Week 7 PLE

Post a response to the folowing questions:
i.What is the role of technology in creating dynamic experiences for your students?
In this day and age, technology is an important part of dynamic teaching and experiences. Students are becoming more and more engrossed in the computer and other technologies. To create a dynamic experience for their students, teachers must use technologies in their classroom.

ii.What are some ways that technology might actually detract from student learning?
When teachers use technologies that distract their students, it can detract from student learning. Or if teachers use a technology that allows students to not be on task, it can detract as well. You also have to be careful that videos cover only what they are talking about because students can easlier forget what is be covered.

iii.What are three examples of effective technology use that you have used or experienced?
1. Smartboards
2. YouTube videos
3. Powerpoints

Week 6 PLE

1. Post a response to the following question:
   
   1. What other sensory experiences might complement the use of a virtual tour in your classroom (cite at least 5 specific examples).
      
2. Select three virtual field trips from the examples website to download and review. Select virtual field trips to watch that address a different subject matter than your tour. Make a brief comment on each of the 3 field trips indicating what you like about their ideas. Link to examples.
   
3. Write a paragraph reflecting on what you think the upsides and downsides are for implementing a virtual tour in the classroom.
   

1. Our experiences are not complete without the use of more than one sense: seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, or touching. Creating these experiences with a virtual tour or fieldtrip is a major requirement. You could invite someone who has been to the places your talking about to come into your classroom and talk about their experiences and show pictures or bring in souvenirs. Say you're talking about the different cultures in your classroom or school, you could have students bring in objects that illustrates their culture. If you're talking about China, you could have a local vender come in with food. If you're talking about the rainforest you could have the sounds of the rainforest in the background. Or you could bring the ocean into your classroom through sand and water and maybe the sound of the sea.

2.

3. A virtual fieldtrip is a wonderful tool that can be used in a classroom to show students things in the world. But, it has its upsides and downsides. Half the fun wiht going on a fieldtrip is leaving the classroom and going somewhere.

UNDER CONSRTUCTION—still working on my thoughts

Digital Storytelling Project

Class Notes

Define Technology

• a pain and a blessing
  
• something that has to be plugged in or power
  
• skills needed to use
  
• a tool—faster, better, cheaper, stronger, etc.
  
• means of communication
  
• constantly changing
  
• convenience
  
• there is always a reason behind technology—make things better
  
• a need
  

Kids want to learn

The BIG question: can we change students through technology? How they see themselves? What they know and what they do?

PLE Week 5

What are some of the basic things I can do in the Google Earth program?
How might I use Google Earth in my classroom?

I think that google earth is a really cool program with a lot possiblities for the classroom. In a classroom where its hard for students to leave like a special education room, this would be amazing. You could show them the world from the comfort of your own room. Also, if it is too expensive to go to the places, then, take a vritual fieldtrip. This program gives students a chance to get out in the world without having to leave. It opens the doors to fun classroom experences. You could create a trip and have students look for things you are talking about such as shapes.