Module 2 Blog

Search Engines:

Search engines and proper web navigation are both incredibly important to understand and be able to use in the world today.  Teachers and students can use these resources for their benefit in and out of school.  Teachers these days should use their knowledge of the web to support students and to model the appropriate use of them in order to stay safe and to get the most out of them.  “Search engines can be used in several different ways, depending on how you want to narrow the search” (Page 183). By using this, teachers can show students how to narrow searches using key words to find only the most useful resources.

Website Evaluation Video:

 This video on evaluating websites shows students how to use the 5 W’s in order to know if the website they found is a good resource to use. The 5 W’s are Who, Where, What, When, and Why. WHO is the author of the website? WHERE can you find more information about the author? WHAT information does the website give? WHEN was the website created? WHERE did the author get the information shown? WHY should I use this website? WHY is this information useful? These are important to students so that they are knowledgeable when evaluating a website to know if it is someone’s opinion or a valuable resource.

 

 

Favorite Websites:

www.abcmouse.com     This website has become an incredible educational resource for teachers and parents over the past few yeas. ABC mouse helps kids learn to read through phonics, and teaches many other subjects such as math, social studies, art, music, and many more.  While this website is geared towards kids aged 2-8, the website is continually expanding and is said to be currently working on higher elementary school ages.

www.scholastic.com     Scholastic is a literary resource that has been around for over 90 years.  It provides educational materials and books to schools and homes worldwide. The mission of Scholastic is “To encourage the intellectual and personal growth of all children, beginning with literacy.”

Online Safety and Security:
I think it is one of the most important practices for teachers to teach students about online safety.  In today's world of technology it has become absolutely necessary for students to be aware of online safety and security. "The internet has materials that parents and teachers may not want students to see, either because they are inappropriate for an age level or because they contain information or images that some consider objectionable." (page 174) One of the things that I feel parents and teachers should be adamant about teaching children is stated in our text. "Students should be instructed never to provide their complete names, addresses, or telephone numbers to any stranger they "meet" on the internet" (page 175).  I believe it is the responsibility of adults in children's lives to teach them the importance behind this.

Robylyer, M.D. (2016) Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2016. Print.

Module 1 Blog

Chapter 4: Technology Tools for 21^st Century Teaching

Word Processing

I think that word processing software is one of the most useful tools in a classroom for teachers.  There are so many different uses that teachers can greatly benefit from.  “Since it’s value as an aid to teaching and learning is universally acknowledged, word processing has become the most commonly used software in education (p.114).” I think that there could be a few issues that could arise from using word processing.  One in particular would be that not every student has the same computer skills.  If a teacher was trying to use computers in the classroom, it might be hard to keep all the students on the same track.

                               

Spreadsheet Software

Spreadsheet software could be particularly useful for a teacher when keeping track of student progress throughout the school year.  With the ability to enter number into a spreadsheet “entries also can be changed, added, or deleted quickly, with formulas that automatically recalculate final grades (p.121)” Spreadsheets can be utilized to help save valuable time in the classroom as well.  Instead of using a calculator, spreadsheets can be easily set up to calculate numbers or grades.

Presentation Software

Presentation software would be very helpful in a classroom to give a visual of the material being taught.  It allows the teacher to layout an outline of what is going to be discussed to keep the class on track and make good use of time as well.  There are however downfalls to using presentation software.  “Tufte (2003) famously said that “Power corrupts; PowerPoint corrupts absolutely.”  He is among those who feel that presentation software makes people focus on the slides, rather then the message, saying that “rather than supplementing a presentation, PowerPoint has become a substitute for it (p.129).”

Classroom Use--Chosen Software

I think that the software I am most likely to use would be PowerPoint.  I think that it would be a great tool to be able to show students a picture of what is being discussed so that they are learning from two different styles at once, instead of just listening to me talk.  The video that I decided to use is a really neat instructional video on tips for how to use PowerPoint and avoid falling into the category of “death by PowerPoint”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwpi1Lm6dFo

Works Cited

Phillips, David. (April 2014). How to avoid death by PowerPoint . [Video file].
Retrieved From https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwpi1Lm6dFo.

Robylyer, M.D. (2016) Integrating educational technology into teaching (7th Edition). New Jersey: Pearson Education Inc., 2016. Print.