Last post of the semester

This class has reinforced the theory that technology is something that can support the learning of an individual in many different and innovative ways.  I think that it is important to incorporate technologies into the classroom when appropriate or even necessary. 
Something I have learned throughout the semester is that technology is something that can always be incorporated but it is something that can get over used or used at inappropriate times.  When technology is used at inappropriate times it detracts from a lesson and may distract the individual student.
I feel like I could some how incorporate all of the different technologies that we used throughout the semester in some way.  Technology that I could see definitely using in my classes are:
Blog
Webquest
Google Docs
Audacity
Movie Maker
Microsoft Office
Internet Explorer
The other technologies, like Digo, are things that if I used them I would definitely have to try and incorporate into my lessons. 
I think technology is great because it not only stretches the creativity and learning curve for the students but the teacher too.  It is great for creating creative and engaging lessons but it is important to know the correct time and place to incorporate different technology tools in my classroom.

Google Earth

Google Earth is a really interesting and fun tool to use.  I think that it can be utilized in many different and innovative ways. One of the subject I am going to be teaching is geography so I could use this as a way for students to find different places and even explore the different aspect of each place.  They could even design a vaction or trip with different places to visit and explore.  The student could either describe it themselves or they could switch with another student and that student could use the steps of that trip and see if they find the same things.  I really like this tool because I could use it in my class :)  

Joey's Morning Routine in Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key by Jack Gantos

Morning sounds

Google Docs

I really like the idea of a place to store documents, powerpoints, spreadsheets and forums that I can access anywhere at anytime.  I think this is a great idea for those who work away from home or on many different computers because there is no need for an external hard drive and no potential for forgetting it when you need it the most.  I am a little wary of trusting all of my work to one site that is suppose to 'forever and always' store my information like an external hard drive but it is handy when you need to access work at multiple places.  I think that the only way I would use Google Docs is if I had a back up to the work I would have saved on the internet...but that is just because it is nice to have a back up...just in case! 

It is handy and the software is great to use because the options in creating documents, powerpoints and spreadsheets are pretty similar to Microsoft Word just in a more simpler form which is fine because most the options given in Google Docs are all an average person would really need.  This is something I can see myself using in the future...

Twitter...hmm

First thoughts on twitter are not positive.  I feel like the benefits that would come out of using twitter in the classroom are not to an extent that would make me use it in my classroom.  I do see the benefits of sharing information fast and concise with students and parents, collaborating among classmates and making sure there are updates on homework or any other class material but I do not think that these reasons are great enough to make me want to use twitter.  I think it would actually create more work and almost a disconnect from the teacher-student relationship and student-student relationship.  There is a disconnect from the teachers and students and teachers and parents that I see could happen if every thing is placed on the internet via blog spot, twitter, wikis....So even though I think twitter could be a cool and innovative way of communicating I do not see the necesity of it at this time...my opinion might change as time goes on and I become more familiar with it...?

My thoughts on wikis...I think they are a great tool to use when bringing many different ideas, information and resources together on one subject.  Many people can work on them while constantly making changes to the information so the information is current and correct.  It is always a good idea to have different minds working on updating information because there is more than just one perspetive or one source of research.  This creates a greater probability that the information will be accurate and up to date.  Also, they are quick and easy to use when in need of a quick summary.

The down side to wikis is they are difficult to use when having more than one person work on a page at a time.  Also, no matter how many accurate sources work on a page there are those out there that will have information that is incorrect which is not good because wikis are so quick and easy to read that some younger students may take their information straight off of one without checking the information.

I think that they could be a great tool to use within the classroom but the teacher would need to monitor the content an dkeep track of what is going on the wiki and what is missing.  This would allow the wiki to be accurate and full of beneficial content for the entire class.  I do think extra time and attention would need to be incorporated into creating and maintaining a wiki but if a classroom has excellent ideas on a subject and a teacher is excited and willing to create one with them I think they can be very beneficial. 

Teamwork all the way!!!