Wednesday, October 29, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

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.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

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.