Disabled Bodies, Able Minds: Giving Voice, Movement, and Independence to the Physically Challenged. Diane Curtis.
This article is about the amazing technology available to disabled students today. Technologies to help students, who cannot speak, now be heard. Technologies that can enable a student with limited use of arms and legs, to now be able to play an instrument. Technology today allows students who could not communicate to be able to write stories. Years ago, Braille enabled Helen Keller to learn multiple languages and earn college degrees. Today, technology is enabling students who are paralyzed to communicate.
1. What technology is available to help disabled students? TACLE (Technology and Augmentative Communication for Learning Enhancement) is a computer that can be hooked up to a headband that senses movement on a child’s eyebrows. The computer then says the words the student chooses. There are many types of speech-generation technologies that now enable students to communicate their needs and desires.
2. What else does this technology enable disabled students to do? Most importantly, it enables disabled students to do their own work, take their own test, and do their own research. It allows them to use their own brainpower to accomplish things they never could have done in the past. They can go to college and even have their own careers.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Journal 9
Are Schools Inhibiting 21st Century Learning? Dave Nagel.
This article is based on the fifth-annual Speak Up survey conducted by Project Tomorrow. “Education stakeholders,” such as parents, students, administrators and teachers were polled and asked if their schools were using technology to enhance student learning. Administrators, parents and teachers seem oblivious to the fact that students feel that technology in education is being limited by their schools. Students stated they felt teachers were limiting their use of technology and that Web filtering was preventing them from the full benefits of using technology for learning.
1. What can be done to ensure students are prepared to be on the leading edge of technology? Students are already ahead of their teachers and parents in using emerging technologies. The CEO of Project Tomorrow states that it is in our country’s best interest to support and encourage students in their use of technology to enable them to meet the future better prepared.
2. Are educators up to speed in education technology to help students meet their needs? In this survey, 33% of teachers stated they were experts in using technology, while 56% claimed to be average technology users. Educators are not up to speed in using technology in the classroom to propel students in a technology-filled future.
This article is based on the fifth-annual Speak Up survey conducted by Project Tomorrow. “Education stakeholders,” such as parents, students, administrators and teachers were polled and asked if their schools were using technology to enhance student learning. Administrators, parents and teachers seem oblivious to the fact that students feel that technology in education is being limited by their schools. Students stated they felt teachers were limiting their use of technology and that Web filtering was preventing them from the full benefits of using technology for learning.
1. What can be done to ensure students are prepared to be on the leading edge of technology? Students are already ahead of their teachers and parents in using emerging technologies. The CEO of Project Tomorrow states that it is in our country’s best interest to support and encourage students in their use of technology to enable them to meet the future better prepared.
2. Are educators up to speed in education technology to help students meet their needs? In this survey, 33% of teachers stated they were experts in using technology, while 56% claimed to be average technology users. Educators are not up to speed in using technology in the classroom to propel students in a technology-filled future.
Journal 8
Making Field Trips Podtastic! Aliece M. Weller, John C. Bickar, and Paul McGuinness
This was a very interesting article about using digital cameras and handheld computers to expand the learning experiences of field trips. The authors promote the use of a podcast, which can be specifically designed, and then downloaded onto a handheld computer. The use of podcasts brings an interactive dynamic to a field trip. The author suggests using the podcast to guide the student through exhibits, quizzing the student, allowing the student to take notes, record audio, conduct interviews and access other information from the Web. The student can also take digital pictures and then in a collaboration with other students, or individually, present what they learned to peers, teachers or even family.
1. Is this difficult for teachers to prepare for their students? The authors state that their design of this type of project was in thinking of the technologically average educator. They also state this requires a bigger time commitment from educators initially, but they feel the results are the bigger payoff.
2. Why would the results of a “Podtastic” field trip be such a big payoff? The authors state that an interactive field trip means students have “increased brain on exhibit.” In other words, students spend more time at the exhibits and have a higher engagement on each exhibit due to the quizzes and because they know they are gathering information for a future presentation.
This was a very interesting article about using digital cameras and handheld computers to expand the learning experiences of field trips. The authors promote the use of a podcast, which can be specifically designed, and then downloaded onto a handheld computer. The use of podcasts brings an interactive dynamic to a field trip. The author suggests using the podcast to guide the student through exhibits, quizzing the student, allowing the student to take notes, record audio, conduct interviews and access other information from the Web. The student can also take digital pictures and then in a collaboration with other students, or individually, present what they learned to peers, teachers or even family.
1. Is this difficult for teachers to prepare for their students? The authors state that their design of this type of project was in thinking of the technologically average educator. They also state this requires a bigger time commitment from educators initially, but they feel the results are the bigger payoff.
2. Why would the results of a “Podtastic” field trip be such a big payoff? The authors state that an interactive field trip means students have “increased brain on exhibit.” In other words, students spend more time at the exhibits and have a higher engagement on each exhibit due to the quizzes and because they know they are gathering information for a future presentation.
Journal 7
Envisioning the Future of Education, Learning While Mobile. Mark Van ‘T Hooft
This article discusses the uses of mobile learning devices in future education. Mobile learning devices are cell phones, media players and wireless computers. The author examines that learning in the future will be personal, learner-centered, shared, everywhere and on-going. He states the learning is not focused on the learner or the technology, but on the interaction between the two. Mobile learning is social and informal. He states mobile learning focuses on conversation and context. Conversation is the aspect that mobile learning engages students learning in a social environment. While mobile learning in contexts applies to learning in various places, such as fixed and moving from one location to another. The author provides examples of mobile learning activities and discusses the challenges. He recommends schools focus on new skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and working with technologies that expand the student’s thinking ability.
1. Is this type of learning really available to all students? In the author’s list of challenges to mobile learning, the “participation gap” is number one. He acknowledges there is an unequal access not to technology, but to opportunities and experiences for preparation in the tomorrow’s world. He also says students will have ethics challenges and the challenge to be aware of and examine how the media tries to shape their perceptions.
2. How could an educator use mobile learning in the classroom? On of the author’s examples is MyArtSpace, which is a service for children to use mobile phones and personal Web space to provide the links in preparing and learning during and after a field trip.
This article discusses the uses of mobile learning devices in future education. Mobile learning devices are cell phones, media players and wireless computers. The author examines that learning in the future will be personal, learner-centered, shared, everywhere and on-going. He states the learning is not focused on the learner or the technology, but on the interaction between the two. Mobile learning is social and informal. He states mobile learning focuses on conversation and context. Conversation is the aspect that mobile learning engages students learning in a social environment. While mobile learning in contexts applies to learning in various places, such as fixed and moving from one location to another. The author provides examples of mobile learning activities and discusses the challenges. He recommends schools focus on new skills such as creative thinking, problem solving and working with technologies that expand the student’s thinking ability.
1. Is this type of learning really available to all students? In the author’s list of challenges to mobile learning, the “participation gap” is number one. He acknowledges there is an unequal access not to technology, but to opportunities and experiences for preparation in the tomorrow’s world. He also says students will have ethics challenges and the challenge to be aware of and examine how the media tries to shape their perceptions.
2. How could an educator use mobile learning in the classroom? On of the author’s examples is MyArtSpace, which is a service for children to use mobile phones and personal Web space to provide the links in preparing and learning during and after a field trip.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Journal 6: Mapping
When I went to the Mapping tool on Classroom 2.0, there was only one thread asking a question. I was very disappointed at first, but clicking on that one thread led to a whole series of threads recommending various sites for mapping. Web mapping, as defined by Wikipedia, is dealing with technological issues. Web cartography deals with the designing and generating of maps and their theoretical aspects. Web GIS has a similar emphasis on the exploring aspects of geodata. Wikipedia states that there is a blurry line between Web GIS and what we commonly think of as web mapping.
Within the mapping thread on Classroom 2.0, several mapping sites were recommended by educators for projects with students. The most common, Google Earth, seems the most advanced. There is also Wikimapia.com and Communitywalk.com. I played around with all three of them and really had some fun. It sounds like Google Earth has the most to offer at this time in creating maps, 3D capability, adding text, pictures and even videos to your maps. A couple of the educators wrote they used Google Earth for projects that included tracking typhoons, population predictions, contagious disease outbreaks and pinpointing longitude and latitude coordinates. Wikimapia and Community Walk both have the ability to create maps and explore new places, too. Wikimapia also has the ability to add text and upload pictures and videos. It would be easy to plan a series of fun and interesting projects to use mapping in a social studies classroom.
Within the mapping thread on Classroom 2.0, several mapping sites were recommended by educators for projects with students. The most common, Google Earth, seems the most advanced. There is also Wikimapia.com and Communitywalk.com. I played around with all three of them and really had some fun. It sounds like Google Earth has the most to offer at this time in creating maps, 3D capability, adding text, pictures and even videos to your maps. A couple of the educators wrote they used Google Earth for projects that included tracking typhoons, population predictions, contagious disease outbreaks and pinpointing longitude and latitude coordinates. Wikimapia and Community Walk both have the ability to create maps and explore new places, too. Wikimapia also has the ability to add text and upload pictures and videos. It would be easy to plan a series of fun and interesting projects to use mapping in a social studies classroom.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Journal 5
Measuring Digital Images in Math and Science Classrooms. Learning & Leading, Vol. 35
Mike Charles.
This article is about the use of ImageJ, a website used by scientists and educators to analyze digital images. The prospects for use in science and math classrooms are amazing. Because digital images are made up of pixels, image-processing tools, like ImageJ, allow a user to set a scale and then measure the pixels in the image. The article examines how a teacher could use ImageJ to measure how long lightening strikes, which NBA player dunks a basketball the fastest and what percentage of a fall leaf stops producing food for a tree. The article walks you through the whole process of using ImageJ to do these activities.
1. How can an educator access ImageJ and how much does it cost?
ImageJ was created by the National Institutes of Health and is public domain. ImageJ has a documentation portal and you can download the software free.
2. What other ways could this site is used in a classroom?
The author states that using digital cameras in the classroom is a good place to start getting students used to digital images. Discussing how digital images are made up of pixels and teaching some of the basics of digital imagery would be a good way to introduce this concept to elementary students.
Mike Charles.
This article is about the use of ImageJ, a website used by scientists and educators to analyze digital images. The prospects for use in science and math classrooms are amazing. Because digital images are made up of pixels, image-processing tools, like ImageJ, allow a user to set a scale and then measure the pixels in the image. The article examines how a teacher could use ImageJ to measure how long lightening strikes, which NBA player dunks a basketball the fastest and what percentage of a fall leaf stops producing food for a tree. The article walks you through the whole process of using ImageJ to do these activities.
1. How can an educator access ImageJ and how much does it cost?
ImageJ was created by the National Institutes of Health and is public domain. ImageJ has a documentation portal and you can download the software free.
2. What other ways could this site is used in a classroom?
The author states that using digital cameras in the classroom is a good place to start getting students used to digital images. Discussing how digital images are made up of pixels and teaching some of the basics of digital imagery would be a good way to introduce this concept to elementary students.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Journal 4
Storytelling in the Web 2.0 Era.
Glen Bull.
This is an article discussing many new exciting and free Web tools available for educators’ use in the classroom. The author focuses on storytelling tools. Students can use a huge variety of Web tools to create, illustrate, and put sound, video and animation to their stories. Using Xtimeline in a social studies class can help students make timelines and learn how to place a story in chronological order. The author refers to the facts that most school budgets have limited dollars to spend on software. In this Web 2.0 era, schools can access an amazing amount of software at no cost.
1. What would be the benefits of using free Web tools for storytelling?
The benefits of using Web tools for storytelling would primarily be student interest. Students enjoy “playing” on the computer and creating. Creating a story and putting sound and animation to the story they have created would challenge their minds and they would have a great time doing it. The author of this article refers to The National Reading Panel, which states they see a possibility of enhanced comprehension as a result of using these storytelling techniques.
2. What should educators beware of when using these Web tools?Educators should always have objectives and guidelines ready to explain to students before using any Web-based tool. The use of objectionable language and inappropriate creations should be dealt with up-front and the consequences be made clear to students. Educators should also monitor the students’ work.
Glen Bull.
This is an article discussing many new exciting and free Web tools available for educators’ use in the classroom. The author focuses on storytelling tools. Students can use a huge variety of Web tools to create, illustrate, and put sound, video and animation to their stories. Using Xtimeline in a social studies class can help students make timelines and learn how to place a story in chronological order. The author refers to the facts that most school budgets have limited dollars to spend on software. In this Web 2.0 era, schools can access an amazing amount of software at no cost.
1. What would be the benefits of using free Web tools for storytelling?
The benefits of using Web tools for storytelling would primarily be student interest. Students enjoy “playing” on the computer and creating. Creating a story and putting sound and animation to the story they have created would challenge their minds and they would have a great time doing it. The author of this article refers to The National Reading Panel, which states they see a possibility of enhanced comprehension as a result of using these storytelling techniques.
2. What should educators beware of when using these Web tools?Educators should always have objectives and guidelines ready to explain to students before using any Web-based tool. The use of objectionable language and inappropriate creations should be dealt with up-front and the consequences be made clear to students. Educators should also monitor the students’ work.
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