Virtual Field Trips
Today in class, we discussed some of the legal, social, and moral issues concerning technology and elementary education. One of these issues that we discussed was about virtual field trips and their use in within the classroom. My feeling is that, as teachers, this is a very viable option, if used with common sense. Virtual field trips should be used when it can be directly tied into course content, as well as if your class cannot physically go to the place the field trip is at. For example, utilizing a virtual tour of the pyramids when teaching an Egyptian unit would be great for the children. One, I would not have access to the resources to take my class to the pyramids, and two, it directly ties into the subject matter I would be teaching. However, these field trips should be used in moderation and with a little exploration on a teacher's own before the class gets to go, too. Using a virtual field trip with every lesson has the potential for dulling the novelty of the field trip and you will quickly lose your class' attention. Also, checking a tour for inappropriate content before you take your students "with you" can save embarrassment and other trouble.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Distance Education
One pro of distance education is that it allows students with a variety of personal situations to take classes that fit their needs. For example, if a family chose to home-school their children rather than sending them through public school, the option for distance education is there for that family to use. Likewise, if a family has a child with autism or Asperger’s, distance education allows that child to have an education and will be modified to fit their learning needs.
A con of distance education is that it requires some technology to use and some people will not have access to the technology they need for distance education. For distance education to work, a family would need a computer that has Internet access. Nowadays, computers have come down in price and one that is needed solely for educational purposes would only cost a few hundred dollars. However, some families cannot even afford that. Internet access also cost money, even dial-up. Internet service providers (ISPs) provide dial-up internet at a low cost per month, however, this can tie up phone lines and depending on where a family lives, and they can have a poor connection. Cable and DSL lines are faster and do not tie up phone lines. They are a more expensive option, though.
To determine the readiness of a student to participate in distance learning, I would look at the student’s needs and the family’s needs (if applicable). The needs of the student come first. If they are not comfortable in a public school, or are not having their needs met in public school, I would want to know that. They need to feel comfortable for them to learn best. I would also want to know why they want a distance education and how it will help them grow in their educational career. Secondly, I would look at their family situation. If the family moves around a lot, such as a military family, they would make a great candidate. If the family wants their children to go through distance education, I would contrast that with the student’s choice.
There are a few things I would need to teach in a virtual school. One of the skills I would need would be to be technologically savvy. I would need to have a good basic knowledge of how a computer works and the various programs I would want to use. I would also need to have gone through an accredited education program, such as the one here at Washington State University. With that, I know I would be secure in the information I am being taught, and with a teaching degree from such a university, I would be very qualified to teach K-8. Also, I would want to be willing to teach in distance education. If I did not want to, I would be an unhappy teacher. If I were an unhappy teacher, that would not reflect well on my students and they would become unhappy. From there, the whole education process for both parties would drag on and not be as effective as it could be.
A con of distance education is that it requires some technology to use and some people will not have access to the technology they need for distance education. For distance education to work, a family would need a computer that has Internet access. Nowadays, computers have come down in price and one that is needed solely for educational purposes would only cost a few hundred dollars. However, some families cannot even afford that. Internet access also cost money, even dial-up. Internet service providers (ISPs) provide dial-up internet at a low cost per month, however, this can tie up phone lines and depending on where a family lives, and they can have a poor connection. Cable and DSL lines are faster and do not tie up phone lines. They are a more expensive option, though.
To determine the readiness of a student to participate in distance learning, I would look at the student’s needs and the family’s needs (if applicable). The needs of the student come first. If they are not comfortable in a public school, or are not having their needs met in public school, I would want to know that. They need to feel comfortable for them to learn best. I would also want to know why they want a distance education and how it will help them grow in their educational career. Secondly, I would look at their family situation. If the family moves around a lot, such as a military family, they would make a great candidate. If the family wants their children to go through distance education, I would contrast that with the student’s choice.
There are a few things I would need to teach in a virtual school. One of the skills I would need would be to be technologically savvy. I would need to have a good basic knowledge of how a computer works and the various programs I would want to use. I would also need to have gone through an accredited education program, such as the one here at Washington State University. With that, I know I would be secure in the information I am being taught, and with a teaching degree from such a university, I would be very qualified to teach K-8. Also, I would want to be willing to teach in distance education. If I did not want to, I would be an unhappy teacher. If I were an unhappy teacher, that would not reflect well on my students and they would become unhappy. From there, the whole education process for both parties would drag on and not be as effective as it could be.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Emerging Technologies in the Classroom
The first set of the emerging technologies I looked at are blogs and wikis. One can think of a blog as a type of personal journal where one can write their own thoughts and feelings on a particular topic, or a random topic depending on how the blog is structured. Other people, who're online and read the blog, can respond, usually with how they feel about that particular person's feelings about their topic. Wikis, on the other hand, are more of a collaborative venture. Anyone who has access to the wiki can go in and edit the information stored on there. Skype is another emerging technology that I looked into. Skype is a computer program in which you can, using a webcam, call someone over the Internet and have a live video conversation with that person. Many of my friends use it to talk with family back home or friends across campus. Some of them use it to work on projects with other people if they somehow cannot meet together in person. The last emerging technology that I looked at was the Smart Board. Essentially, it is a huge projector screen that you hook your computer up to. Once hooked up, you can use a pen, a pointer, or even your finger to manipulate the screen. You can do anything you can normally do on a monitor, with the added ability of a giant touch screen.
I feel these technologies would have a huge impact on my teacher preparation, and once in the field, on my actual teaching. Having these in my educational tool box would be a great boon to me as a teacher! I would be able to set up lessons that utilize each of these different technologies. Skype, blogs, and wikis flourish when used for projects, of which I can whereas the Smart Board is easier to use as an everyday classroom tool. By keeping these technologies in a mental toolbox, I can be sure to use them when I need them and to keep in mind that since they are tools, there is a right time and a wrong time to use them.
These technologies can have a huge impact on the way students learn and demonstrate whether or not they have met objectives for lessons I have taught. Skype is one way student can learn and that is through using it for collaborative projects with another classroom from around the country or the world. Allowing students the use of this technology, something that could be completely foreign to them, will more often than not get them excited for the work they will do. Plus, they will be able to work with someone that may live a different way or have different views of life, which will allow the student to grow as a young person. Wikis can be used to set-up projects, much like our WebQuest on our own wikis. They can be used as formative or summative assessments, depending on the lesson one has prepared and loaded onto the wiki. Blogs, on the other hand, can be used to check and see if students have completed objectives for the lesson one has taught. By having your students post their answers and some thoughts about the lesson, or posing review questions that each student will need to post, a teacher can check for understanding by reading through a student’s own thoughts and posted homework on the student’s blog.
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