Top Ten Reasons to Use Technology in the Classroom

My Top 10 Reasons to use Technology in the Classroom

1. Wikis - whether it be on wikispaces, pbwiki, wetpaint, it's a great place for teachers to post collaborative assignments, get discussions, and assess student learning. Students get to use Web 2.0 technology skills.

2. Google.docs - A place for students to collaborate and share their presentations without having to have special software or forget their work at home. Another way to use Web 2.0 Technology in the classroom.

3. Blogs - A wonderful way for teachers to communicate and share classroom assignments, activities, etc. online. Web 2.0 Technology skills are involved.

4. VoiceThread - Great tool for digital storytelling. Students research, storyboard, script, take pictures, and share their learning with all. Students use their Web. 2.0 Technology skills.

5. Podcasting - Students research, script, and share what they've learned in an educational podcast. Again, another way to incorporate Web 2.0 Technology skills in the classroom.

6. Web quests - Students are engaged in their own learning of curricular content through doing online web quests.

7. Internet Scavenger Hunts - What a way to get students learning content! This is playing and fun for them.

8. Search engines - Students learn about Ask.com, Clusty.com, Gigablast, etc. and what they have to offer. Great way for students to learn about more than one way to find information.

9. Online Games - such as Do the Dewey, Dewey matching games, etc. for learning content.

10. Free Graphic programs: Art Pad, My Drawings, etc. Students can create their own graphics to use. Comic strip programs can have students create their own, incorporating what they learned in comic strip form.

Computer Architecture and how it relates to me

This is one course that applies to me. As a library media specialist, there are times when I need to look at replacing the library printer. This is one area when I could make a suggestions. There are other times when I do have to make recommendations for purchasing digital cameras, digital camcorders, CD players, TVs, DVD players, etc., all because they come under the heading of equipment and I'm one of the few who actually does have to look up specifications and prices for recommendations. Often times, I do use the Internet for help in gathering information. I do have to stick within a budget, as well. There are times I have to review software and make recommendations at the Instructional Technology Team and/or at our district library meetings. This process helps in understanding what to look for, the specifications needed for compatibility between software and hardware, and reading reviews of people who have already purchased the items. By going through each part of the "ordering" process, I get a greater idea of what exactly is involved in the purchasing process, as well as what to look for when ordering. As always, I have to address the need for the equipment first, as a justification for purchase. Then I have to specify what exactly the equipment will be used for, be it for the school or for the library. Who benefits, in other words. I have to stay within a budget, so finding the best bang for the buck is necessary, and that is done by reading reviews. After all the information is compiled, a discussion is held with the principal, Instructional Technology Team, (ITT), or district library team. The principal is the one who has the final say for much of the building equipment needs, such as cameras, smart board, peripherals, boom boxes, DVD players, TVs, etc. The software and some technology recommendations are addressed at the Technology Cabinet, which is comprised of the Dir. of Curriculum & Instruction, the district technology technicians at our district, the head of the ITT , as well as the Superintendent. The data we supply them with helps them decision making. Much of the time, though, the purchase of computers and printers are given to the head of the district technology department and we get their choices. They do have to compare prices, specifications, etc., looking for the right match for the district. They, too, have to meet with the Superintendent and Assistant Superintendent, who is the business manager in our district, making sure they are well within the budget.

Printers

Wow! What a week of looking at printers, printers, and more printers. What a decision to be made, trying to find the best one. The hardest part of this process was narrowing it down! Consumer Reports was helpful, but didn't review the largest of printers for business. They are good at reviewing the printers for the common person, or for small businesses, but they didn't touch the largest of the printers. Another problem I ran into was trying to find the cost per page. The only way you can do it is to figure out the yield per ink, then divide that by the ink price. Since that varies, depending on the supplier, the page cost can vary, too. The best part of the assignment was finding Hewlett Packard's website which narrows down what one needs to purchase. As an assignment, I learned quite a bit about how printers work, and the various kinds of printers there are. I'll be able to use this knowledge when I'm asked to make a recommendation for our library, or for making a purchase of my own in the future..

Computer Architecture - Week 3

This has been an interesting two weeks, learning about Linux (downloading Ubuntu and Slax) and finding out what I like and don't like about them. Truthfully, there are parts of each I like, but both Windows and Macs operating systems takes the cake over both of those. I had problems getting Openoffice to work or me with Ubuntu; and Slax had the oldest font types. It was like looking at the initial version of DOS. I didn't care for Slax's web browser, either. It told me I had to update it. I used my old computer to work with these two, and it Ubuntu took forever to download. When it finished, about 4 hours later, I checked the burned disk and had one file corrupted. Okay. I thought I could still work with one file corrupted. Unfortunately, that one file was corrupt in many areas..all of the OpenOffice areas. I was disappointed. The games were fun, (Suduko) but not what I wanted spend all of my time doing. The web browser was great. It was nice and fast, even on my old computer. It was the first thing I looked into and was impressed with it. It used Firefox and I was able to access my email, do searches, etc. with it. I was surprised with how well it worked. What didn't work was printing. Of course, I didn't install it on my computer as I didn't want one file missing, so the printing option probably shouldn't work. When I went to get a plug-in, the program froze. Not my idea of fun. I tried the ESC button, no results. Next I tried ctrl+alt+del and again, it didn't do a thing. I turned off the computer and then rebooted and took a look at the applications again. I noticed the time was not right so tried to change that. The program didn't like me doing that. It froze again. I turned off the computer and rebooted again. I figured out a way to change the time without a problem this time. Then I looked at the calculator - it was changeable, from a basic to advanced, scientific, or financial one. Pretty impressive. No need to buy a scientific calculator when you can get one for free here. I tried OpenOffice again, no luck again. I quit after being frustrated with it. I then tried Slax.

Slax was a disappointment, especially once I used Ubuntu. It was slow, old, and needed updating. It didn't have as much to offer as Ubuntu, but then I didn't want to spend another four hours downloading another program. It wasn't as big a file as Ubuntu, either. Still, I guess I expected a little bit more than what I got. As a DOS system, it would be fine for some geek who's into programming to go into and mess around with and fix. There were fixes available to get from them, and their reporting system was pretty good. It had different games from Ubuntu, such as Battleship, KBounce, and Patience (another name for solitaire). There was a Kolour Paint program, similar to the one in Word. It had the same type of menu and worked the same way. I tried printing from it, no luck. I did create a document and was able to save it, but it was hard to find when I wanted to open it again. I tried to print the document, but again, no luck. I tried the help menu, or should I say no help menu. The help menu for Slax was there, but nothing was in it. I looked to search the index, but it did not exist. It asked me if I wanted to create it. I tried, but didn't have much luck with that either. I looked for the Applications manual..missing. All documentation was missing. This was a major disappointment. What's the use of having a help menu if you can't search it and find help? The web browser was called Konquerer. It was very basic and looked basic. It couldn't update to Firefox or IE for me, as it had problems with the plug-ins (the computer froze when I tried to update). As users need to have a good Internet browser this was majorly minimal.
Of the two systems I looked at, I'd choose Ubuntu, if I had to use either one of those, and try to get OpenOffice from the Internet. Chances are I'd use Google.docs for tools, though.

On another note, our group looked at the last of the video and I just happened to find today an article written from eschoolnews.com. Microsoft is offering "bing", a search engine that they're saying can rival Google! The article can be found at http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/top-news/index.cfm?i=58965 That so fits what we were learning about in the last part of our session..what's the future going to be. Microsoft knows it needs to keep up with the Internet area, and this is their answer. As it's supposed to be a great help for educators, I'm wanting to try it out and see if it indeed is better than Google. If so, Microsoft is keeping up in the game! No grass is growing under their feet...

Computer Architecture - week 2

Learning about Linux is not something that turns me on, computers, yes, but not operating systems. I have yet to delve into the Linux program and discover what it's all about. I did like the fact that someone created it based on four principles, one of them being free, another being open to the public to modify and the upload the modifications for all to use. Without his openness and willingness to let us have his operating system for free, Bill Gates might not have made Windows as fast as he and his company did.
Riding the Bear was very interesting to watch. I had no idea that IBM was considered a bear at the time. The philosophies of each company were too different. IBM was the solid businessman, working nine to five, weekends off, suits, ties, and had a stereotypical type company. At one time, everyone wanted to be with them as they were the biggest industry around. Then came a company that allowed people to come and work as they please..brainstorming all sorts of ideas, not letting the company clock run them. They were willing to work whenever and do whatever it took to create their product because they had a passion for what they were doing. In some ways, the passion is what kept Bill Gates and his company going, and going, and going. He's right to surround himself with the brightest of students, as that is what keeps his ideas and innovations going strong. I do think there are other companies out there that will rival his in a different way. With what we all see, the Internet looks to be the way to go, even to store information. It's amazing what ideas people come up with. Now the new bear might be Google...

HIstory of the Computer

This week has been really interesting learning about the history of the computer. I grew up in that era. At the time the creators of Apple were tinkering in their garages, I was typing away on an old Royal typewriter, waiting to get my chance on the electric one. And when I first went to school and heard about computers, I never thought I'd be able to afford one, let alone see the use they had in society. At that time, Visicalc hadn't been invented. What a change they had made in our lives.
Now I'm looking under the hood and discovering the motherboard of circuitry and a whole new language. It's amazing that we have come so far in such a short time.
This wasn't the first time I'd been inside a computer. The first time was when I was going to school in Eau Claire. We had to look inside an Apple II. At the time I thought there wasn't much to it, yet didn't fully understand how the chip could do so much and hold so much information. It still boggles my mind. I like the convenience of having my work done somewhat faster, especially when fixing up papers, checking out materials, searching for answers on the Internet, communication, etc.
When I did the boot process, I was able to access some information from this website http://www.watchingthenet.com/how-to-find-your-computer-bios-version-in-windows.html
to find out how to get information for my home compaq computer. Then the following link, http://blandname.com/2006/09/20/wheres-my-mac-bios-how-to-get-into-openfirmware-easily/ helped me with understanding how to find the information about the bios for my Macbook. It's no wonder I couldn't find it, as it's completely different from the IBM PC.
I know I'll be able to use this information when I talk about the history aspects of technology with the library classes. In some classes, I actually get to talk about historic events of the computer. This information will be very helpful. Another area it'll be useful is when I have to find out what's going on with my computer. I can find out how much memory is actually left, or if there's another problem. I never knew the start menu had those resources associated with it in the school setting.