ethics in the classroom will keep you out of legal trouble. Also, acting ethically will help you feel good about yourself and helps you feel like a better person, so acting ethically is always the best choice.

Virtual tours

A virtual tour is a simulation of an existing location that usually takes place on a personal computer. Virtual tours can be very complex and offer a lot of information. They are created on the web and can consist of multiple pages, most of which can be linked to another one of the pages in some way. Virtual tours can consist of outside websites, videos, or pictures. They are used to teach about specific topics. Also, virtual tours can be used for almost anything such as realty, visiting real places without actually going there, or teaching a lesson about any subject.

I can use virtual tours in my classroom to teach students more about math concepts that they are learning at the time. Also, I can get my students interested in math by showing them what the math that we are learning can be used for in the future. Here is an example of one such virtual tour: Math in the real world.

There are many pros and cons to virtual tours. One pro is that they can be accessed from anywhere. Another pro is that virtual tours can be used for almost anything. They can be used in school for different subjects and lessons, and they can even be used outside of school for things such as real estate. One negative to virtual tours is that they can be difficult to follow and can be very confusing. They also can take a long time to follow before everything on the tour is viewed.

Teacher Web Pages

A teacher web page is a type of web page in which teachers post information that they believe is important for their students, students' relatives, and everyone else in the community. Teacher web pages can include the teacher’s personal information such as telephone number and email address, and a brief paragraph introducing him- or herself. They can also contain any other information that the teacher wishes to display publicly. These things can include a calendar of events, newsletters to parents, student projects, webquests, online lesson plans, and the class goals, rules, and procedures.

When I teach, I will definitely use a teacher web page. I think it is a great way to keep students up to date on what is going on in the class. I will post my phone number and email address so students can contact me at any time. I will use my teacher web page to display my syllabus and to post each day's homework. This way, students will always have a source to look up what their homework is for the night if they were absent from class or if they just simply forgot what it was. I will also post extra help websites on my teacher web page. This way, student who need help and do not understand what they are doing can go to these websites to get extra help with their homework.

I think that a teacher web page is almost entirely beneficial. Students can stay up to date on classroom activities and homework, students can communicate with their teacher via the web page, and parents and other people in the community can check out what is going on in the classroom. Also, teachers can post additional websites that the students can visit in order to look up additional information about what is being studied in the class. The only con there is for having a teacher web page is that students might not come to class because they know that they just have to check the web page for the homework for that night.

Webquest

A webquest is a type of lesson in which all of the information comes from the World Wide Web. It is an inquiry-oriented actity that can be incorporated into a lesson. Although all information comes from the web, this type of lesson is still taught in the classroom. Therefore, a webquest acts simply as a learning tool for students. Webquests can be very short and only last days, or they can be so long that they last months. Many webquests even involve group work among students. The purpose of a webquest is to use the learners' time well and to focus the learners' attention on using information rather that finding it and to support students' thinking at the levels of analysis, synthesis, and evaluation.

Teachers use webquests in their classrooms to help their students learn the material that they are teaching. When I become a teacher, I think using webquests will be a great help in my teaching. Webquests may take a long time to prepare but they can very successfully help students learn if they are put together right. When I prepare webquests for my classroom, I will make shorter ones that last only about a week but incorporate many of the things that I am teaching in the classroom. I think that using these webquests will make it easier on the learners. Webquests are very organized so they are even easy to use.

There are many benefits to using webquests in the classroom. For example, this generation is a very technologically advanced generation and using information on the web can be very beneficial to students. By using webquests, students learn more about how to search the web and use the information that they find on the web. Also, because many webquests involve group work among students, webquests help learners to get along better with their peers and teaches them to work well in groups with other people. The biggest con to using a webquest would be the amount of time it takes to complete. Most webquests take a long period of time and it would be difficult to cover all of the necessary material if a webquest is incorporated into the lesson.

"Getting Started: Traveling Through the Dark"

I watched the video, "Traveling Through the Dark" on the Getting Started Strand of the K-12 online conference. I thought this video was very good and cleverly made. I liked how the creator put quotes in his video and how he started it off with him actually driving in the dark. This video was informative to me because Steven, the creator of the video, told a story from his experience with teaching. He said that he could not get through to his students and it was not a problem with his students, but a problem with himself. He also talked about integrating technology into the classroom and gave a lot of good ideas about how a teacher can do that. Some of his ideas were things that we have already covered in this class and I think his story will help me when I become a teacher so I will be a better teacher.

How students network..

I had a lot of trouble with this video so hopefully it works....

Thoughts about Podcasting with Gabcast

Here is a podcast created by Gabcast:

Gabcast! Podcasting with Gabcast #1

Current thoughts about the use of Technology in Education

I think that using technology in education is very beneficial. It is a good way to help students learn and understand the material that they are being taught. Many students are interested in technology, know how to use it, and even use it on a regular basis. Technology additionally allows teachers to better connect with their students and know their personal interests.