Module 6: Chapter 12 & 15

                These last chapters deal with integrating technology in specific classrooms. I chose to read chapter 12 and chapter 15. Because 12 deals with integrating technology into a social studies classroom, which happens to be the closest subject to history, which is the area I plan on teaching. Using technology in the classroom has pros and cons just like any other methods of teaching. This blog will discuss the benefits and drawbacks to using technology in a social studies classroom.

Wiki

For anyone who wants to view my history wiki here is a link to it: https://mandapanda89.wikispaces.com/

Module 5 Ch. 1 and 2 Using Technology in the Classroom

                For this module, the textbook discussed the integration of technology in the classroom. Integrating technology “refers to the process of determining which digital tools and which methods for implementing them are the most appropriate responses to give educational needs and problems.” (Roblyer and Doering pg. 6) Their are many digital tools that can be used in the classroom in fact here is a website that has a list and links to the various types:

M5 cool website to assist with technology integration http://t.co/ETV2uqyHsJ #ED527UM
— Amanda Dison (@AmandaDison) October 30, 2013

            The Interactive Classroom

•   ICT Competency Framework for Teachers: this term could be another way of saying instructional or educational technology. It focuses on bringing about “three levels of human capacity development: technology literacy, knowledge deepening, and knowledge creation.” (Roblyer and Doering pg. 21). It is important as educators that we strive to help students grasp each concept correctly, but also to prepare them for future education or careers. Using flipcharts and interactive lessons will not only keep the lessons more exciting, but it will also help them retain the information so they can apply it to their future learning.

• Technology use based on problem solving: Roblyer and Doering state that using technology in the classroom can help with three broad areas: motivation, help students learning needs, prepare them for future learning (pg. 25 and 26). By just using a dull power point and some pictures many students will have a harder time being able to do well in the classroom. However if you have a flipchart and maybe some good youtube clips, then you will be able to have more motivated, prepared kids that will feel excited about learning.

Constructivist vs. Objectivist: these are two theories about effective teaching. Objectivist view is “that teachers a pre-defined set of information to students through teacher-organized activities.” (Roblyer and Doering pg. 35)Constructivist view is that “learners generate their own knowledge through experiences and teachers serve only as facilitators.” (Roblyer and Doering pg. 35).  As far as flipcharts go, I think it depends upon the subject and how it is made to be constructive or objective. Probably many of the ones I use will be more objective. Because history is based on facts not on personal beliefs, therefore objectivity is the best route. However other subjects like maybe art or philosophy would do great with constructiveness. 

Flipcharts: this is one of the technologies that we have spent some time talking about so I found one I really liked  it is about native Americans it can be found here. It is a great flipchart to use because it can really motivate and engage students like it was discussed in chapter 1. (pg. 25)This is more of an objective type flipchart which was discussed in chapter 2. (pg. 35) It basically relays a lot of facts and information to the kids. Another thing I like about it is that it is a short flip chart which means that the teacher could give a small interactive lecture then split it up and show this then maybe have another interactive lecture or a video. Which makes for a more interesting and fun class.

Module 4: chapter 8

Chapter 8 is all about using web-based learning activities in the classroom. The first tool for using web-based learning activities is the wiki.


Wikis- are "a collection of web pages located in a online community that encourage collaboration and communication of ideas by having users contribute or modify content." (Roblyer and Doering 223). One of my favorites that I found is called historyfacebook it is a already made wiki that has a list of different events, people, and places that can be clicked on to learn more information about it. This wiki would be ideal for teachers to use for their students. However if the teacher wanted a very specific wiki, there are plenty of websites that provide blank wikis that could be created. wikispaces is probably one of the best websites to create your own wiki. However pbworks is another example (Roblyer and Doering pg. 224) When I create my wiki I'd like it to be similar to historyfacebook, because I think it would really get students interested in history.


Widgets- many of us are familiar with widgets, all smartphones have widgets on them. Widgets are basically small apps that have only slight functions. Some examples of widgets could be your alarm clock, calendar, or calculator on your smartphone. I found several widgets that I thought would be useful for history teachers. One that I liked was a history channel widget that was a "today in history..." which I thought might peak my students interests a bit:



Another widget I liked was history quotes it shows a different history quote everyday, I also think this widget would make history exciting for my students:



Web-Based Lessons: There are many web-based lesson plans online, but picking the right one can be challenging. (Roblyer and Doering pg. 257). Many people are busy and do not have that much time to make one so using premade ones makes sense. One that I liked that, the book also mentions on page 257 is the National Geographic. Although I would use this site for history it could be used for other subjects as well. However, sometimes it is really hard to find just the right site. If that's the case then teachers can create their own web-based lesson. There is several examples of sites that teachers can go to, to create their own web-based lessons (Roblyer and Doering, pg. 258). One of may favorites, and most user friendly do-it-yourself web-based lessons  can be found here at webquest:

M4 check out this website. http://t.co/qjKn5nNcHA very useful for educators. #ED527UM
— Amanda Dison (@AmandaDison) October 17, 2013

Wikis, widgets, and web-based lessons can be quite time consuming to educators and to some students as well, however if used right they can really enhance the students learning experience. I can see myself using some of these things as an educator one day.

M3: Chapters 7 and 8

       Distant learning and using web-based learning activities were the topics for discussion this week. Distant learning can be useful for most students but will not work for all students. In this article I found it mentions how well distance learning can work 

M3 http://t.co/yU2vrfJNEH great article on distant learning #ED527UM
— Amanda Dison (@AmandaDison) October 3, 2013

In order for educators to teach distance learning it is important for them to be well versed in using the computer and the internet as a tool for learning for their students.

Chapter 7 talks some about URLs Roblyer and Doering stress in the text how important it is to be able to read the text to determine exactly what type of website it is (pg. 216&217). The last three letters tell exactly what type of website it is. .com is by far the most common type of websites. However not all .com sites will be good sites for students to be on, therefore it's probably better to go with a .gov, .edu, or sometimes a .org. Although all sites should be proofed prior to students actually using them. 

Search Engines are a highly useful tool for students to find a lot of information on a particular topic. Now again because the internet is full of all kinds of different sites both good and bad it can be easy for students to wander to bad sites. On page 219 Roblyer and Doering mention that SearchEngineWatch is a great website to find different types of search engines pertaining to specific needs (such as a filtered search engine) (pg. 219) One of my favorite search engines to use is google scholar. What's so great about google scholar is that you can put in a keyword and it'll search to find the user good scholarly content on a particular subject.

Internet Tools are also great to use for teachers. One that I found to be particularly interesting is the e-portfolios. It allows students to upload their projects and organize and edit their work. (pg. 124) As a future educator I could see myself using this as an alternative to traditional presentations by students in front of the class

Favorite Websites  a couple websites that could be useful and easy to use for  students. The first one is called free.ed.gov this website is a great website for students to find resources and primary sources on all different subjects. Especially for History topics this would be a great site. "Great online courses are defined by teaching, not technology." (pg. 277), this website really focuses more on learning and less on technology which I think is much better for students.

SmithsonianEducation is another great website. This website lets students take virtual tours, and opportunities to speak with experts about different topics. It also has many resources for teachers like lesson planning. This would be ideal for teaching students history through virtual field trips. Chapter 7 states that websites must be "purposefully and strategically engage the learner" (pg. 226). I think this website would truly engage students and get them interested in History.  

M2 chapter 6: multimedia and hypermedia

     This week the topic of the chapter was multimedia and hypermedia, and how it can be used in the classroom. I really liked this chapter because I think it can relate to any subject matter that can be taught. As a educator in training I plan to use not only power point but other types of hypermedia tools to help make history fun and interesting to my students. It is a common fact that the use of hypermedia and multimedia can help students retain information. Roblyer and Doering mention the benefits throughout this chapter, but on page 176 they discuss how it strengthens critical thinking and increases student's motivation to learn (pg. 176). I also found a article that discussed some benefits of using hypermedia and multimedia in the classroom.

check out this great article on hypermedia #http://www.education.com/reference/article/impact-hypermedia-education/ #ED527UM
— Amanda Dison (@AmandaDison) September 19, 2013

      Commercial Hypermedia products are also discussed in this chapter. As a history teacher I think the commercial hypermedia products that best apply for me to use one day are the reference materials. There are many reference materials on-line ranging from an assortment of subjects and topics. An example of one is the Encyclopedia Brittanica which is a great reference material for students to use. The textbook book also uses this as an example found on page 175. This was one of my go to sources when I was in middle school and high school because it was helpful and easy to use.

       The chapter also discusses multimedia authoring in some detail. Type number 2 which is discussed starting on page 188. Type 2 deals with audio and video and using it to help teach students. This type ranges from using podcasts to video lecture. I personally think this type of teaching could be very effective at times. YouTube is an example of how this type of multimedia software can be used. YouTube can be a great place to find clips, documentaries, and relevant media for a wide number of subjects. Although using YouTube one needs to use discretion and preview anything they plan on viewing in class to make sure it is acceptable. The textbook gives the example of other websites that are similar to YouTube, such as TeacherTube and SchoolTube (pg. 191). Teachers can use these videos, but students can also upload their own school video projects on these two sites as well. Here is a YouTube clip of Nixon that I might very well use one day as a teacher:

Module 1 on chapters 3, 4, &5

The chapters that was required of me and my fellow students to read dealt with different types instructional software and computer programs to help out in the classroom, for helping students to learn faster and more efficiently. My first example of a instructional software actually comes from the textbook on page 95. It is a simulation software that is called The Crisis at Fort Sumter ( this is the URL to the website that they give in the text: http://www.merlot.org/merlot/viewAssignment.htm?id=%2Fassignments.htm%3Fmaterial%3D79032&hitlistpage=%2Fassignments.htm%3Fmaterial%3D79032  I looked it up myself and it's pretty neat). I liked this program a lot because it is one that I'd most likely be able to use in my teaching career someday.  The simulation is a history simulation set during the American Civil War. M.D. Roblyer and Aaron Doering state in our textbook that "the simulation outlines the decisions that President Abraham Lincoln had to make concerning Fort Sumter." (pg. 95). Another instructional program is actually on a website that a student can login and use to help with tests. It's called Study blue more information can be found about it here:  http://www.studyblue.com/. It is great resource to use for older kids in later middle school or high school. But basically this web resource allows the student to make their own flash cards or use other students flash cards from earlier classes without having to write them all out. This is an example of Drill and Practice instructional web resources. Although in the text on page 84 drill and practice type get criticized as "drill and kill" (pg. 84), I happen to think that this technology can be very useful to many students. It is also something that I might utilize in the future. Although this should probably only be used for review and studying not for actually learning the content. The last one of these instructional software examples I want to give is called The Constitution by Congress for Kids, (http://congressforkids.net/Constitution_writingconstitution.htm). This is an example of tutorial instructional software. It is also an example that comes from the textbook on page 89. It is a tutorial that is useful in helping kids understand how the government works.In chapter five they discussed about software support tools. The obvious example that springs to mind is Wikipedia.com. I know I use it quite frequently, and it can be very helpful as long as you are careful not to take everything on Wikipedia as the gospel truth. This would be considered a research and reference tool. Another example that comes from the textbook is called The Road to Revolution (URL: http://exchange.smarttech.com), it is an example of a whiteboard application. On page 148 it is discussed in some detail. But basically "students listen to scenarios of events leading up to the Revolutionary War as the teacher displays information about the events on the whiteboard." (page 148). I really think this might be something I could use one day, but I would need to investigate it a bit more. This chapters were very informative and I believe that we as future educators will be able to use them in years to come.