Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Ch. 9 Creating and Sharing Information with Multimedia Technologies

Focus Question: What is multimedia technology and how can teachers use it to effectively create and share visual information dynamically in their teaching?
 Multimedia learning is caused when a variety of media like texting, data, voice, picture, and video) are used to communicate information. From these media, schools emphasize the most on  single media, noninteractive modes of learning. A multimedia classroom uses this media for teaching and learning.

Tech Tool Link: Audacity (Audio Recording Software)

 
This is such a great website for teachers to edit their voice recordings and eliminate and unwanted or distracting material. This website can also be used for the editing of recordings that can be used for professional and/or teaching purposes.
 
Summary and Conclusion: The use of multimedia technology for teaching and learning purposes is probably one of the most effective ways to capture the student's attention towards the topic being taught. I believe that teachers should receive a training on how to use multimedia; and therefore, making teaching an easier job for teachers by joining in with the students' relative media.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Ch.8 Communicating and Networking with Websites, Blogs, Wikis, and More

Focus Question: How can teachers use a website or blog to improve teaching and learning?
There are three basic types of education-related blogs: 1) "official face" blogs, single-purpose blogs, and 3) active learning blogs. Teachers have three options for creating their own website or blog: 1) a do-it-yourself option, 2) a commercially available option, or 3) a open source option.

Tech Tool Link: Go Daddy

This website gives you the options for building the website yourself or it can build it for you. If building it yourself, it gives you hundreds of different templates to drag and drop, it also includes a web host and n e-mail, and it gives you different online communication widgets. It also provides the website with website servers to improve the quality performance.

Summary and Conclusion: This chapter goes further than a teacher just simply sharing his or her ideas verbally and linguistically. It concentrates on the use of websites and blogs to share information and ideas in between students and teachers. This is probably the most effective way for students to learn, and be able to share their ideas in the form of the era we are living in, through computers.

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Ch. 7 Problem Solving and Inquiry Learning with Software and Web Tools

Focus Question: How can teachers use computer games and simulations as learning resources?
Since today's students love to play computer a dvideo games, researchers envision exciting possibilities for learning when students use the intellectual skills needed in effective game playing for educational purposes.

Tech Tool Link: Scratch

 
 
This toolkit gives the opportunity for any student from any grade level to develop their learning skills by creating their own games, animated stories, and interactive art. This makes a turn-around in the way teachers teach their students by letting their students take initiative to learn the subject.
 
 
Summary and Conclusion: Having the capacity to solve certain study problems online and to learn a subject by following a step by step guidance through software makes a complete relation with the students, causing for the lessons to cause an effect in their lives.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Ch.6 Teaching with Educational Websites and Other Online Resources

Focus Question: What are WebQuests and virtual field trips?
They are innovative and engaging Web teaching methods that can be used for all ages. WebQuests are virtual pathways where students select a group of preselected websitesin order to explore some educational topics by accessing online visual information. Virtual field trips allows the faculty and students of the school to visit places around the world with a academis purpose.

Tech Tool Link: The Cave of Chauvet-Pont-D'Arc

This website allows you to experience an online virtual field trip like if you were literally walking in it. It gives you the privilege to take a tour through this subterranean world and link on the different facts and pictures from the entire cave system. I believe this can bring lots of interest to the students, allowing them to experience the beauty of any place through tehir favorite thing to do, and it is surfing the web.

Summary and Conclusion: There are certain curriculums and policies that teachers need to follow in a state in order to prepare and teach their lessons to students. By managing their information online, teachers can apply the proper curriculum and be able to engage the students in their teaching. This information is being managed through educational websites, in which in this chapter they are examined with the purpose of always providing the students with the proper education.