Chapter 7

This chapter is about how to evaluate educational technology. The evaluation of student software involves analyzing if it is appropriate when used to enhance the learning process. If technology isn’t helping students to achieve a better understanding of the material it’s not doing the job. You should always compare your students understanding of the subject matter before using the program and after use performance should improve. The program must also be motivational. If the student has no interest in how the information is presented, they won’t want to learn and will only perform to “get by,” not to learn. Lastly the technology should address the curriculum and learning objectives. Even if the technology works, if it doesn’t address the subject matter it shouldn’t be used in the classroom. Outside information, with no connection to what is taught in class will confuse the student and take away from what the teacher is teaching.

Since last week I have been reinforced in my belief that computers are unreliable. Don’t get me wrong, I do appreciate the value of computers. My best friend lives in London, England and the only way to talk to her is on-line. I also love photography and the computer effects are amazing. I love the fast info, immediate and cheap advertising, and the worldwide individual expression….. However, the ease downgrades work done by hand, and the unreliability makes me nervous. Though I love to type my work because of the speed and immediate perfect legibility I hate it when my work is deleted and lost. I always print copies because computers make me nervous. I have always had trouble with work getting lost or files erasing, or my entire computer deciding to break one day. In the last class I realized even though computers can be great for learning they can also be frustrating for the teacher if something doesn’t work. I think I am more skeptical of computer use. I would definitely categorize myself as someone who would seldom use computers in the classroom, aside from brief visual presentations.

One thing I would like to do for my class is to use movies. I think that movies can teach a lot in a short amount of time. I also think they reach a different type of learner and help to capture the attention of all students. Another visual aid that would be helpful is power point. This would help students learn how to visually organize notes they take in class, and keep them focused during a lecture.

Chapter 6

“Curriculum is defined as the knowledge skills, and performance standards students are expected to acquire in different grade levels, or through sequences or clusters based on subject matter units of instruction, such as language arts, mathematics, science, English, history, physical education, and others.” Every state and sometimes every different school have their own curriculum, which is defined by teachers and the Educational Department. The State Department of Education provides schools with “curriculum guidelines for the schools to follow, and to keep on track. Technology can help reach the curriculum standards by improving the speed at which kids learn and understand the material. Technology should be made accessible to teachers and students so they can use curriculum based programs to learn the material. A lot of these programs build on what the teacher teaches. The key to technology integration is realizing what you want to accomplish in your curriculum, then you will be able to integrate the proper technology to compliment your lesson.

Last week I realized the benefits of technology and its many uses. However I also recognized the fact that technology can’t replace the “one on one” quality attention you receive from a teacher. Students must learn how to interact in a social setting with other students which can not be done with technology. In class I learned how to make a table on word. I also learned how to formulate a rubric in order to help students evaluate websites. My rubric was designed to help students who were doing research and didn’t know how to tell if something was a scholarly article or just a mediocre response someone posted on-line. I learned how to shade my table to make it easier to read. I also added bullets, underlines, and borders as well. This should be very helpful in the future when I have to formulate “real” rubrics for students to use.

This week I enjoyed the warm air and sunshine. It’s been busy since midterms are this week, but hopefully everything will go well. On Wednesday Blue Man Group is coming so if you don’t already have tickets you should try and get them. My sister saw them perform in New York and she thought they were amazing. I have the sound track, it’s awesome.

Chapter 5

“Today, digital media and multimedia play an increasingly important role in education, business, and entertainment (Gunter, 277).” Multimedia is simply, more than one type of media such as text, video and audio. Digital media is a more advanced form of media enabling the user to create and interact with information. This media is ideal for communication use, and for the ability to explore links which transfer the user to more information. Students can use this media to interact with parts of the world otherwise off limits to them. Students can view the Mona Lisa in the Louve. They can explore other countries and national treasures through digital technology. Educational programs that use this technology enable students to learn and explore new information of their own, at their own pace. Digital media applications are designed to challenge students, make them engage in the material, and teach them to think critically. This technology is used frequently by teachers in order to deliver lessons. Entire classes can be completed via digital media, and computer-based training is used to educate people in different skills.

Though this new technology is a welcome commodity that has proven very useful and enlightening, it can also be a hindrance. Since advanced technology exists today which can help people explore and learn, people seem to think teachers and life experience are less important. Even though you are able to find programs that will teach you skills and help you learn, the interaction and close attention you receive with a teacher cannot be matched. Computer-based training can teach you what you need to learn for job skills but only an instructor can relay personal advice, encouragement, and relative experiences. In the end simulations and models don’t compare with real life interaction, and hopefully will never replace it.

Since last weeks class I learned how to better use the SAM program. I also was playing around with my digital camera this weekend after I decided to take some pictures. I learned how to download the pictures to a Google program called “Picassa.” This program edits pictures. You can do so many cool things to your photos artistically. It’s a free download from the Google home-page. Everyone should try it out to see if you like it! :)

Chapter Four

Last week in class I learned how to use the program “Inspiration.” This program enables you to insert information into a chart. The program comes with pictures and other graphics to assist in the creation of the visual aid. This tool can be used to display information to students in a way that bonds it together as a whole.

Computers are important to education, so it is important that educators choose a machine containing the necessary tools for educating. Proper input devices are needed to enter “data, programs, commands, and user responses into a computer.” Input devices include the keyboard which is used to type documents and enter data into the computer. It also includes the mouse which is used to make “selections on the screen.” Different clicks and points can tell the computer to perform different actions. However there are different ways to select information on the computer, one is using a touch screen, where you can select data using your fingers. A touch pad, track ball, joystick and wheel, are all other equally sufficient alternatives to a mouse. Aside from the normal forms of input discussed above there are “digital cameras, audio and video input, all valuable tools for a future educator.

When the computer processes the input data into information you can see it’s now called output. There are many different types of output useful in a classroom setting. There are four main types of output which is text, graphics, audio, and video. Texts are the characters derived from the keyboard, used to create documents by formatting words and sentences. Graphics present “non-text images,” which can be pictures, charts and diagrams. Audio is also supported by most computers. Any “music, speech, or any other type of sound,” is classified as audio output. Computers can turn any sound into an analog and then to enable storage, save the information in a digital format. Video consists of photographic images that play all together in real time, which produces a moving image. Basically “any computer component capable of conveying information to a user” is an output device.

I saw that a lot of people enjoyed using the internet to play on-line games, and view videos. I discovered recently that bands and other groups have started going live on the internet using video games. The people choose a player on the game and you view "live" what they are doing. One on my favorite local artists SarahMac, used this to air her new album. It's really cool and everyone should check it out.