Ch 4: Emerging and Assistive Technologies and the Future

Chapter four of Bitter and Legacy's book, Using Technology in the Classroom, explains how quickly technology is changing and developing as assistive tools.  Computers are here to stay and changing rapidly to the point of outdating themselves in a matter of a few years.  Computers are getting more compact yet memory capacity is increasing.  Computers prices are decreasing while computer usages are increasing.  Break through technology not only has enhanced the computer preferences but also their assistive capability.  Emerging assistive technology can assist four types of impairments; hearing, speech, vision, and cognitive.  

Ch 14-15 Producing and Presenting: Assessing and Evaluating

Chapter 14 of the text Using Technology in the Classroom, Bitter and Legacy discuss the use of technology as a tool for creating multi-media products for presentation.  The text not only describes types of media such as power point, graphics, animation, and digital storytelling, but it also details characters of each media.  For instance, when the authors discuss power point, it also details how to create an affective power point  by pointing out where to put text, graphics, and what kind of font to use.

While chapter 14 discusses the use of technology for the student, chapter 15 switches to the topic of uses of technology by the teachers.  Technology can help educators make more accurate assessments and evaluations.  Assessing and evaluating are often used interchangeable but they are quite different.  Assessments are a collection of student products that show student capability where as evaluation is the judgement made from numeral assessments.  Technology can aid teachers in creating reliable assessment tools and can aid in creating evaluation tools enhancing more accurate record keeping.  

Cool Mom or Just Funny??

My girls think I am cool because I have a blog, my son just laughed!!!!

The Band will Advance!

Brownwood Band received a rating of a ONE at band contest yesterday.  They will advance to area this Saturday.  CONGRATULATIONS!!!  GO KENZIE!!!

Ch ll and 12: Mathematical Modeling/Simulations and Data Analysis

Chapter eleven is directed at the discipline of mathematics and applies the activities of modeling and spreadsheets.  The authors list the steps for analyzing data to build a model and the steps to develop a model.  Chapter twelve examines simulation, data analysis, and directs the educator to integrating these technology-based inquiry and problem-solving approaches.  Both chapters deal with improving student problem solving skills.  Problem solving activities help students observe a problem, analysis it, ask questions, solve problems, and make decisions.  

Ch 8 and 9 Web Resources and Integration

Chapter eight and nine of Using Technology in the Classroom are most likely the most valuable to an educator as far as application.  The authors, Gary Bitter and Jane Legacy, guided educators in chapter eight in selecting, evaluating and integrating resources via the world wide wed.  In the opening of the chapter the reader is introduced to evaluation tools to use when reviewing web sites.  The greater majority of the chapter is loaded with web sites.  As an educator I had to look at the copyright of the text to see how relevant these sites might be.  The text was last edited in 2008 so there is a possibility many of these sites are still valid.  As I explored the net to check out a few, the ones I tested had some value to the content the site applied to.  In the text the sites are listed for different disciplines, both core and elective.  Some sites are designed for activity base such as puzzles or virtual field trips.  The last part of the chapter the authors explore the creation and maintenance of websites.  They recommend regular maintenance to websites in order to ensure the quality of this information tool for learning.

Chapter nine, the authors discuss the use of computers in content areas, at all ages.  They suggest when computers are used across the curriculum, students begin to appreciate the vast range of task that computer power can accomplish.  Teachers are an integrate part in cultivating the attitudes of students towards the use of technology in the class.  They can do this by designing instruction that integrates technology as a tool for learning rather than relying on technology as a delivery mechanism.    

Ch 5 and 6: Issues and Learning with Technolgy

Chapter five of Using Technology in the Classroom addresses many issues and concerns.  With the rise in the use of technology in our lives, social, ethical, legal, and human issues are multiplying.  The texts presents the criminal and misuse activities via computers.  It also gives an educational description of many of the annoyances such as viruses, spam and worms just to name a few.  The reader is also advised on how to avoid such pest. The last part of the chapter addresses other concerns including equity, equal availability, in education concerning technology.  The discussion over equity leads to the One Laptop per Child Initiative in which children through out the world would be armed with a laptop  

Chapter six presents learning and teaching with technology in the classroom.  The focus in this chapter is not just getting computers to all kids but in the actual use of computers.  "Teachers... must build rich learning environments filled with opportunities for authentic, project-based tasks as well as a variety of technology and non-technology tools." Technology is more than just computers.  A Technology rich classroom can enhance not only core curriculum but it also levels learning capability for students with disabilities.  Students are more actively involved, teachers and students receive immediate an individual feedback, and overall student learning improves.