Educational Technology Blog Post

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCHT1S1E-DI 

There are many ways to incorporate technology in your elementary classroom. As technology expands and improves, younger children are becoming more tech-savvy. As a result, it is becoming more difficult to reach children in the classroom without incorporating some degree of technology into your lesson plans. There are many ways to include technology in your teaching to make your lessons more engaging to students.

Web Activities  

http://www.edmodo.com/link?id=6774914&url=http%3A//1970vw.edu.glogster.com/tornado/

There are many different group and individual activities that your students can complete on a variety of Web sites. A report about a current event no longer requires a newspaper but can be done at the beginning of class with a Web site. Many sites provide simple quizzes that your students can take, including the National Geographic Bee. Try sending your students on a Web scavenger hunt created by you or others. You also can divide your students into groups and ask them to research a specific topic using the Web and report their findings at the end of class.

Virtual Field Trip  

Virtural Field Trip "Inside a Tornado" 

Using the Web, you can take your class on a virtual field trip anywhere they want to go. Attach a projector to your laptop and select your destination. You can visit the Alps in Switzerland or Washington DC in the United States. You also can go on a safari, hang out in a space station or visit the middle of the ocean with streaming video and an Internet connection. There are so many things that you can do and expand your students mind.

Using Ipods or Ipads 

http://animoto.com/play/lYZXPiDlLuNPtt1OmMrsNg?utm_source=googleusercontent.com&utm_medium=player&utm_campaign=player
  
There are several ways to use ipods in your elementary-school classroom. You can have immediate photo evidence of science experiments students work on. You can practice counting and multiplication by taking pictures or videos of numbers of children or items in a certain place outside or within your classroom. You also can take pictures or take videos of class presentations or activities and send them to students who were sick so they can experience class from home. Have a photo contest with any theme you desire and watch the creativity flourish.

Learning Software 

There are many computer programs that can be integrated into your units, some even provided by the makers of your schools textbooks. Guilford Elementary School in Greensboro, N.C., has added computer software to their technology in a big way with wireless laptops in each classroom accessing learning and design software every day. Each year, new educational software is created for a variety of subjects, allowing your students to learn in other ways than from a book and a blackboard.

Presentations and Games 

Using software like PowerPoint, students can create a group presentation with ease. Incorporating pictures, videos and their ideas, your students will be able to present information to their classmates both verbally and visually. They also can create review games using word processing and presentation software. It is relatively easy to make a Jeopardy-type game that allows them to compete and review material at the same time. If your students are not quite able to create their own game, you can create a Jeopardy game for them to help them review for upcoming quizzes.

All you have to do is use a little creativity and you will have your students hooked on technology just like I am. Before I took this class I could only type papers, now I have the ability to create all of these wonderful presentations to inspire my class to learn and go beyond their comfort zone. To expand their minds and take them where technology can take them. ANY WHERE!!

Instrutional use of my videos.

In the first few weeks of school as all teachers are going over procedures for the new year. As all good teachers know procedures make your life and the lives of your students much easier. Procedures taught early on in the year so that they will be instilled in their little minds as they grow. These videos could be shown school wide during the morning show (that the students put on). Or it could be shown during your own class time as you go over procedures. Anytime is a great time to introduce hand washing videos, especially with the cold and flu season starting.
Lunchroom procedures seem to be the hardest to teach. You would think that most students would know how to conduct themselves in a lunch room. Well surprise, welcome to elementary school. Most students don't have a problem, except when they get around their peers and want to act up. So by showing this video, in all classes the lunchroom can be a better experience for all students, teachers and visitors. By showing students what we expect of them, it should be no surprise to them when they are corrected if needed.  

Podcasting in the classroom

I chose 2 downloads for the classroom. I think that both of these would be benificial to the teachers and students. ESL students as well as Developmentally Delayed Students would benefit from these apps.

1. MeeGenius will be benificial to any student that has a trouble with reading, speaking and understanding the English language. Not only does it read the story to you (with all words being lit up as they go). It also teaches students how to manuvere a computer screen. This program can be adapted for any student with disabilities whether it is physical, mental or just a language barrier. I see this as not only a tool for the students but also a resource that teachers can use with such a diverse society that we have. Our ESL students will feel empowered with this knowledge and they will start to understand the language without a constant person standing over them, which can be overwhelming at times.
2.The other app that I chose was iWriteWords.lite. I believe that this application in the classroom with help students that don't have the fine motor skills for holding a pencil. So many students with disabilities can adapt to the ipad and work the screens with so much more positive response than having a teacher standing over them all the time or in some cases not enough of the time. This would enable students to work independently and make successful achievements at their own pace.

Ipods In Education

Turned in by Me

I agree that I-pods in school can be productive and the reasons for this is as follows (A educator’s prospectus):

· I find students that listening to music calms them down and thus become better at schoolwork. With them having their own ipod then they can diversify the music they listen to by different genres.

· Ipods give students something to do when there is downtime at school, or even better while riding the bus to or from school. (Watch a movie or an educational video perhaps?)

· Students are able to show their individuality by the kind of music they listen to. I.e.: I pods can be used to record lectures in class and listened to when reviewing for exams for older students. This is also favorable when the teacher talks too fast; you can just rewind and listen again.

· There are available educational pod casts that students can tune in to that can aid them in their learning.

· Students can install educational applications such as dictionaries and calculators thus eliminating extra weight to their backpacks/lockers.

· Audio lessons can be listened to before class, which allows the students more time to work during class.

· It could be more beneficial for teachers (whose been teaching the same lesson over and over) to record and podcast their lesson. That way they won't miss including important points in their topic.

· Recorded lessons can be shared with students that are absent. Podcast lessons are much more accurate rather than reviewing from notes.

There are many reasons of why students can benefit from having the i pods and not many reasons that they can't.

Check Edmodo for my links.