Voicethreads are very interesting and can be very useful in any class. It allows for teachers and students to communicate throughout a lesson. I personally will not be using it in my lesson but I think there are many benefits to using it in or out of class.

The assignments from week 10 went very well. Microsoft Publisher is very helpful because it already has templates set up to cut out on time.

Creating the brochure is helpful. It will give us something to start with once we graduate and have a job. We can use it to introduce ourselves to our students and their parents.

I cannot think of anything that might need review.

Our PPT project is going well. We have researched our information well and I think our project will come together quite nicely. Our topic is: The Role of Technology in the Classroom. We chose our topic because we both think it is very important to integrate technology in the classroom starting very early on. My partner, Wes, and I are working together quite well. We have known each other from having other classes together previously so it helps that we know each other decently well. Having a partner usually helps a project to get finished quicker because it helps to have more than one person researching a topic.

How far should educators go in matching the technology used in instruction and classroom activities to the technology their students use?

I think it is important for teachers to encourage their students to use multiple forms of technology, but only if the teacher spends time teaching and going over the specific aspects of the technology the student is expected to use.

Are online chats and instant messaging of value in the classroom? Do they add to student learning, or do they distract from �real� instruction?

Using chats and instant messaging of value in the classroom depends entirely on the age and maturity of the students. Chats can be very distracting to those with a short attention span. But they can also be beneficial to older students to communicate with their classmates and teachers to lower the distractions in the classroom during work time by eliminating verbal communication which can make it difficult for some students to focus.

Are there benefits to asynchronous, text-based communication over synchronous, face-to-face communication? In what situations?

There are benefits to all. Some students get distracted or overwhelmed if they have more than one thing going on at the same time. Text-based communication works well while everyone in the classroom is working a project because it allows for the classroom to remain quiet. Face to face communication is preferred in other aspects when there are classroom discussions or are working on a complicated project and what is discussed/said could benefit the entire class.

Does using podcasts with students really enhance learning, or is it simply a newer version of passively delivering information?

I honestly don't think using podcasts enhance learning. It is just is another way deliver information.

Does videogame help develop your studying? Why or why not? Explain. What skills can you gain from it? Do you agree with the article? If you have children, would you let them play videogame every day? Why/why not?

Video gaming to a certain extent can develop your studying. It helps students to learn by doing, which is the most common way people learn. If I have children I will allow my children to play videogames. I don't know if I would allow it everyday though. I would prefer my children to be "well-rounded" when it comes to learning and be able to learn in a variety of ways.

The delicious site can be useful for people who use different computers regularly and have to use multiple different sites on a regular basis. I have no use for it. The websites that I use, I remember and have no need for a place to remember them for me. So I will more in likely never use it.

I do not like Wikipedia. I will more in likely not use it in the classroom because I do not think it is a credible source.

Learning by conversing in learning communities can some times be more effective than the traditional instruction. It depends on the student and the subject being taught.

Yes, I do believe students have different learning styles because of their personality types. Having students take a personality similar to this one, could help me get to know their personalities better and help me know how to plan lessons accordingly.

I've used excel a lot in previous classes for many assignments. It can be very useful. I will be able to use it when I teach. Mainly to keep stats for my athletes during their games.

Spreadsheets can be useful for many functions for a teacher. It can be used for the gradebook because it is very simple to use and calculate averages. It is much easier to use than a calculator because it lowers the chance of mistakes of typing something in incorrectly. If a mistake occurs, it is easier to figure out what went wrong and be able to fix it.

Storing, calculating, presenting are the three primary functions of a spreadsheet. I think those functions help many people with many tasks they have. I personally can't think of another function that the spreadsheet has.

I personally have never used Inspiration but I have seen it be used. I think it is a very good software that can be extremely useful in the classroom. It seems very simple to use and explains itself for the new user. It could be used for almost any subject. It could be used for all ages depending on the subject and the assignment. In some cases, it might not be challenging enough for older students, but again, it depends on the the topic.

A writing activity that would make the best use of technology in the classroom would be to do research on topic related to the core subject. One could incorporate multiple software such as Inspiration and Microsoft Word. Using such software will extend the students knowledge not in technology but will encourage them to use the internet in search of material that relates to the topic. For students to help one another, it would be convenient for them to either have a blog or discussion board for the students to use to connect to their peers to help them.

Week 2 Assignment

What do you think about using blogs? What and how do you think blogs would be useful for education? Some people think using blogs in classrooms is a waste of students� time. How would you respond?

I personally am not big on writing blogs. But I do think it could be useful in education. Throughout grade school, teachers of various subjects assign students to write journal entries over varied subjects. Having the students post a blog not only helps the student in their writing process, but it allows them to incorporate technology. It also allows a simple way to communicate with students and their parents. Keeping them informed about everything going on in the classroom.

What are some ways that you could use he technology ideas in Chapter 6 to support your curriculum and student learners?

Because I will be a coach, using technology in my curriculum will be very rare. But there will be some chances to do research for new ideas and activities to use with my students.

Hello! My name is Blair. I am a kinesiology major at Texas A&M in Commerce. This is only my second year attending Commerce. I transferred from Eastfield Junior College in Mesquite. Throughout grade school, I moved seven times all over Texas so I attended seven schools, ending up at Poteet High School in Mesquite.

I live at home with my parents. My dad is the K-9 officer in Addison, TX. And my mom is an elementary school counselor. I have one older brother who graduated from UTD last December with a degree in arts and performance.